First of all, I want to applaud you ray on your opinions in this article, and others. I enjoy and relate to what you write and I think a lot more voices like yours are needed…. As you said, what is missing the Palestinian Israeli conflict is recognition, and I mean on both sides. Both us-palestininas and the Israelis have officially lost our morals, values, and humanity. We see the other side as the absolute and sole reason for our misery. And we refuse to acknowledge any wrong doing on our behalf. Instead we collectively label and de-humanize the other side. We justify the harm we do to them by what they do to us, and loose no sleep about whether what we are doing is moral or human, not to mention beneficial for our cause!!. We stopped using our brains a long time ago, and we are functioning on an emotional level, mixed with some religious rhetoric. We think of any sort of compromise, as a sign of weakness, and any form of rationality, and communication as absolute treason!!!............. We have a severe failure of leadership on both sides. We have a huge failure of religious figures on both sides, and we have to remember that our common humanity is much stronger than any ethnic, religious, or national identity. Looking at the Palestinian community, we have some serious work to do. First we have to realize that not everything goes, and indiscriminate violence against Israeli’s is neither justified nor moral. Regardless of the injustice of Israel’s occupation and brutality, responding to an injustice with an even worse one is wrong, no matter what anyone says. We have to define what exactly our goals are, and what kind of Palestine we want, and where? Let’s move on form the 1948 mentality and look forward. As much as I hate to say it but we are the losers of this conflict, and there is no chance of wining. Not only have we lost lives and security, we lost our identity, our communities are in complete disarray, and we continue to sink into chaos and darkness even further. We have to put an end to all of this before it is too late, and we have not to get carried away by emotional slogans, and unrealistic dreams. In other words, we should use our brains not our egos……… As for the Israelis, well you also have to deal with the reality also. Regardless of historic rights or not, the reality is obvious. Palestinians want to have their own state, and that will never change no matter how much force or life suffocating conditions you impose. A free Palestine has become a dream to us and part of whom we are, the same way Israel is a part of who you are, and no one can change that. Trying to “tame” the Palestinian society through violent military acts and collective punishment will not work. I under stand you rightfully have to protect your citizens, but that does not mean that everything also goes, and that every single Palestinian has to suffer on an individual level for the last ten years, and god knows for how long to come…….. The bottom line is just forget about your egos also, and let us be so that we could sort out our own problems………… We are all the same humans, what life throws at us is what makes us whom we are…we all make choices in life that are greatly affected by the options we have, and conditions we live in. I think we should always remember this…………. Again Ray, keep up the good work !!!

Edan' s argument is that the so called Palestinians are real because they themselves believe they are. The same was said about the Nazi-Aryans in WW2 or the Soviets in the Cold War. Edan, were these peoples also real??

If it is getting worse, just leave to one of the 21 Arab states. Don't stay if you do not like it. When my grandfather was in Tripoli where he was boprn, he did not like it so he left. You do the same.

this column reminds me of the way Arafat used to talk,sweet words,if you didn't listen carefully. i also remember he was blamed for the contradictory messeges he was giving. one for the international audience. one for the Palestinien. for many years there have existed brave Israeli leaders,who have worked hard,very hard,for peace. they have also made painful decisions on the behalf of their population.in my opinion,that is the sign of strong and brave leadership. the Palestinien people need to start looking for a peaceful solution.no leader, with peace in mind,dare to "stand up" in surroundings were terror and fear are the "ruler"

The comments are indicative of the problem Ray describes so well. It seems that the farther the commmenters are form the Middle East, the more gung-ho they are to continue the conflict. Yes, formally Ray Hanania is the enemy. With enemies like Hanania, who needs friends? With friends who want to continue the misery, who needs enemies? Look at what the man is saying and forget your prejudices for just a moment.

That's why you are better than some of the haters who have nothing better to do than to oppose peace, kill people like Rabin, and incite hatred here. When Palestinians can offer reason in the face of some much Israeli anger here, that says something good about the Palestinians. Don't let the haters drag us down by their incitement. They cause the problem. We have to remember that there are many great Israelis and Jews who do not agree with the haters and want peace. And we also should all remember that we can debate the merits of politics and policies, but we should stay away from the kind of hatred like from #25, #29 AND #33 The fact that they hate exposes them as the real losers in this fight. This battle isn't over. We can win peace. Ray Hanania www.hanania.com

You wrote: "Maybe a Palestinian will stand up and courageously define a true path towards nationhood. Peace. National dignity. I’m not going to give up on that." Instead of waiting for that reasonable Palestinian to take a stand, why don't you take action yourself. After all, you're clearly more reasonable and educated than most. Stand up, declare "we've had enough of this horror" and make a change for once. If anyone can do it, I'm sure you could.

I appreciate your wisdom and insight and call for moderate action. For too long the "teenagers" have been running the house...with the only winners weapons dealers and oil companies. Thank you for trying to shed some light. Blessings for Shalom and Salaam,

I have spend I lot of time despairing over the conflict, and its repercussions in the world at large. I have made numerous attempts to find some hope for eventual reconciliation, but have never felt than progress was possible. There clearly is a vast disconnect between the picture of the conflict that Jews have as compared to Palestinians, not to mention the views exposed by outside parties who exploit the situation for their own purposes (i.e. Iran, Pat Robertson, ISM, etc.). It seems to me that moderation is important, but almost irrelevant at this point because we cannot define what moderate is. I am going to list some of my perceptions of the situation that, seemingly, differ from yours that for me, and most Jews, need to be addressed in order to move forward: 1) Hamas: This group's charter has an explicit call to genocidal war again Jews as a people. This view is reinforced by its members statements, which are clearly modeled on Nazi propaganda. There are three major issues with this: a) As there are no Jewish groups that call for genocide against Palestinians. Drawing these neat parallelisms between "our" and "your" extremists seems disingenuous and somewhat threatening even. (If there are such groups they clearly have no public support.) b) Their Election: I honestly don't understand how it can be claimed that they do not have massive public support. You mentioned something about voting problems; I haven't heard about this but would like to see some elaboration. Aside from your statement, people have been saying that their election was purely for governmental reform. To me this isn't comforting at all, because it simply means that Palestinian voters were indifferent their other agenda. c) Apologetics: It is common to claim that groups like Hamas are simply the result of Palestinian suffering, and that if the Israelis are willing to let up on their military operations, eventually Palestinian society will naturally moderate. Given the fact that many of these types of actions occurred before Jews had any power in the region (the Hebron massacre in the 1920's, The Mufti of Jerusalem's relationship to Hitler, etc.), this argument is far from self evident, and its result if adopted could be catastrophic. These points should suffice for this context, as the point of this post is not to synopsize the Jewish view of history. My point is that before moderates can come together there necessarily must be reckoning of where we are coming from. To the average Jewish individual saying that Palestinians have extremists but so do Jews, is not an act of moderation but, on the contrary, an implicit minimalization of Hamas-like-groups’ genocidal tendencies, and a demonization of the IDF, whose crimes seem to us to be not remotely comparable. Many of these issues are tied to factual questions that will be difficult to clarify, but it seems to me that moderation will be dependent on reaching some sort of shared narrative between our peoples. If one believes that Palestinians do in fact support Hamas’ agenda, as the “haters” in this talk back claim, then supporting military action IS a moderate view. Conversely, if one believes that the Israelis are trying to destroy the Palestinians, then supporting guerilla action IS a moderate view. It is rather naïve to think that extremists think of themselves as such. Thus, a clarification of the facts is the first step towards moderation, not simply stating that moderation is good. I am honestly interested in hearing what anyone has to say about my claims, as I sincerely hope that most Palestinians do not support Hamas, but I am not convinced as of yet.

Mr. Hanania admirably exalts justness, fairness and peace. In 1971, I published the Van Nest Principle in Mensa Canada (1971.10): "Communication is a prerequisite to understanding, Understanding a prerequisite to respect, Respect a prerequisite to peace." It was later presented by Dr. Kokie Leshno in a speech before U.S. Sec. of State, George Shultz, at TAU. Western leaders embraced the principle assuming that talk was synonymous with communication and understanding a superficial assessment. Mr. Hanania follows this enduring failure; not recognizing that Arabs and Jews are never going to agree on the meaning of justness or fairness. Understanding which leads to respect, therefore, takes on a deeper, more ominous, meaning and communication follows suit. Each Qassam must be answered by increasingly disproportionate and unbearable volleys of "dumb bombs" (let ha-Sheim differentiate) into Gaza cities - until understanding dawns. Paqid 16, The Netzarim Israeli Orthodox Jew www.netzarim.co.il

Theres more to it than "Two sides of the coin", this isent some shallow hollywood movie, I have wrote a clear and simple question and would like your answer.

...with a megaphone and say you want peace with the Jews. Just repeat it over and over, let us know how you get on.

Maybe the Russians should go back to their 1941 border? Why not let 1million French return to Algeria? Allow the Greeks and Turks to go back to where they lived pre-1974. The author should get a grip on reality. 450,000 Israelis now live beyon the Green Line.

Yes you are truly the epitome of courage the way you hide behind your anonymous "Palestiniansare myth"...And for your information the whole POINT of what I wrote was to show you that the jews were always called JEWS ...That means the remaining people here would have been called ....wait I forgot ...oh yeah - Palestinians. You are not a jew so don't pretend to know more about jewish history than me...I would like to see a picture of your head so I can see for myself how such a thick fat skull can house such a tiny brain. And if you and I were ever to meet face to face -- I'll show you just how much of a wimp I truly am (with my fists)....

I read with interest the comment about fanatasism having a common link of nationalism and religion . As a Jew who recently has read the entire Quran and a commentary thereof , I find the basis for fanatasism and terrorism widely dispursed throughout the text primarily against Christians , Jews and most unfortunately tolerence itself . A Muslim will bring up a phrase or two of contradictory verse but the fact remains that in the Quran`s duplicity there are plenty of verses to back me up ! We must all face the fact that while all Muslims are not terrorists , the basis for those that are is the Quran

I believe that so long as the elected leaders of the Palestinians refuse to recognize the right of a Jewish-majority Israel to exist, Israel should make life as uncomfortable as possible for the Palestinians. I realize, to my great sorrow, that this will punish the non-guilty along with the guilty, however, the power to change is in the hands of the guilty and non-guilty, alike. Accordingly, we must also provide the Palestinians with some reason to believe that there is an alternative. An appropriate declaration by PM Olmert can go along way toward providing such a reason. If his concern is the long-term welfare of Israel, more than it is a desire to win more Knesset seats or to acquire more territory, then the prime minister will declare that when the Palestinian leadership resumes its recognition of the legitimacy of Israel and makes a sincere attempt to suppress anti-Israel terrorism, then Israel will be ready to immediately enter into peace negotiations, which negotiations will deal with all aspects of the conflict, including: complete withdrawal from all of the occupied territories, the maintenance of Palestinian police and military forces, reparations for all refugees (both Arab and Jewish), sovereignty over Jerusalem, environmental degradation, trade relations with Israel, and Palestinian access to world markets and the creation of infrastructure to facilitate such access.

That has to be changed is the mythical world in which the so called " palestinians " live. I have never opined that they have no rights, of course they have, they have no rights of any sort whatsoever over this land called Israel. There is no such thing as "palestinian history ", there never was a "Palestinian entity " of any description, these people are simply arabs with exactly the same culture as the surrounding countries, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan etc. Over my 66 years I have had contact with the palestinians, both with a gun in my hand and also with an olive branch in the form of water, food, medicine, etc. I have met many and done business with so many of them. Salam aleikum,ja sidi,shu ismak ? EL Masri. Salam aleikum, ja sheikh, shu ismak ? el Turki. Salam aleikum, shu ismak ? El Hurani. Ahalan, ja habibi, shu ismak ? El Bagdadi. Get the picture ? or do I need to explain.

Yet another Pal telling lies about 'Palestinians', 'Occupation', 'Peace'. Lets not waste any more time on this propogandist.

and denying our existence is not going to let you live in peace in this land. You want peace , we need to recognize the right for both in a mutual manner. 66 years and you are still as ignorant and extremist as you described yourself. Hope what is left for your to live, you will be able to give your grandchildren more hope and better ideas than the palestinians do not exist. Because believe me I am no lebanease nor syrian, I am a proud palestinian from the city I love most, Jersualem.

You read me wrong Ahmed ja habibi. Try reading again and you might come to the conclusion that I am not so ignorant. I certainly do not want you or anybody else as cheap labour. I and the vast majority of Israelis have held out an olive branch to you for over half a century but you refuse to accept it. We want to live with you as opposed to you who do not want us to live at all. Why can you not accept the simple historical facts that no normal person in this world will deny.This land belonged to us as a sovereign state about 1700 years before the world ever heard the names Islam, Mohammed or Arab and also Israel is the only country in the world that was constituted by international convention, by a large majority, almost unanimously. Only the Arabs disagree. You are right, I might not have many years left, but I have 10 grandchildren and believe it or not I would like them to live with you, but you do not want them to live, period. This is the difference between you and I and in general the difference between our two peoples. If you could only get all the religious nonsense out of your heads and enter the 21st century and the real world and get rid of some of the bad leaders that you have then there might be a chance. No, Ahmed, I am not ignorant, I am indeed very wordly, with a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips and a formidable amount of experience, and believe me Ahmed, I only want for the good of us both. I never said you have no rights and I just stated, in my own way where lie the origins of the Palestininans, I never said you should go back there. All I would like is for you to admit the truth and the facts about to whom the land belongs and from where you came. Try reading again and again and then perhaps you would like to apologize for calling me ignorant. I wish you well. Sachten alek wa al betak.

The author should be more upfront about the fact that Palestinians don't exist. Only then will he receive the respect that he strives for.

A fabricated non-people invented circa 1970 by a Soviet-sponsored Egyptian called Yasser Arafat. The sooner you disinvent this phantom peoplehood , the sooner the conflict wil end. Salam Aleichem

What Ray doesn't seem to get ( or refuses to get) is that his Palestinian brothers and sisters have made a choice in their last "elections". They chose Hamas. In fact they went out of their way to choose Hamas. Now they must live with the consequences of their decision. Ray should spend his time educating his fellow Palestinians instead of worrying what type of leaders Israel will choose in the upcoming elections. I predict that in the coming months all of the Palestinian secular intellectuals who are so popular on CNN and MSNBC will be running for their lives to Israel asking for asylum.