6 June 2011
Jaulan is in our hearts
Yesterday was June 5th, the first day of the commemoration of the Naksah. On the ceasefire lines, there were ‘clashes’, as the press will euphemistically call them. In Lebanon, in Gaza, all across the West Bank … and on the line of control between Syrian and Israeli forces. There, 23 human beings, unarmed, were killed by the occupiers’ guns and hundreds wounded.
The occupier already is claiming that all of this was orchestrated by that fiendish mastermind, Bashar Assad. From this side of the mountain, that looks frankly ridiculous. I suppose they think he also masterminded these ‘puppets’ of his in kadima
Of course, they like to believe that theirs is the world’s most moral army and all sorts of inane platitudes to their powers of loving kindness. Here’s a good example of the most moral soldiers in the world, the elite shining light to the goyim, showering their morality down on some depraved sons of Amalek:
And here is how they explain it:
They cannot admit that they are ever wrong and so they must always work to defame every Arab, every bit of our culture, our religion, everything. We are evil and history is meaningless; all that matters to them is maintaining their myth and repeating their lies ever more shrilly. Look at the images of the Arab demonstartors and contrast them with the rhetoric of the Most Noble People in the Most Holy and Most Moral Country That Ever Was as they celebrate their Holy War:
But we are violent, we are evil. As soon as I post this, I know, the defenders of the Holy Nation will come and denounce me, will ask why it is that I do not see their cause as holy and my own people, my own heritage, my own history, as nothing more than the squawkings of baboons.
Don’t laugh; I am sure they will come. And they will again and again demonstrate their arrogance and their ignorance. When not claiming that their innate superiority in all things means that democracy is not for the likes of me (after all, how else to justify their state?) or that we are all needing just a firm, pale hand to guide us, they will show their ignorance of history.
I for one know my own history. And I know my own country. I know that Jaulan was lost after the Syrians had agreed to cease fire. I know who started that war; it wasn’t us. I know that the Israelis hold Jaulan because they would steal our water and need a nice platform to keep Damascus in their gunsights. I know that there is no difference between what keeps them there and what took Saddam to Kuwait … I know of American sailors who died to keep the world from knowing … I know that their own generals admitted that all the ‘vicious wicked Syrian attacks’ were provoked by them, not us …
I know also of the ethnic cleansing that they undertook up there; 131,000 people made homeless so that Russian migrants might have a place to illegally live.
And whatever happens in Palestine, no Syrian can forget that they stole our land and made our people homeless.
And we also know who here was guilty of collusion; we know who worked closest with the Soviets then to start the war, who it was who gave the orders to pull back troops from impregnable strongholds on the Jaulan, who it was who would surrender our patrimony without a shot;
The one who gave those orders, the order that, for what it’s worth, meant the death of my father’s older brother, now has a son. And that son is called the President.
Every Syrian knows that; every Syrian knows that Traitor of the Naksa’s second son is President and that another runs his squads of killers. Every Syrian knows that Bashar has never lifted a finger to redeem Jaulan.
So when the lying liars and propagandists, the makers of hasbara and singers of paeans to the so-called Chosen claims that “Bashar tricked us into killing people (if you can call mere Arabs humans and not two-legged dogs) so as to distract fromhis own crimes”, tell them to stuff it. They lie.
Those were not government planned protests; if they had any ability to see beyond their own lies they’d know that. That is not how the regime’s propaganda works. And, when the slogans of protesters have always condemned this regime for losing Jaulan, they will not bring attention to their greatest failure.
No, this is not Bashar’s trick; this is a taste of things to come. The Arab people are asleep no more and the Arab people, not the regimes, are making their own history now. They protest on Jaulan not because the regime is strog but because it is too weak to stop them. And, when we are free, this is what you will see, every day on every frontier. Millions of Arabs chanting, Thawra hat’n Nasr!
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55 comments:
history becomes meaningless by attacking israeli people and doing actions that proclaim a war by civilians. or rather a war by paid rioters/mercenaies (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4078698,00.html). history becomes not meaningless by defending a border which saves the lifes of people who were and still are attacked throughout history.
I doubt the Syrian regime was unable to stop the rally.
There was barely 100 "protesters" on the Syrian Side and a good chunk of them were children...
The Syrian media was milking the farce demonstration for all its worth with live coverage and jingoistic analysts. If the regime had thought the clashes near the Golan undesirable they would have broadcast nothing just as they don't broadcast the Friday protests.
Perhaps a more accurate reading of the situation in the Golan is that the regime is trying to harness the sympathies of the people by reminding them of their enemies. It was also a convenient media diversion and good Ba'athist PR.
I think you are mistaken to believe conspiracy theories about Hafez and the Golan. What possible motive would he have for starting or losing that war? Likely he realised how the war was going and decided to cut his losses.
I really appreciate your blog.
Amina - This is exactly what the murderous regime in Syria wants and you are falling in the trap. Our struggle is with the regime, please, please do not let any other issue distract you or the syrian people from the main and most crucial issue: A new democratic syrian society. The rest will be resolved after that. Please take note of the regime conning plan. it will use any method to distract people and keep absolute power to itself it is using the Palastinians, the Occupied Land, Israel, anything and everything to release the pressure of the glorious Syrian revolution . Please Amina, you are on slippery slope here and I do not think it will lead us anywhere. In fact it will help the murderous regime.
Freedom and Democracy for the Syrian people and down with the Assad and their murderous clan.
Please - keep to the Syrian quest for freedom. The issue of Israel and the rest will play directly into the Assad's hands
Please Please. take heed.
Since when is the official Syrian news agency a reliable source?
Time from Amina's post to first Israeli apologist: 22 minutes.
Question:
If we don't consider Syrian sources reliable, why on earth should we believe Israeli ones?
Both are propaganda but I think it worth recalling which country has a leader who seems hell bent on war (and it isn't Syria).
The claim that Assad “gave the orders to pull back troops from impregnable strongholds on the Jaulan” sounds a lot like the Dolchstoßlegende. The Jaulan was not impregnable. While the Syrian army could have inflicted substantially more casualties on the Israelis if they would not have withdrew from the Jaulan so quickly, they would have suffered many casualties as well and would have lost the Jaulan in the end. It’s a myth to avoid dealing with reality. Although you state “I for one know my own history,” apparently you don’t.
Damn straight, Veganovich! She's just another stupid towelhead just like the rest. Pretty soon Israel will be marching troops through Damascus and this moron will understand what real freedom is about.
And if they don't like it, we have nukes and they do not, so fuck all those stupid monkeys. Let them see what it's like to live in a glass lake if they want to keep up with all these lies.
Israel: still number one:
Syria: still a piece of shit country filled with shit people
AM ISRAEL CHAI!
Israel is the most developed, modernized, indusrial, succesful country in the ME. Can u deny this ! So we better focus in developing our countrues then lets for the palastinines rights. Why don't u call for the rights of the kurds in turkey, ur country or iraq or for the human rghits of the Arab Ahwazies in Iran in the same enthusiasm u have for palastine? Not only u, but all arabs call for plastanine cause not fot human rights sake, u do for religious or nationalist reasons.
Letters, please re-read. The post is about Jaulan, known in the west as Golan, recognized by every country in the world (save for Israel itself) as a part of Syria.
And Amina has repeatedly discussed Kurdish issues.
Zionist apologists should read more closely.
“Dov”
Although in your opening sentence you indicate that you are responding to me, nothing you wrote in any way addresses what I wrote.
On this blog, most people put all people who disagree with what they believe into the generic category of “them.” They just argue with what they imagine one of “them” believe rather than respond to what people actually write.
Doesn't look like Assad is behind these after all:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/middle_east/view.bg?articleid=1343413&srvc=rss
Anonymous said: “Amina - This is exactly what the murderous regime in Syria wants and you are falling in the trap. Our struggle is with the regime, please, please do not let any other issue distract you or the syrian people from the main and most crucial issue: A new democratic syrian society.”
Anonymous, I suppose you would say that the Nakba Day protests in the Jaulan were an Assad regime plot too? Perhaps the protests in the West Bank were an Iranian plot?? There are no real refugees in Syria, after all, who have a legitimate cause of their own and an interest in trying their hand at an Arab Spring. There are no real Syrians who remain outraged at the sheer impunity with which Israel steals and occupies territory that doesn't belong to it. No, we are to swallow the lie that these protestors, including the 23 murdered, are all tools of the regime. How wrong you are.
It is deeply patronising to dictate that Syrians cannot have more than one cause in this revolution simultaneously, and it is ignorant to fail to see the connection between their revolution and the Jaulan.
Is it so incomprehensible that those fighting for genuine democracy – and Arab unity most crucially - might also hold in their vision, an end to Israeli aggression, to land theft and colonisation, to murder, and to political intervention (American or Israeli) that has ensured that Lebanon, for one, remains deeply divided along the sectarian lines that our region’s earlier colonial rulers fabricated? If Israel and the US had a free hand they would be dividing Syria right now along these lines…like they have done in Iraq.
Of course the Assad regime, now fighting – killing – to maintain its grip on power, has only really postured in recent years as a force of resistance to Israel and it will cynically use the issue of the Jaulan in the vein hope of restoring its legitimacy. It doesn’t take a genius or an outsider’s eye to see that. But that does not mean that the cause for national sovereignty (be it Syrian, Lebanese or Palestinian), is far from the hearts and minds of those waging this revolution. Quite the contrary.
JC
This is comment is from the same Anonymous you referred to in your comment and it is in reply to yours:
Your comment is a case in point and it is exactly why I pleaded and continue to plead with Amina and all my fellow Syrians not to get distracted by anything else not even the horrendous plight of the Palastinians or the Golan or anything else as we, the Syrians, have a priority to get rid of the psychopath and his clan who are hell bent on killing as many of us as they can get away with in order to keep absolute authority over what will be left of us! After we get rid of them, then we might be in better position to address other issues.
"They cannot admit that they are ever wrong and so they must always work to defame every Arab, every bit of our culture, our religion, everything. We are evil and history is meaningless; all that matters to them is maintaining their myth and repeating their lies ever more shrilly. Look at the images of the Arab demonstartors and contrast them with the rhetoric of the Most Noble People in the Most Holy and Most Moral Country That Ever Was as they celebrate their Holy War:"
Wow Amina, either you enjoy demonizing them (THEY WANT TO DEFAME EVERY ARAB) or you're racist.
I'm disappointed.
Also, read what yanti wrote. He's spot on.
Actually I agree with anonymous….to get distracted by the return of the Golan/the Palestinian issue-it is what the regime wants-the problem is that until arab governments stop playing the zionist card….. its the same old merry go round….
There will be land for peace-this constant state of war/the hatred has got to stop…make a deal and everyone believe in peace…its the weapons companies who are gaining from the misery….
As I said before in another thread,I cannot possibly get into a heated discussion as long as 13 year old children are being tortured to death and now Amina has been taken by state security…we
People claiming that "Amina is a racist", etc.
PLEASE READ WHAT SHE WROTE!
Unless you believe that all Jews are apologists for the Netanyahu government, it's hard to get there. She never attacks anyone except propagandists and liars.
Are you sure you want to make an identification she doesn't make?
I too was very disppointed by this post which descends into sloganism and borders on rascism but I have decided to withold my critism until you are free to respond.
wow, how brainwashed can you get? your own dictator is butchering thousands of men, women and children in sake of his personal survival and you find the time to deal with israeli purported aggression? is this a joke? the soldiers as far as i can see only shoot people who cross the international border, and they mostly shoot them in the legs, while if this was my border i'd shoot them all straight in the head... border is a border.
also, don't forget your beloved julan was lost because of your beloved hafez asad's aggression and stupidity, so if this isn't the price then what is?
Syria attacked Israel - that is a fact, claiming something else would be a lie. No country was ever asked to return land it has conquered during war. If you really "knew" history you would know that. Israel has officially extended its sovereignity to the Golan Heights. If you want to keep on holding on to illusions, go right ahead. But it's Israel's land now, you better accept it.
What I find interesting is how many people tell Amina what she should or should not write about. That she shouldn't get "distracted" from the real issue. Those are your real issues, not Amina's. Her real issue was intended to be a blog about being an out lesbian in a culture that may oppose it. Her country is going through a revolution of which she has become part.
She is free to write her blog anyway she wishes, I like to read all of it. Those who want to write about one issue alone should write their own blog.
Dov, everything about what you have to say is odious. You are an example of everything that is wrong in the Middle East.
Do you really believe that these protesters went accross the syrian border without Assad's approval?
You have a skill for writing, no doubt. That doesn't mean that you see reality as it is.
It wasn't Assad's fault that the Golan was taken. In 67' Israel won on all fronts (Egypt, Jordanian & Syria), it went out on that war after:
"Our aim is the full restoration of the rights of the Palestinian people. In other words, we aim at the destruction of the State of Israel. The immediate aim: perfection of Arab military might. The national aim: the eradication of Israel." – President Nasser of Egypt, November 18, 1965
"All of the Arab armies now surround Israel. The UAR, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, Algeria, Sudan, and Kuwait. ... There is no difference between one Arab people and another, no difference between one Arab army and another." – King Hussein of Jordan, after signing the pact with Egypt May 30, 1967
Syria's forces are "ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united.... I as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation." – Syrian Defense Minister Hafez Assad, May 20, 1967
You say you know your history... I think you know the history that was brained washed into you by your president. Open your eyes.
If you were in Israel you wouldn't be in prison now. The Syrian (and every other government in the Middle East) is doing a great job in brainwashing and killing their own civilians at the same time, while focusing citizen's attention to Israel. Why? Because it's EASY! How wonderful it is that it's so easy finding a mutual enemy to unite everyone!
But ask any of your gay/lesbian friends from Iran, Gaza etc where would they rather be, if they ever wanted to be openly gay without being stoned to death, or even just expressing criticism about any government without being kidnapped or jailed.
I pray you'll be released soon and alive.
Is it possible that all of you 'anonymous' posters identify each other as anonymous 1,2, 3 etc-its getting very confusing!
Yaniv-I don't know where you are from but I suspect the US…
First of all-yes Israel took the Golan from Syria during the 67 war and the fact is that since then it has been the quietest border-Assad-daddy and son have made little attempt to get it back and it is now barely mentioned by them… in fact I will venture to say that the last thing both father and son wanted was/is war with Israel….
You then go on to quote Nasser -the great mobilizer of of Arab nationalism and then Assad and King Hussein from the 60's….surely you could come up with some more recent blood curdling quotes than those?-try reading some of Churchill's quotes during World War 2-talk about menacing!
Of course the regime made no attempt to stop the people breeching the border-it suits them to have distraction…. it certainly does not make it right that Israel shot at them… if they claim to share the moral and idealogical values of a democracy-then they better start acting like one…
Finally-you are lumping all the arab world together-Amina has not been abducted by the regime because she is gay -it is because she is being critical of the regime-of course they may use it against her but they do not stone people to death in Syria-the baathist regime is totally secular -maybe you haven't heard that Assad is blaming the Saudi's and the Islamists for the current problems?
Oh and do me a favor -don't mention Gaza as a beacon of gay tolerance…it is a miserable strip of land where people-gay/straight whoever are corralled in like cattle by Israel….I expect a tyrannical evil regime like Iran to treat people like this-I expect more from Israel...
Just a small point...It's awful that people were shot. However, they were warned (loudly and often) that if they continued the Israeli army would shoot. They released warning shots and tear gas before shooting anyone. I should know, I was there. Israel's border was being infiltrated by an angry group threatening violence. They were justified in protecting themselves (whether you agree with the border or not).
Whatever is your stance on politics, your words on Israelis are straight up racist.
"Anonymous said...
Just a small point……"
Look Im not disputing that they were warned but we are talking about disenfranchised,misguided youth against one of the best armed militaries in the world…
Israel claims to share democratic morals and ideology and as I said before-I expect this behavior from Assad and his ilk NOT from Israel who I hold to a higher standard….
Iran,Syria etc butcher and oppress their own people and blame the 'zionists' for all their ills and I want to slap them-for gods sake start moving on toward peace and stop the zionist crap but by the same token,Israel's behavior toward the palestinians in Gaza, allowing the wretched settlements to be built infuriates me….
As usual the regular people are used as pawns… of course Assad did nothing to stop those people on the border-normally they would be to terrified to go near it -just as Hamas incites but I will never condone Israel using live ammo against unarmed people…
There will be land for peace-the vast amount of Israeli's will give land for peace-lets see the arab governments step up to the plate and do their part…..
Aaaaannnddd this is why I can never support any Arab/Islamic movements of any kind. So childish and one-sided and clueless. Nobody in the west will take any of you seriously (not that you care) as long as you cling to this nationalistic bullsh_t. Arab countries regularly demonize and take land away from their minorities and yet you concentrate on....Israel....in the middle of a revolution. Clearly this revolution which just bring more hate and war, except brought by a government that will be a true representative of 'the people'....racists all of you. A pox on all your houses.
By the way-I just played that tube clip of the Israeli youth celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem-where did they get those kids from?
I can tell you that as the vast majority wore yarmulke they were religious - hardly a good example of the Israeli population-this is like selecting from the equivalent of a bunch of Hamas supporters!
this makes me think of a little stray dog that refuses to get off the porch of the big dog, and then goes wimpering and crying when the big dog turns on it. If you were really a peaceful people then you will stop firing rockets into Israeli towns and bombing innocent people( but you don't consider them that do you) until then noone cares about your "struggle", I know I don't.
People don't understand that no matter how bad the dictators in the Arab countries are. Zionists are nothing more than occupiers. Just look at that video of the whit European Israelis "celebrating the unity in Jerusalem" by chanting death to Arabs.
GREAT ARTICLE, LOVE YOU AMINA. FREE AMINA. FREE PALESTINE. FREE SYRIA.
CP Princess...you say above that Israel took the Golan in 67 and since then Syria did nothing to get it back but in 1973 they launched a vicious surprise attack on the holiest Jewish day to get it back. Israel absorbed the attack and counter attacked to the outskirts of Damascus. Only when Assad realized his survival, and not the survival of the State of Israel was at question, has the border become quite.
As we learned today now that this girl has been abudcted, this regime knows one speed and is based on cruelty and violence. I understand her desire to see an end to the occupation, but the demonification of Israel is so baseless and counter productive and quite frankly insane coming from someone who lives in Syria. When Syria is a democracy like Belgium then Israel can act like Holland and have the open borders and eaceful coexistence. But when the regime in charge is pulling its own people off the streets and disappearing them for blogging I will stand by with my finger on the trigger to protect my family and my nation.
To Ariel'
" have made little attempt to get it back and it is now barely mentioned by them… in fact I will venture to say that the last thing both father and son wanted was/is war with Israel"….
Read my post-I said "little" not nothing and as you quite rightly point out Assad made one attempt-the Yom Kippur War which was hardly successful was it and since then it has barely been an issue for the regime….
You will never ever hear me defending Syria or regimes like it- a regime that tortured,castrated and murdered a 13 year old child?
Amina of course although she was born in the US is bursting with arab pride- and is biased toward the arab side which is understandable…she wants to see Syria free-for the vast majority of arabs,this nationalistic pride always ends up being tied to the Palestinian issue and Israel which has always been the convenient bogeyman for all arab governments….
Amina doesn't know her history, she simply believes this particular version of history, which happens to be inaccurate. She'd go a long way towards real peace in the region, and with herself, if she tried to accept reality.
There is irony in Aminas recent abduction by Syrian police, as Israel actually would be the only country in the Middle East where she could safely run a blog like this.
Whenever I see zionists posting on western websites it's all about how Arabs are ville and murderes, but here all they do is talk of their support for us and unity. The double standard can't live on anymore.
"Whenever I see zionists posting on western websites it's all about how Arabs are ville and murderes"
Keep dreaming...Im not a zionist or religious or Jewish...I just happen to believe in freedom from of oppression for all peoples and not just Arabs. You want to play this game of saying another nationality cant have a piece of land (Kurds, Jews, Berbers...and on and on and on) and then try to make stupid excuses for your hatred and racism and are dumb enough to think only Zionists think this way. Grow up. Israel is the the only free, secular true democracy in the middle east with Arabs in its parliament. So its run by Jews....you have a problem with that? Too bad.
"Anonymous said...
Whenever I see zionists posting on western websites it's all about how Arabs are ville and murderes, but here all they do is talk of their support for us and unity. The double standard can't live on anymore"
If Im included in that then you can STFU…….
I know what Im talking about and I can look at it from both sides…
I love the Middle East and its people and I am critical of both sides if you read my posts…
I don't know where you are from but you've got to be able to accept the reality of the situation and yes the other anonymous is right-Israel is the only country where Amina could safely blog and thats the truth….
If you would have asked me even one year ago if there will be peace I would have said no but now I believe there will be because of the revolution propelled by the people-NOT the CIA or a coup or the military seizing power…
Israel will give land for peace,the palestinians will achieve statehood and I hope there will be a wave of democracy across the middle east because people clearly are sick of oppression and a constant state of war and violence and 13 year old children and thousands of others will not have died in vain...
If Syria is such a righteous and just nation, why don't Syrian people have freedom to express themselves? Is that ISRAEL'S fault!!??
NO of course not. So yes until I see some semblance of a tolerant society you use the right word, baboons, all of them.
First of all, a border is a border. I don't care how many 'disaffected, unarmed youth' are in the crowd. If somebody is told 'this is the line, and if you cross it we will shoot you', I can guarantee everybody knew what those words meant. You can't repeatedly poke and taunt and dare somebody, then cry foul when they follow through on their statements. They were given several warnings so they'd understand the seriousness, and they did not stop. Their behavior was their own responsibility and judging by their actions they were willing to accept the consequences. Nobody else can be blamed for that. The Israelis did not say 'if you cross the border PLUS take ten more steps, we'll shoot'. If Israel forgives even the smallest trespass, it will embolden others to go even further, ad nauseum. They *have* to draw a line and hold it, because the vultures are constantly circling that little country. I'm not saying they do no wrong, not at all. But I am sick of them being the automatic Bad Guy just because they have bigger guns. Other people and other nations cannot be excused from their behavior simply because they are weaker.
If that land was won by Israel, what is the problem here? How do you think ANY of the countries on this planet came into being? Why stop at 1967? Why don't we go back farther, and start giving everybody back any land they lost in wars? Should we give Syria back to Italy, back to the Armenians, the Hittites, the Turks? Is this the new rule now? And does it somehow magically only apply to Israel? If it does, will they be returned land that was taken from them as well?
I really don't see the comparison between Israel and Syria. One is protecting its people and land from aggressors, while the other is slaughtering its people. That right there ought to say something about 'morals'. Maybe the leaders in Syria have been quiet about Golan because they live by the rules most people do: if you lost the land in a war, then you lost it. Period. No amount of angry tantrums will rewrite history.
Just a thought on the comments about only focusing on freedom and not being distracted by Israel - whether any of us like it or not, the Syrian people know what they want, and obviously that includes Golan. If that is one of their complaints, particularly if the current regime can be tied to it, then why shouldn't they make it part of their protest? Do you think they are so stupid the revolution will slip their minds, if they hold any protests over Golan? On the contrary, I think it would only add fuel to their fire! And the more sides they can press on the regime, the better. The more pressure, the harder it will be for the regime to resist or back away from or make excuses for themselves. Additionally, it would send a message to the next regime about what the Syrians are angry about and what they expect and are willing to fight for.
"Anonymous said...
Whenever I see zionists posting on western websites it's all about how Arabs are ville and murderes, but here all they do is talk of their support for us and unity. The double standard can't live on anymore"
Has it ever occurred to you that not all westerners believe the same things? That maybe those on 'western' sites are there because that is what they support and want to associate with, and the ones posting here are not that way? I bet that didn't cross your mind at all. It wouldn't be hateful enough to consider. You are busy looking for reasons to hate people.
Full Disclosure: I am an American. I know that fact will automatically make me untrustworthy to many of you. There is nothing I can do to change that here. However, I feel I must speak. Both sides have committed atrocities. Israel generally receives more favorable coverage in Western media for too many reasons to name in the space allowed, but a lot of it has to do with the fact the Westerners are more comfortable with Israeli Jews than they are with Arabs. The Israelis "speak our language" so to say. They know how we operate and they know how to make friends and influence people in Washington. The Arabs are at a severe disadvantage in this regard, since their customs and traditions are so different from the West. I understand the Arabs' frustration in this regard, but you must understand that when Arabs lash out violently, they increase Americans' fear of Arabs and Islam (even though not all Muslims are Arab). And ultimately that is the engine that drives this conflict: extreme, irrational, pathological fear on both sides. The fear of annihilation. Both sides must realize that the other is human and should be treated as such. There is a severe shortage of respect for human life in this perceived all-or-nothing conflict on both sides. Palestinians must declare that they will accept the Jews of Israel as neighbors, and Israel as a sovereign country and Israelis must declare that they will accept the Arabs of Palestine as equals who deserve an equal right to statehood, in a sovereign state which controls its own borders and airspace. this is the minimum required to initiate change and break the cycle of mistrust and suspicion. I pray God will guide the men in power to a just and equitable solution.
Sincerely,
R.E.D.
"Israel generally receives more favorable coverage in Western media for too many reasons to name in the space allowed, but a lot of it has to do with the fact the Westerners are more comfortable with Israeli Jews than they are with Arabs. The Israelis "speak our language" so to say. They know how we operate and they know how to make friends and influence people in Washington. The Arabs are at a severe disadvantage in this regard, since their customs and traditions are so different from the West. "
Do you seriously believe this horseshit? There are cultural connections but its not exactly like Jews had such a wonderful time in this country. Check your history. And I dont see all those Arabs in Michigan complaining about anything.
No, it has to do with having a secular democracy with respect for law and rights. Once an Arab nation takes on the same govt then the scales will even.
"Anonymous said...
If Syria is such a righteous and just nation, why don't Syrian people have freedom to express themselves? Is that ISRAEL'S fault!!??
NO of course not. So yes until I see some semblance of a tolerant society you use the right word, baboons, all of them.
8 June 2011 01:40
Anonymous said…"First of all, a border is a border. I don't care how many 'disaffected, unarmed youth' are in the crowd...
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''.I I I take it that the above 2 posts are by the same person???
Tell me where in all these comments does anyone say that Syria is a just and righteous nation and who said the Syrians not being able to express themselves is Israel's fault?
Your view of Syria is naive to say the least…the regime certainly d has not kept quiet about the Golan because they live by the rules that others do-it just has not been a priority for them-it has been more convenient to have the Golan as as a deflection of their murderous ways…
"The Syrian people know what they want and its the Golan"-actually I think that right about now getting the Golan back in pretty low on their list of priorities…do you have any idea what its like to live under a regime like Syria where brothers cannot talk to each other,children are questioned in school about what their parents think of Assad-there is a wall of fear that does not exist in any other arab country to the same degree….
AS for the people trying to breech the border by poking,taunting and daring the IDF-give me a break -did you see the video clips?
it was a pathetic sight on the part of the demonstrators….
Everyone who is saying Amina wouldn't have been kidnapped if she had been in Israel is clearly uninformed. Do you know how many people are forcibly removed from their homes under cover of night in the West Bank, never to return, or if they do return, it is much later? Have any of you been there when that's happened? Have any of you heard of "forcible detention" where a Palestinians is held in jail for a period of 6 months - renewable - without ever going to trial or in some cases even knowing what his/her supposed "crime" is. And apart from the West Bank, do you know what happens to Arabs in Israel proper? How they are treated? Israel may treat homosexuals okay but as for treating anyone who isn't white, they have their fair share of issues.
Furthermore, anyone who calls someone a racist for calling out the racism of another party is an idiot.
Thanks, Zionists and Israeli apologists, for proving that instead of thinking with your brains you look at every issue concerning Israel with the same narrowminded ignorance.
Hi,
I hope for Amina's safe return home. I don't want to apologize, explain or condemn my army's acts in the Golan or the west bank.
I just want to say that most people here wish you succeed in your quest for freedom, I know I do.
Israel's not perfect and the wars, occupation and terror have taken their tolls on us. Some have gone racist, some have gone numb and tired of it all and simply don't care about the Palestinians.
Yet the non-violent demonstrations in Bil'in ans east Jerusalem have done something important. They presented an option for a collaboration between Israeli Jews and Palestinians for a just cause.
When we argue on who started this war or that war, whose moral is higher and all that, we miss the point. The point is finding the common ground for people so all of us could do our thing, be it religious, gender or sexual tendancy. I don't see my interests all that different from Anima's.
Good-luck
"Israeli said.."
Thank you for your post….
The Israelis i know personally think like you and I wish your voices were louder but it seems all we ever here from everywhere now is the voice of fanatics-be they jewish,moslem or christian…
As i said before,I believe there will be peace now because change is being propelled by the people and people are sick and tired of the same old merry go round….
Had it been your army there would have been a thousand dead, not twenty. But of course you can't answer me because you were kidnapped by YOUR army.
If they don't shoot you for not being a good Baathist (only in Israel are Arabs allowed to speak their minds, you see) I'd love to hear your reply.
Let's try and see this in other points of view. I personally am Israeli, so I understand that many Arabs feel as if this land was stole from eh Palestinians. And all though some of this may be true, you must consider that many Arabs, approximatively 2 million, live freely in Israel. and choose to live in Israel. A Jewish state, rather than live in an Arab one. Israeli Arabs get the same rights as all other Israeli's, something that you can't say for all places in the middle east. of course, many Palestinians were displaced. They were in the cross-fire. At first, they were the people stuck in the middle, between when Egypt, Jordan and Syria were all attacking Israel. But to be honest, none of these Muslim countries want them, and Israel doesn't want them either. Israel isn't an evil sadistic nation. There is no joy from killing people. why are so many palestinians killed? Because on the Israeli Point of view, there is no other way. Terrorists purposely attack from high population places so that if Israel decides to attack back, it will mostly likely kill civilians. Israel understands this problem and goes as to extreme measures to even warn the civilians that bombing or other attacks will have to take place in their area. There will always be more Arabs killed. why? because Arabs are trying to kill with jagged rocks against Jews with guns who, as a nation, have gone from one oppressor to another. Basically, this soldier is gonna do whatever he can to defend himself.
Israel was established simply because the jewish people have been so targeted so many times, it was time for a place free from oppression. I don't know if any of you realize this, but there really wasn't any palestine before Israel. right before Israel, there was the british mandate of palestine, and no Palestinians were bothered then, when they were Englands bitches. just when Israel moves in under a pretty reasonable pretense....
Wow Dov. Your demonstration of extreme bigotry and ignorance shows that not only do you completely misunderstand freedom (as it is meant for Americans, and as it is meant for humanity in general - freedom is not confined to America) but that you would fit in rather well amongst the oppressive regimes of the Middle East which you seemingly despise. (Or maybe it's just the people themselves you hate, and you see them as a single cultural entity when in fact they are as diverse as Europe)
As for the others, I can neither condemn nor condone either side's actions because I'm not well informed enough on the subject, but regardless, doesn't this woman have a right to voice her opinion? Just because her homeland's government doesn't recognize that right doesn't mean she doesn't have it. Anyway, it's irrelevant that the bias is evident because it's her OPINION. She has the right to that opinion, the same as you and I and everyone on this planet.
(I do apologize if this comment is double-posted; I tried to post earlier but I don't know if it went through.)
I liked the comment by "Israeli said". I think that trying to see anyone as humans and trying to see common grounds is a progressive attitude.
I for one know my history and i know that it wasn't a matter of chance that Jews went back here to Israel. It is because this is the historical nation of the Jewish people. I am not a religious person. I do not believe in the god of Jews, Moslems or Christ. Nonetheless it is the place we lived 2000 years ago and yes we came back. This is history for us. Now facts are solid in the ground even though that i'm aware they can be shaken. We as Israelis are not going anywhere and i do not believe that the Palestinians have anywhere else to go. Looking ahead and seeing common grounds between people is the way to try to live it out.
One thing that i wish for you is to be able to elect your own government like it is possible in Israel. I think that with freedom in your hand you will be able to see clearly.
I hope you get out alive and well. Wish you succeed in the revolution
I came across this blog due to the media attention that has been given to Amina's abduction, and having read some of her post I find myself disagreeing with so much of what she says. But, she clearly has a right to say and write what she thinks. This notion, like amend 1 of US constitution, of freedom of speech, is one ALL of us who have been raised in the middle east should be striving for. For this reason and this reason alone, I an Israeli Jew, proud Zionist and prouder human being, hope and pray for Amina's safe and imminent return home.
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