The reality of Israeli-Palestinian political relations
Reader comment on item: Rashid Khalidi's Appointment at Columbia University

Submitted by G. E. Wood (United States), Dec 10, 2003 at 11:48

There is no point in refusing to face the plain fact here: it has been obvious since 1948! The Palestinians simply will not accept the state of Israel in their midst. Why do otherwise rational people fail to see this? I suppose it's because they don't want to see it. And I don't think anyone now living will see the situation change. Look, I'm not saying it's good or bad, I'm just pointing out a simple fact of life. At no time in the history of the world have two different ethnic groups, also of different religions, ever lived in close proximity peacefully, for any length of time. The key word here being peacefully, meaning with an absence of unrest. Recall the Roman occupation of Palestine at the time of Christ -- the Romans were constantly on the lookout for any signs of uprising, and they responded very quickly and forcefully to any such that they saw. It's pretty much the same now.
One thing that might help -- I'm not sure-- is if the legitimacy of the state of Israel could be established, or at least worked on. I sense that this is a big stumbling block, in addition to the differences in ethnicity and religion. There is no use in mind-lessly continuing to paper it over. Bluntly stated, do the Israelis really have legal and moral right to the land? Or did they just move in -- like Adolf moved into Austria and Poland? I don't know; you tell me. They just seem pretty aggressive to me, without there being any particular justification for it. Am I talking sense, or not? RSVP.

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