From: bv652@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Ilan Uri Woll)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast
Subject: Re: Israel and Mideast
Date: 31 Dec 1992 09:06:58 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: bv652@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Ilan Uri Woll)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, davesimp@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Simpson) says:

>To: 
>Subject: Re: 
>Newsgroups: 
>In-Reply-To: 
>Organization: University of California, Berkeley
>Cc: 
>Bcc: 
>
>
>I agree with an earlier post that said that both sides of this
>conflict are guilty of some pretty low deeds.  Until both Israel
>and the Arabs/Palestinians are ready to admit this, the talks
>won't go anywhere.
>
>Before I go further, I would like to state that I am Jewish, and
>I am pro-Israel.  I believe Israel should exist, and must exist. 
>However, I think Israel is definitely trying the faith of its
>supporters, and is definitely not winning over any new allies.
>
>I may be wrong here, but I believe Israel has a perfectly legal
>right to the West Bank and Gaza strip.  Just like Sinai, it is
>territory it occupied during a war started by several Arab
>nations in an attempt to destroy Israel.  Sinai has been given
>back to Egypt in exchange for peace.  But, Israel is still
>currently at war with it's other Arab neighbors.  So you have to
>understand (and most of you do) that this is a little more than a
>border dispute between the U.S. and Canada.
>
>But Israeli actions in the West Bank are not productive.  Forget
>the fact that they are violating several international laws and
>are shooting Palestinians daily.  Who cares if they have the
>right to deport over 400 people without trial? (Okay, I care, and
>so should you, whether you are pro-Palestine or pro-Israel, but
>this is not the point I want to argue)  The deportations may seem
>extreme, but I am sure your opinion might be different if you
>lived in daily fear of terrorism.  That is most likely why many
>of us may not support them, but 91% of Israelis do.
>
>If Israel wants peace, they have to 
>realize that the Hamas are a SYMPTOM, not THE problem.  
>Deporting more and more people is not going to solve
>anything.  Israel may have a right to settle the West Bank.
>But if Israel wants peace, they are going to
>have to sacrifice something and give it up some or all of the
>Occupied Territories just like they did with Egypt.
>
>I don't want to see Israel get smaller, but it would definitely
>be preferable to what its current state is now.  I don't want
>Israel to concede easily to it's Arab neighbors.  It should be
>tough, and demand treaties that will ensure its peaceful
>existence.  Israel has been getting a bad rap lately (and, IMHO,
>it deserves some of it) but it is not dealing with angels.  These
>countries were committed to destroying Israel and the PLO was a
>terrorist organization.  And though 'were' and 'was' may be past
>tense, we are talking less than ten years ago.

Hate to say it Dave, but they still are committing these acts.
the PLO is peaceful in name only.

>I am very PRO Israel.  I want to see Israel flourish and grow
>into a powerful and respected nation.  That is why I want this
>lunacy in the Occupied Territories to end as soon as possible, so
>Israel can go on to concentrating on more important things.
>
>-David Simpson

Finally, a rational man in this sea of radicals.  A man I agree with.

I wish both sides could agree that they are equally guilty of letting this
conflict escalate this far and work to end it.


Bless you Dave for being the voice of reason.



Ilan U. Woll
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