Seeing and calling things as they really are

The fact that the Israelis want to erase the Nakba from the Palestinian's narrative, others see things very differently. And then there are all those settlements that keep on creeping onwards and outwards. Meanwhile, the Israelis posture about what they are doing or are prepared to do. One need not be cynical, and sceptical, to conclude that whatever the Israelis might say, their actions speak for themselves.

Two perspectives, from different parts of the world.

First from the San Francisco Chronicle:

"Peace will remain elusive so long as Israel's approach to Palestinian refugees is to erase them from history; when Palestinian property in the West Bank continues to be expropriated and developed for Israel; or when Palestinian families must be uprooted and their homes demolished because they are not Jews. The pressure of the Obama administration on the Israeli government must not wane. Beyond the call to freeze all settlement activity, President Obama should insist on equal rights for Palestinians, and oppose discriminatory Israeli policies that only prolong the Nakba."

Secondly, from a very good editorial in Haaretz:

"The eviction of two Palestinian families from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in order to replace them with Jewish families, predictably sparked harsh condemnations. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the government to refrain from such actions, which she described as "provocative."

The sight of the evicted Palestinian families, who had lived in these houses for decades, paints Israel in the world's eyes as a country that maintains a cruel regime of occupation, oppresses the weak and strives to create political facts in the disputed city under the guise of the "rule of law."

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