Hard truths

A brave Jew. Acknowledging that apartheid is indeed alive. So rare. Similarly we had precious few brave Afrikaners during our apartheid, and we have precious few brave Americans in the current "war on terror" scam.

Oppression.
It silences people and allows them to (makes them) commit atrocities and then simply ignore them. For fear. Even "good people".

Hopefully the brave truth spoken by Rabbi Walt and others will get us to openly acknowledge the role of organised religion and big money in this brutal apartheid oppression.
It's a crying shame that in 2008 we still deny what we know we did back in 1948.

I'm not Jewish at all, but have a brother who converted and joined the Zionist army. I've always held his opinion in high esteem as he is objective in all his doings. In essence you have to consider that which we don't see or hear. There is a huge propaganda campaign against Israel and you have to form your own ideas and not want the media feeds us. The conflict in the middle is a religious conflict and therefore not a racial one.

Thank you Rabbi - I have been working in the West Bank now for almost 6 months and it is always refreshing and hopeful to hear dedicated Jews search for their roots and the reason for Israel in the first place. I am not Jewish, in fact I am not religious, but it is so frustrating for me to hear so many skewed religious or ideological perceptions in this part of the world - from all parties in the conflict. The occupation is not doing anything good for anybody and it certainly is not improving the security of Israel. So many days i am at the various checkpoints in the WB and at the seperation barrier and I see the frustration and tension they create. It is these checkpoints that are breeding hatred. End the occupation - start a peace process. Thanks for the thoughts!

when will the M&G do some interviews or get an opinion from the other side so we can get a balanced view and not read constant propaganda expressing just the one side of the equation?

This author, with a great show of passion, valiantly attempts to save Judaism. I passionately hope he succeeds.
It is indeed possible to do so but, until he recognises that all monotheism is dead, his is an embarrassingly hopeless attempt for he otherwise remains part of the problem.
Once the 'Great' monotheist religions each accept that their separate vision of God is but one of millions then peace will become possible. Ironically, 'one of millions' is true even within their own religions for, in the end, as revealed by their distortion of the idea of revelation and the associated idea of the 'chosen', the idea that 'my God' is for all is emphatic self-worship in that any idea of God can only be one's own.
This of course explains why monotheists have killed and destroyed, and continue to kill and destroy, not only monotheists of the other faiths but also each other.

I suggest the dear arm-chair Rabbi from Philadelphia relocates to his beloved West Bank, into any of his beloved Palestinian villages, and sees how long he survives before being lynched from the nearest replanted tree - simply because he is Jewish. To sit in comfortable USA and judge soldiers hardly counts. Where is his denouncement of Palestinian terror which sources from these same villages? This article is biased and basic anti-Israel propoganda - boring, simply for the prejudiced and ignorant!

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/1948--israel--and-the-palestinians-br--the-true-story-11355

for those readers that want an honest and unbiased view of the real events!

Congratulations on an excellent article. It requires absolute bravery to make a stand, especially if it contradicts the beliefs of your society. I admire you for writing things as you see it.
The conflict is not simply a religious conflict and to mark it as such is simplistic. It is to a large extent ethnic- are you arab (christian or muslim) or are you jewish? If there are parallels with apartheid, it is extremely disturbing, even if it is seen as religious and not racial.

Mr Kiggen, the article you have provided a link to can be described as many things, but "unbias" is not one of them. It makes its conclusion before considering any evidence, and then only introduces evidence supporting it - essentially the very definition of bias. I could continue to rebut all of your allegations, but it would be far more productive for you inform yourself regarding what is actually happening in the West Bank (it seems you haven't) and make up your own opinion - the same conclusion the article asserts. I myself am Jewish, and your unreasonable, aggressive approach only serves to insult the intelligence of South African Jewry.