Over the weekend, the protests that have gripped the rest of the Middle East reached Israel on four different fronts. Thousands of Palestinians marched from Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank, commemorating the 63rd anniversary of Israel's founding, known to Palestinians as the Nakba ("catastrophe"). Above, a Palestinian man armed with stones stands on a road barricade during clashes with the Israeli police at the Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah, in the West Bank, on May 15.
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
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STACY COLDMAN
10:10 PM ET
May 16, 2011
This is scaring
Pictures are really scaring(((
Hair falling solution
TRUTH NOT PARTISAN
12:22 AM ET
May 17, 2011
Nakba Day
They are protesting Israel's independence!!
They are protesting the fact that Israel exists. But they want peace right?
JAHUGHES81
8:44 AM ET
May 17, 2011
Stop the euphemisms
No one is protesting Isreal's 'independence.' The idea of their 'independence' doesn't even make sense. People are protesting the fact that Israel was forcibly created in 1948 as a result of too many Jewish refugees after WWII. Israel exists by way of forcing out the Palestinians who already lived there. The protests are about being the theft of land, the destruction of Palestinians' homes and the dissolution of culture. What could be a better reason to protest?
The only reason Israel still exists because the Jewish lobby in the US is so powerful and results in millions of dollars in military funding to allow Israel to keep its unlawful hold on the land they stole in that area. Why don't people see this as being the reason for the conflict? Maybe because it's not PC to even speak of such things, but unjustly appropriating land because some book people believe to be sacred that involves a jealous man in the clouds obsessed with foreskin and who designated that area of land to belong to a certain type of people in utterly insane.
HANNABALFLAVIUS
4:09 PM ET
May 19, 2011
Palestinians need to become Israelis.
The Palestinians should either become Israelis or leave, same thing goes for everyone between the Nile and the Euphrates. I'm Joel from Texas, I'm Cherokee and Palestine is mine. The land belongs to Israel, more specifically to Joseph. If Palestinians don't want to be Israelis, They should leave my land, It's my land.
SHLOMO123
10:24 AM ET
May 17, 2011
Non-violent
The key is for the Palestinians to carry on their resistance to ethnic cleansing non-violantly and unarmed. Violence hasn't paid off for 60 years and at will not. The racist apartheid regime in Israel will not last forever. They are slowly bringing down America with them and will not be able to count on no-questions asked support once the resistance becomes non-violent. The sooner Palestinians learn from the lessons of Egypt and Tunesia, the sooner the racist apartheid regime in Israel will fall.
BHARAT
12:01 PM ET
May 17, 2011
Israel exists by way of forcing out the Palestinians who alread
Can you please also tell, how come Palestinians came to live on that land. By non violence !.
If you condemn violence, you should similarly condemn the violence by which Jews were driven out of Israel for almost 1600 years. Jews had right to return, they returned.
AGRICOLA
3:27 PM ET
May 17, 2011
A good bedtime story
My favorite part of the story is in 1948, after rejecting the 1947 UN partition of the British Mandate, the Arabs attacked the jews, lost, did it a few more times, lost, then said "okay, i'll take my state now."
If the rest of the world followed the Arab's "I was there before you" logic, the arabs would still be confined in the arabian desert, no on the East Med coast, left alone North Africa.
CLIFFBCALIF
7:52 PM ET
May 17, 2011
Arab Spring?
When all is said and done there will be no such thing as the news commentator created term "Arab spring," unless the creator of the term is referring to the springs in furniture which move in both directions. The Arab people lack the mentality, intellectual basis, and educational basis to produce democracies.
The Libyan government of Gaddafi will probably survive, the country will break up; Bahrain and Saudi troops are crushing that Shiite revolt: the Shiite Assad will crush the Syrian Sunni uprising unless his army revolts and arms the people, but that does not appear likely; the Kurds are protesting against Turkish oppression and being murdered, but again the World is ignoring them; the Egyptian military is slowly arresting those who brought about the street uprising in that country; the Palestinians are cleverly allowing themselves to be sacrificed on the Syrian platter; the Yemenis remain violent and split and there is no chance that horribly backward country can be a democracy. At best they will exchange one dictator for another.
And, on their periphery there are our Iranian friends. A large number of educated people in their population, but it is, and will remain, controlled by the radical Islamist nut cases and their large, heavily armed private army. Guns always speak louder than words, especially when backed up by a large, brutal security force.
The news commentators who coined the term "Arab Spring" are typical of their type. They spend time in a part of the world, but live, eat, and socialize in nice hotels, go around and watch from a distance, and interview people. However, they never live for years in the houses of the people, get accepted by them, and hear their true conversations. Newsmen know not of what they speak, nor do diplomats and the PhD's who advise them as they never spend years living in the homes of the people they believe they know and understand.
If one believes the Arabs are on the verge of establishing peaceful, open democracies, then observe what the Muslims are doing to the Christians in Egypt--murdering them, burning their Churches, etc. And, they do so with the riot police standing by and watching. Part of the protection the new government has promised them? the Christian community in Iraq has all but been driven out by violence, murder, etc., all the while the country was undergoing American imposed democracy. Where is the once thriving Palestinian Christian community--driven out, driven out, driven out. I guess that is the nature of Arab democratic evenhanded behavior.
POLITICS101
1:37 AM ET
May 19, 2011
Looking Back to History and Culture to Understand the Present
One important aspect is always missing in any political analysis is studying the culture of the land (this is the foremost important thing) followed by the history. I will talk about Egypt because I belong to this culture and history. The first error is to consider that all Arab countries are the same because they belong to different cultures and different history, so trying to group them and make predictions will ultimately fail. The history and culture of Egypt can be summed up in these few words:
Egypt used to be governed by Pharaohs who though they have an ultimate power but were expected to take care of their subject. A poor man in Ancient Egypt could take the governor of the area to court with the Pharaohs guarantee that he will get his rights. It was honored . In fact the Justice system was a cornerstone that propelled Egypt to that great civilization. There are periods in Egypt history which saw instability for hundreds of years when people felt that they were treated the right way. So in brief, Egyptians are willing to give their government complete authority on the basis that this authority is not abused. In fact during my childhood, there was a tradition of all the stores to write this verse on their doors " If you were given control over people, do not forget the power of God" Anywhere you would go you would read this wisdom probably derived from the experience of the Egyptians that traditionally known to be 7,000 years. This is what Egyptian expect from their leaders that he recognize that have conscience when they do their work, they are patient with their leaders but at the same time their frustration can start to build up until you see what they did, they have no patience anymore. Egyptians by nature are moderate, they do not like extremism, you come to the important question, if they do not like to be extreme, why was the Muslim Brotherhood was born in Egypt?
Here we turn to History and it will leads us to who founded this ideology, in fact all you have to do is look at any photo you can find for Hassan El Bana, the person who founded the Muslim Brotherhood and look at his face and it will look like the original Turks or the people from central Asia who controlled first the Seljuk and the Mamlukes adopted their system followed by the Ottoman, in my opinion, no one radicalized Islam as much as central Asia starting with the Seljuk followed by the Mamlukes and the Mongols or Moguls who occupied parts of India which eventually became Pakistan. Now you should understand from where that terror that we see in the media that is going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan. it was no surprise to me that the young Muslim Brotherhood who were opposed to the hatred that MB old generation showed towards the Christian, it was the Egyptian culture that runs in the blood of the real Egyptians (not those who settled in Egypt for thousands of years and avoided to mix with the Egyptian blood) working its magic. I believe with every passing day that our culture will work its magic, it may not happen today or to morrow, but remember this culture has the ability to defy time
and eventually, it will make all the old principals of hatred, terror and every evil, nothing except history that we will bury as it did with so many invaders or many invading cultures that are totally rejected. The Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda and all these terrorizing organization was not born from an Egyptian culture, it was born by Turkish and Mogul invaders, that is why the Salafi group in Egypt did not join in the revolution and the Muslim Brotherhood joined late because the revolution was 100% Egyptian, those who belonged to a different culture did not fit in. Just like we say, the Egyptian when he feels week, he drinks from the Nile, then he feels fresh and strong, the Nile is nothing but our culture, that never carried any hatred towards mankind, that made Egypt one day was the super power of the world, but never was an imperialistic power, that foreigners came to work and ended up in the highest ranks of government, it was and will remain a peaceful country, it was a country that the poorest enjoyed the same rights as the rich, these are our aspiration, our past never died, because our culture propels us to the same destiny of our past to bring back our glorious history to be our future, things may not work to meet our dreams, but every trial boosts the strength of our ancient culture to dominate more and more while burying those invading culture until they die.
MADRIGALJANMICHAEL
12:07 AM ET
June 9, 2011
The devil they know
To Israel’s north, the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad is being challenged by demonstrations. Bradley Burston is an Israeli editor and columnist with the Ha’aretz newspaper. He said as bad as things may seem between the two countries, Israelis might prefer the devil they know.
“Even though Syria does support the Hezbollah armed force, in southern Lebanon,” he said. “And even though Syria has become increasingly close to Iran, they have absolutely stuck to the agreements that they go public and that Israel signed in 1974. And at this point, no one knows what will happen if the Assad government falls.”
With all the regional uncertainties, many in Israel are arguing for a wait and see approach. But David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy isn’t convinced, especially when it comes to Israel’s relationship with its closest Arab neighbors, the Palestinians.
“I think it’s wrong to say that all the risks are on the side of action and all the safety is on the side of inaction. There are security arrangements, border arrangements and there Israel needs to be cautious how that is done,” Makovsky said. “But I think just being paralyzed by events could have its own dangers.”
If Israel waits before trying to reach a political compromise with the Palestinians, Makovsky said, it might be faced with a more radical Palestinian leadership down the road. But there’s another dynamic at work.
“The problem is that in the Middle East too often, it’s when it’s quiet, there’s no need to compromise,” Makovsky said. “And when there’s violence, you can’t afford to compromise. And you somehow have to cut through that.”
In recent days, violence has been on the rise. Jerusalem suffered its first major terrorist bombing in seven years. There’s been an escalation in rocket and mortar fire from Gaza, and Israeli air strikes in response. The big question the Israeli news media is asking now, is if — and when – it’s time for another large Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
BRAUERR31
12:41 PM ET
May 20, 2011
A Sad Realization For Me...
This image truly is worth a thousand words. While I'm here playing my flight simulator for mac there are people fighting for their lives. I'm comfortably sitting in my office right now, staring outside at a beautiful golf course, and some children are walking around with guns because where they live is unsafe. This truly is a moving image and short article.
MATT PETELICKY
6:54 PM ET
June 14, 2011
Hassan El Bana - the person
Hassan El Bana - the person who founded the Muslim Brotherhood and look at his face and it will look like the original Turks or the people from central Asia who controlled first the Seljuk and the Mamlukes adopted their system sázkové kancelá?e followed by the Ottoman, in my opinion, no one radicalized Islam as much as central Asia starting with the Seljuk followed by the Mamlukes and the Mongols or Moguls who occupied parts of India which eventually became Pakistan. Now you should understand from where that terror that we see in the media that is going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan. it was no surprise to me that the young sázkové kancelá?e Muslim Brotherhood who were opposed to the hatred that MB old generation showed towards the Christian, it was the Egyptian culture that runs in the blood of the real Egyptians (not those who settled in Egypt for thousands of years and avoided to mix with the Egyptian blood) working its magic. I believe with every passing day that our culture will work its magic, it may not happen today or to morrow, but remember this culture has the ability to defy timeand eventually, it will make all the old principals of hatred, terror and sázkové kancelá?e every evil, nothing except history that we will bury as it did with so many invaders or many invading cultures that are totally rejected. The Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda and all these terrorizing organization was not born from an Egyptian culture, it was born by Turkish and Mogul invaders, that is why the Salafi group in Egypt did not join in the revolution and the Muslim Brotherhood joined late because the revolution was 100% Egyptian, those who belonged to a different culture did not fit in. Just like we say, the Egyptian when he feels week, he drinks from the Nile, then he feels fresh and strong, the Nile is nothing but our culture, that never carried any hatred towards mankind,