organised chaos

man, i wonder why you ask people to sign for petition in the palestine-israel conflict? the effect, i think, is only to show that the palestinians have sympathy from people around the world and to send a message asking them to continue fighting and retaliating.
it would be better to focus on president bush’s plan for peace between them in 1-year time. i think this is the real deal.
“Give peace a chance!” John Lennon

I have to strongly disagree with your words, and for all our disagreements in the past, we have always agreed to differ, but you are stepping on very thin ice with me here.

President Bush’s plan for peace, you say? The Annapolis talks, you mean. I have already written about that, and I’d rather not go on about it at length here, but can you please illustrate how exactly has the President delivered a promise well without people suffering? Who has been vetoing against all motions that render Israel’s blatant breach of human rights illegal? Who has been Israel’s staunchest ally all this while? Who has been supplying Israel with sophisticated weaponry that are most times used unjustifiably against citizens??? I want to have hope in the talks, but it sounds too much like Oslo Accords: Part 2 to me. How about you tell me why you think its the real deal when Hamas was so very obviously left out of the talks, although they have compromised their position and willingly bowed down to recognising Israel? And Hamas is not all militant; if that were so, they wouldn’t have won the elections in 2006.

Your quote by John Lennon gave me the impression that you think the Palestinians do not want peace, that they want to perpetuate war and violence. And how does sending a word of sympathy to CIVILIANS WHO ARE TRAPPED WITHOUT ADEQUATE FOOD SUPPLIES AND ELECTRICITY AMOUNT TO ASKING THEM TO FIGHT??? Do you know that Gaza was (is?) plunged in darkness because they had no fuel to run their primary power plant for electricity??? That patients in hospitals are relying on GENERATORS? That education has been disrupted, that children have to study by candle light at night, that this is the 21st century and there are still people under occupation? So if I send a word asking Israel to PLEASE EVER SO KINDLY lift their blockades because its an act against humanity, I want violence?

I do not condone violent acts by wayward militants from Palestine against Israeli civilians, nor do I support them. The same goes for suicide bombers. It’s unjustifiable. But it’s not so black and grey. Looking at their living conditions, their status as refugees in their own homeland, their property forcefully taken away from them, their families ripped apart, while their Israeli neighbours live indifferently on hilltops in luxury, you would THINK there are those who SNAP.

I think you think I’m anti-West just because I don’t find as much good in the West as you do, but it’s not that. There are things in the West that appeal to me very much, like freedom of thought and the education system and the people who engage themselves in humanitarian work. But there are many things that I cannot, do not and will not agree to, such as the free lifestyle and deteriorating morals. I hope you respect that.

I’m going to pass over to you some videos about Palestine told from Westerners themselves, including anti-Zionist Jews. If you don’t take my word for all of the above, maybe you’ll take theirs. Try reading Palestine by Joe Sacco. It’s light, in some ways humorous, but it’ll leave an impact on you.

Lastly, a quote on the Palestinians by a Jewish writer on the occupation (since 1948 and counting):
“There has been Anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?”
– Quoted by Nahum Goldmann in Le Paraddoxe Juif (The Jewish Paradox), pp. 121-122.

Man, I’m not with Israelis nor am I against Palestinians.

This is how I look into the situation: The Israelis just want to survive in their own country but all the radical Arab leaders are giving them a hard time. They are making damn sure that Israelis would have to struggle to survive, if they can’t drive them out into the sea and annihilate them, at least not anytime soon. All those leaders, if they really care about their people, should instead opt for a symbiotic relationship with the Israelis. You may say that that would not be possible, but, like Ehud Barak put it, it is only a matter of question of whether they are willing to or not. Which in turn reminds me of another line from John Lennon: War is over, if we want it.

Everybody knows that there is no end in sight for the Arab-Israeli wars. The Annapolis peace agreement is the best shot for both sides have if they really care for their own people. It is not for Hamas to say that the agreement would not bind them and that they remain committed to annihilate the Israelis. A time for change has come.