Wednesday, August 17, 2005

*O*

Whew! I can start breathing again. I was turning purple!

**********

In other news, I've been watching the soldiers removing the Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip. I've never understood why they couldn't return from having been driven out in the first place and rightly reclaim a land that was historically theirs.

I saw settlers pleading with the soldiers, repeatedly, desperately, tearfully, angrily. The soldiers are just doing their job and such behaviour would accomplish nothing - other than make the statement that this is a wrenching situation.

I watched a young Israeli tear his shirt in a traditional Jewish act of mourning. It was then that I wanted to cry.

11 comments:

michelle said...

awww, I understand the feeling. But this is a really complex problem...I hope one day they can figure it it and work it out.

It just seems like the world is topsy turvy these days

Anonymous said...

Well, I imagine historically, I have a claim to some little Chateau abandoned by my ancestors during the French revolution, but since then other people have moved in, and they wouldn't appreciate me squatting on what they see as theirs.

Property is a terrible concept. It's so hard to prove, because it just doesn't exist in reality. It's a just an idea that we've made ourselves utter slaves to. It would be so much easier for all of space, time and the fruits of labor to be shared equally. The question is how to enforce sharing, and whom to trust to enforce it? I'm starting a blog on this subject now.

It's a terrible situation over there, but I think there will never be peace without Palestinian self-rule.

michelle said...

JP- you are so right.

Olivia said...

JP - I have a similar pre-Revolutionary claim...so, point well taken. Tut.

Anonymous said...

Hi Olivia...

am sheryos, n' u'd propably recognize me from BLUE's blog...

i was passin by several blogs when i reached yours n' read your latest entry...

You're from london.. right ?!!
well, the thing is most of the europian n' american poeple are listenin only to the israeli's point of view( n' that's bcoz of our incapability to reach the poeple out there ), which is completly injust for you, coz i know that u can't build a right prespective of events unless u listen to all of the sides in the story...

so i'd be very glad if u could pay just a lil' visit to
www.aad-online.org...

i know it's a lil' bit tall, but plz do try to read some of the stuff shown there,coz u just can't some a history in 2 or 3 phrases...

thx in advance.. :)

Olivia said...

Welcome Sheryos - I have read some articles from the site, they are very mixed.
We can ask, why is there no peace in Palestine? Well, why was it prophesied that Abraham's children would never get along?

Hans Persson said...

I can only agree with jp, property is a very slippery concept, especially when it comes to land property. There may well be several claims to the same bit of land so I'm not surprised that there are disputes over land ownership. Even less so in places where concepts like "god-given right to land" are taken seriously. People who claim such things with a straight face won't ever negotiate, so there will be trouble. I'm sad that this is so, but I feel that as long as people don't have a more secular view of secular things like land property rights (assuming that we want such a thing to begin with) there will be fighting.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Olivia said...

(I have removed a spam comment.)

Anonymous said...

Are you getting comment ads like I was?

Olivia said...

JP - yes, this is my second in as many months.