The price of ignoring the elephant

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

By Salah Obeid
Online Journal Contributing Writer

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1161.shtml

<snip>

And yet long before Iranians gave any serious thought to learning how to produce pretty mushroom clouds designed to erase humanity in broad strokes, or before Iraqis had reason to think anything but pleasant thoughts about America, or before the Taliban decided that playing host to Al-Qaeda might add some pizazz to a life bogged down by keeping girls out of school and maintaining strict guidelines concerning the lengths of men’s beards -- there was Palestine.

Or rather there wasn’t. Which isn’t to say there’s been a lack of Palestinians. They’re all over the globe -- the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East (in Jordan, Palestinians outnumber the natives) -- everywhere, that is, except in an independent Palestine. And though it may be tempting to blame a group like Hamas for recruiting the suicide bombers that have so long bedeviled Israel, that would still leave two important considerations out of the equation.

First, that Palestinians aren’t fighting Israel; they’re fighting Israel’s illegal occupation of their territories, and see no incentive to stop. And second, that a teenager about to graduate high school abruptly finding himself at the funeral of his one-year-old sister, killed by an Israeli bomb as she slept in her crib, peacefully sucking on a pacifier and dreaming baby dreams, is unlikely to need much recruiting.

Abandoned, stateless and impoverished (and were that not enough, targeted) many Palestinians -- college students, professors, plumbers, young widows -- turn to resistance, which often includes blowing themselves up in crowds of Israelis, because in their minds to not resist would be akin to joining the living dead...

[mike_c]

1. wow-- that is an EXCELLENT piece....

Thanks for posting it!

[Boojatta]

2. What makes that occupation different from all other occupations?

First, that Palestinians aren’t fighting Israel; they’re fighting Israel’s illegal occupation of their territories (...)

Was it legal for the USSR to send tanks into Hungary in 1956?

Abandoned, stateless and impoverished (and were that not enough, targeted) many Palestinians (...) turn to resistance, which often includes blowing themselves up in crowds of Israelis, because in their minds to not resist would be akin to joining the living dead...

Did Hungarians think that it would be a good idea to sneak into crowded Moscow restaurants and blow themselves up? If Hungarians had thought that, who would have provided explosives knowing how the Hungarians intended to use those explosives?

[IntiRaymi]

4. Lousy historical comparison.

The Soviet occupation of Hungary was not at all like the daily repression that Palestinians experience at the hands of Israel.

[Boojatta]

5. The questions in the message you are replying to ...

still make sense even if it's not a good comparison.

Also, other than contributing the word "daily", what have you done to point out a contrast between those two occupations?

[Boojatta]

6. One example: political organizations

Have Palestinians been required to either join a political party established by Israel or refrain from belonging to any political party?

[breakaleg]

3. Great read. Sums up the situation nicely..