Tuesday 11/18, Share Your Thoughts!
November 18, 2008 by markmiller
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is one of the most controversial conflicts in history. What are your thoughts regarding the conflict?
Begin with which side you favor and why.
Follow that w/a discussion of the barrier wall, suicide bombing, Israeli settlements, control of Jerusalem and anything else you want to comment on.
Respond to your classmates’ comments.
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I believe Palestinians are wrong because killing innocent people just makes the problem worse, and causes Israeli people to use armed forces as a punishment.
i believe that Palestinians have a reason for what they are doing. Israelies are taking their land and they don’t care about them
but wouldn’t you do something if you had some reandom person come up to you and say that they are bulldozing down you house and u have to leave or be killed.(from the movie)
Setting up a barrier wall to seperate Palestinians causes problems, which is ironic because the whole reason for the wall was to stop the bombing. However, it causes Palestinians to get furiated, and leads to killings.
I think that there are two sides to everything…you cant say that one side it right or wrong because they both are fighting for their own cause. Both are beliving that the other side is wrong because they have been brought up beliving what they have been told
Ryan, what do you think would be a reasonable way for the Israelis to respond to suicide bombings. They argue that the wall is the only way to protect themselves. They seem to be right. The number of suicide bombings has decreased as the wall has progressed.
I agree with Keely. The Israelis are taking over the Palestinian’s land and not even acknowledging that they are there.
I don’t think either side is justified in their violent reactions to the conflict. The UN shouldn’t have given the land to Israel unless Palestine agreed.
Brian, so what? All you did is summarize the issue. You didn’t provide a potential solution nor did you make a stand and take a side. What do YOU think about what is going on? It involves you… If we continue to be involved in wars abroad, stretching our military to its limit it may eventually effect you personally.
why havent they just thought about bombing the wall just to get to there crops (feilds)
I feel that Israel is correct in believing there should be one country. I feel that there should be some peace agreement in which they can live in harmony in one country. Even though it looks bleak, I believe through power and communication some agreement can be reached, even if neither side is happy.
i believe that it is wrong to kill innocent people. it just causes more problems in mhy opinion and doesn’t solve any problems.
but miller if the israelies just didn’t keep taking their land and forcing themselves on the palestien then the bombing wouldn’t happen. the just ned to settle on what land the want and negociate peace
Morgan, what now? The fact of the matter is the UN acted and now we have to deal w/it 50 years later. What do we do now? Who is right? Is the two state solution the way to go? A state for the Palestinians and a state for the Israelis?
The barrier wall is meant to keep the Palestinians out of Israel but its only causing more conflict like the suicide bombings and more arguments between the two countries.
Keely, I agree. But how do we negotiate peace when neither side will give an inch?
palestinians i think are right, there land has been taken away from them so of course there gonna fight back and there only weapons is sadly suicide bombing.
I think the barrier wall is a good thing as long as it works both ways. If it keeps Palestinians out of Israel then it should also keep Israelis out of Palestinian territory. It’s hypocritical of the Israelis to say that the Palestinians can’t come in and bomb them, when the Israelis go and bulldoze peoples homes which is almost as destructive.
The barrier wall is a stupid idea. It has no reason to be built. All it does is waste money, time, and resources, just to form a blockade that neither side likes, and will just be moved later. It’s like Washington building one to Idaho, where it is inlocations that are unwanted.
Cassi, what would you tell the Palestinians? What should they do? They have been driven into Gaza and the West Bank and now the Israelis are creating settlements in those areas as well. It’s their perspective that they are continuing to lose land even w/suicide bombing etc. how much would they lose w/o it?
I cant take a side, both sides are wrong and right at the same time…They are killing people that dont deserve to be killed…but they are fighting for you cause they both have different beliefs and you cant say someones belief is wrong because you dont believe the same thing as them…i dont know a solution there will alwayse be fighting and you cant do anything about it…you can try but when someone is told not to do something they have to do it even more then
What does the suicide bombings solve? All it does is kill innocent people and make the people that are already suffering in their own country have to suffer even more and live their lives everyday in fear. They should have the right to feel safe in their own country and not have to be afraid of a bomb going off outside of their house.
Israel and Palistine are both in the wrong. israel shouldn’t be forcing the palistinians out of their land and caging them and Palistines shouldn’t resort to something as needless as suicide bombings.
Brian, the US has definitely picked a side. Does this mean that you do not suppose US policy in the Middle East?
Mr Miller, this kind of relates to my barrier wall comment, I think two states are the best solution. Everyone was upset that Palestine wouldn’t agree to having seperate states, so Israel controls them anyways. So Israel should just put their foot down and say there are two states by finishing the barrier wall. Unfortunently, I think that since we have supported Israel so much they believe they can just have all the land and keep making their boundaries with the barrier wall larger.
i think that they should try reasoning with the israelis. i think that without suicide bombings, they’d lose nothing.,
i believe that neither side is right i believe that the country should be shared between the Palestinians and Israelis they should just split the country right down the middle and call it good
They are the most horiffic and terrible ideas I’ve ever heard. Suicides only raise the death count and lower the possibility to find an end. Why would anyone find honor out of seeing their friends die? They can call them martyrs or whatever, but they are still stupid.
Aubrey, make a statement… do you support the US policy of supporting Israel?
Shawn, what would you have the Palestinians do instead?
MILLER…the US has not taken a side…the Us government has taken a side, because that is how they feel about it but that is not all our choice that is their choice…if it was my decision the US should not have gotten involved because now that Israel relies on us we cant just pull out we have dug ourselves a HUGE ditch…sorry the US government has dug themselves a ditch
my thought is palestines are wrong because they kill innocent people and i think barrier wall is not a great idea because it just makes people angry and just waste of money.
Israel settlement only cause problems in Palistinian areas and raise overall tension. Obviously, the Israelis won’t move, but something must be done to ensure the safty of both groups?
The only way I could see the bariar wall working is if they used it to split the country down the middle and let each side rule its self
so the whole isuue of whose land is whose because of who was born there and who god gave the land is pointless now right? hasn’t this argument been going on long enough for even the jews who took over to be second or third generation? If that’s so then the land really does belong to oth the palistinians and israelis. Since both were born and raised there. if that’s so then shouldn’t we just figure out how they can live together instead of fighting over whose land is whose? maybe a boundrey isn’t as bad as it seems.
Brian, you pay the price… it has been our tax dollars and soon will be yours that is spent in support of Israel.
that is when we give them an option either settle this or we will take matters into our own hands. that is what i feel.
I belive that both sides have good reasoning for what they are doing. Its understandable to try and stop terrorism, and its also understandable to be upset about feeling imprisoned in your own country. But I believe if the jews dont want anything to do with the palestinians then they should give that land to them and let them govern it themselves, it would solve all the problems.
Miller. Palistinians should do non-violent protests and democratic action. They need to form some type of political group if they want progress.
Yeah i might pay it but i dont agree with it i dont need to take a side its not my battle to fight they need to grow up and take care of themselves and if the way they want to do that is kill each other you cant stop them
Personally, I agree w/the two state solution. I don’t think there will be substantial peace between the two sides w/o an official Palestinian state. Unfortunately, even this solution has its problems. The Palestinian territories are spread out across Israel. Secondly, Jerusalem will always be a sore spot even w/a two state solution.
our country is already experencing another depression we can’t afford to support israel
i agree w/ miller. but having the two state thing will really solve like almost all the problems. heck we are america and we still have pur problems no one is perfect
i dont see why their has to be death in the sollution to this conflict it could just be talked out in a diplomatic setting coulnt it? we are in the twentyfirst century
Shawn, you said that you believe Israel is right to want one country, but the thing is that both sides, the Israelis and the Palistinians, want a single country, but they cannot agree on what government would be in control. I think that in order to help solve these issues, it would be better if it was split into two countries.
Brian, you have to take a side… if you believe the US should stay out of it you are effectively supporting the Palestinians. Without American support/intervention, it’s only a matter of time before the Palestinians and their supporters overwhelm the Israelis.
I dont have to do anything…im not supporting the Palestinians you are twisting my words to make it sound like that but it is not true i didnt say the US needs to get out they just shouldnt have gotten involved its not our problem
I believe Jerusalem can easily be cohabited between the two groups. All over the world this occurs, they just need to grow a pair and be able to not kill eachother when they are worshiping their gods. They need to stop these petty games. What are we, two?
I can easily see where both sides are coming form, but i tend to lean more towards agreeing with palestein, even though some of them are going about solving their problems with suicide bombings, not all of them are extremists. they may be going about it the worng way but they have very good reasons for wanting to fight. they went from living in any part of the country freely to living in tiny sections of thei country. behind a wall, caged like animals.
Dominick, we are in the 21st century but we are dealing w/issues that go back to biblical times. Are we simplifying the issue to think that the two sides are going to sit down and just talk it out? Remember the article about the US brokering peace in the Middle East? US leaders have sponsored negotiation after negotiation and the conflict goes on.
What do you guys think of Kye’s statement? He seems to be one of the first to side w/the Palestinians…
the way that the israelis are occupying Palesinians teritory is messed up and it should stop the just need to leave eachother alone and let them rule them selves
Makenzie. I believe in a one country that they cohabitate. It is not that hard to just live together. We have tons of religions in America and we still get by. It’s all a bunch of stupid games.
i aree with kye people need to go to their jobs and the wall is making them inable to do so. the can’t make a living if this wall is blocking their way to feeding their family.
Why does land, based on religious history, tear apart the people of Isael. Jerusalem is important to both sides, so why can’t they share it?
I agree with Shawn we have had many different conflicts but we figure it out we dont have to kill each other for years and have nothing happen…you dont need to resort to killing
i also believe that why are we with israel if we don’t agree with what the are doing . why should we stay with them if they won’t stop.
Mr. Miller, it should be that easy it has been going on since biblicle time one would think that they be ready to end conflict i know id be done with the fighting nobody wants to always have to fear dieinng because of a possible attack
Shawn… your equating the US w/Israel is??? The US does not have the history nor biblical references that the Middle East does. The only group that would be similar in the US to what is happening in Israel would be the Native Americans. Everyone else came here from somewhere else w/no valid claim to the land except they were stronger than those who were there before them.
Why cant they just get rid of the wall and let each side roam freely on the land? I dont see what kind of a problem that would create if they decided to settle with a solution like that. The only thing that would be separating them would be their religions. If we can have a free Religious right here in America and not have Christian people bombing the Catholic people because they walked on their land then why cant we step in and offer the same ideas for this issue. We’re already involved anyways.
I favor the Palastinians because piece after piece they’re country is being bougt or simply taken by the Israeli’s, the fact that they kill people in anger is wrong.
Adam, we are looking for viable solutions/comments. It didn’t work in Japan. Japan was completely homogeneous in there nationality so there was no conflict. There was no war there, except what we brought.
Mr. Miller…i think that you always have to be right and wont give up when your wrong…i think the nuke would work and i believe it also did work in Japan.
I believe that as long as the two are put side to side conflict will never end unless by force or simple resolve
Brian/Adam… the nuclear solution may have been a choice under Bush but now that we have a reasonable leader I believe that option is off the table.
We should invade the mid east and conquer both the Israelis and Palestinians. Sure it would set off WWIII but that would solve the world’s over populatin problem. Problem solved.
Why is it that the United States has to be involved in every conflict out side of the United States? We seem to believe that we can solve the worlds problems, but if we do not let Israel and Palestine solve their own problems, the will always be dependent on us.
I think Jerusalum should be open to muslisms just as it is open to jews and christians i beleive that jerusalum should be a neutral territory open to every one
Adam, again, invasion may have been a choice under Bush… look at Iraq. We are now withdrawing from the ME so I doubt we will go that direction. Besides invading against a force that we have funded and trained? That doesn’t make a lot of sense… oh wait, once again, look at Iraq, I guess we already did that.
I dont think anything is off the table if it will solve the problem i think it is a possibility…this has nothing to do with Bush NOTHING…he didnt use much if any nuclear war heads so why would you say that it isnt a choice anymore?
In my opinion the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict doesn’t have one side that is more right over the other. I think this because both sides have been in the wrong and both sides have been right on some subjects that keep the conflict going.
I don’t understand why the Palestinians find suicide bombings okay. Killing oneself in pride of ones country doesn’t solve anything. I don’t understand why anyone would find the killings of one another in the country can bring peace.
Since there are two sides to every story the Isaelis, who have been on the side being bombed really shouldn’t retaliate back by putting up barriers keeping people out of certain areas who have done nothing wrong. These people can’t go to work to earn money for their family just because there are a few bad people within their area.
If the Israeli’s and the palastinian’s were able to see each others views about the situaton maybe the conflict could end. Ex like a life swap thing.
Excellent observation Makenzie. But as with Iraq we bury ourselves in a situation to the point we can’t get out. We have been supporting Israel for 50 years. I we just supposed to stop, cold turkey?
If you think that we should stay out of everyone elses stuff and just take care of ourselves…THEN WHY ARE WE HAVING THIS DEBATE?
Dominick, I think we all wish that Jews and Muslims could just get along. But i think history has proved that just won’t work.
The christian zionists want all the Jews to go back to Israel so the rapture can happen. That sounds like a bad thing. We sould prevent the Jews from going back so that the rapture will never happen. Therefore we should support the Palestinians not the Israelis.
Mr. Miller, I understand the fact that we have been supporting Israel for 50 years, but at the same time, we have been supporting a group of people who are becoming more and more prejudice twords another group of people. If Israel did not have our support, how much longer could they force palestinians to stay in their camps?
I agree with Kye’s comment from a way up there, it may not be fair to the Palestinians to be caged behind a wall. But I think the wall can be there to protect them just as much as it is to protect Israel.
Its true that there will be problems even with the two state solution. But even those problems could not be worse then the whats happening over there now. in todays world where countries are striving for as close to a democracy as possible, both sides deserve to a governed land as they choose. the wall is not a solution but only adds tension to what is also an unstable area. But Palestinians must know if they want peace then they must take a first step and become part of the solution by stopping terrorism and looking for alternative ways of expressing what must be done.
when you think about it, there isnt a whole lot we can do, isreal is our only outpost in the ME and they dont want to listen to us or open peace talks, and we cant back the palestinians, but also, we cant agree with the isrealies because what they are doing is wrong and it would make th middle east hate us more.
the reasons these two countries have for fighting is rediculous, fighting over religion?
religion tells us to share and love each other.
i think this is a dispute where we need to step back and let them solve it themselves. oh wait! we cant because weve already poured money into the isrealy funds!
i think that the U.S. should stop giving money to israel because they are using it to fight and nothing more then that. But we should try and get the leaders of each country and help talk them through their problems.