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July 5, 2002
Conflict is not between Palestinians and Jews
Letters
Editor: After carefully reading the front page article "Two
Palestinian-Israeli wars" by Kyle Berger in the June 21 edition
of the Jewish Western Bulletin I would like to make some
comments.
I believe that people here fail to understand that members of our
community who speak critically about the state of Israel are allowing
themselves to become a tool to be used by the very sophisticated
Arabic organizations in town.
The rabbi who was invited to "offer a Jewish perspective on
the increasing tensions between Jewish and Palestinian supporters
throughout the world" began his comments by saying that he
risked being "cast out" from his own community for speaking.
With all respect, I would suggest that this rabbi only represents
himself and not any wider cross-section of Jewish opinion, and that
his statement indicates his realization of that fact.
There is no conflict between Palestinians and Jews; the conflict
is between Palestinians and Israelis regarding the piece of land
that lies between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
The sophisticated Palestinian propaganda machine succeeds from time
to time in catching naïve Jews here and in using them for its
own benefit. I think it's time people realized that democracy does
not necessarily entail the right to shoot oneself in the foot. I
support every discussion between people from different religions
to try to bring more patience and understanding to the world, but
I suggest that these people should not try to solve political problems
6,500 miles from here.
Ran Bagg
Israeli Emissary
Jewish National Fund of Canada, Pacific Region
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