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Just kidding. With the latest wave of violence in the Middle East I have been saddened, but not surprised by the incredibly partisan reactions here at the DU. Those who support Israel blame Hamas and Hezbollah for starting this latest wave of violence. Those who support the Arabs see this as just the latest wave of Israeli aggression, which did not begin with the kidnapping of a solider, but which has been ongoing. Each of these points of view fails to recognize that this is a cycle of violence in which neither side is justified, but in which it is easy to understand the plights of both people. As one DUer pointed out, the game of who started it is at this point a child's game. For those who see Israel as the aggressor, keep in mind that with an exception of Egypt and Jordan, no other Arab nation has signed a peace treaty with Israel recognizing Israel's right to exist. When Iran's president (Iran is not an Arab country in terms of language, but they definitely come down on the Arab side of the conflict and are culturally linked to the Arab world) said Israel should be wiped from the map, we may have thought in the US that it was just rhetoric, but Israel takes it seriously for obvious reasons. Since the creation of Israel, Arabs have been talking of driving them to the sea, many have tried. Hamas and Hezbollah are terrorist organizations. I find it hard to believe that if the US had such neighbors we would negotiate with them instead of building a wall around our country. For those who see Israel as the victim of Arab terrorism and Arab aggression, the body count doesn't bear that out. Far more Palestinian civilians are killed than Israeli civilians. Israel provokes the Palestinians, and although the IDF does not systematically target civilians, they do show a blatant disregard for civilian life. The IDF does target civilian infrastructure which has little or nothing to do with terrorist organizations, water pumps and bridges being prime examples. If you were a Palestinian you would not see Hamas as a terrorist organization, but as your only means by which your poor third world country could fight against the vastly superior IDF forces and an oppressive Israel.
We have been having a debate about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but we need to have a much broader debate. We need to ask ourselves whether we are doves or hawks. I think that if we had such a debate, we at the DU could virtually all agree that Middle East peace cannot be obtained through war as hawks on all sides would have their people believe. The Israelis and Palestinians can live together in peace or die together in war. If DUers who support Israel cannot see the suffering of the Palestinians, how can we hope for peace? If DUers who support Palestine cannot see the plight of Israelis, how can we hope for peace? This is a cycle of violence, and until both sides own up to their part in that cycle, there can be no peace. The blame game only perpetuates this cycle of violence. The blame game is the game of childish warmongers on both sides. The blame game is the game of hawks. And so I ask you, are you a dove or a hawk?
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