I wrote: > > > I cited and wrote in introducing the best study to date of Hamas (by two > > sober ISRAELI experts, it should be noted): >
And Alan responded: > Why should I care if they are Israeli or not? There are plenty of Israeli > fools too. > No doubt. There are plenty of them in the US too, as you have demonstrated here again and again. But these two "fools" happen to be highly accomplished academics, one at Tel Aviv University and one at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I'll just leave it to other list members to judge their qualifications, as opposed to yours, to comment on Hamas. > AS: > > > Oh, really? > > > > > > Then who are the ones that smuggled in the rockets and fired them at > > > Israel? > > > > > > And why have they not revised their ludicrously anti-Semitic charter? > > JM: > > > There is a good discussion of Hamas' internal debates about the tactics of > > using violence in the Mishal and Sela book that you could easily read, if > > only you would go to the trouble of getting a library card, that is. > > Forgive me if I do not summarize it for you, but as I said once > previously, > > if I have to keep spoon feeding you basic information like this, I will > > soon be forced to start charging you tuition for continuing adult > > education via this list. > To which Alan responded: > Can you please just answer a question (in your own opinion) without first > giving me a homework assignment? Some of us have to work for a living. > I have to work for a living too, Alan. The main difference between us is not gainful employment; it is rather that unlike you, I take the time to learn about a subject before expressing an opinion about it. I repeat: If you want a summary of this book, please send me $50 via PayPal first, otherwise read it yourself. I cited the book for general reference for people on the list, and frankly as an antidote to your untutored, rabid posts. I have no intention of summarizing it for you, though I suppose you are used to being spoon fed info, by "Reader's Digest" and "Human Events", so as not to overtax your brain. BTW, another article on the front page of the NYT discussed how books opened a new world for Obama in his youth. I commend that for your and Minoru's reading, you might gain something by example there as well. >> JM: > > The question about the charter is an easy one to answer, though. This is a > > bargaining chip for negotiations. The PLO formerly had a similar plank in > > its charter, which was similarly the focus of considerable mock outrage on > > the part of Israel and its allies abroad, and which the PLO ultimately > > dropped when a general peace agreement was achieved as part of the Oslo > > process (not that doing so helped it in the end). > > AS: > I am not only talking about the plank that calls for the destruction of > Israel. I am also talking about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the > Lions Club and other garbage straight out of a comic-book version of a bad > International Jewish Conspiracy novel. > > The people that wrote the Hamas Charter were either fools or anti-Semitic > demagogues or both. > > Are these the people with whom the negotiation or diplomacy is to be > conducted? Well, Aaron David Miller, who served as one of key negotiators about two decades, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, believes so. And I would trust his credentials, experience and instincts over yours any day. You should be aware that racist sentiments are not a monopoly of Hamas, Alan. It is a staple of Israeli public opinion about the Arabs. It has always run deeply through the rhetoric of the Likud party, for example, and anyone who knows anything about Menachem Begin is clear about this. And you would of course know this yourself if you ever bothered to read anything serious about Israeli politics, but then again, why overtax yourself? I repeat: The charter is a bargaining chip. It is one of the only ones that Hamas has. The PLO was formerly fond of similar rhetoric, but it was only that, empty rhetoric. And the Israelis always used similar rhetoric about the PLO back in the day, some of it really vile. Two-way street, Alan. And I further repeat: Shutting 1.5 million people up in a ghetto like Gaza is itself a terrible crime. If you do not believe that, have a look at the discussion of social conditions in Gaza presented by Sarah Roy. But it appears that there is nothing that Israel could ever do that you would ever find objectionable, right? John M. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Persons posting messages to not_honyaku assume all responsibility for their messages. The list owner does not review messages prior to posting, and accepts no responsibility for the content of messages posted. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
