presenting to the jury

exhibit a. i'm in a class called US and the middle east. and one of my professors told us a story of a class he took while in college... the class was something along the lines of israeli history or jewish history... and the professor walks up to the front of the room the first day of class and says simply, "by a show of hands, who thinks it could happen again?" everyone in the room except the two white kids in the room, my prof being one of those kids, raises their hand.

could what happen? well... that answer is clear. obviously the professor was talking about the holocaust. and went on to suggest a certain level of uncertainty and fear expressed by israeli/jewish people, and how their level of "security" is a direct reflection of that fear.

now... here's the catch... how can you pose the question "could it happen again." the could in this sentance suggests a future possible occurance... it IS happening... its happening all over the world. its happening right in front of their eyes, only this time its not their specific ethnicity. its even caused by many of them. I am a firm believer that israeli and jewish people should be at the forefront of a war AGAINST violence and pushing people from their homes. they know what its like, how painful and unfair it is... so how could they be so blind? how could they ask if it could happen again, when its all around them. i dislike selfishness.

please don't get me wrong. I don't hate jewish people or israeli people. i'm not anti-semetic... this is impossible, as arabs are a semetic people as well... my passport says israeli citizen... and i have jewish friends. i dislike violent people.

exhibit b. i attended a lecture on tuesday presented by an israeli professor. He was against violence in the middle east and i really appreciated his lecture. it was realistic. no one can get rid of anyone else. its not going to happen. a compromise must be found... towards the end of the lecture, as questions were allowed on the floor, a certain sir expressed his opionion that an example must be made... arabs must be taught respect and nothing else can ever solve the conflict. they are merely terrorist that want nothing but death to israelis and israel...

now really? no. they are all in all a peaceful people. what THEY want is justice. their homes back... peace... not having to live in fear or discrimination... arabs have a strong tie to their family and land... these are things that have been taken away from them... just like the jewish people during the holocaust. so why are jews/israelis protecting themselves and arabs are committing hostile acts of terror. i dislike double standards.

exhibit c. i was watching an interview on sky news that i blogged about previously, i believe... anyhow, one of the arguments made was in regards to perspective. sure, america and israel views hezbollah and hamas and other organizations as terrorist organizations... but if you swith glasses and look at it as a person expelled from say... your home in the west bank... or maybe you are just a resident in the region, perhaps a civilian in the recently devastated lebanon, and see the happenings that occur each day... you would probably view israel and america as the terrorists... attacking civilians everyday for whatever "cause". i dislike closed-minded individuals.

you be the jury.(i loved those books growing up)