I am reading all those pieces about the latest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and getting irritated by the minute.
At first glance, one might ask - why kidnap a 19-year-old soldier who obviously has no real advantageous knowledge about anything remotely relevant? Is the release of those women and children really what the Palestinian terrorists want?
I say no. This was a carefully planned attack - not only on Israel but also on the Palestinian leadership, who is split between a somewhat peaceful coexistence with Israel and an all-out war. This is about reinforcing the need for jihad more than anything else. It is about not allowing any peace talks to resume and proceed to some tangible conclusion. This is about justifying the use of terror tactics and about leaving Israel no other option but to retaliate. That is key - they want Israel to retaliate.
The inability of the Palestinian people to realize that they are themselves mere puppets when it comes to all this… That is astonishing too. As long as they support actions such as the latest attack and their government's role in it as well, they will remain isolated and hungry and their lives will be in danger. I don’t see exactly what’s in it for them. And even if one might argue that they are so destitute that they don't have much to lose, I still cling to ideals such as dignity and the value of life.
Most annoying though is the arrogance of some of those Palestinian figures. Ali Jarbawi, a professor and dean at Birzeit University, had the nerve to say that this is what happens when Israel enacts unilateral policies under the assumption that there is no “Palestinian partner". Hell yes! That is exactly the case - there isn’t a Palestinian partner willing to engage in rational, reasonable talks with the Israeli government.
There is, however, a Palestinian neighbor who fires Qassam rockets at Israeli towns regularly; there is a Palestinian leadership who won't even recognize the Israeli state; there is a Palestinian population thriving on jihadist propaganda and such propaganda, combined with the lack of food and the corruption of the Palestinian leaders, can do wonders for any Holy War.
So no, I don’t think I can envision a Palestinian partner right now. Not since Hamas won those ill-fated Palestinian elections.
I confess I am pessimistic about the fate of Cpl. Gilad Shalit. The last kidnapped Israeli soldier was Nachson Wachsman, in 1994 - also 19 years old. Wachsman died during the rescue operation. Not to mention the mystery surrounding Ron Arad, the pilot shot down in Lebanon in 1986 and whose whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
Call me naïve, but I still wait for the day when the Palestinians will stop blaming the Israelis (and Jews for that matter) for not seizing what was given to them as a result of the UN Partition Plan. Impossible? Probably.
Still, if one wants to talk about which, among the two Abramamic religions, was in Israel (the land known as Israel today) first, that would actually have been the Jews (or Hebrews). After all, the Hebrews have been Hebrews (or Jews) for longer than the Muslims have been Muslims. And if there is need to go back even further, sure - they were both there at the same time, as they are both offshoots of the same ethnic and linguistic group. Why can't anyone remember that?
June 30, 2006
ISRAEL AND HAMAS
June 29, 2006
UPDATE
So far, things are okay. I am still living out of boxes etc and I am ready to move on to the next stage... Of course moving across the country is not easy, but does it have to be this complicated?!?! Just a thought.
My computer at home sits on top of its own box, on the floor. And if I want to use it, I need to sit on the floor with the keyboard on top of my legs. Now, this is doable for a while. But I am getting sick of it. And it also explains my inability to keep this blog current in the last few weeks (I know, excuses excuses).
I just thought someone, somewhere might like to know.
And GO BRAZIL GO!
June 9, 2006
BRASIL... MEU BRASIL BRASILEIRO...
El Presidente, Zarqawi, Iraq, Iran, Israel, gay marriage - all this will have to wait because today the 2006 FIFA World Cup begins! What can I say... I never feel more Brazilian than when the cup is on, and I love every minute of it!
The only thing though - when did it happen, or better yet: how did it happen that the USA got ranked 5th in the world??? Alongside Spain? Where was I, where I was looking while this took place? Anyway, you can see it to believe it at the FIFA website.
I know I'm whining, but I really think Americans should stick to their baseball and their own version of football. Not to mention that, as the joke goes in Brazil, American soccer players are not only too good-looking to play the sport, but there is always the fear that at any given moment they might just decide to pick the ball up and run with it... They are not exactly genetically programmed to kick it the entire time, right?
Jokes aside: soccer is our national treasure, the one thing we Brazilians are really good at. We're good at playing it, loving it and celebrating it - like no one. And I daresay that whatever is driving this change here in the US about soccer, it must have more to do with business opportunity and sheer competitiveness than anything else. Americans are famous for putting their heart in many things and activities, but I don't believe soccer is one of them. At least not yet.
May the best one win (and may it be that I don't have to post a retraction at the end of the games): GO BRAZIL GO!!!!
June 8, 2006
June 7, 2006
EL PRESIDENTE IN GREAT FORM!
I am sure I must be reading this wrong - can anyone out there please show me the light??
GREETINGS FROM DC!
Back to life. It has been a while, and I can't say it has been the easiest while. In one breath, I got up and left Southern California (where I was for the past 11 years) for Washington, DC. Sure, it is what I wanted to do. Still, not easy.
So here I am. New job, new town, new everything. I miss my friends and the odd familiarity of LA, a city I never even liked. But at least I knew where the nearest Trader Joe's was (and there were so many anyway!)...
If I had to change one thing about DC so far - I'd have sushi bars sprouting out of every corner. Of all the things I could not stand about LA, sushi bars were not one of them. They were prolific, and for the most part clean and pretty reliable. In LA, one can be a regular at as many as 10 neighborhood spots if he/she chooses to. It is beautiful, and maybe that is aided by the local tradition of strip malls (an architectural and urban planning disaster, I must add).
But on the other hand, DC is bursting with life in ways LA has never been (at least not to me). People walk in the streets and in the metro, and there is so much youth around, and it is so transient! It is truly a cosmopolitan place, more so than anywhere else I have been to. It is exciting!
I am not totally settled yet and apartment search is still the hassle I remember from past years. I guess this is regardless of where one's at. But other than that (and a small tiny heartbreak but I promised myself that this blog will not have too many personal undertones - meaning, somehow somewhere I have to spare those around me the details of my personal life), things are good and I see myself being very happy out here. I have no regrets and I think this change could not have come at a better time.
Not to mention that now that I am in Bush town...
