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To: robjna
You are correct that there are two sides to every issue and this one is far more complicated. Both within Isreal and the Palestian community there are conflicting groups. The Arab-Israel conflict will not be solved simply or easily.

Here is a good site that is published by an Israel Peace Group that I found informative albeit one-sided. Good luck and let us know if you find any informative sites.

54 posted on 12/06/2001 1:13:32 PM PST by Nightstalker
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To: Nightstalker
thank you
55 posted on 12/06/2001 1:14:36 PM PST by robjna
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To: Nightstalker; robjna
"Here is a good site that is published by an Israel Peace Group that I found informative albeit one-sided. Good luck and let us know if you find any informative sites."

I've found that these Israeli peace groups are almost as biased as the Arab groups. What these Israeli peace groups should be doing is taking a look to see why there are no Arab peace groups. Why do you think that is? No Arab or Muslims calling for their own side to ease up?
108 posted on 12/06/2001 1:51:38 PM PST by Michael2001
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To: Nightstalker; robjna
You are correct that there are two sides to every issue. This mantra is a very modern invention that makes good people feel good. It is one of those good intentions that end up hurting both the truth and people.

There is no "two sides" in a robbery in the street, in a rape of a woman in her bedroom by an intruder. Victimhood has been so overplayed that almost anyone looks like a victim: Blacks, women, "transgendered people" (coming soon: trans-species people). At the same time, we lost our ability to recognize victims as victims, not parties to the debate.

Like many, I have reservations about some policies of the Israeli government. But telling someone, as you did, that "there are two sides to every issue" and ignoring the fact that Israel has been attacked repeatedly, that to this day Palestinians call for its entire destruction --- that is going a bit too far from fairness.

Yes, several generations of Israelis grew up under such hostile conditions and they well may not be objective to Palestinians. Well, that party which made them so distrustful bears, then, the responsibility to provide extra guarantees to re-establish trust. Blowing up a bus full of people surely does not help.

In the case of the victim of rape, it is easy to criticize the poor woman of not being objective to men. What would you say about me, were I to declare that in her case, too, "there are two sides" of the issue? How did she contribute to rape? By sleeping in hew own bedroom? Let's complicate the matters: suppose she was kicking and screaming, and inflicted some serious damage to the rapist's face. Is that what confuses you? That you see blood on both bodies? I hope that you would call some bad names anybody who could not recognize a victim when he sees one. I hope you would be outraged if you heard that "there are two sides."

Unfortunately, I know that I am wrong: nothing is sacred any longer. Everything has two sides now. Thus, Antanta caused Hitler's rise to power by extracting "humiliating" concessions, Jews caused the Holocaust by their evil nature, and a woman causes to be raped by leaving her bedroom window open.

Should we be surprised that Israel has caused its troubles by refusing to die after five wars? They have and continue to try to defend themselves by various means. They have traded land for peace with Egypt. They invaded Lebanon next door for the same reason we have invaded Afghanistan 5,000mi away. They build settlements.

As with all real-world actions, one could question whether the policies Israel chhoses for its self-defense are best. If a woman being raped manages to push back but cripple the intruder, this too may be questioned as excessive force. But only an insensitive moral-relativistic SOB would put the victim and the perpetrator on the same moral plane and say that "that there are two sides to every issue."

118 posted on 12/06/2001 2:13:26 PM PST by TopQuark
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