Comments on Israel

I've added a couple of comments to the BBC website recently, both on the subject of Israel. You can participate in these and other conversations at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/default.stm.

On the anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's death:

Sunday, 13 November, 2005

Rabin came close to a big step forward in Israeli-Palestinian relations, making his assassination all the more regrettable. But before we romanticize too much, I seem to recall that practices like bulldozing the homes of the families of alleged terrorists -- the families, not just the terrorists themselves -- continued under his command as the Prime Minister. But at least he saw that a way to get along had to be found eventually, and he tried to do find it.

On the opening of a new border between Gaza and Egypt:

Tuesday, 15 November, 2005

I can understand the fear of weapons coming in through the border. Yet I find it hard to believe that Sharon would agree to it without knowing what he was doing. Maybe it is that the weapons would be no closer to Jewish families than before, when they occupied Gaza and lived on that border, or perhaps they've devised suitable precautions, or even developed some level of trust with the Palestinians. In any case, I'm beginning to develop some respect for Ms. Rice as Secretary of State, although I still think she was a shill for the Bush Administration in her previous post, stuck with the job of systematically lying about yellowcake uranium all over the TV.

Honestly, prior to the invasion of Iraq, I felt as though "Condi" was spewing yellowcake out of her mouth everywhere she went, as though taking a big bite just before going on camera and talking, without chewing it at all. However, in her new position Ms. Rice strikes me as patient and determined and interested in achieving some balance, although I am sure I disagree with her on many, many points, not least of all her determined loyalty to Bush and his band of thieves. At best, she may be using them as a means to an end -- power, perhaps with some noble intent for using it wisely, a difficult task given the karma of "yes-ing" your way to the top, the preferred means of climbing in this so-called "Administration".