If you ead your history, you will find that the majorety of moderate moslems who wanted peace with Israel have routinly been murdered.This has been going on since before 1948. Just remember Sadat. Teaching is the key to peace. Stop teaching hatred in moslem schools and we might get there. As Golda Mayere Said, "We will have peace when they love their children more than they hate us"

DIFFICULT TO CALL HIM AN AUTHOR. EASIER TO CALL HIM A FEW OTHER THINGS LIKE: REVISIONIST PROPAGANDIST LOBBYIST FR THE ARABS BUT I DO NOT READ HIS ARTICLES. HONESTLY.. BECAUSE ... FROM MY VIEW... ITS ALL FALSE... WHAT EVER HE SAYS.. BUT THE TALKBACKS ARE FUNNY

Extremists (read: losers) are so frustrated with the life they don't have that they spend most of their time dissembling their bellicose rhetoric. I mean, look at the Talkbacks here: mostly political and/or religious fanatics (from both wings). People who have a life spend time with their friends, partners, families, colleagues... So don't worry: the hate mail you get comes from no-one important. Every word you've written today is bullseye. Take care, Ray.

What about Yitzhak Rabin? I believe he was murdered by a fellow Jew for trying to pursue peace with the Arabs. Anyways, my point is you try to make Arab extremists seem like the only ruthless ones out there and this is not the case. There are many Jewish Israelis who are just as extreme and hateful as the extremist Arabs out there. Hanania wrote a great article and it is important for us to remember that it is extremists on BOTH sides who allow for hatred to be perpetuated throughout time. It's not just the extremist Arabs who are to blame as you believe. We need the moderates on both sides to stand up and begin an amiable dialogue with one other, and make bonds that can't be broken by Muslim, Christian, or Jewish extremists who's tolerance for other's religion, views, and culture is greatly limited. All these three religions have major components of peace and compassion, however, extremists are able to take certain passages from these faiths and twist them into hateful and intollerant religions and justify their hatred and violence with God. Why do we all fight over God? Do we really think that the God who created all of us would want us using his name to kill his creation? All moderates in the world must take and make the time to counteract hatred and terror in the world.

Ray, I wish I could be as naive as you, but I live in the center of the harsh reality known today as the Arab-Israeli conflict. This conflict pits two sides, one against the other, in a battle that has been raging for 58 years. It would be nice to describe this battle as two extremist camps fighting each other while their respective moderate camps look on in horror, but this would be far from reality. The truth behind this battle is far from this illusion of two equal sides. Israel is fighting for its existence, while radical Islam is fighting for an Islamic caliphate and world domination. Israel is fighting terrorism, while terrorists are fighting Israel and the democratic values of the free world. The IDF targets terrorists and avoids and regrets the loss of innocent life, while radical Islamists view dead women and children at a shwarma stand a huge victory. These are the two sides of the conflict Ray. Not facing up to this only hurts the struggle for democracy and freedom, which I'm sure you support. The biggest mistake, the thing that impedes victory over global terrorism, is the moral equivalency people assert between the aggressor and the defender, the terrorists and the IDF, the radical extremists and the defenders of democracy. If the free world does not start taking a clear moral stand against despotism, dictatorship, oppression, genocide and evil in general, the system of freedom and human rights we have come to get used to living in will be severely threatened. If we do not come out and say that terrorism in any shape or form is unacceptable, and keep giving justification to evil over good, peace will never be attainable. Peace Ray, must be fought for as you say. It will not fall down from the sky.

“A moderate views things differently. They believe that we have to keep pushing for peace and even more so when the times become more violent. The more violence there is, the more we must commit ourselves to fighting for peace”. WHAT A DEVINE IDEA As to poetry I read a collection of Hebrew poems, translated into Arabic: Title: (The most wonderful Hebrew poems about Love), when I am anxious I read them again, I write poems in Arabic, and sometimes in French, if people read poetry than reading rhetoric which invite violence into our houses we will be better of. Go ahead and don’t care for those who criticise you, there is a proverb, which says: “dogs bark but the caravan will pass through”

WHAT A 14ct. PHONY WORD MANIPULATOR.ANOTHER, IF IT MAKES ME FEEL GOOD IT IS OK,PIN HEAD! WHY INFLICT THIS "MAVEN" ON OUR SENSIBILITIES TO OUT-RIGHT IGNORANCE?????????

MICHAEL YOU SAID>>> I mean, look at the Talkbacks here: mostly political and/or religious fanatics (from both wings). People who have a life spend time with their friends, partners, families, colleagues BUT YOU ARE ALSO READING AND POSTING AND SPENDING YOUR TIME HERE.. AND MOSTLY SUPPORTING ARAB AGENDAS YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN CONFUSED.. Remember most here call you mohamed steiner. i ALWAYS CALLED YOU A BLEEDING HEART APOLOGETIC LIBERAL WACKO: i DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE REALLY EXCEPT YOU JUST PROVEN THAT YOU ARE NOT ANY DIFFERENT THAN US,VOICING AN OPINION, EXCEPT YOUR INSECURITY IS GREATER THAN MOST OF ''US''

I'd like to know where you got your poll results that showed most Israelis unwilling to compromise. I also want to know why you don't believe polls showing most Palestinians to be extremists. After all, they voted in Hamas. Emotional people? It is sickening to see thousands of Palestinians act like idiots during their demonstration in celebration of 9-11 or a massacre of Israelis or listening to so many Palestinian Mothers pray for their childeren to grow up and become "martyrs". The fact is that Araqfat and his gangsters killed off or frightened most potential Palestinian moderates and his vile propaganda radicalized most of the others. Not to say the PA is moderate but why did so many Palestinians elect Hamas? If their goal was to improve their lives under a less corrupt government, they blew it. Where were the moderate candidates who ran on a platform of stopping the extremists from terrorism and compromising to make peace. You know the answer. That person would be assassinated or even if left to run would get few votes because the Palestinians are violent and brainwashed. In the Palestinian culture, a moderate is someone who just wants to expel the Jews. Those less moderate want to commit genocide.

"moderate" means "not yet dead, but soon".

Tell your buddies to quit blowing people up. Then there will be peace. Other than that---I think someone needs to launder this article. Thta was a hard thing to figure out might I add.

ray ,,,be moderate in holding the purse //throw it in the mid way ,,or cut it two halves .one in your hand the other in yours wife ..and what about the purse why you can not forget this story ..it is not moderate to let us remember evry now and then your wife and her purse ,,i would like to know what there is in this purse ,and are you honest for this purse ..or you do not know what it contains and you have not the couraige to aske ,,please ray try just try to throw this purse back of your backe ,,and tell us about theresult salam my friend ray

Ray, publish this article in Al-Jazeera and send me link. This will demonstrate that Arabs have a moderate elite.

The way 'moderate' is defined in this article is a textbook definition of 'liberal' rather than true moderate. Moderates do not believe, "that we have to keep pushing for peace and even more so when the times become more violent." Moderates recognize a time for peace and a time for action. The problem is that you're trying to take your personal liberal views, which are just as extremist as conservative views, and attempt to push them off as some type of 'moderate' views. You wrote, "I think peace is the only thing worth fighting for." Moderates don't believe that. Real moderates recognize multiple things worth fighting for, such as human rights. Real moderates are willing to stand up against Islamic Fascist states where homosexuals are executed and women are kept as property. Only a liberal would continue to let those types of human rights abuses occur while adhering to an isolationist policy as long as it keeps peace. Likewise, its the nature of conservativism, rather than that of a 'moderate', to attempt force as a first approach. The fact that you write things like, "I don’t believe the polls that say Palestinians support suicide bombings" is clear evidence that you are so far out of touch with reality due to a far-from-moderate leftist view. You can keep dreaming, but no matter how much you want your personal views to be labeled as 'moderate' they never will be. They're extremist and uncompromising in nature from a leftist viewpoint.

Is the fact that Hamas won a surprisingly large majority in the PA legislature evidence that Palestinian moderates do not exist, that Palestinians are all extremists who support terror? No! there are several reasons why Hamas won a majority in the PA. First of all, Hamas won 44% of the national vote in Palestine, but ended up with 76 out of the 132 seats. Fatah actually won in the popular vote category, and with the various other party candidates would have produced a faily moderate majority of the seats in the PA. The math doesn't quite make sense there, but Fatah ran a very poor campaign resulting in this Hamas victory. Due to inner-party strife, Fatah had several candidates running for the same seat. The inevitable result - votes would be spread out amongst the Fatah candidates giving Hamas an easy victory for that seat. This is in fact what gave Hamas their victory - not the popularity of their extremist rhetoric in Palestine. Beyond that people voted for Hamas for reasons other than their use of terror. Fatah produced very corrupt leadership and governance and the Palestinian people were tired of that and voted for a party that would fight this corruption. The failure of Fatah in the peace process also lead to the Hamas success. For years Fatah has negotiated with Israel, making more and more concessions, but to what avail? All the Palestinians saw as a result were more settlements, a big Wall, increased use of checkpoints and restrictions on travel. So many decided Fatah would get them nowhere and decided to vote for a party that promised to keep up the resistance - people did not necessarily support the violent aspect of this resistance, but rather the fact they were a new face with more vigor for the cause. The death of Arafat also created a sort of vacuum in Palestinian politics. The familiar face of Arafat was gone and so was the widespread support for Fatah. Finally, Hamas is extensively involved in Islamic charity work. They help the poor by providing funds to build homes, grow crops, buy food, establish businesses, etc. All these factors contributed to the Hamas victory, thus not all the Palestinians who voted for Hamas were voting in support of its terrorist tactics. So to characterize Palestinians as extremists because they voted for Hamas is wrong. I traveled there and got to meet many Palestinians - Muslims and Christians - and I would definitely say most of them are moderates, just striving to be able to exist and have a better future for themselves and their children. The problem is that because of the lack of dialogue between the sides neither side realizes that the majority of the population is in fact moderate. All they see is the ugly face of religious extremism - Jewish or Muslim or Christian - looking them in the face, thus they feel threatened by the other side. If we contribute to the dialogue between these groups we will all see that we as human beings are basically similar and then I believe we will move towards peace. I know some may consider my viewpoint liberal, but if it is liberal to say that peace and understanding can be promoted through dialogue with people different than us, then I would say our world is in big trouble.

"All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke (i believe I'm quoting that right) Even in the USA where is is safe to be a "moderate" Muslim, there is virtually no voice heard against violence done by Muslims. All that is heard is the Muslim is the victim for being provoked to violence that they therefore cannot resist. How about calling your fellow Muslims to take responsibility for real peace! (not peace as defined by Islamists: where I have to convert, be killed or be enslaved.

i would even have you as a gest speaker if you come to cleveland . keep writing Ray ,may be you will one day woke up the israeli public to the Arab's summit innitiative for peace drafted and approved in beirut ,the same town that the IDF made them live 9/11 for 34 lousy days . israelis see only what other people do to them ,never asked why they do that . they are invited to read and implement the peace initiative of 2002 and not building new settelments in east jerusalem if they want peace ..(the israeli goverment just aproved 700 units east of jerusalem ..go figure for the peace loving people .

Just remember if the moslem s put down their arms we have peace, if Israel puts down their arms we have no more Israel. The deepest part of hell acording to Dante, is reserved for good people who see evil and do nothing. With all the evil perpetrated today in the name of Islam, Moslems have a lot to answere to.

"Good people" don't support by a vast majority the murder of women and children just because they are Jewish. "Good people" don't teach their children vicous hatred from the second they are born. "Good people" don't teach their children that being a terrorist "martry" is the highest achievement in their society. "Good people" don't use the heads of IDF soldiers as soccer balls to play with their children. They also don't rip to shreds two young Jewish soldiers and eat their organs. "Good people" don't celebrate when a Jewish pregnant women and her four litte girls are savegly murdered, or when a homicide bomb kills dozens of civilians. Ray I don't know what your criteria is for defining "good people" but most normal people wouldn't define the Arabs, who falsely call themselves as "Palestinians", as good people.

israelis DO want to compromize. You are wrong in your paralel, but you still can put me in a list of people with positive attitude towards you. By Dana

Is that you Arja? 9/11 for 34 days? that is a wonderful scenario for Pallywood and Hezbollywood. Boy, you guys know about propagating lies, lies, lies and pile more and more BS on top of those lies, lies, lies. Talk about Arabian nights. The US, especially the New Yorkers were shooting rockets at anyone? And are you sure that hezbos strongholds in Beirut were equivalent to WTC? Plus I never heard of any IAF pilot ramming his aircraft into Beirut buidlings... Rather precision strikes, even though Green Helmet was all over the place with his multiple use rotting bodies from the Tyre hospital body bank... What an irritating thought... Boy, you have the nerve. Or is that you, Ray, with a stand-up act in the poorest imaginable taste. Not to mention the perversity. Guys, really take it to Playboy, and go easy on those pills, you are becoming delusional. Or Ray trying to stir a tempest in a teacup...

Peace is very important and is worth fighting for. But if the other guy(s) will not let us have peace, then we must fight for survival. After Israel withdrew every last Israeli from Gaza, the Gazans decided to attack Israel with rockets instead of making peace. After Israel withdrew every last Israeli from Lebanon, Hizballah decided to send terrorists into Israel, and sometimes shoot rockets and artillery across the border, rather than making peace. I support the peace process -- when the other guy demonstrates that he can and will make peace. Israel has been at peace with Jordan for 39 years. Israel and Egypt have had, at least, a cold peace for over a quarter of a century. Lebanon could have peace with Israel in a heartbeat. And so could Gaza.

Hanania is self-righteously delusional.....Hizbullah, Iran HAmas all preach, teach and act on the stated goal to destroy Israel...Israel has signed and honored treaties, unilaterally removed its citizens from their land and what has it gotten in return? Gaza/Lebanon II.....At least acknowledge your PROPAGANDA !!

will be a stalk of thorns, its petals will be scattered and its nature unadorned. Ray, the leaders despise a happy people lifting their voices in song. They say, "why aren't they singing about me?". Show a bull a rose and he only sees red. Extremists come in all shapes and sizes but they share in ignorance of their own beauty. They want to capture the crown of creation and step on little bugs like myself. Luckily, we have an appetite for destruction. Al-Naml 27:83 will get the last word and the moderates will inherit the earth.

and floats in space and is our treasure. NOW it's our place and our pleasure. Moderates are just extremists with more subtle agendas. Make them crawl like bugs and feel the earth between their toes. Then they will sing a different tune in whatever sound their mouthes expound.

I disagree with the author of this talkback and like what the author of the article says. The article does not talk about specifics, however, It does not deal with the HAMAS election. I believe that was a response to the corruption of FATAH; and I also blame Sharon for marginalizing the moderate palestinians by insisting on the impossible elimination of HAMAS. That insistence helped HAMAS and made peace less possible.

Ray - You may not agree with or like him, but to paraphrase Richard Nixon ... Run from the Right, lead from the Center. I think it applies here - much of the (tragic and needless) suffering in Gaza today could be alleviated if the Palestinian government would take a few steps towards the center.

That is a very good point Alex - the Arab press does occasionally print articles that criticize their governments and leaders, but is void of anything positive about Israel. I have had some “pro-Israel” letters printed by some of them, but I can not verify they are printed in the Arabic versions.

If you're an extremist, people who are moderate will not hate you; but if you're a moderate, people who are extremists WILL hate you. Hatred is an estreme emotion and action. Ass JJ in montreal writes, "the majorety of moderate moslems who wanted peace with Israel have routinly been murdered." [By Muslim extremists of course.] The moderate leaders of Israel who made decisions for peace have also been murdered by Israelis. Just remember Begin or Rabin. Extremists will murder moderates for standing against the will of Allah or the will of G-d. But moderates do not, by their nature, murder. Even Christian extremists (every group has theirs) push Israel toward war at all costs as if it can fight its way into God's Promise. They encourage extreme Jewish actions like rebuilding the temple, which they know would bring desolation to Israel. All violence becomes justified in the name of Allah or G-d or God. And the moderate in these faiths must stand against those who are most prone toward violence or anger. The authors best comment was that extremists beat down others in order to raise themselves up; whereas moderates lower themselves in order to help others. Thus, they must also endure the enraged verbal attacks with humility so as not to add to the violence. It is much harder to be a Begin or a Sadat or even a Sharon as he was near the end (?) of his life than the Sharon that marched on the Temple Mount just to aggitate. You can be sure that he did not march on the Temple Mount with Disengagement has is objective. Decisive moderate positions (v. just equivocating out of moderation) are much tougher to take because the extremists on both sides will hate you. --David Haggith