I despair at Israel sometimes

[AndHarry]

Well, often really. I have family out there who have a bomb shelter in their house and have had to evacuate for weeks at a time so I have great sympathy for ordinary Israelis trying to go about their lives. What happened to 3 sch

Everyone cares about this. Don't take the lack of posts as an indication that people do not care. People feel hopeless because they know that the politicians will do nothing to stop it and create a settlement. People care, but do the politicians care?

Thank you to all the posters who responded tonight showing what I knew all along that people do care about this situation.

It's highly insightful to see both viewpoints and this is a good thread to air our views and challenge each other. Opening lines of communication and education is key to resolving this tragedy.

bambam what did i say to anyone that was a personal attack/insult?

You continuously try to attack honey and try to throw accusations of anti semitism at her when she has quite clearly spoken against anti semitism. She has presented her views, her disgust at what Israel has been doing and continues to do and her respect for the jewish people who reject what Israel stands for. She did not insult you. You were insulting to her.

Its funny how when someone makes a firm stand against an injustice/discrimination that has become rooted in a society they get called 'ranters'.

Call me a ranter all you like, I will keep saying that the Israeli occupation of Palestine must end and the Palestinians have a right to return.

About the murder of the 3 boys, as I have stated earlier, if Hamas are responsible, then they should be tried for the crime. What I am wondering now though is, where is the evidence? Netanyahu says he has seen the evidence but is usually always quick to put evidence of Hamas crimes in the media. So why has this evidence not been presented?

Tigger here's a link talking about Violence outside Paris synagogue falsely attributed to anti-Semitism

mondoweiss.net/2014/07/synagogue-attributed-semitism.html

The show of support on this thread for Palestine's predicament has been heart warming. Our leaders are pathetically quiet but the world is making it known that we stand in support for Palestine.

This team of filmmakers is worth watching - have a look at this video - it explains why settlements are so damaging to the Palestinians (of course!) but also to Israel - see www.justvision.org/myneighbourhood.

It reminds me so much of my youth in South Africa, weirdly enough - I can remember at one protest when for some reason I was the only white person amongst literally thousands of black people (usually there were more white people - it was just on that particular day, and the location of that particular protest). A very angry young black guy came up to me and was literally scratching his head trying to figure out whether I was a journalist (I wasn't then!), or some sort of state plant but it was good to see his own ideas challenged even though I could see the two female friends I was with (who were black - these things were relevant back then!) were getting nervous that he was going to lash out at me (he didn't).

I've watched the full version of The My Neighbourhood video and it is great to see the boy Mohammed moving from saying, "I hate them!" to a point of friendship with the Israelis who are standing by his family as they are attacked. I salute those Israelis - it's crap being told you are a lilly livered traitor to your own people (I have personal experience .)

This is a synopsis of the My Neighbourhood video. See www.justvision.org/myneighbourhood/about/synopsis

The video of the JDL incident casts a different complexion on the situation to be sure!

Wow wordsmith, just watched the my Neighbourhood trailer- it is powerfully moving.

205 Palestinians and 1 Israeli dead now.

Here's a link to the full film if anyone would like to watch it in full - see .

I think the full thing is about 25 minutes.

the jewish voice for peace video is such a good summary. i do find it baffling that anyone can argue with how injustice the situation is or be shocked that after decades of it some refugees and prisoners in a military occupation become desperate and 'extreme'.

going to look at the other links since i've been away.

i notice i've been attacked to the high teeth whilst away and accused of all sorts. i won't bother defending myself because i think any right minded individual would see the attacks for what they are and i've constantly expressed throughout this thread that this isn't a religious issue and that jews all over the world are organising against israel and horrified by it's actions.

watching the home front videos - certainly brings the personal reality and injustice of it to life. imagine people having the right to just walk in and take your home and live there purely because they had the right 'badge'? i cannot understand how after what happened in europe people could replicate this kind of system of ethnic discrimination so flagrantly.

oh they're very good! i like how the mother strips it down to institutionalised, legal discrimination. it is apartheid basically. to have a legal system that utterly favours one group at the expense of the basic human rights of another - it has been seen, and beaten, over and over again throughout the world. that america is pouring so much money in there to support it also needs dealing with by international law because they are just as guilty.

Please watch. This video shows various newsreaders around Egypt slamming Hamas and its tactics.

m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=7VtENBF_yjo

The links that have been shared on this thread have been really helpful, thanks everyone.

evicting people from their own homes at 3am in gas masks to give those homes to people with the right badge. it's almost unbelievable. to call that a democracy is a farce - it's a democracy for the right badge wearers and zero legal or human rights for those without that badge. what can that be but apartheid? i do not understand why any right minded person would want to defend that and call people who disagree with it ranting nobs and extremists

i don't get the link to egypt and others condemning hamas' actions - how does that address the reality of the oppression and utter devastation of a whole people based on ethnicity? everyone has condemned the actions of hamas but posting that is like insisting on looking at one recent aspect rather than addressing the reality of the whole picture.

it's like someone bullying the hell out of someone for ten years but when confronted about it pointing out that they kicked them back last week so it's all their fault - i just don't get it

More deaths overnight. As suspected the non ceasefire, which Hamas was barely consulted about and was more of a demand to surrender than anything else, has become a validation to Israel to intensify fire.

The video clip is very poignant. there are actually many jews within israel and certainly outside it who deplore the actions of israel.

The UN has demanded that Israel stop targeting civilians and civilian structures. When will this end? This is barbaric, even for Israel.

there are four in the series if you go to youtube. all very telling and proving what i said earlier (which was denied) about the decent israelis who do step up and try to speak for justice and peace being at risk from their own police and government. police coming to arrest and remove peaceful jewish people engaged in non violent protest against illegal evictions and stealing of homes.

how awful that the police can't even be relied upon to simply protect people and observe the law rather than being a political force that will arrest anyone who disagrees with apartheid.

HB, it is to show that if Hamas were not 'representing" the Palestinians the road to peace would be much easier. Hamas will never talk or discuss, they are only interested in the destruction of the Jewish people. And they do not care for the Palestinians who elected them they are simply a route to their end game. It's tragic.

I don't really like engaging with you as you tend to twist what I say.

disagreeing with you and pointing out how what you say can be interpreted if you take the bias out of it or rephrase it with the bias the other way is not 'twisting'. so for example what you just said does read as ironic, for a pro israel occupation poster to accuse hamas of not caring about palestinians and being the cause of problems just does seem ironic to anyone reading with an objective mind.

I am pro Israel and pro peace. What is wrong with that? My ideal would be that we all live in harmony but with Hamas at the helm that will not happen as they want to destroy the Jewish people. What's so hard to understand?

Karen I have asked you this numerous times - do you condemn the israeli actions of killing innocent civilians and civilian structures?

Stop diverting by blaming Hamas. Hamas are not the ones being universally condemned and firing experimental weapons into Gaza. Do you approve of experimental weapons being trialled on palestinians ?

I don't 'approve' of any violence. I do approve of Israel's right to defend itself after enduring a year of rocket fire from Hamas.

I do not approve of Hamas launching and hiding missiles amongst civilians - it's sick.

I have not seen any evidence staying that Israel is trialling new weapons on the Palestinians.

I am absolutely baffled by anyone who is supporting israels actions. A 3 day old baby has been killed in the last few days, am get many other children. Hundreds of children have been arrested. To hear other mnetters declaring support for Israel is mind boggling for me. Where is your humanity?

Israel has caged the palestinians like animals and when they fight back they are collectively punished. Collective punishment is banned international law. Hamas has every right to resist. Israel cannot rape and degrade a nation and then expect compliance.

Oh and btw I am Jewish and no one I know in RL supports israels apartheid and genocide. This has nothing to do with anti seminars but as usual whenever Israel is criticised it pulls out that card. Not any more. The killings have to stop.