Israel fully withdrew from Gaza

Every Jew was removed from Gaza--including dead Jews buried in cemeteries there.

Palestinians in Gaza, who elected Hamas, want an apartheid, Jew-free state, and they were given their wish. (No one begrudges them this--it's the "bigotry of low expectations.")

Israel's withdrawal, instead of leading to peace, brought daily rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. Are they supposed to react to these deadly acts of war with Quaker pacifism?

The "occupation" of Gaza in the article's title must refer to the current cruel occupation by Hamas.

by Edward Olshaker (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 10 comments) on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 1:53:25 PM
 

Wow, Talk About Turning Reality on its Head

Hmmm. This is kind of like saying the Nazis withdrew from the Warsaw Ghetto, so blame those evil Jewish extremists for all the rubble, disease and squalor that currently exists. Nevermind the ring of steel surrounding the Ghetto and the ongoing raids, assassinations and artillery strikes that terrify the inhabitants daily. That has nothing to do with anything.

By the way, reports are coming in that the IDF is planning to launch a punishing assault on Gaza soon. That will certainly make things better. Where there is hatred sow more hatred, the current sophist creed of destruction.

But the correct credo is "where there is hatred sow love", for beneath all the ugliness, we are all still brothers and sisters. Watching the current state of affairs in Palestine is like watching a man whose left arm keeps attacking his right arm, and vice-versa, with both arms just barely hanging to his shoulders by a few tendons at this point. Will final victory result in one arm severing the other arm, and then attempting to pound his chest, with the one arm dangling and unable to lift itself anymore?

by Mac McKinney (41 articles, 56 quicklinks, 127 diaries, 899 comments) on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 2:35:12 PM
 

Gaza

Stop the attacks, return the kidnapped IDF soldier and moderate like Abbas, then your bad scene will end. The hate filled Palestinians will achieve their ends by negotiation not threatening genocide. Comparing the situation to the Warsaw Ghetto is highly unbalanced. The Jews never threatened to destroy the German people.

by philip rosen (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 87 comments) on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 10:21:51 PM
 

Peace? Only with Justice

Sorry my friend, but there will be no peace until there is justice. Without that, there will always be struggle and bloodshed. Until the core issue of what happened in 1948 and afterwards is resolved somehow, nothing will change, except superficially.

I can dig out quotes by Zionists, and I refer to people who called themselves Zionists, not whom I call Zionists, who talked about annihilating the Palestinians when they began the ethnic cleansing in 1948. And there were massacres. And hatred soon grew endemic on both sides. This is a profound vicious cycle.

But not all Palestinians are consumed by hatred. Many see beyond that, and many realize that there are plenty of Jews that sympathize with them. But they also know there is a hardcore Right-wing movement in Israel that has gone over to the dark side, with nothing but ill intent toward them.

Much of this hateful rhetoric, on both sides, would disappear over time if Israel, which holds the most Trump cards, were to boldly say to Hamas, let us talk, let us really, really talk to our enemy, and listen to their grievances, because, actually, Hamas has more in common with Israelis than the rather puerile Abbas has. Do not Israelis respect those Jews who will compromise nothing and face death for the sake of their cause? Well, does not Hamas have those same characteristics for their cause? Do you really think the sycophantic Abbas has the support of the Palestinian people anymore? Ignoring Hamas is a big mistake. 

And have you ever been in a bad fight with a friend or relative where horrible things are said, even threats made. "I'll kill you, you SOB!" And then when peace is made all of that just kind of dissolves. So why dwell on such impermanent things. Just move ahead toward genuine peace talks.

Israel is holding some 10,000 Palestinian prisoners. Should Israel return some of them if the Palestinians return the one? Or is this just a one way street?

The IDF and Mossad regularly gun down or blow up Palestinians in raids or assassinations and air assaults. So there is an obvious motive for miltants to fire off rockets in retaliation, although this of course perpetuates the vicious cycle, corroding both sides' characters and souls, making both sides less and less human over time.

Regarding the Warsaw Ghetto, that was a hypothetical analogy, not meant to be historically accurate. However I will say that in Hitler's delusional mind, he considered the Jews to be an existential threat to Germany. It didn't matter what the reality was. The Jews were the designated scapegoat.

How much are the Palestinians scapegoats in the minds of many Israelis right now?

by Mac McKinney (41 articles, 56 quicklinks, 127 diaries, 899 comments) on Friday, November 30, 2007 at 12:08:30 AM