imajulianutter, you can quote away until the cows come home, but the only quotes that are relevant to this article are the one of Benjamin Netanyahu in the article itself and the one Lindy has used above from the State of Israel’s Basic Law. The Jews believe in sanctity of life, so do us Christians. We share the same scriptures, the same tradition. Whatever differences we may have in interpretation, the tradition is the same. I can have the same tradition as someone but disagree with them on every subject under the sun. A tradition is “something, such as a doctrine, belief, custom, story, etc, that is passed on from generation to generation” (Chambers Dictionary)… such as scriptures. Christians share that tradition with the Jews, and Christians likewise believe in the sanctity of life, as do the Jews. If you want to have a debate about how Jews and Christians interpret that tradition differently, find another article to comment on. This article is about recognising the common ground we have with the Jews, the common ground I would like to think most human beings have with the Jews, a belief in the value of human beings, a belief in the sanctity of human life. People with a shared tradition don’t have to agree, as we’ve seen throughout history – Christians have fought each other constantly, after all – but my article calls on people to agree on the basics, to allow a shared tradition to be the basis for solidarity. You seem to only want to spread discord….

On that note, I won’t be replying to any further comments. I enjoy a good discussion, but most of the comments here have been from people who talk past each other, and I don’t see that as profitable. Some have even been abusive and defamatory, which says more about the person commenting than anything else, methinks.

Dear Mishka,

I am sorry to hear you will not be commenting on further posts but that is the price one pays for coming in late.

While I did find your article myopic I do understand where the myopia comes from and I am not so proud to think that being put in a similar framework I would not exhibit the same. However in my opinion the tragedy for the Jewish people is that myopia so taints the long legacy of social justice contributions made by so many of them to the Western world.

I am also wondering about the fate of the two brothers kidnapped by an Israeli commando incursion into Gaza the day before the taking of Gilad? Their names are Osama and Mustafa Muamar.

The raid occurred at 3:30 am and their father was blindfolded and beaten in the raid. It was the first taking of Palestinian civilians in a full year following the handing back of Gaza.

I was going to ask you if you considered the Israeli kidnapping of the Maumar brothers legal while that of the revenge kidnapping, Gilad Shalit, illegal?

Or is it unfair to be asking for consideration of a wider view from you. If it is then I apologise for the presumption.

Dear Mishka,

I'm glad that you believe in peaceful solutions
and people learning to live together - despite
their differences. It would be great if political
debate on the conflict in Israel focused
not on how (and why) to stay in the conflict, but on how to
get out of it.

As far as the conflict is concerned. It is time
for a radical re-thinking. As Antony
Loewenstein points out in his book, "My Israel Question,":

"Sooner or later, Israel and the Palestinians will
have to meet face-to-face, listen to each other's
grievances and negotiate with honesty. Only then - and on
the condition that both Israel and the Palestinian state
achieve safety and security - will this conflict be
resolved. Neither side has a monopoly on suffering, but
only one party has the power to end the occupation and to
recognise that Israel and Palestine are historically destined
to share the same homeland."

That's fine Lindy,
but point to one Jewish political prisoner or war criminal in Israeli jails and assess again your view that Israeli law applies to all equally and you might gain some credibility.

Oh and Immigration Law definately favours non Jewish locals who want to return to their former homes ahead of non semetic Jews from Eastern Europe doesn't it?

But take your bat and ball and run away ... fine, it's best for everyone.

csteele, given you have asked a polite and reasonable question, I will make an exception. Online Opinion requires its articles to be under 1000 words, which meant I had only 49 words to spare. So, yes, I do think it is a little unfair to ask me to cover a wider perspective in this particular article, and I don’t think I’m being myopic. As a writer, I am trying to convey an opinion, not to present an entire case, and certainly not to present both sides of a case. I don’t think I’ve pretended to do otherwise, and to try to do otherwise in so short an article would be ludicrous. People have written entire books on this subject that aren’t remotely comprehensive.

As for the Muamar brothers, I would be very interested to find out what has happened to them, but it was Gilad Shalit and 1027 Palestinians who were released last week, and that’s what I was writing about. I certainly wonder if the Palestinians requested them to be part of the 1027, but I was not privy to their negotiations. I would also note that their situation is not as clear-cut as you make it out to be – the BBC and LA Times reported they were arrested because intelligence indicated they were in the “final stages of planning a large-scale terror attack". But even if they were “kidnapped” – and I don’t claim to know either way – it wouldn’t change my opinion of the Shalit deal, as two wrongs don’t make a right. Whether the Muamar arrest/abduction was legal, I don’t know, but given that their father was a Hamas leader the Israeli claim is credible.

I would like to think that none of the released Palestinian "soldiers " would go back to their Barracks .
For them to restart hostilities with the Israelis, will simply allow the Israeli Radicals in Government to justify their restrictive Policies to the Western World, and they will continue to build longer Dividing walls encompassing more Palestinian Territory for their own use .
Israeli Radicals as much as Palestinian radicals appear not to want Peace.
Israel and it's wily Radicals have given the Palestinians the means to reduce the chance of the Rest of the Worlds' preferred Middle-east Outcome....that is Peace .