I don't defend the conduct of the Israelis, Jim; and you will not find one word of defense from me in this entire thread. All I said, is that Israel is a beautiful place. I have tried my best to honestly report my experiences in Israel and Palestine, and I have tried to present what I saw without analysis.

But despite what the Israelis are trying to do, the Palestinians are making great progress in their efforts to build themselves a nation. I have lavished praise on what I saw of the people and government of Palestine. I did not comment much about the Israeli government because I did not really have a chance to observe it this time. My contact was almost exclusively with Arabs, and I was very favorably impressed.

Can you get that through your thick skull?

-Joe Offer-