Road Maps depend on reality, not desire

Submitted by Victor Lipshutz (United States), Jul 8, 2003 at 15:13

No one wants to see peace in Israel more than I, as I have ties to close family there. But I don't think this present road map is realistic at all.

Having witnessed the violence inflicted by the enraged mobs and suicide bombers, and with so much blood shed on both sides, I am dubious that the hearts and minds of the Palestinians can be swayed from their desire to erase Israel, by mere words on a piece of paper.

Far too many of them have been deluded by the years of lies about Israel and Jews that they have been fed, to the point where so many of them gladly sacrifice their own lives for the "greater good" of Palestine. In their minds, it is not only not a crime to kill a Jew, but a great honor to die in the process.

It will take years of re-education to erase this hatred, which has been handed down from one generation to the next for thousands of years. Presently, any Palestinian who commits an act of violence against Jews is viewed as a hero, not a criminal. This thinking will have to be reversed. Terrorists will have to be pursued and imprisoned by Palestinians, not Israelis or Americans.

In America, this is the way it works, and it works because, by and large, the people support it. Exceptions, such as the support for Eric Rudolph, permit terrorists to continue to operate with impunity.

Until this intense hatred of all things Jewish, from Biblical gravesites to innocent children, has been replaced by understanding and tolerance, no peace will be maintainable without enormous force, cost and effort.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".