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John Crane
Durham, NC
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John signed the petition | -
John signed the petition | -
John commented on the article |The cause of the conflict is Israel's continuing theft of Palestinian land, its cleansing of Christians and Muslims from the land, and its imprisonment or killing of anyone who resists the theft. Constructive action is that which encourages or pressures Israel to cease such actions. Politicians have shown no stomach for standing up to AIPAC; the impetus must come from citizens. A global boycott of all Israeli products -- similar to the boycott of South African products as a result of its apartheid regime -- would create economic pressure on Israel to begin abiding by international law. (Given humanity's genetic predilection for tribal loyalty, I don't expect many Israelis to agree with the boycott proposal).
By the way, Charles, attacking a "let's eliminate Israel" project appears to be a straw man argument, since I haven't seen such a position expressed on this blog. -
John commented on the article |
The typical Israeli narrative -- that it was defending itself against attack by Arab armies -- neglects to point out that the Arab armies did not get involved until Israel had already destroyed hundreds of Palestinian villages during five months of ethnic cleansing. Refugees were pouring into neighboring Arab countries and telling of the massacres, rapes, and terror inflicted by the Zionist militia, and the Arab leaders were under pressure to respond.
A telling statistic that illustrates the current situation: in 2007, during which Hamas abided by a unilateral cease fire, no Israeli children were killed by Palestinians; meanwhile, Israeli soldiers and "settlers" killed 60 Palestinian children (www.rememberthesechildren.org)
Another important statistic is the amount of Palestinian land stolen by the Israel government. After all, that is what the conflict is about -- the theft of land from the weak by the powerful. -
John commented on the article |I concur with Gerry that you should read the book before recommending it. In fact, I suggest you read Ilan Pappe's "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" before writing any more about 1948; this would dispel your previous notion that the expulsion of Palestinians was not planned beforehand. The population of Palestine in 1918 was about 10% Jewish; yet, the Zionist objective was to turn it into a "Jewish state." Ben Gurion's writings clearly indicate that his solution was to "transfer" (ie., ethnically cleanse) Arabs from the land.
Israeli historians such as Benny Morris seem to begin with certain assumptions -- that the creation of Israel was a necessary or righteous act -- and they don't allow contradictory facts to change their minds. Acts which would be considered horrific war crimes if committed by another ethnic group become merely the inevitable march of history when committed by the ethnic group of the historian.
Over 50 years ago, Arnold Toynbee wrote that the horror inflicted on the weaker people of Palestine by victims of the Nazi holocaust throws a "sinister light on human nature." So, too, does the inability of an Israeli historian to reach obvious conclusions cast a disparaging light on human nature. -
John commented on the article |
There is an imbalance of power in the Middle East because one country, Israel, has nuclear weapons. As early as 1963, John Kennedy recognized the danger of nuclear proliferation, and demanded that David Ben Gurion, Israel's prime minister, halt Israel's nuclear weapons program. Kennedy threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Israel if his demands were not met. After Kennedy's assassination, his successor, Lyndon Johnson, tripled aid to Israel.
A balance of power in the Middle East would be achieved by removing Israel's nuclear weapons, not by bombing any country in the region that is accused of trying to develop a nuclear deterrent to Israel's military capabilities. -
John commented on the article |A single state -- in which Jews, Muslims and Christians live -- has always been the fair solution, but this solution is incompatible with the Zionist objective of a Jewish state.A truly fair solution would require that Jews give up the racist dream on which Israel was founded.
For Israel's Arab citizens, living in a Jewish state has proved to be much worse than they could have imagined in 1948. Sixty years later, Israel's Arab citizens are prohibited from living in most areas of Israel; in fact, most of them cannot even live in the towns in which they were born, from which they were expelled in 1948. They can't even buy back their own land.
Anyone in the world with a single Jewish grandparent can move to Israel, and even receive a government housing subsidy, but Israel police burst into Palestinian homes and drag out spouses who are accused of being from the nearby West Bank.
The support of Palestinians for a two-state solution -- rather than one state -- is likely based on observations of the current reality of living in a "Jewish state," where laws are so racist that a sea change would be necessary for Arabs to rise even to a level of second class citizenship. If the choice were between a truncated Palestinian state or a single state in which the rights of all citizens were constitutionally protected, I suspect most Palestinians would choose the latter. -
John commented on the article |Eric,
Israel's military archives have been opened for thirty years now, so there is no excuse for clinging to the Zionist creation myths. If you dare to read Ilan Pappe's "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine," you will find ample evidence that Zionist leaders planned to remove the indigenous people of Palestine, Christians and Muslims, to create a Jewish state. The Zionist militias and terrorist groups wiped hundreds of Palestinian villages off the map between December 1947 and May 15, 1948, the day when thirty some Zionist leaders, only one of whom was born in the region, declared the existence of a state of Israel. -
John commented on the article |
Well said, Aref. When I visited Hebron three years ago the market had moved into the street, out of the old city, because the "settlers" -- who are actually armed paramilitary invaders --continually attacked the shop-owners, turning over their tables, beating them, and spitting on them. The invaders had taken over some houses above the market, from which they threw their garbage down on the Palestinians, who -- in a supremely nonviolent response -- strung nets to catch the garbage.
Norman, apparently you don't know that many of the Palestinians who are being brutalized by the Israelis are Christians. Although I met a number of Palestinians, Christians and Muslims, I never heard any of them express hatred of Jews -- probably because all of them know Jews who speak out against the oppression. They do hate the Israeli government and the invading settlers who steal their land and terrorize the indigenous population.
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