My Response to the Article: 7 Questions Every One Should Ask to the Government of Israel

This is my response to the Associated Content article: 7 Questions Every One Should Ask to the Government of Israel, published by Bhumika Ghimire on October 19, 2006.

The article makes many points about the alleged mistreatment of Palestinians by the country of Israel. It emphasizes how the Jews were a persecuted people before the founding of Israel. The article asks why Israel now persecutes Palestinians. It asks why the Jews who fought to obtain their homeland were called freedom fighters, while Palestinians who fight against the State of Israel are considered terrorists. The article asks why it is okay for the country of Israel to drive Palestinians living in Israel into ghettoes and refugee camps and to not give the land to the Palestinians. It also asks why Israel allegedly discriminates against Palestinians in housing, education, and in other ways. It also asks why the United States of America gives aid to the country of Israel, but not to Palestinians.

In attempting to answer these questions, before I go into specific historical facts, I will state that most Americans have no idea what it is like to live in Israel. I am sure that I have little idea. It isn't that we have never been the victims of terrorism, because we all remember September 11, 2001 and the thousands of people who were killed when the terrorists flew planes into buildings. We remember the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City and the almost 200 people who were murdered as a result. We have seen other incidents of terrorism against our troops for years—long before we were fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.