Dear Ron

I wish you Bon Voyage. You have great courage in making this trip and despite the rather sad comments from many on this site, in the eyes of the great majority of the world your cause is a noble one.

What the Israeli government was doing at this time a year ago is indefensible wherever we start in history. And I mean the Israeli government and not the Jews. The attempts in some responses to seek to conflate or confuse the two serves only to weaken your opponents' arguments.

I admire you and only wish I had the guts to join you.

Gavin Mooney

Guy-<What the Israeli government was doing at this time a year ago is indefensible wherever we start in history.>

Don’t forget the Israeli children blown up in school buses by the Arabs before the wall was built to keep these bombers from freely crossing into Israel. I’d say that was pretty indefensible also.

On the contrary wherever you look in history, attacks by one tribe or country against another have been met with violent retaliation. The trouble with the Arabs is they think they should be able to attack with impunity but scream victim when anyone shoots back. They use their own people as shields by firing rockets from the middle of towns and cities, then blame the enemy when civilians get killed when those rocket launching sites are targeted.

When has it been indefensible to defend yourself when attacked? The Arabs attacked first in the six day war and have continued to blow up buses and launch rockets into Israel ever since.
This is like you continually punching someone on the nose Guy, be prepared to be punched back, hard.

It's quite Ironic when some people recognise Israel's "Right to defend themselves against Arab attacks" but refuse to acknowledge Arab's rights to fight against their occupiers who persist in pushing the boundaries and forcing even more Arabs off land they've farmed for centuries to erect even more jewish settlements, in defiance of UN resolutions.
http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/198C56FD6C0DDB318525768100612B83
Note Australia's decision to abstain in the previous resolution.
Our Government has not to my knowledge ever asked the Australian people's views on the Palestinian / Israel situation but instead follow whatever the US decides.
I believe Australians would not condone Israels actions against the Palestinians if they were made aware of the last seventy years of Israeli expansionism over Palestine

maracas1 “I believe Australians would not condone Israelis actions against the Palestinians if they were made aware of the last seventy years of Israeli expansionism over Palestine”

I am Australian and I am aware of

1967 attempt (failed) by combined Arab and Palestinian forces to sweep Israel into the sea

1972 murder of Israeli athletes in Munich

Numerous commercial jets hi jacked by Palestinians in the name of Palestine and innocent bystanders killed by ruthless Palestinian Murderers

Numerous incidence of stonewalling by Arafat – aka "the man who never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity".

Multiple rocket attacks by Palestinians on both Lebanon and Gaza into homes and schools in Israel

I would seek your public, unequivocal condemnation of these unhuman atrocities before I consider any of “Israels actions against the Palestinians”

Col Rouge:

embellishing your 'facts' does you no credit. The 1972 Munich kidnap of Israeli atheletes was an effort by a black september faction of the PLO to have Israel release 234 Palestinian prisoners. The death of 11 Israelis along with 5 Palestinians was the result of a botched rescue bid by the Germans and Israelis.

Israeli revenge was taken out on Palestinian civilians. Collective punishment is outlawed internationally but continues to be favoured by Israel.

Hamas qassam rockets into Israeli occupied territories has killed about 17 people over a period of about 8 years and is mostly a source of annoyance and cannot be compared to operations such as 'cast Lead' that killed over 1400 in the space of 24 days and wounded many more.
The real terrorists are the Zionists who control Israel. Palestinian actions have only ever been a struggle for liberation of their homeland from the Zionist decision to turn the 1948 exodus to Israel into an exclusive Jewish state that unilaterally continued to expand into land that had been occupied by Arabs for centuries.
As a result of American support through AIPAC, Israel is armed to the teeth and the Palestinians are reduced to throwing stones and home made rockets while suffering Israeli siege and oppression.
Viva Palestina !

Thank you for this article! Despite the hate-filled comments you have received in response, I wanted to let you know that I (and probably many many more) was completely uplifted by it and that what matters is your compassion, your conviction and your support for people who have been victimised or oppressed, no matter where they are.

Inspiring! Thanks.