Random Variable
Lifer
they have lost sight of the basic truth civilization is built on: the sacredness of every human life, starting with your own."
The preceding quote is from a editorial written by Thomas L. Friedman that I read this morning in the newspaper.
Putting an end to suicide bombers before it's too late
<< Israelis are terrified. And Palestinians, although this strategy has wrecked their society, feel a rising sense of empowerment. They feel they finally have a weapon that creates a balance of power with Israel, and maybe, in their fantasies, can defeat Israel. As Ismail Haniya, a Hamas leader, said in The Washington Post, Palestinians have Israelis on the run now because they have found their weak spot. Jews, he said, "love life more than any other people, and they prefer not to die." So Palestinian suicide bombers are ideal for dealing with them. That is really sick.
The world must understand that the Palestinians have not chosen suicide bombing out of "desperation" stemming from the Israeli occupation. That is a huge lie. Why? To begin with, a lot of other people in the world are desperate, yet they have not gone around strapping dynamite to themselves. More important, President Bill Clinton offered the Palestinians a peace plan that could have ended their "desperate" occupation, and Yasser Arafat walked away. Still more important, the Palestinians have long had a tactical alternative to suicide: non-violent resistance, a la Gandhi. A non-violent Palestinian movement appealing to the conscience of the Israeli silent majority would have delivered a Palestinian state 30 years ago, but they have rejected that strategy too.
The reason the Palestinians have not adopted these alternatives is because they actually want to win their independence in blood and fire. All they can agree on as a community is what they want to destroy, not what they want to build. Have you ever heard Arafat talk about what sort of education system or economy he would prefer, what sort of constitution he wants? No, because Arafat is not interested in the content of a Palestinian state, only the contours. >>
The preceding quote is from a editorial written by Thomas L. Friedman that I read this morning in the newspaper.
Putting an end to suicide bombers before it's too late
<< Israelis are terrified. And Palestinians, although this strategy has wrecked their society, feel a rising sense of empowerment. They feel they finally have a weapon that creates a balance of power with Israel, and maybe, in their fantasies, can defeat Israel. As Ismail Haniya, a Hamas leader, said in The Washington Post, Palestinians have Israelis on the run now because they have found their weak spot. Jews, he said, "love life more than any other people, and they prefer not to die." So Palestinian suicide bombers are ideal for dealing with them. That is really sick.
The world must understand that the Palestinians have not chosen suicide bombing out of "desperation" stemming from the Israeli occupation. That is a huge lie. Why? To begin with, a lot of other people in the world are desperate, yet they have not gone around strapping dynamite to themselves. More important, President Bill Clinton offered the Palestinians a peace plan that could have ended their "desperate" occupation, and Yasser Arafat walked away. Still more important, the Palestinians have long had a tactical alternative to suicide: non-violent resistance, a la Gandhi. A non-violent Palestinian movement appealing to the conscience of the Israeli silent majority would have delivered a Palestinian state 30 years ago, but they have rejected that strategy too.
The reason the Palestinians have not adopted these alternatives is because they actually want to win their independence in blood and fire. All they can agree on as a community is what they want to destroy, not what they want to build. Have you ever heard Arafat talk about what sort of education system or economy he would prefer, what sort of constitution he wants? No, because Arafat is not interested in the content of a Palestinian state, only the contours. >>
