"When despair trumps hope" ..... (Grandmother's lessons)

Columnist Ruth Rosen, in Monday's San Francisco Chronicle, again approaches the I/P conflict with reason and wisdom (snips and link below). She reminds me of my grandmother, a Holocaust survivor from Latvia. Grandmother was a spunky little woman, who, despite her experiences, never failed to speak out against injustice, and hate. If she were alive today, I know in my heart she would be appalled at the war-mongering, fascist, policies of Sharon and his Likud. She would speak out, in words I think, similar to Rosen's.

And while in my own life, I try to follow my Grandmother's example, and speak out against injustices whenever I see them, I too have felt the hot blast of hatred from those who disagree with the path to peace (witness, the brouhaha I suffered here at DU Sunday over my thread about Dems supporting Israel, and in the process, giving support to PNAC and Bush, and the powers behind their actions). Were the jackals of hatred and war were less blind, they would see they were becoming like those who, in the past, had persecuted them. I stand with people like Ruth Rosen, and my Grandmother, because they did not, and do not, fear jackals. The path to peace lies not with supporting fascist war-mongers, but those who seek a just, and equitable peace.

The article:

When despair trumps hope
by Ruth Rosen

<snip>
What kind of society praises the suicide of its young? What has happened to a people who willingly sacrifice young women, universal symbols of life, the promise of future generations? Such criminal acts and grotesque attitudes are the result of a society that has lost all hope and is driven by despair.
<snip>
The best way we can ensure the survival of Israel is to condemn Sharon's failure to freeze settlements and be prepared to withdraw U.S. political and financial support until Israel complies with Bush's road map to peace. The Israeli response to these events has been to escalate the conflict and bomb a purported terrorist training camp in Syria. Borrowing a page from the Bush Doctrine, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has decided that Israel, like the United States, has a right to attack pre-emptively any nation that might harbor terrorists.

<snip>

What will end this murderous cycle of terrorism and revenge? Unfortunately, neither Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat nor Sharon appears willing to create a lasting peace. Nor is the United States a neutral peace broker in the Middle East. In fact, the United States bears great moral responsibility for the crimes against humanity that both sides have committed. Why? Because Bush's so-called "road map" to peace is a farce. The president claims to have a vision of a two-state solution, but at every turn, he has failed to condemn Sharon's expansion of new settlements, the bombing in Syria, the targeted assassinations of suspected terrorists, the bombing of Palestinian homes, the bulldozing of their communities, or the construction of a wall.

<snip>

I realize these views will elicit accusations of anti-Semitism or Jewish self-hatred. The truth is, in my case, I know a great deal about anti-Semitism. The Nazis killed most of my families' relatives; I spent a lonely childhood because anti-Semitic parents forbade their children to play with a Jewish child. I also know the difference between opposing Israeli state policy and anti- Semitism. Nevertheless, I worry about how easily worldwide condemnation of Israeli policies could morph into virulent anti-Semitism.

Much more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/10/13/EDGVL29CIE1.DTL

Great article!

It is so difficult to respond because it is such an emotionally charged issue. Both sides continue the violence. IMO it is time to realize that more of the same is going to bring more of the same. Someone, not us, needs to intervene. It is apparent that neither side at this point is working for peace. I think it would help greatly if the US backed off, stopped their support until some kind of summit was convened with good brokers from both sides. Terrorists will never be controlled by either side until the people begin to feel that there is improvement in their situation, there is some hope for them. As long as they feel so desperate and angry no one will be able to control them. It is a sad reality. Would we act any differently?