Posted in Facebook earlier today "Anyone know why Israel is declaring that in order to negotiate peace with Palestine that it needs to be "formally recognized as a Jewish State"? I don't get it. Aren't there Jews, Christians AND Muslims living there already? I received a ton of comments as would be expected. Israel is one of those hot button topics where people lose their cool rather quickly when it comes up. I am still trying to wade through all the comments and videos that were posted. I replied. And I might as well paste it here for posterity in the Diaries:
"Thank you all for your comments. One of the many reasons why I love FB. In October I am going to Israel/Palestine for two weeks on a peace mission as a civilian diplomat AND for a holy land pilgrimage (as a Christian). I am studying Hebrew in order to speak it more fluently by the time I get there. I have ordered a sh*tload of books on the subject of the Israel/Arab conflict from BOTH and ALL sides of the issues. Some of them are more biased towards one side and some are purely academic (featuring every speech and letter ever published since the Zionist movement first began. Hopefully I'll have a better understanding of what the h*ll is going on over there before I get there. I have about ten very good friends who live there, both Jewish and Palestinian, who assure me that both sides in general "want peace".
"The biggest problem I face is that everyone I know who has gone there (who is American) comes back horrified by how the Palestinian people are treated and being forced to live. These are non-biased uneducated (about Israel/Palestine) Christians who go there just "to visit the so-called Holy Land". But they come back more traumatized by the Palestinian issue than thrilled to see these supposed holy sites. That disturbs me, worries me. I am worried about my ability to keep my cool as a Civil Diplomat in the face of such horrid human rights abuses. I've done it in many countries, including Iran. (that was heartbreaking at times and I almost lost my cool on many occasions but DIDN'T).
"But this issue particularly bothers me due to the apparent blatant treachery involved in the stranglehold Israel seems to have on the Palestinian people. Hence my initial question: Why on earth, HOW on earth can all these leaders from Israel say things like "We need the Arab world to formally recognize Israel as a Jewish State" when there are at least THREE if not more races/religions/nationalities living in that country? I mean, what next? America is officially declared a Christian State? I mean WTF? Any feedback that is non-biased would be appreciated."
As always more later...
Yours truly,
The Ambassador
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