The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Criticism is one thing, but your entire rant about the JOOS, oh sorry I meant Israel, completely ignores history. Israel was ratified by a United Nations charter, which by your logic of the UN as an end all authority on everything makes Israel a LEGITIMATE country. the government is a true multi-party democratic system. Palestinians are actually Jordanian arabs who Israel was perfectly content to live at peace with when the entire arab world told them to get out of the way because "we will push the Jews into the sea" back in 1948. The so called land grab was a direct result of this. When the arabs left, they abandoned all of their property so that when the arab armies killed the Jews they could get better land. After the first Arab attack failed, the "Palestinians" returned and demanded that the Jews return their land, the victorious defenders did not know what to make of this and in response the UN passed resolution 194 stating "that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which under principles of international law or in equity should be made good by Governments or authorities responsible. Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of refugees and payment of compensation" The Arab nations initially rejected this resolution because they still wanted to kill the Jews. Several decades, and several wars of Arab aggression later, the six-day war (1967), the war of attrition (1967-1970), the Yom Kippur war (1973), where Arab nations launched an attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year, the Jews still emerged victorious and the Arab nations now demand that all Palestinians be returned any land that they willingly gave up or sold. Here we have a problem, resolution 194 states "that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at PEACE with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date" The key word here being peace, when the people demanding to move back into the house they sold you then strap bombs to their young men and send them to blow up buses full of innocents, that doesn't really seem to indicate peace. When the schools teach children that Israel doesn't exist, that doesn't indicate peace. When the elected parties charter includes a mission statement to destroy Israel, that doesn't indicate peace.The war in Lebanon was the direct result of cross border raids from within Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah, who proceeded to hide in civilian centers using innocents as human shields, which violates human rights by the way. That Hezbollah was operating with complete freedom in Lebanon and crossing the border on raid, INVADING Israel, seems to make this a completely justified war. Any restrictions on the movement of Palestinians is due to the FACT, that without police checkpoints, we get Palestinians shooting up schools, or blowing themselves up on buses and in shopping malls. How can I say that this is a fact? Because the restrictions were imposed to STOP these horrendous actions already being taken by the terrorist groups among the Palestinians. The wall is controversial, yes it inconveniences many people who just want to get on with their lives, but it saves hundred of innocents from those who want to drive their cars into crowded areas and blow them up. Frankly I don't care that the UN condemns the wall. Let them condemn while Israel keeps her people safe. Oh and the Berlin wall kept communism out, or rather communist Europe in, the wall in Israel keeps suicide bombers out. Your nation of God argument makes the notion that you just hate Israel not JOOS kind of flimsy. You see, Israelis tend to be non-religious or very religious. In the first case, the chosen people justification anti-semites use to explain their hate doesn't apply off hand. In the second case even the most devout Jews don't take the "chosen people" to mean they are inherently better and must lord over the world, it means that Jews must hold themselves to higher standards, that they must be morally right in their actions. That regardless of what every body else is doing, Jews must strive to be the best that they can be. Hopefully you have learned something

Your article was one of the worst cases of selective history I have ever read. A few notes: You claim hipocricy when comparing our diplomacy with S.A. and Iran. The two are vastly different. Your give only a few superficial examples asserting they are similar countries as far as human rights and politics are concerned. S.A. has been an ally, Iran has not. Iran violates treties, S.A. does not. You also still contend Bush "lied" after multiple other world intelligence agencies stated the same thing. I guess everyone's a liar. Then you give a summed up history of Isreal which would lead one to believe that the smallest country in the middle east terrorizes it's innocent surrounding countris who have no recourse. Nevermind Hezbolla, Hammas, Alqueda, and the multiple other terrorist groups who's soul purpose is to destroy Isreal. You say Isreal took land that wasn't thiers. The question is how far back in history do you want to look. The Hebrews have occupied that area of the world long before any Pakistan or Muslim nations were around. The Hebrews were driven out and forced into slavery multiple times. I guess you could say Isreal took it back. Seriously, go back in history a little farther, most people don't so they can claim what you just did. If you want to be an objective jounalist put your ideology aside and look at the whole picture. This will require you to obtain sources who are also not ideologically driven. Jon's letter summed up the middle east history, as far as Isreal is concerned, with amazing accuracy. You probably don't want to agree with it but if you truly love journalism and economics, you should research the topic better and not by authors, journalist, or professors who also want history to fit their ideology. I'm not trying to be condesending but that's the way it is. I graduated from CSU, after living in the real world for awhile, it is amazing how much some professors don't know. Don't trust them or take thier word on anything. Learn from them but do your own research.

In response to " Neutral Middle East Policy":

Ian, why not try reading a book or two! You say we need to adopt a neutral Middle East policy, when in fact that was our official stance during the war between Iraq and Iran. The result: a near decade long war with millions of casualties.. I would argue that being 'neutral'(despite playing both sides on the dl) in the matter ultimately cost more lives than if we had stepped in and taken a side.

Secondly, even your leftist, Israel-hating buddy Jonathan Cook admits that to break ties with the Middle East would essentially be moral and political suicide for the entire globe. (see "Israel and the Clash of Civilisations") I also find it laughable (and in the same breath frightening) that you are idealistic and simplistic enough not to understand why we are allied with the country that is our literal lifeline economically, and we don't support the country whose nuclear ambitions (peaceful or not) shouldn't be confused with eventually controlling the entire middle east.

Third, the Palestinians weren't "driven from their homes and killed if they didn't surrender all the land they owned..." as you say. Palestine had no functioning government in 1948; millions of Palestinians VOLUNTARILY left their land behind in lieu of the coming invasion by ARABIC countries. (See "The Haj", and "Power, Faith, and Fantasy" )

Finally, "... their unprovoked assault on the SOVEREIGN nation of Lebanon..." CUMMMMON IAN!!!!!! (see "Because They Hate")

Nice Article Ian....

Jon, Landon, and Zeb........ Please read before you comment...
Folks, Its is easy to find information these days, just look up 'Israeli massacres' and you will find thousands of articles about that...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=MqH&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=israeli+massacres&spell=1

Arabs are not just Muslims... Arabs are Jews, Christians, and Muslims.... Israeli discriminates against eastern Jews (Africans and Arabs Jews)... Also, look online for 'how Israelis treat Arab Christians!!..
Please educate your self.........
There is a big distinction between a Jew and a Zionist!!! I was born in Israel but migrated to the US because Israel is one of the worst countries in the world.... Israel hates the US more that any other nation, and there are so happy to see the US economy down!!
Find how "$400B Sent To Israel Ahead Of Lehman BK"

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy/browse_thread/thread/815e262d8e3750db/ac29ee75f8e5a600?lnk=raot

I welling to meet with any of you to talk more about that.....

Ian and Aharon,
Thank you for trying to educate the naive public about Israel, for the only thing they believe is what the media indoctrinates.

Wowow,
I live in israel and used to see all kinds of opinions on the web from all sorts of people around the globe.

In the past i tried to answer or educate people a little bit about Israel and its history, or our way of life, but i understood fairly quickly that this is futile, there is just too much ignorance and false facts drifting that i just had to give up.

But seeing your article, i was ever again amazed by the fallacious of it and the black-hole deep ignorance in it.

Forget about ancient history, but look back 2 years to aug 2006. "Unprovoked attack on Lebanon". OMG. I live in haifa, and i remember very good what happened those days.

In the morning, Hezbollah invaded israel territory from the north (Mount Dov) and attacked a military patrol, killing 8 and capturing 2 israeli solidiers - Eldad Regev and Udi Goldvasser. They turned up dead, after 2 years no one knew their fate - the families left in the dark and were used cynically by Hezbolla. Even the Red cross was not allowed to see them (if it was, maybe they'll live till today). Try googling them up a little bit. Day after they blew up a tank killing 4 and captured Gilad Shalit, who's still alive, presumably, in hamas hands, for 3 years now.
Only this UNPROVOKED attack from Hezbolla, we blew up Beirut. And got a shower of rockets i'll never forget. Did you know in their rockets they have hundreds of tousands of little metal balls so that the explosion will kill as many people as possible? Civilians, of course, they do not target anybody else but civilians. I personally think too little damage was done, i was in favor of burning every little piece of soil all the way up to lebanese city of Zor. Why you ask? maybe because i know fire from the north will rain on me again.
Imagine Mexico shooting rockets to south Us killing people unprovoked. What would the US do? OR should i ask - how many Nuclear bombs shall it fire? Remember peal Harbor? I don't get why the US reacted the way it did. I had to turn the other cheek !

Well Ian, you maybe great in picking stocks, but please promise me, that all you'll do. Because in logic, objective and educated views on the world you are not as gifted.

If you wanna come here, id' take you for a tour to meet your fellow Palestinians, to see how an their education system teaches its children to kill and live from the other blood.

We have one of the most moral militries in the world, god knows, i served it for 3 years.

You know, you always talk numbers. XXX palestinians killed, YY israelis. Are you measuring the rightness of sides by the number of dead? Because if you do, The allied forces in WW2 were a bunch of murderers since much more germans died than americans.

Have you ever considered that there are more palestinian fatalities since they are shooting from within a civilian population? from schools? from UN facilities? from buildings? hiding behind children?
Did you know that every day between 14:00-16:00 in the last attack on gaza israel ciese fired to allow trucks with food and medicine into the strip (which were upper handed immedietly by your precious Hamas, rather than divided to the suffering palestinians). I was there, i saw it.

Please, educate yourself, at least a little, before you take a stance. If not, maybe tomorrow i will come and throw rocks and pipe-explosive charges at your house, killing your dog, etc, and when you retaliate i will claim you just hit me "unprovoked".

God damn.