What is currently happening between Israel and Hamas?

Answer 1

In order to gain a true perspective of what is happening in Israel, it is possible to subscribe to several Israeli newspapers online. Among more conservative newspapers are "Arutz 7" and "the Jerusalem Post". Among the more liberal news sources are "Haaretz" newspaper and the +972 blog.

Answer 2

Relegion &Cast problrm

Answer from Israel:

Islamic terrorists are Israel's main problem, one which has plagued us for many decades. We recently (2014) had a war in which 4,000 rockets were fired at our civilians by the Islamic Hamas, who cynically conducted war from inside schools, hospitals and UN facilities. In 2006, tens of thousands of rockets were fired at our civilians by the Islamic Hizballah. And today, we're worrying and wondering what to do about the viral spread of the ultra-Islamist ISIS group, with its beheadings and mass killings of non-Islamic people.

Israel is modern and relatively comfortable in a financial sense. If our forced military expenditures were abated through a trustworthy offer of peace from our neighbors and Iran, things could be vastly better, for them as well as for us.

Answer 3

While the above discusses problems that Israel has externally, this does not address the problems that Israel has currently in terms of domestic issues. Like any other country, Israel is imperfect and the different sectors of its population have different views on how to proceed.

Housing and Real Estate: One of the biggest issues in Israel in the last decade has been the meteoric rise in housing prices, which have made it quite difficult for many young Israelis to buy houses and set up a life for themselves and their families. A particular issue that Non-Muslims face in this regard is also that there are a large amount of properties in Israel that are controlled by the Jewish National Fund, which requires that the inhabitants be Jewish. While the Israeli government has a law requiring the JNF to devolve the land to Non-Jews in exchange for land not currently under the control of the JNF, this provides an obstacle to Non-Jews who wish to move out of their historic communities.

Military Issues: Because of Israel's repetitive engagement in wars, there is a strong military culture in Israel. Secular Jews, Druze, and Circassians are all drafted into the army. Large percentages of Bedouins also enlist. However, most ethnic Palestinian Israelis do not join into the military, which creates animosity and a sense that they are disloyal. Also, a large number of Religious Jews seek exemptions from the Israeli Army, which angers Secular Jews even more as they feel that their brethren who would be far more repressed under an Arab government do not fight for their own liberty. Conversely, Religious Jews hold that it is their prayers that give deliverance to the soldiers who fight and that without them, God would not support Israel.

Welfare: Israel has a welfare system that is bound to crash in the upcoming decades since the groups that are net contributors are shrinking as a demographic and the groups that are net recipients are growing as a demographic. There is a lot of debate in Israel as to how to change the welfare system to avoid this eventual economic catastrophe.

Secular-Religious Antagonism: Secular Israelis are increasingly angered by Religious Jews instituting a restrictive form of religious laws in their neighborhoods. In some such neighborhoods like Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, ambulances are stoned on Saturdays, immodestly dressed women are spat on, non-Jews may be kicked out, and male-female segregation on buses has begun. Some Religious Jews decry these acts as well while others claim that modern law is perverse and overly permissive. The rules that they follow are much more in-keeping with Jewish values.

Intra-Jewish Racism: Historically, there used to be discrimination between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim, especially prior to the 1980s. Much of that has faded now, but Ethiopian Jews often feel that they are discriminated against by the dominant Jewish groups.

Racism Against Religious/Ethnic Minorities: There are marked inequalities between Jews and Non-Jews in Israel when it comes to wages, living standards, and imprisonment, even though the groups are politically equal. (This is no different than the situation of Whites and Blacks in the US.) Incidents of bias or hate occur from time to time. The group most directly affected are the Bedouins who are forcibly settled in planned cities that cannot accommodate their nomadic lifestyle.

Immigration Issues: Currently, Israel has a large number of Sudanese and Eritrean refugees within its borders and there is a serious debate as to whether or not they can be allowed to live in Israel long-term and what actions should be taken to resolve the situation.

Answer 3

Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel and the removal of the Jews from the Middle East. Israel only seeks to defend its borders, sometimes quite aggressively.