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December 31, 2008 at 19:28:53
Promoted to Headline (H2) on 12/31/08: by Rabbi Arthur Waskow Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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The alternative for Hamas would have been to multiply the approach of the nonviolent boatloads of people who were in the last month bringing supplies to Gaza, ignoring or violating the Israeli blockade. This approach was building support in much of the world, pointing out the injustice and violence of the blockade. Instead of canceling the cease-fire and aiming rockets once again, Hamas could have turned those boats into a multitude. They might have built an enormous popular pressure in Europe and the US for an end to the blockade and negotiations between Israel, the various powers, and Hamas.
Can Hamas still take this turn toward a powerful nonviolent politics instead of a weak and dead-end military pop-gun? Much harder now. Their knee-jerk response will be to keep up enough military action to suck Israel into a land invasion and terrible carnage. Perhaps that was their intention all along. The result will be lose-lose. It will take profound rethinking to pursue a win-win path. All the sticks in the world are not likely to beat such a response out of Hamas. Carrots might, and that requires strong US support for such a move.
The alternative for the Israeli government would be to say: --- Instead of scornfully rejecting the Saudi/ Arab League proposal for a region-wide peace settlement among Israel, all Arab states, and a viable Palestinian state, we encourage it, and encourage its proponents to press Hamas to join in, while making clear that for us the deal must include only very small symbolic numbers of Palestinian refugees returning to Israel itself, and control of the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. And we encourage, instead of blocking, a Palestinian government of national unity, including Hamas as well as Fatah.
And -- we will negotiate directly with Hamas toward ending the blockade, welcoming European and Egyptian aid and investment, releasing the members of their parliament we are holding in jail, and in exchange, get an end to the rocket attacks by Hamas, a commitment to at least fifty years of "calm" or "truce," and their acceptance of governmental responsibility to control other groups that may try to continue.
Can an Israeli government take such steps? Perhaps now any Israeli government can do this and say that they have not rewarded terrorism, are not negotiating from weakness, have shown they can be bloody. But would they want to? That too would require a deep rethinking, because it would mean a serious commitment to ending the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the blockade of Gaza. Settlers and other opponents of doing this will, though fewer in numbers than those who will support it, be much more intense in their opposition. So the government is likely to be paralyzed, refusing to do what is necessary for peace, resorting to old slogans and the institutional and cultural power of the military to justify paralysis.
So the necessary counterweight for this domestic paralysis will have to come from outside -- that is, the United States. The alternative policy for the US government would be to use the disaster of these reciprocal attacks to call for all the above: To insist on a regional Middle East peace conference, to insist that even a Netanyahu government of Israel and even a Hamas leadership of Gaza or Palestine take part and accept a decent peace, to connect the end of the US occupation of Iraq with serious diplomacy with Iran and a political settlement of the Afghan agony; to move swiftly off the fossil fuel addiction that drives a planetary disaster and drives American policy into corruption or conquest in the Middle Eastern oil pools.
Only the biggest response can meet the need. Half-measures, the normal response of governments facing complex conflict, will not work.
And what might make such a break with automatic US policy possible? The Presidency of an unusual person chanting "change" is not enough. There are only two clusters of power in the US with enough passion about the Middle East to matter. One is Big Oil. The other is the ethnic and religious passion of American Christians, Jews, and Muslims. If sizeable parts of these groups could work together for such a policy, it might be possible.
For many Jews and Muslims, that is even harder now than it was two weeks ago. But for others, perhaps the shock of so much blood can make it possible.
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The people really need to understand the Arabs
Why the people with humanity values does not want to confront the Arabs and say we are tired of your terrorist ideologies and holly wars of “Jihads”. How many more millions of people have to die before the Arab expansions come to an end? Arabs are used Islamic teaching as a tool to take other people’s land. Yes for the people who do believes in the justice. And they are acknowledging the true history of the Arabs and the people’s who got hurt from them. Since they come up with their religions “Islam” and used it to take other people’s land has been ok for them. No for the hypocrites who are just one sided. The Arabs has oil power and money power, they are allowed to kill millions of people and take their lands without to many human lovers like President Carter to speak out the truth about their unjust practice for over 1400 years. Why you never hear President Carters and other human lovers to speak out about our people in Kurdistan and other Iranian lands. Every one has so much humanity when it is coming to the Palestinians. Yes oil lovers, you are showing your true humanity. The majority of the Arabs; are the people do like wars always. They are not looking for peace because of the Islamic teaching and the culture they are brought up. They are making the World unstable because of their terrorist ideologies. The Arabs used to have only Saudi Arabia and part of the Yemen’s land. They are in positions of the land from Morocco to Iraq what else they want. The Arab and Jewish people’s problem can be solved based on truth about the past. When the Arab Imperialists are going to acknowledge the truth? By admitting the crime they did commit against the humanity in the past. The Jewish people are in title of more land than what they have now because they are the original people from the region. The Arab took the land of western Persian Gulf, Iraq, and half of Syria from our Iranian people just like few years ago Saddam Hussein took part of Kirkuk, Mousel, Daylia from our Kurdish people in this modern ages. Now Noori Maliki the Iraqi PM want the land because he is clamming that the land belongs to his father from Basra/Iraq. When they are going to think about peace and stop the war of land in the region. by Jaff Sassani (19 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 138 comments) on Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 at 1:07:17 AM  (0+)
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We are asking the people who care abut the humanity
We are asking the people who care abut the humanity to take some time and imagine without being biased emotionally. If Arabs do poses power like Jews does; what they are going to do to the Jewish people in Israel? If you really care about the humanity then you can see the truth about the unjust of the Arabs. The Arab and Jewish people’s problem can be solved based on truth about the past. When the Arab Imperialists are going to acknowledge the truth? By admitting the crime they did commit against the humanity in the past. The Jewish people are in title of more land than what they have now because they are the original people from the region. Saddam Hussein of Iraq in front of the eye of the World buried 180,000 people from our people the Iranian Kurds in Iraq; not too many people wrote about our atrocities. Why so many people are defending the Palestinian people without thinking about the problem between Arabs and Jewish people. The Arab calling us “Kurds” the children of devils’; they did kill our people, raped the women’s before killing them and took our lands too. The US Government has been in Iraq for five years without giving back one inch of our territories back to us. They are clamming that they do not know about the region. The Arabs oil is doing the tricks around the world. If Jewish was not educated and powerless like us “Kurds” then the Arabs will kill all the males and older women’s and then will marry young females and use them as sex slaves for life. The Arabs in Iraq used code name “Anfal” another name for holly wars of “Jihads” for our eliminations. For your information we are all Muslims. Most of the people got killed was holding Qur’ain too, but did not helped infant children’s. The Arabs does not have any humanity toward others. Yes we all do not like killing but when some one does not let you to have peace for one second, what you are going to do. Let Ask former President Carter with his humanity values. Because he is only see the Palestinians problems and blind to other human tragedies around the World. The Arab took the land of western Persian Gulf, Iraq, and half of Syria from our Iranian people just like few years ago Saddam Hussein took part of Kirkuk, Mousel, Daylia from our Kurdish in this modern ages. Now Noori Maliki the Iraqi PM want the land because he is clamming that the land belongs to his father from Basra/Iraq. We are all seeking justice from the Arabs too. Where are the people who care about humanity of Iranian Kurds in Kurdistan, none Arabs in Darfore, Barbars, and Christens in Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon and other people who are getting hurt by the Arabs around the World? by Jaff Sassani (19 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 138 comments) on Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 at 1:17:46 AM (0+)
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Waskow wallows in the wilderness still
Faced with a policy of war and territorial expansion, what are the alternatives? No, I'm not talking about Israel, I'm tallking about Hamas. Their official policies, their charter, their leaders - all repeat time after time the following major points: 1) They totally reject negotiations for peace 2) Their method of advancement is jihad (aka war) 3) Their goal is imperialist: the acquisition of land by war. Yet wanks like Waskow have some fuzzy dream that you can talk to Hamas and get them to not just stop shooting at civilians, but agree to peace with Israel. Waskow et al, of course, totally ignore history. The parallels are there and are very clear: Japan and Germany at the start of WW2. Both declared their intentions to expand territorially, and both had no qualms about committing war crimes to do it. And the Waskows of the time, of course, blindly forged ahead thinking they could convince the bad guys to lay down their arms and make peace. It didn't happen then and it won't happen now without the same conditions: a self-destructive war in which the survivors of Hamas are forced into unconditional surrender. With their leaders dead and dreams of world domination destroyed, the two countries rebuilt themselves into what? Into respected world leaders and economic powerhouses. Who knows, out of the ashes of Palestinian self-destruction may arise their own new phoenix. by Joe Ben Avraham (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 75 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 at 2:33:07 AM (0+)
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Will the Palestinians Carry On Without Money or Food?
Americans can contribute by gradually reducing oil imports as electricity powers autos and heats homes. If the USA doesn't convert to green energy soon, the Depression will grow until the country stops importing oil. In any case OPEC is dead and unable to support Gaza or Hamas. . by Jason Paz (68 articles, 88 quicklinks, 112 diaries, 1386 comments [97 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 at 6:04:00 AM (0+)
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Tell Obama to Cut Military Waste
Unconditional US funding of the Israeli military has allowed the conflict in the Middle East to grow out of hand. The first step is cutting off military aid and drastically reducing military spending. Sign the petition for a Secure Green Future at Green Change: by David Schwab (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 54 comments [25 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 at 8:57:28 AM (0+)
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Reply: You Can Save $1 Trillion By Eliminating Your Armed Forces
The USA has lost three wars in a row. Hire good soldiers like the Hezbollah. The US Navy has a 50-year supply of spare parts. The USAF is totally useless. The 0.3% of your defense funds to Israel accesses 425,000 combat ready troops your biggest bargain. by Jason Paz (68 articles, 88 quicklinks, 112 diaries, 1386 comments [97 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 at 9:49:11 AM (0+)
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ISLAMIC ATOMIC BOMBS ARE FOR USE
The people in the world should take note of the Arabs imperialist ambitions under the pretext of the Islamic teaching. This is does not have any thing to do with Israel and Jewish people. The Islam wants to arm themselves with the Atomic Bombs for continuations with the holly wars of “Jihads”. They are never going to negotiate with none believers. The Arabs Imperialist leaders of the holly wars of “Jihads” did not negotiate with the Mongols armies. The Turks of Ottoman Imperialist Empire leaders of the holly wars of “Jihads” did not negotiate with the Byzantines Empires armies either. The Atomic Bombs of Iran and Pakistan are going to be used sooner or later. The Arabs are in control of the Islamic world directly or indirectly (Through the spiritual leaders “Sayied families with the Arabs origins”). They are not afraid to use the Atomic Bombs period. They are not going to negotiate for peace. They are never wants peace and they are not going to have one soon. The people in the world do not understand the Arab Imperialist dream of occupying the world under the Islamic teaching. They did conquer two large Empires (Sassanid & Byzantines Empires) in very short time when they did start these holly wars of “Jihads”. The Arabs dreams are to take over the World and kill all the males and older women’s first; then they want to take all the wealth and merry females as a sex slaves for life. That is their dreams to convert the world populations to Islamic religion. After all they are successful with the holly wars of “Jihads”, look at their expansions in 1400 years. They are started with small communities in the Saudi desert; now they are controlling almost two billion people. Again and Again we are warning you people The people in the world should take note of the Arabs imperialist ambitions under the pretext of the Islamic teaching. This is does not have any thing to do with Israel and Jewish people. The people in the world should wake up now to take care of this problem facing humanities in the world. They should demonstrate around the world to force their own Governments to set down in the UN to find the solutions for these big problems facing the humanity. The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) are the source of the terrorist ideologies for Islamic Shi’a and Osama bin laden’s al-Qadah organizations are the leaders of the Sunni terrorist organization around the world. The terrorist problems in our life time are taking the peace away from all of us in the world. The dream of the holly warriors of Islamic “Jihads” does not going to go away by negotiations. Stop blaming the Zionist, Israel and Jewish people; they are not the source of the problems. We Kurds in Kurdistan did not harmed Arab Imperialist, Iranian people from the Aryan lands did not harm the Arab imperialist so what is the difference do they let us to have peace one second in our land of course not. In conclusion to stop the Arab Immoralist aggressions for good; the world need to take action to stop the Arabs dreams. The world has to confront the Arabs dreams before it is too late. From the SKDC We are warning the people in the world about the danger of Atomic Bombs and terrorist around the world. We hope this warning will bring peace to the world. by Jaff Sassani (19 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 138 comments) on Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 at 9:03:52 AM (0+)
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