Saturday 19th July

During the two World Wars of the last century we were taught to hate the German unconditionally, and even now almost seventy years later there is a deep psychological fear of Germany in many peoples minds.  During the “troubles” in Northern Ireland each side was taught to hate the other.  A fragile peace exists, but is regularly threatened by the deep distrust both Proddies and Catholics still feel for each other.  It is as if there is a poison that seeps into the soul, that destroys any logical thought, that makes rationality impossible.  An animal fear takes over and ideas take root which are almost impossible to shift.  All of ones common-sense is overwhelmed by this absolute fear and hatred of “the enemy”.

And the longer the conflict continues the more embedded this madness becomes.  The Arab-Isreali conflict has been ‘going on’ for almost seventy years now.  That means there can be very few of either persuasion who can really remember what Palestine, as it was then, was like.  There are well documented archives, and even films showing peaceful co-existence between Jews, Arabs and Chistians in what was generally acknowledged as “The Holy Land”.  It is pointless trying to apportion blame for where we are now, and both sides are I am sure guilty of stupidity and atrocities, which each in their turn help to establish the new reality of total hatred.  Hamas with it’s ludicrous but absolutely meant statements of the destruction of Isreal are just as indoctrinated as the Isrealis.  The latest bit of nonsense I read was a quote from Golda Meir and it said “We can forgive the Palestinians for killing our children, but we cannot forgive them for making us kill their children.”

What utter madness.  Hamas are not forcing the Isreali’s to kill innocent women and children.  There may even be a few on the Isreali side who truly regret this “collateral damage”, but stop kidding yourselves that Hamas is forcing you to commit murder (genocide some are calling it).  You are firing the missiles and while you are maybe trying to kill those who are aiming rockets at you, you know that you will be killing innocent children and yet still you continue.  The madness is that this is how you justify your killing, “They make us do it, by hiding their weapons under schools or in hospitals”.  This is the Madness of Total War.  And every child killed, every innocent massacred simply adds to the hatred of Isreal on the Arab side.   When will they ever learn.  Hatred simply breeds hatred.  Try talking, really talking, without pre-conditions.  Listen to the other side for once.  And stop all this senseless killing.  Even if every Palestinian is killed or permanently removed from Gaza, do you really imagine the War will stop?