aud’acious

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is complex.  Moderate Israelis and Palestinians like each other.  It was refreshing to see this again this summer when I was there.  Many can speak each other’s languages and interact with tolerance. When the Israeli army causes the death toll to rise among Palestinians many Israelis become disenchanted with the military.  Many moderate Israelis I have read about and talked to feel that peace must be achieved by a delicate balance of protecting their lives and working with Palestinians to attain the best win-win situation possible.  There are many moderate Palestinians who live near and work with Israelis who are also very ammenable to working with Israelis to live co-existently.

The sad part of the situation, though, is that there are enough radicals on both the Israeli and Palestinian side who make peace difficult and compromise almost impossible.  Israel currently is asking a lot of the Gazans.  They want to cut off electricity and basic necessities while at the same time telling them to stop fighting.  The Gazans are in a lose-lose situation.  Many innocent people are dieing.  This morning Gazans were given leaflets signed by the Israeli military commander to leave the area.  Where should they go?  Gaza is already mostly comprised of refugee camps.  I hope the crisis in Gaza will end soon and that both sides will find peace and safety for their homes and families.