Doggy trouble in the Holy Land

[wicked_danu]

"Others had called and just barked into the phone, laughing and shouting: "I'm Charlie, come and get me."

Some journalists living in Jerusalem's Abu Tor mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhood lost their dog, Charlie

Comments

[madali]

See, its easy to simplify matters, and basically say, "why cant they just get aalong? :( :(", but the situation is really much more complex than that. Mutual distaste will slowly fade away once the political situation is resolved. Until then, most hate, from both side, is understood, and frankly, in a lot of situation, justified.

[wicked_danu]

It's easy to say it and do it, if only the leaders stop mongering hate by the dozen. It's all their propaganda that's done the damage. They can't take their words back and they won't talk peace, so the only option left is for the people to make peace among themselves.

I don't understand the hate. I don't think it's justified at all. Suicide bombings are not justified. Killing over a thousand civlians for a couple of soldiers is not justified. Taking a human life is never justified, no matter how much of a monster you think the person is.

"Once the political situation is resolved."
Not much chance of that happening soon.

[madali]

We're not talking about things like physical attacks, but the distate that comes from "moderates", not the fundementalists. The fundementalists are fucked up anyway, no use arguing them.

But if the average Arab or Jew does not like or trust the other person, then how is that surprising?

Leaders are made of people, and voted in the office by the people for both states. Neither are a dictatorship. Israel's politicians are voted in by the office, and Palestanian politicians the same. Most of the leader's actions are defined by the desires of the people.

The Israel/Palestine situation is extremely complicated, because of clash of religions, clash of cultures (remember, Israeli Jews are not middle eastern culture, but heavily influenced by western culture), and most importantly, meddling and interests of other parties. The situation CAN be resolved, and a huge step will be taken in the right direction, once we get a creation of a two-state nation.

[wicked_danu]

It's a little surprising to me because these people just refuse to stop bickering over their differences. Because it's not human nature to do that, or at least I believe so.
Sometimes, the two sides work WITH each other or for the other one's benefit [like when the parents of a Palestinian child killed by Israeli soldiers donated his organs to an Israeli hospital, saying that "Israeli children are like our children."] - amazingly, that's what people find surprising!

Of course, I'm not denying that the situation is complicated, it's not simple at all because it's not just about the religion of the residents of the region. The creation of a two-state nation seems like a lost cause right now. Personally, I would vote for a bi-national state that allows both Jews and Arabs to share the land, so nobody gets full control of it.. but neither am I a Palestinian Arab nor a Jew, so I have no say in it.

[madali]

In all honestly bi-national state would be a mess. I mean, look at Palestine, they can barely handle two parties in the country (Fatah VS Hamas), and both are trying to get a grip on the country. Now add a Jews to the mix, and suddenly you have paranoid Jews who think the whole world is out to get them, fundementalist Arabs who want the power, and behind them would be USA trying to back up Jewish politicians and countries like Iran trying to back up Iran-freindly parties, and countries like Saudi would even have their own interest.

Welcome to a huge mess.

[wicked_danu]

No no, I meant a bi-national state of educated people. Then again, that's pretty impossible.

I just don't get what the hell is so important about that strip of land that everyone craves so much. Really, would they be fighting over it so much if it were a strip in say, Yemen?

[madali]

Its not the issue of land. Its the issue of home. Home can always be sacred.