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I am stuck with my relatives & friends too . And I love even the ugly ones too .
But there has been too much international delay & too much resulting damage & suffering . Getting far too late to fiddle , experimenting with powder puffs for the purpose of giving the self-indulgent offenders another chance .
How can you guarantee that your gentler remedy will work ? How could you justify the lethal delay if it did not work ?

In adopting Danielle's approach , you are introducing the issue of COLLATERAL DAMAGE . I think that Israel is already on record , asserting that as a sometimes-unavoidable , but necessary evil . I must admit that I have never digested that idea in the way the Israeli government puts it .

(continued)
For example , hopefully a BDS would convince busy alzheimer workers to FIND the time to take the government to task , without stopping work .

Don't forget the WEDGE idea you raised earlier . That would work . If you pulled that off , you would , after the dust settled , get Israeli of the Year .
The stupid Americans ? I associate them with problems , not solutions .
As some Chinese spokesman said - they are so UNIMAGINATIVE .
I hold more hope in the ordinary Israeli VOTER , with a little help from their (real) friends .

Oz,

Do you overlook the thousands of Palestinians who enter daily to work in Israel? Those who do receive equitable wages, social (including medical) benefits, enjoyed by Israelis. Are they too to lose their income and benefits ... their jobs.

And what of the Israeli and Palestinian businesses who mutually depend upon each other?

I suggest your read the following in full ...

Jerusalem Palestinians Would Prefer to Remain in Israel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/jerusalem-palestinians_n_809374.html

Pechter Polls
http://www.pechterpolls.com/

Thousands of Palestinians apply for Israeli citizenship
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3468672,00.html

"Intensive talks over division of Jerusalem has prompted its Palestinian residents to make a move once considered the ultimate treason ...

... As accepting Israeli citizenship was viewed by many within the community as tantamount to treason, most Palestinians opted to remain permanent residents and enjoy the benefits of living under Israeli sovereignty – full welfare rights, municipal voting rights and unrestricted movement - without putting their loyalty to the Palestinian Authority into question. The average Palestinian family in East Jerusalem currently receives a $770 monthly stipend from Israel."

Not too bad ...

It would appear that Palestinians have a better idea of their situation than those pontificating and making decisions for them thousands of miles away.

I do not approve of the settlements over the Green Line. However, under international law these are entirely legal. The Green Line is an armistice line, not an internationally recognised border. Until the Palestinians agree to Israel's right to exist, no border can be decided upon. If and when the Palestinians agree to two states, borders will be determined. This could well mean settlers being forceably removed by Israel, or the settlers finding themselves within a Palestinian state. Indeed, Israel has stated that there would be a land-for-land exchange.

Aparteid is a separation of space ... the space can be physical, social, within education, political, scientific, philosophical, etc. etc.

In South Africa "aparteid' was forensically and painfully determined. Blacks could not walk on the same side of the streets as whites in major cities, nor attend schools with whites, not bathe on the same beaches, nor hold down comparable jobs with whites, not access toilets used by whites, nor have positions in parliament ... nor attend university ... the list goes on and on ... in every area of life. Indeed it was a crime for a black and a white to marry. Simply explained it would be as though blacks were a bacterium, or a virus, against which whites protected themselves.

When blacks and whites inhabited the same space, the whites had complete and utter control over them.

This is not the situation in Israel.

Danielle ,
I don't say that Israel has no positive features .

Dear Oz,

I am still behind the WEDGE idea:
Place a wedge between the Hateful and the Fearful. Convince the fearful that they can survive without their coalition with the hateful.

"there has been too much international delay"

Yes, and it is the same delaying-factor that prevents both my milder, fairer, surgical tactics and your harsher ones (which include collateral damage, and as Danielle noted, some of the sufferers will even be Palestinians). Neither was tried yet, and the reason is one: America.

My family has already voted, and to the very best of my knowledge, none has voted for the current coalition. They and many others voted for the opposition and are looking helplessly as Israel drifts away into darkness (the Alzheimer researchers are quite likely amongst them).

"How could you justify the lethal delay if it did not work?"

1. America will anyway have to yield sooner to my milder approach than to a comprehensive BDS, so no time is lost.
2. When fixing a water-pipe, look for the joints, check whether the job can be done with a screwdriver instead of with a hammer. Hitting the pipe in frustration with a hammer is only likely to cause a flood and make things worse. Hitting Israel indiscriminately with a hammer, rather than carefully targeting its joints, is likely, instead of fixing it, to bring a meltdown of Israeli society and with it the desperate use of nuclear weapons.

Have a read in Genesis 18, verses 20-32: "Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked?"