5 ms·
Israel is not in Europe. Why is it on the list?
by SoupIce 15y ago
Israel is not in Europe. Why is it on the list?
- arethuza 15y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest
- ristretto 15y agoPlease stop using that kitsch abomination known as eurovision for reference. Use UEFA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA
- philwelch 15y agoIt's culturally closer to Europe than to its Muslim neighbors. Israel competes in the Eurovision song contest and in the European soccer confederation.
- dazzawazza 15y agoIf you are going to use that standard then the UK is in North America as it's culturally closer to US/Canada than France/Germany.
- arethuza 15y agoThat is a matter of opinion!
- ristretto 15y agoTrue, that's why the article ommited the UK. (and UK startups are rarely labeled 'european')
- philwelch 15y agoI know British people who don't think the UK is part of Europe. British discourse often refers to "the continent" as something distinct from Britain.
- kierank 15y agoThe reason Israel competes in European football instead of the regional equivalent is to avoid matches such as Israel vs. Syria and Israel vs. Iran.
- iaskwhy 15y agoThey can still play against Germany though.
- marcf 15y agoYes, because of the long-standing occupation of the Palestinian territories, the lack of rights afforded to the Palestinian Arabs living there and the ever growing Israeli settlements in and around these Palestinian communities, Israel isn't very welcomed by its other Arab nations.
- marcf 15y agoExcept when it comes to its apartheid-like policies in the West Bank, but then again formally Apartheid South Africa was long accepted as part of the West too... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_the_apartheid_analogy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_the_apartheid_analog...
- philwelch 15y agoFrom the HN guidelines: Please avoid introducing classic flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say about them.
- nivertech 15y agoGeography is a cultural and political construct. Why Morocco considered East, while Greece West? Geographically Morocco is 2500km to the west from Greece, culturally Morocco is predominantly Muslim, while Greece Christian. Also geographically almost whole Republic of Azerbaijan, parts of Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan are considered in Europe. The Kazakhstan case is funny, considering it's bordering China.