In September 2002, Israel began constructing a “security fence,” claiming it was a preventative measure to forestall Palestinian attacks. The fence made up of concrete and barbed wire, when finished, will be three times as long and twice as high as the Berlin Wall. Its construction will also result in an unofficial expansion of the Israeli borders by annexing dozens of… return to article
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Reader Comments (12)Page 1 of 1 pagesThe comparison to the Berlin wall is one analogy. Another is to the Concentration Camp walls that went up around Jews in the Second World War.
Certainly Palestinian communities will be isolated and sealed in at the whim of Ariel Sharon. As he has once again sealed the Gaza Strip today, and once again maintained that he has no “partner for peace” on the Palestinian side.
Ariel Sharon has not only shown no reluctance to rocket and strafe civilians within the Camps, he provokes incidents that “allow” him to do so if the resistance seems to be flagging.
It is beyond time for all the people of conscience of the United States of America, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, whatever, to insist that US funds no longer be used to further the truly monstrous acts of the right-wing in Israel.
“Our” war in Iraq is essentially an Eastern Front of the now Middle East wide war of expropriation undertaken by the Likudniks in Israel and America.
It is no more anti-Israeli, certainly no more anti-Semitic, to oppose the far-right wing and their shameful plans in Israel than it is anti-American to oppose the far-right wing and their shameful plans in America.
In fact it is incumbent upon all of us who would not be remembered as “good Germans” to stand up and to do so.
Not a dime more in support of the two fronted war in the Middle East! Not a dime more in support of the Likud in Israel until there is a Palestinian State in Palestine!
Posted by John Francis Lee on Jan 15, 2005 at 9:41 AM “The fence made up of concrete and barbed wire, when finished, will be three times as long and twice as high as the Berlin Wall.”
I’m disappointed. The wall should be 10 times longer and 5 times higher than the Great Wall of China. The the Philistines will have no one but themselves to blow up.
Posted by Lefty on Jan 15, 2005 at 1:33 PM hmm..now I see that hitler was right in some strange ways..you are on the same level of thinking ,this is why you hated each other ..but the nazi idea lost and jewish is still terrorising ,not just palestine, rest of the world with masonery-banking-gold-money terror ...just rot on some other planet ..this one can be so nice
Posted by mirkec on Jan 15, 2005 at 4:32 PM I don’t see a solution to the Middle East conflict. There isn’t enough love. There aren’t enough principles. That, incidentally, is where the fight should take place. Throwing stones at dog soldiers who we all know will often respond with deadly force isn’t resistance to evil. It’s more evil. And it’s stupid. While I’m on the subject of stupidity, Palestinians demonstrate that they have little respect for life when they fire off guns into the air, which they do all the time for all kinds of reasons, as far as I can tell. A scripture in the Christian Bible states that ‘He who is faithful in what is least, is faithful also in what is much. And he who is unfaithful in what is least, is unfaithful also in what is much’. Common sense agrees.
I believe that my behavior is more important than my situation, even though, in all honesty, I don’t always behave in accordance with that belief. That’s because I’m weak. But if I don’t bother to know that, then I’m really weak. Anyway, If the principle is good enough for me, then I suppose it’s good enough for others - from my standpoint, which others don’t have to adopt. But What does it mean? For the person who believes that his or her own behavior - Others’ behavior is for others to concern themselves with - is more important than his or her situation, there is a recognition of a higher source, wise and perfectly just and almighty, who will take note of those who are deserving of the precious gift of life and those who aren’t. In time, That higher source, Jehovah, will ensure that only the peaceable remain. There will be no sharing of the land between sheep and goats. Ultimately, The land belongs (relatively speaking) to those who God gives it to. No more and no less.
As for Israel, No human or group of humans need to support or object to Israel’s existence. All the nations of the earth have failed to acknowledge Jehovah’s Kingdom. Their leases on this planet were up some time ago. When it has become more important than ever for people everywhere to be on their best behavior, nations, and so many within those nations, have been doing their utmost to ensure that they will leave, forever. No, There’s no hell. As for suffering, I suppose those who are wicked and who bother to know, might not be comforted terribly by the fact that they have crossed the line and when they die physically, they will also die completely, body and soul. But that’s another subject.
Regarding nations, No nation right now has God’s blessing. God may or may not control nature. But he will always protect his people, although at this time, individual servants of God might be tested to the limit. But the nations of the earth are God-rejecting, expressions of religiosity by some leaders and some peoples notwithstanding.
There are no doubt good people in Israel. But there are clearly a lot of bad people. How Israel could do to the Palestinians what Hitler did to them is beyond me, sort of. (Which isn’t to say that I’m unaware of the evil role that the U.S. plays in funding the state terrorism in the Middle East, and elsewhere.) Then again, When you factor in the power of the Devil and his demons, perhaps it’s not so suprising. And we need to know, unfortuately, who will remain and who won’t remain. Therefore, Folks need to be free to believe as they wish, and to a great extent, you need to be free to behave as you wish in order to believe as you wish, before God can examine your behavior and check you off or not.
The clock is ticking, and that’s a good thing. Folks don’t have to believe as I do. But I think it’s madness to believe that the chaos, destruction and suffering out there will go on forever. If I didn’t believe in God and if I thought the bloodletting out there was going to go on forever, I would have only enough energy and motivation to off myself.
Posted by Arby on Jan 16, 2005 at 10:19 AM Leaving aside the issue of whether or not there are normative justifications for the erection of the fence or wall or whatever one would like to call it, any article that omits discussion of the types of Palestinian offenses that influenced the Israelis to build the barrier, particularly suicide bombings, contributes not even a scintilla of value to educated and intellectual discourse. Unfortunately, as long as commentators remain tendentious in presenting the issues of the conflict, the conflict will likely continue to be intractable. However, once those that inform the public are willing to engage in a more dialectical presentation of issues, the central figures of the conflict may become increasingly inclined to pursue compromise and rapprochement.
Posted by Daniel Hartstein on Jan 17, 2005 at 2:51 PM Israel is occupying Palestine, and is much, much more powerful. Suicide bombers are abhorrent. But Palestinians have no defenses against this aggressor, who just happens to be backed up by the world’s largest superpower.
Israel: Get your hands off of Palestine and get out of Palestine.
That’s absolutely the first thing that needs to be done here. No excuses. If someone brings up the suicide bombers as an excuse, on behalf of Israel, for Israel to not quit oppressing Palestinians, then that someone is far too morally challenged to contribute usefully to the solution, or a discussion of the solution, in my view.
Otherwise, Yes, Those are things that can be talked about, as can the Palestinians’ treatment of their own people. I’m referring to the gangs that prey upon their own people. And I hope I’m wrong about the report I read that stated that the cement used to build the hideous wall was supplied by a Palestinian company.
Posted by Arby on Jan 17, 2005 at 7:38 PM There is no such place as Palistine and there is no such thing as a Palistinian. When each and every arab masquerading as a so called Palistinian is dead, then there will be peace in Israel. No sooner.
Posted by Lefty on Jan 18, 2005 at 2:25 PM Lefty,
you are either an idiot or just trying to get people riled up. Look at your history books…the area was called the Mandate of Palestine up until 1948.
p.s. Palestine has only one “i”...
Posted by the greatwent on Jan 18, 2005 at 4:27 PM It is extremely disheartening to read the profoundly ignorant supremacist comments of Lefty, but it does explain why I am no longer a member of the Zionist Democratic party and will not vote for one more Democratic candidate unless and until they recognize they are abetting genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine.
Lefty can quote Meir all he wants, but this will not erase Palestine or Palestinians. While I’m sure he would be angered by Holocaust revisionism, this sort is even worse. No one ever denied Jews actually existed.
Unfortunately he is not alone in the Democratic party, which is sadly dangerous for us all.
Posted by opeluboy on Jan 18, 2005 at 10:56 PM Greatwent, you are just an idiot. Israel has been Israel for over 3,000 years. Palistinians are the Philistines. YOU look at YOUR history books. Ass hole.
Posted by Lefty on Jan 19, 2005 at 1:29 PM Opeluboy,
You are an ignoramus of the highest order, and a perfect fit for the republican (read reptilian) party.
It is the palistinians (read: philistines) who have open written policy vowed to the destruction of Israel, not vise versa. And who, despite public comments to the contrary, continue to prove that this is their goal, for which they are willing to blow themselves up in an attempt to murder Israelis. It is the palistinians who, when Israel continued to agree to their offers for a peace agreement, continually changed their position, until Israel offered everything they asked for, when they walked out of peace talks - because they don’t want peace.
Your vulgar, asinign comments about genocide foreclose the fact of your abject stupidity.
More Israelis have been murdered by palistinian TERRORISTS, than palistinians have been killed by Israelis - in justifiable self defense.The philistines have what they deserve - to be sequestered in their own, murderous, stone age squaler. The have, through their doctrine and actions, proven that there will NEVER be peace in Israel until each and every one of them is dead. Let them blow themselves up. The sooner the better.
Posted by Lefty on Jan 19, 2005 at 1:48 PM Lefty,
you are just plain wrong! On every level you are just wrong! Stop calling yourself a lefty, you’re a short-sighted bigot.
Listen, whether or not you agree that the Palestinians should be there (or vice versa) they are. So you can either live in fear and violence and death or you can admit to the reality of the situation and try to come to some peace.
Palestinians aren’t evil incarnate, but when you keep people economically disadvantaged (unemployment is what, around 60%?) and in sequestered areas and treat them like second class citizens (but still use their taxes) chances are they’ll start to feel hopeless and act accordingly
So the long standing Israeli tactic of over-reacting to each attack has taken a new level, building a big-ass wall to seperate them from their arab neighbours. Think about that for a second. How can this possibly foster anything but more isolation and more hopelessness and more hatred? Seems if you want peace, the way to do it isn’t to make the people that hate you hate you even more?
The Wall also becomes a symbol of Western Autocracy for all those that want to see it that way…not the smartest way to keep your citizens safe Mr. Sharon…
Posted by neil on Jan 19, 2005 at 4:28 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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