A note about unfairness,,,

There's a great deal of misunderstanding of the 100 years old Israeli Palestinian conflict. There's a great deal of disinformation about it in iPeace today. And there's a great deal of manipulation end exploitation of the situation, some of it very cynical.

Here's part of a message I and 45 others received yesterday:

"Israel is the attacker since centuries ago - Jews dont have a land and thats a fact. and they have made protocols and through them have prepared Everything until this very day for this to happen. it doesn't happen because of a dead Israeli or a few bombs... its a plan!!! to destroy Palestinians once and for all... its been carried out in steps and they are very clear to those following the news correctly (so not from TV) and who know... this is pure denocide and it has to stop NOW."

"no one should worry about Jews! they are wealthy and free and happy - and rich and fat with their big cars and small hearts...be assured they are taken care of.

now - can we go back to poor Palestinians who are tortured and squeezed like rats in one small hole and now killed in hundreds.... evey day! thank YOU"

Needless to say that the sender is no longer with us, but there are more like her, and they influence those who don't know.

The reason that I am writing this to you is what I read on the comment wall of Noa's blog: "a letter to my Palestinian brothers in Gaza"

If I have any credibility with you, I will tell you this: There are very few fiercer and more determined peace warriors than Noa. Not Annie Lennox, not Bono and not Yoko Ono. Period. They are just more famous than her.

Noa has dedicated her life to peace activism. She is constantly taking risks to fulfill her dream of a peaceful Middle East. Many in her country think her a traitor for that. You can read about it HERE

Even a peace warrior may speak his mind. That's all what she did, in a sensitive and compassionate fashion. She said what she believes is the truth. She said what many Arab leaders say publicly.

And she got showered with comments that she does not deserve. I think that this is not the way we should treat someone who should be our hero.

She wrote you a comment in response:

"i have read some of your comments and all make me very sad, even the compassionate ones, as they are full of sorrow. sorry i share.

to those of you who claim i do not know history, i will say, unfortunately i do. i know it well. i know israel's part in establishing organizations like hamas to counter other organizations she found to be negative, i also know that things that start one way often end another. sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.

as i have said, i am a well known critic of my country. i think she has acted stupidly on countless accounts.

but i also know this: israel wants peace. israel does not want gaza. israel pulled out of gaza at great expense and dismantled its settlements there. israel wants to exist. deserves to exist.

our situation is complicated, so complicated.

once, israelis could be imprisoned for talking to the PLO. Abie Natan, founder of 'the voice of peace' radio station that we loved so much, was such a victim.

today, the PLO are as accepted as the Likud. today, everyone knows a Palestinian state will exist, it is only a matter of finalizing the deal, and all this, with MANY players with BIG interests, oil, water, power, weapons, control, religion, all the cholera you can imagine.

in the midst of all this, people die.

no, i am not comparing traumatized children to dead ones, what warped mind would assume that (chris..?)

no, i do not wish Hamas dead, i just want them to stop terrorizing gaza and israel. from my point of view, they could all go sit on the beach somewhere and have a couple of tequilas. i just want them far away from me and all peace lovers on both sides of the fence, UNLESS they choose dialogue over violence.

but most of all, MOST of all, i want us all to just STOP this madness!!

stop the killing on BOTH sides!! stop the propaganda! stop the hatred! PLEASE!!!!!!!

please...."

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Comment by Chenae on January 7, 2009 at 11:09am: Short Note.
I want to publicly thank David for banning the author of that post. I was on the thread it was posted to, and may have been one of the first to read it . I became physicaly ill, and was breathing to center and find some way to act. Within mins David had responded.
Freedom of speech is not absolute. I will not debate those who truely believe in racial and sexual superiority. There were those in the area were I live who wanted to debate that sex with small children was okay.... and use public space to do so. The Earth is not flat. The "Protocols of Zion" are one of the most blatant examples of true hate propaganda and helped to kill millions.
iPeace is a difficult space right now.I think that we are reflecting the pain confusion and feeling s of helplessness that many in the world are feeling. To debate this would have been to validate it. I do not think genocidal obscenity should be given any public forum, and that is what this was. I also try to practice non dualism. But the Dalai Lama says "Do not confuse the action with the actor" and also that it is at the same time a responsibility to oppose the action. So,while I would not harm the person who posted, I might as a nurse propose a confined ward , long term therapy and heavy medication. She is a danger to herself and others,and this is no space for such deep hatred to be spread

Comment by Moustafa Ghaddar on January 7, 2009 at 11:08am: I am sorry, what past and what old paradigms? They just killed 215 child in Gaza!!! and the more dangerous that killing these children is they try to make it "legal" and they blame it on the victim!! that is why they are able to commit more crimes like this. Because the world is justifying their crimes and blaming it on the victims.

Peace require justice, the problem is, they want it without giving the palestinians their rights, that is not peace, that is occupation.

Salam,
M.G.
http://web2gaza.org

Comment by Red Seagull Hellas ....... Peace ... V ... on January 7, 2009 at 10:40am: Hello. Lynda I agree with you and like to add something. right-wrong, back then- now, it's ours- no it's ours, we are god's chosen- no, we are, people are misinformed about the past; Where and when does it all end??? I believe that enlightenment of a new perspective of doing and accomplishing goals that lead to peace cannot be achieved if we don't LET GO of the past. Those who keep their minds on history, remain there, in history, and are unfortunately restrained (without realizing) from goals towards peace in the world...Is this too radical for some? My 23 year old daughter is studying political science at Concordia University in Montreal, and believes that, yes concentrating on the past keeps you in the past.Please think about..I hear her speak, bout the future and truly believe that peace is attainable ...God bless the young minds of today. They know better.

Comment by michele on January 7, 2009 at 10:31am: here is the problem as i see it:

it's easier to fall back on old paradigms, whether in person or online, and perpetuate the mindset of slinging blame. in the end this will accomplish nothing more than a perpetuation of hate and anger and fear. I believed when i joined this site (and i still do believe) that a part of the point of this cyber-community was to break old paradigms and to bridge gaps that might seem too vast in the terrestrial world.

how is it that two women could meet protesting on opposite sides of this very issue and somehow amidst all the anger that surrounded them, come together for a profound moment of sharing and understanding and compassion- and yet on a site dedicated to peace, so many of these blog entries have been focusing on accusations and blame and hatred and anger.

I'm not saying that these feelings aren't valid. I'm saying they only feed into the old paradigms. these are difficult enough times. why aren't we as a group engaging in conversation about how to change what's going on? why aren't we - even if it only happens here at the beginning - remembering that the light of hope is only kept aflame as long as it is tended carefully to by those who are it's caretakers? we may not be able to effect change immediately, but then again... why not at least try? if we can't do it here- in this place where each of us has consciously declared our greatest desire is for connection and peace - then what hope is there out there?

the reason that turning your other cheek to your enemy when you are struck is such a profound act of bravery and love, is the *act* of offering. it's the ability in the presence of hatred to offer love and faith and kindness. to believe that even in our darkest moments, that god still rises in us as us and as such we are always once choice away from the best version of ourselves.

Comment by jon on January 7, 2009 at 9:58am: Come on please! David and Noa are involved in getting the word of peace out! Sorry bloggers it makes me feel like even I-PEACE is a lost cause. It seems like "Happiness is a warm gun" instead of "Imagine" it makes us all cry! Stop the fucking madness of insanity! Peace to you and yours.

Comment by Moustafa Ghaddar on January 7, 2009 at 8:36am: Well, Hamas does not drink tequilla, neither do i, it is against our religion. As for siting on the beach, the last time a family was on Gaza beach, it was massacred by Israeli war planes. Remember?!

Israel does not want peace, it is track record of massacres and war crimes prove that. Some people claim to be peace activists and blame the resistance for their acts! We saw this in South Lebanon, while israel was occupying our land and torturing people and children in Khiam detention camp, some of those claiming to be "peace activists" were blaming the resistance for trying to stop that and to liberate the land!

Hamas is not terrorizing people in Gaza, and it is a shame that you claim to be a "peace" activist and spread this israeli propaganda instead of speaking the truth.
Israel withdrew from Gaza, but it did put it under siege, and it did not release the 11000 palestinians, many of them children and women from it is torture camps.
Israel is terrorizing and massacring people in Gaza, and this holocaust will continue as long as people justify the israeli crimes and blame it on the victim.

Salam, (Peace, in Arabic)
M.G.
http://web2gaza.org

Comment by Tree on January 7, 2009 at 8:21am: I believe there is only one way to make peace all over the world. LOVE. I love myself, I love everybody who exists, because we all need and look for LOVE. And we forget it so often. We prefer things to people. We forget the EARTH is only ONE and we all are only ONE too. There´s place enough for ONE in many forms and appearance. Try to imagine and our dreams will come true. Only we can make war and peace. So let´s choose.
Peace in my mind goes to your mind. Don´t forget it...

Comment by Roberto Gamaliel Saldivar Silva on January 7, 2009 at 7:15am: I DONT KNOW WHAT TO SAY MORE ABOUT THIS MADNESS, I AM TORED OF HEAR EVERY DAY ABOUT THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND WAR PREVAILS. tired of people thatr dies for fighting for peace and nothing happens why?

Comment by Jean VIORA-PERRIN on January 7, 2009 at 6:32am: David,
you wrote: " 2 blogs in one day !" I only want to remember you the sentence: " Never 2 without 3 " !?..
Please, write again; it's interesting ( I don't go to sleep; I' ll wait...). Your friend from Nice, Jean.

Comment by Martin Carriere on January 7, 2009 at 4:32am: Linda has the mark. The childhood approach to the universe in labelling right/wrong will always lead us back to the same sandbox. Approaching the surrender needed to embrace and enliven peace requires a bit more maturity than can be brought to the table by any operating government or secular authority in the world today. The Peacemaker of the People (Ong wa onwe) came close with the people of the confederacy yet the propaganda of politics and agendas today fills many people's minds with the snakes of greed and other elements that thrive on fear. Only by all people agreeing to sit in circle to lay the ground rules for progressing from this time forward with peace-loving hearts and minds, and surrendering self based ownership or control of the world, and meeting each of the people and peoples of the world on equal terms, will there be any free or loving space left for our children to hold our hands. The tradition being that men on their own (as spoiled children) can only bring destruction. By uniting our hands and hearts accross the world, as David has opened the doors here for some to do, can we even broach the discussion of what to do next. I see and hear many good hearts in this group and wish everyone a peaceful feather from the sky father and hope some can sit in circle on our mother at some point to fully discuss the peace.
Martin Carriere