When I moved to the US from my home country of Lebanon, one of the major differences I noticed was the media. News coverage really differs between here and the Middle East when it comes to international issues. I realized there really are two sides to every story, adn while one half of the world gets one side, the other half gets a different side. The touchy issue of the Israel-Palestine conflict is no different -- in fact, this is where I noticed the biggest difference.
Israel is supported by most of the Western world. This is largely due to the fact that during the holocaust in Germany, the Jews tried to escape to several different countries in Europe, as well as the US, but were not accepted because they would cause political unrest in already troublesome times for the countries receiving them. So when an alternative solution arose -- namely, dumping all Jews in Palestine, the "Promised Land", and establishing an independant (sic) state for them -- the westerners were quick to help. This involved kicking literally millions of Palestinian natives out of their homes, and out of their own countries even. Now the Palestinians were themselves refugees in neighbouring Arab countries, and causing trouble for those countries. And such it has been from 1948 until today.
However, many people do not go into the history behind the almost 60 year old conflict. They just see "civilized" Israelis being "terrorized" by Palestinian suicide bombers. Well, there is alot people in the west don't see.
Sabbah's blog (http://www.sabbah.biz/mt/) is a great place to see the world from the perspective of someone from the Middle East, and understand the differences that make us who we are, and realize the misunderstandings that cause unnecessary conflict.
One moving article is about a Palestinian child killed at an Israeli checkpoint (http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/05/01/3-year-old-childs-skull-crushed-at-israeli-checkpoint/).
Another is about the confessions of a Jewish refugee (http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/04/28/confessions-of-a-jewish-refugee/).
Look around. Educate yourselves. Ignorance is one of the main causes of strife in the world, and I think everyone worldwide can do with more education and awareness of other cultures and international affairs.
Wow this is a great post.
It's interesting that no matter where you go there are two sides to every story - yet often both sides try to dominate the other. I think this shows us human nature, and it's an interesting peek into the mind.
I'd love to say, "why can't we all just get along" but my real thought is more of... Religion kills, it poisons, and the 3 Big Religions will never get along. Too many years of terrorizing one another and distrust.