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Yours,
IOL Editor
Answer
.
Name
Bahia
- United Kingdom
Profession
Personal Assistant
Question
As an Arab, the US and European Union statements came as no surprise but more than ever, these latest events show us how much of a free hand Israel is allowed by the rest of the world, including, sadly, our own leaders - I fail to see what Israel expects to achieve with this massacre - peace ? This has never seemed so distant as now, but can you be truly at peace with yourselves knowing you are throwing bombs on a defenseless people ?
Answer
I think you have it backward, Bahia. Israel evacuated Gaza entirely in 2005. Since then, Gazans--led by Hamas--have fired 4,000 rockets into Israel, aimed only at noncombatants. Israel is doing nothing but defending itself. Yes, the Gazans are defenseless, but not against Israel. They are defenseless against Hamas.
Name
Ziadh
- Sri Lanka
Profession
Student
Question
Dear Professor,
I have some basic and naive but serious questions in mind to ask.I simply do not understand why US always takes the side of Israel. I don't find any economic benefit for US out of this support. Further, Hamas was elected by so called democratic process for which the US is campaigning all over the world. Then, why US is supposed to oppose and punish those people. Also, in which ground, US is forcing Palestinians to accept and recognize Israel as most of the Israelis are not born there. I feel the creation of Israel as I was thrown out of my own house by a group of people and the others are forcing me to accept it as the house of the group. I hope Palestinians may have the same feeling. Why US could not look at this problem in this way. Sorry for the long Question. But, I hope your answer would shed more light to me to understand the US stance. Thank You
Answer
Thanks for your question, Ziadh. Americans support Israel simply because they believe Israel is morally right. All Israel wants to do is to live. But Hamas wants to destroy it. It is not true that most Israelis were born elsewhere. Quite the contrary. I think the facts you have about the founding of Israel come all from one side. If you read the version of the other side you might understand the US view better, even if you didn't agree with it.
Name
Shan
- India
Profession
Adm
Question
The war in Gaza will help the Anti American sentiment around. Why USA not thinking just manner?
Answer
Israel is fighting in self-defense. Most Americans think Israel is justified. Americans are inclined to support what they think is right, even if it is not popular. I'm sure that Indians are the same.
Name
Frank
- United States
Profession
Question
Mr. Joshua,
Israel used to kill civilians before Hamas, During Hamas and before any armed resistance inside Gaza, even before rockets were invented By Hamas.
Now it is really naive to think that Israel is up there bombing Gaza because of kitchen made rockets. This is just not true, would you please be more clear-visioned and give some more depth about the reasons why Israel is doing this?
Thanks a lot
Answer
Frank,
Hamsa and other Palestinian terrorists almost always target noncombatants.
Israel, to my knowledge, never targets noncombatants.
We all know the name Deir Yassein. Why? Because it remains, after 60 years, the one case people can think of in which Israelis did target noncombatants.
As for "kitchen made rockets, (which are actually made in factories)" yes they are not very accurate (but they have killed a number of Israelis and landed in schools, nurseries, and pizza parlors.
Do you think that Israelis don't really mind have ten or a hundred rockets land around them every day? Do you mean it wouldn't bother you if they were landing in your town?
Name
Col. Mohammad Fiqh
- Pakistan
Profession
Military K.P. (ret.)
Question
Do the Palestinians have any intelligent military commanders? From my perspective, they merely enjoy marching in parades with masques covering their faces and playing soldier.
Answer
Col. Fiqh. We don't know the answer to that question. They have been training hard in Gaza and receiving some military assistance from Iran. If Israeli forces enter on the ground, then we will see.
But whether they do or not, but from my perspective the far more important question is do they have any effective political leaders who can tell their people: "Let's give up the dream of driving the Jews into the sea and make peace and build a country for ourselves."
Name
Frank's Mommy
- United States
Profession
Question
Pay no mind to my son. He has the common sense of a strand of string, if you know what I mean.
Answer
Most mothers think that about their sons. At least at a certain stage in their development.
Name
Muslimah Singaporean
- Singapore
Profession
Question
What is the meaning of proportional response? Does it mean that Israel should build and launch home made rockets willy nilly into Gaza? Would not this increase civilian casualties? Is this what the UN wants?
Answer
This is a good question, Muslimah. The concept of "proportionality" comes from Just War doctrine. It is often misunderstood. It does NOT mean that if you shoot 10 bullets at me, then I can shoot 10 at you. An act of self-defense does not have to be proportionate to the original aggression. Rather, it has to be proportionate to the goal (assuming that the goal is just to begin with). When the US defeated Japan, we killed far more Japanese than had been killed at Pearl Harbor when Japan attacked us. But defeating Japan was legitimate because it attacked us. And sending a big force across the Pacific to do so was proportionate to that goal.
HOWEVER, there are very big doubts that dropping atomic bombs on 2 Japanese cities was just on our part because that may have been beyond what we needed to do to defeat Japan and therefore not proportionate to our goal.
Name
Tallulah Bankhead
-
Profession
Question
Do Americans harbour any delusion that the Palestinians will ever come to their senses and sue for peace?
Answer
I don't think the Palestinians will "sue for peace," meaning to surrender and accept Israel's terms. Nor do I think they need to.
I think what is needed is for Palestinians to say yes to compromise, for the two peoples to share the land, to accept the existence of Israel, and to build their own state. Many palestinians in fact do have this view. But, alas, Hamas does not.
Name
Ehaab
- Lebanon
Profession
Question
What Israel is doing will simply backfire. Israel has been offered a peace initiative and she refused it.
Fine, Arabs are dominated by Israel, they are been butchered and humiliated. It's all fine. Israel needs to know something and that is one day, one time...after 100 years ...after 200 years or 1000 years.. they shall be annihilated. I don;t want this to happen but history foretells this.
Now leave that alone and tell me what you think of the Arab peace initiative and how Israel responded?
Answer
Ehaab, as long as many Arabs say Israel shall eventually be annihilated, it is hard to see how you can complain that Israel is resisting your peace initiatives.
I think the Arab peace initiative is very important and valuable, and I wish that Israel and the US had made more of it.
However, there was a crucial flaw. It was offered on a 'take it or leave it' basis. Specifically, negotiations were refused. And there were things in it that Israel could not accept, e.g., "the right of return."
The Arab peace initiative is wonderful as a basis from which to start negotiations. But it cannot be the end of negotiations. It doesn't work for the Arabs to say, "Accept all of our terms, and then we'll talk to you."
Name
Shitfaranwid
-
Profession
Question
What effect will President Elect Obama play on the Palestinian question?
Answer
I do not expect any significant change in US policies, although there will be a special negotiator appointed as there was in the Clinton administration--maybe even the same person, Dennis Ross. In my guess, this is a better way to work than having the Secretary of State conduct negotiations herself.
Name
Harry Balz
- Costa Rica
Profession
Question
Arabs continually gripe about America not being more even handed. When will Egypt become more even handed? Why is Egypt quietly supporting Israel?
Answer
I don't know if Egypt is supporting Israel, but it is pretty angry at Hamas, which defied all Egyptian mediating efforts both with Israel and with Fatah and also killed an Egyptian border guard this week and wounded another.
Name
abdülkadir sökücü
- Turkey
Profession
civil engineer
Question
Would Trukey be a successful mediator between Hamas and Israel to achieve an end to these attacks?
Answer
I doubt it. Turkey has been effective as a mediator between Israel and Syria. But there is no sign that Hamas wants peace, so there is nothing to mediate.
Name
a muslim
-
Profession
Question
Dear Sir,
Do you believe all problems in the world can solve without proper justice . Why hamas is sending small rockets (which kills 2 or 3)to isreal . Isreal has been violating all international resloutions . Even in UN most of resolutions are cancelled by veto by two countries , US and Isreal .Did you read all happenings in UN for 60 years . Do you agree ? Is this justice ? Even did you check about palestain borders for 60 years and rights of palestains ? Is this justice ? Do you think peace can make by braking peace? Why hamas is existing there , because of injustice of palestain borders and palestain rights .US is giving hamas as terrorrist seal . Ok . What do you call those who make airstrikes against innocent children and women and kill 350 people for 3 to 4 ? Do you know how many kids and women died and wonded . Do you think peace can achieve without justice ...
Answer
I think your view is very one-sided and does not involve any effort to be objective.
There are 22 members of the Arab League and 57 members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. There is only 1 Israel. Thus the Arab and Muslim states have pushed through hundreds of UN resolutions condemning Israel. There is no "justice" in any of this, just a mechanical majority.
Israel tries hard to avoid hitting noncombatants, but Hamas hides among them. That is a war crime by Hamas.
In addition, it is Hamas--and not Israel--that deliberately targets noncombatants.
Name
sali
- Afghanistan
Profession
business
Question
Have u ever looked back on the historical evidence on the mental strength of muslims? Why r u wasting ur time and energy? Dont u see More fighters and more support for Palestine as couter-poductive?
Answer
I don't know if Israel's actions will result in more fighters and support for the Palestinians. But Israel has little choice except to try to stop the rockets raining into its country. Any country would do the same.
Name
Hilary Toadstool
- New Zealand (Aotearoa)
Profession
Lecturer on Female Anatomy
Question
Was the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza a tactical mistake and who was the dummy who was responsible?
Answer
Sharon was responsible, and it seems that it was a mistake, although I was all for it.
Name
Terry
- United States
Profession
Question
Ok, I see your response to Frank, and I agree with it. But the problem is this: Israel uses toooo much force and as you can see from the news they bombed Mosques and Hospitals. That's all noncombatants' places. Militants are hidden, Israel can't find them.
Again their previous truce required that Hamas stop rocketing Israel and that Israel open crossings and lift its siege on Gaza. Everyone knows Israel didn't abide by the truce. Then why blame Hamas for not stopping rockets. I honestly think they should stop these damn rockets because they don't kill enough armed settlers until they come with some good stuff.
Answer
No, Terry. The mosques and hospitals are places used by the combatants as military bases and sometimes launching pads. The fault--and the war crime--in this lies entirely with Hamas.
The closing of crossings was all in response to attacks from Gaza against Israel and sometimes even attacks on the crossings themselves.
The bottom line is that when Israel withdrew from Gaza it hoped that the Palestinians would build the beginnings of a successful state. It left behind intact agricultural facilities for the Palestinians to use and it agreed reluctantly to the Palestinian demand to relinquish control of the border with Egypt. Since then, thanks to Hamas, the Gazans have done little to build a country and instead have used their territory as a base in an endless war to annihilate Israel.
You say something ugly and vicious about "settlers," but all the settlers left Gaza four years ago. Or do you consider all Israelis to be "settlers?"
Name
Suda
- Germany
Profession
Question
Dear Mr. Joshua,
I am a Jew and I think the Israeli Arab problem is the easiest to solve in the world, but the US made it very complicated.
Israel needs to get out of Muslim lands (at least to 67 borders) and I have no doubt there will be peace. Our Zionists dream of an Empire..unfortunately it is the wrong place with the wrong people to try to realize that.
Do you think the occupation has to end for peace to take place?
Thanks
Answer
You "have no doubt." That is very lovely. However, Israel had no peace before 1967.
Name
faznab
- United Kingdom
Profession
teacher
Question
Do you believe Israel and allies did ever or will ever succeed in psychologically weakening the Muslims in Palestine and around the world- not the temperately surviving current rulers by some technologically advanced military exercises in order to eliminate the fear amongst occupying Israeli citizens?
Answer
I hope that someday the Palestinians will be willing to compromise and live in peace. I know from many conversations in the region that many Palestinians and other Arabs are indeed ready for this.
Of course, there are others, like Hamas, and apparently like you, who want to fight and kill and die forever.
For what?
Name
Spilkus
- Estonia
Profession
Pantsmaker
Question
What ever drove you to participating in this forum madhouse?
Answer
I think IOL does a wonderful job of offering many different opinions, and I am always glad to participate.
One of my problems with some of the Arab and Muslim interlocutors is that they seem to have gotten all of their information (sometimes erroneous) from biased sources. I thank IOL for giving me the opportunity to let them hear a contrary voice.
Name
Jehosephat
-
Profession
Jumper
Question
If Israel reoccupies Gaza later this week, can America expect Hamas to disappear?
Answer
No, Hamas will not disappear, and Israel has said that it will not reoccupy although it may carry out a ground operation.
To all readers: I've been at it here for an hour and a half, and I'm worn out. Thanks for (most of) your questions, and thanks to IOL.
Name
Editor
-
Profession
Question
The session has ended. We would like to thank Prof. Joshua Muravchik for taking the time to answer your questions, and all those who participated in the dialogue.We apologize that we were unable to answer all your questions.
