Israel: A Land of Many Faces
Israel fascinates me. For the Jewish residents of the country, it is the land of the free and home of the brave. It is a land of innovation that continues to dazzle the world. But, it is also a land that continues to treat its Arab Citizens as second class citizens. What was especially bothersome was the publication of a boko by an Israeli Rabbi, Yitzhak Sharira. He has apparently sanctioned the killing of non-jews if the security of Israel is threatened. I suppose it is exactly this kind of thinking that the current Israeli Government subscribes too.
Israel and the United States are at loggerheads over the realities on the ground. Israel is continuing to build settlements. It is continuing its' policy of water rationing and is maintaining its' tight blockade of Gaza. Students who have wanted to study abroad have not been able to leave the strip and many students have been detained by the Isrealis under Adminstrative detention for months. According to a report detailed in the November 13, 2009 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, 85 Birzeit Unviersity students are sitting in Israeli Jails. The Palestinian Ministry of Information reports that 720 Palestinian students have been detained by Israel since the outbreak of the second intifida.
The Israeli Prime Minister has been on the road over the past two days. He was in Washington and apparently got a dressing down from Obama. Although I continue to hold out hope that he would do the right thing, my hope continues to dissipate by the day in light of all the dark signs I'm seeing out there.
George W. Bush was wrong about a lot of things. What he was right about was the reality on the ground which an emboldened Israel seems to march on. What will happen now?
I just received a dispatch from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs noting that a "substantial amount" of educational material was transferred to Gaza. They seem not to understand that they have a solemn responsiblity in this regard. I suppose they were looking for a thank you for doing what international law obligates them to do.
Israel and the United States are at loggerheads over the realities on the ground. Israel is continuing to build settlements. It is continuing its' policy of water rationing and is maintaining its' tight blockade of Gaza. Students who have wanted to study abroad have not been able to leave the strip and many students have been detained by the Isrealis under Adminstrative detention for months. According to a report detailed in the November 13, 2009 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, 85 Birzeit Unviersity students are sitting in Israeli Jails. The Palestinian Ministry of Information reports that 720 Palestinian students have been detained by Israel since the outbreak of the second intifida.
The Israeli Prime Minister has been on the road over the past two days. He was in Washington and apparently got a dressing down from Obama. Although I continue to hold out hope that he would do the right thing, my hope continues to dissipate by the day in light of all the dark signs I'm seeing out there.
George W. Bush was wrong about a lot of things. What he was right about was the reality on the ground which an emboldened Israel seems to march on. What will happen now?
I just received a dispatch from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs noting that a "substantial amount" of educational material was transferred to Gaza. They seem not to understand that they have a solemn responsiblity in this regard. I suppose they were looking for a thank you for doing what international law obligates them to do.
Mike Pouraryan
