A call for Sharon and Arafat to grow up

Sharon of Israel and Arafat of the Palestinians are both iron willed men who do not know compromise and find reasonable solutions.  Simply put.
In 1947, the United Nations drew a line in the sand giving Israel part of the former British protectorate and the other part to the Palestinians.  Jerusalem became a ward of the UN.  

In 1967, Israel won a stunning victory when it was attacked from three sides by Arab military.  Israel’s victory defies all logic for they faced a superior military force on three fronts and seized the day.  Brilliant tactics, excellent leadership, and a will to survive. 

When the shooting stopped, Israel had penetrated deep into land allotted to the Palestinians.  Israeli settlements started springing up in land that was not exactly Israel’s.   

Israel does have every right to defend itself and its land – but not at the expense of stolen land.   

Israel took heavy casualties by the suicide bomber militants under the directorship of Arafat.  In turn, Israel used its military to strike back taking an equal number of Palestinian civilians.   

Sharon started erecting a concrete wall deep inside Palestinian lands.  When he got his hands slapped, he said the walls would come down, but satellite photos show more walls are being put up. 

Both Israel and Palestine have a right to the land given them through the UN partition plan.  Israel has a right to exist, but on their side of the street.   

Arabs and Jews have been fighting for years, and I suspect the root cause goes back to the bible and who deserved Abraham’s birthrights.  None of us were there when the Ismael/Issac issue happened and a 5000 year old grudge match is ridiculous.   

If Israel is to survive it must follow the rules – simply put.  Their neighbors may not like them much, but following the former partition plan will ease tensions significantly.  Israel still has not figured that out yet, and they cannot bring themselves to understand that they are one half of the problem. 

On the Palestinian side – Arafat is probably as close to being pathological as any one person can get.  The millions sent to the Palestinians by fellow Arab states for humanitarian reasons, has somehow managed to find its way into Arafat’s bank account.  Meanwhile, Arafat’s people live in squalor conditions, and are at the bottom of the heap. 

Both Sharon and Arafat are playing with fire with no sense of direction, and with only one clear agenda and that is to see who can antagonize the other more.  We see such behavior in the kindergarten class rooms.   

As a Jew, I steadfastly remain neutral.  As a person, I look at the whole situation and just shake my head. 

I wish to say one thing to Sharon – if you are going to proclaim Israel is taking the high road, then, act like it.  Walk the walk. Start thinking about the long term consequences of your actions and behavior.  Think about your own people who have been killed as a result of your leadership. 

To Arafat – you are hurting your own people.  You have not dealt in good faith.  Take the millions you've managed to take from your own people and go someplace else before you kill anymore of your people or their children. 

To the rest of the Arab states – I call upon you to provide adult leadership.  If Sharon and Arafat will not break this dance of death, then the world needs you to step in and enforce the partition plan as originally mapped out by the United Nations.  

Drop the religious differences, stop the grudge match, and help create a win-win situation.   

Has there not been enough blood shed already? 

Michael Berglin