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See the positive

Reader comment on item: SaveIsraelsChildren.com

Submitted by Archimedes2 (Canada), Apr 7, 2008 at 12:30

Perhaps it is that I'm not Jewish but I see this as a positive development; yes, as an indictment of the failure of our governments it says something, but I think it is very smart to bring out these children, and not just because a bomb might land on their houses (which, in itself is a pretty good reason): It is because these kids become living testimony to the west of the nature of the situation in Palestine/Israel. \

There is an unreality in the way the conflict is being understood here, with too many pet political theories getting in the way of the grim truth. There's nothing like vulnerable children to underscore the evils of a totalitarian and bloodthirsty regime. I would go further. I wonder if some of these same homes would open their doors to young Palestinian (Gazan, that is) children caught in the conflict. If they did it would speak volumes on several fronts.

First, it would highlight the humanitarian nature of those who sympathize with the plight of Israel. Zionists have an undeserved bad image, due to careful spin-meistering by the anti-Israel crowd. How will they spin protecting your enemy's children? Second, it would give these kids a dose of reality: the Jews don't hate you. It would give a number of potential future jihadists a taste of the humanity of the enemy they are being trained to destroy. Could it be that their enemy is easier to love than those who would ask them to sell their lives to kill? It would also give them exposure to more universalistic values in the west, to compete with the effluent they are being served in Palestine.

Finally, it would take the steam out of the crazy fabrications about Israelis targetting Palestinian children that unfortunately have gained such currency in our media and social advocacy circles. I realise that this extra step would ask A LOT of such folk. My experience with Jews in the West, however, indicates that most have a very broad understanding of the way today's actions bear fruit tomorrow, and most have a genuine concern for others beyond the welfare of their own people.

This is one of the great assets of the diaspora, and if it can be harnessed to make a difference where it actually has a chance to have a lasting impact (unlike, say, building greenhouses or hospitals for Palestinians, which just get knocked down and desecrated, or giving them weapons for law enforcement, which later just get turned on innocent Jews).

Submitting....

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Reader comments (22) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Israel, This is a National Disgrace. [149 words]maura collinsApr 23, 2008 21:27126642
Sderot---suicide on the installment plan [136 words]Alaska PaulApr 16, 2008 23:21125883
It's a pity that Olmert is setting the stage for Holocaust II [70 words]M.D'SouzaApr 16, 2008 12:28125843
Double Truth [30 words]Francesco MangasciàApr 15, 2008 11:05125716
Wrongly directed criticism [297 words]Ron ThompsonApr 15, 2008 10:59125714
S'derot Rockets [14 words]Jean FriedbergApr 15, 2008 10:58125713
1000 years of Arab nothing [46 words]mickey spiegelApr 9, 2008 23:15125235
Shame Shame! [42 words]Na'ama NolonApr 8, 2008 08:58125051
Shame on Israelis and North American Jews [158 words]James BurkeApr 12, 2008 06:43125051
See the positive [422 words]Archimedes2Apr 7, 2008 12:30124935
Saving the Palestinian Children [66 words]Rochelle MichaelsApr 7, 2008 20:44124935
Good examples! [178 words]Archimedes2Apr 8, 2008 18:23124935
Saving the Palestinian Children [21 words]Rochelle MichaelsApr 12, 2008 16:02124935
Hope in the children [215 words]Archimedes2Apr 12, 2008 21:59124935
"...the moral and operational bankruptcy of the Olmert government in Israel" -- Dr. Daniel Pipes [103 words]Rochelle MichaelsApr 6, 2008 16:24124858
Who said it? [299 words]Ron ThompsonApr 16, 2008 10:55124858
Peace can only be achieved when Israel negotiates with an enemy that has lost the war. [35 words]Rochelle MichaelsMay 3, 2008 22:02124858
Nice Plan [52 words]GennadiyApr 6, 2008 01:00124801
This Makes No Sense . . . [75 words]ploniApr 6, 2008 00:07124797
Indeed it is a marvelous idea. [33 words]YnnatchkahApr 5, 2008 20:28124785
More to the point... [64 words]Abram GreenbergApr 5, 2008 18:24124774
Fruits of Modern Jewish Liberalism: Jew-icide [77 words]James BurkeApr 5, 2008 18:15124773

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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".

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