One could well argue that films representing the history and culture of the majority of Israel's Jewish population are long overdue. As always, the Jewish Film Festival has done us all a favor by helping us to learn more about an extremely large and important segment of Israel's population. For years the Arab position was that they could outwait Israel, and that time and demographics were on their side. What brought them to the table was not any lessening of their xenophobia and hatred, nor any love of peace. What changed their minds, or at least their tactics, was seeing Judea and Samaria being settled by Jews.
Arab terrorism is a negotiation tactic to pressure Israel during the peace process.
Settlements will beget a settlement. Your article in the Aug. 11 issue describing the involvement of children in civil disobedience was very misleading. Gone were the admissions of the previous week's JTA article about excessive brutality by the Israeli police. Gone was the objective view that civil disobedience is an important part of the democratic process. Absent was the notion that if protesters are carried away when they behave passively, there is no reason for anyone to suffer more than minor bruises.