Joe:

I guess I have to say that I am disappointed that it appears that the liberals have deserted Israel. Somebody needs to stand up for peace in the Middle East, and for the right of Israelis to keep the home they've had for fifty years or more AND the right of Palestinians to a homeland. There has to be a peaceful compromise that will serve the needs of everyone (if not their desires) - somebody needs to stand up and support compromise, instead of all this polarization.

Hear, hear. My suggestion of a slice of New Mexico, practical as it may have been, is water over the dam, and doesn't address the other reason(s) for fighting over a rather miserable pice of real estate (FWIW, while I wasn't in Isreal, I was over in the Sinai last month, and I can tell you that for all its beauty, it's a big freakin' desert...). "Next year in Jerusalem" is a part of the culture and history FWIW, and the Christians and Muslims have a fair stake in the area as well. But, to my mind, that would argue for some kind of international, non-sectarian administration of the antiquities and holy sites there. The world has seen in Afghanistan the destruction of the Bamiyan buddhas, and we (my partner and I) were appalled on visiting the Nile valley antiquities the purpusful effacing of all the human faces on the pharoic era friezes by the subsequent occupiers. People that care more about religions than they care about preserving our common human heritage do some pretty nasty things.

Preserving (or creating) a "safe" haven for the Jews is certainly a worthy enterpise taken in isolation, given history. But that's hardly an excuse for "open under new management" type solutions that present their own difficulties (sometimes even the same ones, with just the names changed) as the original problem.

Only a true peace and tolerance will ever provide safety ... and this goes for U.S. efforts in other areas as well. Hey, we still have our own lingering problems with co-existence here.

I can't believe that a wall solves anything in the long run. I can't believe that dividing people fosters the bridges that will hopefully eventually ties us all together.

My Turkish co-workers once saw holiday pictures of my family, and commented "are you trying to integrate the whole world all by yourself?" Yes, I think if we could do it, we would, but we're just one family (and there aren't enough Langsetmos the world around). But perhaps over time, it will be harder and harder to find ways to divide us or put labels on us. I just know that walls ... and immigration laws ... and borders ... and religious fundamentalism and conservatism .. and laws that say you can come but you can't stay or you can't marry or have your kids accpted in the country in which they were born ... are the wrong way to achieve that. So there's plenty out there that still needs fixing, the way I reckon.....

Cheers,