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On Stones, Bullets, Toppling Gravestones....War?
North Miami Beach, Florida 10-8-2000 Aaron H. Schectman
THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on issues, ideas and reflections on the times. Published now and
then. Opinions pro or con are welcome.
ON STONES, BULLETS, TOPPLING GRAVESTONES .WAR?
In a piece dated October 6 I noted that Governments using brute force in
suppressing large groups of people demanding an end to oppression were sure
to fall. This would come about when enough people found that they had no
representative government and they decided to make a wrenching change.
I did not include Israel in this because the people of Israel were not
demonstrating about an oppressive internal government. It was the
Palestinians who were reacting against a foreign nation cheek and jowl next
to them sharing the same holy religious shrines. Foreign oppressors can
withdraw their tanks and troops across borders. In Israel and Palestine
just across the street from each other each demonize the other in order to
be able to injure or kill the "others".
Here is the problem in a nutshell. The "State of Palestine" has not yet
been declared but its borders are defined fairly clearly. The Palestinians
are not happy with their borders. They declare over and over again that they
are at war with Israel and have never agreed to have peace. When in complete
control over their own land Palestinians have declared over and over again
they would enlarge Palestine by taking over all of Israel, destroying it as
a nation and drive its peoples into the sea. Sharon engulfing the Temple
Mount with his guarded presence was answered not only with rioting but also
with Palestinian destruction of the "Tomb of Joseph". The Tomb had been
just a stopover until Jewish "settlers" came into the town and built a
school there. Then Israeli soldiers, to protect the Jewish presence WITHIN
THE PRECINCTS OF A PALESTINIAN TOWN, erected a fort over it. These things
are provocations within provocations. The Palestinian townspeople rid
themselves of the school, fort and tomb.
Land is fought over by all peoples for many reasons. This one happens to
be mostly religious and festering wounds caused by old battles won with the
losers demanding revenge. Want to take sides? Have you taken sides
already? What do you think can be done about preventing war?
Carol's Evaluation: 9 out of 10.
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