[patsylimerick]

Really excellent posts by Grimnir and Livia. To those who say the Palestinians and Israelis can never live together peacefully, Northern Ireland, though definitely at least a generation away from complete resolution, has come a long, long way. It is possible.

Gypsy Goth - if there was no religion, you can be guaranteed people would find another reason to start wars. I've always been fascinated by Jews and read a lot by and about them. Philip Roth is an exceptional writer and an anti-Zionist, but one who argues from an informed, intelligent standpoint. Arthur Miller also opens a window remarkably. An argument put forward by Howard Jacobson in the wonderful Finkler Question is that Jews are over-burdened by their 'Jewishness' and set expectations too high because many Jews define themselves first and foremost as Jews. I can't put it nearly as well as he can but, before anyone jumps on the Palestinian bandwagon, I think they should attempt to attain a better understanding of Jewish history and the waves and waves and waves of jealousy, distrust and hatred this proud, brilliant race has been subject to for centuries.

Finally, I would like to say that I utterly oppose the Israelis' stance on the occupied territories and agree that the blind support of the US does Israel no good at all in international PR stakes. A huge proportion of Jews worldwide oppose Zionism, by the way.