Protestants Against Israel Now For BDS

Nadene Goldfoot                                                               

Portland, Oregon's Mt. Hood

Portland, Oregon's City Hall has chosen some volunteer committee to decide on a big issue, and that is whether or not to back BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions ) against Israel.  They have chosen to do so.  The Oregonian newspaper  published an opinion article on Sunday written by Alice Rothchild, who is well known enough back East to have her own page in wikipedia online.  She is one of those Jews who is backing the Palestinians and not her fellow brothers and sisters who live there.  She said, "As a Jewish American, I am proud to stand with my Christian brothers and sisters in the US and Palestine, to support boycott and divestment as peaceful tools to bring occupation to an end." 
                                                                             

Christians of Jerusalem live without fear because Israel protects them.
This is not true in other Middle Eastern countries.  

 Peaceful for her, maybe, but not for the people who live there.  She about gave me a heart attack after reading her article.  I found I made several spelling errors when typing my response.  I was shaking!  I thought she had to be a fellow Oregonian and see now that she lives in Massachusetts.  This is a tool for our volunteer city council group to prove they made the right decision which some of us have been fighting against.
                                                                         

Fatah and Hamas, unified for this picture 

 There is no real state of Palestine yet, but she addresses it as if it exists already.  They do have a committee, but not a country-yet, even though so many groups have recognized them.  The so called Palestinians have yet to recognize Israel and agree to live in peace.

You can read her article with this website.  http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/05/divestment_an_appropriate_respo.html

My response to the Oregonian is below.  It will not be published.  I could not write a short note to answer such an attack.

                                                                          

Taking advantage of negative publicity against Israel like BDS, this is what happens on
the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; rock throwing Palestinians hitting Jews who are
now using knives and cars, ramming them into crowds. .  

In response to Alice Rothchild's opinion article from page A21, Divestment is an appropriate response to Israel's treatment of Palestinians, I think this is the worst bit of anti-Semitism  written by a Jew I've read that is not based on any sort of research, only self-hatred feelings and heresay.                                                                                      

King David  of Israel (1010 BCE to 970 BCE) 

                                                                           

Moses, who led us to the Promised
Land b: 1391 BCE-d: 1271 BCE

As 

opinionated as Alice Rothchild  is, I am holding dual citizenship and make research about Israel my life work.  Let's look at some facts.  Israel was a real empire, and the first king was Saul of the 11th Century BCE  in about 1030 BCE.  Our settlement of the land had started in the 13th century BCE.  Israel-Judea (Samaria was the surrounding land of Jerusalem)  was taken by the Romans in 70 CE-so had been an empire and country for 1100 years.  There never ever has been a country of Palestine, so there aren't Palestinian people that need to reclaim land to rebuild  their old state like the Jews are doing.  They are a conglomeration of neighboring people from all the other Middle East states who came there looking for jobs  Most  came after Russian Jews returned in the late 1800's   when the Ottoman Empire (Turks) held the land.  Jews have been homeless for over 2,000 years, and have suffered from a lot of anti-Semitism.  Not the Arabs called Palestinians today;   they were Syrians and also others who came  from every other Middle Eastern country since created after WWI by the allies.

                                                                         

Emir Feisal

Emir Feisal was the Arab leader of the day, and he accepted the return of the Jews, hoping his people would learn something from them.  He was a leader, educated and intelligent who was from Saudi Arabia originally.  He was of royal blood looking for land to rule, and got it from the British who held the WWI mandate.     Another Arab, Haj Amin al-Husseini, the "Sharif of Jerusalem, the Grand Mufti, was against the idea and was able to turn his very excitable and ill -educated followers against the Jewish return.    He was a big fish in a little pond and didn't want to lose his status.  His attitude led to the Khartoum Conference where all the Arab leaders met after 1967's failing attack on Israel and declared their THREE NO's.  They said NO peace, NO negotiations, NO recognition, and then insisted on rights of the Palestinians people in their own country which was a down right lie.   They've been saying NO to every offer since.  They didn't want the return of these people, evidently, and they weren't about to have Jews moving into the Middle East since they were looked upon as Dhimmis (2nd class citizens in their countries.).                                                                                       

Wailing Wall in Herod's day (73 BCE-4 BCE)

                                                                             

Western Wall "Wailing wall" in Jerusalem
 1967 was the first time that Jews could pray there since 1948
It had been under Jordanian rule until Jordan and
other Arabs  lost the war.
 

Israel held off building for over a year with no results except NO.  It didn't help.  The so called West Bank, which we call Judea and Samaria, are the foundations of ancient Israel and include Jerusalem, of course.  Jews have been praying 3 times a day for a return to Jerusalem in every synagogue around the world for the past 2,000 years, and now it's been happening. 

                                                                         

At a time when we could use the love Christians offer to everyone else, we're not getting it from the Protestants; only reprimands.  Israel happens to be a country making their own decisions on how to handle people who keep attacking them, which the Palestinians have been doing.  Our American Senators respect this little country and have done their own research as well, so feel it is beneficial to American interests as well as to Israel's to help them out financially.  They help everyone else.  For the Protestants to feel they can force issues they see or hear about upon Israel  without knowing why Israel takes certain positions is ludicrous.  How would they like it if China  decided not to do certain things that would jeopardize our economy unless we go along with China's wishes?  Hm???  Who knows what is best for the USA?  Others?  The same goes for Israel, who will be 68 years old on May 14th.  Israel has been attacked in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, and all because of these Palestinian non-existent rights other than all the rights Israel has given them. 

                                                                     

All of Israel's high school students go into the army upon graduation unless
they are doing studies in the Yeshivote, but that may soon be abolished.  They
will then need to serve every year for a month until age 50.  They live in a
very dangerous neighborhood.  Even now, ISIS is trying to get in.    

Gaza Palestinians  have  been raining missiles, mortars and rockets on their southern  cities for years.  It's like being asked to have Nazis as neighbors of the Jews.  Palestinians speak Arabic.  Israelis speak Hebrew.  Arabs are Muslims, a contrary religion to Judaism.  Jews are Jewish.  There's some similarities, but even education is of different levels between the two.  What we're trying to do is mix oil with vinegar and they're not mixing.

                                                                                                                             

Druse Arab Israeli soldier

Christian Arab Israeli soldier

                     

Israeli soldier from
Ethiopia

Everything Israel, a country of 6 million Jews and 1.7 million Arabs, has been doing is for their own protection and the need to stay alive.  Arabs are doing everything they can to destroy Israel.  Since 1948, people like the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Azzam Pasha,  said in Cairo,  

"This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and  Crusades."  Every leader of Arabs and Iran have followed suit saying equally nasty things aloud to their people.  Now we even have the Protestants and Alice. 

BDS with their  B for Boycotting, D for Divestment, S for Sanctions is not right at all.  It's trying to do an arm-twisting  of Israel into complying with their own wishes which amounts to destroying Israel.  I have news for these glorious city leaders.  It's not working.   Facts are showing that it's not working.    What they are doing is trying to interfere with Israel's ability to pay back loans to the USA as well.  What I feel is that Alice and her buddies in Portland's City Hall are control freaks  as well as followers of other anti-Semitic groups who have no background as to  the current or past events pertaining to Israel and have no business mixing in in this manner.  

Update: 5/9/16 3:55pm  Clinton: 'The BDS campaign is

counterproductive to the pursuit of peace'

by Jacob Kornbluh, Jewish Insider

Resource:  http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/05/divestment_an_appropriate_respo.html  

Two Israeli Fronts Take Hits

Nadene Goldfoot
Things must be getting worse, all right.  The Oregonian had a 3rd article in the paper this week, a much larger article in it today about Israel being hit from the Golan Heights area as well as the rockets, mortars and missiles coming in from Gaza daily.  Usually Israel is shelled at from Gaza and it never makes the papers.  The AP only reported 110 rockets shelling Israel after 3 days whereas papers in Israel have reported 140, but Israel's citizens are up in arms about it and Israel is about to take further steps to defend them.  Like the USA's CIA ability to read emails, Israel can zero in on Hamas leaders and go after them. They don't just shell Gaza like Gaza shells southern Israel pell mell which is populated by over a million citizens.  They try to hit targets where the shelling is coming from.

The Syrian War that has spilled into Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey has also been doing so in the Golan Heights, but Israel's borders have been receiving more than accidents, it is thought.  Bashar Assad may be trying to get Israel embroiled in fighting.  36,000 Syrians have been killed in the country's Civil War say the rebels.  Syria has chemical weapons that they have previously used on their own civilians that are alarming. That's why this tiny Jewish country of Israel has had to issue all its citizens gas masks.  It is so tiny that it only took Netanyahu 55 minutes to travel by train from Tel Aviv to ancient Beersheva of the Bible, which is in the line of danger from shelling.  From Beersheva to Gaza is only 15.8 miles. It's 2 minutes of flying time.  That's why people have only 15 seconds of warning when an incoming rocket is on the way.   That's southern Israel.

 The Investor's Business Daily also had an essay this morning  that was hitting the mark.  It pointed out that when Anne Sorock video-taped a celebrator of Obama's victory saying "no more Israel", it might have been reflecting the feeling of Obama supporters that Jewish lives are less important than other matters.  It was Lital Ben-Oved, a young mother in Israel whose house was hit by a rocket in Southern Israel who asked in a video, "Are Jewish lives less important than Palestinian lives?  Where are the UN resolutions?

 The UN always comes down on any retaliation Israel takes after being hit but never says a thing about the Palestinians bombardment on Israel which has been happening since 2001 from Gaza.  In just this past year, almost 1,000  rockets have been shot into Southern Israel. Since 2001 more than 12,800 rockets, mortars and missiles have been shot into Israel.  That's an average of 3 every day.  Was it just a coincidence that both Gaza and Syria struck at the same time?

Netanyahu has asked the UN Security Council to condemn the rocket fire. Had we had a strong UN doing what it was created for, there would be no shooting Israeli citizens, a state that was accepted by the UN upon creation.  Instead we have a UN who just installed Sudan on the Human Rights Council, a country who slaughtered people of Dafar, who have no idea of what human rights are.

Resource:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iafx_U2XCbE
Oregonian newspaper page A6 "Israel fires after Syrian mortar hits".
Investor's Business Daily page A12 "Bull's-Eye of David"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2012
http://www.idfblog.com/facts-figures/rocket-attacks-toward-israel/
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=291648&R=R1
http://www.happyzebra.com/distance-calculator/Gaza-to-Beersheba.php

Israel's Delusional Anti-Semitic Neighbors: A Jewish Turkey?

Nadene Goldfoot
Syria swears that Turkey today is ruled by Jews!  Anyone that the Muslims don't agree with must be Jewish in their minds, evidently.  This is wild.It was said by the state-run "Tishreen" newspaper on Tuesday in their op-ed article. Turkey, 7th largest majority Muslim country with 73,722,988 Sunni/Shi'a,  with the most powerful military power besides Iran and Pakistan.  They have 514,850 active troops while Iran has 545,000 and Pakistan has 612,000.  .  The United States of America has as of 2010-1,430,895. 

Today the Oregonian newspaper ran an editorial by David Ignatius, "US-Turkey partnership plays key role in region," telling about the new friendship between Obama and Erdogan, Turkey's Prime Minister.  Even though Obama saw the Turks undermining our US policy and attack Israel in 2010 by trying to run a blockade with armed men on board, they have been able to make an alliance. 

Turkey used to be fairly friendly with Israel until the blockade incident, which brought out the fact that Islam has been playing a bigger part in their politics lately.  Erdogan has demanded that Israel apologize for trying to protect their own men when they boarded their ship and wound up killing a few of them in defense when attacked.  He knows they had to search for weapons as that's how terrorists can get them to use against Israel, but made a big show of it by demanding such outragousness that Netanyahu would not go along with.  Now Israel is more uneasy than ever with this White House, quotes Ignatius. 

Erdogan was once the closest ally of President Bashar Assad of Syria., but is now a foe-thus a Jew.  Erdogan has  agreed to deploy a forward-based radar system that is part of a NATO missile defense plan aimed at Iran.  Iran and Turkey share their border. 

One thing I see is that Erdogan and Obama are together in planning joint efforts against terrorist groups like the Kurdish PKK.  The Kurds, mostly Sunni Muslims who live in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria have been through so much suffering and really deserve their own state more than the Palestinians do in my mind.  I see that they have also been attacking Christian groups, though, which isn't okay.  Oh, how all the religions are getting into the act. 

Resource: Oregonian newspaper page C6 Editorials,  Obama and Erdogan-US-Turkey partnership plays key role in region.
Daily Alert http://www.dailyalert.org/
http://israelkurdistannetwork.blogspot.com/
http://www.kurdistanica.com/?q=node/95
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/31/opinion/a-war-crime-or-an-act-of-war.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/kurds1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim-majority_countries
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armed_Forces

One Insidious Word Changing Historical FactsAbout Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
In reading about the Fogel massacre in Itamar, I was shocked to read in an article from McClatchy-Tribune found in the Oregonian on the 14th, a word that slanted the whole meaning of historical facts.

It said, "Most of the international community views the "settlements" as illegal because they are built on land SEIZED by Israel during the 67 war."

The fact remains that the land was not seized by Israel.  It was GAINED, and that's a big difference.  However, seized makes the reader feel that the bloody massacre was acceptable because the family or the community shouldn't have been there in the first place.  It's how the Hamas Gazans take it.  They rejoiced and celebrated in a carnival-like atmosphere whereby they passed out candies in celebration. 

I'm finding that even young adult American Jews, whose parents were busy blending into society, seem to have forgotten or never learned about the historical facts of the 67 war along with all the other "I hate history" buffs.  It just happens that Israel was attacked by all the surrounding Arab neighbors in 67 where no gambler would have taken odds that they could come out of it and win in 6 days, BUT that's what happened.  Because of this massive attack, they GAINED back Judea and Samaria, land that was originally part of the Jewish land of bible days.  It was land that was promised to them when dealing with the English who held the mandate and were divving it up.  The Jewish people were to be given back their land due to Chaim Weizmann, whose invention saved England and thus all of Europe in the 1st World War.  Then along came a sheik they must have been afraid of who demanded a kingdom for himself, and this is how the King of Jordan gained his country. Jordan changed the name to "West Bank" to destroy its Jewish history.   Then again, it was Jordan who held onto Judea and Samaria and lost it to Israel by attacking her in 67.  They had taken it away from Israel in their lust and greed and lost it again for the same reasoning.  England was never known to favor Jews, anyway.  I guess Muslim sheiks held more status.

Reporters keep choosing words that affect a reader's attitude and knowledge.  Facts are easy to find that Israel has just stopped the ship, Victoria and have found it to be loaded with ammunition which was intended to reach Gazan Hamas terrorists.  The Oregonian's Washington Post-Bloomberg version uses the word, "intercepted what officials ALLEGED was a ship carrying Iranian weapons".... as if to say that hey, those nice people wouldn't do a thing like that, would they?  They are just being accused.  Facts remain that Israel even took pictures of the weapons that they found, but they still wrote "alleged". 

Israel's birth in 1948 was a legal deal, done through the United Nations, the League of Nations,and  land was bought legally and everything was done according to Hoyle.  I never thought I'd see the day when it's existence was in jeopardy, but it has been ever since its birth.  I was so naive at the age of 14 that the UN would make things fair and square.  Israelis are constantly having to fight for their right to survive against the anti-semitic tendencies of the world who obviously hasn't managed to shake them. 

Israel's enemies can kill and have no humane standards and that's acceptable.  The world just turns a blind eye.  It's like lovers who don't see each other's faults.  Everyone is in denial .  It's always the Jews that are at fault and they are viewed under an electronic microscope.  As long as even many of our own American Jews can find one infinitesimal fault in their eyes, Israel stands accused,  accused of existing, I suppose.  It's been said that we'd have a Mideast peace if the world would stop holding Israel to the highest possible standard  and would hold her enemies at least to the lowest ones.  The writer, Bret Stephens noted that "Israel's mistake since the peace process began about 18 years ago was to think that our displays of reasonableness and moderation would cause the opposition to act likewise.  The reality has been closer to the opposite. 
We have given Gaza only to see it be used as a staging ground to shoot at Israel. 

The sad thing is that in the creation of Israel, our forefathers forsaw an Eden where Arab and Jew would live together in peace, all rejoicing in the fruits of their labors and living happily ever after.  Whenever Israel bent over backwards giving the Palestinians a better life, they were met with hatred and death.  Israel had excellent intentions that just were impossible to carry on.  The million plus who are citizens are living a much better life than they would be in an Arab country.  I guess Israel's attempts at being righteous have not been in futality. 
 

Brzezinski Says

Nadene Goldfoot
Zbigniew Brzezinski has been a foreign-policy adviser to world leaders for the past 50 years, and advises our presidential candidate, Obama, being he is also a Democrat. He was interviewed and the results were in our Oregonian this morning in the Parade section under Intelligence Report.

He said the next president "must energetically push the Israeli-peace process." I feel that the one always being pushed is Israel. Israel has been pushed into a corner by our friends. They want peace, and have offered land ever since its inception, but that isn't the goal of the Palestinians who are in command. Israel is enduring constant shelling into its southern section, in Sderot and even as north as Ashkelon from Gazan terrorists. I haven't heard Brzezinski do anything to push the Palestinians into restraint, and concede to a few concessions like recognizing Israel's existence as a legal entity and be accepting of it. When Israel has "pushed back" against deadly assaults, the press comes down on it as the aggressor.

Condoleeza Rice has been in Israel constantly energetically pushing and pushing Israel. How much more pushing is Brzezinski suggesting? Why don't they try pushing to Palestinians for a change? Why is it always Israel? Israel had started with the Balfour Doctrine of a parcel of land that was about six times larger than what they now inhabit. That was cut immediately to calm the Arabs down. Every time peace is offered, Israel has had to give up more and more land. Most Israelis must live in tall apartment buildings as there is hardly any land left for them to build houses. The goal of the Arabs has been to drive Israel into the sea. If Israel gives up any more land, that's where they'll be.

It will be interesting to see what our next president will do to show support for Israel. Israel will have a new leader soon, also. I hope that that person will have strength to not be pushed continually against its own survival.

Reference: Oregonian Newspaper, page 22, Parade section

Jeff Goldberg's Obama Interview Asking the Kishke Question

Nadene Goldfoot
Today's Oregonian had an article about Philip Roth by Jeff Baker, and in it mentioned an interview by Goldberg where they talked about Israel. Barak mentioned that when a child in the 6th grade, his ideas about Zionism were shaped by a Jewish camp counselor who had spent some time in Israel. Their conversations about Israel made a big impression on Obama.

Obama admitted that his intellectual formation was through Jewish scholars and writers, though he wasn't aware of it at the time. Philip Roth and Leon Uris were mentioned. He said that when he thinks of the Middle East he has this enormous emotional attachment and sympathy for Israel, mindful of its history and hardship, pain and suffering that the Jewish people have undergone.

He mentioned the loss of the natual affinity between the African-American community and the Jewish community in the early civil-rights movement which has been estranged since then.

Obama thinks that the idea of a secure Jewish state is a just and necessary idea. However, he doesn't agree with every action of the state of Israel because he's a politician himself and understands the world of politicians. He's not alone. I haven't agreed with Olmert's decisions at all, though I'm sure I'm way to the right of Obama's thinking about Israel.

Jeff Goldberg asked the main question that I've been wondering so much about. He called it the Kishke question. Jews really don't know you. We don't know if you"love" us. You have Jim Baker, Zbigniew Brzezinski as advisors so we suspect you. I haven't been alone in this, then. There is a sense in some places that you don't feel Jewish worry the way a senator from New York would feel it.

Obama seemed surprised at this deduction, as he went on to say that Israel was important to him personally because of his own history of being uprooted. He said that he loved the way people were arguing about these issues and that we're asking ourselves moral questions. He went on to say that his deliberations over moral matters stems from Jewish thought, that your actions have consequences and that we have moral imperatives. He did mention that he had "ardent defenders" in his Jewish Chicago friends. When he started his community organizing, he had a few Jewish friends who also were organizers, and he was attacked for associating with them. I know that Reverend Wright felt like he was being taken away from his church group.

Finally, the big question came after much discussion. He was asked is he would denounce settlements publicly if president. Goldberg was referring to the "West Bank", what I call Judea and Samaria. Obama said "What I will say is what I've said previously. Settlements at this juncture are not helpful. Look, my interest is in solving this problem not only for Israel but for the United States."

Reference: Oregonian page o10 Sept 21, 2008 Philip Roth gets straight to the point, still by Jeff Baker
http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/obama_on_zionism_and_hamas.php
See blog: http://www.israel-nadene.blogspot.com/ article 3/17/07 West Bank: It's importance to Religious Jews.
Other West Bank articles in my blog:
What International Law says about Israeli settlement, No Peace in West Bank, Israel Builds West Bank Housing, and Israel's rights to build Settlements 4/28/08.

Iran is Dangerous

Most of today's letters in the Oregonian about Iran show little knowledge about what's happening there. Some letters were questioning our right to expect other countries like Iran to not have nuclear weapons when we have so much of it.

Iran has the main training camp near Isfahan for terrorists from Iraq, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. The training staff are teaching how to sabatage strategic targets like routes, bridges and military installations, and in activating roadside bombs (EFPs which had deadly effects on American troops in Iraq. They also have munitions factories that send missiles and bombs to these places.

Just today Ahmadinejad said "Israel would soon disappear off the map and that the "satanic power" of the United States faced destruction" when speaking to foreign guests marking the week's 19th anniversary of the death of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

One letter believed the 2003 report that Iran had ended its nuclear weapons program already and is not doing anything illegal and is not threatening anyone with it. They believe it's a misquote that Iran threatened to wipe Israel off the map!

Two days ago their defense minister Gen. Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar warned us: "Iran's Armed forces are fully prepared to counter any military attack with any intensity..they will make the enemy regret initiating any such incursions."

Iran is very close to having atomic weapons. That's the worry.They have made threats repeatedly and could carry them out. I've read that they are only about three months away from having their weapons.

Resource:
Oregonian Letters to the Editor 6/2/08
Ynetnews.com
gerardrobins@sbcglobal.net: Limited US attack on Iranian Revolutionary Guards bases in sight

Israel Poked Someone in the Eye ?

Today's letter to the editor titled, "A switch to Obama" gives me the shivers. Stephen Salisbury of Newport stated that, "We need to balance our trade, inform the Israelis that we will no longer come to their aid when they decide to poke someone in the eye,....."

That's about the gist of what people understand, I'm afraid. They just see us as two states squabbling over something, and that Israel must be the aggressor. I have a feeling that sound bites are the only sources of information for most of our Oregonians, or anyone, for that matter, unless they're one of the two principles involved.

What the many don't realize is that Israel is important to the United States. We're the only democracy in the Middle East, for one thing. Out of Israel has come thousands of inventions in the medical field that are benefiting the world, and that in an environment of war. What could be accomplished in a time of peace would be fantastic! Israelis are helping Americans in their fight against terrorists, for they have learned the hard way and have had lots of practice in this area.

The aid America has given Israel has been financial, but not any more than other countries have received. They have also been there to help negotiate in the peace process with terrorists, and then sometimes the help isn't so helpful. I think they are learning on the job, or OJT. We haven't had any American soldiers coming to help our fight with the terrorists. We haven't asked for any. If Mr. Salisbury thinks that Condoleeza Rice shouldn't go over to Israel to advise, I'd have to agree. She wants the barriers Israel has set up removed so that Palestinians can move around easier. That's what Israel is afraid of. They don't want terrorism to come into their land. That's why the barriers are there. I feel that's the kind of aid we can do without, thank you very much.

Letters to Editor in Oregonian Again

Robert Hamilton wrote an article in the Oregonian stating that arming Israel with $30 billion dollars because we are giving $20 billion to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is obscene.

It was commented on by Linda Cohn who wrote that she agreed and said that what Israel needs is for the international community to tell the Palestinians that they must honor their signed agreements with Israel, to end all terrorist activities, accept Israel's right to exist and destroy all terror groups and confiscate illegal weapons. They should also preserve and protect all Jewish holy sites and educate their people for peace.

Roberta Palmer answered that with a list of reasons why Palestinians should resist the Israelis. She concluded that Israeli crimes are very long and stated that Israel stole Palestinian lands, cited the destruction of houses and orchards, and even the restriction of movement at checkpoints, road blocks and "Israeli" only highways. She went on about how Gaza children suffer from malnutrition and post traumatic stress from Israeli violence and intimidation. Even imprisonment whose only crimes were to be between 15 and 45 were listed. She stated that when the PLO accepted the legitimacy of Israel within the 1949 armistice borders, the Arab population ceded more than half the land granted them by the UN partition. She thinks the Palestinians accepted Israel's government and Israel persists in violating UN resolutions 242, 181 and so on. She thinks we are confiscating the remaining 22% of their land is forcing them to accept defeat as a people. She hopes they continue to resist.

Needless to say, I wrote a reply to this letter which is full of so many untruths, that I had a hard time deciding what to say in 150 words or less. I hope my letter gets printed but probably won't. I hate the idea of her having the last say on this, which people will think is all truthful.