Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: The Global March to Jerusalem, a brave and admirable attempt to awaken the world’s conscience [View all]Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)I've never attacked Israels as a people...and never would.
In every country in the world, there is a clear line of demarcation between the government and the people.
I've never held the people of Israel responsible for the Occupation or the settlements...most Israelis, as I've understand it, think the settlers are crazy and that the settlement project was a destructive and destabilizing idea. You've criticized the settlement project yourself IN THIS FORUM.
And nothing I've said was "horrible" or unforgiveable. I don't want Israel to go out of existence. I want it to go back within the lines it should be back within(the pre-1967 lines)in exchange for the Palestinians fully accepting it(the PA did accept Israel in 1994 so it's not like their side hasn't accepted the state at all)and in exchange for compensation, apologies and acknowledgment that Palestinians do have a deeply-rooted history in the lands in question. That's not an evil position, and it's more legitimate than the "land swaps" scam(we both know Bibi wouldn't give them anything that could possibly make up, example, for the survival of the Eilat settlement, since that settlement bisects the West Bank and makes a contiguous state impossible).
I've attacked people who used terms like "Zionazi" and other abominations, and chased as many antisemites out of this forum as anybody else. So why are you so obsessed with proving that I have some kind of secret, hidden, evil designs
or that I'm a dupe? I'm willing to admit that I could be wrong about things-why can't you admit that YOU could be wrong about the Occupation actually being good for Israeli security?
And what's so terrible about apologies? Look at the world we live in...some of the most brutal wars we've seen have come about because an injustice was done to one people in the past and that injustice was never acknowledged. Isn't it better to try to get past that by acknowledging the injustices and trying to address them? Better that than, say, giving somebody like Slobodan Milosevic a chance to rally an army of hate by giving a speech about a battle that took place hundreds of years earlier. People respond to apologies. So do nations. They help end ancient enmities. What possible harm could be done? And what good is done by refusing to apologize and saying, in effect "Shit Happens"? Does leaving a bitter taste in a people's mouth ever lead to a greater good?
As to things Palestinians could apologize for
1)Some of the tactics(I've never defended any of the objectionable tactics, as you know)
2)Not always being willing to negotiate in the past.
3)Not always making a distinction between "Israelis" and "Jews".