Letters to the Editor
MereMortal
Published Letters: 151 Editor's Choice: 19
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There are consequences to actions.
[Read the article: Bush's delusions die in Gaza]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I loved this article from Gary Kamiya, choc-full of insight and humanity, he nails all the usual tropes with his cogent and common-sense articulateness.
A few key things. For anyone unfamiliar with the essence of the rage of the Palestinian people, it's that the Europeans, not they, who mounted a genocidal assault on European and East European Jewry, but they got stitched up losing 72% of their country when Israel was declared. As they set up a fightback (and lost every time, finally turning to terrorism with the PLO and Arafat in the 70s) with every defeat the Israeli land theft got more brazen.
The Palestinians know that they cannot undo Israel, but it sticks in their craw that not content with the 72% of the old Palestine after the '67 war Israel started to occupy and build on (i.e steal) land from the 28% that the Palestinians were reduced to.
And when we talk about Israeli occupation, we're not talking, just an army and checkpoints monitoring things for Israeli security, but rather the building of land settlements and the creation of brand new and extensive solid housing communities on stolen land with the obvious intention to make it impossible for them politically to ever leave. This is what is meant by the settlements as being 'facts on the ground'. i.e we know the land is not ours, but once we build, we're basically stating that we're not ever going to give it back. With the exception of Gaza, however that had a tiny fraction of the numbers compared to the illegal West Bank settlers.
The outstanding UN resolutions against Israel are not for them to disband their country, but for them to leave illegally occupied territory in the West bank [they left Gaza in '06 after about 40 years] and the Golan Heights that Israel 'confiscated' from Syria.
Israel created Hamas in a divide and rule strategy to weaken Fatah who were left-leaning and secular. This strategy has backfired for the whole world, but Israel doesn't mind as needs must and they have the overwhelming balance of power.
I guess that the Israelis, and the American ruling classes aided and abetted by the media, actually don't care what happens to Palestinians. Their suffering is erased by a clever sleight of hand
a) call them terrorists
b) don't cover the story from an objective point of view
you don't have to be anti-jewish in any way to be appaled by the Israeli Modus Operandi ever since the creation of Israel.
Many jews and indeed Israelis are appaled by their successive governments' lack of humanity towards the Palestinians.
As Gary Kamiya says, this problem has been foisted onto an innocent people whose patience has long since run out.
A truly objective fair-minded and intelligent person could not in all conscience say that Israel is justified in their illegal occupation of the West Bank and in their homicidal dealings with the Palestinians as a whole.
The fact that this basic truth is not common currency is a testament to the power of being top dog and being able to control the message that people get. I don't believe that the American people have been accurately informed over the years as to the true facts of the situation, and therefore they are not acting in bad faith, but they are harbouring a false consciousness on this issue.
If it was the other way round and some highly well organized arabs had managed to displace a whole country full of native jews, and spent the next 60 years traducing them, I'd be as outraged as I am about this.
Since the support of the American people for the policy of being Israel's ally is so crucial to its success, you can be sure that enormous funds are devoted to only telling you half the story (arab murderousness towards jews in the form of rockets and suicide bombers) and of coming down like a ton of bricks on anyone who refuses to toe the party line, i.e right wing attack machines, AIPAC and the rest...
What a sorrowful pity it is to be an average Palestinian citizen when faced with two self-interested parties one small one gigantic, able to muster infinite resources and 100% dedicated to discrediting your just cause, impugning your good name and robbing you of your birthright.
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Carpe Diem
[Read the article: Biracial, but not like me]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think that American politics is broken, and I think that the problems are bigger than one person, or finding all the solutions within one person, it's not like a friend you like just swapping an abusive relationship for a great one.
I think Obama will have to lose his cherry if and when he is elected and disappoint an awful lot of people, not least of all himself.
Having said all of that, I think the signal that the US citizenry would be sending by voting for Obama to become president (instead of another angry and boring warmonger in McCain and a divisive triangulator like Hillary) would be an overwhelmingly positive thing.
Obama is not perfect, his reign will not be endless sunshine, but if you vote for him you will in effect be telling the world
"We got it wrong - it didn't help any that they stole it from us, but in large measure we got it wrong, we are now wise enough to see the error of our ways"
I also think that more Republicans would go for Obama (race or no race, in fact perversely because of race) than would go for Hillary, rightly or wrongly, she is strongly disliked and the Democrats shoud not, must not even, waste another opportunity picking somebody who only appeals to the Democratic party, they need someone with much stronger cross-party appeal or you your pundits always put it with fewer 'negatives'