I just read a pretty amazing op/ed..considering the author.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/op...er=rss&emc=rss

Interesting author. It was nice of him to admit that the Palestinians were not forced to leave Israel. It would have been nicer had he mentioned that it was more than fear that caused them to leave in 1948. In fact, the Jews begged them to stay, to help make it a nation for both of them. The Muslims refused, believing that their counterparts would defeat the Jews and they would be able to return and gain even more property. And, yes, some did leave because they were afraid that they would be killed by the Jews, but the majority left out of arrogance and greed.

However, that being said, I agree with his premise. The only way there will be peace between Israel and Palestine is to make it one nation with full integration. More importantly, there would have to be a full acceptance by all that they are one nation and take pride in that nation. Sadly, I don't ever see that happening. At least not in this lifetime.

Originally Posted by samhass

I just read a pretty amazing op/ed..considering the author.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/op...er=rss&emc=rss

Fascinating reading....thanks for the link.

The author has come quite a ways over the years

Bucco, if he did indeed write the article, I am amazed at his personal growth.
Of course, one has to wonder if he has a hidden agenda.

Great article.

Exceptional insight from someone "in the neighborhood" who has a stake in whether there's peace or war, and will be there long after the outsider politicians from the West have gone off to the lecture circuit.

Originally Posted by samhass

Bucco, if he did indeed write the article, I am amazed at his personal growth.
Of course, one has to wonder if he has a hidden agenda.

Interesting article--and as well an interesting thought about a possible "hidden agenda".... Personally I give no credence to anyone screaming about the recent Israeli incursion into Gaza who said and did nothing about countless years of relentless mortar and rocket attacks directed against Israeli civilians, the ongoing homicide bombings in the past as people attempted to live their everyday lives, and the fears and emotional trauma suffered by its citizens as a result of this continuous terrorism.

We have chatted with Israeli Arab students at the university in Haifa (where we know a sociology professor), eaten in wonderful Israeli Arab restaurants, and visited and shopped in Druze communities on the Carmel (an Arab sect whose youngsters actually choose to serve in the Israeli army). Many of those Arabs who remained after the U.N. created Israel in 1948 have prospered; virtually all of those who fled after being fed propaganda that the Jews would kill them and drink their blood are living in abject poverty, one of the few groups of refugees since WWII who have been left as refugees, abandoned by their fellow Arabs and Arab nations who instead use them for political purposes and as human shields.

The whole situation is tragic. A fix in our lifetimes? Who knows.... Considering that the U.S. just elected its first black president by a landslide only a few decades after the civil rights movement and only a few more decades after a time when it was actually necessary to enact anti-lynching laws (!) was something countless people never thought we'd see in our lifetimes. Granted it's hard to be optimistic in a situation where Israel's Arab neighbors dedicated itself from Day 1 to the annihilation of this country that is but a tiny sliver in the Middle East (about the size of Vermont), to this day still a primary goal in the charter of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), but maybe, just maybe, good sense will prevail over politics and egos one day....