This war will continue until Hamas changes it's goals. The problem is both the Israelis and Palestinians claim they are entitled to the land. The tactics used by Hamas will never achieve those ends. There is no accountability for their rocket attacks and more importantly what does Hamas expect thousands of rocket attacks will achieve? The proportionality of Israel's offensive in Gaza is irrelevant. Answer this, what is the objective of firing rockets at Israeli citizens? Does Hamas think that the rockets will allow them to take back their land? I could care who was there first, it doesn't matter, both groups live there now. The reason Israel's methods are more understandable and acceptable is because they have the power of stopping whenver they want since they have control over their citizens and armed forces. If Hamas were to stop firing rockets, some of their radical groups would continue to kill Israelis by whatever means possible. Hamas and other terrorist organizations provide no accountability for their actions because most of the time those guilty for firing rockets are unknown.

Alum says: The proportionality of Israel's offensive in Gaza is irrelevant. From this statement, it seems that you have little sympathy for the people of Gaza. For the record, I believe in a Jewish homeland. I know too much about the senseless persecution of Jews in the world and throughout history. I want Israel to exist but I WILL question its actions. I will hold it to a higher standard. Because honestly, I don't see how killing hundreds of people Israelis will one day (hopefully peacefully) coexist with is a a sound strategy. The more suffering there is Gaza, the stronger is Hamas' raison d'etre. Furthermore, I feel that I have a stake in what goes on there...that the actions of the Israeli government represent the diaspora as well. Though I want a Jewish state, I do not want it at the expense of other people's lives. Not only is what is happening in Gaza sickening, it is not endearing Israel to the international community. It gains NOTHING by launching this kind of attack. Especially not the security of its inhabitants. The more Palestinian civilians die the angrier and more desperate they will be become (understandably), creating an ideal climate fro recruiting more Hamas members.

[QUOTE id="b3648c9b-c636-4ba6-9e55-f82d045e6daf"]Jews and Muslims are of all races so racism is the wrong word. Muslims are taught that the non-believer is evil and should be subjugated especially the Jewish non-believer. That's not racism, that's worse.[/QUOTE] The Koran is a complex text full of contradictions and it's interpretation varies enormously. Passages that could be interpreted as intolerant exist alongside others that preach respect and tolerance. In particular, it should be known that it preaches tolerance towards Jews and Christians, as people who believe in the same god. Iran for instance is still home to a substantial Jewish community which is afforded representation in government and exempt from alcohol bans. Meanwhile, the Bahaii community has not been afforded such kind treatment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%ADs). Some people have chosen to interpret a text to perpetrate crimes - that is a choice they have made. This faction of Muslims should not discredit Islam as it can also be a peaceful religion. Let us not forget that we can find examples of atrocities committed in the name of any religion/ideology. Should we take away religion, those individuals bent on wreaking havoc and causing suffering would find some other means of justifying their actions. To whoever said that the situation is simple - don't kid yourselves. For everything you think you know, you will find out something that challenges your perspective. I am careful when discussing this matter because I don't know everything there is to know about it - not even close. So I keep an open mind. I have that luxury as no one I am close to has been personally affected by this war. Had I lost a loved one or witnessed their suffering, I know that it would be far more difficult to keep my mind and heart open. Last thoughts: there are people on both sides of this crisis that are working towards peaceful coexistence (i.e. the 500+ Israeli soldiers that have refused to serve in the occupation http://www.seruv.org.il/defaulteng.asp or the collaborative conservation efforts of Israeli, Palestinian and Jordinian environmentalists http://www.foeme.org/index.php) but these groups don't get loads of airtime. Not so newsworthy to big networks. I hope we can build some bridges here at penn. I am still optimistic. Eventually, we will learn to see our common humanity.

So today a JEWISH person was handing out a flyer that addressed the many myths that the US media has been repeatedly brainwashing its people with. Some of the main ones are listed verbatim below (which are based on UN and other NGO reports) Myth #1: Israel is a law- abiding nation seeking to live in peace with its neighbors. The truth: Israel is in violation of over 60 UN Resolutions, which call for the return of refugees, withdrawal of the settlers, dismantling of the wall, and a lifting of the siege on Gaza. Myth #2: Israel has for many years suffered terribly from thousands of missiles fired from N. Gaza. The truth: The first homemade Qassam missile was fired across the Israeli border in October 2001; the first fatality occurred in March 2007. Up to November 2008, 13 Israelis were killed by Qassam rockets. By contrast, between September 2000 and the end of November 2008 nearly 5000 Palestinians were killed, more than half of them in Gaza. The rockets have in the last year reached more distant targets, but in military terms they are ineffectual, compared to the fire-power of the US F-16s, Apache helicopter gunships, Merkava tanks and naval gunships which Israel is equipped. Myth #3: Hamas broke the recent ceasefire, prompting Israel's bombardment and invasion of Gaza. The Truth: In November 2008, during the six-month ceasefire, the Israeli army killed 14 Palestinians and tightened the siege on Gaza even more. In retaliation, Qassam rockets were fired on Negev, killing no one. Israeli spokesmen have freely admitted that the assaults on Gaza were planned eight months ago - before the ceasefire. They clearly went into the ceasefire agreement without the intention of respecting it. Myth # 4: Israel always tries to minimize civilian casualties - it is targeting only Hamas. The Truth: Israel has the most technically advanced weaponry in the world, with the exception of the US. Its computerized drone planes send back extremely detailed information about every square foot of the Gaza Strip. And yet hundreds of civilians have been killed and wounded, with the one power plant, ambulances, schools, and hospitals being hit. Myth #5: Israel has the welfare of the people of Gaza at heart. The Truth: Since June 2007 Israel has sealed off the Gaza Strip from the outside world, so that it is almost impossible to get in or out, or to import or export goods. Patients used to be able to leave Gaza to seek medical treatment elsewhere, but in the last year Israel has denied permits to most patients and dozens have died. Myth #6: People who criticize Israel are anti-Semitic. The Truth: To be anti-Semitic is to be racist towards Jews. But many Jews, and even Israels, are highly critical of Israel's policies. The policies of ethnic cleansing and seizure of land are rooted in Zionism, or the belief that Jews have exclusive rights to Palestine. To be anti-Zionist is to oppose this ideology and these policies. But Israel uses the anti-Semitism argument to intimidate people into silence.

I am an American Jew and consider myself a fair person. The situation in Palestine certainly seems very dire and very deserving of aid and assistance. But no one other than the Jews seems to take notice of the fact that there is an awful lot of anti-Semitism that comes out of the Islamic side of the story. And it's not the kind any Jew wants to hear. It's the old protean "we are going to exterminate you" kind of sentiment. Given our history with the Nazis and other similar monsters, what kind of response is appropriate or ought to be expected? Is there a moral Islamic voice that is not being heard (perhaps the press is at fault here)? Of so, we really ought to hear it. And hear it now.

H writes that The Koran is a complex text full of contradictions and it's interpretation varies enormously. Passages that could be interpreted as intolerant exist alongside others that preach respect and tolerance. He also writes that Iran for instance is still home to a substantial Jewish community which is afforded representation in government and exempt from alcohol bans. Lets examine two of the most famous contradictions in the Koran both of which are widely quoted by apologists of Islam. The first is: "whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men..." The first part of that sentence is generally left out which is "For this reason did We prescribe to the children of Israel that:" In order to convince Jews to become Muslims, Muhammad stated that Allah and the God of the Jews were one and the same. This created a problem when Islamic commands to murder the infidel conflicted with the Biblical command, "Thou shalt not murder". According to the Jewish Mishna [Sanhedrin 37a] whoever destroys one life is regarded by the Torah as if he has destroyed a whole world; and whoever saves one life, is regarded as if he has saved a whole world. The Koran explained that Allah said this because of two brothers, one of whom killed the other and then regretted it. The Koran goes on to say that this rule doesn't apply to those who make mischief and acted extravagantly in the land, i.e. those who disobey Islam and that the Jews were guilty of this. The Koran explains: For this reason did We prescribe to the children of Israel that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men; and certainly Our apostles came to them with clear arguments, but even after that many of them certainly act extravagantly in the land. (Koran 5:32). This sentence would make a Judo master proud. Notice how the phrase "whoever saves one life, is regarded as if he has saved a whole world" has become "whoever slays a soul it is as if he slew all men" and the Jews are accused of having acted in this way. The next sentence in the Koran is deliberately omitted by apologists for Islam and is (Koran 5:33): The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement. So the sentence of tolerance that so many Moslems quote is in the Koran in order to justify imprisonment, torture and murder of the infidel. Lets examine another quote: "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error (Koran 2:256)" At first glance this quote is in blatant contradiction to quotes in the same chapter such as [Koran 9.29] Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection. It also contradicts a command by Muhammad Ã?Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.Ã? (Bukhari, vol. 9, book 84, number 57.) How can we understand this apparent contradiction? These quotes make sense if the statement that there is no compulsion in religion refers to people who are already in a state of subjection. They are not to be compelled to convert. If they were forced to convert then they wouldn't be paying the special jizya taxes that infidels had to pay that enriched Islamic coffers. When the Islamic revolution came to power in Iran thousands of Jews fled for their lives. It was not until a decree of Khomeini that they were protected Dhimmis that their situation improved. Dhimmis face many discriminatory provisions toward non-Muslims and our still vulnerable. Habib Elghanian, the honorary leader of the Jewish community, was arrested on charges of "corruption", "contacts with Israel and Zionism", "friendship with the enemies of God", "warring with God and his emissaries", and "economic imperialism". He was tried by an Islamic revolutionary tribunal, sentenced to death, and executed on May 8. At least 13 Jews have been executed in Iran since the Islamic revolution, most of them for their connections to Israel. For example, in May 1998, Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kadkhodah-Zadeh was hanged in prison without a public charge or legal proceeding, apparently for assisting Jews to emigrate.[

Jews and Muslims are of all races so racism is the wrong word. Muslims are taught that the non-believer is evil and should be subjugated especially the Jewish non-believer. That's not racism, that's worse.

The only thing Ali is correct about is the simplicity of the situation. Arabs invaded Byzantine occupied Israel and ruined it the way they ruined the areas where the Israelis lived. The Jews returned from exile made the desert bloom and then neighboring Arabs immigrated and yelled out with the Jews. They did more than yell they attempted to violently drive out the Jews. During World War II the British were afraid the Arabs would join the Nazis and so bowed to Arab demands to block Jews fleeing Hitler from escaping to Palestine. Then in 1948 the Arab state surrounding Israel decided to destroy Israel and massacre every living being in it and warned the Arabs living there to get out for their own safety with the promise that after victory they could return and have not only their homes but the homes of the Jews. Well it didn't work out that way because Arabs even when brainwashed with Jihad ideology are cowards at heart and lousy fighters. So now they make up stories about colonial oppression and being evicted from their land a land that belonged to the Jews long before any Muslim pillaged there.

[QUOTE id="120a2215-0e43-4545-a2de-96098e6f9b6d"]If you want love to come to Gaza convince your Islamic jihadi brothers to stop firing rockets at Israeli children.[/QUOTE] There's plenty of Jihad going on today. Christians have been executed by Jihadis in Iraq as recently as the last year and are constantly being persecuted in Gaza and the Fatah control areas as we speak. Don't give me this baloney about hundreds of years ago. The attack on Mumbai happened just a short time ago. In fact some of my friends were killed. Two Hindus and an American and an Israeli. So don't give me that nonsense about hundreds of years ago. Jihad also has been carried out by Sunnis against Shiites and vice versa. The most horrific and gruesome attacks are done in the name of Jihad. Jihad is a global menace, even more today than hundreds of years ago. Iran is about to mass produce nuclear weapons and when that happens the millions of Hindus murdered by Muslims will be nothing.

[QUOTE id="3b834ce8-7a4f-4aca-9c7f-ed78f26b0ebc"] You are all Habibi...even those that know they want to open their eyes, but you are really afraid to see, it is okay...We have hope. "Lights will Guide you Home..."[/QUOTE] ---- "Talib Kweli Get by (Remix) Lyrics: [Talib Kweli] Yeah, Kweli Ye-ye-ye-ye-ye yeah get back Classic Brooklyn, let's go We sell crack to our own, nigga I'm back in the zone My passionate poems got the feds tappin my phones It's like Timothy McVeigh, they say I'm actin alone I got a whole team that'll put a gat to your dome To get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by Yo this remix is hot, we only dealin with the live hip hop Yo get by, get back nigga (Roc) [Jay-Z] Just to get by Nigga I sold coke, nigga I pushed lah Carried a fo'five Claimed I was ready to die Promised never to cry Held it all inside Reality was too much to take so I Kept my mind fly Slimmed for most of mine Soon as I closed my eyes Then I woke up behind Nigga either I throw it up, these nines Or blow up with rhymes The best flow of mines is like blow up on lines of coke up And your folks think Hov' just wrote stuff to rhyme Nah, I'ma poster for what happened seein your moms Doin five dollars worth to work just to get a dime So pardon my disposition Why should I listen to a system that never listened to me? Picture me working McDonald's (uh uh) I'd rather pull a mac on you Sorry Ms. Jackson but I'm packin [Hook: Talib Kweli + background singers] This morning I woke up Feelin brand new and I, I jumped up Feelin my highs and my lows In my soul, and my goals Just to stop smoking and stop drinkin But I been thinkin I got my reasons Just to get by, just to get by Just to get (by), just to get (everybody get your hands in the sky, it go) [background singers] bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dah Bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah [Talib Kweli] Just to get by, just to get by Just to get by (...hands in the sky, it go) [background singers] bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dah bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah [Talib Kweli] Just to get by, just to get by (Talib Kweli) Just to get by We keep it gangsta, stay 'fo shizzle', 'fo sheezy' To set the tide to the violence on the TV during the war Killin each other is easy, there's war and liquor for fallen niggas Believe me, it's ghetto love, I bet you seen it all befo' Just to get by, my people we get fly My people we get high, fillin cigars with the lah Nigga come on, even Jesus was stoned before receivin the throne I said to rest in peace and leave us alone ... [Hook: Talib Kweli + background singers] This morning I woke up Feelin brand new and I, I jumped up Feelin my highs and my lows In my soul, and my goals Just to stop smoking and stop drinkin But I been thinkin I got my reasons Just to get (get), just to get (get) Just to get (get), just to get (get buh buh buh bye bye) [background singers repeat in the background] bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah dah bah dah bah dah, bah dah bah daaah [Talib Kweli] Some people try to be fly They fake and they lie They snakes'll see the hate in their eyes Look at the sky to survive People try to get by Fightin force, slice of the pie Tryin to eat and be high How you know you really alive if you don't reach for the sky? Your eyes keep on the prize What you seek and you'll find Who's the realest niggas? that we let people decide Who keepin it live? Brooklyn got the key to the ride, c'mon Some people try to be fly They fake and they lie They snakes'll see the hate in their eyes Look at the sky to survive People try to get by Fightin force, slice of the pie Tryin to eat and be high How you know you really alive if you don't reach for the sky? Your eyes keep on the prize What you seek and you'll find ... Lyrics: Get by (Remix), Talib Kweli [end]" http://www.mp3lyrics.org/t/talib-kweli/get-by-remix/

[QUOTE id="d8415f38-37a9-4c51-b582-934aeb951c96"]If hamas is not a terrorist organization, then we could conclude that Osama bin laden is a saint.[/QUOTE] "We" as humans have no right to "conclude" who is and is not a saint but we can assume things and we can have them come back to haunt us when reality slaps us in the face but still, we have the right to an opinion, that is a freedom and unalienable right...No one can take that away from you unless you are in Palestine or other oppresses and suppressed nations that are being run by men who think that they have the right to "conclude" things.

[QUOTE id="5d7fc8fe-aa18-4982-83fb-749172a99eae"]Israel=Terrorist State maybe this too? [/QUOTE] Yeah, you're right, that's important to say as well.

[QUOTE id="3b834ce8-7a4f-4aca-9c7f-ed78f26b0ebc"]I am not sure what I exactly I can impart or say to show how much being a part of the Silent March for Gaza Civilians and Palestine meant to me. I thank Dara who despite being young has such passion that inspired me to make my dad drive me down from Lansdale, then take a subway from Olney, transfer from City Hall...power walk from 34th and Market to 34th and Walnut to meet the Marchers whom I had promised Palestinian flags so that people would never confuse who we are standing with silently in sober and peaceful protest. I am a peace and love, soul and romance, make love not hate person. I am not stone, I am not gold, I am a human and I am me. I try to speak for what I believe and this is something I could never ever keep quiet about...I am sorry to all those Israeli supporters that you can not see that I am feeling so much pain and solidarity with my human brothers and sisters of all ages in Gaza that when I was walking from 34th and Market to Walnut, I felt such a great thirst for a couple of drops of water, mind you...there were beautiful flurries coming down, I did not stop. My brain screamed Stop...you will fall. My heart comforted me... YOU ARE ALIVE, No 2000 pound bomb about to fall on you, YOU ARE ALIVE and Please Don't STOP... ...You will find peace Alone or with all who were already present long before I am sorry I was late but I am one girl, two legs, and two hands, feeling the weight of the world but you made me see... I am NEVER alone. Shukria, Shukran, Thank You, Komawo, Arigatou, A sheynem dank, Xie Xie, Ho je, Tashakkur, Dank u, Danke, and all the variations that I can not type here in this box. You are all Habibi...even those that know they want to open their eyes, but you are really afraid to see, it is okay...We have hope. "Lights will Guide you Home..."[/QUOTE] Wow, thank you. Your experience is moving. Please keep sharing.

One of the arguments made above was that Israel should not be a Jewish state so that rockets won't be fired. During the British Mandate the area was supposed to be a Jewish National Home where Jews and Muslims coexisted peacefully. After Arabs kept attacking Jewish communities the British concluded that the only chance of peace was the existence of two separate states. The Jewish National Home was chopped up twice. The first time 3/4 of it was cut out to create the state of Jordan and the second time more of it was cut out and given to the Arabs. Of course the Arabs than united to annihilate what was left of tiny Israel. Yet they put on this bleeding heart act of caring for the poor Palestinians. Where is their concern for the Jews? Why can't Jews live in Gaza or in the areas controlled by Fatah. Why did the Israelis have to evacuate Jewish cemetaries from Gaza? It was because the hatred of Jews runs so deep that they knew that those cemetaries would be desecrated the way other Jewish cemetaries that had fallen into Arab hands have been desecrated. The fighting in the Middle East is not about compassion for the poor Palestinians, it's about hatred of the Jew a hatred taught in the Koran because the Jews rejected the malignant teachings of Islam.

It saddens me to see how appallingly politically correct my alma mater has become. Fact: The Muslim religion represents oppression and slavery (Islam, after all, means submission), which is categorically opposed to Western democratic values. Therefore, defending it is a show of support for the disintegration of our civilization.

[QUOTE id="120a2215-0e43-4545-a2de-96098e6f9b6d"]If you want love to come to Gaza convince your Islamic jihadi brothers to stop firing rockets at Israeli children.[/QUOTE] Rhetoric. Palestine will stop bombing Israel when they love their own children more than they hate Israelis. Truth courtesy of Golda Meir.

[QUOTE id="c3c9e98a-e370-409f-84a2-c26b2aed16d9"]I think Palestine is a pretty cool guy. Eh targets hsi own people and doesn't afraid of anything.[/QUOTE] "That which shall not be named by rules 1 and 2" passed from complications due to cancer last year. Sorry you didn't get the news.

[QUOTE id="120a2215-0e43-4545-a2de-96098e6f9b6d"]If you want love to come to Gaza convince your Islamic jihadi brothers to stop firing rockets at Israeli children.[/QUOTE] So the poster spreading "propaganda" of the heart and soul, peaceful love kind, has more things to say ... SHE... a HUMAN will not ignore her heart but speak from it using others and what they said...long before she was born, they had the same thoughts, she felt alive knowing she was their partner in these Love and Peace Crimes ---- "He repeated until his dying day that there was no one with more common sense, no stonecutter more obstinate, no manager more lucid or dangerous, than a poet." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera "No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera "He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera "He is ugly and sad... but he is all love." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera Necessity has the face of a dog." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, In Evil Hour ..... I still Keep his Dreams Alive, because he had preached to me Only Love Drives Out Hate, Only Light can cure things gone Dark NP ONE is Free Until EVERY ONE is FREE ------ I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2 This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring! And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

Justin general for some lighthearted goodness courtesy of Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh3gGQfyVyw

[QUOTE id="7da2b6a9-95f6-411d-805a-d4fe4d4835a9"]How many Israeli's piloted the planes on 9/11? none - How do American's reconcile with our love of freedom the prohibitions and prejudices of Islam? we can't[/QUOTE] I think the 9/11 "pilots" were almost all, or maybe all, Saudis sorry that you didn't read the 9/11 commission report...or watch loose change, or Fahrenheit 9/11, or just read some Truth not news. ---- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbOobZyFJgw

What more is there to say? Let's end today's apartheid.

[QUOTE id="5d7fc8fe-aa18-4982-83fb-749172a99eae"]What more is there to say? Let's end today's apartheid.[/QUOTE] Israel=Terrorist State maybe this too?

[QUOTE id="120a2215-0e43-4545-a2de-96098e6f9b6d"]I suggest that Muslims give up all rights and lands previously taken in Brutal Jihad wars against the infidel. Of course the Muslims can't return the lives of the millions of Hindus and other non-believers that they killed its too late for that. I suggest they give back the homes and land of the Christians who they persecuted out of Iraq and out of Gaza and Bethlehem. I suggest they give back the land and homes of the Jews who they have persecuted all over the Arab world. Israel was here long before Muhammad preached Jihad against the non-believer and long before the brutal Islamic conquest of Israel and large parts of Europe and Africa. It's time that the Arab invaders return to their homes in Saudi Arabia and renounce Jihad against the non-believer.[/QUOTE] Are you joking? You're seriously going to compare history that happened hundreds and thousands of years ago with something that is still going on TODAY and that directly affects people alive and their direct descendants? If you can't see the difference between the immediate repercussions of policies still extant and that began with 1947 and the enormous contrast with the picture you are trying to paint, then you better get used to those rockets and the anger of the Palestinian people you refuse to take seriously. If you're going to stick your head in the sand and be ignorant of all history of this conflict and all others (it's pretty obvious you haven't been close to an IR or history classroom in your life), then you'd better get used to the rockets hitting you in the ass.

[QUOTE id="120a2215-0e43-4545-a2de-96098e6f9b6d"]If you want love to come to Gaza convince your Islamic jihadi brothers to stop firing rockets at Israeli children.[/QUOTE] Lights will guide you home ... but in case they don't you will find your home some day but until then realize that there is a difference between hamas and Palestinian civilians, 50 percent of those being killed are women and children so I sincrerely want to thank you for bombing schools, hospitals, aide supplies, nnot letting UN into Gaza, using phosphorus even though it is human rights crime or something but it is okay, Only blood of guilty children, as as those criminals already tried in court and convicted.... They must not have any dreams. It will be fine because even the wildest dreams sometimes come true but only for the fair of heart and those that are actually Truth...in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. even death is sometimes nothing...we die, we are born, we are never unborn...it is all rhetoric but it definitely maybe helps I can then sometimes sleep and not lay awake staring at the ceiling.

[QUOTE id="d04b987e-58d0-4b14-9388-3a2ac1b402c4"]The situation is actually not that complex - and the claims to "complexity"and that "both sides need to be heard" are symptoms of a disgusting liberalism that only serves to cover for the crimes of imperialism. Before 1948, historic Palestine was occupied by mainly indigenous Arab Palestinians. Zionism is a colonial-settler ideology and practice; in order for a (white, European) "Jewish" state to be established, the indigenous inhabitants of historic Palestine had to be exterminated or otherwise removed - which is exactly what happened in 1948. One day, Zionism will be judged as it should be: alongside the most despicable episodes of human history such as apartheid in South Africa and European colonialism in the "third world." Palestinians are under occupation and as such, under international law, have the right to resist. Israel, a pariah colonial-settler state that practices internal racial and ethnic apartheid while occupying and confining into open-air prisons the original inhabitants of the land on which it stands, and which is propped up politically by blank-check support and billions of dollars in aid and sophisticated weaponry from the U.S., does not have the right to "defend itself" because it has no legitimate right to exist. No more than "Rhodesia" did, no more than "Portuguese East Africa," no more than the British had a right to be in India. It is only the backward racism and denial of humanity against Arabs and Muslims that allows Israel to continue to commit these crimes while Americans shrug their shoulders and look the other way - no surprise, really, when you look at the genocide and dispossession that the US was created on.[/QUOTE] Ali, I think your historical summary is a clear-eyed, unbiased and ethical review of the situation. But the complexity arises when you look how the situations is to be addressed and the Palestinian people's grievances redressed given the fact that Israel will not give up the land. Obviously, given the asymmetric nature of the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis, violence is not going to get the Palestinian's their land back. It is a strategically poor idea and will only lead to more death on both sides of the fighting. It will continually give Israel a justification (although an illegitimate one) to kill. And is more violence even ethical? How can the Palestinians end the occupation and take back the land without being annihilated and without annihilating Israelis? You mentioned the British occupation of India. How was the problem solve there? And is South Africa? If the clear-eyed ethical perspective of your historical summary is authentic, these questions must have come to your mind. Let me know your thoughts.