Hypocrites and Parasites

Jesus said: "You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you that whomsoever hitteth you on one cheek, you should turn to him the other cheek also."

Middle East violence can been seen very much as a case of "an eye for an eye". The problem is, the eyes usually belong to small children and innocent civilians, rather than soldiers, terrorists and politicians.

Every Israeli attack is touted as "retaliation" for the latest suicide bombing. The media is always strongly encouraged to link the two stories. The latest Israeli attack, violating the Syrian border for the first time in 40 years, was defended as retaliation for a suicide bombing which killed 19 Israelis a few days earlier. Now we wait for the Arab response, which will no doubt be another bus or cafe full of innocent civilians.

As everybody knows, the only way to end such a cycle of violence is to agree a ceasefire and then hammer out an agreement that is acceptable to both sides. This has actually been done many times already (usually whenever a new US President is elected). So why don't these cease-fires hold?

Consider this. Nelson Mandela, perhaps the most highly respected human on the planet, was once a terrorist. He was jailed for 27 years for leading the African National Congress, which operated at that time as a terrorist organisation. The ANC had close links with rogue states like Libya and Cuba. Mandela openly advocated violence as the only viable means of overthrowing the apartheid South African government. He claimed that the blacks in South Africa had been reduced to such a state that violence was their only remaining form of protest (Mahatma Gandhi might have had something to say about that!). But if the Bush Administration had been in power at the time, Mandela's sorry ass would have been hauled off to Guantanamo Bay and he would never have been heard from again.

What is the difference between how blacks were treated in apartheid South Africa and how Palestinians are now being treated in Israel? The Israeli government is even building a massive concrete wall to segregate Jewish and Palestinian zones. Didn't Hitler do that?

There are good people living in Israel who do not support their government's endless aggression. They believe Arabs and Jews can live together in peace and they support the establishment of a Palestinian State. It's time their voices were heard. Only the Bush White House has the power to make this happen and they can only do it by withdrawing all support for Sharon's government and demanding his resignation.

Don't wait for it to happen. The Israeli strike against Syria is the next logical stage in the neo-cons' crusade for control of the Middle East. If the Syrians retaliate, we whack 'em. If the Iranians poke their noses in, we whack 'em. No one can stop us. We do as we please. We are making history, brothers! We are building a brave new world...