Reply #20: So which lens are you viewing events through?

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Saying: 'But from what I gather from your postings, your idea of holding Israel accountable is dismantling it.' isn't asking a question. It's making an accusation. You say I do the same, but yr going to have to give me links to where I make accusations rather than ask questions coz I don't recall doing that, much as it would give me a few seconds of self-righteous glee to do so on occassion...

I stand by what I said, and I'll expand on it. Only poor comprehension or a wilful desire to misrepresent Tom's stance could lead to anyone coming away from anything Tom has said with the conclusion that Tom wants to destroy Israel. It's along the same lines as my experience where a few rather strange souls have come away from reading what I have to say on the conflict with the conclusion that I'm anti-Semitic and a terrorist. And because those conclusions aren't based on anything but a mixture of creative reading and cherry-picking snippets of what I say out of context, I don't pay any heed to them, which is the advice I'd give to Wordie and Tom when that sort of thing happens to them :)

I'd feel more reassured about an assurance of not using any tactics if any of my questions had gained an answer. They haven't, so I'm on a safe bet...

And now for my suggestion - It's always much more constructive to stick to discussing the issues (in this case the arrest of Palestinian children) rather than concentrating on discussing what you decide fellow posters may or may not believe in general about the conflict. Once I climbed out of that trap a few years back, I find that my posts are less likely to be peppered with the word 'you', which is usually a dead giveaway that things are being personalised...

Violet...