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Israeli-Palestinian conflict kindles Middle East violence


Friday, January 5, 2007 11:50 PM PST

Comments (16 comment(s))

On Dec. 3, 2006, one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in the U.S., the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), held its annual luncheon at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento.

According to news reports, there were about a hundred demonstrators outside protesting against the power of this lobbying group. Because of the efforts of this group, Israel has received unconditional support, many vetoes by the U.S. in the United Nations, and over a trillion dollars of the U.S. taxpayers' money in aid since its creation in 1948.

Most of this money was used to buy military hardware, develop nuclear bombs and build illegal settlements in Palestinian territories.

Anything you say in this country about the inhumane policies of Israel is immediately labeled as anti-Semitic by supporters of Israel. AIPAC has now targeted President Jimmy Carter. Mr. Carter has written a book titled "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid," in which he spells out the deplorable conditions of Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza, where people are living in a virtual prison controlled by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

To go to a clinic to see a doctor, you need a permit to drive. It takes hours to travel few miles due to checkposts in the Palestinian territory erected by the IDF. Pregnant women have lost babies because they were held up at checkpoints and could not get to the hospital in time. A 65-year-old Lodi grandmother (and American citizen) traveled twice to go to her home in the West Bank and was returned from the Tel Aviv Airport. Now there is news that Israelis may enact a law to stop Palestinians from driving on roads in their own territories. There is starvation intentionally inflicted by the Israelis to punish the people for democratically electing a government of Hamas, an organization labeled as "terrorist" by the U.S. and Israel.

It is ironic that few years back Fatah (which lost the election to Hamas) was the organization du'jour which was also declared "terrorist," but now it is being actively courted by the U.S. and Israelis for peace talks.

It has been pointed out many times that the lopsided and unjust policies of the United States and Israel against the Palestinian people are the major cause of the problems in the Middle East.

Any effort to link the Israeli occupation to the violence or to Sept. 11 is effectively thwarted by the AIPAC or supporters of Israel. The 9/11 Commission shied away from trying to address the cause of the events of Sept. 11.

The administration and its spin doctors came up with the mantras for why they attacked us in these terms: "They do not like us," or "They do not like our freedom," etc. As a result, the root causes of Sept. 11 remain unaddressed. The swamp that breeds terrorism remains a swamp, and the Iraq war has produced more swamps. Killing individual mosquitoes does not get rid of the swamps.

There was a hope that the politicians of this country would wake up to the realities in the Middle East after Sept. 11, but instead they buried their heads in the sand due to fear of reprisal from AIPAC and other lobbying groups.

The Baker-Hamilton Commission has tried to link the Palestinian-Israeli problem with the Iraqi issues. In fact, in one of the interviews Mr. Baker said that every person they interviewed said categorically that Palestinian-Israeli problems must be solved before peace comes to Middle East. So far, Mr. Bush and his administration have ducked the issue. They are unable to tell Israelis to get out of Palestine and go back to the 1967 borders. Instead, the U.S. helped replenish the war materiel expended by Israel to kill and displace civilians in Lebanon during the Israel-Lebanese war of last year.

The deplorable starvation and prison-like conditions of the Palestinians must end. The rights and lives of the Palestinians should be regarded as sacred as the rights and lives of the Israelis. The true spokesmen for the people of the Palestine are their legitimately elected representatives. Their vote should be respected. All the settlements and outposts in the Palestinian territories should be dismantled and turned over to the Palestinians, who should be helped to be helped to stand on their own feet. Their rightful monies held by the Israelis and other governments and entities should be returned to them. Without resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli problem, the swamps of Middle East will keep breeding terrorists and we will continue to suffer both monetarily as well as in human lives.

Taj Khan, a retired engineer, is a longtime resident of Lodi.

First published: Friday, January 5, 2007

Reader Feedback

Brian wrote on Jan 11, 2007 6:58 AM:

" The Michael Newdow's of this land are well aware of anyone trying to invoke any kind of religious doctrine into our governing system. Perhaps we have a necessary evil all for the good of this country even though I may disagree with their tactics. "

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Brian wrote on Jan 11, 2007 6:46 AM:

" God expects us to be self-reliant and be responsible for our actions. This is my God. Dicky Mac's God wants complete control over all of our actions. This sounds very similiar to a totalitarian government. I repeat. Totalitarianism is analagous to Islam. Need I say any more? "

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Brian wrote on Jan 11, 2007 6:38 AM:

" This democracy calls for separation of church and state. Even though there are references to the bible in public places and such there is still a separation of church and state. Sharia law calls for one government composed of religious doctrine as part of the governing system. Dicky Mac, you keep on dreaming for Sharia to happen here. Just take a good look at Saudi Arabia. I doubt if that's what you want here. It would be very similiar. "

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Brian wrote on Jan 9, 2007 7:27 PM:

" Dicky Mac, This silly democracy as you call it is why you have so much to be thankful for. I suppose you think Sharia Law would grant you the same priveledges and freedoms as this democracy. Please Richard, even you know that not to be true. You just keep on praying fives times a day and hope for that 12th imam to appear on the horizon so you can have your utopia. "

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Brian wrote on Jan 9, 2007 7:17 PM:

" You're free to make any statements and declarations you want because of these values. Not Islamic values. FYI You want your cake and eat it too. "

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Brian wrote on Jan 9, 2007 7:17 PM:

" Dicky Mac, Yes Islam expects God to solve all their problems. This is why Islam is behind the times. You just keep on praying five times a day and see how much productivity is lost by doing this. Thank God for all the productive and inventive people in this world. I shudder to think how far this world would be along in advancements if Islam had it's way. Even you know how much better the U.S. is because it has it's roots in Judeo-Christian values. "

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Richard McIntyre wrote on Jan 9, 2007 3:16 PM:

" Brian: Your silly democracy calls for public opinion on matters while Islam, the Truth, calls for God's opinion on matters. WWJD? Would he consult his disciples and have them vote on such an abomination as same-sex marriages or would he simply follow the commands revealed to him by God? Your other comment is in reference to a fulfilled prophecy. The Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) declared: "This affair began with Prophethood and as a mercy; then it will be mercy and Caliphate; afterwards it will change into a cruel monarchy, and finally into an iniquity and tyranny. "

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Joe in Elk Grove wrote on Jan 9, 2007 8:24 AM:

" question for Ajax were did the buthcers that masacered inocent civilians in 1948 come from? were they born in Palestine (now Israel). "

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Ajax wrote on Jan 9, 2007 6:39 AM:

" Joe, what misinformation would that be and the fiction of some sort of media conspiracy seems a little extreme to me. Perhaps you can explain how that works too? When you review the leadership of te PLO and other orgainzations that lead "Palastine" its apparent that the leaders come from everywhere in the middle east but not a place called Palestine. Why is that? Arafat was Egyptian. Quite a few others were Saudi's. Palestine is a fiction created by a pack of arabic countiries to oust Israel. "

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Brian wrote on Jan 8, 2007 4:15 PM:

" The majority religon in the middle east is Islam. Not christianity, Judaism, Catholicism, etc. Islam conquers and converts by the sword. Islam will not tolerate governments that give people rights similar to democracy. Totalitarianism is analogous to Islam. "

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Joe in Elk Grove wrote on Jan 8, 2007 3:12 PM:

" Thanks Taj, for telling the truth, it is sad that some people in Lodi are one sided and mis-informed by the Pro-Israli media. "

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Stewart Schlesinger wrote on Jan 8, 2007 11:53 AM:

" You will notice that no other arab country wants the palestinians either. Why not cut out a little land from Saudi Arabia, Iran Turkey, Egypt ??? Why does all the land have to come from the postage stamp plot that is Israel ? Because no one wants the palestinian murderers and terrorists either. Taj, you gotta sing a new song. You are becoming very tedious. "

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12x wrote on Jan 8, 2007 7:44 AM:

" The issue is not land, it's religion. Israel is hated by the Muslims. The nomadic koran-followers have the option to settle in Muslim run Countries, yet they choose to terrorize Israel. Israel has a right to defend it's borders and people. "

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Ajax wrote on Jan 8, 2007 6:19 AM:

" The Palestinian nation you speak of Taj is a fiction. E.G., Arafat was an Egyptian. Very few people were displaced by the return of Jews to their homeland and the refuge for the Jewish people has been continuously attacked since. If the new Arab emigrants to Palestine suffer so then why don't they return to Jordan, Syria, Egypt and the other Arab countries they recently moved from? To solve the problem just let the Jewish people be and quit attacking them. "

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Carl B. wrote on Jan 7, 2007 5:18 PM:

" Not a Kerry fan, but he was spot on when he was asked about stay the course in Iraq? and at whose expense? "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" "

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To Taj wrote on Jan 6, 2007 8:55 AM:

" Every time you write, USA is blamed for something they aren't doing right. How about writing something positive for a change. You must like it here to keep living in Lodi. "

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