The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Reviving Israeli-Palestinian talks now will go nowhere > Comments

Reviving Israeli-Palestinian talks now will go nowhere : Comments

By Alon Ben-Meir, published 19/5/2017

Trump's over-simplification of the conflict suggests he has no clue about what it would take to make peace and why the mere resumption of peace talks is dead on arrival.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. All
Hi Yuyutsu, is that going to solve the problem by just telling each of them to stay in their boundary? Well, i hope this helps.
Posted by rollyczar, Saturday, 20 May 2017 4:17:27 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Hi Foxy, i think a proper leadership is the most important thing to achieve peace as you said.
Posted by rollyczar, Saturday, 20 May 2017 4:25:34 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Hello rollyC.,

Antony Loewenstein in his book, "My Israel Question"
sums things up rather well when he argues that:

"...Neither side has a monopoly on suffering, but only
one side has the power to end the occupation and to
recognise that Israel and Palestine are historically
destined to share the same homeland."

As long as the US keeps on supporting Israel this is
not going to happen anytime soon.
Posted by Foxy, Saturday, 20 May 2017 4:52:43 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Dearest Foxy,

I think it's vastly more complicated than that: every player in this story wants the lot, nobody is prepared to give anything, and they can't be seen to show the slightest sign of 'weakness', in other words, make any concession.

Each side believes that the land of the entire area belong to them alone, because it says so in their respective 'holy' books. That goes to the very core of what it means to be Jewish or Muslim, and will as long as their books stay unrevised.

I agree with Loewenstein, that sooner or later, the only solution is a single State, perhaps with some sort of agreement on both sides that the land belongs to ALL Jews and ALL Muslims simultaneously, and not exclusively, since after all, they are all the sons and daughters of Abraham.

Maybe that's easy for me to say, being an atheist, maybe I don't understand the inherently exclusivist nature of their beliefs, and from both their points of view, I'm just a dill. Well, maybe I am anyway. [Yeah, that would make a lot of sense]. But why should the rest of the world back either side if that's their position, i.e. that to back one side is to exclude the other from any rights in the area at all ?

In Ignazio Silone's wonderful book of about 1934, 'Fontamara', two villages argue about the division of water from a stream: the local politician decides to give each village three-quarters of the water rights, and they all go away happy. Maybe that might not work in this situation, but the expulsion of one group or the other is hardly justice either.

Lots of love,

Joe
Posted by Loudmouth, Saturday, 20 May 2017 6:25:23 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Dear Joe,

The major political parties in Israel have essentially
supported the massive expansion of the settlements.
Mass confiscation of land, acts of collective
punishment, arrest without trial and house demolitions
are the norm. Virtually every Geneva convention related to
areas under occupation has been abused. The majority of the
Israeli population accept the rationale that the West Bank and
Gaza belong to the Jewish people and could never be given
back to the Palestinian people.

All I can suggest for you is to get a hold of Antony
Loewenstein's book, "My Israel Question." It may clarify
a few things in one of the most important debates of our
times.

See you on another discussion.
Posted by Foxy, Saturday, 20 May 2017 6:50:15 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Dear Foxy,

Well, yeah, that's what I was getting at. On the other side, the PA and Hamas have declared, perhaps one might say rhetorically, but maybe not, that all Jews should be pushed into the sea, and that all of current Israel belongs forever to Islam.

I can see their point: after all, Muhammad flew there on a winged horse with a woman's face on the night he died, in order to get to Jacob's Ladder, the recognised Jewish way to get into Heaven. Therefore it's all Muslim, forever. Yeah, that makes sense. If a Muslim goes into a fish and chip shop, that shop is thereafter forever Muslim. There's some logic to that, I suppose.

i.e. the bottom line is that BOTH sides claim ALL of the area.

So yes, as Loewenstein suggests, ultimately they have to put such religious foolishness behind them, modify their belief systems and share the country.

Anyway, there are vastly more important issues, even just in the Middle East: defeating ISIS, giving the Kurds (30 million of them) some form of autonomy or independence, assuring minority groups such as Yazidis and Mandeans and Turcomans and Assyrians and Samaritans and Druses and Azeris and god-knows-how-many-others, assurances of non-discrimination.

Love,

Joe
Posted by Loudmouth, Saturday, 20 May 2017 7:46:16 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy