I am going to take my leave from DU for a time:

Many of you will shout, "Hurrah", since you despise my pro-Israel stand that Hamas must be rooted out and destroyed. Nothing you may say will change my attitude in this regard and nothing I may say will certainly change yours.

However, I am not acting for that reason at all whatsoever. There are two distinct attitudes here which are, in my opinion, reprehensible. The first is the constant juxtaposition of Israel with the Nazi Movement and their behaviors. I have many angry feelings which I cannot express here due to the nature of those who alert at the first sign of a so-called breach of the rules here at DU. It has become impermissible to discuss any higher-order political philosophy without this occurring as a result. Those of us who have been attempting to do this are being continuously goaded into vituperative arguments which almost invariably lead to a "crossing of the line" such that a Jury will lock the post and thus place one more black mark upon the poster's ability to remain and function. This is deliberate, vindictive, and as far as I am concerned, absolutely derived from RW techniques for disruption, denigration, and elimination of rational discussion. Further, I believe that this manner of posting has grotesquely undermined the stability of this site and may cause many long-term people to abandon it for this issue as well as several others. It is, or rather, was, insidious in its evolution but is now moving ahead as the political season approaches.

Second, and more importantly, this has become an outlet for some of the worst anti-Semitism I have seen in many years. The code-words, the hatred spewing towards established members, the rank dismissal and disgust with which opinions are met rivals any forum with which I have had contact for the 45+ years in which I have been active in Jewish causes. Like pornography, I know it when I see it. The taunting of many to specifically accuse someone of anti-Semitism is an invitation to having a post locked or even Tombstoning and since I have been here for more than ten years, I am not at this time willing to have my posting privileges revoked over this issue here, since it is not a discussion but has metamorphosed into an entity of which I am not proud any longer to be a member. There are many people who agree with me who decline to post during these difficult times in Israel for exactly these reasons - and this is nothing new. I value the Forum for its values during the election seasons and during domestic crises, but will not subscribe to this aspect of its nature and will refrain from posting until such time as I believe that it is constructive to do so.