Israel Palestine Fighting
80I have two daughters, and three sons. There is a very big difference between raising girls and raising boys. I know there are exceptions, but the general rule is that boys are more physical and girls are more emotional, and kids learn at an early age how to tap into these emotions and leverage them to their own benefit. Of course I was a kid once, all be it a long time ago, but I remember that I could always work my Mom a lot better than I could my Dad. I could get to the emotions a lot faster with her, than I could my Dad. In fact, most of the time I thought that my Dad didn't have any emotions, but I found out later in life that he most definitely did. That's another story.
My dad was rigid, ruled with an iron fist, and you didn't want to cross over into his territory. Now my mom was more emotional. Her emotions led the way she felt on any particular day. If she was in a good mood, we knew that was a day that you might try to sway her for something that you wanted. An the other hand, if she was in a bad mood, you just better keep your distance and do what you were told.
With my girls, drama was a way of trying to get their point across. Exaggerate the situation, blow it way out of proportion and you might get what you want.
To be called a sissy or a girl when I was growing up was the worst thing you could say to a guy. They were fighting words, and you didn't say them lightly. What this meant was, " you are acting like a girl would act; you're acting just like my sister; you throw like a girl." These were all phrases that said, " you're responding to this situation just like my sister would, and shes a girl!" This was the ultimate insult for any boy growing up in my day. Now, I am not a male chauvinist pig, I'm just telling you how it was when I grew up.
Well, I am calling the people of Hamas sissy. They act and respond to the circumstances, that they have orchestrated, like little girls trying to manipulate the press and the world to get what they want. They are just adding to the tension between Israel Palestine conflict.
The Award Goes to...Hamas for Best Leading Roll in a War
I watched a report from Palestine, on TV showing a rocket, fired from Israel, that hit a truck killing a number of men that were loading this truck with oxygen tanks. They showed the view of the Israeli camera, and looking at it from what the Israelis saw, it sure looked like they were loading the truck with bombs. There were about twelve men around the truck but only about four that were doing any loading. The others were just standing there. Afterward the owner of the truck, talked to the news camera, and said, without any remorse, no crying, how his son was killed. He welcomed the news," to look at the rubble and see that they had no bombs". They were loading a truck, right out in the open, at a time where all of their movements are being watched. This was a drama, set for a stage that the world could see, but Hollywood couldn't have done a better job in the Israel Palestine fighting. They send out suicide bombers all the time. It is an honor. They groom their children for such moments as these. It is the Israel Palestine history.
I think the whole thing was staged right from the beginning. " My sons, you are going to be martyrs today. We will load the truck right out in the open. Get as many of your friends to stand around talking to you. Pray for the Zionist to send a rocket, and we will do the rest. We will act like the little sissy girls that we are, and say how awful the Israelis are and how they target their rockets at innocent law abiding people.This will be a great deterent to any Israel Palestine peace.
Hate as a part of your culture
When I worked at Ford Motor Company, I worked with a lot of different ethnic groups. I learned a lot about what people ate, and how they lived, and the different views that they had on things and why. I found it all very interesting. Most of the people I came across in my thirty five years of employment at Fords were people I was glad to have known, and people who have made me a better person. They expanded my horizons on how different the world is, and how we can all learn about each other, and live in peace and harmony.
Not so with the Arab people. Now I want to state right now that I am not saying all Arab people are like this. They are not. I have some very dear friends that I love very much as if they were like my own family, one who happens to be Palestinian. I would do anything for her. She is the warmest, most loving person, ( next to my wife ), that I know. I am not talking about them. There are bad apples in every batch.
I'm talking about a guy that I worked with at my Ford Motor Company days. Me and him got really close. We talked all the time. He was much younger that I was. I was old enough to be his dad. But I will never forget a conversation that we had one day.
It was back during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Desert Storm. Everybody was talking about the invasion. Me and this guy got to talking and he told me how much he hated the Jews. I asked him why? Why do you hate Jews so much? He could not give me a good valued reason, as to why he hated Jews. He said that is just the way it is in his house and in all his friends house. He lived in Dearborn Michigan, one of the highest concentration of Arabs in one location anywhere in the country. I couldn't be friends to someone like that, and I quit talking to him. You can't be friends to people who hate like that.
Another Arab guy I worked with, told me that his neighbor kept spreading his grass clippings on his sidewalk, when he cut his grass. So one night, he poured anti-freeze all over his grass. Killing the lawn, he wouldn't have to worry about the grass clippings on his sidewalk anymore.
These are the radical Islamic forces, that will stop at nothing to get what they want. They will use all the drama, tears, manipulation, and even the lives of their own to get what they want. And what do they want. The annihilation of a race of people who really share a lot more with them, then they would like to admit. Israel Palestine war will continue to go on.
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I also don't see why Israel is the one who is being called the bad guys when they didn't start this and are only defending themselves. Hamas refuses to talk peace with them even though Israel keeps trying. We have to stand with Israel. There is so much un-truth on TV, newspapers, radio, and internet (including hubpages) concerning this. Very sad.
You are right about people not wanting to hear the truth, especially uncomfortable truth. The most common argument is- why America is using our TAX-payers’ money to help bad Israel. Well, America is helping many other countries as well, including Arab countries, as it was USA’s commitment.
The real facts about the conflict may be easily found on the web and if people think over this information critically, they will be able to make a truthful picture.
http://www.middleeastfacts.com/middle-east-facts.p
Thank you for showing the problem from the fair angle. We appreciate it a lot. Not many people now are brave enough to step out with unpopular opinions.
Interesting Hub, Brian.
As NewCapo pointed out, it is a horribly complex issue. Judging by the forum threads, and also talking to my Greek friends, most people are sophisticated enough to realise that the issue is not black and white, but grey.
We can all only hope for negotiations, diplomacy and peace.
About the grass clippings - a Greek man would have done exactly the same to the lawn. I fail to see how that act equates with radical Islam. In Greece, it is normal to see eight men standing around chatting whilst four do the work. I am not sure how you manage to draw that 'staged' conclusion from a vague news report.
I am pretty sure that a lot of the Western media manipulates coverage towards an anti-Israeli viewpoint - doing the same to give an anti-Palestinian angle does not make things right, only obfuscate the situation.
Sufidreamer, it is interesting what you wrote about Greek men mentality. I know that an average Russian man would do the same too. Russian guy doesn’t need to get a cow to be happy, but it will make him happy if a neighbor’s cow dies. It looks like Arabs have the same psychology. The issue is more black than any other shade. How many negotiations failed due to Arab’s interrupting them?
They train their children, from soft kindergarten age to hate Israel and America. They raise their boys for being suicide killers and their mothers are proud of them for fulfilling this task. Isn’t it awful? We don’t rejoice and celebrate when Arab civilians are being killed. But do you remember joy and jubilation in the streets of Gaza on the 9/11 date? It’s much more than being black and white, or shaded.
It’s very sad that people don’t want to take sides. Israel doesn’t have the right leadership to end with terrorism once and for ever. Terrorists are not afraid of Israel (not Hamas, nor Hezbollah); they are used to manipulate the world. Israel is not cruel enough (or too much influenced by world pressure) to deal with terrorists and waited too long to answer. Hamas was bombing Israeli towns on a regular basis for the last 7 years. What other country would wait for so long?
Hi ReuVera
You have hit the nail on the head - it becomes a loop, where hate is passed on through the generations. Sometimes, it needs a trusted party to come in and act as a mediator. Sorry to keep harping on about Ireland, but it was a very similar problem. Protestants were taught to hate Catholics, and Republicans were taught to hate the British. They eventually forgot what they were fighting about, and that was the saddest thing. The US administration, under Bill Clinton, came in and mediated. There was a solution, but it needed that trusted third party to make both sides see it.
There is some hope in the Middle East - Jordan and Egypt seem to be moderate, and even Syria is realising that there can be no prosperity without peace. Whilst I have Iranian friends, and find them to be nice people, their President is an absolute idiot. I think that we can agree on that!
Most people have taken a side, the side of peace. I think that we have spoken a few times and you realise that I am not anti-Israel. I just think that it has gone on too long - it was so close a few years ago. I never thought that the Berlin Wall would fall, but it did. I never thought that there would be peace in Ireland, but there was. I hope that I see the day when Israel and Palestine can be friends and work together, as Arabs and Jews once did.
You are right, Sufidreamer about lame leadership and I know that you respect Israel. I hope too that time will straighten everything. Don’t you think that Israel is ready to live in peace and since long she didn’t have any problems with Jordan and Egypt. By the way, Jews lived in Egypt for 400 years, but they never claimed it their land. Let countries live in sovereignty. The problem is that they don’t let Israel live. I hope it will change.
Though I do not support Hamas, I disagree profoundly with your analysis of this conflict. International opinion, except for US and Israel, says that Israel's response to the rocket fire by the caged and subjugated Gaza Palestinians is disproportionate. I do not see how anyone can argue against that position. Also, the timing is related to the change of US executive. This has been planned for months. It is a cynical act of aggression against the Palestinian people.
Brian, please give me one single example from history where an occupied, subjugated or otherwise oppressed people have not set up token resistance, however ineffective, if only to demonstrate that there is some fight left in them and their day will come. I bet you can't.
P.S. - regarding your comment that the Palestinians are re-arming to bring about the "destruction and total elimination of Israel and America" - exactly how are they going to achieve that? America???
The 280 dead children (courtesy of Israel's offensive) were not Hamas members. Please don't accuse me of being ill-informed. I am not. And as I said, I am not a supporter of Hamas. But the world disagrees with you regarding Israel's attack on Gaza. (38 by 8 miles, 1.5 million people - Israel and US are quite safe).
I don't speak for the world. Nor do I use cheap sarcasm. The UN and the humanitarian agencies in this case are the voice of the world. Your arguments are not worth serious attention, based as they are on might is right. We needn't talk further.
I think most people here want peace and just want to show there are peace makers and extremists on both sides. I must agree with paraglider that we cannot ignore the UN and the work it does. Another misconception that I think people have is that those who say we must also hear the voice of the Palestinians think that means not supporting Israel. I believe Israel has the right to exist as any other country on earth does, and yes it is good that Jews have a homeland once more. However, as a modern nation Israel must also respect the right of the Palestinians as they are people that have been living in the region just as long as the Jews. People like to rewrite history these days and say the Arabs miraculously appeared right after the creation of Israel, but that is just not the case. Arabs and Jews speak cognate languages, Hebrew and Arabic, and have many of the same genetics, which shows the intermixing of people in this region. Around the time of Jesus, which was during the heyday of the Roman empire, there were many different ethnic groups living in the region, so it was not just want group only. I think we need to get past this silly divisiveness and help Israel to forge peace with its neighbors and not war. However, both sides need to work on this and there are extremists on both sides. By the way last my last name is Arabic and I have met people of Jewish and Arab ancestry that have the same last name. Some are Christian, some are Jews, and some are Muslims, just another sign of how intermixed all of these groups were in the region.
Also, just to share an experience with you once I went to a chat room back in 2000 and there were a few Jewish people on it. I nicely said that was really cool and told them how my ancestors were Christian Arabs. Several of them made derogatory and mean comments to me about how I was part dirty Arab. I was appauled by this, but I would never codemn an entire group of people because of it. You cannot base your experiences of all Arabs on people two or three experiences.
To Sweetie Pie- it’s sad that you happen to come across those people, who offended your feelings. They were just rude and uncultured. It can happen in any nationality.
I’d like to point to you a misunderstanding in some aspect- it was mentioned that Palestinians (not Arabs, but “Palestinians” as a nation) appeared right after the creation of Israel. All was a political game of greet, hatred and power.
And I agree that history, though very important, do not explain or justify the recent problem.
Israel was established with the help of UN, by the way, through voting by many countries. My motherland, Soviet Union voted “YES” among the first. They had plans and hopes that Israel will become their outpost of socialism in Middle East. When it didn’t happen, they openly opposed Israel by helping his enemies both financially and ideologically.
The nowadays conflict is not a war between Jews and Arabs. It is a war of Israel, a sovereign country against terrorists. There’s lots of lies in Mass Media, and many people fall for this lie and don’t want to think critically. Some people cry about disproportional casualties, but who makes it disproportional? Hamas makes Gaza civilians concentrate in places of military aims. This is the truth. Israel seizes fire for three hours every day to let humanitarian help through their crossing points into Gaza. Hamas steals humanitarian help, letting very little of this come to women and children. This is truth. Also, Hamas fires rockets into Israel minutes before the fire seize, taking advantage that Israel can’t fire back immediately. I still hope that there will be peace over there. Israel knows how to live in peace.
ReuVera,
I do not completely agree with your interpretation of the events over the Palestinian issue, but I think there is way too much fighting. My honest opinion is, why would anyone want to stay and fight over land in the Middle East? It is a beautiful land with a beautiful history, but you could not pay me a millions dollars to visit this regions at the present moment. I might feel comfortable going to Egypt or Jordan, but that is about it. Personally I would rather go some where peaceful and serene like a Polynesian island in the South Pacific if I had the money to travel. I can say this because I am part Middle Eastern, but my honest opinion for along time has been there are silly people on both the Israeli and the Palestinian side. There is way too much of a desire to fight on both sides, so I guess it makes it that much harder for those who want peace. If it were me I would say offer a a one-way ticket to anyone and everyone who wants to get out of Israel and Palestine and away from this silly squable.
You would not go to Israel for a million dollars now, SweetiePie and it is absolutely understandable. But what about people who live there for decades under fire from Gaza stripe? How would you feel if your house where you are right now was an object of vandalism from your neighbors?
No one denies that Hamas is a terroristic organization. They were sending suicide bombers into Israel since 1990th. For the last 8 years they sent rockets on Israeli south towns on a constant basis. No other country would accept it as patiently as Israel did. But enough is enough.
After Hamas overthrew the power of Mahmud Abbas and took control over Palestine a year and a half ago, situation was only worsening. During many years Israel was trying to negotiate with Palestinians but all negotiations were interrupted or failed and not by the fault of Israeli side. As a historian, you should know this. These breaks were used by Hamas only to gain time for strengthening their forces. Iran is a generous sponsor of Gaza terrorists.
Israel lives in peace with Jordan, Egypt, and more or less with Syria. These countries are not ruled by terroristic structures.
There is an information war going as well over the Middle East. Lot of lie is broadcasted and people buy it. I agree with Brian that Israel is not doing enough PR, but Hamas is whining, orchestrating the drama and manipulating the world to gain what they want, i.e. compassion . They don’t care about their people, about their women and children. They put them as a live shield.
Did anybody know that last week in one day over 60 rockets fell on Sderot, a small town on the south of Israel; that two kindergartens were ruined by Kasam rockets in Ashdod, my hometown; that a school classrooms in Beer-Sheba were smashed by explosions? By pure miracle children were not there.
Israeli soldiers do not want to kill civilians. Their target is terrorism, for the sake of both sides. Israeli do not want to fight, there is no hatred in Jews. There is no desire to fight on Israel part. There is desire to establish peace in Middle East (the peace that terrorists do not want) and it’s too bad that Israel does not have other way to do it. The war cannot be just ended by a gong. Terrorism should be defeated.
You are right, SweetiePie, it’s not a time to go to Israel right now. But when peace is back to this amazing country, I invite you and other friends from Hub community to get together and visit Israel. I’ll go with you and I’ll take you around, you’ll meet my friend, you’ll see Holy sites of Judaism and Christianity. You’ll feel the aura of this land. You’ll see all with your own eyes and you will never believe propaganda of wickedness any more. Amen.
P.S. I've missed "s", I wanted to say You'll meet my friends. I have a lot of friends there, and a family.
My BA is in history and being part Middle Eastern I am blessed with a strong knowledge of Middle East politics. No one needs to teach me about this, I am a walking encylopedia on it :). After the death of Rabin talks with the Palestinians have been stalmated on both sides, but Rabin was the one Israeli leader that actually seem much more objective.
Honestly even as a Christian my beliefs are somewhat different than others and I do not believe any one land is holier than another. Who is to say what land is holy? Ancient Hawaiians believed their lands are holy, but the white man came and forced the Christian religion on them. Today tourists see volcanoes as attractions, but to the small group of Hawaiians still practicing their religion these are holy sites. I respect those who spend time going to holy sites, I just do not myself because I pray and my belief is with God, I do not even need an organized church, meeting place, or site. I would not fight if my house was broken into, I would run for safety and comfort. During the fires that came close to our house in 2003 and 2007 we learned being alive is more important than material possessions. We knew people who lost their houses, but they were happy to be alive. I would always run to a safe spot to put myself in safety, but this is just me. Fighting never solves anything really. In some cases fighting is necessary, such as during World War II, but modern warfare has been the bane of man kind and finally Europe has learned to put this behind them. When will the rest of us follow? I do not need to walk on a piece of land to feel connected with my God, but I respect those who do. You seem like a very nice person Reuvera, I guess my beliefs are just different than yours. Everyone has a different belief, and every different belief is a form of propaganda.
SweetiePie, I have no right or intention to doubt your authority on this field and as many times I was able to see, you have a profound knowledge here. I’m sorry if I made myself sound impudent, I didn’t mean it :)
I’m like you in the point of being a believer. I don’t need a synagogue to make connection with G-D and I hate when any religion is being forced on others.
I fully agree with you that a war is ugly. I am not a fighter myself and in my personal life I’d rather give up than fight for something.
But sometimes History may be clearly seen, understood and judged only after years and years. Time will come for the Middle East too.
Jews do not have another home to go and hide besides the land of Israel. Jews were prosecuted in many countries, driven away from tsar’s Russia, from Europe… Finally they were given the land of their own, the land they longed for so many centuries. They build a blooming garden with HI-Tech technologies on the place where there were scarcely populated swamps, bogs and sands. They have to fight for this land, for their houses, for their homes. They have nowhere to go and hide to save their lives, except into the sea. Arabs have many countries of their own and even in Gaza they can build a decent live if they stop hating and start valuing people lives.
Israel is defending itself, its right to exist, its right to live. Israel did not start the fight, but it has to defend itself in this case by fighting.
This is what my son’s friend wrote on his facebook:
-the terrorist groups that control gaza werent created there. They were thrown away from Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. When Israel made peace with Egypt, we returned the parts of the Sinai desert that we won during the Six Days War. howeve, they didnt want the Palestinians. "you keep gaza," they said.Other than that, the claim that Israel doesn't supply enough humanitarian goods such as food, gas, and medical equipment is totally untrue. Over the past years, Israel and the U.S. has been given to Hamas billions of dollars to take care of the people in gaza. however Hamas prevents this money from them, and instead of taking care of the people, he uses it to buy and create weapons, which are shot from schools, children's bedrooms, and mosques.
Sorry, if it was off-topic. Or may be not so much off of it :)
SweetiePie inspired me to write new Hub: KNEWLEDGE AND HISTORY.
I believe it is an interesting subject.
ReuVera,
I and many others respect the right of Israel to exist. More peaceful neighbors such as Jordan and Egypt also support that right, although it took time to get there. I respect that the Jews needed a homeland after World War II and that is a great thing. The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is a wack job for ever having said the Holocaust did not exist. Of course look at what he said about how there is no homosexuality in Iran, that is because they will hang anyone caught commiting homosexual acts, or women they consider to be sexually lose. Israel does need peace and a place to exist, but this is a never ending battle in the region unfortunately. Palestinian Arabs feel unappreciated and want more autonomy, so this issue will need to be addressed. I can also understand the side of Arabs because I have heard of women that were detained on flights just for being Arab in Israeli. One Arab-American woman even had her maxi pad taken from her when she was targeted for a search at an airport, and she was a cripple in a wheel chair. The Israeli woman officer that wanted to give her a pad was escourted away. By the way this American woman of Arab descent had no reason to lie about her treatment in Israel, and as further proof she says she will never go back and visit her family there after that event. So there have been events and circumstances that have made Arabs living in Palestine feel like second class citizens, I just always like to be cognizant of both sides. This does not excuse Hamas for doing evil things such as hurting civilians, but Israel is not innocent of these crimes either.
Unfortunately, I just see this as a never ending battle between Israelis and Hamas because no one is going to give any ground. I wish people would, but common sense never seems to pravail in the politics of this region. Peace hopefully will come one day, but right now I see this as a stubborn fight between stubborn people on both sides. I am glad not to be a part of it personally. I will no longer be visiting this hub, but thanks for all of your input and sharing your side.
I thank God everyday that I have been born into a peaceful, free, loving, respectful, honorable, joyous life and existence. There are so many that have not. I am so grateful. I also believe in karma and the law of attraction. We are born with the power to create our own personal reality. Let's also use that power to let us all create a world - wide reality of peace by focusing on what we all want, rather than blaming anyone for anything. Hopefully we all want to forgive and forget so peace will reign.
Great hub - thumbs up. Appreciated.
















newcapo 3 years ago
I haven't had time to look into this new conflict too deeply, but I keep hearing that Israel will stop the offensive if Hamas will agree to stop firing rockets into Israel from Gaza Strip......
I know that it's probably much more complicated than that---but if Israel is willing to stop, and Hamas won't.....why is Israel being painting as the aggressor?
I'm baffled......It's a shame that the innocent people in Palestine, for whatever reason, elected a terrorist group to lead their government, that also astonishes me...those poor folks there.
Great hub, by the way,I need to read more about this confict to understand it....thanks!