Hi, Steve - well, Bobad's link is from the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, a respected organization founded in the U.S. in 1913. For the record, BDS means 'boycott, divestment and sanctions' against Israel. BDS, however, seems to me to be a very peaceful and legitimate and effective response to Israel.

The problem with all of this, is that there are two sides to this story, and both sides are right - and both sides are wrong.

There are certainly legitimate reasons to accuse Israel of "ethnic cleansing," although the term has overtones of propaganda because it's a "judgement term" and does not provide specifics or proof. I see that the pro-Israeli factions here have tried to blame the Arabs (particularly Jordan) for "ethnic cleansing," but their accusations date back to 1967 (and Israel and Jordan are at peace now).

But what outsiders consider "ethnic cleansing," Israelis consider to be a legitimate struggle for survival. After the horrors of the Holocaust and centuries of pogroms in Eastern Europe before that, the Jewish people finally have a home - and they feel their home is threatened by Palestinians who bomb Israel and fire rockets into Tel Aviv.

But it's also true that Israel has used extreme and unjust measures to respond to the threats against its security - bulldozing homes, imprisoning young Palestinians for unreasonable terms, building settlements in Palestinian areas, planning to deport refugees, and any number of unreasonable strongarm tactics.

I see a lot of posturing and propaganda from both sides up above, but I don't see any workable solutions. It's nice to find individual Arabs who support the Israeli side and individual Israelis who support the Arabs; but I'm afraid I think those individuals are simply traitors, like token blacks in the U.S. Republican Party.

I tried to stay away from the posturing and propaganda when I started this thread, to simply report was I was able to observe - and the reality I reserved was generally positive, on both sides. And although the problems in Israel are very serious, they sure seem easier than what I know of other Arab nations and what I observed myself in Egypt.

So, propaganda and accusations aside, what are the options available that would serve both sides well?

-Joe-

P.S. I looked up "Global Campaign to Legitimize Israeli Atrocies" and found nothing, even when I spelled "Atrocities" right. Must be another one of those made-up fraud things...