BOOTY FROM GAGE'S DOCUMENT ALLEY
A Note from Mr. Gage
There's nothing more infuriating than dealing with all the Zionist and anti-Arab propaganda that routinely is presented here in the American media. Part of the problem is Christians generally consider Judaism their natural wellspring and closest kin, while Jews consider Christians deluded and a general nuissance. As an atheist, it's easy for me to dismiss the rantings of any Christians, Jews or Muslims as simply the product of superstitious drivel. However, when you examine who owns so much American media (particularly in Hollywood), spotting a connection to anti-Arab bias doesn't require the observations of a Sherlock Holmes. Tomis Kapitan provides some balance here using insights derived from philosophy in war. For more info on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, click here.
-- Ken Gage, 10 February 2002
(Reprinted from the TO THE EDITOR section of The Midweek, De Kalb, IL., December 12, 2001.)
One would expect that those who claim to know something about history would make a greater effort to acquaint themselves with the relevant facts before going public. Unfortunately, this is not the case with recent letter writers Robert and Patricia Brown (The MidWeek, Nov. 28).
Let me correct some of their misconceptions.
First, there have been four major wars between Israel and Arab nations, rather than three as the Browns claim. Further their statement that these wars "were all begun by Arab nations" is nonsense.
It is well-known that the wars of 1956 and 1967 were initiated by Israeli air and land assaults, and only the October 1973 war was clearly started by Arab nations -- and that war was waged on Arab territory occupied by Israel.
In the war of 1947-49, fighting began immediately between Jews and Palestinians living under British rule after the U.N. recommended a partition of Palestine. The Arab nations joined the fighting in May 1948, only after Jewish forces seized control of territory in excess of that which the U.N. had allotted to the Jewish state, and only after about 750,000 Palestinian Arabs had either been driven from their homes by Jewish forces or had fled in fear of Jewish terrorism.
A fifth war occurred in Lebanon in 1982 between Israel and the PLO, and once again, it was Israel that broke a ceasefire agreement by invading Lebanon and killing about 18,000 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians.
Second, in talking about the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, it is wholly unhelpful to argue about which side is "responding" to attacks by the other, since both sides can legitimately make this claim.
The undeniable fact remains that Israel has maintained an iron-fisted military occupation over the West Bank and Gaza for the past 34 years, during which they have confiscated Palestinian land and established Israeli settlements in defiance of both international law and U.N. resolutions.
We should not be surprised if some have resisted this occupation by resorting to force. I suspect that most of us here in DeKalb County would do the same if we were occupied by a foreign country that confiscates our land for its own civilians, then destroys our homes and shoots our children when we protest. Why should we expect anything different from the Palestinians?
We might lament the means that some Palestinians have chosen to use, but then they don't have American-supplied attack helicopters and fighter jets.
Third, the claim by the Browns that "the Palestinians" don't want peace with Israel is belied by the very fact that the vast majority of Palestinians have supported the PLO's decision to recognize the state of Israel and are willing to live alongside Israel in their own state.
A minority of Palestinians reject this approach, and their numbers would dwindle dramatically were a Palestinian state created.
But the current Israeli government under Ariel Sharon, in its quest to hold onto Palestinian territory and expand Israeli settlements, is doing its utmost to drive all Palestinians into the radicals' camp and thereby undermine U.S. efforts to achieve a meaningful peace.
Finally, in response to the Browns' call to eliminate more human beings, I would suggest that we are laboring under an illusion if we think bombs will put a halt to Middle Eastern terrorism. This has been the Israeli strategy for the past four decades and it has failed dramatically.
Israel's terrorism has only spawned terrorism in response, and today, the life of the average Israeli is more insecure than ever.
As long as we don't address the root causes of terrorism, as long as we insist on turning a blind eye to the massive injustices that Palestinians and others in that region have been subjected to for the past 50 years, then we are only adding fuel to the fires of resentment from which terrorism springs.
Tomis Kapitan, DeKalb
