tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post3850850936938540042..comments2024-03-29T05:33:43.878-04:00Comments on Murder is Everywhere: In the Aftermath of a MurderOvidia Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749549092493567689noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-51043383775322921432017-11-14T00:52:34.376-05:002017-11-14T00:52:34.376-05:00Hear, hear! Well, said, Michael, and thanks.Hear, hear! Well, said, Michael, and thanks.Everett Kaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371555243187874414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-18574038428293414712017-11-13T21:43:48.574-05:002017-11-13T21:43:48.574-05:00Hi Everett - good to hear from you and sadly, your...Hi Everett - good to hear from you and sadly, your pessimism regarding the current tensions in the Middle East are spot on. <br />And that's precisely the point of the blog in the aftermath of Rabin's murder... <br />After Rabin and Arafat signed their Declaration of Principals and shook hands at the White House in 1993, the atmosphere throughout the Middle East changed for the better--diplomatic doors began to open between Israel and the entire Islamic world. Israel established diplomatic and trade missions with Morocco and Tunisia, she developed business and trade with Oman and Qatar, made peace with Jordan, and began to explore a peace treaty with Syria. <br />Peace was breaking out between Israel and the Arab world! <br />It isn't overstatement to say that this filled most people in the region with optimism for a brighter future. And I would submit that the easing of tensions in the Middle East may have had a far-reaching ripple effect contributing to the easing of tensions in Northern Ireland with a ceasefire between the armed factions of Protestants and Catholics beginning in 1997 leading to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998--a peace that's withstood a decreasingly few (though horrible) acts of terrorism in the ensuing years. <br />And while the hope for peace between Israel and Palestine grew in the years after 1993 with the step-wise Oslo Accords, large fringe elements of Arab and Jewish extremists viewed this situation with alarm, and they rose in resistance, stoking "fear and loathing" through propaganda along with acts of terrorism. And among these fearsome acts were verbal and physical assaults of Yitzhak Rabin culminating in his assassination on November 4, 1995, and eventually culminating in the death of the peace process itself.<br />But is the hope of peace really dead?<br />No.<br />There are many who would suggest that “the reports of that death are greatly exaggerated” (to paraphrase the quotation attributed to Mark Twain). <br />And I firmly believe that if enough of us in the Middle East and around the world demand peace, justice and security for the long-suffering people of the region this will someday come to pass. And soon, I hope.<br />And as I sit writing this at my computer at 4:20 AM in my Bethlehem hotel room, the electronically amplified call to prayer from an unseen muezzin sounds from a nearby mosque, and I know that dawn will surely come. Michael Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03920544462417780237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-46660145219280866502017-11-13T12:14:36.017-05:002017-11-13T12:14:36.017-05:00EvKa and all--Michael, as I said above, is in Pale...EvKa and all--Michael, as I said above, is in Palestine. When he can get on wifi and visit with us, I am sure he will. Thank you for your comments for now.Annamaria Alfierihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12311596277267789834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-78586503908732972922017-11-13T10:31:15.235-05:002017-11-13T10:31:15.235-05:00Alas, I fear we're headed in exactly the oppos...Alas, I fear we're headed in exactly the opposite direction again. All signs point toward a war with Iran, and soon. Trump wants it, Israel wants it, even the Mullahs in Iran wants it (to push the moderates back down in their own country), Putin wants it (so Russia can get a warm-water port), the Saudis want it. And I'm not sure replacing Trump with Pence would do anything to stop it. It seems highly likely we're headed for very dark times indeed, and my only hope is that the human world will survive to see brighter days in the future.Everett Kaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371555243187874414noreply@blogger.com