Good one, Chris. Regards, Bob. Oh, you mean I need to answer that? Choose sides? Um, isn't that the basic problem here, choosing who are the good guys? Lemme see, perhaps I can work it out. First, let's get the word "terrorist" off the table. Very few entities can be "terror organizations. Terror is a tactic or weapon used in warfare such as, say, propaganda yet we do not generally refer to armies as "terror organizations" or "propaganda" organizations". Consider the "shock and awe" maneuvre that opened the Iraq War. The very name was calculated to create terror, let alone the minimum 45,000 civilian casualties it caused. Should we now refer to the Government of the United States as a "terror organization"?
The situation in Palestine is such that terror is inflicted by both sides. The IDF uses sophisticated weaponry to kill and maim Palestinian civilians, factions within the occupied territories fire rockets - both (supposedly) in the belief that it will somehow cause the opposite party to change their minds. Therefore the term becomes meaningless - either both are terrorists or neither. What we are left with is the question of morality or which is the just cause. What is going on is asymmetric warfare. The Israelis want the Palestinians gone but they cannot just grind them under tanks or they would lose their support in the U.S. So they blast a few houses, shoot a few Palestinians to scatter the populace then move in a few settlers. The Pals want to scare the settlers off so they fire rockets. Each is stuck in their own groove. The Israelis get to sell the Pals to the world under the terrorist brand-name (made so popular by Bush) the Pals slow up the settlement process. (If you have ever wondered why 400,000 Israelis would go and settle where an occasional rocket might spoil the day, check out the inducements: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEED9103EF937A35750C0A9669 58260 ....it's an old article but so is the strategy. The inducements are greater now than ever.) >From the Palestinian point of view, the settlers are the enemy. They are, after all, knowingly moving into and taking over Palestinian land. They are not innocent passersby. Consider how you would react if the US was still occupied 60 years after a Japanese victory and the Japanese army was clearing Americans from their homes, bulldozing them and financially assisting Japanese into homes built on the land. Most Americans would see those Japanese settlers as complicit I think. The Israeli aim is to expel Palestinians from ancestral lands so if they have an enemy, it is one they themselves have created. When they take aim and fire at a civilian home, that civilian may indeed be innocent of any act of war. For this reason I believe the Palestinian cause correctly merits the term "just". As it happens, the U.N agrees. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. In this conflict Israel fights for territory, the Palestinians for freedom from oppression on what remains of their land. The history of the conflict makes it clear that the Pals are simply trying to hold on to the last 20% of the land that was their own until half of it was given to Zionists by the victors of WW2. It is not often understood by most commentators on this conflict that even if the Israelis retreated to the pre-1967 borders the Palestinians would still have given up over half their rightful homeland. Most Pals accept this. The current desperate fight is to resist Israel's attempt to take it all and expel the entire Palestinian population. Which part makes me want to throw up? The whole damn mess, two groups of people trying to push each other out of a potential Eden, egged on by the greatest military power on earth while the world around us goes to hell in a bucket. Hmmm, didn't mean to sound off like that. Must've fogotten my medication again....................... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Burck" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org> Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2007 12:07 PM Subject: Re: [Biofuel] One person's dream, another's nightmare > which part made you throw up? > > On 11/21/07, Bob Molloy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi All, > > I came across this in a publication called Shamir Readers. It > > made me think, at first, until the puking started, then all I could do was > > throw up. > > Regards,Bob. > > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shamireaders/messages> > > > > <http://www.arabisto.com:80/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=688> > > > > A seldom visited point of view by Aref Assaf of the former village of Allar, > > a wonderfully beautiful and sad place in Palestine. Allar with its Crusader > > abbey, a spring and a great fig-tree was destroyed in 1948. It is now part > > of an Israeli village called Mata. Assaf lives in New Jersey. He is writing > > in answer to an article by a Jewish American girl who plans to move to > > Israel. Assaf says he doesn't mind her move, and he does not mind Israel as > > Jewish state, he is opposed to the settlement of occupied territories. Read > > from the bottom up. > > > > To comment on Dr Assaf's piece, click on his blog entry: > > > > <http://www.arabisto.com:80/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=688> > > > > Abby's dream, my catastrophe. > > > > The article below is a quick response to an piece headlined, "Our dream will > > bring us to another land" by an American citizen named Abigail Leichman. In > > her article, Abby, a staff writer for the Bergen Record who often writes > > about food, etiquette and home decorating interests, is making her goodbyes > > as she prepares to return to her "biblical homeland", Israel. > > > > She also writes for Jewish papers about Israel and other Jewish matters, > > including a piece on the recent 'real estate fair" held in Teaneck to sell > > American Jews lands to build more settlements in Israel. Could it be that > > Abby was influenced by this event? The organizer's flyer proclaimed: "Come > > learn how you, a group of friends, or even a community can own a home and > > strengthen the Zionist dream." > > > > My response to this article was very spontaneous because Abby's words > > exposed old wounds and shattered dreams. This was a very painful letter to > > write but it needed to be said. More than anything else, I hope Abby will > > read my words. I urge you to first read the article then read my short > > response which I sent to the Bergen Record. Much more can and should be said > > but to render my response publishable, I had to keep it short. AA > > > > > > > > > > Bergen Record > > > > To the Editor > > > > > > > > > > Dear Editor: > > > > > > > > > > Re: Our dream will bring us to another land > > > > I wish I could be a garment in Abby Leichman's luggage as she prepares to go > > 'home' to Israel. Even though I was born in Palestine and was nurtured by > > its dry sun and arid soil, I am unable to join Abby in her journey simply > > because I am not Jewish. Abby, who admits to not being "fluent in the local > > language or culture," and was probably born in New Jersey, will be welcomed > > with open arms by other foreign settlers. While Abby will automatically > > receive Israeli citizenship, I will be denied that privilege and, if not > > thrown back onto the next departing plane, I may be issued a temporary > > tourist visa to my homeland. This encapsulates but never fully conveys the > > essence of the Palestinian people's plight. > > > > Abby's heartwarming story may solicit compassion and 'good wishes' from some > > readers. Yet it is the tragic destiny of the other unmentioned side, the > > Palestinian Arabs who understandably will not throw the red carpet for Abby. > > I wish Abby had told her readers that her going home to Israel will mean > > Palestinians will have lost more of their lands and groves. This is the area > > occupied by Israel since 1967. As part of a final peaceful resolution > > between the Palestinians and the Jews, this parcel of historic Palestine, > > the West Bank and Gaza, was supposed to become the future Palestine state > > which our President has envisioned since 2002. > > > > I have no issue with Abby living in Tel Aviv or Beersheba. In fact, most > > Palestinians have accepted the two- state solution by ceding 78% of historic > > Palestine to Israel and asking for the remainder to be their future > > Palestine state. I do, however, have a major issue with her joining the over > > 400,000 other settlers who, because of ideological or monetary incentives, > > choose to live in stolen lands belonging to the Palestinians. These lands, > > through government-authorized confiscations and illegal and counterfeit > > purchases will be where Abby will build her home. > > > > Abby did not share with us this little secret. Abby's new home will mean > > that Palestinians will be squeezed into even more suffocating enclaves, > > surrounded by barbed wire, massive walls, and hundreds of checkpoints. Abby > > may never experience being stopped by an Israeli solder at these > > checkpoints, deep into the occupied West Bank, because in fact these > > structures primarily separate Palestinians from other Palestinians, separate > > Palestinians from their fields, from their places of worship and their > > schools. > > > > > > > > > > Dear Abby, you tell us that you are returning to your ancestral home to > > build a nation. But what about my ancestral home in Palestine, and what > > about the thriving nation you will have destroyed? What about my parents' > > little village of Allar, wiped off the face of the earth in 1948, rendering > > its 450 inhabitants refugees for over five decades? My parents still hold > > the key to their now non-existent house, a homestead that remains vividly > > alive in their dreams and prayers. > > > > > > It pains me, Abby that you make no mention of the Palestinian people on > > whose corpses you will be stomping, and the hundreds of villages destroyed > > and turned into Jewish-only towns and cities. These people deserve a home > > too, Abby - don't they? What gives you more right to my home? Has God turned > > into a real estate broker? Will you ask yourself about the fate of he > > original owners of the land? Should they forget about their land, homes, and > > dreams so that you may have guilt-free peace of mind and a conscience devoid > > of doubts? Will you ask yourself how the Palestinians will feed their > > children since Israeli expansion uprooted thousands of their centuries-old > > olive trees? How will they learn since you have destroyed their schools? How > > will they treat their sick since you have demolished their hospitals? > > > > > > Abby, the Palestinians will not share your worry about who will cut their > > hair or whether milk will be sold in bottles or plastics bags. Their worries > > are more basic than that: they worry about their next meal; they worry if > > they will survive another 1000lb. bomb dropped on their home. They worry > > about such things as being able to pass a checkpoint to make it in time to > > deliver a baby or receive a blood transfusion or to farm their fields. I am > > sure all these matters were left out from your glossy sales brochure as they > > somehow metaphysically never existed and if they do, they should not matter > > to you. > > > > > > Please, Abby, let the world know that your new home will be in an exclusive > > settlement built only for the Jews, a place where Americans of different > > faiths may not live. Please tell the world that the roads you will travel to > > Jerusalem or Tel Aviv were built for Jews only and no Arab cars are > > permitted on them. You will know an Arab-owned car because your government > > issues color- coded licenses plates and Arabs will have their 'unique' > > colors. Remember the fifties and early sixties in America, when you saw > > "Whites Only" signs?. We have long moved on from such morally repugnant and > > discriminatory polices. In Israel, discrimination against Arabs is legal > > because your Supreme Court said so recently and because your Prime Minister > > once described our people as "crushable grasshoppers". > > > > Please tell the world that the water with which you will quench your thirst > > and cleanse your body will be stolen from Arab-owned lands from which over > > 90% of the water is diverted to Israel. Arabs, you should know, aren't even > > allowed to dig for water on their own property. Please tell the world about > > the wild pigs your government lets loose into our fields to destroy their > > crops and to insult their religious sentiments. Please tell the world about > > the more than 13,000 Arab homes that since 1967 your Israeli government > > destroyed - often at a moment's notice. > > > > Abby, please tell the world how and why your Israeli soldiers, armed with > > American-made weapons, shot dead my unarmed eleven-year brother with an M-16 > > rifle's bullet which shattered his young head. How can you console and > > comfort my parents who were never allowed to see their fallen son or even to > > bury his remains? Will you endeavor to find the killers and bring them to > > justice? Will you help my parents bring their great loss to a closure? > > > > Abby, before you pack up your belongings, I pray you will unpack your heart > > and let in your conscience. Should you decide to stay here in America, I do > > hope our path will cross. I suspect that our meeting will be most revealing > > because you will finally come face to face with the other side of your dream > > - my catastrophe. > > > > Abby, please tell the world the missing chapter of your saga: Palestinians > > will cease to dream of their own home as you begin to celebrate your > > homecoming. Please tell the world - you may never have inner peace until you > > do. > > > > > > > > > > Aref Assaf, PhD > > > > Denville, NJ > > > > Ed Note: > > > > Yes, her venture is fraught with danger, fears of the unknown and unanswered > > doubts and questions; "Where can we find Skippy?" And "Who will cut my > > hair." Abby, her family and her friends are as much the hapless and > > helpless victims of the same insane, radical, relentless and satanic forces > > which have victimized Aref, his family and their friends. > > > > I suppose I should wish Abby and her family a bon voyage, and best wishes > > for a happy future in her "new" home in "Israel," but... considering the > > ramifications, I simply cannot. > > > > > > --EG > > > > > > > > > > Abbie's Dream2 > > > > > > > > > > "Our dream will bring us to another land" > > > > > > > > > > Thursday, July 19, 2007 > > > > > > > > > > By ABIGAIL LEICHMAN > > > > STAFF WRITER > > > > Bergen Record > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ON AUG. 6, my husband and daughter and I will board an El Al jet for a > > one-way trip to Israel. We will join our older son, who's been there for > > five years. > > > > > > > > > > It's not that I was eager to leave The Record. Over the past 13 years, this > > has become my home away from home, providing me with a rewarding career and > > the acquaintance of wonderful readers and talented co-workers. > > > > > > > > > > What is pulling me away from my dream job is simply a dream with more pull > > -- a dream built upon many personal and ideological layers. > > > > > > > > > > I understand the viewpoint of those who doubt our sanity for leaving a > > serene existence in North Jersey for a sliver of land in the volatile Middle > > East. But I prefer the viewpoint voiced by my Aunt Sarah, who in 1966 left a > > serene existence in Maryland for that same sliver of land: "Israel is not > > yet what it could or should be. Rather than staying away because it's not > > perfect, you could come live here and help make it better." > > > > I keep that inspirational statement in mind as we navigate the logistics of > > a inter-continental move. Because before we try our hand at nation-building > > in our ancestral home, we've got to get ourselves and our stuff over there. > > > > Many of the items on our check-list are the same as when we moved from New > > York to New Jersey 20 years ago: Alert the phone and electric/gas companies. > > Arrange for new drivers' licenses. Put in a mail-forwarding order. Decide > > what to bring, give away, sell or discard. Say goodbye to the neighbors. > > This time, we've had to sell a house and two cars, and find new "parents" > > for our cat. > > > > But there's more at stake now than mere logistics. We have relatives and > > friends in Israel, yet we're leaving some of our closest relatives and > > friends 6,000 miles behind. We're quitting jobs we love and seeking > > employment in a country where we aren't fluent in the local language or > > culture. > > > > We are trading dollars for shekels, miles for kilometers, 110 for 220 volts. > > We are trading snow shovels for solar panels, Stop & Shop for a neighborhood > > grocery run by a guy named Mickey. > > > > Here, we live within spitting distance of the No. 167 NJ Transit bus to New > > York. There, we will live within spitting distance of the No. 174 Egged bus > > to Jerusalem. > > > > We are swapping a grassy back yard for a patch of red-hued stones > > overlooking the Judean Desert -- the same landscape Moses saw from Mount > > Nebo more than 3,300 years ago, minus the paved roads and satellite dishes. > > > > Other differences > > > > Instead of national barbecues on July 4, there will be national barbecues on > > Iyar 5 sometime in May. "Weekend" will mean Friday and Saturday, not > > Saturday and Sunday. Milk will come in plastic bags; lox and bagels will be > > replaced by tahini-drizzled diced cucumbers, olives and tomatoes with warm > > pita. > > > > I don't know who will cut my hair or who will give me my annual physical. I > > don't know if I'll like the family next door (they're moving from Rockland > > County) or the folks upstairs (they're coming from South Africa). I don't > > know if I'll ever stop feeling like a fish out of water. > > > > I do know this: We already have invitations for meals well into September. > > Some are from generous strangers who "met" us through Internet chat groups > > for English-speaking immigrants. > > > > These chat groups are invaluable sources of information. Which cargo > > shippers do the job best? Should we bring transformers or simply buy new > > appliances? For which national health-insurance plan should we register? > > Where can we buy Skippy and Cheerios if we get the urge? > > > > Encouragement > > > > Along with these practical nuggets come words of encouragement. Rotter, who > > moved to Israel last summer from Passaic, writes: "We are connected to this > > place and to the people here in a way that is almost tangible. Everyday > > activities carry a new weight -- like everything we do really counts now, > > and everything we did in life up to now was preparation." > > > > She's not pretending it will be easy. She's just promising it will be > > meaningful. > > > > > > > > > > Abby Leichman is a Record staff writer. Contact her at > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send comments about this column to The Record at > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
