Sharon’s Legacy

Sadna...

``And I think any Indian sympathy for Israel comes from
1.anti-Muslim prejudice``

Well said.

biggest loss is to bush administration, sharon held a cabinate position of secratary for middle-east affairs in it.

And I think any Indian sympathy for Israel comes from
1.anti-Muslim prejudice
2.understanding the futility of dealing with Islamist groups whose ideology is not to get a political settlement but to wipe you out from the face of the earth.
3.repeated goofing up of Palestinian leadership for above reason.

They are all SOBs on this issue without exception- Israelis, Palestinians, assorted other Arabs, the US, the British, evangelist Christian Americans and Iranians like Ahmednijad. The death or life of any one player doesn`t change the essential SOB nature and intent of the entire boiling. A holy land has been cursed to be holy to so many people - the more holy it has been considered, the more it has been subject to ruinous policy and indiscriminate violence by all parties.

Jang and Arjunm

Nice try ....

The statement she gave was not that her work was misinterpreted but that to conclude that Pakistan Army was completely blameless was wrong. No one claims that the Pakistan army was blameless...

She maintains that violence was on both sides... her work says it clearly.

This is what ``Googlers`` do- don`t you...

#35 by jang on January 13, 2006 7:23am PT


#34 i believe sharmilla bose gave a statement that her comments were being misinterpreted


Sure she did...and manto knows it too...

GT

Except in relation to a close circle of kith and kin, support and opposition to others is offered based on certain basic principles, including self-interest. Many people have changed their position vis a vis the Israel-Palestinian conflict because the principles implicated in the conflict have changed completely.

#34 i believe sharmilla bose gave a statement that her comments were being misinterpreted and misused. i am sure more able googlers can find her press-release in that regard.

Dear P-Mishra

I don`t give a damn about other Muslim countries... but about Bangladesh... have you had the opportunity of reading Sarmilla Bose`s research which suggests that violence was on both sides in the Bangladesh war? I am not absolving that parasite we call Pakistan Army of its brutish treatment of the then Pakistani citizens but lets not go over board.

As for other comparisons... do you promise that India would treat Palestinians better than it treated these proud Indian Muslims:

Re: # 31

>>>Finally, the present Indian govt.`s lukewarm relationship with Palestine saddens me.<<<

GT, and you are?

Do you think that Tikka Khan and Pak Army should also be tried for war crimes? They killed some 1000 times more Muslims than Sharon is accused of? How about Zia for killing thousands of Palestinians (again more than Sharon)? I wonder what the Author of this piece has to say about the butchery of Pak Army? I can bet you, nothing!

#30 Mantolives

Yup, you are absolutely correct. Certainly, had palestinians been living in india, they would have been treated much better than:


(1) Turks have treated armenians and kurds
(2) Saddam treated Shia and Kurdish sub-nations
(3) Pakistan`s violence and mass murder against bengalis
(4) Saudi discrimination and suppression of indigenous shia`s

You think your comments are funny, actually they reflect a sad reality.

Israel is no heaven, sharon was an opportunist who did well during a long crisis period, BUT palestinians would have treated MUCH worse in an arab or other authoritarian muslim nation.

The PLO and Israel were at war and war leads to pain and death. However, there are certain international rules of engagements. If these are violated, charges of `war crimes` can be laid. For example, such charges have been laid on various `netas` of erstwhile Yugoslovia. Sharon`s crimes in Sabra and Shatilla make him (at the least) a `war criminal`. I hope the guy does not die.....I hope he is tried first by an international court (as mentioned in the article he has already been mildly convicted by an Israeli court).

Israel today is sharply divided. Many Israelis would have no problem with this article, their views would be congruent. Equally many would have orthogonal views. What is interesting is the growing number of zionist supporters in the sub-continent, more in India than in Pakistan. I believe it is because of youth. Today, the misery of the Palestinians is no longer news, their secular movement is no longer in focus, their misery as refugees (in Arab countries) is hardly mentioned, individual Palestinian successes inspite of adverse situations in academia, business etc. are not highlighted. The corrupt and clueless Palestinian leadership is also to blame (I do not mention Arab leadership because these are nincompoops anyways). Finally, the present Indian govt.`s lukewarm relationship with Palestine saddens me.

``Palestinians are lucky to live in a civilized country like Israel.``

Yup... they could`ve been living in India!

And what drama he created by actually POSING that televised pull-out! All that wailing and abusing by the settlers was all posed for the western media.

As an Indian I have conflicted feelings about the whole Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On one hand, I sympathise with the Israelis for being the victims of jihadi violence, just as we Indians are. I admire the Israelis for their accomplishments, their ruthless tactics, their fierce response to terror and their ability to take on the entire muslim world.

At the same time, ideologically I am on the side of the Palestinians. The Palestinians have always called for a secular state while Israelis want a religious state for jews. In that sense, Israel`s basic ideology is no different from Two Nation Theory, except that Israel has actually made it work and is a true homeland for jews. If I support Israel`s ideology, I cannot oppose Pakistan on the basis of TNT.

Also, the Palestinian people have truly been wronged. They were thrown out of their homes and lands for no fault of theirs except for ethnicity/religion, they have very little to call their own and they are not accepted as equal citizens. They have lost international support mainly because of their embrace of absurd suicidal tactics.

Palestinians are lucky to live in a civilized country like Israel. Just imagine what would happen if they had lived in an arab country and had a dispute over land and nationalism?

Not even a single one would be alive today. They would be dealt with like the pakis dealt with the bangladeshis (1M+ dead) or the darfur situation (200,000 dead and its not over).

Let us not fool each other with long words borrowed from western liberals. The reason people like Sharon became prominent in israel is the violence visited on the country. Minus that other figures would have ridden to prominence. That is how democratic countries work. But thats hard to understand for most people with no experience of democratic life.