In Middle East, Public Diplomacy Is the Wrong Approach

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DEMOCRACY IN ISRAEL
There is no democracy in Israel as a state is illegitimate and illegal and not recognized
Evidence of this if anyone wanted to write a comment in the Israeli websites
Does not allow him or be there are many obstacles to prevent him from writing a comment The reasons for Arab-Israeli conflict is the occupation of Palestine in 1948.
Palestine Arab Islamic state like the rest of the Arab and Islamic states surrounding
Them. Means that there are Jews and Zionists in Palestine a big mistake, because this entity
Zionist is not consistent with the surrounding area (such as language, customs, traditions and religion)
The only solution to end the Arab-Israeli conflict is the expulsion of Jews from Palestine
All of Palestine. The Jewish people will not rest and will not feel comfortable and stability
But if it gets out of Palestine and the Middle East completely. If people continue to
Jews in Palestine and the Middle East, the death and destruction will continue.
Palestine Arab Islamic state and will remain

arabmuslim of ID 5:38AM November 09, 2010

Netanyahu is "to be believed"? I think I'm going to puke. Even Zuckerman--the quintessential Israeli fifth-columnist and agent-- doesn't believe that whopper. The Israelis and their tribesmen who infest various host countries around the world, are known as the biggest liars in human history.

Bill Lane of CT 12:48PM April 23, 2010

Netanyahu is "to be believed"? I think I'm going to puke. Even Zuckerman--the quintessential Israeli fifth-columnist and agent-- doesn't believe that whopper. The Israelis and their tribesmen who infest various host countries around the world, are known as the biggest liars in human history.

Bill Lane of CT 12:48PM April 23, 2010

Dear Mr. Zukerman,
This is not for publication. Thank you.
We have lived for the better part of the past 23 years in Jerusalem, and we are gratified to see how editors like yourself and David Horovitz have increasingly come to recognize the inherent difficulty of our situation.
I would like to suggest, that it would be critical to clearly point out to your readers, that the Arab position is essentially a "zero sum game" politically and theologically.
Theologically, because their belief that Islam has superseded Judaism renders us a delegitimatized non-people, which reflects itself politically by their unwillingness to even consider recognizing the legitimacy of a Jewish state.
The western mind believes that there are no absolutes, that all positions are negotiable. Not so in the Islamist mind. There is ultimately no place for Jews in an Arab world.
Thank you for your considerations. Best regards.

Louis M. Stern of MI 10:25AM March 28, 2010

1. There is no "1967 border"; it is merely an armistice line from the 6 day war. The final status of the borders has not been decided.
2. The west Bank is disputed territory, not "Palestinian land;"
3. There is no "Palestinian people"; the Arabs living in the west bank are either of Egyptian or Jordanian descent. The myth of the Palestinian people" was created by Arafat in 1967 with the help of the KGB after the Arabs lost the six day war.
4. Arabs are continually expanding their "settlements" in the West Bank. Why is that ok but jews cannot? Again the land is currently in dispute.
5. The Peace process is a farce.
6. THE USA occupies Mexican and Native American Land; what moral authority does the US have over Israel? The US military practices ethnic cleansing on the American Indians.
That is all.

gary of PA 5:05PM March 26, 2010

Zuckerman does his homework. Let's not bash, but analyze, expecially if we want the Israelis and Palestinians to do the same.

Vern of MS 6:16PM March 25, 2010

Between Oslo and the Rabin assassination there was a new developement - Israeli settlement building tripled! The conflict is over land yet Israel's "peace" PM agreed to a massive land grab. Hardly the actions of a nation that wants peace.
Hizbollah claim the Israelis were violating the Lebanese border. I was not there so I do not know who is telling the truth. However the Israeli escalation is evidence they were looking for an excuse to invade.
It is interesting that nearly all Arabs support the two state solution based on the 1967 border. This includes Hamas, which has stated they would honour an indefinite ceasefire if Israel withdrew from the West Bank - including all settlements. The simple fact is that Israel will not give up all its settlements, therefore they cannot honour any practical peace agreement. A shame because the state of Israel will not survive without a peace settlement.
BTW when was the last suicide bombing in Israel? Hamas stopped this policy years ago because it was bad PR. Funny thing is their image continues to be slandered in the western media no matter how may Gaza ceasefires they propose.

Paul Whiteside 12:14AM March 24, 2010

Ray, are you that shallow? Do you not have a better understanding of history? Can you explain why Israeli fundamentalists decided to assasinate Rabin and why conflict has ensued since?
If I was a Palestinian who has had Israeli tanks rampage my village and have Israelis month after month slap the UN in the face or have the US look the other way at these invasions upon Palestinian lands and say "NO, we're not gonna give the Palestinians any agreed settlement lands" then I'd probably be dancing too... The US is in the pocket of Israeli lobbying forces. They are the largest and most powerful national lobbying force in the US. So while the US does not like the way Israel has acted and has openly said they wanted Israeli forces to retreat out of Palestinian lands, in the end, they still allow the Israelis to do as they wish because they're paying the bills for the US Senate/Representatives/and President.
Again, it's a two way street and there is thousands of years of history in that region. When the British kicked the Palestinians out of their homes right after WWII, they knew there would be instability in that region by just handing the Israelis the Holy Lands. They OUTRIGHT NEW IT! And if there is one thing the British have been doing well throughout their 400 years of colonization is creating internal conflicts among citizenry and among neighboring countries. Mainly over religious differences. They did it in India/Pakistan, they did in Africa among various locations, and they have done it in the Middle East with Israel/Arab Neighbors and Iran.
The Middle East is a huge chess match and the people of those countries, including the Israeli and Palestinian people themselves, are tired of the fighting and want a cease to the conflicts. It's just that a minority of the extremists on both sides are enjoying the blood bath and in my opinion are the ones that are being supported by this American/British political machine...
There's a lot of reasons why America and Britain would gain a lot out of instability in the Middle East... Oil Rich Lands are at stake and Defense Contracts. Without any wars to fight, I don't think there would be justification to pay Lockheed, JPL, and Northrup Grumman multi-billion dollar contracts to build jets, bombs, missiles, and techy military equipment.
We would maybe have to spend that money on things at home, like Education, Healthcare, and Social Security!
You can be shallow if you like, but you'll just be like the rest of the sheep...
Or you can be enlightened... Your choice

THINK4YURSELF of CA 6:55PM March 23, 2010

Think4Yurself writes, "The Palestinians do suicide attacks in the Israeli public and the Israelis respond with tank shells upon Palestinian crowds. Remember, there was a lot of peace in that area when a great peacekeeper by the name of Rabin was in power in Israel."
Not true. Israel *never* sends tank shells deliberately on Palestinian crowds, but Palestinians dance in the streets after a successful attack on Israeli crowds. (Note: Many of those Palestinians also danced when the US was attacked on 9/11.) Further, there were more deaths due to terrorism in the years between Oslo and Rabin's death than in the 44 years previously.
And Paul Whiteside writes, "Last year the IDF killed 1,300 Palestinians. 18 months earlier they killed over 1,000 Lebanese. I guess actual actions, like murdering large numbers of your neighbours, have nothing to do with being evil."
Paul apparently cares not that Hizbullah began the 2006 war by capturing and killing Israeli soldiers patroling their own side of the border, then launching rockets at Israel. Or that more than 10,000 rockets and mortars were launched from Gaza at Israel in the years before Cast Lead. No country should have to put up with that.

Raymond in DC of DC 6:21PM March 23, 2010

Well said Paul W... The word "Evil" is definitely a spin placed by the media and the government. We're led to believe muslims are evil and Israelis are good... There is no good or evil in the world... Politics spins good and evil everyday. It just depends on which side of the border you're on...
If you think Palestinians and Muslims are "EVIL" and they should be destroyed, then maybe you need to go back to watching cartoons and drop the idea of being an educated individual... Because you're not...
Mort is obviously biased and I comment on his page all the time because I think people need to realize that unlike Mort, they need to see both sides of the issue... You can't be a true judge of an issue and show ethics and morals while making determinations without seeing both sides of the story... And unfortunately Mort does his best just to present the Israeli side and make it seem as if this is the way people see it around the world... What a bunch of garbage...

THINK4YURSELF of CA 2:46PM March 23, 2010