Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotus
This.
There is a lot of revisionist history going on on both sides of this thread.
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Exactly. I honestly find it a bit laughable when people in this country have passionate opinions about the Arab/Israeli conflict. I am not saying that people should not have an opinion, but it is this extremism that continues to fuel this conflict.
The way I see it, both sides are right and both sides are wrong. Israel has reason to be paranoid of other Arab nations, yet they have been aggressive in occupying and building up communities in areas outside of the pre-1967 borders. Israel has a right to defend itself, but often when Palestinians throw rocks at Israelis, the Israelis retaliate with bullets. Israelis are the victims of terrorism and denounce it, yet their country was formed by terrorists and their military tactics are pretty much terrorize the Palestinian population.
Palestinians on the other hand, have been screwed over by the other Arab countries, as much as they by Israelis. They claim a right to exist, but ally themselves with countries that want to drive Israel into the sea. They want self determination and their own government, but then they elect Hamas to the government. They also have no unity within their government and pretty much shun those leaders that are willing to negotiate.
I am pretty pessimistic about this conflict, a lot of people are dying on both sides, and it directly affects our security. I had the fortune of taking a class taught by an Israeli and a Palestinian professor, and got to see both sides of the conflict. I feel that a lot of us here in the U.S. only see the Israeli good side and the Palestinian bad side. But there is a lot that we don't know, and we are never going to be a broker of peace if we have people here be so one-sided on this sad conflict.