Dear Halduell,

First, it is common-sense that if a sector of the population systematically fails to vote (election is not compulsory in Israel), also if they fail to vote as a block, then the politicians tend to ignore the interests of that sector.

Second, I believe that Palestinian Israelis have MORE rights than Jewish Israelis, rather then less.

Yes, Israeli Arabs suffer from being discriminated against here and there, but it fails in significance compared to the way Jewish Israelis are discriminated against:

Jewish Israeli men are conscripted to the army for 3 years and women for 2 years, then again in reserves for about a month a year for many years thereafter, no ifs and buts. Arab Israelis are not conscripted, yet they can still volunteer to serve in the army if they want and if they do, they receive all the same rights as Jews.

Being taken against your will for 3 years of terrible slavery, where on top there is increased risk of losing life, limb and purity of conscience, is worse than any discrimination Israeli Arabs face.

By the time an average Israeli boy completes his army duty and enrols in university, his Arab-Israeli neighbour has already completed his bachelor's degree.
While the Israeli-Arab student completes his courses in an orderly fashion, the studies of his Jewish-Israeli neighbour are constantly interrupted by reserve-duty, at times so badly that he must repeat some courses.
While the Israeli-Arab adult can plan his life in advance and make appointments for the coming months and years, his Jewish-Israeli neighbour cannot because he could be called to reserve-duty any time at 6-week notice.

Mr Gordon is yet another deluded apologist for a racist regime that in the eyes of the vast majority of ordinary citizens of the Middle East is the greatest threat to world peace in their region, not Iran as western propaganda constantly claims. A few facts about Israel that the western media conveniently overlook:

Israel has ignored 69 UN Security Council resolutions.
Israel has had the benefit of 69 US vetoes protecting them from justified censure
Israel has ignored UN Resolution 242 (this is for you Yuyutsu) requiring them to retreat to their 1967 borders.
Israel occupies Syrian territory (the Golan Heights) and annexed that territory in 1981, contrary to international law. (Incidentally, the Israel government very recently let a contract to an oil company to explore for oil and gas in the Golan Heights, a company that just happens to have links to Rupert Murdoch)
The Oslo accords had Israel agreeing to no new settlements on Palestinian land, but they have since then alone so far built 270 such settlements involving more than 500,000 people.
Israel continues to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Palestinian territory.
Israel has threatened to bomb Iran for three decades, and is currently carrying on an assassination program against Iranian scientists
Israel is an undeclared nuclear power with likely 400 nuclear warheads, yet refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, or allow inspections.
Israel has never signed the Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty, yet has the largest stock of chemical weapons in the Middle East and has used those weapons in attacks on Syria, Lebanon and Gaza in recent years.
The current leader is only the latest in a long line of sociopaths leading that country, all of whom believe in Eretz ("Greater") Israel and have documented plans to constantly expand Israel's borders.

(To be continued)

Needless to say, none of the above actions draws a word of criticism from successive Australian governments.
It follows in my view that talk of a "two-state" solution is absolutely idle as Israel has no intention of ever allowing Palestinians any meaningful rights at all. There will never be peace in the Middle East while a Zionist State is permitted to continue the path it has followed since 1948.

Dear James,

<<Israel has ignored UN Resolution 242 (this is for you Yuyutsu) requiring them to retreat to their 1967 borders.>>

Resolution 242 was not decisive enough, it did not spell clearly what needs to be done, thus is open to different interpretations. What is needed is a unanimous and explicit resolution of the security council, something like:

1. The pre-1967 'green line' is Israel's absolute and final border.
2. At midnight, [date, 5 days from this decision], the area between Israel's eastern border and the Jordan river shall be declared an independent state, provisionally called 'Palestine'. Also, the Gaza strip shall be declared an independent state, provisionally called 'Gaza'. From then on, no Israeli citizen shall be present in Palestine or Gaza without a valid Palestinian/Gazan visa and no Palestinian/Gazan shall be present in Israel without a valid Israeli visa.
3. Each state (Israel, Palestine and Gaza) shall be responsible to prevent attacks from its territory on its neighbouring states. In case of such attacks, the attacked state has the right to retaliate, including by occupying buffer zones across its border as required for its protection.
4. If any of the sides fails to comply, a U.N. international force, headed by the U.S.A. shall enforce this resolution.
5. A resolution about the border between Israel and Syria will be made separately at a later date once the Syrian civil conflict is resolved.

This resolution should be backed by American marines: the Israeli army will not dare shooting at American soldiers and while the Jewish settlers are likely to do so, they do not have sufficient military strength to hold against an international force.

It's simple. Some adult must declare firmly: "no more talking, it's bed time, each to their bed and lights are off".

The problem is... unfortunately it won't happen, because this Middle-Eastern conflict produces a constant supply of interesting news for the media, so the media would not allow it!

---
P.S. 'Eretz' in Hebrew means 'land', not 'greater'.

Yuyutsu. Complex advice? Surely you jest?
All I've advocated is keeping it peaceful, and Palestinians remaining model citizens until they as voters outnumber the Jews, not all of who are antagonistic to or afraid of their Palestinian friends.
Nor are they happy about foreigners coming over and basically claiming, that this land is mine!
Failing as they make those patently untrue claims, that they have no more right to claim land than any of the other sons and daughters of Jacob!
That that genealogy applies equally to the Palestinians, an inconvenient fact myopically overlooked by those who think they can justify their land grab, by some passage in some ancient book written and revised by men! A book that seems at odds with much of the emerging archeological evidence?
And there's nothing very complex about commercial boycotts, which the Palestinians have already very successfully employed, with far more compelling behavioral change results, than any and all the bombs and rockets, which to date have been completely counter productive, and or, placed a world of excuses in the hands of the more militant Jews?
Some of who would nor look too out of place, I believe, in brown shirts, SS emblems and jackboots?
Rhrosty.

Water will run uphill before those states can find agreement. How long do some people need before they can see that there's no hope.