Lots of "First Posters" here lately, in fact. Hmmm...

MoroccoKid: "What your wonderfully dishonest comparison fails to note is that the "Indians" (Palestinians) aren't founded on the prinicpal of destroying the US;"

Funny, that's not the principle of the Palestinians. It might be in the Hamas charter. But the Palestinian people themselves are just people. They aren't "founded on" anything. (Some of them might have very hateful feelings toward the Israelis, but until you can prove to me that Israelis do not have similar contempt, your point is lost.)

MoroccoKid: "...pushing all of the inhabitants into the sea;"

This is a humorous notion, since the only actual "pushing" going on (that is, annexation of territory) is being done by Israel -- most notably and most severely in the West Bank, where Israel has taken over hundreds of square miles of land that by all international rights is legally the property of Palestnians.

MoroccoKid: "...killing innocent American citizens (men, women, children- civilians and military);"

Funny you mention this, since the ones who are doing the vast, vast majority of the killing of innocents (men, women, children, civilians) are the Israelis. We're looking at something like 600 dead Palestinian men, women and children (lots and lots of children) and nearly 3,000 severely wounded, whereas Israel has lost less than 10 lives, nearly half due to their own "friendly fire." So what was your point again?

MoroccoKid: "...and hiding their missile launchings and bomb stores in their mosques, hospitals, schools, homes of the children that inevitable retaliation will undoubtably put in harm's way."

I am sure if they had a massive air force like Israel does, they would simply bomb their enemy from the sky, like Israel does. Either way, killing is killing, and Israel bombing civilians from the sky is no more "moral" than Hamas bombing/rocketing people from farmland.

MoroccoKid: "The "Palestinians" ran from their land, out of the ignorant belief, fanned by the mullahs and arab leaders, who told them the Jews would slaughter them if they remained."

You don't know jack about history. Jews DID slaughter them. Go pick up a book sometime. But let's also note that in your above sentence, you acknowledged that it was indeed the Palestinians' land (by the way, why do you put Palestinians in quotes)?

MoroccoKid: "What you conveniently fail to mention are the actions of the arabs countries, on the other hand, who have a long history of killing and dipossessing the Jews that were in arab countries before, during and after the creation of the Jewish state."

Actually, Gary Kamiya did mention the history of Israel and the actions of neighboring Arab countries. I don't recall him ever claiming they were squeaky clean. But at least Kamiya didn't try to pawn off all the responsibility onto them, as you seem wont to do.

"In fact, there were approximately the same number of Jews who *were* forced to leave their lands, wealth and possessions in arab countries as there were "Palestinians" who fled what became Israel in 1948."

Again, why put Palestinians in quotes? Also, what is your point here? Seems like you're arguing some form of equivalence, or maybe a "two wrongs make a right" type of reasoning? Do you even have principles?

Thank you for your thoughts. I would so much love to see and read this kind of simple wisdom and common sense in the mainstream American media! Unfortunately, they have proved once again how bankrupt they actually are, morally, intellectually and otherwise historically. They kept their mouths shut during the incredible, unlawful invasion of Iraq and the subsequent annihilation of America as a moral force in the world, and they continue now - they keep their mouths shut again. I am so disappointed with the mainstream American media, supposedly a counter power in Democracy, that I see the situation as even worse than in a totalitarian regime with no freedom of the press - then at least we know for sure there is no press! I have never seen so impotent, so absent and so complacent, self-righteous Fourth power! What a shame. Thank you, sir, for your wise words and for telling the truth.

The Gaza strip area is 139 sqm. Its 1.5 million residents are actually crammed into a much smaller areas, mostly incredibly densely populated refugee camps. The Gaza strip can actually be likened to a few sardine cans piled on top of one another. Shelling or attacking Gaza from the air is similar to throwing a hand grenade into a small room crammed with dozens of people where heavy casualties are guaranteed. Because of its great density, any military attack on Gaza will kill civilians even if the attackers don't actually want to kill civilians, and the terrorist state of Israel certainly had no intention of sparing the Gaza civilians, fondly referred to by Israeli soldiers and civilians as "djukim" in the Hebrew vernacular, meaning cockroaches.

Yet in America where majority of jews are white they have contempt for Black folks.....

Why??

Excellent article, Mr. Kamiya. I do hope President-elect Obama reads it...and follows your advice. It is good advice, with an eye on peace and good neighboring, which would make Israel, Palestine, and other Middle Eastern countries far safer in the long-term. As you mentioned, I have seen numerous times that video clip of Obama in Israel, saying that he would "do everything in his power" to stop rockets if they were aimed at his daughters. Yes, what father, what citizen wouldn't want to protect those they love. But the next question is "Does everything in your power mean you would kill hundreds of people, many who are children as well and many who have no control or responsibility for those who threat you?" As history has shown, whenever anyone starts a war or conflict, including the U.S., it means the leaders have decided that killing innocent children is acceptable because, in every war and conflict, usually one-third or higher of the casualties are children. So, entering into such acceptability means acquiring a great deal of blood on one's hands and only on the conscience, apparently, of those who oppose it. Watching the news and seeing Israel storm heavy-handedly into a long suffering place like Gaza, with reason to be angry about rockets, and knowing that so many of my U.S. leaders play favorites when I really want them to play "fair" and to work for the betterment and peace of all, makes me sad and ill. I remember one time when I was in junior high school, a student in one class did something--I can't even remember what--that he shouldn't have and the teacher demanded that the rest of us tell on him. We didn't. We couldn't. We felt connected as students and we couldn't surrender someone to the greater authority (the teacher) and punishment. The teacher then proceeded to give every student in the class a swat with the paddle. In his view, we were all guilty for our association within complicity and so he saw punishment as equal and justified. But it wasn't. And the teacher also lost respect from the rest of us. Violence, brutality, murder doesn't work in solving problems. When will well-intentioned people in leadership roles understand that?