eventhough i would not use this language myself in order to talk about this problem, i find this article quite daring and honest! It's true that the Arab world has a great problem , it not able to deal with it's very own diversity! But as an Arab,Palestinian , christian, i have to add that over here, christians are racist too, which makes coexistence and understanding much harder! Some families even reached the point of " not talking to muslims"...i'm sure that the problem exists in both communities, Muslim and christian, but since i'm part of the christian one, i can only talk about our part! I would like to clear something up for israeli and Foreign readers : In the Palestinian Authority, we are living like our muslim neighbours, we have the same rights, the same future and the same past, discrimination doesnt exist in our official entity and all those who claim that we are persecuted by the authority are part of the Racist people who want people to believe them no matter what, the only discrimination I always witness is how israeli soldiers treat muslims and on the other hand, how they always like to appear as the " Christian's friends", and they always have to shout it loud " ohhhh Christian....my friend....." while the Muslim is on the other side watching this and getting the very special treatment, This creates RACISM and HATE

The main fact that you ignore in your article is: The Bush adminstration made it impossibe for charities to give money/assistance to the Palestinains and others that the adminstration deems they dont agree with its policy. You can find many examples of recent harrasments to such charities and thier employees/volunteers.

That number listed of 7 million Arabs is patently false. It is inflated for whatever reasons. Your (Arab) political power and influence won't improve just by exagerating your numbers. Second, we've had the Taliban, we've had 9/11, numerous PLO hijackings, Hamas bus bombings, Al Aqsa terror attacks, and only NOW you are decrying the extremists in your midst?! How many years later? Be honest, its only 'cuz Bush recently called you all IslamoFascists and you've got nowhere else (politically) to go. Didn't hear complaints about any of your 'extremist' leaders the past 6 years. What a transparent crock!

Lebanon attacked a country. That country hit back. Why would any educated Arab give money to a country that attacks their neighbor. If Lebanon did not attack, they would not need to raise money!

The truth is the truth....

Islamic racist supremecists don't just look down on Jews and Christians and Jews in the middle East. They are systematically ethnically cleansing the whole middle East of Non-Muslims. Where are the Jews of Aden, Jews of Tripoli and every other muslim country? Also the Christians of Egypt, Iraq etc. and Southern Lebanon is certainly no different. The Christian communities of Ramaish, Ein Ebel, Debel etc are decimated and live in fear. Compare this to Maronite Christian Israelis in Israel who live, work and pray as Israel citizens. I was invited to midnight mass in Jaffa in Catholic church where the Maronites attend. It was an emotional experience and a Joy to see Christian Arab Israelis free to live their lives free of Muslim oppression. It is clear that Christian Arab Americans would not support money to the very organizations that seek to exterminate the few of their remaining brethren in Lebanon! Wake up Ray, We're on the same side. You just don't know it yet. Remember the quote from Pastor Niemoller from the holocaust. When they came for him it was too late! It's the same with this new Islamic supremecism.

for all the arabs in the world.

Ray, Very well put. It is rare to see such honesty about the North American Arab community and their political leanings and apathies. My only issue is with your units of fundraising. It is inappropriate to compare financial aid with the number of casualties. Money being raised in the Jewish community is not solely for the benefit of the families of the deceased civilians and soldiers. The majority of the funds are raised to support the remainder of the Israelis who reside in the north. Money for the repair of hospitals, damaged and destroyed homes, businesses, and forests. While by your information there may have been 80 Israeli casualties (there are over 100 in fact), there have been over 1 million people affected in the north of Israel, people who either fled south or remained in bomb shelters. Let us not forget, living in northern Israel are not only Jews but Israeli-Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, as well as the Druze. They have all been affected since Hsibullah missiles failed to discriminate by reliigon. The money has been raised to help the whole of the north of Israel.

Not laughing, read it again -- you are misquoting Ray's statement -- "The majority of Muslims in America (about 7 million) are non-Arab; of the 4.5 million Arabs in America, the majority is Christians." -- Ya see, the 7,000,000 are MUSLIM, only 4,500,000 are ARAB, & lots of them are CHRISTIAN. -- If you can't get the facts right, you'll never understand the situation.

I don't know any more Ray what you guys can do. Unless the Arab world starts doing some serious soul searching and actually fighting for democracy and revolution like most peoples have had to do, it doesn't look good. You need to be willing to pay the price as peoples, your current leaders will never take you there, they are beyond corrupt. So many Arabs feel this way but you are not brave enough yet. Everyone across the world including Israel will support the Arabs in this, it is time to look in the mirror deeply and finally decide. Iraq, the PA opportunities passed up, now Lebanon.. more the West cannot do. The first step is acknowledging the problem, it would be nice to stop blaming Israel & the west for everything, and getting started on the root problems.

First of all it's 140 or so Israelis killed and 1000 Lebanese. Second of all, if they calculated the average yearly earning of the American Jews who donated money and those of the arabs, I'm almost certain the Jewish average would be much higher. Third of all, Saudi Arabia has already alone given over 1 billion dollars in aid to Lebanon's economy (this is pre-construction donation)

This article only seems to want to highlight divisions between arabs, christians, muslims or druze. There has been billion of dollars from all over the world coming into the Lebanon as support. The fact that the US is restricting aid from it's citizens is only a drop in the ocean. I wonder at this article ... perhaps it has more to do with Israeli realisation that it's actions have in fact UNITED the lebanese much more than has created divisions!! Think again Hanania.

Of course the Lebanese dont donate, they probably know it wouldn't reach the people. These funds have a "strange" way of ending up in the bank accounts of their "illustrious" leaders.

Much more from other muslim governments ... now do your math Ray ...

I will not criticise you, you are completely right, and we need people like you to find ourselves. even though i do not a gree with you in most articles, still I think it is worthy reading all your articles. I do not like the fact that you are married to a Jewish girl, but can not give the guarantee that I will not. I mean, Yes you are free to look to thinks the way you like, and I would sacrify my life if necessary for your right to speak out loudly and freely. One last thing, I want you to be yourself, talk what really inside youa s a Palestinian, do not say what the show audeance want, they will respect you more when you say what inside you instaed of saying what they want you to say.

my simple answer would be as follows: if a lebanese person contributes to his country, he will be accused of financing terrorists. if a jewish person conributes, then it is easily justified. THE WORLD IS NOT FAIR Realisticly speaking these numbers are completely wrong and dont reflect any of your assumptions

that, Jew or Arab; no one likes Hezbollah. True; people are shocked at the openess of the US selling bunker buster and cluster munitions to Israel. But everyone also knows about the Iranian Revolutionary guard found dead alongside hezbollah fighters, the syrian and iranian rockets, munitions and technical support, let alone the shocking tactics employed by Hezbollah. People love Iranian culture but nobody likes the regime there. While in Syria people are aware of the antiquity and diversity but are loathe to accept the regime and its mukhabarrat. The cedar revolution was so inspiring to Arab and Jew alike because it celebrated democracy and diversity together. A rebirth. Hezbollah are a part of the past. The civil war. The dark days. If you go to theis weblink http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsnight you will see a link on the top right to WATCH a British tourist board film from the 60's that shows a golden time in Lebanon and Israel. peace-salaam-shalom.

The fact that Saudi Arabia has given billions to Lebanon has nothing to do with the failure of Arabs in American cities like Chicago to help. Saudi Arabi controls Lebanon more than the Syrians. (Just look closely at the ties between the Harriris and the Saudi Royal Family.) Maybe this column should focus on that issue more. The Muslims who attacked London WERE NOT ARAB. They were Pakistani. Yet the perception is that this problem is an Arab problem. It's not. Wake up. This column accurately highlights the troubles that plague the American Arab community. Chicago sounds like a real pit but it's common in other cities, too. And those Arabs wo criticize this are simply a part of the problem. They hate secular Muslims, Christians and Jews.

Never! There is no suh thing as a "Palestinian" people or nation. Israel did exist thousands of years ago and was re-named Palestine by the Romans. You are an Arab who is indigenous to Arabia. You like most Arabs who falsely call themselves "Palestinian" are psyctoic and need help.

NO,,YOU CANT SPEAK WHAT JEWS HAVE and do and think. JEWS UNITE FOR THE CAUSE OF 'RIGHT' AND 'TORAH'. THEY UNITE AGAINST THE ARABS WHO HAVE FOR OVER 3500 YEARS MADE WAR AGAINST THE JEWS. ''WE JEWS UNITE, NOT BY EMAILS OR NEWSPAPERS WE JEWS UNITE BECAUSE OF THE SPIRITUAL CALL FOR OUR LIFE AND PRESERVATION AGAINST THE ARABS CALLS TO WIPE US OUT. AND NOW IRAN JOINS YOUR WAR CRY. YOUR SEPERATION OF JEW AND ZIONIST IS JUST AS ANTISEMTIC AS ANY KLU KLUX KLAN. YOU ARE A ANTISEMITE AS I ONCE CALLED YOU... A TROJAN HORSE IN THE JEWISH WORLD. WHEN AT WAR , AS WE HAVE BEEN FOR 3500 YEARS EVERY JEW IS ONE THE SAME.... .....ASK HITLER...... your comment about your arab world is correct, you average arabs die for your mullahs shieks and kings. they get rich while you die. the leaders go home to palaces while you go home to poverty... who is counting the trillions of dollars of oil money......you? who has all the world aid to the arabs occupying israel, KEEPING THIS MONEY FROM THE CIVILIAN ARABS.......arafats wife... assad abdullah mullahs shieks and kings in all arab coutries. YOU HANINA YOU CANT UNDERSTAND THE JEWISH WORLD . YOU CAN WRITE ABOUT YOUR ARABS WHO DIE FOR THE MULLAHS SHIEKS AND KINGS. ..LEAVE YNET AND WORK FOR '''TERRORIST DAILY''' or the '''WILD ARAB'' DAILY. BE PART OF EDUCATING YOUR PEOPLE.... LEAVE JEWS ALONE INSTEAD of misinterpreting the jewish mind with your hidden antisemitism.

MUSLIM LIFE IS WORTH NOTHIN. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE SAY. THIS IS WHAT MUSLIMS SAY. ALL MUSLIMS WANT IS TO DIE, AND MEET 72 VIRGINS - WHAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO DO TO 72 VIRGINS EXCEPT KILL THEM IS ANOTHER STORY. AMYWAY THE BEST WE CAN DO IS HELP MUSLIMS MEET THE 72, BY KILLING THE MUSLIMS.

Turkish Red Crescent Helps Palestinian Children By Ahmet Dinc, Ankara Sunday, August 13, 2006 zaman.com The Turkish Red Crescent and Turk-Is have joined and are preparing a major aid project for Lebanese and Palestinian children worst affected by the violence that has recently increased in the Middle East. As part of the aid project, 100,000 children will be given access schools and provided with given stationery and clothing. Turk-Is head Salih Kilic said they will soon sign a protocol with the Turkish Red Crescent to activate the project. Kilic said: “Mostly children were affected by the human tragedy experienced in Lebanon and Palestine. We are determined to build schools and provide school materials to help reduce the suffering of around 100,000 children in the region.” The Turkish Red Crescent has sent nearly 500,000 tons flour to the region so far. A total of 8,500 tons of the 10,000 tons donated by the Soil Products Office was transported by ship, along with donations of diapers, baby food, medicine, health staff and kitchen equipment, to the region.

As a non-Arab Muslim living in America I will asses the Muslim vs Arab situation. Christian Arabs in America don't care about Muslim Arabs. they are embarrassed to be called Arabs they even killed Muslim Arabs in Lebanon for Israel. Muslims all over the world deeply care about the plight of Muslims around the world and they are helping. Christian and Jewish media in America keeps the Muslim voice silent to keep up the evil Muslim propaganda going on. Any Muslim that publicly shows support for any Muslim in trouble will be labeled a terrorist and killed by the America government. Turkey has shipping over 1 million tons of food to Lebanon and Palestine so far and plans to open thousands of schools to educate over 100,000 Palestinian and Lebanese children both in Gaza and Lebanon. The Muslim world will help build Lebanon within a matter of months. All the Jew puppet Christian lebanese need to move to Israel to be closer to their Jewish masters

Ray--Have you noticed that what bothers moslems is when other people kill moslems. As long as Moslems kill Moslems it's OK. For example; what is going on in Iraq, black September, iran Iraq war, and the list goes on. It's OK even for Christian Arabs to kill Arab Moslems. For example the commander of the Lebanese Christian forces whos actually carried out the massacre was in the Lebanese parliment for years afterwards, whils Sharon who had indirect responsibility was called a butcher.

Hanania, an American gentile and not a resident of Israel, deserves no place in an Israeli publication, esepcially during wartime.

One very important point this article entirely ignores is that it's a misnomer to compare the "Arab" community to the Jewish community. Israel is one single country, to which all Jews refer, while "Arabia" is more than anything a fantasy , made up of a geographically scattered mosaic of completely different histories and cultures, the only common thread - and a tenuous one it is - is that the majority religion is Islam (with it's many different forms - Sunnis, Sufis, Shias..and practices). The common features are hard to find between an Shia Iranian, a Sufi Moroccan, a Sunni Lebanese and a Saudi Wahabite - so lumping all "Arabs" into one group then becrying their divisions is intellectually redundant. Try doing this with "Christians", who live in several countries, for example...or Buddhists. Journalists, especially in editorials, need to be a lot more intellectually rigorous. Unless of course the real intention is simply propaganda...

There is animosity between the sub-cultures from the Arab lands. As an Israeli American with Iraqi parents, I can attest that Jews from that region are deeply insulted when called Arab – they are not Arab. Yet that Jewish generation only has fun with other Arabs (including Muslims) who share a similar sense of humor, taste, family structure, awful music and most aspects of culture other than religion. That generation knew how to differentiate between middle class moderate Arabs, who frequently visited, and fanatics, who they stayed away from. When they were together drinking chai, eating cake, playing towlee (backgammon) and laughing you would never know that there was any conflict. But when the visitors went home, I was always reminded that they are Arabs and we are Jews. I remember sympathy for Um-Rarrad whose daughter was sucked into the hate politics of the Assad regime – my parents were convinced that the Arab culture and new Arab generation was poisoned beyond repair. People from Arab lands (including Jews) communicate through deception – they love playing Poker (literally). Deception and manipulation allowed everything to be fine on the surface; conflicts of interest were not discussed, acknowledged nor resolved. A huge hidden issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the animosity of Jews from Arab lands toward Arabs. Just like Christian and Muslim Arabs need to address their grievances, reconcile and start trusting one another, Jews and Arabs will need to go through a similar process for a lasting and trusting two-state solution to work.

Dan, we're at war with terrorists who fire rockets, kidnap soldiers and incite yet more terrorism. This article does not qualify in any of these categories. While I do not agree with many of Ray's opinions regarding the IDF or Israeli Policies, he is telling us how moderate Palestinians feel and how they see the world. I support and encourage all Israeli publications to include articles from Arabs and non-Jews that inform us of all the feelings and views surrounding our conflicts (ours and theirs) - despite the fact that we may not want to hear them. One day, this war must end and to start that process we must understand (not necessarily agree) with other points of view. Ray's articles will not convert Israelis into supporting Hammas or Fatah. But they can improve the way we communicate with Arabs - which is a huge step forward. We loose nothing in showing respect and communicating well. Shabbat Shalom.

It is true, unfortunately, that Arab communities gossip about each other, and there is hate amongst each other, but why? The fact of the latter statement was put on the Zionist agenda, and they succeeded in applying this goal in there propaganda, not because of their smart lobbying but because of the Arab Muslim leadership. What you are saying is true only on the leadership level, not on the people’s level. Whenever a good leader appears anywhere in the Arab world, “intelligence” organizations assassinates them (Like what happened to Prime Minister Hariri). Our only problem is good leadership. The people are united and one, especially against the Israeli crimes against regular people in Lebanon and Palestine. It is not true what you said about the dollar amounts. Based on a statistics error that you made by using a wrong sampling example of the Chicago Arab vs. Jewish community. What you did is that you based your numbers on a biased sample which led to the stupid numbers that you had. The other error that you made is that you divided the money by the number of people dead. Is this how you value a life? With money? Human life is priceless. I don’t think you would have done the same distribution if someone close to you died in this war. Would you have a said I lost $276,000? It would be shameful if your loved ones knew that you are pricing them like that. I did not see one movement on the people’s level from any Jewish community on TV. If you want to use this criterion to see if we care about our people’s lives then you need to seriously review your numbers. The movements for Lebanon are not comparable with the Jewish community moves on the ground (personally I don’t know of any Jewish supporting what Israel is doing). I hope that you change the way that you and the Jewish community is money oriented, especially when it comes to human lives, and children’s lives.