Israel Feedback
Posted March 8, 1996
Regarding criticism of Yasser Arafat because of his "failure to apprehend the leaders of Hamas," I ask why Israelis themselves were not able to deal with the organization when they ruled the Gaza Strip and West Bank since the founding of Hamas until very recently. Bombings DID occur before the Palestinian Authority took control of those areas. Furthermore, just because Israelis routinely carried out barbaric measures such as raiding the homes of SUSPECTED terrorists, beating up their families, and even blowing up their houses -- even if the suspects turned out to be innocent or were already in custody -- doesn't mean that they can expect the same actions by the Palestinian Authority. Yes, the bombers and their organizers are criminals and should be brought to justice, but it is a mistake to expect the PA to perform the same unjustified and sometimes even terroristic activities the Israeli army did during their occupation. After all, Israel did not blow up Yigal Amir's home, nor did it shut down Bar-Ilan University.
Name: Jareer Kassis
E-mail: grad15@vh.path.uab.edu
The condemnation for these acts of terrorism have come from all corners of the world. However, absent from the condemnation are the voices of Muslim state leaders as well as Islamic leaders. Surely, one cannot condone people for attaching bombs to themselves and killing themselves as well as innocent civilians ? One would have thought that Islam attaches a great deal of emphasis to the preservation of human life, or does it ?
Moreover, Yasser Arafat may condemn these attacks but his condemnation is hollow because the covenant to destroy the state of Israel is still in place in the PLO charter. At last the Israeli prime minister has sensibly insisted on the removal of this covenant, for until it is removed we should see a halt to the "peace process."
Name: Lawrence J. Ryz
E-mail: LJR564@Novell3.bham.ac.uk
What's the price of peace ? We keep on hearing that 'We will not let the enemies of peace to disrupt the peace process' and the Israeli doves saying 'what's the other alternatives,' and I ask if this is the path for peace? We all know that we have a partner to this peace process, but there's a serious question if we have chosen the one with the ability to do more than words, as far as it looks like, I'm afraid we're doing peace with the wrong people, and as far as we were hoping, as much as we were disappointed. Peres declared an all-out war on the Hamas movement, couldn't Arafat do it a long time ago, doesn't he know the people he's controlling? Doesn't he know they're way of acting, thinking? Doesn't he want to save his OWN people? He'd better do it now, otherwise it looks like it's going to be too late. We don't want to miss the 'train of peace.'
Another attack in Israel and the cycle of revenge goes on with the pledge to attack back. When we will learn that this is not the way to implement peace and justice? There are courts to take offenders to, and they work much better than sending a specialized unit to the West Bank and Gaza. Three months ago, Israel proudly announced the killing of Yahya Ayash in the middle of the peace process. Did they take this human to court or at least consider that it would be better to announce his crimes before carrying out his sentence? The other side reacted with the unjustified killing of more than 50 innocent lives. And again Israel is asking Arafat to revenge for those killed. I thought revenge ended in the Middle Ages, but it seems that the two cousins still do their justice the old way. Arafat is president of the Palestinian Authority and not the state of Palestine. This is what Israel says repeatedly, then you are asking him for too much?
Name: N. Hosni
It is clear that the Israelis are striving for peace, especially over the last few months. Land has been returned graciously and far too generously, yet still Hamas behaves so violently and senselessly. If Hamas believes they are getting more land, they are seriously mistaken -- this is where Israel draws the line.
Name: Barnes
E-mail: barnett@icon.co.za
I think the only purpose of the bombings is to protest against the peace process that is going on in the Middle East. I think that Israel and the PLO should get together to attack the Hamas group until it is either eradicated or convinced that the state of Israel will be there and will continue its peace process.
Name: Claudia Tabacinic
E-mail: ctabacinic@aol.com
What the Hamas is doing is against the Islamic faith. Islam condemned suicide and yet they claimed they die a martyr. These groups and many others claim to be Muslim, but they don't practice the faith as it should be. This gives a bad image about Islam.
Name: Azizan Aziz
E-mail: azizan@eng.usm.my
There are many families here in Israel and in the states that have been devastated by what has taken place. We witnessed on the news where three Cuban Americans were killed by the Castro forces, and the United States asked for world condemnation of Cuba. We have also witnessed three American Jews along with others who were terrorized and killed; yet we do not hear the voice of the United States calling for the condemnation of the Palestinians. We only hear the same old rhetoric from the left here and in the states saying, in pitch, "I sure hope this does not stop the peace process." The fundamental goal of peace must include the ability of all people in the region to feel secure. As much as I love the goal of peace, I do not blame the Israeli government for hunting down those who value no ones lives, including their own.
kwo_kearns@k12.mec.ohio.gov
As an Israeli Citizen and An American Citizen currently living in the United States, I am forced to re-evaluate this so called "Peace" Process. What kind of peace are Israelis getting here? This process has legitimized a terrorist named Arafat and has provided the Israelis with the worst security situation in the country's history. Until the Palestinians prove by actions and deeds rather than words that they are serious about this "peace" process, Israel should do everything in its power to secure its citizens, its innocents from such barbaric actions. This is not a process for peace but rather a process shoving Israel into an agreement with killers who have no interest in peace. The PLO has not even altered its charter calling for the destruction of Israel. All these agreements have brought so far is fear to the people of Israel in their own streets, and all it might bring in the future is the requirement of higher vigilance, more stress and tensions for the Israeli people and the Israeli army. It's time to stand back and reexamine what this process will achieve and what has been "achieved" so far. My heart goes out to the people of Israel.
Name : Gil Benatar
E-mail : gil@slideshow.com
I guess by now the world may realize that the concept of a "peace process" in the Middle East is an oxymoron. Why is it that since the handshake between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, the violence and killings in Israel have escalated? What kind of peace is this? Arafat has clearly demonstrated that he cannot control radical Palestinian extremists, and the Israeli government should not be dealing with someone who cannot uphold his end of the bargain. As a tourist in Israel in 1988, I felt completely safe walking the streets and touring the country. When I returned there in 1994, things had changed. Peace was supposedly being realized but a Jewish extremist had killed Arabs in Hebron and bus bombings were beginning to take place around the country like the one in Afula which I was fortunate to miss by one day. Today, two years later, the situation has only deteriorated. What is next? An all-out war in the name of this so-called "peace?
Name : A. Michael Krausz
E-mail : yu117482@yorku.ca
What the western world does not understand is that the Arab mentality is different, and that applying Western, and especially American, standards and rules when dealing with Arabs does not work. The latest horrors in Israel are a culmination of this misunderstanding, and the resulting reports by Western media echo this. Sometimes I wonder if the newscasters really understand what they are reporting on, by the questions they pose to 'experts' that report on the 'happenings.' The reality is that Palestinians must show, not only by words (which are cheap), but by concrete actions that they support the peace process. And the rest of the World must do so as well.
Name : M. Deutsh
E-mail : 74003.3670@compuserve.com
There is just one suggestion/comment that I would like to make. Due to the growing popularity of the CNN site, I would like to ask the administrators to add more servers and/or increase bandwidth due to the increasing load on the WWW servers. Over the past few weeks it has been taking longer and longer to load pages from your site.
Name : Denoid K. Tucker
E-mail : noid@netvoyage.net
Islamic terrorists are not an Israeli problem alone. The U.S. faced such a group in the N.Y. twin towers bombing , France dealt recently with a series of attacks in Paris. Algeria and Egypt, both Arab countries, are themselves under attack from such terrorist groups. Iran is an example of a Muslim country which was on the verge of democracy and is now run by Islamic fanatics. These people can't be dealt with. Their offer of a "cease-fire" is a cruel joke. The Hamas organization should be destroyed ,and there is no distinction between "military" and "political" wings. People around the world should watch and know: Unless we stop them now, what happens today in Israel will happen tomorrow in your country.
Name : Michael Talmon E-mail : talmonk@shani.net
HAMAS says that the latest round of Israeli car bombs is in retaliation for the death of HAMAS bomber , "The Engineer". Israel, in my opinion, cannot be held blameless in this escalating circle of violence. "The Engineer" wasn't arrested and placed on trial; instead, he was executed in a hi-tech "hit" worthy of a James Bond movie. The Israeli government can put a rigged cell phone in the "Engineers'" hands, but they can't arrest him? I don't think it's a good policy for the Israeli government to fight terrorism with terrorism. If these alleged terrorists were arrested, detained and put on trial, instead of executed without due process, there might not be the intense fervor for revenge.
Name : Erich Anderson
E-mail : erichand@airmail.net
The Israeli government is equally guilty of terrorizing innocent civilians as the Hamas. The only difference is that while Hamas does it overtly, the Zionist government does it discretely and with the support of America. It will be very stupid for the Israeli government to wage an all-out war on the Arabs. It should remember that although it has the support of the U.S. to murder innocent Palestinians and "blow up their houses" and trespass on their land, it is surrounded entirely by very powerful Arab nations, who, if pushed to the limit, could unite and destroy Israel within minutes. My advice? Don't fight violence with violence, fight it with the determination to continue to negotiate a peace settlement. And also, don't blame Arafat for the killings in Israel. Putting the blame on Arafat for terrorism is like putting the blame for the actions of the Ku Klux Klan on Bill Clinton.
Name : Lena
E-mail : Lena@cornell.edu
I applaud the quick and swift action of the United States president in his defense of the Israeli state. We are great friends of Israel, and I am proud that he has continued to live up to his end of the friendship. Israel and the United States are very close countries; I pray that their relationship stays strong for many, many years to come.
Rob Pitkofsky
My tears are those of despair. God help those people who teach their children to hate and rejoice when those same children grow up to die and are known as "Martyrs" when they kill other human beings. This is NOT the "Gospel" according to the Koran. This is a fanatical, sick group that must be taught kindness. And if kindness does not work and the "Hamas" sect is classified as "hopeless," then, unfortunately for them, they, "Hamas" are better off dead, not by martyrdom but, by the sword of the Israeli. May God give them strength to deal with the thousands of maniacs that live close by. Am Israel Hai!
Vardit Zafri
As an American living in Israel with my family for the past 10 years, I would like to convey to CNN readers a few thoughts as Israel is in its second week of mourning and once again busy burying its dead. What does a mother say to her 18-year-old daughter who is afraid to go on a bus? This same daughter is doing a year of National Service as a nurse's aid at Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Hospital and assisted the doctors and nurses there last Sunday as over 60 wounded and many dead were brought in after last week's bombing attack.
It is not enough to just want peace and to make peace with one's enemies. We have no partners in peace. Arafat is as interested in true peace as Hamas is, just he is smarter and has learned from his previous mistakes so he talks in English to the world press one way, but to his own people he refers to the suicide bombers as martyrs and still talks about jihad, a religious war to free all of Palestine.
Where will it all end? I want peace but a true peace and not living in constant fear. Will my family arrive at work safe and sound each morning; will my son in the army be stoned, spat at and cursed (or even worse, G-d forbid) by the Arab villagers that surround his army base? I want peace and security in my homeland as is the right of every person.
Name: Elyse Gelfand
E-mail: elyse@shiva20.ch.huji.ac.il
About the attacks in Israel: It is so easy for a lot of people (especially in the United States) to blame the PLO for the attack in Jerusalem, which Hamas took responsibility for. It is a clear and plain fact that whatever the PLO would do to help the peace process and fight terrorism, it won't be enough for them!!! I just wish that those people would realize that we are living in the 90s now and not in the early 70s as PLO was still a terror organization.
Name: Kifah Abbad
E-mail: kiabgjfd@sp.zrz.tu-berlin.de
It is time for Israel to fight back, and for Yasser Arafat to show he is committed to the peace process. It shouldn't be a difficult thing for him to make it very clear that Hamas' actions are contrary to the Palestinian agenda and are intolerable. Israel cannot continue to be abused by these attacks, unable to defend itself in the name of the peace process. Peres must show strong leadership and find a way to fight back while not destroying the process completely.
Name: Gordon J. Murray
E-mail: gmurray@skidmore.edu
I am an Israeli who doesn't have a driver's license so I have to use the buses. This is very frightening. I support this peace process, but I think the Palestinians can and should do more to prevent these horrors.
Name: Or Kroyzer
E-mail: Kroyzer@netvision.net.il
My office is located in the top floor of the shopping center where the Tel-Aviv terrorist action took place. My home is on the other side of the street, located in the same complex. Yes we are shocked, Yes, we are in mourning.
The tension in the streets is almost alive. Fear, despair and anger come out in unison from the hearts of everybody. The terror should be stopped, in any price and in any condition. We will not take such actions anymore. The acts of mad men and their leaders must be banned and done away with. Though the majority in Israel support the peace process and deny violence, there is a line and this is where that line is drawn. We can not put up anymore, and this comes from the left-wing and right-wing men on the streets.
It is easy to get carried into violence and lose all of our senses. Though Israel is "used" to those situations, the terrible attacks against innocent civilians should stop now. The Israeli security forces will surely respond; the response we wanted to avoid will be terrible and painful. The mind stopped praying for peace and started yelling revenge. Once again we face the problems stating you have no one to talk to. If the Arab countries want peace, this is where they must show their true intentions. The street cries today for vengeance. We hurt with all of our might and pray for the victims of the last assaults. Yes, I will vote for the peace process and give my whole being for the chance of not facing any war ever again. But also I seek revenge, and I say with all the pain and tears, there will be no peace until the last beasts are taken out of their dens and destroyed. God have mercy on us all.
Name: Moshe Bar-Nachoom
E-mail: mosheb@adiphone.co.il
As an advocate for peace, and of peace, I find that I am hard pressed to remain faithful to my beliefs. My own blood calls for revenge. As inconceivable as I would have earlier thought it, the Hamas have now convinced me that there may well be only one road to security, and peace may not be it. The Hamas have a history of social activism and charitable deeds among the Palestinian community. But with this insanity, they show an inability to function as anything other than petty terrorists who must be stamped out to the last man.
The government of Israel should honor its declaration of war on the Hamas and kill or capture those who are in its military wing. To those in the nonmilitary aspects of the Hamas, I can only say that your acceptance of terrorist policies has led to your own downfall. The Palestinian Authority should absorb the social services offered by the Hamas and make them official Palestinian Authority functions. After that, the Hamas should be outlawed around the world and its members hunted. It sickens me that I have been made to advocate any violent course of action.
Name: Lorne Goldstein
E-mail: Gol536@lawlab.law.uwo.ca
After I have read some reactions about the terrorist attacks we have suffered in Israel, I can not understand how some people still write about the Israeli government being "barbaric!" It is unacceptable that when innocent children, tourists, Jewish, Muslims and Catholics are killed by bombs, anybody can blame Israeli government about something, like the indiscriminate killing is a kind of "even" response.
I think everybody should condemn such an act, no matter against who was it done. This is not a question of human rights, because if you don't think that it is just killing without reason, now it will come to your country, to your neighborhood against somebody else (if you hate Jews so much, so you think Jews deserve it, you should think that others deserve it, too). So please, first let's unify all around the globe against such violent ways of solving political problems, then you can argue with others as long as you like about their way of living and acting. Let's give peace a chance !
Name: Saul Szulanski
E-mail: saul@onyx.co.il
It is about time your president came to terms with the depth and complexity of this problem and the Palestinians. Ten years ago when I watched debate conducted by CNN, I believe between intellectuals on both sides including Hasnah and Hussani, I knew this was a very difficult problem whose roots are embedded in blood, turmoil, culture, religion and political divergence. The peace process in which Clinton came, albeit late, was a vision of hope and a promise of peace. He must never lose sight of these pillars that support whatever actions he has to do. What I am saddened by is a lack of action, almost total confusion, and inaction in a non-directional, unclear policy position. I suggest the team in Washington go back to basics and reexamine root causes of the problem and draw out a long-term realistic program not only for Israel or Arafat or Hamas but for all by understanding their innermost fears and overcoming this first.
He must get all parties ultimately together. Side-lining one or the other will create more violence. Call it quiet, back door or third-party diplomacy, we as humans cannot afford to live in a world of continuous crisis. And America is in a position of leadership in world diplomacy and peace.
Name: Angelina Tan Mei Mei
E-mail: meimei@po.pacific.net.sg
He is the leader of the Palestinian nation. He has the full authority to start a complete war against the Hamas. I, as an Israeli, will not agree to the continuing terrorist attacks. I call Arafat: Fill your part in the agreement! You have the power to stop those terror attacks which are killing so many Israelis. You can either arrest Hamas leaders and put them on trial, or give them to the Israeli army. We are not asking anything special or unusual. Just that: fill your part in the agreement and stop the terror monster NOW! Israel is a small country, with about 6 million people. Everybody here knows a man who was hurt in this terrorist attack. We will react, if you won't.
Name: Adam Matan
E-mail: Aristo@mail.snunit.k12.il
I highly commend CNN for creating this wonderful Web site. It's not often that you see a site as informative and useful as this one. Today, I was walking through campus and in the corner of my eye I saw a TV through a window that had CNN on. I saw the caption "Tel-Aviv Bombing." I immediately wanted, needed to know more. I had no access to a TV or to a radio, so I went to the computing facility here at NYU and I found this page which gave me all the horrible details. It's unfortunate what's happening in Israel, and I hope Peres acts very harshly with the Hamas terrorists. I feel that the Israelis should only guarantee peace if Arafat could guarantee the same thing by keeping the Hamas in check. That was his part of the bargain.
Name: Joseph E. Safdieh
E-mail: jes6333@is.nyu.edu
I'm a 15-1/2-year-old kid from Tel Aviv, Israel. I was in the place that the bombing took place in. I really feel bad right now after I heard that almost 20 people were killed. I didn't know what to do, and I really felt like crying, I feel that I am living inside an endless war that has no solution. I really support the peace process and I hope the peace will come soon and will stop these terror attacks. Name: koby ofek
E-mail: tommy@aquanet.co.il
Yasser Arafat is now making some very visible, belated efforts to arrest major Hamas operatives. Yet, just three weeks ago he was calling Yihye Ayash ("The Engineer") a martyr, and allowed a Hamas demonstration to take place in Kalkilya under the benevolent eye of his personal police force, complete with a mock bus bombing (reported on CNN). It is now clear that the American and Israeli governments indulged in reckless fantasy when this "peace" process was initiated on the White House lawn three years ago.
Name: Arnie Lustiger
E-mail: alustig@erenj.com
The recent escalation by Hamas and other surrogate groups may focus the collective minds of ways to prevent further atrocities. However, would it be any different if the peace process had not been set? I think it is important to remember the lives saved on both sides by the peace process and the steps made toward a just and lasting settlement. If recent events bring a return to a troubled past of revenge and counter-revenge, then a continued cycle of violence will prevail for many years to come. It is better to suffer the short-term violence of those who, in any case, will never seek peaceful methods of compromise rather than a return to the punitive methods employed previously. These collective acts of retribution envisioned by the government can only lead to further conflict and not to a resolution. There is no easy path to peace.
Israel signed an agreement with the murderer Arafat to stop the terror. He has failed to come through on his promise, and for this failure he ought to pay with his life. He had been given a "last chance" when Israel resurrected his near-dead political career by attempting to install him as "leader" of the Palestinian people. The events of the last 10 days, a total of five terrorist attacks, not four or two as has been quoted so frequently yesterday, proves that not only is Arafat not in control, he feels forced to cooperate with Hamas terrorists. He knows who they are, and if it was in his power he could have stopped them long ago. Despite rather showy "demonstrations" of support in his favor in Gaza, the truth is that the Palestinians hate him, the elections were totally rigged (no realistic opposition was allowed) and the peace process has fallen on its face. I have always been left-wing and pro-peace, but it is painfully obvious now that the peace process has been a total failure.
Name: Teddy Margolis
E-mail: scooby@netvision.net.il
Northwest Indian cultures achieved peace when each side in a conflict publicly sacrificed their leaders to atone for blood already spilled. If insanity is to stop, maybe Arafat and Peres should shoot each other on TV so all the fundamental lunatics can be preempted. Let them offer themselves as a sacrifice to peace. I am sure the fundamentalists would buy it.
I think the only people who should be blamed for these attacks are the Israelis themselves. First of all, the "peace process has been going too slow and the Palestinians have not yet benefited from it. They have been released from prisons and are being put into bigger prisons, such as Gaza. The Israeli government seems to think that peace will be achieved if Palestinians are monitored vigorously, while Israelis move in and out freely without having to go through checkpoints, etc.
Also let's make it clear that Arafat cannot do more than he has done, because he lacks political power. The second reason why these attacks have been occurring is because of the murder of the "engineer." The PLO and Hamas had a six-month truce going, but as usual, Israel stuck their noses into something that did not concern them politically. The Israeli government must have known, unless they're politically handicapped, about the anger that would follow after an attack on a Palestinian on land Arafat controls.
Name: Abdullah Shah
E-mail: palestine@neocom.caYou said it...
