I was in Israel for two weeks last month, and the people I was working with, all Russian emigres, were so kind to me and so careful not to insult me, in trying to convey this common belief of Israelis in general: The Muslims only respect and understand force. They disdain accommodation, they humor discourse and dialogue, and they despise weakness - which is what they see in Obama. They built the Dome of the Rock practically on top of Solomon's Temple, they tore down a synagogue to build a mosque in the Old City during the partition between 1948 and 1967 (which the Israelis rebuilt, next to the mosque) and now they want to build a mosque practically on top of the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth - which Pope Benedict has successfully delayed to this point. They erected a canvas banner just outside the entrance to the Church which reads: "And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the Losers" Holy Quran
There's no reasoning with these people, PERIOD.
I have heard that the Russian emigres were all placed in the settlement areas and consequently,the source of many of the current problems in Israel. Do you know whether of not the ones you worked with lived in Gaza or the West Bank?
If they did,is that where you worked with them or could they get past the guards every day to get out of the territory and into Israel proper,or whatever it is known as.