I've been keeping a very close eye on the current situation(s), hell, last week when Israel invaded Gaza I actually stopped watching College Football for the night
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Hamas will continue to provoke Israel to kill civilians in a hope to infuriate the Muslim world to declare war on Israel, after all, Israel' destruction is Hamas' goal, not an independent Palestinian state.
I agree.
I personally think Israel really screwed up when they neutralized the PLO a couple years ago.
That's a good point.
There is nothing wrong with saying, "Hey Israel, we're allies but, come on dude, this isn't cool!"The problem is that Israel doesn't believe it has any friends, so the US doesn't have the influence over Israel that many believe it does. Case in point: the world was largely silent during the bombings of Israel by Hamas, and only condemned that (along with Israel) once Israel began to bomb Gaza
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One huge problem, implied by your title, is that "mainstream" political discourse in this country doesn't really allow for saying "what Israel is doing is wrong."
I need to go back and catch up on Israel's history from its creation to 1967.
One huge problem, implied by your title, is that "mainstream" political discourse in this country doesn't really allow for saying "what Israel is doing is wrong."
Heh. In the circles I run in, saying "Maybe Hamas bears some of the blame, and Israelis have a right to live" is downright heretical. I was worried about being attacked for not following the "Israel-bad; Palestine-good" party line. ;-) But I firmly believe, as the author of the above column stated, that "both the chicken and egg have lost their minds."
I need to go back and catch up on Israel's history from its creation to 1967.Very briefly
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Actually, the rocket fire from Gaza has increased in frequency and in range since the Israeli assault began. I believe the total number of Israelis killed by Hamas rockets over the previous year was 3. That doesn't change the fact that the residents of Sderot have been living in terror and spending far too much time in bomb shelters, but it does make the current action in Gaza look even more disproportionate.
Given how messy the situation is, it's amazing how many people take a one-sided view of it. You're right that in one circle you'll get your head bitten off for criticizing the Palestinians, and in another you'll get the same response for criticizing Israel. How are we ever going to fix this if we aren't allowed to acknowledge that there might possibly be more than one point of view?
How are we ever going to fix this if we aren't allowed to acknowledge that there might possibly be more than one point of view?
Yes. I agree with Amnesty International's Secretary General:
"It is time to stop playing politics with people's lives and suffering," said Irene Khan before her departure for Israel. "The international community must act now to end the human rights violations against both Palestinian and Israeli civilians. Any solution for this crisis must have human rights at its heart."
I think we start with recognizing all human life as having intrinsic worth, and condemning every instance of civilians being targeted for violence, whether perpetrated by Palestine or Israel.
Ultimately, this problem can only be solved by Israelis and Palestinians. But I think there are things the international community can do to help.
First and foremost, we can try to understand why they're doing what they do. For example, Israel is in a siege mentality. The residents of Sderot and the surrounding areas and the Israeli government
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What gives me the most hope is the stories about people reaching across the conflict to see each other as human beings. I've heard the Israeli half of this blog http://gaza-sderot.blogspot.com/ interviewed on at least 2 public radio programs in the last week, and there was another story about a group that was posting a 2 minute video from Gaza and from Sderot every day for a month, and several months ago I heard a story about an organization made up of former combatants from both sides who are now working for peace. All these things are so small by themselves, but it just seems like it's the only way to get to a lasting solution.
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I agree.
I personally think Israel really screwed up when they neutralized the PLO a couple years ago.
That's a good point.
There is nothing wrong with saying, "Hey Israel, we're allies but, come on dude, this isn't cool!"The problem is that Israel doesn't believe it has any friends, so the US doesn't have the influence over Israel that many believe it does. Case in point: the world was largely silent during the bombings of Israel by Hamas, and only condemned that (along with Israel) once Israel began to bomb Gaza ( ... )
Reply
I need to go back and catch up on Israel's history from its creation to 1967.
Reply
Heh. In the circles I run in, saying "Maybe Hamas bears some of the blame, and Israelis have a right to live" is downright heretical. I was worried about being attacked for not following the "Israel-bad; Palestine-good" party line. ;-) But I firmly believe, as the author of the above column stated, that "both the chicken and egg have lost their minds."
I need to go back and catch up on Israel's history from its creation to 1967.Very briefly ( ... )
Reply
Actually, I think I got some of this wrong (or I misunderstood what I heard on C-Span today.)
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Given how messy the situation is, it's amazing how many people take a one-sided view of it. You're right that in one circle you'll get your head bitten off for criticizing the Palestinians, and in another you'll get the same response for criticizing Israel. How are we ever going to fix this if we aren't allowed to acknowledge that there might possibly be more than one point of view?
Reply
Yes. I agree with Amnesty International's Secretary General:
"It is time to stop playing politics with people's lives and suffering," said Irene Khan before her departure for Israel. "The international community must act now to end the human rights violations against both Palestinian and Israeli civilians. Any solution for this crisis must have human rights at its heart."
I think we start with recognizing all human life as having intrinsic worth, and condemning every instance of civilians being targeted for violence, whether perpetrated by Palestine or Israel.
Ultimately, this problem can only be solved by Israelis and Palestinians. But I think there are things the international community can do to help.
First and foremost, we can try to understand why they're doing what they do. For example, Israel is in a siege mentality. The residents of Sderot and the surrounding areas and the Israeli government ( ... )
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