The U.S. endangers its own well-being by supporting Israel.
Abu Gleg was an elderly Bedouin, father of 30. Eight years ago he donated land for an American international school to build its facilities. Within the walls of that facility, an American curriculum and the noble goals of tolerance and peace were taught to the students. Over the weekend, the benevolent Bedouin and the institution he gave birth to were killed and demolished by Israeli bombers.…
Article comments
126 - Dan(Miller)
Jack D,
Whatever the genesis of Hamas Article 13 may be, it appears to remain a, if not the, primary basis for Hamas' policy against a peaceful settlement with Israel. SO, it seems likely that the beatings will continue until morale improves.
Dan(Miller)
127 - Zedd
Dan Miller
What would a peaceful settlement with Israel look like?
128 - Ruvy
Jihad started long after the occupation began in 1967. Hamas was not formed until 1988 in response to the 20-year Israeli occupation.
Jack, maybe you can slide a dumb crack like that past the folks at BC who don't know history, but given that I personally know refugees from the Arab massacre of Jews in Hebron in 1929, you'll have trouble sliding that shit past me. Google up "Amin el-Husseini" and "Nazi" together, and see the interesting links you find between the Nazis and the Arabs in the Land of Israel, and learn who it really was who insisted that Jews get exterminated in Europe.
Also, you will learn where that pig from Gaza, Amin el-Husseini got his ideas and what they have in common with Hamas today.
For all the rest of you, a bit of what Hamas thinks of you and me - Hamas, in it own words.
Enjoy!
129 - Ruvy
Now then ... if you think I'm such a great guy then perhaps you'll refrain in future from lobbing an ad hominem at me as you once did regarding my old signature photo. I said nothing about it at the same, but for a while it caused me to feel very differently about you.
I'm truly sorry that what I said hurt your feelings so. That was not my intent. Please forgive me.
130 - Dan(Miller)
Zedd,
It could take any number of forms, from the obliteration of Israel to the death of all Palestinians. I would not like to see either, although both seem possible at the moment.
Many large groups seems to have their share of maniacal jerks, but Hamas seems to me to have more than its share. I really do think (perhaps idealistically, but probably not) that were the Palestinians to stop lobbing rockets and suicide bombers, etc. at Israel, to stop bringing rockets and other offensive weapons into the territory, and to devote their efforts to creating (rather than attempting to destroy) a viable economy, a far greater measure of peace than can otherwise be hoped for realistically would break out. It might also help were Egypt, Jordan and some other neighbors to accept Palestinian refugees and encourage them to prosper.
Israel is not going to back down until there are reasonable assurances that her people can live in peace. At least I hope she won't. It is probably a cliche, but I think there is a lot of merit to the notion that there will not be peace until the Palestinians and various other folks decide that they love themselves and their children more than they hate others.
Dan(Miller)
131 - Dan(Miller)
This sort of stuff does not encourage a peaceful resolution:
Of course, if Hamas wanted peace, the Iranian threat to cease supplying weapons to use against Israel in the event of a cease fire would not be a very effective one.Dan(Miller)
132 - Zedd
Dan (M),
Please read #111.
I think we are missing that very point in all of our discussions on these boards (ref #111). It's sorta easy to miss because we assume that Palestine is a country that is only lacking in resources because of bad organization. It is a ghetto or "Bantustan"(google it). It is a place where the "others" have been moved to, to keep them out of the way, so that good Jews can resume their happy guilt free life, in the homeland of the Palestinians.
I would ask, why that is okay and why their humanity doesn't seem to be quite so evident and why their immense anger and frustration seems to be confounding.
Were we Americans moved to a small area, and told what our country would then be, then demonized for fighting back and not accepting a cease fire agreement, while we were still relegated to our dunce seat of a "country", living under curfews and manned boarders, it would be laughably unacceptable.
What am I missing?.... Well other than the fact that they are not European (therefore innately humane and inherently worthy of all of OUR compassion).
133 - Dan(Miller)
Zedd, OK I re-read your post #111. There have been enough posts on this and on related threads about the histories of Palestine and Israel that I see no need to regurgitate them here. I claim no expertise on those subjects, and think it just fine for those who do to continue to have at it, for as long as they wish.
In the meantime, the conflict will continue. Those who desire peace will look for ways to achieve it, and those who don't (like Hamas and Iran, see my comment #131) won't. I find it very difficult to accept that the Palestinians are better off now than they would be were they to recognize that they alone can't win, and that their "allies" such as Iran are the sort of friends whom it would be better to have as enemies.
While enervating, hatred is rarely a useful emotion.
Dan(Miller)
134 - Zedd
Dan (M),
The South African struggle was supported by Gaddafi, Castro and a lot of those who the US considered to be Boogie Men. The US did not support our struggle. It was a just resistance. The US wanted us to wait and behave first. Much like you are suggesting. We were the victims. The US couldn't see our humanity and therefore was not appalled by our situation. Off course now everyone band wagons and tisks tisks at the audacity of apartheid.
I am not sure why you feel that the Palestinians should not accept the support of Iran. Iran supports them. We don't. It's their horror, their lives, their unfulfilled expectations, their loss of a future. Being liked by the US or Europeans is neither here or there.
Europeans decided that they should loose their land to the Jews.
Who are are good guys in this? Who's support should they accept?
135 - Ruvy
I am not sure why you feel that the Palestinians should not accept the support of Iran......Europeans decided that they should lose their land to the Jews.
BULLSHIT! THE ARABS WANTED US JUST AS DEAD AS THE NAZIS DID, AND WANTED US JUST AS GONE AS THE REMAINING EUROPEANS!
The leader of these Arabs for two decades, Amin el-Husseini, the man who inspired the Arab pogrom of Hebron in 1929, the man who mentored Yasir Arafat, openly sided with Hitler, and pressured him to murder Jews off in Europe instead of deporting them here for murder. The name el-Husseini gave Hitler, "Abu Amar", was the name taken by Arafat himself to indicate he would finish what Hitler started - the slaughter of the Jews. El-FataH and the PLO are just secular versions of Hamas, which calls for the extermination of Jews daily, and which went to war against us. Hamas is just the local office of the Moslem Brotherhood, which is where the Gazan pig, el-Husseini, got his ideas in the first place. Today, these Arab bastards - not to mention the Persian prick in Tehran - feed off Nazi ideology like a baby sucks at its mother's tit.
So much for what you know, Zedd.
136 - bliffle
"So Bliffle, do you wear tight jeans and a silk shirt unbuttoned to your navel with a gold chain?"
Trolling, Dave?
137 - Clavos
Oh, stoooop, you two!!
138 - Jet
Great that'll be stuck in my head the rest of the day...
139 - Jacky Snacky
Fuck Israel - fuck that whole part of the world in fact. We need to become a self sustaining society again, defend our own borders and let the morons in the middle east kill each other over religion - eventually when they've killed each other enough a younger generation will realize there are no magic men in the sky to fight for and about anymore and this whole time this has a ll been about land, resources and control. There are no "chosen people" and the fact that Israel claims to be is as evil to me as Hitler claiming white superiority. Any group that thinks they have carte blanche to rule anything by divine rite are dangerous fanatics even if it is all just a front for a fuel struggle. All you morons can take sides like you think it's Israel or Saudi Arabia's fault what is happening to us. We are being conditioned with fear to look everywhere but at the most terrifying problems that lie in our own weakness and shattered infrastructure - and look where it got us. Screwed hard by our own financial institutions - I hate to say it but Bernie Madoff did a lot more damage to the economy than 9-11 did. We have become a blind, fat, weak lot of sheep happy to be led to slaughter as long as there is a Taco Bell and a K-Mart on the way. We don't make/manufacture anything anymore and we certainly don't contribute to the rest of the world as much as we live off it's cheap labor. Our country is so screwed up that as a nation we all just acted as if we were college kids on Spring break in Vegas for the first time with our very first credit card for the last 8 years while we were at WAR! We didn't pay attention to what was going on hear because we were too caught up in what we "needed" to do Wake the fuck up people - we all got hit with a bait and switch! - fuck the middle east - fix your own side of the street before worrying about them.
140 - Michael S
Israel is not the only democracy in the middleeast.You forgot to mention Lebanon which is also a democracy under siege from arab extremists.Israel has come to the defense of Lebanon on several occassions.
141 - Ghost Rider
I know that I lived in America for most of my life. I was in the US Army for 7 years and lived a lot of that time in Europe. I have no idea 'why' we the USA back Israel all the time... However, this article really helped me to understand a lot! Crooked politicians and Greed is what make the world a bad place!
I am a strong believer of building up our country from the inside out. Like Hitler did if you'll excuse my analogy. Fix the economy, work on border issues, fix our roads, and build up our military personnel.
But hey! Who the heck am I........... "M" PA/USA