This is the kind of vapid rhetoric that convinces people on a regular basis that all politicians are conniving, calculating, power hungry liars.
I ‘m not disputing the existence of anti-semitic sentiment around the world. But, what has Israel been doing over the years to prove the prejudiced ones wrong?
What is difficult for most people to stomach is this tendency by the majority of Israeli citizens to condone their government’s antics. If they didn’t, they would be out on the streets protesting everyday. In fact, they wouldn’t vote for such governments in the first place.
Does that mean the Palestinians are right on every count? No, it does not mean that at all. I may be speaking out against Israeli aggression but I ‘m certainly not blind to any violence generated on the other side.
The only way I can see this ever being resolved is through the people. Both Israelis and Palestinians need to find ways to put equal pressure on their politicians to get back on the negotiating table and talk. Not the kind of rigid exchanges one usually finds in such an environment. More the kind of talk that comes from genuine self-respect and deep appreciation of human dignity. It doesn’t mean they will be instant buddies/agree on everything. But maybe they can at least understand the nature of their wounds- on all the different levels they occur- and focus on healing them, one day at a time.
