Congratulations, David Singer. This article has reached a higher level of lily-gilding than the last one and perhaps almost achieves Academy Award status.

Where is the Israel you are talking about? On the site of Palestine there does exist a nation that is also called Israel. It's main achievements have included the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people for sixty years. This nation has excelled at land-stealing, home demolitions, genocide, duplicity and cruelty. It has, by stealth, got nuclear weapons which it has threatened to use on its neighbors if necessary.

This Israel, a rogue State, has engaged in continual talks with the Palestinians about their State while never intending to grant them one. Its snipers have shot Palestinian children and journalists and one of its bulldozers even ran down and killed an American peace activist.

Currently it has Gaza under total siege and is allowing the people there to starve while they live in the ruins of their homes which Israeli bombs and missiles destroyed the Xmas before last.

Please tell me where this ideal, innocuous Israel is, the one you are talking about in this article.

Or does it exist only in the dark confines of your mind?

David,
I hope you are better at arguing your cases than the myopic pro Israel propaganda you espouse here.

I have no idea why Graham publishes your writings on this topic.

I too would be more impressed by the achievements of Israel if they were not so tainted by ongoing murderous behaviour. Not just the CIA and Mossad, but continuous overt aggression on many fronts.
Both the US and Israel need to pull their heads in. I can already hear the cries of "why us" when the inevitable retaliation occurs.

Well well well....there we have DAVID G or should it read 'Herr Himmler'

You said:

This nation has excelled at land-stealing, home demolitions, genocide, duplicity and cruelty.

I was quite stunned reading that, because I was under the impression that it was a description of how the Israelites LOST the land originally in AD 70 then 132 then the remaining remnant lost more with the invasions of Umar in th 7th century...

I suppose after a while 'stolen' land and 'dispossession' can be forgoten by those who only look at a narrow but recent window of history through blatant (not even disguised) anti semitic binoculars..and who don't even comment on the documents Singer refered to. Well.. I suppose documentary evidence is nothing to a hammer.. after all.. isn't everything a nail to it ? :)

This is most strange when every person named Levi and Cohen can trace their biological connection to Aaron the brother of Moses.
If ur a Jew...I guess you just have to accept that you are eternally 'cursed' to live in other lands and experience pogroms at the hands of people like David G

Or.. you might even meet delightful ladies like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibr0wGEpzlQ&feature=related

What was it she said ? "SUPPORT"...but hey..it's just a word.. what does that matter?

ALGOREisRICH, you may want to spend your time thinking about what happened thousands of years ago in the Middle East but most intelligent people are more interested in what is happening in the world currently and what may happen in the future.

And, because of the Jews in Israel, this future could involve a nuclear war, one that could destroy our world. Anyway, who gives a stuff if someone can trace their ancestry back to Roman times? Big deal! If you went back even further, your ancestors were living in trees and, before that, in the ocean.

Time for you to join the real world rather than live in the past!

Dear David
is not the issue here 'which' past ? who deterimines the window of time..this not easy. Most people (it seems you are one) tend to choose the point in time which suits their particular perspective on the situation.. let's face it..I do it too right ?

So..in the end.. it's probably better to let the Israelies and Arabs sort it out themselves.

If you are so concnerned with 'recent past wrongs'.. I assume ur selling your house and land and donating it to the indigenous rehabiltiation fund ?

Let's get real here David.. "status quo's" ..dare I say ALL of them, are ultimately established by power.. correct ?

It never ceases to amaze me how excited Westerners can be over something in the Middle east. as though it is going to effect them in the next 5 minutes.

You raise the real concern of 'Nuclear War' but again..we need a reality check. The only nation which need fear such an attack is the one of whom the leader of Iran said "It should be blotted off the map"
If he ever tried it he would lose much more than Israel would I suspect.. I doubt he would because he would wipe out the Arabs also.. most unlikely I guess. Unless he's done his sums about how much of Israel you could leave as a radioactive wasteland and not impact on those he is trying to 'save'.

I'm sure you are well meaning and feel you need to express something to soothe your moral outrage...as we all do at times. But really.. I don't think there is much we can do on OLO to suddenly fix it..
do you ?
Most of us just end up letting off pent up steam...either the 'whack-a-jew' kind or 'whack an Arab'.

Maybe we should just 'whack-ourselves' :)