I really appreciate your sincere talkback. However, I would like to point out that Gaza and the major West Bank cities have enjoyed some form of autonomy for several years now - they have their own authorities - President, parliament, government and ambassadors, and even a police force, i.e. Israel is no longer responsible for their welfare. They also receive billions of dollars in donations and aid from rich supporters, such as the Saudis. That their leaders would rather steal these funds (Arafat was reported to have amassed some 2 billion USD in personal wealth, and wife Suha was indulging in squandering some one hundred thousand USD/month in Paris on designer clothes and luxury items, Abu-Mazen lives in a 1.5 million USD house in Gaza) or would rather buy weapons and explosives (as much as 2 tons of explosives a month are being smuggled into Gaza from Egypt via tunnels), instead of purchasing food and medicines and creating jobs for the Palestinians is hardly israel's responsibility. The Gazans "inherited" a rich and flourishing greenhouse infrastructure in the wake of last year's one-sided Israeli disengagement from Gaza. How is it Israel's fault that the "peaceful" Gazans proceeded to raze everything to the ground and turn those areas into terrorist training camps? Therefore, all complaints concerning the "Palestinians' plight" should best be taken up with their representatives. Another good idea might be for the donors or contributors to impose some control over how their moneys are spent by the Palestinian authorities, i.e. terrorist organizations - Hamas, PLO, Al-Aksa martyrs, Islamic Jihad, a.s.o. I am sure that Ms. Robinson is as noble and fair and educated as you say, but perhaps whe was shown what the Palestinians wanted her to see. Again, the same funds mentioned before could and should have rehabilitated the refugees, yet they were unwisely spent otherwise. But then this would have somewhat put and end to the Palestinians' forever blaming Israel for their misery. And they can't afford to do that - they want and need to keep the conflict rolling.

As a member of academia you should be ashamed of the hypocrisy of your statements which do not present all the facts and are completely biased. Note the following: 1. You state: "The Irish can see that what Israel is doing to the Palestinians is blatantly wrong and injust." The so called "occupation" was the result of a war of annihilation that was waged upon Israel in '67 and which was miraculously won by Israel. Wars have a price. Why should Israel leave the territories as long as the "palestinians" don't even want to recognize Israel and continue pursuing their dream of having Israel destroyed? Egypt got back all of Sinai when it recognized Israel and signed a peace treaty. 2. You state that: "Israel helicoptor gunships firing on "gaza strip bomb making factories" is simply terrorism in the guise of selfdefence simply because its done by a state. " What did you expect Israel to do. Sit and wait until the endless stream of rockets are showered upon their citizens? Of course they have a right to bomb these places where arms that will be used against Israeli citizens are produced. I would like to see the reaction of any Europen country in the face of such constant attacks from a neighbour over their borders! Of course according to hypochrites like you only Israelis have no right to defend themselves! By the way terrorism is an act of killing indiscriminately defenceless civilians as the murderous suicide bombers like doing and as the Palestinian and Hezbollah rockets did. Bombing deadly rocket factories is not terrorism eventhough collateral human casualties are possible. 3. Finally your text does not even mention that it is high time that the "palestinians" start seeing that most of the problems they have is because of their own government's corruption and extremism, and that it is high time they got their act together. So, before you try to justify the uncivilized reaction of some of your countrymen towards the Israeli embassador, sit down and try to see the events that trouble the middle east in their true light and not true an antisemitic filter, because no matter how much you deny it you are an antisemite, as your words show it very clearly.

ITS EASY TO PASS JUDGEMENT EVEN AS A TOURIST, ESPECIALY ONE THAT SPENDS TIME IN RAMALLAH OR NABLUS OR WHERE EVER YOUR BELOVED PREISDENT MARY ROBINSON SPENT HER TIME. THE REALITY IS THAT YOU DON'T LIVE IN ISRAEL, DON'T HAVE FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OR KNOWLEDGE OR HISTORY OF THE HATRED THE MISTRUST, THE DISPUTES, THE WARS, THE VENDETTA'S. YOU'VE BEEN INFLUENCED BY A CLEVER MEDIA CAMPAIGN REPEATED BY OVER 1 BILLION PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO INTEREST IN YOU LEARNING THE TRUTH OR MAKING YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT CALLS ABOUT WHAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD? ITS EASY TO SHED LIGHT ON PROBLEMS IN AN OPEN SOCIETY LIKE ISRAEL, THAT IS WHY PEOPLE DO IT, BECAUSE THERE EXISTS FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. LOOK AT WHO LEADS THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISRAEL, 20+ NATIONS WHO LIVE UNDER A SCOIETY SO TIGHTLY CONTROLLED BY ITS RULERS, THAT NONE WOULD EVEN QUESTION ITS BEHAVIOR. SHAKING THE CAR OF THE ISRAELI AMBASSADOR WAS COWARDLY, RESORTING TO PHYSICAL ASSAULT WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL YOUR WORDS ACCOMPLISHING YOUR GOALS IS PRIMATIVE. IF YOU THINK ISRAEL OVER REACTS WHEN IT COMES TO SECURITY THEN DECIDE THAT FOR YOURSELF, EXPERIENCING MAYBE A YEAR IN THE COUNTRY, THEN YOU WILL BE TRUELY FREE TO MAKE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT. PLEASE REALIZE THOUGH, YOU ARE BEING HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY AN ARGUMENT THAT IS TOO COMPLEX FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND W/OUT FURTHER EXPLORATION.

If most Irish people despise Israel it is only because the majority are Catholics. The minority Irish Protestants on the other hand support Israel. Why might this be? 1. Irish Catholics retain a victim mentality because of "The British" and thus support all forms of terrorism whether it be PLO, Hizbollah or IRA. After all it worked for them -they found that the bullet worked better than the ballot box 2. Roman Catholics distanced themselves from the Roman guilt of the death of their own Messiah and scapegoated the Jews. The Vatican has much Jewish blood on its hands, from the Crusades to the Holocaust, and vast sums of stolen goods and monies in their bank too. Finally Magnus seems to have mixed up his Mary's - "Mary Robinson ... not a nobler, more educated woman exists on this planet". Next he will have us believing that she has ascended unto heaven. I think not - she is in effect a War Criminal "During the last four years of Robinson's tenure, the European Union donated large sums of money to the Palestinian Authority. .... During this time, Arafat siphoned large amounts of European aid money away to pay for terror. Robinson can plead ignorance, but documents seized during the recent Israeli incursion into the West Bank revealed that the Palestinian Authority spent approximately $9 million of European Union aid money each month on the salaries of those organizing terror attacks against civilians. While European officials like Robinson looked the other way, the Palestinian Authority regularly converted millions of dollars of aid money into shekels at rates about 20 percent below normal, allowing the Palestinian chairman to divert millions of dollars worth of aid into his personal slush fund." http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-rubin052002.asp

What you had there was a protest by poorly informed, biased, fanatical radical youth who represent absolutely noone in Ireland. Yes, there is sentiment that is anti-British, anti-US and anti-Israel that tends to see any cause or a group that opposes those nations as a legitimate struggle. These leftists who espouse the revolutionary filth of self-important academics ignore the basic facts. Palestinians would have a normal life if they did only two things - RECOGNIZE ISRAEL and DENOUNCE VIOLENCE. Even the IRA understood that violence if futile. Israel has done everything it can - pulled out of Gaza, offered negotiations only to receive more hate, terrorism and violence in return. Wake up Ireland, you have to see beyond the rhetoric of the extreme leftist cause-seekers and pro-Arab propagandists.

Magnus I respect your ability to view this conflict anyway you choose to. You and many Irish perceive this conflict to be a similar 1 that you have fought for years. However just your fight has been with the British, the "Palestinian" cause is the direct opposite. It is unjust.

Magnus This talk-back can not possibly match the eloquence of other talk-backs made to your's. However, let me 1st state that the American War of Independence was NOT A WAR FOUGHT WITH TERRORIST METHODS!!! You and your colleagues love to use that phrase. It is so untrue that your arguement about Israel is immediately suspect. Did the American revolutionary forces commit murderous acts against civilians? NO. THEY DIDN'T. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN IRELAND MUST REALLY BE HURTING IF YOU ARE PART OF IT. I FEEL SORRY FOR YOUR MISINFORMED STUDENTS. Why don't you educate yourself and stop looking at this conflict with "Palestinian" colored glasses?

are an outright blatant vile anti semite. If you have the guts to admit it I would respect you for that, but instead you post here words of hatred, state as facts things which are simply historically incorrect and in general show a complete bias and on top of that total ignorance. I do not intend to give you a long lecture except to say that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people just as Ireland belongs to the Irish people and this is by way of history and also more recently by international convention. The squalor and poverty that the so called Palestinians live in, the fact that they are bombed and killed and their homes are devastated and they have no means to exist other than hand outs is entirely their own fault. In 1967, for your information, the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies amassed on our borders with the express and stated intention of annihilation, just what were we supposed to do, invite in for afternoon tea ? At that time the so called West Bank was under Jordanian control but not sovereignty as it was disputed since the armistice agreements of 1948. Israel did not attack and capture territory of an independent and sovereign state but rather out of no choice took control of this territory which Jordan subsequently gave up. The Palestinians do not want compromise, Israel does. I am an old man and an veteran of many wars, I know the Arabs all my life. Let me tell you this, If the Arabs ever get their way with Israel the ensuing slaughter will make the holocaust look like a Sunday school picnic and let me tell you something else, Israel is at the vanguard, fighting for your freedom as well because once they have done away with Israel they will come for you and everybody else. there is no rhetoric in their words,. it is all very genuine and set deep within their bones. Wake up, educate yourself, understand the facts and stop being so blinded to the facts staring you in the face. You do not know with whom you are dealing. A thought for bedtime. Israel and the Jews have been contributing to mankind for years, far in excess of their proportionate numbers. Jews do not ask or wish that anybody join their religion, Arabs have lived by the sword and continue to do so. Live with Islam or die by the sword is one of the basic tenets of Islam.

THE EUROPEANS DO NOT HAVE THE COURAGE TO ADDRESS THE arabs. THEY ARE AFRAID. THEIR LANDS WILL BECOME islamist DIRECTED. GOOD LUCK ! MOSHE

Mary Robinson, former president of the Republic of Ireland, was not so long ago the head of the appallingly antisemitic and totally discredited United Nations Human Rights Commission. Robinson was a prime exponent of the view that Jews have no human rights and her statements with regard to Israel and the Palestinians consistently ignored the background of Palestinian terrorism. I will never forget one occasion when she purported to criticise a suicide bombing in Israel. Robinson said that such bombings were undesirable not because Israelis were murdered - she ignored this aspect completely - but because they were not in the interest of the Palestinians. So in response to Magnus's comment "it has nothing to do with anti-semitism", in fact it has everything to do with it.

You rant about the poor palestinians, and it not having to do with anti-semitism is laughable. Sure many patriots were branded terrorist by King George, but we did not rape, or murder the innocent as the Britts did to us during the American war for Independence. And should an Israeli helicoptor gunships fire on bomb making factory then good for them. The world we see may be in color. But, in war there is only black and white.

Surely sir you must know by reading these talkbacks that dropping bombs -indiscriminate but "smart" -causes death. It is however, the fault of the civilians-children included- for not getting out of the way. Shouting at a representative of such forces and banging on his car regretably, are acts of savages and terrorists. All of Ireland and the Irish people must forthwith be collectively judged Trying to invoke the name of a noble woman will just inspire the diclaimer of antisemite. Your efforts at enlightening aside ths is the dynamic. When it comes to people who are addicted to a dogmatic form of fear and ignorance...a thousand enemies are not enough and one is too many. Did you remark the delusion that Gaza is somehow autonomous? Imagine in this day and age that the Israeli military moves in and out of Gaza at liberty and yet denies its citizens a voice in the Knesset. In closing I would like to tell Arabian Wolf that banging and jumping on a car are not manifestations of free speech. Of frustration and wrath, yes.

The future of all of Europe, IRELAND and other countries? www.telegraph.co.uk Muslims are waging civil war against us, claims police union By David Rennie, Europe Correspondent (Filed: 05/10/2006) Radical Muslims in France's housing estates are waging an undeclared "intifada" against the police, with violent clashes injuring an average of 14 officers each day. As the interior ministry said that nearly 2,500 officers had been wounded this year, a police union declared that its members were "in a state of civil war" with Muslims in the most depressed "banlieue" estates which are heavily populated by unemployed youths of north African origin. It said the situation was so grave that it had asked the government to provide police with armoured cars to protect officers in the estates, which are becoming no-go zones. The number of attacks has risen by a third in two years... Instead, officers – especially those patrolling in pairs or small groups – faced attacks as soon as they tried to arrest locals... He said yesterday: "We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists. This is not a question of urban violence any more, it is an intifada, with stones and Molotov cocktails. You no longer see two or three youths confronting police, you see whole tower blocks emptying into the streets to set their 'comrades' free when they are arrested." He added: "We need armoured vehicles and water cannon. They are the only things that can disperse crowds of hundreds of people who are trying to kill police and burn their vehicles."... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/05/wmuslims05.xml

when the poor, oppressed Muslims in Canada commit their first atrocity in the name of Islam on your own turf. Your comments still do not convince me as to why protesters have to resort to violence and intimidation to make their point, and you must realize that there is really no defense for that. The Americans allowed the hated Ahmadinejad speak when he visited the UN. Why can't the Irish protestors allow the Israeli ambassador to speak without fearing for his life? In addition, this "dogmatic form of fear and ignorance" that you claim the Jews are afflicted with are based upon a HISTORY---NOT A RUMOR---of persecution from the beginnings of Christianity to the present. Just as I would never presume to tell an African American person that he or she has no right to fear white racism because his or her ancestors were oppressed and enslaved, so YOU have no right to presume that Jews, who experienced the Inquistion, repeated exiles, and the Holocaust should not have fear and anxiety about the devious intentions of their enemies. I find that your feeble attempts to shroud your prejudice in the aura of a righteous cause very transparent indeed, and your total lack of empathy for any people other than the ones whose cause you celebrate shows everyone how obtuse and ass-backwards your remarks really are.

The Irish are a very confused lot to begin with,so it's no wonder that they go on these idiotic sprees. And describing Mary Robinson as the most educated and noble woman on this planet,just shows that the Irish have extremely low standards.

The Knesset is the Israeli parliament - Gazans are not Israeli, they have their own parliament in Gaza. The fact that their parliament chooses to wage a terror war on Israel is why IDF strikes back. Ergo, no terror, no retaliation. They had their fair chance, an blew it. Who and why started the Lebanon war with its dire consequences: As to who started the Lebanon war: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/07/AR2006100701054.html well, sir, keep yourself well-informed at all times.

I'm tired,I'm belligerent,I'm depressed. I am Irish.

http://thereligionofpeace.com/

Mega millions of gentle, peaceful Hindus were murdered without mercy during the Indian Holocaust. The contemporary French writer François Gautier has said, "The massacres perpetuated by Muslims in India are unparalleled in history, bigger than the Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis; or the massacre of the Armenians by the Turks; more extensive even than the slaughter of the South American native populations by the invading Spanish and Portuguese." Bible, Genesis 4:10 And G-D said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground." http://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/holocaust.htm A member of the Hindu Conference of Canada, states: "On the rare occasion that anyone brings it up, (the Holocaust perpetrated on Hindus by Islam) he is accused of being racist and 'anti Islamic'. It's funny that blacks are (rightly) allowed and encouraged to speak of slavery against them, and they are not accused of being 'anti white racists'. Jewish people speak of the Holocaust, yet they are not accused of being racist against Germans. We, on the other hand, are silenced and not permitted to publicize the genocide that we are subjected to. We are the only group on the planet that is prohibited from discussing our own history. All history texts, in every classroom, gloss over the Islamic invasion and hide the facts because they may be inconvenient to Muslims."

Firstly Yo: So you are not convinced by my comments why protesters have to resort to violence ? Perhaps because I never attempted to make any such justification ! My only direct reference towards the demonstration was to admonish Arabian Wolf for pretending that violent outbursts are defensible under the guise of free speech. You went on at length as to why the Jews have cause for fear. What...because my name isn't Saul I 'm not permitted (if I read you correctly) to share your obtuse thoughts. You have no idea which side I'm on because - unlike you- I don't suffer from such fear and loathing to motivate picking sides. If you think you know me and would accuse me of transparently trying to hide my prejudices I am not surprised. Like so many on these talkbacks you cannot hide your disrespect for the Goyim. To avoid dealing with that you need to see me as part of "them" Thank you for the erudite example of the point I was trying to make. Regarding #48 : my point was that if Israel, through police and military force acts with sovereignty in Gaza then as a democratic nation it should provide the citizens of Gaza with representation in the Knesset. Or do you hold that they should be denied because of religion or ethnicity ?

Does the US Congress, Sentate, etc provide representation for Mexicans, Danes or Japanese? No. Why? They are not US citizens. Israeli Arabs are fairly represented in the Knesset. Palestinians are not Israeli Arabs, are not citizens of the State of Israel. There was talk of annexation, but they started the Intifadas, as they do not want to be part of Israel, rather REPLACE Israel with a Palestinian State where there would be no more Jews. However, Palestinians have their own state institutions. So your point is beside the point, if you don't mind my saying so.

...can you? The U.S. does not allow representation for the Danes Japanese nor Mexicans????? No, but their armies do not go into Denmark, Japan and Mexico at will and behave as the sovereign force. If you want to contest that they have autonomy then what are Israeli forces doing on foreign land ? Your anti-goyism is a little too transparent.

I am posting as israeli, not jewish, mind you. How do you know I am not druze of christian? Well, if I am not serious, than neither are you, because IDF is only waging an anti-terror war against Gaza, whence daily qassam barrages are launched into Israel. Hamas has vowed to destroy the Zionist entity and are arming themselves to the teeth. Have you never heard of self defense? Well, then you better hear about it. We are no longer taking it sitting down, we are fighting back. It is you, sir, who are either anti-semitic or anti-zionist, just by your rhetoric. By the way, you are a Canadian? You are illegally occupying native American territory. Those native American tribes have been nearly driven into extinction and almost all traces of their former civilization removed. You keep them in reservations. Talk about the speck and the plank! By the way, no Iraqi or Afghani representation in the US or UK parliaments. Nor was there any Yugoslav representation in NATO countries who were trying to settle the conflict that was too bloody and close to Europe for comfort. Any Canadian troops overseas? Are those countries represented in your parliament?

sorry, my previous post (#56) was obviously meant in response to #55, not #54.

"You have no idea which side I'm on because - unlike you- I don't suffer from such fear and loathing to motivate picking sides." You don't suffer from fear and loathing because you, as a "Goyim" ---(you said it, I didn't. I didn't know what you were until you enlightened me.)--- are not part of a group of people who have suffered from chronic and historic persecution. A person does not have to be named Saul to have a little bit of tolerence for the opinion of someone who is named Saul. You might be able to share my "obtuse thoughts" if you had a modicum of empathy. Many Christians I know have this empathy and show it by refraining from throwing their political inclinations in my face. If you are part of "them," then thankfully you are not the "them" like my friends and family with whom I am fortunate enough to associate myself. It is clear to me now that your previous talkback shows that you ARE taking sides. Your rebuttal was a completely disingenuous defense of your comments, proving once again the transparency of your intentions.

In which Arab countries is freedom of speech respected ??? Don't preach Israel about freedom, Israel knows enough about it. Preach it to the Arabs.

G-d Bless you and keep you.