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June 21, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 26, 2004 Robbins is naive about hate In response to Gene Robbins' letter on Feb. 27, we all need to read the actual current texts given to children in Arab lands. Go to www.memri.org. Search e.g., Jews and Christians - "Cursed by Allah and Turned into Apes and Pigs" or "The Whole World Should Convert to Islam and Leave Their False Religions Lest Their Fate Will Be Hell." Your blood will run cold at the despicable and blatant racist hatred, extolling killing and war against Jews and Christians. Peace, resolution or compromise is never mentioned, because annihilation is their only goal. These fanatics are grateful for Mr. Robbins' help in destroying Israel. The Palestinian youth, which Robbins has so much concern for, is already irreparably poisoned by teachers, texts and politicians. Their explosive vests are just waiting for an opportunity to circumvent Israel's security fence. It's not Israel that teaches them to hate. With principled leadership sincerely willing to give up the dream of Jewish annihilation, the new wave of Arab kindergartners might have a chance to lead normal lives based on love and hard work, not on jealousy and blind hatred. Mr. Robbins: Send your messages decrying hatred and violence to the Arabs! But being a Jew, they would never publish your letter since you "descend from apes and pigs." Stanley Anthony Shulster Ashland Responding to the criticism Mandell's response to my Guest Forum criticizing the Israeli Occupation of Palestine cited many wonderful things about Israel which we all applaud. He ignores, however, the basic cause of the conflict, which is Israel expropriating Palestinian land via settlement building. To protect these settlements from Palestinian wrath, Israel has instituted a heavy-handed Occupation which prevents normal living in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Geneva Accord is indeed the only peace treaty which has been negotiated (unofficially) by Israelis and Palestinians who were previously members of their respective governments. We should remember that any solution must be win-win, or it will fail and Israel will suffer long term. Jackie Brodsky states that the Geneva Accord is just like the Oslo Accord of the 1990s, which never resulted in a peace treaty. There are major differences between the two (like substituting international instead of Israeli monitors), with the Geneva Accord correcting some of the most pressing issues from the Palestinian point of view. We must remember that Israel is occupying Palestine, and not the other way around. Katheryn McElrath's response to my letter supporting The Geneva Accord has several errors. First, anti-Israeli government policy is not the same as anti-Jewish. Aside from the fact that I'm Jewish myself, about 30 percent of the Israeli public agrees with me that the Sharon government should be replaced immediately. These Israelis are not anti-Jewish either. Second, Ms. McElrath calls the West Bank and Gaza "disputed," not "occupied." Just two months ago, Ariel Sharon himself called Israel's control of these territories as "The Occupation." Lastly, rather than play the blame game, I propose we work towards a solution which will give both Israelis and Palestinians peace, security and dignity. The Geneva Accord is the only plan in existence which does that. You can download it to read it at Tikkun.org. Gene Robbins Ashland Bias flaws the views of writers The earnest but biased representations of Gerry Mandell and Jacqueline Brodsky in regard to the Palestine-Israel tragedy (March 20) demand a more objective elaboration, one certainly less exculpatory of Israeli actions. Their views are not atypical of many American Jews who cannot dispassionately look at Israel's policies and their consequences since 1947. Many Israelis however do see those policies for what they are and what havoc they have unjustly wrought on the Palestinians. Those interested in a scholarly and objective report should consult the work of the Israeli historian ILan Pappe, "A History of Modern Palestine." In that work, as John Pilger notes, Pappe details "the expulsion of Palestinians as an orchestrated crime of ethnic cleansing that tore apart Jews and Palestinians then coexisting peacefully. . . Pappe also describes the Oslo Accords of 1993 as a plan by liberal Zionists to corral the Palestinians in South African-style Bantustans." Another Israeli scholar, Baruch Kimmerling, writes in his book, "Politicide: Ariel Sharon's War Against the Palestinians," "By politicide� I mean a process that has as its ultimate goal the dissolution of the Palestinians� existence as a legitimate social, political, and economic entity. This process may also but not necessarily entail their partial or complete ethnic cleansing from the territory known as the land of Israel." In their efforts to deny the existence of and/or to demonize the Palestinians, Mandell and Brodsky are hardly advancing the cause of reconciliation and peace. Gerald Cavanaugh Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams