Reply #48: It is interesting to see how your opinions have evolved regarding Israelis and Jews

[oberliner]

When you first started posting here it seemed like you went out of your way to distinguish between Israelis and Jews but that seems to have gradually ceased to be the case. Perhaps it is connected to your embrace of the opinions of people like Philip Weiss whose blog you've frequently recommended.

Your subject line talks about the settling of Jewish people in WB in Gaza but there is no settling of Jewish people in Gaza going on and all of the Jewish people who did settle in Gaza have been forcibly removed from Gaza by Israel and now there are no Jewish people in Gaza so I am not sure why you included Gaza in that statement.

As for the West Bank, there are people who believe it is important for Jews to live in those areas since those people believe that those lands figure prominently into the Biblical history of the Jewish people.

I am completely against these settlements and have stated repeatedly that I believe they should be removed just as the Gaza settlements were removed. Alternatively, some of them can be exchanged for land within Israel if the Palestinian and Israeli leadership were to agree to such an arrangement.

You have made it clear that you are not comfortable with the existence of a Jewish state. Based on your statements it does not appear that you would be happy with any sort of peace agreement that results in such a state continuing to exist. It appears that you wish to see such a state "vanish from the pages of time" so to speak.

Certainly you are entitled to hold this opinion (and correct me if I am wrong in my assessment), however, this puts you at odds with those of do not wish to see Israel eliminated as a country - this would include President Obama, every Democrat in Congress, and pretty much everyone associated with the Democratic Party in any way, including myself.

If you want to work towards bringing an end to the occupation and an end to the settlements, and to reaching a real and lasting peace between Israel and a newly created, viable Palestinian state along the lines of the Geneva Accords then I would be proud to be your ally in that struggle.

If your goal is the elimination of the Jewish state then I would have to oppose your efforts.