I have no personal experience of conditions in Gaza, but I do know that propaganda put out by Hamas is fake. Whatever goes on there is down to the worship of Islam, unreasoning hatred of everything not Islam and hatred for Israel. Nothing will change until these primitive, ignorant people face up to the fact that there problems are their own fault, not Israel's, and not the 'infidels'.

Foxy,

Pablo Escobar ran many charities, and initially, he was extremely popular in his area in spite of killing people by the dozens.

Similarly, Hamas with huge wallets were doling out cash to all and sundry, building schools and hospitals and as a result, won the local election handily. In the months following, they began a purge of all Fatah members from any form of government, at first simply sidelining them, then expelling them and eventually accusing them of spying for Israel and holding public executions. So quoting a superficial commentary from a decade ago when the subsequent evidence is so contrary is puzzling.

Hamas is recognised as a terrorist organisation and has as it's main aim to kill Jews.

SR,

You really are pathetic. SS is strongly racist, and along with the majority of his published works being anti-Israel, his tweets were so racistly anti-semitic that a US university (not known for pro-Israeli sentiments) found him too odious to have on staff and rescinded his offer of employment.

Perhaps you should review whom you quote so that you don't appear so racist. That you have openly eschewed any balance or objectivity doesn't look good either.

"... too odious to have on staff and rescinded his offer of employment".

But, of course, AcidReflux thrives on odium, and he will continue to deny the facts.

Hey ttbn,
I have no personal experience of what goes on in Gaza either.

But for me, I don't see this ongoing situation primarily as a matter of religion.
- I see it as a matter of basic humanity.

I see it that way because I think that these people you call 'terrorists'; well I truly wonder if I wouldn't act exactly the same way they do, if I were forced to live the way they do.
Religion or No Religion
- And there it is -

I've got no love of or sympathy for Islam, you know that I'd prefer that none came here.

Well, AC, it is about religion and, unlike you, that religion, Islam, is not interested in humanity; if it was, things in Gaza and the Middle East in general would be much different.

Dear Shadow Minister,

Alex Dafner, who used to run the Yiddish show on SBS
radio and is a "non Zionist" supporter of Israel
states, "People often talk about anti-Semitism and I
think its largely the result of that notion of total
support for Israel, right or wrong. It's hard to defend
policies which in the long term will be disastrous such
as the continuing support for the (security) wall."

Ami Eden, former national editor of the US Jewish
newspaper, "Forward" also challenged the establishment
Jewish organisations in the New York Times. "It is time
Jews recognise that the old strategies no longer work,"
he wrote.

"Jewish organisations and advocates fail to grasp that they
are no longer viewed as the voice of the disenfranchised.
Rather, they are seen as the global Goliath, close to the
seats of power and capable of of influencing policies and
damaging reputations. As such, their efforts to raise the
alarm increasingly appear a bullying."

A major part of the ongoing problem is that many have a
vested interest in prolonging the conflict. Israel opposes
a resolution to the conflict because it opposes the presence
of another people on land it has claimed exclusively for Jews.

The real challenge is to persuade our political leaders and
news media to listen to voices that challenge their
prejudices and preconceptions. The establishment of an
independent Palestinian state is inevitable, but it will not
happen easily, nor without the involvement of many caring
people.