Taking My Own Advice

I read and commented on a post by Steven Hart at The Opinion Mill which was about, among other things, how difficult it is to have a dialogue in this country about Israel's response right now to the Hamas rocket fire. It's not a situation which simply started within the last few days, and I think that a response which ignores that fact is neither useful nor wise. And by something that is "useful" and "wise" I mean, "Which will secure a peaceful future for Israel and her people." It's difficult to be heard among the shouting, to say that an argument for peace is an argument for Israel, but that's just the way it is. Some peace-loving folks in my little corner of New Jersey work with Americans for Peace Now to keep trying, though.

Mr. Hart is running a Palestinian flag on his post, as his gesture of protest. In my comment, I suggested that he run with the flags of Palestine and Israel side-by-side, because the only possible way that the cycle of violence will end is by having a majority of the Palestinians and Israelis accept the fact that the two nations have to exist side-by-side. Neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis can bomb their way to peace. Unfortunately, when some extremists with rockets can provoke the kind of response which we are seeing, the day of peaceful coexistence seems further away.

So, to take my own advice, this is my response:


[Flag image found courtesy of the Louisville Committee for Israeli/Palestinian States(Two States Committee).]