From: bob1@cos.com (Bob Blackshaw)
Subject: Re: Informed heart
Organization: Corporation for Open Systems
Distribution: world 
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 15:32:26 GMT

In <42577@sdcc12.ucsd.edu> revans@euclid.ucsd.edu (Ron Evans) writes:


>	I came here to develop what Bruno Bettelheim called the
>informed heart--good will, speculative intelligence, and practical
>wisdom working in tandem--on Middle East affairs.  Could it be
>I've come to the wrong place? :-)  It is hard to believe that some

From my experience here, I would say yes. In a recent post I asked
an innocent statement regarding Iraq. You should have seen some of
the vituperative e-mail I received. Now I delete it without bothering
to read it.

>of us who've been at each other's throats of late once found some
>common ground.  I refer to the Proposal for Peace, signed by 36
>of us fourteen months ago.  (Those signators who now wish their
>names removed should please send me email :-)  This proposal was

Funny, I thought I had sent in my name as well - must have been some
other proposal. As an almost disinterested observer (we very nearly
had a Jewish daughter-in-law, which would have been fine with us,
but unfortunately they broke up), I keep seeing references to the
Jewish people having 'stolen' Palestine. Strange, my Bible indicates
that it was their country in the first place.

It seems that the Israelies have committed the serious crime of
fighting back after centuries of severe repression. From what I've
seen here that is at the root of much of the hatred. As regards the
quality of their 'democracy' - compared to what? The 17th century
feudal monarchies that surround them? The saddest part is that so
much could be accomplished in that area with peace and cooperation,
but it appears that the mid-east establishment would rather have
war and bloodshed. God, but people are just so damn stupid.

>written, with the help of many here, by Habeeb Dihu and myself,
>a Palestinian and a Jew both sick of the endless cycle of oppression
>and random killing.  The last time I heard from Habeeb, he was
>going to transfer to Johns Hopkins medical school.  That was a year
>ago.  As we approach the season of "Peace on Earth", I thought it
>an appropriate time to repost the proposal.
>	          __________________

>We support the Middle East peace negotiators in their all-important role, 
>and the following proposal is not intended to advise or second-guess them.
>Rather, it is intended to suggest one of many possible courses for
>compromise and peace.

>                   A PROPOSAL FOR PEACE
>Israelis, Palestinians and neighboring Arab states will begin
>by formally acknowledging each other's legitimate right to coexist
>peacefully in respective states.  This entails official revocation
>of the contrary passages in the PLO Charter.  Simultaneously, Israel
>will revoke laws proclaiming the PLO as a terrorist organization,
>and will negotiate with the PLO along with other Arab representatives,
>with the goal of complying with UNSC Resolution 242.  An
>independent Palestinian state is to be established on all or most
>of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  There are to be firm international
>guarantees of security through demilitarization and peacekeeping
>measures.  At the start of negotiations, the Arab boycott against
>Israel will be lifted and Israeli settlement activity in the
>occupied territories will cease.  At the conclusion, there should
>be cultural exchange and economic development enhanced
>by flourishing trade in the spirit of newfound friendship.

>The undersigned support the spirit of the proposal for peace.

>Anisa Alnoor Aldoubosh              Dr. Barry M. Kingsbury
>Mary Appelman                       Hanan Lutfiyya
>Rabbi Charles Arian                 Lisa Majaj
>Hussein G. Badr                     Brendan McKay
>Gordon Banks                        Hans D. Meurer
>Todd Bernhard                       Ziad Najem
>Steve Berson                        David Marc Nieporent
>Seth Bradley                        Eric Perlman
>Habeeb Dihu                         Ray Ravelo
>Ron Evans                           Brian Ross
>Robert Firth                        Joel Sax
>Shai Guday                          D.C. Sessions
>Barrak Mohammed Hadi                Amos Shapir
>Basil Y. Hamdan                     Adam Shostack
>Nevo Y Hed                          Ben Singer
>Kurt Heycke                         David F. Skoll
>Bharathi Jagadeesh                  Pekka Taipale
>Sari Khoury                         David Weinstein
>-- 
>Ron Evans (revans@math.ucsd.edu)

Bob.

PS: Don't waste your time or net bandwidth with e-mail, as I stated
above, I refuse to read anything similar to the crap I have already
seen.

Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast