Victimhood a tough road for Palestinians
Thank goodness for an honest voice in the ongoing debate about the troubled Middle East. I totally agree with Victor Davis Hanson that the deep-seated problems with regard to the Palestinians are the Palestinians themselves — their adherence to tribal loyalties, their envy of Western culture, their backwardness to gender equality (“Why the Mideast is unhinged,” June 22).
I might add that part of the problem is their insistence on blaming their “plight” on Israel and the United States. Add to this the enablers of their victimhood, like Jimmy Carter, the European community, Noam Chomsky and the Tony Kushners of the world, and it is no wonder that the Palestinians remain divided and in chaos.
As long as the Palestinians prefer being “victims,” they do not have to acknowledge responsibility for the morass in which they find themselves.
Jenene Stookesberry, Denver
http://www.afsc.org/israel-palestine/learn/siege.htm
"Palestinian life in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) (1) is heavily impacted by Israeli military policies that restrict movement and isolate and harass the civilian population. This state of "siege" takes the form of closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, regular curfews, roadblocks, checkpoints, electric fences, and walls. It is almost impossible to move people or goods within or out of the OPT, strangling the civilian population and devastating the Palestinian economy. This state of siege has intensified drastically since the beginning of the second Intifada (uprising) in September 2000.
Israel's siege is a form of collective punishment that violates the dignity of the Palestinian people, their basic human rights, and many articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of civilians in war and under occupation."
Posted by Truth on July 3, 2007 06:24 AM"Tribal loyalties"? What are you talking about, Jenene? Envy of West culture? gender inequalities? If you think that the problems that Palestinians deal with on a daily basis have anything to do with any of these things, you are mistaken. There is an occupation, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. And it controls things like movement, education, security, economy, family life, and so on. Referring to Noam Chomsky and others as "enablers" is just idiotic. Why look for far-fetched explanations for problems when the obvious ones are staring you in the face?
Tell me something, do you support equal rights for Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Mandate Palestine?
so truth why do they teach their children to hate and learn to strap a bomb to their bodies to blow up people? the palentinians are proudn that they go into Isreal and get on a bus and blow up and kill as many Jews as they can. but you defend these wonderful people as they are trying to get along.
Posted by [fish] on July 3, 2007 06:59 AMThat's like accusing all Americans of kidnapping, raping and murdering young women. I condemn those Palestinians who commit atrocities. But I have the good sense not to claim that all of the Palestinians are guilty. You should too.
This is simply a matter of recognizing that there are faults on both sides. Jenene Stookesberry's letter is a wild-eyed diatribe against whoever has a political philosophy that she doesn't like with no attempt at all to be objective or balanced. The fewer people we have like her, the better off we are.
Posted by Truth on July 3, 2007 07:20 AMThe name "Palestine" was the name given to the land by the occuping Roman army. Hence, Palestinian's are the Jews. But don't let history get in the way of propaganda. The arab occupiers of the land were sent by feudal style masters to work the land. The peasents never owned the land they worked. Those are the one's people call Palestinians. They were Egyptians and Syrians sent by their masters...They are not welcomed back to Egypt or Syria. Nor are these people welcomed in Jordan, a state designed for them. Isreal is a trifling piece of land in the midst of a sea of Arab lands. The only thing of value there are the Jews. The Royal and political elements in Middle east have use the Jews as scapegoats. A diversion from the truth: a corrupt and unresponsive ruling government. The so-called Palestinians are pawns of the power brokers. They were never a nation or a people. Their lives mean nothing to the Arab elite or they would let them go home to their native lands. Hence the modern Palestinian is a hostage held by hate, lust for power, and politics.
Posted by TW on July 3, 2007 07:31 AMTruth: what does the 4th Geneva convention say about armed civilians wearing masks and having a shootout?
TW: the jews stold the land from the caananites who took it from the.... and so on into the dawn of history. There WILL always be a war there. That is not pessimisstic, it is history.
08:29AM: if you have something to say about the 4th Geneva Convention, then say it. You are not teaching a course here.
Posted by Truth on July 3, 2007 09:14 AMHamas and their ilk are thugs...this is an example of their thuggery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9lL81QhiR8
Posted by Joe on July 3, 2007 12:09 PMTruth you're the one who keeps using the Geneva convention in your many diatrabs about the mideast and U.S. foreign policy. Of course you pick and choose bits and pieces that fit in, as you consistantly do, like all your other rhetoric. Armed civilians (no uniform), particularly those with masks and shooting weapons, can be treated as spies and sabateurs and treated acordingly, same as those killers at gitmo.
Posted by on July 3, 2007 01:36 PMJust so you'll know, 01:36PM, I haven't mentioned the Geneva Convention. What else have you been dreaming? Your comment on the Geneva Convention is woefully short and ignores much of what it says. That is because you are too lazy to read or re-read it before you comment on it. You just like to talk. Being accurate is not important to you.
Posted by Truth on July 3, 2007 08:56 PMOccupied Palestinian Territory is a fabricated term. The territory under dispute was never Palestinian land in the first place. But as TW said, don’t let history get in the way of propaganda.
Truth wants to believe there is a moral equivalency between Palestinians and the civilized world. And he is surprised when others don’t see that distortion of facts. He wants us to believe that Israel puts up those fences and restricts movement, etc. because they are just plain mean people. Of course, it’s not the fault of the people committing acts of terror, the Palestinians for whom he makes excuses. Oh no.
See, if our police departments could just let murders be murders without all those pesky laws that put murders behind bars, life would be so much safer for us all.
Occupied Palestinian Territory is a fabricated term. The territory under dispute was never Palestinian land in the first place. But as TW said, don’t let history get in the way of propaganda.
Truth wants to believe there is a moral equivalency between Palestinians and the civilized world. And he is surprised when others don’t see that distortion of facts. He wants us to believe that Israel puts up those fences and restricts movement, etc. because they are just plain mean people. Of course, it’s not the fault of the people committing acts of terror, the Palestinians for whom he makes excuses. Oh no.
See, if our police departments could just let murders be murders without all those pesky laws that put murders behind bars, life would be so much safer for us all.
So sorry for the double post! I didn't mean to submit my comments twice.
But I would like to add this: The folks coming here from Mexico have learned the lessons taught by the Palestinians, that 1) victimhood works and that 2) it helps to rewrite history with the claim that the land they are invading was theirs in the first place.