re: #470 SanFranciscoZionist

The problem is that, as a Zionist activist, I see Israel continuously accused of false wrongs, often by high-profile people, and the actual history of Israel completely falsified. (Alice Walker, I’m looking at you.)

The Moroccan Israeli lady in the cab didn’t mean that she didn’t want justice for any Palestinian family denied it, but she was very accurately pointing out that the history of the period has been effectively rewritten to include the wrongs of only one group of people.

I’m not sure that’s an accurate reflection. The reason Israel is held to a higher standard is because, in the current context, Israel is in a power position where the Palestinians have little position to speak of, which marks them as the underdog. Human nature, as inaccurate as it is at times, tends to identify with, or at least cheer for, the underdog in its battle against the perceived oppressor. In many cases, the position of oppressor and oppressed is not determined by actual conditions but by the relative positions in power structure.

It is quite easy to forget about historical context and to limit understanding to current events only, making Israel look like a bully, and the Palestinians freedom fighters. Of course this view is a mistake. Even if the Palestinian populace at large does not want to fight Israel, but only wants a peaceful relationship complete with their own land and homes, they repeatedly fail to elect reasonable governments and have a significant segment more than willing to die to see Israel brought down. Israel has no choice but to defend itself against a group of people determined to, but incapable of, destroying a country they see as the worst of enemies.

Until the Palestinians take steps to control their own destiny by removing groups like Hamas, they have no hope of living in any condition but what they have ultimately chosen. Unfortunately, just like everywhere else, a few unscrupulous and charismatic people can lead the masses around by the nose by offering something impossible to supply. Hamas pretends to care about the people through acts of compassion, while abusing the same people by manipulating them to sacrifice their lives, not for their own cause, but for a cause determined and desired by the leaders’ of Hamas.