FWIW - Honestly, I am not anti-semitic!

Before I start out today, I spotted an article on “Slate” this morning that says why the war in Iraq is guaranteed to fail. Reference back to my post yesterday (Jan 5).
Also, thanks to my friend Lance, who emailed me the text referred to from Richard A. Clarke, describing the failures of the current administration.

Let me say once again in opening that I am most assuredly, not anti-semitic. As a Christian, I am deeply reverential to Judaism. Jesus was a Jew, let us not forget. In the church that I attend, it is a regular part of the liturgy that we review that which was written in the Old Testament. After all, how can one be on a spiritual journey if one does not have his (or her) bearings from the past?
History is replete with examples of how the Jews have been subjected to scorn, derision and outright hatred through the ages. Yet, for all their suffering, the Jewish people steadfastly proclaim their love for, and belief in our Creator. Indeed, it was the Jews who were the first to author monotheism, the belief in one and only one God. If not for the Hebrews in ancient Egypt, we might still be worshipping a Sun God, a Rain God, etc. etc.

Now, some things about the modern state of Israel. Did you know:
The cell phone was developed in Israel by Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.

Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed, developed and produced in Israel.

Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin-109 per 10,000 people -- as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.

With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and startups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world -- apart from the Silicon Valley, U.S.

Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.

Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity. (Hundreds of thousands from the former Soviet Union)

Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."

An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.

A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the Clear Light device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct -- all without damaging surrounding skin or tissue.

Now, my question, guaranteed to raise blood pressure:
With all of these technological firsts, with the largest Air Force and Military in the Middle East, why can’t Israel come to grips with the fact that ‘Peace’ cannot be imposed. To date, Israel has only ratified peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.
To be sure, the government of Israel is not the people of Israel. Looking back over the years, it’s been fairly evident to me that people can get along quite well. Once they group together, however, and form governments, troubles are inevitable. So why, when the government of Israel says it wants Peace, does it turn around and build another settlement in the occupied territories? In describing Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians, one foreign minister made the observation that, “.. (the Palestinians) never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” In recent weeks, the government of Israel announced that it was easing restrictions to make it possible for Palestinians to enter Israel to work. Some border checkpoints have been ‘opened up’ as a ‘sign’ of normalization of relations. Almost in the next sentence, Israel announced that another settlement will go forward in the occupied territory. And so it goes, with one step forward and two steps back. How long will it take before the people of Israel wake up to understand that the settelements are the reason for the state of virtual war between Israel and the Palestinian people?

As stated at the outset, there is no non-Jewish person out there with as great a love for the Jewish people as myself. It grieves me so deeply to see the people I love victimized by suicide bombers. Yet, at the same time I can see how people who see no future for themselves but to live as second-class citizens in Israel will sacrifice themselves to inflict a like amount of suffering on the Jewish people.

In 1995, there was a short time when it looked like there could finally be an agreement to cease hostilities when Yasser Arafat and Yitzak Rabin announced that they had settled on terms for a peaceful resolution of the decades-long struggle between their people. In less than a month Yitzak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally, not by a Palestinian, but a Jewish youth, a member of a fundamentalist faction. We came so close…
So close..

Let the hate mail begin.

Tomorrow: The Naked Truth

Today is January 6th; only 745 days left until the end of the Bush Administration.