What Makes People Tick?

 About 11 years ago, I penned " A Two-State Solution with a Twist - My approach to the problems facing Israel and Palestine today "  full of hope and idealism. Af ter October 7th 2023 and the long, drawn-out war in Gaza that followed those horrific attacks, a peaceful so lution seems further away than ever. Ever the optimist, I find myself revisiting my thoughts on the topic. Today, I'm finishing the post from 2014 with some edits and some newer thoughts mixed in. M any years have passed since 1948 and whether one likes it or not (I'm looking at you, Hamas !), the State of Israel is an established fact. The only way to remove the State of Israel is to wipe every last bit of it off the map entirely, which would equate to the mass genocide of millions of innocent people. Seeing the world already tried that 'solution' some seventy-odd years ago, let's try building bridges this time instead of fences. Just as the State of Israel is an established fact , so...

I would like to tell you the story of a girl who was one of my best friends when I was a teenager. I'll call her Anon (anonymous) and keep the details vague to protect her privacy. Anon was born in the part of Kurdistan that lies in Iraq in the days when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq. After several family members and friends were taken captive and/or murdered by Hussein's regime, Anon and her family fled Kurdistan before they too would be murdered. The initial flight to safety took several weeks if not months while it would take years before they found a new home in the city where we met. My friend was a young girl when she left Kurdistan, yet when she talked about her childhood it was clear to see that the memories still haunted her. She'd get this far-away look in her eyes, as if she was looking at a movie of her own life, replaying images from her childhood on a screen only she could see. Anon is one of the kindest and gentlest people I've ever met, someone always ther...

I am a firm believer in the need for all religious systems to be open to changing (their interpretations and explanations) with the times, for people to be free to choose the religion they want to follow and to choose their level of commitment to that religion. I also believe that as long as one sticks to some basic rules most of humanity shares, we should all be free to live our lives as we please. I wasn't born into a religious family, have never been formally accepted by any religion as 'theirs' and have never converted to any religion. Simply put: I do not officially belong to any religion. If one must label me by religion, it is fair to call me someone who believes what Noahides believe. That is to say that I believe in the God of the Torah, the Bible and the Qur'an - The God of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Muhammad and many, many people around the world today. To find out what God wants from me, I turn to the source, to the Jewish Bible. While I most certainly ...

What else did the IDF do to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza? Read more --> https://t.co/tg9GtZH1A4 pic.twitter.com/Y33t0Ut9gx — IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) June 22, 2015

Read an article today that got me thinking. Sharing the first paragraph of the article here. Hope you'll head over to the Jewish Press to read the entire article. It's worth reading and the question the article asks is worth thinking about, no matter what you think about the Israel / Palestine situation. With the BDS movement gaining momentum, many on the Israeli Left are increasing their calls for negotiations under the premise of a two-state solution. In their minds, the two-state solution is the only practical solution that could end the international isolation of Israel and lead to peace. But in the midst of the exhausted political ping-pong of whether or not the two-state solution is actually viable, the most important question often goes unasked – what if they are wrong? Source: What if they are wrong? | The Jewish Press | 22 June 2015 Now, whether you went and read the article or not - and I hope you did, it's worth reading - do yourself a favour and use your i...

After television, newspapers and social media reported about many #saveKobani demonstrations around the world yesterday and today, I got thinking about Kurdistan and the plight of the Kurdish people. It got me thinking that I want to do my bit to help, even if all I'm doing is writing a blog post. Kobani is a city in the Syrian part of Kurdistan, very close to the Turkish border. The Islamic State terrorist group has been trying to capture Kobani for weeks. Kurdish forces have bravely defended the city and their territory, however IS(IS) has been gaining ground. Turkey seems to be very intent on helping the Islamic State terrorist group. As ABC News reports: Lightly armed Kurdish fighters in the Syrian border town of Kobani have for weeks held off an ISIS onslaught, but the battle has moved to the streets of Kobani as the president of Turkey warned today that the town was about to fall to the Islamic militants. The fight for the Kurdish city and its surrounding villages has ...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on 29 September 2014. The Times of Israel published the full text of his speech online. May the world listen, for a change, and see the truth of what Israel's Prime Minister is saying. "Our hopes and the world’s hope for peace are in danger. Because everywhere we look, militant Islam is on the march.  It’s not militants. It’s not Islam. It’s militant Islam.  Typically, its first victims are other Muslims, but it spares no one. Christians, Jews, Yazidis, Kurds — no creed, no faith, no ethnic group is beyond its sights. And it’s rapidly spreading in every part of the world." The past few months have shown very clearly that the 'Islamic State' does not care about Christians, Jews, Yazidis or Kurds. It does not even care about other Muslims who happen to think for themselves and disagree with the terrorist group's extremist views. American and British journalists were ...

The website United with Israel reports that Israel's Foreign Minister, Avigdor Liberman, met with US Secretary of State John Kerry last Wednesday to discuss the ongoing threat posed to all humanity by the Islamic State terrorist group. I don't always agree with Liberman's words, however today, I agree with Israel's Foreign Minister one hundred percent. Liberman noted that the war against terror, in all its forms, is the most important task of the Free World today. Reiterating the Israeli government’s stance regarding the regional terror threat, he said:  “We cannot differentiate one form of terror from another. The Hamas terrorist activities against Israel and against the people of Gaza are no different from the terror of ISIS. The difference is only semantic, and in the media approach adopted by the organizations. Ultimately, the aim of all Islamic terror is one and the same: the destruction of Western civilization. Hence, just as we cannot negotiate with ISIS, we ...

In October 2001, almost thirteen years ago, Robert Worth published an article in the New York Times entitled "The Deep Intellectual Roots of Islamic Terror." In the article, he quotes Princeton professor of Near Eastern Studies Michael Doran who talks about terrorist group Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden. Remember, this article was published only a month after the horrible events of September 11, 2001. ''Many Americans seem to think that bin Laden is just a violent cult leader,'' said Michael Doran. ... ''But the truth is that he is tapping into a minority Islamic tradition with a wide following and a deep history.''  Although many Muslims are horrified at the notion that their faith is being used to justify terrorism, Mr. bin Laden's advocacy of jihad, or holy war, against the West is a natural extension of what some radical Islamists have been saying and doing since the 1930's. These radicals were jailed, tortured and oft...

A 29 July 2014 article by Efraim Inbar on the Middle East Forum looks into the wisdom of sending more economic aid to Hamas-controlled Gaza. The Executive Summary the article starts with states: "The developing international consensus to offer Gaza economic aid in exchange for a ceasefire is a moral and strategic mistake. As long as Hamas rules Gaza, funds sent to Gaza are likely to be used for aggression against Israel and the personal use of Hamas leaders. The world should not be rewarding the most extreme Palestinians for violence and terror."  Source:  No Economic Aid To Hamas-Ruled Gaza , Middle East Forum The article itself looks at Hamas rule in Gaza and what supporting continued Hamas rule through economic channels would mean for Gaza, for Palestine and for the world. Hamas is not a political party or a just, honest and democratic government. Hamas is an internationally recognised terrorist organisation intent on destroying Israel , exterminating the Jewish peopl...

Today was a day full of interesting developments in Israel / Palestine. The Jewish Press reports: Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas swore in what he called a new PA “unity government” today (Monday) at 1:00 p.m. local time in a televised ceremony in Ramallah.  “Today, after announcing the government of national unity we declare the end of division that caused catastrophic harm to our cause,” Abbas said. “This black page in the history (of the Palestinians) has been turned forever, and we will not allow it to come back.” Source : The Wedding is On – Hamas and Fatah Unite in Palestinian Authority , The Jewish Press Al Jazeera English also reports on the formation of a Palestinian unity government: In a pre-recorded message that aired on Palestine TV, Abbas said the new government was transitional, and that negotiations with Israel would remain in the hands of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. "This government, like its predecessors, will abide by all previou...

Many years have passed since 1948 and whether one likes it or not (I'm looking at you, Hamas!), the State of Israel is an established fact. The only way to remove the State of Israel is to wipe every last bit of it off the map entirely, which would equate to the mass genocide of millions of innocent people. Seeing the world already tried that 'solution' some seventy-odd years ago, let's try building bridges this time instead of fences. Just as the State of Israel is an established fact, so are the Palestinian people in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank and their aspirations for a united Palestinian state. Just as the horrors of the Holocaust must always be remembered so that we will never repeat such crimes against humanity, so too must the Palestinian people find a way to live without feeling like refugees, safe and secure, in a place they can call their own, in a land that they call their own. It is time that Israelis and Palestinians realise that they can keep fight...

The Guardian reported yesterday (25 May 2014) that the head of the worldwide Catholic Church, Pope Francis, visited the security barrier separating Israel from Palestine at Bethlehem to speak and pray there. "It is an image that will define Pope Francis's first official visit to the Holy Land. Head bowed in prayer, the leader of the Catholic church pressed his palm against the graffiti-covered concrete of Israel's imposing "separation wall", a Palestinian girl holding a flag by his side. It was, as his aides conceded later, a silent statement against a symbol of division and conflict." Source :  Pope Francis offers prayers at Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem The Guardian

An interesting article from The Algemeiner looking at the Israeli - Palestinian conflict and how the (fight for the) establishment of a Palestinian state is viewed by Arab nations. A quote from the article to give you an idea of why I find it interesting: "Ignoring reality, Western policy makers consider the Palestinian issue the crown jewel of Arab policy-making, the core cause of Middle Eastern developments and the crux of the Arab-Israeli conflict. An erroneous underlying, Palestinian-driven assumption has produced an erroneous policy, radicalizing Arab and Palestinian expectations, fueling terrorism and inherent Middle Eastern instability, distancing the parties from peace and bringing them closer to war, and undermining Western national security and vital economic interests." A Palestinian State - Not a Priority , The Algemeiner Writer: Yoram Ettinger; Dated 23 May 2014. Article originally published by Israel Hayom

While wandering around the internet looking for new and interesting things to learn from and write about, I came across a YouTube video entitled " 'Sulha' Prayer at Abraham's Tomb in Hebron ". After watching this video, I was left with tears streaming down my face. In a region filled with so much anger, misunderstanding and hatred it is amazing to see Jews and Muslims together making an effort to understand each other, learn from each other and pray together at a place with such importance to both religions. Investigating some more led me to another YouTube video entitled the " Sulha Peace Project ". This video too left me speechless and amazed. If it were possible; understanding, love and hope would be coming from my computer screen and heading straight into my heart. The video itself explains it best of all, saying: "The Sulha Peace Project is a grassroots organization for healing and reconciliation of the Children of Abraham."   Je...

I read an article in the Huffington Post of 03 August 2013 entitled  Arab Atheists, Though Few, Inch Out Of The Shadows  that greatly interested me. The article by Diaa Hadid explains how more people in Arab and Muslim countries are coming out as atheists. As I applaud and greatly encourage freedom of speech and freedom of religion and religious expression for all people, no matter where they live, I feel this article to be worth sharing and worth a read! A quote from the article : "It's socially tolerated to not be actively religious, to decide not to pray or carry out other acts of faith, or to have secular attitudes. But to outright declare oneself an atheist can lead to ostracism by family and friends, and if too public can draw retaliation from Islamist hard-liners or even authorities.  Still, this tiny minority has taken small steps out of the shadows. Groups on social media networks began to emerge in the mid-2000s. Now, the Arab Spring that began in ea...