I've been puzzling over your demand that any American who criticizes Israel be willing to give their land to a Native American, or else be deemed a shameless hypocrite. Virtually no American seriously believes that there is a possibility that Israelis are going to vacate all their land and hand it back to the Palestinians, or would believe this a just solution at this point (this being the equivalent of your suggestion that fair-minded Americans give their property up to the Native Americans). Since no one is actually calling for the Israelis to do the equivalent, your argument is nothing more than a red herring meant to distract us from what is actually happening in Gaza at this moment. People like myself who criticize Israel's latest attack on a people it has systematically blockaded, starved, and kept in permanent refugee status for three generations are not asking Israel to dismantle itself and send its Jewish citizens back to wherever they or their relatives came from. We are asking that Israel seriously seek to find a just, workable solution for everyone.

Makes no which never mind to me. In fact for the last few decades there's been a court case slowly wending its way through the system where a Native American group makes the assertion that they have a credible claim to the western half of the state of Connecticut. Based on the abrogation of some treaties their claim is that the land and every single home, structure, business and asset on it, is theirs. I've seen their argument and it's a pretty good one. I wish them well with that and would hope that more groups try the same thing.

Is the most important bit in the whole peace handbook

If Israeli settlement expansion

Were to grind to a declarative end

Peace talks could

In all good probability

Be resumed

In an atmosphere of good

As opposed to

Ill will

My friends.

You don't appear to be insane, the good doctor does - sorry, but I am somwhat acquainted with the field of psychiatry and mentla illness.

Jews are Jews, but there is a difference between a racial Jew/Canaanite/Semite and a religious Jew. The Palestinians belong to the former not the latter. Of those whop label themselves as Jews, a large percentage are decended from the Khazars and are know as Ashkanazi (forgive spelling errors but I'm not looking these up) and these have no racial or historical connection to the land of Palestine/Israel.

I personally think that racism and religion are stupid and evil, BURT THAT IS WHAT IS DEFINING this BS, while the real reasoning is to sell war, weapons and evil politics.

All this nonsense about Native Americans and Egypt and everything else is just to distract people from the war crimes taking place today. Those that do that are evil and insane.

If you take pleasure in war, you can take pleasure in me calling you crazy as well.

Perhaps evil is a better word than crazy.

None of these religions is worth spit - look at their followers.

KILL. LIE. KILL SOME MORE. BLAME THE VICTIMS. KILL. LIE. BLAME THE PEOPLE WHO COMPLAIN ABOUT IT AND CALL THEM NAMES> LIE KILL SOME MORE. COMPLAIN ABOUT PEOPLE PERSECUTING YOU AND HATING YOU FOR IT.

REPEAT AD NAUSEUM.

How is that not insane, evil and stupid?

Let me relate an incident from the 1970's.

Around 1976 or so William Kunstler visited the University of Toronto to attend a rally for the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). The SDS were the radical, left-wing student opposition to the Vietnam war.

I attended.

The warmup speakers were a series of (I presume) Jewish students who rallied the crowd with lines like "We support all liberation movements in the world, except the PLO." and "We oppose the U.S. and all it's allies, except Israel."

Israeli particularism on display.

I think these guys went on to become neocons.

He knelt down before the unholy mob - who cried

"War is god!"

Gleaming outwardly with great pride - and

Prepared to die

The women wish him well

Every time he cast off marching to hell

Now if you've never seen a terrible sight

Stroll the garden of earthly delight

Maybe we can make it right - someday

I'll see you high above the Fields of Mars

Who cannot fight anymore

Will never love any less

That kid inside of murder

Must be committed

To live a life of hostility

Never asking what it means

When mother nation

Blood and religion

Sanction killing upon the Fields of Mars

High above the Fields of Mars

Are you aware of the faults of the Palestinians. It takes two to fight a war. Why is there no criticism of Hamas for refusing to respect the cease fires they have agreed to in the past? Why is there no criticism of them for using schools, mosques, and hospitals as storage facilities for weapons and as lauching grounds for attacks? Why is the criticism so one-sided?

Wow, the author has beautifully articulated the many confusing and disparate thoughts that I have had on this issue. Bravo! I can only hope that people are reading, listening, and in the end, being thoughtful.

Both sides' proponents rely on dehumanizing and sterotyping the other side, as in “. . .Israel is a lone beacon of democracy and equality. . .in a region overrun with misogynistic, anti-democratic, 19th century nations.” That’s true at a level visible to those of us who don’t live or spend time there. But in reality, the region is filled with sophisticated, intelligent and civilized people and beautiful land anyone would love to inhabit. Obviously, their majorities are otherwise, but isn't that possible anywhere? Here, for example. They have problems with the people in control of them, just as most of us feel we have, over 8 years.

We Americans identify with Israel, until we visit, say, Iran, and attach to Iranian friends. Or Egyptian friends. Or Jordanian friends. Or even Palestinian friends.

Similarly, we identify with whichever sufferer has our attention—which sufferer is most visible to us. Usually, that is NOT the Arab or Palestinian. Yet, it’s difficult to watch the film “Paradise Now” without feeling pity for, of all people, suicide bombers.

I don’t know how we get to a better place, but it should start with seeing each side as human and vulnerable.