I usually get a similar auto-response when emailing a member of our delegation. An actual email answering (sometimes) my question then follows.
What really burns me is when I write to a Senator or Congressman who doesn't represent me. The response is a polite "fuck off and bug your own guy." :-))
And this is why they'll never have peace there. Israel just land grabbed a shitload of land in the West Bank. Really? Wtf, and you want peace or is it you want pieces, of land and land and land. Straight bull shit. No fucken way is there gonna peace, NO WAY.
'The announcement follows the cabinet’s decision last week to take over the land in response to the June kidnapping and killing of three teenage Jewish boys by Hamas militants in the area.'
Interesting. So, if any of your citizens are murdered, then you see that as a green light to steal land from your neighbours?
What other country on the planet could get away with this Nazi bullshit?
Also, there's zero evidence that Hamas were involved in those murders.
And this is why they'll never have peace there. Israel just land grabbed a shitload of land in the West Bank. Really? Wtf, and you want peace or is it you want pieces, of land and land and land. Straight bull shit. No fucken way is there gonna peace, NO WAY.
'The announcement follows the cabinet’s decision last week to take over the land in response to the June kidnapping and killing of three teenage Jewish boys by Hamas militants in the area.'
Interesting. So, if any of your citizens are murdered, then you see that as a green light to steal land from your neighbours?
What other country on the planet could get away with this Nazi bullshit?
If that's the case, and this situation is reversed, with all the kidnapping Israel has done and murdered civilians there wouldn't be any more land. The Palestinians would get all there land back.
On 10 August, ACRI (the Association for Civil Rights in Israel) said it had contacted the commander of Jerusalem’s occupation police “to request that he urgently clarify the details” of Israel’s use of the substance.
“Witness testimony reveals that the police indiscriminately sprayed the skunk liquid towards houses, people, restaurants brimming with people and in crowded streets, causing harm to innocent residents,” ACRI said. “Evidence suggests that in some cases the skunk repellent was arbitrarily used with no apparent justification and in the absence of any public disturbances.”
i am not going to brag, but i pretty much called it...
and who the fuck is still confused at all about why there is conflict in the region??? is there any doubt why there are rockets being launched into israel?
netanyahu is a pig. a greedy, war mongering, pig.
this is why there is, and there will never be peace....
JERUSALEM, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Israel announced on Sunday a land appropriation in the occupied West Bank that an anti-settlement group termed the biggest in 30 years, drawing Palestinian condemnation and a U.S. rebuke.
Some 400 hectares (988 acres) in the Etzion Jewish settlement bloc near Bethlehem were declared "state land, on the instructions of the political echelon" by the military-run Civil Administration.
"We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision," a State Department official said in Washington, calling the move "counterproductive" to efforts to achieve a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel Radio said the step was taken in response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teens by Hamas militants in the area in June.
Tensions stoked by the incident quickly spread to Israel's border with Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, and the two sides engaged in a seven-week war that ended on Tuesday with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.
The notice published on Sunday by the Israeli military gave no reason for the land appropriation decision.
Peace Now, which opposes Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank, territory the Palestinians seek for a state, said the appropriation was meant to turn a site where 10 families now live adjacent to a Jewish seminary into a permanent settlement.
Construction of a major settlement at the location, known as "Gevaot", has been mooted by Israel since 2000. Last year, the government invited bids for the building of 1,000 housing units at the site.
Peace Now said the land seizure was the largest announced by Israel in the West Bank since the 1980s and that anyone with ownership claims had 45 days to appeal. A local Palestinian mayor said Palestinians owned the tracts and harvested olive trees on them.
Israel has come under intense international criticism over its settlement activities, which most countries regard as illegal under international law and a major obstacle to the creation of a viable Palestinian state in any future peace deal.
Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called on Israel to cancel the appropriation. "This decision will lead to more instability. This will only inflame the situation after the war in Gaza," Abu Rdainah said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke off U.S.-brokered peace talks with Abbas in April after the Palestinian leader reached a reconciliation deal with Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates the Gaza Strip.
In a series of remarks after an open-ended ceasefire halted the Gaza war, Netanyahu repeated his position that Abbas would have to sever his alliance with Hamas for a peace process with Israel to resume.
The administration of President Barack Obama, who has been at odds with Netanyahu over settlements since taking office in 2009, pushed back against the land decision. It was the latest point of contention between Washington and its top Middle East ally Israel, which also differ over Iran nuclear talks.
"We have long made clear our opposition to continued settlement activity," said the State Department official, who declined to be identified.
"This announcement, like every other settlement announcement Israel makes, planning step they approve and construction tender they issue, is counterproductive to Israel's stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians," the official said.
After the collapse of the last round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, U.S. officials cited settlement construction as one of the main reasons for the breakdown, while also faulting the Palestinians for signing a series of international treaties and conventions.
Israel has said construction at Gevaot would not constitute the establishment of a new settlement because the site is officially designated a neighborhood of an existing one, Alon Shvut, several km (miles) down the road.
Some 500,000 Israelis live among 2.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory that the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war. (Reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Matt Spetalnick in Washington and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Andrea Ricci)
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
I sent a letter to my political rep in England about this projected land-grab. He's pro-Israeli, and in his last response to me he said that he supported a two-state settlement, so I've just asked him whether he'll be standing up in Parliament and condemning this latest announcement by Israel to take over five Palestinian villages considering that it represents a clear obstacle to achieving a two-state settlement. I expect no response at all from him this time.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Peres Center opens school year with launch of its annual 'sports for peace' program, bringing together Gaza-border children with West Bank kids.
Matan Tzuri Published: 09.01.14, 18:43 / Israel Culture
Israeli children from Sderot and Gaza-border communities came together with Palestinian kids from the West Bank on Monday for the opening ceremony of the Peres Center for Peace's annual after-school soccer program.
"You will spread word of the games, of peace instead of confrontations," said former president Shimon Peres. "Everyone loves to play soccer, regardless of religion or nationality. You need peace, and you will carry the message of peace."
Some 80 students, Israelis and Palestinians, arrived for the season's first training session – after the end of the 50-day-long Operation Protective Edge, when the kids of Sderot and other southern communities were forced to either stay near shelter or leave to other parts of the country.
They were met by Palestinian children from Jerico and Yatta, south of Mt. Hebron. The Twinned Peace Sports Schools (TPSS) soccer program includes boys and girls age nine to 12.
The coach of the Yatta squad, Ahmed al-Jericho, said: "Our children think only of soccer, they love to play soccer – they don't care if it is with Jews or non-Jews. They are kids and all they care about is leaving together in peace, that's what they want."
The Palestinian coach emphasized that "they love to meet Israeli children. It challenges them to play against them, and there is something very special, very heart-warming, about this – especially now, after everything Israel has been through."
Roi, one of the kids from Sderot said he was a long-time participant of the program. "I have been taking part in this project for a while and I love playing with Palestinian kids who are soccer fiends just like us, it creates a bond between us."
The director-general of the Peres Center, Efrat Duvdevani, said that the center "sees the importance of strengthening and encouraging the message of peace through sports. Sport is a common language the bridges gaps and lowers barriers."
Alon Shuster, the head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, participated in the ceremony for the first training session, along with the Israeli and Palestinian coaches.
Still can't believe I met Mike Mccready at the Guggenheim and got a pic with him!!!!!
2010: 9/7/10 - Bilbao
2012: 26-27/6/12 - Amsterdam ~~ 29/6/12 - Werchter ~~ 4-5/7/12 - Berlin
2014: 25/6/14 - Vienna ~~ 26/6/14 - Berlin
Peres Center opens school year with launch of its annual 'sports for peace' program, bringing together Gaza-border children with West Bank kids.
Matan Tzuri Published: 09.01.14, 18:43 / Israel Culture
Israeli children from Sderot and Gaza-border communities came together with Palestinian kids from the West Bank on Monday for the opening ceremony of the Peres Center for Peace's annual after-school soccer program.
"You will spread word of the games, of peace instead of confrontations," said former president Shimon Peres. "Everyone loves to play soccer, regardless of religion or nationality. You need peace, and you will carry the message of peace."
Some 80 students, Israelis and Palestinians, arrived for the season's first training session – after the end of the 50-day-long Operation Protective Edge, when the kids of Sderot and other southern communities were forced to either stay near shelter or leave to other parts of the country.
They were met by Palestinian children from Jerico and Yatta, south of Mt. Hebron. The Twinned Peace Sports Schools (TPSS) soccer program includes boys and girls age nine to 12.
The coach of the Yatta squad, Ahmed al-Jericho, said: "Our children think only of soccer, they love to play soccer – they don't care if it is with Jews or non-Jews. They are kids and all they care about is leaving together in peace, that's what they want."
The Palestinian coach emphasized that "they love to meet Israeli children. It challenges them to play against them, and there is something very special, very heart-warming, about this – especially now, after everything Israel has been through."
Roi, one of the kids from Sderot said he was a long-time participant of the program. "I have been taking part in this project for a while and I love playing with Palestinian kids who are soccer fiends just like us, it creates a bond between us."
The director-general of the Peres Center, Efrat Duvdevani, said that the center "sees the importance of strengthening and encouraging the message of peace through sports. Sport is a common language the bridges gaps and lowers barriers."
Alon Shuster, the head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, participated in the ceremony for the first training session, along with the Israeli and Palestinian coaches.
Rafie,
It's nice to hear that there are programs like this, but to what end? Kids will be kids and love life in their blissful ignorant states, but young adults will continue to demonize the people on the opposite sides of the blockades, because for their entire lives, they will have only known war. I'd like to hear about peace programs with a focus on impartial education for young adults and up - the people who have the interest and wherewithal to learn more about the history of the region, the rights to vote on new government to bring upon new policy, and the audacity to question the preconceptions they were raised with.
'05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Peres Center opens school year with launch of its annual 'sports for peace' program, bringing together Gaza-border children with West Bank kids.
Matan Tzuri Published: 09.01.14, 18:43 / Israel Culture
Israeli children from Sderot and Gaza-border communities came together with Palestinian kids from the West Bank on Monday for the opening ceremony of the Peres Center for Peace's annual after-school soccer program.
"You will spread word of the games, of peace instead of confrontations," said former president Shimon Peres. "Everyone loves to play soccer, regardless of religion or nationality. You need peace, and you will carry the message of peace."
Some 80 students, Israelis and Palestinians, arrived for the season's first training session – after the end of the 50-day-long Operation Protective Edge, when the kids of Sderot and other southern communities were forced to either stay near shelter or leave to other parts of the country.
They were met by Palestinian children from Jerico and Yatta, south of Mt. Hebron. The Twinned Peace Sports Schools (TPSS) soccer program includes boys and girls age nine to 12.
The coach of the Yatta squad, Ahmed al-Jericho, said: "Our children think only of soccer, they love to play soccer – they don't care if it is with Jews or non-Jews. They are kids and all they care about is leaving together in peace, that's what they want."
The Palestinian coach emphasized that "they love to meet Israeli children. It challenges them to play against them, and there is something very special, very heart-warming, about this – especially now, after everything Israel has been through."
Roi, one of the kids from Sderot said he was a long-time participant of the program. "I have been taking part in this project for a while and I love playing with Palestinian kids who are soccer fiends just like us, it creates a bond between us."
The director-general of the Peres Center, Efrat Duvdevani, said that the center "sees the importance of strengthening and encouraging the message of peace through sports. Sport is a common language the bridges gaps and lowers barriers."
Alon Shuster, the head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, participated in the ceremony for the first training session, along with the Israeli and Palestinian coaches.
Rafie,
It's nice to hear that there are programs like this, but to what end? Kids will be kids and love life in their blissful ignorant states, but young adults will continue to demonize the people on the opposite sides of the blockades, because for their entire lives, they will have only known war. I'd like to hear about peace programs with a focus on impartial education for young adults and up - the people who have the interest and wherewithal to learn more about the history of the region, the rights to vote on new government to bring upon new policy, and the audacity to question the preconceptions they were raised with.
The Palestinian coach emphasized that "they love to meet Israeli children. It challenges them to play against them, and there is something very special, very heart-warming, about this – especially now, after everything Israel has been through." because yes, Israel went through a lot.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
i don't think these kids praying together is going to change a damn thing.
religion is a part of this conflict. what is written in an ancient book is a root cause of the problems in the region today. i think encouraging religion is a mistake.
if anything, i would be advocating the absence, or stopping the teaching of religion. all religion is good for is dividing people up into little groups that have different interests that are actually barriers to peace.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
So...don't even bother then? It's funny (well, odd) how other programs working toward children being open to others of all kinds, to eat healthy, on and on and etc....are embraced.
This, something with potential for some small bit of benefit, is met with cynicism and defeatism?
And are they playing together or praying together? Not sure if your typo was a Freudian slip, gimme.
i don't think these kids praying together is going to change a damn thing.
religion is a part of this conflict. what is written in an ancient book is a root cause of the problems in the region today. i think encouraging religion is a mistake.
if anything, i would be advocating the absence, or stopping the teaching of religion. all religion is good for is dividing people up into little groups that have different interests that are actually barriers to peace.
As hedonist mentioned - I think you maybe misread what Rafie posted - which is about children pLaying together, not pRaying together - no religion, just soccer!
And hedonist, my apologies if your message was also directed at me; I'm all for coexistence programs, I just think that there are bigger fish to fry than making sure Palestinian and Israeli youth are playing soccer together. Rafie was pretty open about expressing his regret that Israelis (and I mean this from a social perspective) do not show much sympathy for Palestinians, especially during times of hostilities. Because of that, these 'peaceful' times are so, so critical for social bridging amongst the portions of the population who actually have the abilities to bring about policy/government changes.
'05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
I don't even remember how long ago I wrote the email to which this message is responding. Doesn't really say much but at least it didn't include a fundraising appeal, which is more than I can say for some such responses. (I'm looking at YOU Elizabeth Warren!)
-----------------
Dear James: Thank you for writing. There are no easy solutions to the challenges facing the Israelis and the Palestinians, but I want you to know that when you send me an email, I am listening. We cannot give up on the search for an end to this conflict. Too much is at stake, and it is the right thing to do. Our Nation’s commitment to a just and sustainable resolution is unwavering, and we will continue to offer constructive approaches and encourage the Israelis and the Palestinians to work together to resolve this conflict. To move forward, both parties must face hard choices and make difficult decisions. Only they can accomplish the compromises necessary for two independent states to live side‑by‑side in peace and security. Again, I appreciate your thoughts. Please know my Administration will keep looking for steps both the Israelis and the Palestinians can take to build the trust and the confidence upon which lasting peace will depend. Sincerely, Barack Obama
I tell you these kids will never forgive the jews for what happened to their families never just think about when you were a kid shit stays with you for ever and having your whole family killed is something no one can ever forget ......this whole region is fucked and i can say with out a doubt there will never be peace there
I tell you these kids will never forgive the jews for what happened to their families never just think about when you were a kid shit stays with you for ever and having your whole family killed is something no one can ever forget ......this whole region is fucked and i can say with out a doubt there will never be peace there
100% Jose. How can they expect them to ever forget. I mean, every year were all reminded about the holocaust and how terrible it was. Those survivors will never forget and these kids will never forget either.
I tell you these kids will never forgive the jews for what happened to their families never just think about when you were a kid shit stays with you for ever and having your whole family killed is something no one can ever forget ......this whole region is fucked and i can say with out a doubt there will never be peace there
100% Jose. How can they expect them to ever forget. I mean, every year were all reminded about the holocaust and how terrible it was. Those survivors will never forget and these kids will never forget either.
I think you guys are walking a fine line.While I agree the kids will have animosity towards those who were part of the aggression I think you have to still refer to the" Jews "as Israelis here.It ends up painting to big of a picture.(Like I hate the Muslims for 9/11 or Isis) From what I have been seeing many Jews have been working with and for the Palestinian people in a benevolent way.Just saying. For the record ,I haven't posted in this thread for a while and I'm so glad bombs are not dropping and some form of progress and forward momentum is taking place.I think some healing is underway,and maybe a new understanding of coexistence can come to the area from this conflict.
I tell you these kids will never forgive the jews for what happened to their families never just think about when you were a kid shit stays with you for ever and having your whole family killed is something no one can ever forget ......this whole region is fucked and i can say with out a doubt there will never be peace there
100% Jose. How can they expect them to ever forget. I mean, every year were all reminded about the holocaust and how terrible it was. Those survivors will never forget and these kids will never forget either.
A few things.
First, as rr said - it's a very important distinction to make between 'Jews' and 'Israelis'. I'm a Jew, I personally know several holocaust survivors, and I have Jewish friends who have grandparents who were in death camps in Germany, yet still return to Germany without animosity towards 'Germans' - just 'Nazis'. I personally have made some amazing German friends and look forward to visiting Germany one day. Also, I think that a critical component of Jewish-German relation reparations came from the Nuremberg Trials. The themes that were critically displayed here were 'confession', 'accountability', 'remorse', and 'justice'. These will be necessary to be seen from both Israeli and Palestinian parties, and I would expect to see a severe and internationally governed war crime tribunal either when a two-state, or a one-state solution is embraced.
I'd also be curious from anyone who knows better, but after racial segregation in South Africa, what was the aftermath like? Was it bloody? I suspect things will remain bad for Palestinians, but better than the total oppression. Similar to natives here in Canada (though they would have been so much better off had we not shown up at all), similar to African-Americans in the USA, there will be an obvious but disputed class differential, and there will be displays of racial inequalities. The difference as I see it is that there have to be some real questioning of societal indoctrination in order for change to come within Israel and the Palestinian regions, which will leave Jews and Arabs alike ready to question and speak up about the presence of these inequalities when they rear their ugly heads.
And finally, Jose, I'm sorry to be so dismissive of your idea here, and I'm sorry for presenting this so naively, but peace WILL come. There are some things that it's simply inappropriate to take a probabilistic approach to, and peace is one of them - love is another. In the case of love, the way I see it, is it would be naive to say that every person will have one soul mate in their life - but let's be more naive and say that each person will have three. Then, your odds of meeting your soul mate are approximately 3/7,125,000,000. Or, approximately zero. And yet clearly we haven't given up - for what ever reason, even us in the privileged world who don't rely on children for additional hands to sow the fields, we still seek love. And we still procreate. And we encourage our children to love, all the while knowing the odds are stacked so far against finding true love, and the pains associated with the search are truly devastating sometimes. But we refute the stats, and we move forward regardless. Peace, in my opinion, actually can be boiled down to a process. You take the insurmountable question of "how do we bring peace", and you break it down into manageable chunks. Here's my timeline towards peace:
1) Condemn societal indoctrinations, while encouraging well-rounded educations. This must be a universal truth, that we need to seek as many versions of the truth as possible. 2) Encourage empathizing for even the people you are accustomed to calling your enemy. We are all self-serving at the end of the day, so it's a delusional notion to think that someone wants you dead because someone wants you dead. What's the reason? What's the end goal? 3) Debate from an empathetic perspective. Ask why. Then ask it again. Insist on an answer. Refuse to believe in murderous nature for murderous nature's sake. 4) Share these opinions. Don't keep them to yourself and bury them. We only have power when we use our voices - and our voices are louder today than ever before: if I posted this on Facebook, I can estimate that at the very least, around 200 people would see it instantly. 5) Recognize fault. Own up. Apologize. 6) Make amends. Work fucking hard at this. Act in ways that are uncomfortable to you, to appease the people that harm has befallen unto. 7) Embrace each other. Love difference - stop hating it. 8) Coexist. Work together, instead of against each other.
I think step one is attainable, so I refuse to stop seeking that. I think if step one is attainable, step two will be. You get the picture. It's not so crazy. It is conceivable.
To simply say that peace is impossible will breed complacency and inaction. Complacency and inaction then become the outcome of the self-fulfilling prophecy that peace is an impossibility - so, frankly, I won't believe that.
'05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Sorry, but it's gonna be the same as it is in America. You're gonna have those Palestinians who are gonna hate All the jews wether Israeli or wherever. And you're gonna have those Palestinians who hate Israelis. In America, we've got a pretty good num of Americans who hate All Muslims no matter what. It's the circle of violence. I don't think Jose's post was meant to read Jews. I'm sure he meant Israelis. And I DEF meant Israelis cuz I to have Jewish friends and can tell the difference between being Jewish and being Israeli.
So RR, I know I'm NOT walking the fine line cuz my rage is at those Israelis WHO allowed that massacre to happen. 60 years and we're all still waiting for peace. When will it ever come?
I tell you these kids will never forgive the jews for what happened to their families never just think about when you were a kid shit stays with you for ever and having your whole family killed is something no one can ever forget ......this whole region is fucked and i can say with out a doubt there will never be peace there
100% Jose. How can they expect them to ever forget. I mean, every year were all reminded about the holocaust and how terrible it was. Those survivors will never forget and these kids will never forget either.
I think you guys are walking a fine line.While I agree the kids will have animosity towards those who were part of the aggression I think you have to still refer to the" Jews "as Israelis here.It ends up painting to big of a picture.(Like I hate the Muslims for 9/11 or Isis) From what I have been seeing many Jews have been working with and for the Palestinian people in a benevolent way.Just saying. For the record ,I haven't posted in this thread for a while and I'm so glad bombs are not dropping and some form of progress and forward momentum is taking place.I think some healing is underway,and maybe a new understanding of coexistence can come to the area from this conflict.
And RR Is ISNT Muslim. Just because they claim to be and the media is portraying them as Muslim, they ARENT Muslim. Any REAL Muslim can tell you that. And anyone who supports them ISNT Muslim either.
I tell you these kids will never forgive the jews for what happened to their families never just think about when you were a kid shit stays with you for ever and having your whole family killed is something no one can ever forget ......this whole region is fucked and i can say with out a doubt there will never be peace there
100% Jose. How can they expect them to ever forget. I mean, every year were all reminded about the holocaust and how terrible it was. Those survivors will never forget and these kids will never forget either.
I think you guys are walking a fine line.While I agree the kids will have animosity towards those who were part of the aggression I think you have to still refer to the" Jews "as Israelis here.It ends up painting to big of a picture.(Like I hate the Muslims for 9/11 or Isis) From what I have been seeing many Jews have been working with and for the Palestinian people in a benevolent way.Just saying. For the record ,I haven't posted in this thread for a while and I'm so glad bombs are not dropping and some form of progress and forward momentum is taking place.I think some healing is underway,and maybe a new understanding of coexistence can come to the area from this conflict.
And RR Is ISNT Muslim. Just because they claim to be and the media is portraying them as Muslim, they ARENT Muslim. Any REAL Muslim can tell you that. And anyone who supports them ISNT Muslim either.
I know BB,that's why I used it as an Example.I think I've told you in the past I lift with some Lebanese beastly dudes,and they want to kill ISIS for running around and creating a bad name of their religion.I totally get it.Most of us thinking people(Yes even southerners) know the difference,so no worries.
Comments
What really burns me is when I write to a Senator or Congressman who doesn't represent me. The response is a polite "fuck off and bug your own guy." :-))
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
Interesting. So, if any of your citizens are murdered, then you see that as a green light to steal land from your neighbours?
What other country on the planet could get away with this Nazi bullshit?
Also, there's zero evidence that Hamas were involved in those murders.
What a civilized country!
On 10 August, ACRI (the Association for Civil Rights in Israel) said it had contacted the commander of Jerusalem’s occupation police “to request that he urgently clarify the details” of Israel’s use of the substance.
“Witness testimony reveals that the police indiscriminately sprayed the skunk liquid towards houses, people, restaurants brimming with people and in crowded streets, causing harm to innocent residents,” ACRI said. “Evidence suggests that in some cases the skunk repellent was arbitrarily used with no apparent justification and in the absence of any public disturbances.”
Though this one ended up in the wrong place:
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/video-palestinians-cheer-israeli-skunk-truck-crashes-ravine
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0GV0D020140831?irpc=932
i am not going to brag, but i pretty much called it...
and who the fuck is still confused at all about why there is conflict in the region??? is there any doubt why there are rockets being launched into israel?
netanyahu is a pig. a greedy, war mongering, pig.
this is why there is, and there will never be peace....
Israel Announces Massive West Bank Land Grab
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/31/israel-west-bank_n_5745498.html
JERUSALEM, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Israel announced on Sunday a land appropriation in the occupied West Bank that an anti-settlement group termed the biggest in 30 years, drawing Palestinian condemnation and a U.S. rebuke.
Some 400 hectares (988 acres) in the Etzion Jewish settlement bloc near Bethlehem were declared "state land, on the instructions of the political echelon" by the military-run Civil Administration.
"We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision," a State Department official said in Washington, calling the move "counterproductive" to efforts to achieve a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel Radio said the step was taken in response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teens by Hamas militants in the area in June.
Tensions stoked by the incident quickly spread to Israel's border with Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, and the two sides engaged in a seven-week war that ended on Tuesday with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.
The notice published on Sunday by the Israeli military gave no reason for the land appropriation decision.
Peace Now, which opposes Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank, territory the Palestinians seek for a state, said the appropriation was meant to turn a site where 10 families now live adjacent to a Jewish seminary into a permanent settlement.
Construction of a major settlement at the location, known as "Gevaot", has been mooted by Israel since 2000. Last year, the government invited bids for the building of 1,000 housing units at the site.
Peace Now said the land seizure was the largest announced by Israel in the West Bank since the 1980s and that anyone with ownership claims had 45 days to appeal. A local Palestinian mayor said Palestinians owned the tracts and harvested olive trees on them.
Israel has come under intense international criticism over its settlement activities, which most countries regard as illegal under international law and a major obstacle to the creation of a viable Palestinian state in any future peace deal.
Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called on Israel to cancel the appropriation. "This decision will lead to more instability. This will only inflame the situation after the war in Gaza," Abu Rdainah said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke off U.S.-brokered peace talks with Abbas in April after the Palestinian leader reached a reconciliation deal with Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates the Gaza Strip.
In a series of remarks after an open-ended ceasefire halted the Gaza war, Netanyahu repeated his position that Abbas would have to sever his alliance with Hamas for a peace process with Israel to resume.
The administration of President Barack Obama, who has been at odds with Netanyahu over settlements since taking office in 2009, pushed back against the land decision. It was the latest point of contention between Washington and its top Middle East ally Israel, which also differ over Iran nuclear talks.
"We have long made clear our opposition to continued settlement activity," said the State Department official, who declined to be identified.
"This announcement, like every other settlement announcement Israel makes, planning step they approve and construction tender they issue, is counterproductive to Israel's stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians," the official said.
After the collapse of the last round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, U.S. officials cited settlement construction as one of the main reasons for the breakdown, while also faulting the Palestinians for signing a series of international treaties and conventions.
Israel has said construction at Gevaot would not constitute the establishment of a new settlement because the site is officially designated a neighborhood of an existing one, Alon Shvut, several km (miles) down the road.
Some 500,000 Israelis live among 2.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory that the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war. (Reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Matt Spetalnick in Washington and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Andrea Ricci)
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
http://english.alwatanvoice.com/news/2014/08/31/584887.html
More stories like this will lead to a permanent truce.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4566485,00.html
Israeli, Palestinian children play for peace
Peres Center opens school year with launch of its annual 'sports for peace' program, bringing together Gaza-border children with West Bank kids.
Matan Tzuri
Published: 09.01.14, 18:43 / Israel Culture
Israeli children from Sderot and Gaza-border communities came together with Palestinian kids from the West Bank on Monday for the opening ceremony of the Peres Center for Peace's annual after-school soccer program.
"You will spread word of the games, of peace instead of confrontations," said former president Shimon Peres. "Everyone loves to play soccer, regardless of religion or nationality. You need peace, and you will carry the message of peace."
Some 80 students, Israelis and Palestinians, arrived for the season's first training session – after the end of the 50-day-long Operation Protective Edge, when the kids of Sderot and other southern communities were forced to either stay near shelter or leave to other parts of the country.
They were met by Palestinian children from Jerico and Yatta, south of Mt. Hebron. The Twinned Peace Sports Schools (TPSS) soccer program includes boys and girls age nine to 12.
The coach of the Yatta squad, Ahmed al-Jericho, said: "Our children think only of soccer, they love to play soccer – they don't care if it is with Jews or non-Jews. They are kids and all they care about is leaving together in peace, that's what they want."
The Palestinian coach emphasized that "they love to meet Israeli children. It challenges them to play against them, and there is something very special, very heart-warming, about this – especially now, after everything Israel has been through."
Roi, one of the kids from Sderot said he was a long-time participant of the program. "I have been taking part in this project for a while and I love playing with Palestinian kids who are soccer fiends just like us, it creates a bond between us."
The director-general of the Peres Center, Efrat Duvdevani, said that the center "sees the importance of strengthening and encouraging the message of peace through sports. Sport is a common language the bridges gaps and lowers barriers."
Alon Shuster, the head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, participated in the ceremony for the first training session, along with the Israeli and Palestinian coaches.
2010: 9/7/10 - Bilbao
2012: 26-27/6/12 - Amsterdam ~~ 29/6/12 - Werchter ~~ 4-5/7/12 - Berlin
2014: 25/6/14 - Vienna ~~ 26/6/14 - Berlin
It's nice to hear that there are programs like this, but to what end? Kids will be kids and love life in their blissful ignorant states, but young adults will continue to demonize the people on the opposite sides of the blockades, because for their entire lives, they will have only known war. I'd like to hear about peace programs with a focus on impartial education for young adults and up - the people who have the interest and wherewithal to learn more about the history of the region, the rights to vote on new government to bring upon new policy, and the audacity to question the preconceptions they were raised with.
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
because yes, Israel went through a lot.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
religion is a part of this conflict. what is written in an ancient book is a root cause of the problems in the region today. i think encouraging religion is a mistake.
if anything, i would be advocating the absence, or stopping the teaching of religion. all religion is good for is dividing people up into little groups that have different interests that are actually barriers to peace.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
This, something with potential for some small bit of benefit, is met with cynicism and defeatism?
And are they playing together or praying together? Not sure if your typo was a Freudian slip, gimme.
Big difference though.
And hedonist, my apologies if your message was also directed at me; I'm all for coexistence programs, I just think that there are bigger fish to fry than making sure Palestinian and Israeli youth are playing soccer together. Rafie was pretty open about expressing his regret that Israelis (and I mean this from a social perspective) do not show much sympathy for Palestinians, especially during times of hostilities. Because of that, these 'peaceful' times are so, so critical for social bridging amongst the portions of the population who actually have the abilities to bring about policy/government changes.
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
I'm all for the bigger fish, but why toss aside (or minimize) the smaller ones along the way?
Maybe it's just some fun time for them; god knows they both need it.
http://alray.ps/en/index.php?act=post&id=5382#.VBgwZLm9LCQ
-----------------
Dear James:
Thank you for writing. There are no easy solutions to the challenges facing the Israelis and the Palestinians, but I want you to know that when you send me an email, I am listening.
We cannot give up on the search for an end to this conflict. Too much is at stake, and it is the right thing to do. Our Nation’s commitment to a just and sustainable resolution is unwavering, and we will continue to offer constructive approaches and encourage the Israelis and the Palestinians to work together to resolve this conflict. To move forward, both parties must face hard choices and make difficult decisions. Only they can accomplish the compromises necessary for two independent states to live side‑by‑side in peace and security.
Again, I appreciate your thoughts. Please know my Administration will keep looking for steps both the Israelis and the Palestinians can take to build the trust and the confidence upon which lasting peace will depend.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
From what I have been seeing many Jews have been working with and for the Palestinian people in a benevolent way.Just saying.
For the record ,I haven't posted in this thread for a while and I'm so glad bombs are not dropping and some form of progress and forward momentum is taking place.I think some healing is underway,and maybe a new understanding of coexistence can come to the area from this conflict.
First, as rr said - it's a very important distinction to make between 'Jews' and 'Israelis'. I'm a Jew, I personally know several holocaust survivors, and I have Jewish friends who have grandparents who were in death camps in Germany, yet still return to Germany without animosity towards 'Germans' - just 'Nazis'. I personally have made some amazing German friends and look forward to visiting Germany one day. Also, I think that a critical component of Jewish-German relation reparations came from the Nuremberg Trials. The themes that were critically displayed here were 'confession', 'accountability', 'remorse', and 'justice'. These will be necessary to be seen from both Israeli and Palestinian parties, and I would expect to see a severe and internationally governed war crime tribunal either when a two-state, or a one-state solution is embraced.
I'd also be curious from anyone who knows better, but after racial segregation in South Africa, what was the aftermath like? Was it bloody? I suspect things will remain bad for Palestinians, but better than the total oppression. Similar to natives here in Canada (though they would have been so much better off had we not shown up at all), similar to African-Americans in the USA, there will be an obvious but disputed class differential, and there will be displays of racial inequalities. The difference as I see it is that there have to be some real questioning of societal indoctrination in order for change to come within Israel and the Palestinian regions, which will leave Jews and Arabs alike ready to question and speak up about the presence of these inequalities when they rear their ugly heads.
And finally, Jose, I'm sorry to be so dismissive of your idea here, and I'm sorry for presenting this so naively, but peace WILL come. There are some things that it's simply inappropriate to take a probabilistic approach to, and peace is one of them - love is another.
In the case of love, the way I see it, is it would be naive to say that every person will have one soul mate in their life - but let's be more naive and say that each person will have three. Then, your odds of meeting your soul mate are approximately 3/7,125,000,000. Or, approximately zero. And yet clearly we haven't given up - for what ever reason, even us in the privileged world who don't rely on children for additional hands to sow the fields, we still seek love. And we still procreate. And we encourage our children to love, all the while knowing the odds are stacked so far against finding true love, and the pains associated with the search are truly devastating sometimes. But we refute the stats, and we move forward regardless.
Peace, in my opinion, actually can be boiled down to a process. You take the insurmountable question of "how do we bring peace", and you break it down into manageable chunks. Here's my timeline towards peace:
1) Condemn societal indoctrinations, while encouraging well-rounded educations. This must be a universal truth, that we need to seek as many versions of the truth as possible.
2) Encourage empathizing for even the people you are accustomed to calling your enemy. We are all self-serving at the end of the day, so it's a delusional notion to think that someone wants you dead because someone wants you dead. What's the reason? What's the end goal?
3) Debate from an empathetic perspective. Ask why. Then ask it again. Insist on an answer. Refuse to believe in murderous nature for murderous nature's sake.
4) Share these opinions. Don't keep them to yourself and bury them. We only have power when we use our voices - and our voices are louder today than ever before: if I posted this on Facebook, I can estimate that at the very least, around 200 people would see it instantly.
5) Recognize fault. Own up. Apologize.
6) Make amends. Work fucking hard at this. Act in ways that are uncomfortable to you, to appease the people that harm has befallen unto.
7) Embrace each other. Love difference - stop hating it.
8) Coexist. Work together, instead of against each other.
I think step one is attainable, so I refuse to stop seeking that. I think if step one is attainable, step two will be. You get the picture. It's not so crazy. It is conceivable.
To simply say that peace is impossible will breed complacency and inaction. Complacency and inaction then become the outcome of the self-fulfilling prophecy that peace is an impossibility - so, frankly, I won't believe that.
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
So RR, I know I'm NOT walking the fine line cuz my rage is at those Israelis WHO allowed that massacre to happen. 60 years and we're all still waiting for peace. When will it ever come?