From: zmbenhal@netcom.com (Zeyd M. Ben-Halim)
Subject: Re: Sgt-Mgr Nissim Toledano found murdered
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 10:09:42 GMT

In article <1992Dec19.171726.27595@ncsu.edu> hernlem@chess.ncsu.EDU (Brad Hernlem) writes:
>
>I believe that the best resolution of the "Israeli/Palestinian problem"
>would be the formation of one Israel with native Palestinians living
>side by side with Jews in peace. I do not see this likely when the

This was the palestenian position for a long time, one secular state including
jews, moslems, and christians all with equal rights.Unfortunatly, this will
eventually lead to the country not being the "jewish state" as the arabs have
a larger birth rate than the jews. Only mass imports of russian jewry to
Israel has reversed this trend lately.

Only recently, due to various pressures, has the PLO decided to accept a two-
state "solution". The Palestenian problem was transformed from the quest of
justice for those disposesed by the creation of Israel to that of the search
for a "homeland", thus the Israeli answer: "They already have a homeland and
it is called Jordan". Statements such as "if your color the arab countries red
and Israel blue you see that the red overwhelms the blue are supposed to be
a justification for the continuing oppression of the palestinians.
The question is not HOW much land this guy has got, but WHOSE land it is.

>Israeli government does not take steps to increase contact between
>Israelis and Palestinians and indeed takes steps to increase hostility,
>isolation and distrust. A member of Hamas was interviewed on BBC about a
>week ago. When asked whether he was opposed to peace with Israel, he
>answered [I am liberally paraphrasing the response] that it was not
>peace that they were seeking to oppose but that peace talks without a
>show of commitment by Israel to reach a settlement was an act in futility.

When people talk about the peace process they don't mention the justice process.
It is easy to talk about peace when you are occupier since you hold all the
cards. The Israeli are prepared to offer peace in return to peace. This is
essentially rubber-stampping the occupation and the oppression of the occupied.

>
>What are the intentions of the Israeli government? What do Israelis
>want? Do they want one state or two? If one, then Israel must seek to
>take steps now to tear down the barriers of distrust with the
>Palestinians. Arresting 1200 people without charges and imprisoning them
>and deporting 400 others without charges is not a good way to go about
>this. If Israel wishes to have a two state settlement then it should
>withdraw from the occupied territories, at least partially, and begin
>treating their new neighbors in the same way they expect to be treated.
>If Israelis wish to continue to live in fear then what Rabin has done is
>an excellent example to follow.
>
>I think that if I were Palestinian I would side with Hamas. I would
>support the attack of Israeli soldiers in the occupied territories.
>Without positive indications from Israel of a desire to treat me as an
>equal in a proposed Israeli/Palestinian state, I would prefer that as
>much pain be inflicted on Israel as possible until Israeli soldiers
>withdrew from my home. 
>
>Brad Hernlem 


Zeyd

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