I am sorry, but you miss my point nearly in its entirety. You say nothing about the failure of the world to rise up over the oppression of Tibetans, over the cynical manipulation of borders in Europe, and over the still unfolding post-colonial tragedies in Africa (where slavery is alive and well, and slaughter seems to be nearly recreational, if you have the misfortune of living in countries like the Congo, Sudan, or Somalia). But I forget. This is all about Israel, since ONLY Israel, apparently, must respond to oppression. You must sleep quite well at night knowing you are standing up so boldly for what is right in the world. But you stand on your knees, not fully upright, because you systematically and hypocritically cherry-pick your way through world tragedies, only to focus on this one. Do you hesitate to buy Chinese goods? Did you march to defend the women and children of Darfur? What did you did when Assad senior slaughtered 10,000 people in the city of Hama in a single day? Where is your outrage over Shia/Sunni violence in Iraq, where civilians are killed at prayer, in marketplaces and in hospitals? It is hard to take seriously the moral outrage of people whose outrage is so selective. How nice for your conscience that you can zero in on one country and one group of people this way. And how tragic for the fate of our planet. Where is the evidence that Palestinians will move toward peaceful coexistence? Did they use the Oslo years to build a court system? An educational system? Yes, yes, it's Israel's fault they didn't, blah blah blah. Funny thing, though. Other "oppressed" people have managed to do that, to move forward, to create, to add something worth adding to the world community. But not these people. Much better to play the developmentally retarded nation-state in waiting and shout like an angry toddler: BUT THEY JUST WON'T LET ME!! Take a page from Apartheid, which Palestinian activists love to link their cause to. After 30 years imprisoned on Robbin Island, what did Nelson Mandela do? He led his country to peaceful reconciliation. He did not burn down the house with all the bad white guys in it because he knew that you cannot build the future by killing the present to vet your anger over the past. By all means, steal from South Africans. But learn the right lesson: you move forward by understanding that creation is the answer, not destruction'; by understanding that whatever your grievance might be, you owe it to your children and their children to fight for something worth fighting for. That is not the rock your grandmother built her house on, but a future based on a recognition of the human capacity to leave a legacy of good in this world. Someday, when Arabs remember their past in Cordoba (killed by fundamentalist Muslims from North Africa), they will fight to reclaim something worth having. Until then, they will stew in blood and anger. And the rest of us will excuse their barbarity, and fund it with every fill-up at our local gas station.

Ok, well I'm sorry for not announcing to this YNET post about the unfortunate tragedies occuring throughout the world, but this is a post about ISRAEL and PALESTINE, not Tibet, or Darfur, or anywhere else in the world. Did I say Palestinians are the ONLY oppressed people in the world? No! The reason I didn't talk about the genocide in Darfur is because it was NOT mentioned in the article and my post was already long enough! I don't see your point about me not mentioning the oppression of others around the world. If the debate in this talkback were over the genocide occuring in Darfur or the Oppression of the Tibetans I would certainly speak out against those immense tragedies, BUT it is not! And for your information I DO speak out against the genocide is Darfur, the daily violence in Iraq, and the despotic regimes in the Middle East that are an obsticle to peace even in this situation. So forgive me if I'm only talking about the Palestinian issue in this forum which FOCUSES on ISRAEL and PALESTINE. You seem to criticize my arguement not based on content, but on the fact that I don't mention other oppression when that is not even the topic here. If you would like to hear me talk about the other places then lets go to a forum which focuses on those issues. However, since this is pretty much a forum on this one conflict I thought it an appropriate place to talk about this specific injustice. My beliefs, however, do not solely focus in on Israel. I also believe the best path towards Palestinian independence is a peaceful path, but Israel must cooperate on that path as well and realize they have also wronged the Palestinians - which some Israelis don't even believe. Oslo was a farce and the Palestinian people were given very little transitional power, hardly enough to set up a stable government. And yes that is partly Israel's fault and partly Palestinians fault. Palestinians do also move to make their situation better. Palestinians are some of the most educated people in the Arab world and many people go to college to pursue a better life - there are just no job opportunities for them. Most Palestinians do daily try to make the most of the situation they are in and try to do the best they can in life - the problem? We only hear of those who choose suicide bombing. If peace is established Israel and Palestine can produce one of the most well-functioning economic partnerships in the world. You're right that South Africa and its reconcilliation must be the model. Palestinians must admit their faults and ask Israelis for forgiveness and in the same way Israel must admit there faults and ask for forgiveness from the Paelstinians. Violence on both sides must end because it is nothing but a cycle and both sides are to blame! Once again, I do not focus in on only one injustice, but the injustice in Palestine is the one being discussed in this forum. So please drop that faulty arguement.