I also remember how the Palestinians, in the guise of the Jordanians, would not permit Jewish people to pray at the Western Wall. It didn't take 5 hours for a Jew to get from Tel Aviv to the Western Wall, it took 18 years, from 1949 to 1967, for a Jew to be permitted to pray at the Western Wall. Oh, was that because the Western Wall was in Arab territory, because no Jews were allowed in Arab territory? Why is the author complaining when he is subject to lesser restrictions than Jews are subject to when trying to visit territory held by Arabs?
52
It is interesting to see the comments on this article. On one end it is true that the series of checkpoints were erected in response to Palestinian terror, much as increased security at American airports was a response to terrorism. On the other hand, it is impossible not to sympathize with the author, who does not espouse violent beliefs but is still punished for the beliefs of those who are similar to her. This reveals the difficulties of the situation Israelis and Palestinians are daily in: Israelis must protect their people, but the enterprise of settlement takes it too far. Palestinians must live under occupation, but the often violent responses hinder the chance at peace. The comments, and their polarity, reflect this reality. Can we not then ignore our biases and state the above facts? Without acknowledgement of the concerns of "the other side" I fear peace is impossible. As a Jew, inextricably connected to Israel, but largely sympathetic to the Palestinian narrative, this makes me despair.
58
My nephew spent a year in Israel and returned with a very hardened view of the Palestinians. In the beginning he harbored no prejudices or pre-conceived ideology. He was just an American teenager and not looking to be involved in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He said he found that it is not safe for Jews in many parts of Jerusalem. Gaza and the West Bank were hot beds of hate and violence. He told us that the Palestinians, Hezbollah and Hamas have one goal; Total annihilation of all the Jews of the world. He said that before his visit it was not possible to believe that such deep hatred existed. So, the Palestinians have to wait at checkpoints and are generally not trusted. He also said that the Jewish settlers didn't do much for peace and they should be restrained from their racist activities. And the ultra-orthodox Jews were terribly obnoxious to everyone. The problems he said will not end even in the next 200 years. One side or another will wipe the other out before there is peace.
38
The checkpoints, barrier walls and displacement of Palestinians into places without employment opportunities, adequate education, healthcare or entertainment for young people is a breeding ground for terrorism. Israel knows this and relishes it, because if the terrorism were to stop, they would actually have to make an overture to respect the human rights of Palestinians and no longer have a rationale for their brutal repression and colonization. A two-state solution is the only path to peace, but Bibi keeps building settlements, keeps getting billions of dollars in US weaponry and aid, and keeps his iron clench on power. It's not very different from Trump keeping Americans in fear in order to cement his totalitarian grip and reversal of basic rights. I am not fooled.
24
If there is a problem using Israeli airports then the other option is crossing into Jordan and I am sure they will not have as many barriers. After all, no one is lunging with knives at civilians and police there. There is no danger of anyone carrying a bomb or a machine gun to shoot people indiscriminately with.
There are no streets named after terrorists that killed civilians, and there are no lifetime rewards and payments to the families of anyone killing anyone else.
This is another instance of someone looking at consequences without paying any attention to the causes. When it took a terrorist your ideal 50 minutes , the result was a lot of dead Israelis. You might want to voice your observations to the corrupt Palestinian leadership who have pocketed and squandered millions to the detriment of ordinary citizens, and who have little interest in a real peace.
When they talk of the "occupation" they mean the whole of Israel, not just the West Bank. The only solution they will accept is the disappearance of Israel.
As long as that is the reality, the trip will take 5 hrs.
There are no streets named after terrorists that killed civilians, and there are no lifetime rewards and payments to the families of anyone killing anyone else.
This is another instance of someone looking at consequences without paying any attention to the causes. When it took a terrorist your ideal 50 minutes , the result was a lot of dead Israelis. You might want to voice your observations to the corrupt Palestinian leadership who have pocketed and squandered millions to the detriment of ordinary citizens, and who have little interest in a real peace.
When they talk of the "occupation" they mean the whole of Israel, not just the West Bank. The only solution they will accept is the disappearance of Israel.
As long as that is the reality, the trip will take 5 hrs.
57
So 20 years ago it took 50 minutes to get from Ramallah to Tel Aviv, and now 5 hours.
What changed since 1997? Not the settlements. There were plenty of settlements by 1997. It was in fact the suicide bombers smuggled into Israel with belts loaded with explosives and shrapnel, that killed thousands of civilians in cafes, restaurants, malls and bus stations. They started with the second intifada in 2001, and didn't stop until the check points and security barrier was erected.
The irony is that the occupation could have ended in 2001, had Arafat accepted President Clinton's partition plan in 2000, accepted by then Israeli Prime Minister Barak, or if Abbas has accepted Israeli PM Olmert's offer on 2008.
And by the way, the occupation is not 50 years old. The area was occupied by the Ottoman Empire since the 1500s, the British since 1917, and the Jordanians from 1948 to 1967.
What changed since 1997? Not the settlements. There were plenty of settlements by 1997. It was in fact the suicide bombers smuggled into Israel with belts loaded with explosives and shrapnel, that killed thousands of civilians in cafes, restaurants, malls and bus stations. They started with the second intifada in 2001, and didn't stop until the check points and security barrier was erected.
The irony is that the occupation could have ended in 2001, had Arafat accepted President Clinton's partition plan in 2000, accepted by then Israeli Prime Minister Barak, or if Abbas has accepted Israeli PM Olmert's offer on 2008.
And by the way, the occupation is not 50 years old. The area was occupied by the Ottoman Empire since the 1500s, the British since 1917, and the Jordanians from 1948 to 1967.
45
It is hard to watch while Israel loses its soul.
23
Indeed it's saddening to hear how long it takes to reach the airport.
Once it took much less time.
The same is true for anyone trying to fly domestic flights in the U.S.
It used to take much shorter time before terrorists tried to blow up innocent citizens.
Lets remember who were the the first terrorists who hijacked airplanes.
Yes, they were Palestinians and their supporters.
Do you happen to remember what happened in Entebbe when Jewish travelers were separated from the rest of the passengers?
How about if Palestinians stop their terrorist acts and than life would be so much more decent to all.
Once it took much less time.
The same is true for anyone trying to fly domestic flights in the U.S.
It used to take much shorter time before terrorists tried to blow up innocent citizens.
Lets remember who were the the first terrorists who hijacked airplanes.
Yes, they were Palestinians and their supporters.
Do you happen to remember what happened in Entebbe when Jewish travelers were separated from the rest of the passengers?
How about if Palestinians stop their terrorist acts and than life would be so much more decent to all.
60
Spot on.
It used to take me no time to get into the theater.
Today it took 30 minutes to get into a production of "Mama Mia" in Fort Lauderdale.
Look at a map. We're 6600 miles away from the West Bank, and we're still paying the price for radical mayhem.
Cry me a River Jordan.
It used to take me no time to get into the theater.
Today it took 30 minutes to get into a production of "Mama Mia" in Fort Lauderdale.
Look at a map. We're 6600 miles away from the West Bank, and we're still paying the price for radical mayhem.
Cry me a River Jordan.
31
It's not that I conflate the minor inconveniences we have with what the Palestinians suffer. But until they forswear violence and come to the negotiating table, they can't possibly expect anything to change.
29
I think this column is very hypocritical. Here's a brief synopsis of an article I read in the NYT last September."The Israeli authorities said four Arabs who had tried to attack security officers and civilians... were shot and killed in separate assaults,...Hamas, ... exhorted Palestinians to escalate acts of resistance against Israeli soldiers ... to avenge what it called the blood of innocent martyrs. More than 30 Israelis and two American visitors have been killed since the attacks began last fall"
How many variations of this article have we read in the past 30 years???
Ok lets change this scenario to NYC. Suppose the attacks happened here. Suppose it was 30 of us who had been killed. And suppose Hamas was demanding the killing of more New Yorkers. What do you think our response would be? Do you think there would be an out-pouring of sympathy for the the Palestinians? Or do you think given our horrific history of terrorist attacks that we would demand that all roads be shutdown and maybe even retribution? Which scenario is more likely to you?
Israel to their credit has chosen a middle ground. Their military could overwhelm the West Bank today. But they are trying to fashion a solution imperfect as it may be. The roads are open 24/7. At the end of the day, they run into countless incidents. It's hard to differentiate between the truly dangerous and the hostile. Hence the delays. But they are trying. We wouldn't have this much patience would we? You know we wouldn't.
How many variations of this article have we read in the past 30 years???
Ok lets change this scenario to NYC. Suppose the attacks happened here. Suppose it was 30 of us who had been killed. And suppose Hamas was demanding the killing of more New Yorkers. What do you think our response would be? Do you think there would be an out-pouring of sympathy for the the Palestinians? Or do you think given our horrific history of terrorist attacks that we would demand that all roads be shutdown and maybe even retribution? Which scenario is more likely to you?
Israel to their credit has chosen a middle ground. Their military could overwhelm the West Bank today. But they are trying to fashion a solution imperfect as it may be. The roads are open 24/7. At the end of the day, they run into countless incidents. It's hard to differentiate between the truly dangerous and the hostile. Hence the delays. But they are trying. We wouldn't have this much patience would we? You know we wouldn't.
40
The preponderance of these comments ignore the fact that when you strip someone, even a respectable person of their dignity they tend to react negatively to their opprresors
27
If the author could persuade his compatriots to stop knifing civilians on the street, stop blowing up bus stops, stop lobbing rockets into neighborhoods, stop murdering teenagers who are taking hikes, and stop blowing up wedding celebrations, he might find things a bit more relaxed.
Oh -- and if the world, and Israel, give you a fourth offer of a state, take it.
Oh -- and if the world, and Israel, give you a fourth offer of a state, take it.
47
If we are going to complain about security border delays, let us place blame where blame is due: terrorists, most likely Muslim terrorists. I will note that Palestinians ran extortion racquets that threatened international airlines with hijacking, murder, and destruction if they did not pay the PLO protection money. Now, they complain about delays at border crossings on the West Bank? That's nerve.
38
An interesting and thoughtful essay is met by "You started it", which
is simplistic and far from the truth. Yes, this is the 21st Century.
is simplistic and far from the truth. Yes, this is the 21st Century.
17
When America took sides in a thousand-year religious war in the Middle East it doomed its democracy because the only place it will find sanctuary from the suicidal hatreds and passions unleashed by religious war is behind the ever higher walls of a police state.
5
I have been on the taxi rides from Ramallah to the Tel Aviv airport twice myself, both after finishing up USAID-funded consulting assignments in the West Bank. Those two times were in 2012 and 2013. Back then, it seemed easier, but still dicey, and the taxi guys were creative finding the best check points to cross through to Israel proper. Actually, the article raises a question I hadn't thought about. If there is a new Palestinian state, will there a new international airport in the West Bank? How is that issue being treated in the two-state solution talks?
9
Commenters dismissing the plight of the Palestinians in the name of preserving Jewish Israeli security need to become familiar with the brave Israeli Jewish veterans group who document their personal experiences in carrying out Jewish Israeli military orders in the Occupied Territories. The mission of "Breaking the Silence" is to educate the Israeli public's understanding about the realities experienced by citizen soldiers serving in the Occupied Territories in the name of the Jewish people. You may/may not agree with the mission of Breaking the Silence, but they are accounts of Jewish citizen soldiers carrying out the controversial policies of Israeli Occupation, an Occupation, outside Israel, recognized by no country on earth as legitimate.
18
Israel left Gaza many years ago, and the result has been ongoing mortar and rocket fire into civilian centers. The money and supplies they receive is used to obtain weapons and dig tunnels, not to the benefit of the civilian population. In their eyes, the "occupation" that you refer to is the state of Israel, not just what was referred to as the West Bank. Their charter calls for the destruction of Israel, so do you think there is a legitimate partner to negotiate with?
Your pronouncements are made from the comfort of your living room couch, not the streets of Jerusalem. When someone comes lunging at you with a knife or puts a bomb in your bus, your point of view will accept the reality of the security checks this writer refers to, notwithstanding "Breaking the Silence".
Your pronouncements are made from the comfort of your living room couch, not the streets of Jerusalem. When someone comes lunging at you with a knife or puts a bomb in your bus, your point of view will accept the reality of the security checks this writer refers to, notwithstanding "Breaking the Silence".
26
It used to take 50 minutes to get to the airport. Now I give myself five hours
Isn't that ironic because westerners used to have to get to the airport 50 minutes for international flights now we have to give ourselves 5 hours. While I don't blame the Palestinians I have to marvel at the outrage by the Islamic community and western leftists when anyone expresses any resentment at how Muslim behavior causes such inconveniences to entire societies. It is odd that a religion that claims to be so peaceful is so unapologetic and the inconveniences their behavior imposes even on societies where they make up less than 1 percent of the population.
Isn't that ironic because westerners used to have to get to the airport 50 minutes for international flights now we have to give ourselves 5 hours. While I don't blame the Palestinians I have to marvel at the outrage by the Islamic community and western leftists when anyone expresses any resentment at how Muslim behavior causes such inconveniences to entire societies. It is odd that a religion that claims to be so peaceful is so unapologetic and the inconveniences their behavior imposes even on societies where they make up less than 1 percent of the population.
41
Deceptive wording. He says "Twenty years ago the drive took 50 minutes. Now....I left the house at noon, five hours before the flight." Since it is customary to get to the airport about 2 hours before an international flight, this means that in the past he would have left the house almost three hours before the flight. So the trip has increased by a little over two hours. Still not great, but nothing like the more than four hour difference one might assume if they didn't read it carefully.
18
These border crossings - as with modern airport security - mostly just keep people safe. A few hours of delay are worth saving lives on both sides of this difficult divide.
34
No. They mostly degrade the Palestinians. The new roads built just for the "settlers"and that the Palestinians are not permitted on disrupt the Palestinian traffic by cutting off their routes.
Would be so understanding if you were delayed for hours getting to an airport and you were at the mercy of the whims of a teenage guards?
Would be so understanding if you were delayed for hours getting to an airport and you were at the mercy of the whims of a teenage guards?
15
Lebanon has suffered many civil wars just within recent memory, in addition to conflicts with Isreal. they don't actually need neighbors to destroy the Corniche, they have enough domestic discension... and funding from other countries.
moral: no matter what, there is always, somehow, enough money for bullets and bombs.
moral: no matter what, there is always, somehow, enough money for bullets and bombs.
4
I have flown from LA to Isreal. under ideal circumstances, the trip from my house to LAX should take about 25 minutes by car (by public transportation, all day). yet I also had to budget more than 5 hours before flight time, including over 3 hours in a special security line and special baggage x-ray line at the airport.
it wasn't all because of heavy traffic on the 405.
we live in a world of fear, and we have been placed there on purpose.
so, that much we already have in common.
now, can we have a serious discussion... or is the future too impossible a concept to allow that dialogue?
it wasn't all because of heavy traffic on the 405.
we live in a world of fear, and we have been placed there on purpose.
so, that much we already have in common.
now, can we have a serious discussion... or is the future too impossible a concept to allow that dialogue?
26
I don't know if it's as much as "a world of fear" as much as it is "There are people willing to blow themselves up and take some people with them and we're going to do everything we can to keep that from happening and if John and Jane Doe have to put up with inconvenience, that's the price."
17
" I think most individual Palestinians want peace with their Jewish neighbors, because peace will bring them prosperity. "
polls among arabs in the street, as in the souk(street) ,says the opposite.
polls among arabs in the street, as in the souk(street) ,says the opposite.
28
Souk actually refers to a market
3
literally is mean the market. metaphorically in english it means the street,
6
it doesn't sound much worse than getting to JFK airport on the subway for a flight on the weekends and then followed by going through US security.
23
Your comparison is for the least silly and brings nothing to the debate. Palestinians suffer every day from the criminal israeli occupation. They are the VICTIMS of occupation. Israel and the settlers are the AUTHORS of the crime. Whether you like it or not, this is the truth. And history will show it.
11
Twenty years ago there were no checkpoints because that was before the terrorists came from Tunisia and unleashed endless murder and mayhem. If not for Arafat and his gangsters there would be no separation wall and no barricades.
70
Sorry I must have missed something .. can you remind me please who is building the settlements in the West Bank ?
10
It takes even longer to get from Hamas held Gaza to Egypt - do you know why ? Because Hamas understands there are alot of terrorists and other undesirables around ...
Imagine a Palestinian State was given to the Palestinians in the West Bank, how would it differentiate from Gaza, both would be occupied and controlled by terrorists within months of Independence, both would have religious intolerance and zero economic Independence.
So Palestinians you must realize that you may be alot better off than if you had Independence ... You are certainly better off with all economic and human freedoms than most of your brothers and sisters in the mid-east, including Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria etc.
I remember when there was a time that the WB would be turned over to the PA, how many thousands of Palestinian ran and too refuge in Israeli Jerusalem, so as not to be in the possible Palestinian State ... Wonder why ?
Get rid of terrorists and terrorism and let's see how long it takes to get to the Airport ..
Imagine a Palestinian State was given to the Palestinians in the West Bank, how would it differentiate from Gaza, both would be occupied and controlled by terrorists within months of Independence, both would have religious intolerance and zero economic Independence.
So Palestinians you must realize that you may be alot better off than if you had Independence ... You are certainly better off with all economic and human freedoms than most of your brothers and sisters in the mid-east, including Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria etc.
I remember when there was a time that the WB would be turned over to the PA, how many thousands of Palestinian ran and too refuge in Israeli Jerusalem, so as not to be in the possible Palestinian State ... Wonder why ?
Get rid of terrorists and terrorism and let's see how long it takes to get to the Airport ..
54
Although my tax dollars prop up their religious dictatorship (meaning that many cannot vote), I will NEVER go there.
8
Why is it that defenders of the Israeli government consistently repeat the same talking points and demand that Palestinians take the moral high ground by ignoring the fact that their homes were taken by military force and they now live under occupation? When was the last time the Israeli government took the moral high ground instead of demolishing Palestinian homes to make way for more Russian immigrants, incarcerating children and human rights activists, bombing Gaza?
15
Actually, they did it with Gaza and only got in return more terrorism and rockets fired at them.
19
And when was the last time the Vanquished got to determine the terms with the Victors?
Accept the notion of Israel as a home for the Jewish people, living side by side with a Palestinian state not committed to eradicating its neighbor, and the commute to the airport will be a breeze.
Accept the notion of Israel as a home for the Jewish people, living side by side with a Palestinian state not committed to eradicating its neighbor, and the commute to the airport will be a breeze.
5
JDS78 ... you are absolutely right. There are still for some reason so many people who do not want to see this ... Soon Palestine will no longer exist. Israel, and their numerous supporters in the US (Kushner included), will soon possess the whole territory from the Sea to the Jordan river. But then of course, the winner writes history, and the israeli and their supporters will blame the palestinians.
1
I guess "two wrongs make a right" in the Middle East. Until both sides forget the past and forgive each other, the hatred and bloodshed will continue. It's sadly ironic both Muslims and Jews are "religious" and preach love in between all the killing. And I bet both despise non believers and call them godless. Until humans become humanists instead of religious zealots, positive change and peaceful coexistence will take multiple decades instead of years.
5
You know nothing about Israel. Yes it is a homeland for the Jewish people but all the institutions and most citizens are non-religious. It doesn't help to espouse "Both sides-ism".
16
It isn't going to happen.
the so-called Palestinians are really just pawns in a Middle East political game that's been ongoing since the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WW I.
21
"I looked at Hani. The sheen of perspiration was now visible on his brow, too. How had it come to this?"
It "came to this" because the Palestinian and Arab mandate from day one has always been to push the Jews into the sea.
It "came to this" because Palestinian mothers had no problem allowing their children to strap on suicide vests to become martyrs.
It "came to this" because Yasser Arafat never negotiated with the Israelis in good faith.
Shall I continue, Mr. Shehadeh?
I am not condoning, nor do I approve of the human situation that Palestinians now face, but I surely know how it "came to this".
The Middle East can be such a beautiful thriving region with Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existing, but unfortunately, it "came to this".
It "came to this" because the Palestinian and Arab mandate from day one has always been to push the Jews into the sea.
It "came to this" because Palestinian mothers had no problem allowing their children to strap on suicide vests to become martyrs.
It "came to this" because Yasser Arafat never negotiated with the Israelis in good faith.
Shall I continue, Mr. Shehadeh?
I am not condoning, nor do I approve of the human situation that Palestinians now face, but I surely know how it "came to this".
The Middle East can be such a beautiful thriving region with Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existing, but unfortunately, it "came to this".
63
What a nonsense .. Look at the map of Israel / Palestine. Take a look at the border of 1967. Take a look at what remains now for the Palestinians .. some ghettos between settlements filled with armed settlers. Palestinians are the VICTIMS of the criminal israeli occupation beyond 1967's borders. Israel, the settlers and all its backers are the PERPETRATORS of the crime.
Never, ever, underestimate the deep primordial
Anger that resides in people's. It is the burden of history that does not evapirste---- not in the Middle East, anyway.
Anger that resides in people's. It is the burden of history that does not evapirste---- not in the Middle East, anyway.
1
I know about checkpoints. Berlin had many of them. And there was no way of knowing how long it would take to get through them...or even if, you could get through them.
And while going through the border to East Germany was entirely different, the effect was in many ways the same as what is described here: the wait, the detours, the sheer arbitrary nature of it all.
But the situation between Israel and Palestine is far more tragic in its divisions of towns, families, and livelihoods, because there's no immediate end or solution to the problem in sight.
At least in Berlin the Wall eventually came down.
And while going through the border to East Germany was entirely different, the effect was in many ways the same as what is described here: the wait, the detours, the sheer arbitrary nature of it all.
But the situation between Israel and Palestine is far more tragic in its divisions of towns, families, and livelihoods, because there's no immediate end or solution to the problem in sight.
At least in Berlin the Wall eventually came down.
19
I've just returned from Israel where we visited the Security Barrier accompanied by a senior IDF officer (retired) responsible for planning and executing the barrier. Sadly, it seems obvious why it's needed. I wonder, however, whether it would be practical to implement a form of "trusted traveler" program allowing those in the West Bank who would qualify more freedom to cross over into Israel.
9
I used to live in Netanya, 12 minutes from Tulkarm, and 2nd most explosive city in the second intifada. Your getting lost in traffic story is still not enough to convince me that it's not a necessary evil on order to stop the influx of suicide bombers from the west bank to Israeli cities. How about you take the responsibility and march peacefully all over the west bank? Where is the Palestinian women's march? There is none. There's the apathy to violence and quiet resignation. If you're willing to let the Boys throw stones and molotov cocktails, I'm willing to live with our boys delaying your daily commute for a spectacular 5 hours.
43
Ben, Israel has a territory. Why the Palestinians cannot have one ? Because Israel does not want it. Israel prefers backing religious settlers who are building every day new settlements until there remains nothing for the Palestinians. That is the reality.
6
Denying emancipation to the five million men, women and children inmates of Israel's Palestinian plantations is a blot on the soul of Israel and America.
15
So the author had to leave home 5 hours before the flight? Since you're supposed to arrive at the airport 3 hours before the flight and the trip takes about an hour, that means the author left one hour earlier than necessary - not such a big deal. Also, do the readers understand the these are checkpoints between the West Bank and Israel? Every country has checkpoints between it and territory outside it's borders, what is so strange here? Do the readers also realize that at the end the author apparently crossed through the checkpoint without a problem and made the flight? This is an article intended to paint Israel in a bad light, but if you think about it a little, the author hasn't even actually accused Israel of doing anything unreasonable.
28
The usual whining. Try good faith negotiation and genuine commitment to peace and you won't have to wait five hours to board a plane. How about working towards democracy so you can oust corrupt leaders instead of the true goal of destroying Israel. Take responsibility for your plight, instead of blaming others.
BTW see Mark twain's description of the Holy Land in 1867
Come to Galilee for that... these unpeopled deserts, these rusty mounds of barrenness, that never, never do shake the glare from their harsh outlines, and fade and faint into vague perspective; that melancholy ruin of Capernaum: this stupid village of Tiberias, slumbering under its six funereal palms.... We reached Tabor safely .... We never saw a human being on the whole route.
Nazareth is forlorn .... Jericho the accursed lies a moldering ruin today, even as Joshua's miracle left it more than three thousand years ago: Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and their humiliation, have nothing about them now to remind one that they once knew the high honor of the Savior's presence; the hallowed spot where the shepherds watched their flocks by night, and where the angels sang, "Peace on earth, good will to men," is untenanted by any living creature...
I'm sure you'd like to return "Palestine" to those heady days. But then where would they send your Israeli Social security check?!
BTW see Mark twain's description of the Holy Land in 1867
Come to Galilee for that... these unpeopled deserts, these rusty mounds of barrenness, that never, never do shake the glare from their harsh outlines, and fade and faint into vague perspective; that melancholy ruin of Capernaum: this stupid village of Tiberias, slumbering under its six funereal palms.... We reached Tabor safely .... We never saw a human being on the whole route.
Nazareth is forlorn .... Jericho the accursed lies a moldering ruin today, even as Joshua's miracle left it more than three thousand years ago: Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and their humiliation, have nothing about them now to remind one that they once knew the high honor of the Savior's presence; the hallowed spot where the shepherds watched their flocks by night, and where the angels sang, "Peace on earth, good will to men," is untenanted by any living creature...
I'm sure you'd like to return "Palestine" to those heady days. But then where would they send your Israeli Social security check?!
32
alas, I must agree. the regular airline fliers, like the regular Palestinians, are inconvenienced because we have allowed ourselves to be terrorized by terrorists. they're winning in this way.
so much of these "safety" measures is just meaningless jive to hookwink people into thinking we're doing something real to keep them safe... when it's all half measures, too little, too late.
it's because we're too scared to do away with this costly foolishness, suffer the occasional tragedy (as we do anyway), and show that we are braver and more grounded in reality than suicide terrorist nutcases who have been sold a bill of goods due to their ignorance and intense frustration.
truth is, not one of us knows which day is to be our last unless, like so many terrorists, we make that decision for ourselves. just live every day as if it will be your last and be ready to die... because you will, one way or the other.
so much of these "safety" measures is just meaningless jive to hookwink people into thinking we're doing something real to keep them safe... when it's all half measures, too little, too late.
it's because we're too scared to do away with this costly foolishness, suffer the occasional tragedy (as we do anyway), and show that we are braver and more grounded in reality than suicide terrorist nutcases who have been sold a bill of goods due to their ignorance and intense frustration.
truth is, not one of us knows which day is to be our last unless, like so many terrorists, we make that decision for ourselves. just live every day as if it will be your last and be ready to die... because you will, one way or the other.
8
The author conveniently ignores the circumstances that gave rise to the need for be checkpoints -- Palestinian terror.
66
RNH....ah, if things were only as cut and dried as your simplistic answer.
And you're conveniently ignoring the circumstances that gave rise to "Palestinian terror" -- the expulsion of Palestinians from, and subsequent occupation of, their homeland.
4
Jamie, you clearly don't remember the 1967 war, do you? Arab forces signed "defense" pacts and were massing troops against Israel in yet another attempt to drive it into the sea... Jewish minorities all across Arab-controlled lands were expelled. You conveniently forgot to lay blame for starting these conflicts where they belong: Arab leaders, then AND now!
17
I'm sure Israelis don't want to waste their time and resources occupying the West Bank. It seems more like a defensive necessity than anything else. I think most individual Palestinians want peace with their Jewish neighbors, because peace will bring them prosperity. If the Palestinians would embrace peace through their government, then things will change.
21
If Israel and the settlers stop building settlements and invading the west bank, then things will change.
5
Once upon a time (circa 2 years ago), the comments were full of thoughtful discourse; Liberal, Conservative- and somewhere in the middle. Seems the Screechers have taken over; using anonymous Screen Names with tired old rhetoric; sounding more like Reddit or DISQUS. What has happened to you- NYT?
12
I think on this subject you are mistaken. Some of us will condemn the violence and terror inflicted by both sides-- we might disagree ( heatedly perhaps) on which side is worse, but there could be a common basis for discussion if everyone admits the crimes committed by both. But there are plenty of NYT readers who refuse to see the oppression and violence Israel inflicts on Palestinians. They are quite smug about it and the tone resembles what one hears from white " nationalist" types. On this subject nothing has changed. any criticism of Israel is categorically rejected or trivialized.
8
This knot of mistrust, conflict, hate and revenge is powerfully strong. It corrupts all endeavors of all entangled by it. Until the general populations of certain countries and the leaders of those countries...and they know who they are decide to call off this growing decline of civilization here on earth there will be no peace.
1
What a load of garbage. When he takes responsibility by recognizing that these checkpoints are there because the Palestinians are stopped from engaging in endless terrorism only by those checkpoints and other necessary security measures, then, and only then, will there be some hope to change things. Until then, he's like the son who murders his parents and then asks for mercy because he is an orphan.
38
Let Israel annex the West Bank and grant all residents of the West Bank full citizenship and full suffrage.
4
then they lose election, IF one person, one vote. Otherwise give citizenship without voting right.
That's not what they want. They want the Israelis to disappear.
16
Yes, so they can turn it into an Islamist country. Because that always works out so well.
13
Shehadeh sounds like a nauseating master of the anecdotal, one-sided blame game. His willful blindness of the "Palestinian" contribution to these problems assures him a place in the pantheon of rhetoricians who complain but who do not contribute to the resolution of serious issues. He can fool some of the people, some of the time, but not all of the time. When will the Palestinians acknowledge their contributions to the persistent backward nature of their present existence?
43
I find it interesting that the map illustrating the locations referenced in the piece is designated as the 1949 Armistice lines and highly ironic that although the writer speaks of 50 years of "occupation", he forgets that the "West Bank" was "invaded and occupied" by the Hashemites of Jordan from 1948 until 1967 who originally coined the phrase "West Bank". Of course, in those days, inconvenient historical facts would begin to emerge; there was no such thing as "Palestinian" people, there was never a clamoring for a Palestinian State, every single Jew were forcibly ejected from the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Synagogues desecrated and destroyed and until 1967, Jews were denied access to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism..... Maybe a little context is in order. The only reference to that earlier period is the incredulous and unbelievable reference in a Signpost to the Law of Return of 1950, once again to illustrate how evil it is that Jews, notably Holocaust survivors, during the earliest days of the State , were welcomed back to their historical homeland from their diaspora and the killing fields of Europe.
55
Amazingly, those escaping the killing fields of Europe are involved now in the extermination of the Palestinian people, and have been so since 1949.
4
Thank you for your historical references here.
6
Two wrongs don't make a right.
1
I will remember this each and every time I must remove my shoes at the airport.
Arrive 2 to 3 hours before my flight so that I can be checked through TSA and scanned. While we wait in never ending lines before boarding an aircraft.
Thanks Arab terrorists. Never forget, 9/11.
Arrive 2 to 3 hours before my flight so that I can be checked through TSA and scanned. While we wait in never ending lines before boarding an aircraft.
Thanks Arab terrorists. Never forget, 9/11.
54
What does taking off your shoes at the airport have to do with this article?
You seem to think the 9/11 attacks just came out of the blue. Why is it that only certain countries are targets of terrorism and not others? Have you ever read or heard about the history of terrorism in the Middle East and when it started? Ever heard the term "blowback"?
4
JDS78- Islamist terrorists have committed similar atrocities in countries that do not support Israel and don't have troops stationed in Islamic countries.
11
Yup, it sure sounds like the land of milk and honey to me. Way to go Israel making God look so good to the rest of a doubtful world.
5
If "facts on the ground" (Israeli settlements) in the West Bank were not allowed to grow 30-60x (depending on how you count) since 1970, the need for check points in the Occupied Territories would be minimal and is certainly reflective of the authors comment regarding time of travel increasing from 50 minutes to 5 hours over the passed 20 years.
https://www.vox.com/world/2016/12/30/14088842/israeli-settlements-explai...
https://www.vox.com/world/2016/12/30/14088842/israeli-settlements-explai...
14
If the Arabs accepted Israel's right to exist at any time since 1948, there would be no "settlements".
6
I wouldn't want to live in the West Bank, but neither would I want to live in Israel under constant threat of attack. The occupation is the natural result of fighting and losing one war after another. Most wars end with the loser suing for peace and the end of occupation and hostilities.
The Palestinians suffer from a lack of effective government (now there are two) and too many independent agents with their own agenda - which doesn't include peace. To the Israelis they are perfectly content with the status quo rather than cut a deal with a Palestinian entity with no authority or control over important elements of the Palestinian population.
Not one Palestinian leader had the guts to tell his people that they are not returning to their orange groves in Jaffa. It is a nihilist nightmare but the Palestinians hold the key to peace but are incapable of getting their act together.
The Palestinians suffer from a lack of effective government (now there are two) and too many independent agents with their own agenda - which doesn't include peace. To the Israelis they are perfectly content with the status quo rather than cut a deal with a Palestinian entity with no authority or control over important elements of the Palestinian population.
Not one Palestinian leader had the guts to tell his people that they are not returning to their orange groves in Jaffa. It is a nihilist nightmare but the Palestinians hold the key to peace but are incapable of getting their act together.
41
"I start eating myself up, even blaming myself for the occupation."
Or blaming the suicide bombers who blew up countless cafes that you and the PA encouraged, continue to encourage, and pay. Or maybe blame the PA leaders who have repeatedly rejected peace offers. Or blame Jordan for not declaring a Palestinian state before the '67 war, hoping for the whole country. Or blaming Hamas, or the people who elected Hamas. No blame for you for the downward spiral over the past 20 years: it's always somebody else to be blamed, right?
Or blaming the suicide bombers who blew up countless cafes that you and the PA encouraged, continue to encourage, and pay. Or maybe blame the PA leaders who have repeatedly rejected peace offers. Or blame Jordan for not declaring a Palestinian state before the '67 war, hoping for the whole country. Or blaming Hamas, or the people who elected Hamas. No blame for you for the downward spiral over the past 20 years: it's always somebody else to be blamed, right?
45
No mention of the daily suicide bombings that made the security barrier necessary. No talk of the thousands of innocent Israelis murdered in the name of Allah.
55
And no mention of the celebration as martyrs, and payment of the families, of the murderers who make checkpoints necessary.
Sorry I don't feel for you. Twice your leaders were offered a State on 90% + of the land they wanted. In Olmert's offer he was willing to give up a part of Jerusalem. Both times your leaders Arafat and Abbas said no.
Blame them for your problem. I no longer care what happens to you.
Blame them for your problem. I no longer care what happens to you.
44
Well maybe if your fellow Palestinians weren't so busy using their cars as weapons to ram into crowds of Israelis whenever possible perhaps Raja Shehadeh wouldn't have to waste so much time at Israeli checkpoints.
40
"...maybe if your fellow Palestinians weren't so busy using their cars as weapons to ram into crowds of Israelis...
Now, Sharon... though Tim Rice would certainly agree with your phrasing, I doubt very much Mel Gibson would, and I'm w Mel. Those "crowds of Israelis" -- actually that's "crowds of soldiers" -- so, completely one hundred percent permissible under international law.
Now, Sharon... though Tim Rice would certainly agree with your phrasing, I doubt very much Mel Gibson would, and I'm w Mel. Those "crowds of Israelis" -- actually that's "crowds of soldiers" -- so, completely one hundred percent permissible under international law.
If Palestinians did not teach hatred and violence to their children, check points would become unnecessary. As Mrs. Meir once said, there will be peace when Arabs love their children more than they hate Israelis.
47
Thank you so much for this article. It gives a real look at the obstacles that Israel places before Palestinians. It troubles me to read it. The Israelis are needlessly squandering the good will they have in much of the United States as we learn how they treat people who "share" the land. I have no personal stake in this except that as one group degrades another it's like a cancer that will eventually spread beyond the immediate parties.
15
While I am sympathetic towards the writer of this piece, this did not happen in a vacuum. From the day Israel was formed, the surrounding Arab nations and their people have been determined to "drive Israel into the sea." None of the Arab countries in the region, other than Jordan, has ever permitted Palestinians to become citizens of their countries, and I believe that Jordan has now closed that door. Saudi Arabia and Iran fight a centuries old war between two Muslim sects -- Sunni and Shite -- and they both have their terrorist factions which they fund and support.
If one does not read history, one will not know that thousands of Jews fled their homes in the surrounding Arab countries to go to Israel -- at least as many as the Arabs who left Israel. The Palestinian Authority gets millions of dollars in aid, but does nothing for its people. Neither do Hamas or Hezbollah. Indeed, what they do do is reward the families of suicide bombers who kill Israelis. Their geography tests omit Israel. Look at a map. Israel is a tiny country surrounded by enemy states with populations millions greater. Perhaps, if the Palestinians stop rewarding the bombers and start teaching peace, things will get better.
If one does not read history, one will not know that thousands of Jews fled their homes in the surrounding Arab countries to go to Israel -- at least as many as the Arabs who left Israel. The Palestinian Authority gets millions of dollars in aid, but does nothing for its people. Neither do Hamas or Hezbollah. Indeed, what they do do is reward the families of suicide bombers who kill Israelis. Their geography tests omit Israel. Look at a map. Israel is a tiny country surrounded by enemy states with populations millions greater. Perhaps, if the Palestinians stop rewarding the bombers and start teaching peace, things will get better.
37
In 1967 the Arabs tried to kill every Jew in Israel. They lost tanks, soldiers and land.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War
They would do it again in a heartbeat.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War
They would do it again in a heartbeat.
I wonder once the world turns again and power shifts back to the places that have always held it whether it will forgive America for its violence in the Middle East in general and in Palestine in particular. As one example of history's verdict we all have to live with the results of slavery in this country, and the resulting attitudes toward the South. Modern Germany might be another. Will the world forgive us?
7
I will die of a weary heart.
Man's inhumanity to man.
No,it is not new.
So very sad and outrageous.
Yes, I am very weary-hearted.
Man's inhumanity to man.
No,it is not new.
So very sad and outrageous.
Yes, I am very weary-hearted.
4
It's sad you have to pass through those checkpoints, but you know why they are there. When you Palestinians recognize the State of Israel, curb Hamas and Hezbollah, stop teaching your children to hate all Jews and sit down at a peace table, most of those check points will disappear sooner than you think.
38
Injustice and misery brought to you by bought and paid for American tax dollars. Trump can whine all he wants about Islamic terrorism, as long as he finances this, we will endure the terrorism.
6
Meanwhile, completely unreported by the NY Times, two Palestinian sisters were recently found smuggling explosives meant for terrorist attacks into Israel at the Erez crossing. One of them was a cancer patient on her way to treatment. There were explosives hidden in the special tubes for her medicine.
Palestinian leaders have rejected every peace entreaty offered by Israel over the 70 years. Israel, as any sovereign state would, is taking measures to protect itself. The path to peace is through Ramallah. When will the Palestinian Peace Movement -- if one even exists -- demand that its leaders and the broader Arab world accept that Israel is a Jewish State in the Middle East and then make peace so that they can live in peace as well? When will the Palestinian citizens and the Arab street forthrightly cry out, "Abu Mazen, make peace with Israel now!" ?
Also, on a separate note, eagerly awaiting the see an actual Jewish Israeli Zionist get express their opinion on the NY Times Opinion page one of these days. I strongly suggest Professor Richard Landes.
Palestinian leaders have rejected every peace entreaty offered by Israel over the 70 years. Israel, as any sovereign state would, is taking measures to protect itself. The path to peace is through Ramallah. When will the Palestinian Peace Movement -- if one even exists -- demand that its leaders and the broader Arab world accept that Israel is a Jewish State in the Middle East and then make peace so that they can live in peace as well? When will the Palestinian citizens and the Arab street forthrightly cry out, "Abu Mazen, make peace with Israel now!" ?
Also, on a separate note, eagerly awaiting the see an actual Jewish Israeli Zionist get express their opinion on the NY Times Opinion page one of these days. I strongly suggest Professor Richard Landes.
41
I'm so sorry that Ms. Shahadeh airport commute has been lengthened. The lives of Israelis who have been blown up, decapitated, shot, stabbed and beaten to death by Palestinians cannot hold the candle to spending extra few hours at the checkpoint. In fact, I'm sure said Israelis would gladly leap at the chance to die once more, just so Ms. Shahadeh doesn't have to sit in traffic.
38
Raja - do you think the NYT cares - they use you as a token in their pretense of
"liberal" balance.
"liberal" balance.
4
It is nice if someone tries to have a balance in their reporting.
This is just an article on the day in the life of someone trying to get to an airport; but it generates way too much finger pointing that will never lead to a solution.
It seems to me that the "tipping point" has been reached and both sides should give up any pretense that a solution could be reached "if only they did such and such". After so many years it seems to me that nothing will change and both sides should just learn to live with it.
This is just an article on the day in the life of someone trying to get to an airport; but it generates way too much finger pointing that will never lead to a solution.
It seems to me that the "tipping point" has been reached and both sides should give up any pretense that a solution could be reached "if only they did such and such". After so many years it seems to me that nothing will change and both sides should just learn to live with it.
12
Oh, but Trump's son-in-law will sort it all out --Trump said that Jared will be "very good" at making peace between Israel and Palestine. I just can't wait to see how Jared, with no political experience, who is an old family friend of Netanyahu, who is a developer of the West Bank, is going to do something that no one else has been able to do for over 50 years. But Trump says, "believe me" and "I know Jared can do this", so I guess he knows something the rest of us don't know.
3
It would be nice if the NYTimes TRIED to be more balanced in its reporting.
"How did it come to be this way"? Let's see the NYT give a full balanced report starting with 1948 and the refusal of the Arab world and Palestinian leadership to accept the notion of a Jewish homeland in Israel.
And, then, let's ask the NYT what kind of response there would/should be were Mexico to be sending mortars into Texas, trying to take back Texas.
That would give a sense of more balanced reporting.
Yes, the hardships are real, but a discussion such as this needs a balanced history as to 'how it got this way'.
"How did it come to be this way"? Let's see the NYT give a full balanced report starting with 1948 and the refusal of the Arab world and Palestinian leadership to accept the notion of a Jewish homeland in Israel.
And, then, let's ask the NYT what kind of response there would/should be were Mexico to be sending mortars into Texas, trying to take back Texas.
That would give a sense of more balanced reporting.
Yes, the hardships are real, but a discussion such as this needs a balanced history as to 'how it got this way'.
10
Unhappy about having to consume five hours for a "50 minute" ride to the airport?
Try complaining to the Israeli parents or spouse whose child or life partner has been murdered by Palestinian terrorists.
Try complaining to the Israeli parents or spouse whose child or life partner has been murdered by Palestinian terrorists.
33
What a weird and bizarre piece of writing, lies from the start to the end.
"Every conflict has its heroes. In Palestine they’re the taxi drivers."
For Palestinians, it's not taxi drivers but terrorist murderers. There are no schools named for taxi drivers but many named for murderers.
"And this is the greatest indignity of all, getting lost in your own country." Only not a lie if "country" is used metaphorically, since the Arabs on the West Bank never lived in a county of their own. Either a province of Syria, run by the Ottomans, the British, and then attacked and occupied by Jordan.
"The whole lot should all be evacuated and the city handed over to an international power. Then whoever wants to visit to pray there could use the houses of the former inhabitants, now turned into hotels.” Yes, just like when the eastern part was occupied (illegally) by Jordan. Except Jews and Christians were not allowed there. All Jews were forced to leave, their homes confiscated. Jewish grave markers were used for toilets and road repair.
As for how settlers could argue no one was living in Israel before their arrival, well, try consulting many many works on this topic. The only reason Arabs (mostly Egyptians and Syrians) moved to Israel was because Jews brought industry and commerce: jobs.
And of course the biggest lie: the constant whining about all the apparently pointless checkpoints. I guess they are there just out of spite. Not, uh, because of, uh, suicide attacks?
"Every conflict has its heroes. In Palestine they’re the taxi drivers."
For Palestinians, it's not taxi drivers but terrorist murderers. There are no schools named for taxi drivers but many named for murderers.
"And this is the greatest indignity of all, getting lost in your own country." Only not a lie if "country" is used metaphorically, since the Arabs on the West Bank never lived in a county of their own. Either a province of Syria, run by the Ottomans, the British, and then attacked and occupied by Jordan.
"The whole lot should all be evacuated and the city handed over to an international power. Then whoever wants to visit to pray there could use the houses of the former inhabitants, now turned into hotels.” Yes, just like when the eastern part was occupied (illegally) by Jordan. Except Jews and Christians were not allowed there. All Jews were forced to leave, their homes confiscated. Jewish grave markers were used for toilets and road repair.
As for how settlers could argue no one was living in Israel before their arrival, well, try consulting many many works on this topic. The only reason Arabs (mostly Egyptians and Syrians) moved to Israel was because Jews brought industry and commerce: jobs.
And of course the biggest lie: the constant whining about all the apparently pointless checkpoints. I guess they are there just out of spite. Not, uh, because of, uh, suicide attacks?
104
So why are the checkpoints there? Conveniently ignored is the terrorism encouraged and condoned by oeople like this op-ed writer. Palestinians could make the checkpoints and all the "inconvenience" go away by no longer supporting the murder of innicents.
58
Anyone remember that before American Intervention, Palestine once had one of the longer, most delightful and valuable Mediterranean Real Estate coast lines and a stable peaceful economy, with Muslim and Christian as their first and second population majorities.
18
Just like Beirut was the Paris of the Mediterranean until their southern neighbor turned Lebanon into a wasteland.
5
And - of course -the rest of the Middle East is such a paean to tolerance, good governance, equality, liberal values, internecine peace and economic progress.
17
Read Mark Twain's description of 19th century Palestine! A near empty barren wasteland run by the Ottoman Empire! It wasn't until Jewish immigrants arrived that farms flourished and modern cities were built! And the fact is. more that half of Israel's Jews originated as refugees from Muslim countries (Middle East and North Africa), not Europe.
19
When will the Palestinians and Israeli's sit down without preconditions and talk?
5
Probably as soon as they stop killing each other.
4
Actually given the hostility they have the number of killings has been extremely low.
Many more Muslims are killed by other Muslims than are killed by Jews.
First there are no or have there eve been a Palestinian people.
This doesn't mean there were no Muslims living in this part of the world.
No one denies that Muslims populated the land.
There Jews there as well.
In fact historically speaking Jews were there even before Muhammad was born.
These Muslums did not identify themselves as a separate group and did not call themselves Palestinians
Since they don't exist as a people there isn't a leader that represents them and therefore no one to do the negotiating for them.
Israel wants to make peace.
The problem that has to be solved before any talks can taken place is to determine who they should talk to.
Abbas won one election in 2005.
How can you call him a leader if that was the only time he was elected.
You need someone to negotiate with.
Someone who has the authority to make a agreement.
That person doesn't exist on the Muslim side.
Many more Muslims are killed by other Muslims than are killed by Jews.
First there are no or have there eve been a Palestinian people.
This doesn't mean there were no Muslims living in this part of the world.
No one denies that Muslims populated the land.
There Jews there as well.
In fact historically speaking Jews were there even before Muhammad was born.
These Muslums did not identify themselves as a separate group and did not call themselves Palestinians
Since they don't exist as a people there isn't a leader that represents them and therefore no one to do the negotiating for them.
Israel wants to make peace.
The problem that has to be solved before any talks can taken place is to determine who they should talk to.
Abbas won one election in 2005.
How can you call him a leader if that was the only time he was elected.
You need someone to negotiate with.
Someone who has the authority to make a agreement.
That person doesn't exist on the Muslim side.
4
When Abbas decides to do so. Netanyahu has already agreed.
4
Well not to tell anybody what to do but...the first step to resolving this hapless mess is to own up to the original Palestinian threat of what will befall the Jews when they assumed that it would be simple to defeat the Jews when the British pulled out. They openly swore to kill them all and run them into the sea. Revisit that and publicly atone for that bloodthirsty vengence and all other impediments and checkpoints will fall into the dustbin of history. Don't revoke that original missive and the state of war will persist until something more horrific ensues be it environmental or some nuclear option that eliminates all sides.
29
Everyone is helpless in solving this.
2
So...the Palestinian leadership holds no responsibility even though they have taken billions of dollars in aid intended to help the health, education and economy of their people and instead directed the aid towards terror and hate? The Leaders of the Palestinians need to be held accountable for the dire situation of their people instead of complaining about how long it takes to get to the airport. Pathetic.
85
Disgraceful.
Conditions and circumstances no American would much allow themselves to suffer.
Yet, Israelis and their supporters, dress this up as somehow necessary to ensure safety and protection. Everything is turned on its head. The very thing that causes revolt (occupation, oppression, taking of another's land and dignity) is said to be the way to ensure peace and tranquility, when it is the very cause of revolt, rebellion and unrest.
Ending the occupation, paying complete reparations for the harm done, and getting out for good of Palestine is the way for the desert to truly bloom.
The sad dark chapter in the creation of Israel continues.
With real people paying the price.
Conditions and circumstances no American would much allow themselves to suffer.
Yet, Israelis and their supporters, dress this up as somehow necessary to ensure safety and protection. Everything is turned on its head. The very thing that causes revolt (occupation, oppression, taking of another's land and dignity) is said to be the way to ensure peace and tranquility, when it is the very cause of revolt, rebellion and unrest.
Ending the occupation, paying complete reparations for the harm done, and getting out for good of Palestine is the way for the desert to truly bloom.
The sad dark chapter in the creation of Israel continues.
With real people paying the price.
34
Get real. Israel occupied the West Bank because Jordan attacked her, not the other way around.
Reparations? Sure, we will pay them, as soon as the Arabs and Palestinians pay reparations for all the Jewish refugees from Arab countries and all the destruction wrought on Israel.
Reparations? Sure, we will pay them, as soon as the Arabs and Palestinians pay reparations for all the Jewish refugees from Arab countries and all the destruction wrought on Israel.
22
The desert is blooming just fine in Israel, thanks. And the Israelis are "gone for good" in Gaza. What are the Palestinians doing there to help themselves? Oh yeah, electing Hamas to take over.
16
I remember times when there were no road blocks, they all started after violent terrorist attacks by Palestinians that killed innocent civilians.
The reason there are no car bombs in Tel Aviv is the existence of those road blocks.
The reason there are no car bombs in Tel Aviv is the existence of those road blocks.
76
I do not think that the Palestinians have yet reached the 'pain point' so as to revolt. Or it might already have and they are waiting for a Sarajevo incident OR Erez crossing hit-and-run incident for the angst to ignite.
Students of history should not worry. Israelis will be dragged into further brutality. Israelis know that they are fighting against history. Maybe that is why they are doing this.
Students of history should not worry. Israelis will be dragged into further brutality. Israelis know that they are fighting against history. Maybe that is why they are doing this.
5
Your comment -- not so deep
Students of history shouldnt worry, just study. Jews have always gone against "history" If you look at the people who were told they were against history, but succeeded to change the world, well, they were Jewish. Jews have always been told by the supposedly more knowledgeable religions and western civilizations that what they believed in was impossible, against history, just not so. This was always associated with their being guilty of decide, therefore undeserving, and dommed to be second class citizens. When JEws didnt go away with their ideas, they were accused of being conspiratorial, and were genocidally killed.
But, oh, how Israel has proved them wrong! And you can be sure, we will do it again.
Students of history shouldnt worry, just study. Jews have always gone against "history" If you look at the people who were told they were against history, but succeeded to change the world, well, they were Jewish. Jews have always been told by the supposedly more knowledgeable religions and western civilizations that what they believed in was impossible, against history, just not so. This was always associated with their being guilty of decide, therefore undeserving, and dommed to be second class citizens. When JEws didnt go away with their ideas, they were accused of being conspiratorial, and were genocidally killed.
But, oh, how Israel has proved them wrong! And you can be sure, we will do it again.
18
There is a solution to this problem. MAKE PEACE WITH THE ISRAELIS! However making peace means far more than presenting a list of demands and pre-conditions. It means being willing and honest about sitting down at the negotiating table and engaging in a serious process of give-&-take. It means giving up the dream of achieving a Palestinian state through force of arms and embracing the goal of achieving that state through dialogue resulting in a mutually beneficial agreement in which both parties not only commit to ceasing armed hostilities but also express the willingness to embrace each other as neighbors and partners in building a better future for all. When you bemoan the frustration of the checkpoints, remember that those checkpoints were born of the violence of terrorism. They may be making your life more difficult but that is nothing compared to the suffering of those Israelis who lost their lives at the hands of suicide bombers who blew up the buses, restaurants, theaters, and shops in which they happen to be at the time. Criminalize the terrorism, negotiate in good faith, and bring peace to the land. Then you will find that not only will the checkpoints disappear but you long awaited state will be born. Continue on your present path and there will be no end to suffering on both sides.
51
Why didn't the "journalist" writing this just use one of the the Jordanian airports, or the international airport in Amman? Why risk getting detained and deported flying out of Israel? Does the "journalist" understand why there are walls and checkpoints getting into Israel? The attempted genocide of all Jews in the middle east by Muslims does have repercussions.
42
Does Quantumtangles understand the the "journalist" is not a journalist but a lawyer who is an expert on human rights? Does the commenter realise that Jordan is a foreign country whereas Israel and the occupied territories are a single country? Jordanians are not Palestinians, Jordan is not their homeland. Do you look to Canada to take care of you? Do you look to travel from Montreal rather than New York. Muslims belong to a religion and are not one people. Britain just voted for Brexit so they could through a bunch of white Christians out of the country. Why would you expect Muslims not to have an identy based on their nationality rather than religion?
5
Gaza is a failure. The West Bank has not held elections in God knows how many years. The only country in the Middle East where Arabs have western style rights is in Israel. The checkpoints and walls are because of Palestinian Arab attacks on Israelis.
Two million jews were expelled from muslim countries in the Middle East. Two million Arabs were expelled from Israel. Israel absorbed all the Jews. Why can't the 300 million plus solve their refugee problem rather than leaving it fester?
Two million jews were expelled from muslim countries in the Middle East. Two million Arabs were expelled from Israel. Israel absorbed all the Jews. Why can't the 300 million plus solve their refugee problem rather than leaving it fester?
31
The Author notes that 20 years ago there were no checkpoints. It's true, but then waves of terrorism targeting Israel civilians--men, Women and Children bombarded Israel. buses filled with ordinary people going to work were blown up, spreading bloody body parts all over. The perpetrators were then honored as Martyrs and murderers who killed innocents, including American teenagers visiting Israel to explore their heritage, and had public streets and parks named after them. Still to this day, the families of convicted terrorists are paid a bonus by the Palestinian government. Can you imagine the horror and humiliation this practice? Imagine if Dylan Roof received a statue for his despicable act and his family received a bonus check from the Government. That is the reality in the Palestinian territory. As a human being I feel bad for the inconvenience of the Checkpoints, but never forget that their need was created by Palestinian terrorism and a culture that lionizes the killing of innocents.
125
Jewish terrorists who threw grenades and dynamite into crowded Arab markets are honored in Israel. Yitzak Shamir and Menachem Begin were both members of violent terrorist groups whose members committed acts of violence against civilians. Shamir even murdered a UN diplomat.
Maybe Israelis need some more checkpoints to punish them for lionizing terrorists.
Maybe Israelis need some more checkpoints to punish them for lionizing terrorists.
6
Shamir and Begin are both dead of old age. You had to go back pretty far to find what you call Jewish terrorism. More false equivalence.
10
After you have attacked another country, invaded it, stolen their land, then occupied it, imprisoned their people, killed others, and bragged about it all, I suppose forcing someone to wait a few hours in a hot taxi getting approval to catch a plane shouldn't matter a lot.
20
You are absolutely right -- it doesnt matter a lot, especially when over 2000 innocents have been slaughtered in terrorist attacks
15
Netanyahu has become what he hates. Imperial, cruel, dishonest and dishonorable. There's a fine line between security and cruelty.
He does Israel is serious disservice.
He does Israel is serious disservice.
21
A nation full of TSA checkpoints. No thanks, at least I can, mostly, avoid airports. What a frustrating way to live.
3
'Frustrating' doesn't begin to describe it. And it's not 'airports' who are the problem.
3
Another whiney self-serving diatribe against Israel. Americans, living 5 minutes from an airport, must arrive 2-3 hours early due to Arab terrorism. The writer fails to mention the daily attacks on Israel, the calls to destroy Israel and their motto “find a Jew, kill a Jew”. The Palestinians are inconvenienced, but without the road blocks Israelis are killed. To save Americans, we would say our lives are more important than the enemy being inconvenienced. Why can’t the Israelis do the same?
If things are so bad why doesn’t he go to an Arab state?, where there are few human rights, fewer women’s rights and no gay rights. There are millions of Arab and Muslim refugees and yet none want or are welcomed by Arab and Muslim countries.
The writer doesn’t leave because he has more rights, a better life and more freedom than most Arabs. He demands rights, but accepts no responsibility or accountability for Palestinian terrorism. Terrorism, which pre-dated the so-called occupation and pre-dated the existence of Israel as Arab rioters in 1929 wiped out the Jewish community in Hebron, while other Arab rioting ran off or killed other Jews.
Before 1967 no Jews were allowed in the West Bank or East Jerusalem or to pray at the Western Wall or even walk on the Temple Mount. This is Arab apartheid, which no one talks about.
Palestinians also demand Israel accept millions of refugees, forgetting about the 850,000 Jews force out of Arab lands in the 1950s. No one talks about that either!
If things are so bad why doesn’t he go to an Arab state?, where there are few human rights, fewer women’s rights and no gay rights. There are millions of Arab and Muslim refugees and yet none want or are welcomed by Arab and Muslim countries.
The writer doesn’t leave because he has more rights, a better life and more freedom than most Arabs. He demands rights, but accepts no responsibility or accountability for Palestinian terrorism. Terrorism, which pre-dated the so-called occupation and pre-dated the existence of Israel as Arab rioters in 1929 wiped out the Jewish community in Hebron, while other Arab rioting ran off or killed other Jews.
Before 1967 no Jews were allowed in the West Bank or East Jerusalem or to pray at the Western Wall or even walk on the Temple Mount. This is Arab apartheid, which no one talks about.
Palestinians also demand Israel accept millions of refugees, forgetting about the 850,000 Jews force out of Arab lands in the 1950s. No one talks about that either!
130
Yikes. This reads like a talking point straight out of a Trump stump speech.
2
Yes, notice how many refugees settled in Iran, Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia - about zero. Life in the "occupied" territories is better than the life these people can have in their brethren', territories - very sad and very true
11
This is typical right-wing Israeli-Jewish propaganda, dividing people up into monolithic groups of Arabs and Jews. The basic argument here is as follows: "If the Jewish Israeli government has caused so much trouble for non-Jewish Israelis through checkpoints, why doesn't the author uproot himself from his home, neighborhood, family, and friends, and move to another country where people share racial characteristics with him, thereby rewarding the Israeli govt. for its behavior? He won't do so because Israel is the best place for an someone of his race to live."
The answer to that is, there is currently a country with more freedom and rights and safety for both Jews and Arabs--it's the U.S. That's why half of the world's Jews live here, and only a quarter live in Israel. If the Palestinian Arabs are making life difficult for Israeli Jews, why don't the Jews of Israel leave their homes, families, neighbors, and friends and move here? That is, after all, the logical conclusion to your argument.
The answer to that is, there is currently a country with more freedom and rights and safety for both Jews and Arabs--it's the U.S. That's why half of the world's Jews live here, and only a quarter live in Israel. If the Palestinian Arabs are making life difficult for Israeli Jews, why don't the Jews of Israel leave their homes, families, neighbors, and friends and move here? That is, after all, the logical conclusion to your argument.
2
Life is tough on West Bank roads.
It's tough when there are Palestinian drive-by terrorists who shoot with automatic weapons into Israeli cars driven by women with their children in the cars or terrorists perched on a hill who take pot shots at Israeli cars or perhaps lob bricks and cement slabs at Israeli cars or the occasional Molotov cocktail or just the simple stone, which can kill just the same.
If they miss it will not make the NYT. Stones do not make the NYT. Bricks do not make the NYT.
The roads were once totally open, but then people died on the roads, or rather Israelis were murdered on those roads.
Checkpoints are totally inconvenient; so is terrorism. The checkpoints are there to catch terrorists.
If the Palestinians want an end to checkpoints then they can sit down and negotiate, i.e. negotiate a deal that is viable. Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert put deals on the table and they were turned down; instead there were intifadas.
And now Abu Mazen presents Mr. Trumps with the maps from the Ehud Olmert negotiations; he is 9 years too late.
So let Mr. Shehadeh convince those who view the roads as hunting grounds to desist and maybe the checkpoints will disappear.
It's tough when there are Palestinian drive-by terrorists who shoot with automatic weapons into Israeli cars driven by women with their children in the cars or terrorists perched on a hill who take pot shots at Israeli cars or perhaps lob bricks and cement slabs at Israeli cars or the occasional Molotov cocktail or just the simple stone, which can kill just the same.
If they miss it will not make the NYT. Stones do not make the NYT. Bricks do not make the NYT.
The roads were once totally open, but then people died on the roads, or rather Israelis were murdered on those roads.
Checkpoints are totally inconvenient; so is terrorism. The checkpoints are there to catch terrorists.
If the Palestinians want an end to checkpoints then they can sit down and negotiate, i.e. negotiate a deal that is viable. Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert put deals on the table and they were turned down; instead there were intifadas.
And now Abu Mazen presents Mr. Trumps with the maps from the Ehud Olmert negotiations; he is 9 years too late.
So let Mr. Shehadeh convince those who view the roads as hunting grounds to desist and maybe the checkpoints will disappear.
49
There will always be those who do what is necessary to survive and function in life whatever the figural and literal roadblocks, but I'm sure it eats at their very soul. Just as it eats at mine to read about it.
3
So in essence you are too stubborn to adapt to reality. Oh, and it's sooooooo awful you have to sit at a checkpoint! Oh the dehumanization of security checks designed because your people keep murdering others. And at least you're not a Jew in a Palestinian city! Because then an ambulance will box you in will dozens pelt you and your car with rocks.
So no. I don't feel sorry for you. In fact, I pity you.
So no. I don't feel sorry for you. In fact, I pity you.
54
So you're advocating collective punishment of a whole race of people so? Charming
3
Oh, so there is such a thing as a 'Palestinian' city! I thought it was politically incorrect to refer to the West Bank as Palestine. It must be called Judea and Samaria, didn't you know?
1
it's collective deterrence.
That's what happens when you teach your people, even children, to kill all Jews, and engage in such for decades before the barriers were built. If you've got a complaint, complain to your genocidal neighbors. Given Palestinian leaders genocidal exhortations in Arabic, and paying the families of suicide attackers, you're lucky Israel doesn't bury you.
74
Great writing! All that's missing is context. And truth. This tale would never need to be if the 'occupied' would accept our right to exist and to thrive without threat. The Arabs through their murderous cult of Jew killing have turned a border dispute into a zero sum game. You can preach human rights and all the drama of your denied freedoms and at the same time celebrate the annihilation of the Jews of Zion.
But excellent writing.
But excellent writing.
37
This is an opinion piece--not news. Therefore, the writer is allowed to give their opinion. It is called free speech and I think when it comes to "opinions", everyone has one and not everyone will be in agreement. Which is why there will never be peace in this part of the world--each side has drawn a line in the sand and neither side will allow the other to cross it.
2
You want to end the occupation? Then get serious about making peace! Stand up to the terrorists among your own people for they are driving your people into the ground. Anyone who thinks that violence will bring about an independent Palestinian State is an idiot. It will only prolong the bloodshed. Only the hunger for peace and the willingness to NEGOTIATE in good faith will make your dream come true. While you complain about your life behind the checkpoint, you conveniently forget why Israel set up those checkpoints in the first place - to stem the flow across the Green Line of your fellow Palestinians who took advantage of the easy access in order to come into Jewish communities and blow up Israeli restaurants, buses and shops, slaughtering men, women, and children, from the very young to the very old. You complain about the quality of your life while those victims were denied their very lives. The saddest part is that it was the refusal of the Palestinian people to be serious in the pursuit of peace which drove the Israeli people to put in power politicians who have been more concerned about protecting the Israeli people by suppressing the Palestinians than about paving a smoother road toward peace. If the people of Israel could see that the Palestinians are truly interested in peace by negotiation and mutual consent rather than by force of arms, then they would be eager to put into power in their government those who share that desire.
64
I was just in the West Bank and no one spoke of terrorism and violence. They are just trying to live under an occupying power; Israel. Palestinians are the most welcoming, kindest people. And how should Palestinians be serious about peace when Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank, construct separate roads for Israelis, Israeli soldiers arrest and kill Palestinians and are never held accountable, and now the government is introducing a law to eliminate Arabic as a state language in Israel.
Just because the U.S. government continues to give billions in aid to Israel doesn't mean that the American people don't recognize that Israel is an apartheid state.
Just because the U.S. government continues to give billions in aid to Israel doesn't mean that the American people don't recognize that Israel is an apartheid state.
5
There are no settlements in Gaza. How serious are they about peace?
5
There is no apartheid in Israel - just different set of rules dependand on which ethno-religious category one belongs to.
There is no settler colonialism in Israel - just immigrants from Europe who from 1897 decided to settle the land of natives of Palestine and usurp it for themselves using religion that originated in that region (rather than "Manifest Destiny") as an excuse.
There is no Israel Lobby - just Americans spontaneously supporting the regime that negates very values that made America great
Oh - look! Flying pigs on the horizon!!
There is no settler colonialism in Israel - just immigrants from Europe who from 1897 decided to settle the land of natives of Palestine and usurp it for themselves using religion that originated in that region (rather than "Manifest Destiny") as an excuse.
There is no Israel Lobby - just Americans spontaneously supporting the regime that negates very values that made America great
Oh - look! Flying pigs on the horizon!!
12
Wow....lot's of misconceptions/lies/misrepresentations.
Israelis of all ethnicities are treated the same. Roads in the West Bank are equally available to Arab and Jewish Israelis. You can try to make this about race, but it isn't.
You can choose whatever year you wish to start from; what is undisputed is that a century ago, or two, what is now known as Israel/Palestine, was much more lightly populated than today. The Turks made little effort to make it attractive to anyone; those with ambition moved away to larger cities with more opportunities. Only after the Zionists began arriving and the economy improved did the Arabs of the neighboring states begin to move in. My grandmother, born in Jerusalem and driven out by the Turks during WWI, has listed as her birthplace on US Census forms either Turkey or Syria. Other family members regularly took up residence in Cairo, or came back to Jerusalem, depending on conditions. My greataunt married into a Kurdish Jewish family; they were equal residents of The Turkish empire. So to call all Jews in Palestine "colonialists" while all Arabs, even those who arrived in the 1930's Palestinians, is hogwash. (And never mind the immigration from the Arab countries in the 1950's).
So, EvaSK, perhaps you should learn some history/demographics/etc rather than simply spouting whatever the most current version of the leftist propaganda is.
Israelis of all ethnicities are treated the same. Roads in the West Bank are equally available to Arab and Jewish Israelis. You can try to make this about race, but it isn't.
You can choose whatever year you wish to start from; what is undisputed is that a century ago, or two, what is now known as Israel/Palestine, was much more lightly populated than today. The Turks made little effort to make it attractive to anyone; those with ambition moved away to larger cities with more opportunities. Only after the Zionists began arriving and the economy improved did the Arabs of the neighboring states begin to move in. My grandmother, born in Jerusalem and driven out by the Turks during WWI, has listed as her birthplace on US Census forms either Turkey or Syria. Other family members regularly took up residence in Cairo, or came back to Jerusalem, depending on conditions. My greataunt married into a Kurdish Jewish family; they were equal residents of The Turkish empire. So to call all Jews in Palestine "colonialists" while all Arabs, even those who arrived in the 1930's Palestinians, is hogwash. (And never mind the immigration from the Arab countries in the 1950's).
So, EvaSK, perhaps you should learn some history/demographics/etc rather than simply spouting whatever the most current version of the leftist propaganda is.
Last summer I rented a car in Jerusalem and was told the road to Tiberias through pre-1967 Israel was gridlock. So instead I drove myself and my children through the West Bank. It was a beautiful peaceful drive. The checkpoints were easier than the ones at our airports. The Israeli soldiers were surprised I took children through the West Bank but everyone, including the Arabs I waited on line with, were treated as professionally as we are at the airport. For all of us the checkpoint took 10 minutes. The only violence I saw was some kid hitting his donkey.
In 1992 I'd made the same drive and there were no checkpoints: no barrier, no soldiers, nothing. Where did all this infrastructure come from? Would Israel waste millions of dollars they desperately need just to make someone, with whom they need to coexist, miserable? Honestly, I can't think of anything more moronic. Do we have checkpoints at the airport to make people late and harass them? Complete, stupidity.
Their security arrangements, like ours, were built in self defense. It's a reaction to peace agreements signed with no intention of compliance, endless incitement, terror, and using ambulances, children, patients, and pregnant women to smuggle weapons into Israel by the Palestinians to murder people who can't defend themselves.
Raja and her Palestinians friends are deprived. They are deprived of mirrors. She, the NYT, and everyone who sympathizes with her needs to take a good look in one.
In 1992 I'd made the same drive and there were no checkpoints: no barrier, no soldiers, nothing. Where did all this infrastructure come from? Would Israel waste millions of dollars they desperately need just to make someone, with whom they need to coexist, miserable? Honestly, I can't think of anything more moronic. Do we have checkpoints at the airport to make people late and harass them? Complete, stupidity.
Their security arrangements, like ours, were built in self defense. It's a reaction to peace agreements signed with no intention of compliance, endless incitement, terror, and using ambulances, children, patients, and pregnant women to smuggle weapons into Israel by the Palestinians to murder people who can't defend themselves.
Raja and her Palestinians friends are deprived. They are deprived of mirrors. She, the NYT, and everyone who sympathizes with her needs to take a good look in one.
100
No one to blame but youselves. That wall was built to stop bombers from coming into pre "48" areas. Specifically, you can point the finger at Arafat.
42
Neatly left out is the reason why there ARE checkpoints
Not more than 20 years ago, Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza entered Israel easily. 200,000 Palestinians came each day to work in
israel from the West Bank and 100,000 from Gaza. Israelis used to make a quick drive down to Gaza for a seafood dinner.
Then the Palestinians developed nasty habits, like blowing up mothers and children in buses and pizza parlors.
They still manage to come from the West Bank and stab women and children in the street in Israel proper. So perhaps the problem is that the checkpoints are not secure enough, rather than being an unnecessary burden on the Palestinians.
All of this is fine as long as you believe Palestinians can do no wrong, and Jewish blood is cheap. But some people know better.
Spare me "but but the occupation!" Israel left Gaza in 2005 with no blockade until 2007, after 1000 Palestinian rockets and mortars. The Gazans could have chosen to invest in their country, and built a thriving tourist industry. Instead they chose to direct all their resources to never ending war against Israel.
So how's that peace dividend working out? Identify yourself as a useful idiot by claiming Israel should leave the West Bank the same way they left Gaza, with no recognition of the State of Israel in the schoolbooks in the West Bank, the entire area labeled on maps as "Palestine"
Not more than 20 years ago, Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza entered Israel easily. 200,000 Palestinians came each day to work in
israel from the West Bank and 100,000 from Gaza. Israelis used to make a quick drive down to Gaza for a seafood dinner.
Then the Palestinians developed nasty habits, like blowing up mothers and children in buses and pizza parlors.
They still manage to come from the West Bank and stab women and children in the street in Israel proper. So perhaps the problem is that the checkpoints are not secure enough, rather than being an unnecessary burden on the Palestinians.
All of this is fine as long as you believe Palestinians can do no wrong, and Jewish blood is cheap. But some people know better.
Spare me "but but the occupation!" Israel left Gaza in 2005 with no blockade until 2007, after 1000 Palestinian rockets and mortars. The Gazans could have chosen to invest in their country, and built a thriving tourist industry. Instead they chose to direct all their resources to never ending war against Israel.
So how's that peace dividend working out? Identify yourself as a useful idiot by claiming Israel should leave the West Bank the same way they left Gaza, with no recognition of the State of Israel in the schoolbooks in the West Bank, the entire area labeled on maps as "Palestine"
60
This heartfelt essay reaffirmed the dire need for my Two Stars for Peace solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As explained in my 2004 book of that title, only by inviting Israel and Palestine to join the US as its 51st and 52nd states can both the need for, and the humiliation of, internal checkpoints be eliminated. To achieve this requires a presidential invitation, simple majority votes from Israeli and Palestinian referenda, and a majority vote of The US Congress afterwards. Let's save the souls of these two peoples by adding two more stars to the US flag, thus creating security for Israelis and dignity for Palestinians.
3
I find your idea preposterous.
As a Jew living in the US under the Trump administration I ask you: today, Trump hits hard at Muslims and the Republicans say little to nothing. Tomorrow it may be the Jews like it happened hundreds of times throughout history.
Jews today are fortunate that Israel exists and it's a place every Jew in the world can live free from persecution.
If Israel became a US state where would Jews run to when another lunatic like Trump turns his hatred towards Jews?
Also remember that Germany was the most liberal society in the Western Hemisphere immediately prior to Hitler. Had Israel existed back then, much fewer Jews would have been killed in concentration camps and gas chambers as most would have left to Israel.
As a Jew living in the US under the Trump administration I ask you: today, Trump hits hard at Muslims and the Republicans say little to nothing. Tomorrow it may be the Jews like it happened hundreds of times throughout history.
Jews today are fortunate that Israel exists and it's a place every Jew in the world can live free from persecution.
If Israel became a US state where would Jews run to when another lunatic like Trump turns his hatred towards Jews?
Also remember that Germany was the most liberal society in the Western Hemisphere immediately prior to Hitler. Had Israel existed back then, much fewer Jews would have been killed in concentration camps and gas chambers as most would have left to Israel.
10
I think the Arab - Israeli relationship could benefit from some trust. Let people have their way, treat them as trustworthy and they will be.
2
Pretty much what we saw when we were in Israel/Ramallah. It's heartbreaking and infuriating. And it's even easier to assume some high moral stage and declaim on how necessary it is because of this or that, and how if the Israelis did this the Palestinians would do that, and on and on. I won't pretend our visit there gave us any expertise at all. And who knows what I might think if I lived there myself. But these things I do know: there are real human beings -- good and bad, angry and loving -- among Israelis and Palestinians. And although we in the States tend to view this as a two-sided conflict of Israeli vs Palestinian, the facts on the ground are far, far more complicated. There are not just two sides but five, six or even seven sides, and they hardly ever interact with one another.
3
What exactly is the purpose of this article?
To remind us that checkpoints set up to prevent the violence of terrorists is inconvenient?
To present the distorted implication referring to the "cultivated old olive trees" --- when in fact the 1937 report of the Palestine Royal Commission cited specific reference to no orchards, no vineyards, horrible sanitary conditions, thinly populated villages suffering severely from the prevalent malaria.
Until the Palestinian leaders express a desire for peace and stop rewarding terror by direct payment and honor then getting the author of this article to the airport will not get easier.
To remind us that checkpoints set up to prevent the violence of terrorists is inconvenient?
To present the distorted implication referring to the "cultivated old olive trees" --- when in fact the 1937 report of the Palestine Royal Commission cited specific reference to no orchards, no vineyards, horrible sanitary conditions, thinly populated villages suffering severely from the prevalent malaria.
Until the Palestinian leaders express a desire for peace and stop rewarding terror by direct payment and honor then getting the author of this article to the airport will not get easier.
78
Lots of things were different 20 years ago. Today, we're advised to arrive at the airport three hours before the flight. Today, it takes an hour to drive to the airport from Jerusalem in normal, mid-day traffic. I don't think that in today's world, an extra hour of travel time for a non-citizen of Israel traveling from Palestinian-controlled territory into Israel before continuing on to the airport is unreasonable. I would allow myself an extra hour--or more--of travel time if I was flying out of Jordan or Egypt, or if I was a non-US/Canadian citizen crossing from Buffalo to fly out of Toronto. Just like that hypothetical situation, the author has to cross one checkpoint. Sometimes, there's a line, and sometimes, it's better to wait your turn than to run around looking for a shorter queue.
I sympathize with the author, and I'm sorry he had a harrowing experience reaching the airport.
I'm frustrated with the author because he misleads the reader with fairy-tale travel times and exaggerating his single border crossing into a series of checkpoints. I'm also frustrated with the author because he sets up Israel as the sole enemy, as if no one or nothing else has any bearing on his travel ordeal.
The situation is complicated. Certainly, things could be better. However, nostalgic golden ages are better suited for reminiscing than planning for the future in our modern world, no matter from which side of the border you hail or what political beliefs you hold.
I sympathize with the author, and I'm sorry he had a harrowing experience reaching the airport.
I'm frustrated with the author because he misleads the reader with fairy-tale travel times and exaggerating his single border crossing into a series of checkpoints. I'm also frustrated with the author because he sets up Israel as the sole enemy, as if no one or nothing else has any bearing on his travel ordeal.
The situation is complicated. Certainly, things could be better. However, nostalgic golden ages are better suited for reminiscing than planning for the future in our modern world, no matter from which side of the border you hail or what political beliefs you hold.
20
There is no plausible end to the articles about how both the Palestinians and the Israelis hate the current situation and the difficulties it engenders.
Assigning blame doesn't help and just entrenches positions.
What is needed, instead, is a plan to go forward and improve life with responsibilities for both sides to bear.
And, of course, authorities who can and will enforce requirements.
Assigning blame doesn't help and just entrenches positions.
What is needed, instead, is a plan to go forward and improve life with responsibilities for both sides to bear.
And, of course, authorities who can and will enforce requirements.
2
Yet the world looks past this violation of human rights. And the question is why?
11
Author conveniently fails to mention the REASONS those checkpoints and strict travel limitations were implemented.... and at age 50, the author surely is very aware of why. Rockets don't launch themselves from schoolyards, do they?
40
If the sight of Syrian refugee children truly moved Trump's heart, so too should the daily injustices Palestinians must suffer because of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. I heard that Trump intends his mandatory stop at Yad Vashem to be brief --he should indeed visit there,b ut maybe with those few extra minutes, he will take the opportunity to see and experience the plight of Palestinians. I suppose it's too much to expect that it might help him understand the nuances of the status quo, but one can hope.
26
Apparently, the sight of the Syrian refugee children didn't move Arafat much, did they? While he, his family and Hamas leaders lived in absolute luxury using stolen charity donations, those children starved!
I believe Trump will eventually solve all problems of inequality with a two state solution.
If the Palestinian and Hamas leadership ceased their rhetoric ( in Arabic, rarely in English) regarding their desire to annihilate the Jewish people perhaps it would be easier to cross into Israel. I have no sympathy whatsoever for this kind of story - it's an inconvenience for the author but for the Israelis the lives of their children are at stake. The problem is not the Israelis.
40
Unfortunately, those such as Raja Shehadeh don't seem to look at the causes of what lead to the checkpoints and only talk about the effects. The main reason the checkpoints were put up along the West Bank was because of terrorism, not to intimidate the Palestinians. Had that not been the case, there wouldn't be need for checkpoints as well as placing a security fence. Another thing that Shehadeh most likely doesn't mention is that Israel did allow for the Palestinians to have an autonomy back in 1972, which is something that even Jordan didn't give. If Shehadeh is so concerned about the Jews living in the West Bank, then where was he when there were settlements by Jordan when they had that land? How come the Hashamites, the ruling family of Jordan, never made the West Bank a Palestinian state in the 20 years they had that land especially when no Jew was living there at the time? Of course those such as Shehadeh will never make any mention of this due to having an anti-Israel bias. As for mentioning the occupation and the Six Day War, which will be having a 50 year anniversary next month, that war started when Israel was attacked by its neighbors, not the other way around, plus before that war, Israel had no intention to annex that land had that war never occurred. More importantly, the West Bank was taken from Jordanian control, not Palestinian control, because the Palestinians were never given their own state at that time.
Desperation is living under Hamas in Gaza or being a refugee from Syria's Assad. Don't confuse inconvenience with desperation. Palestinians on the West Bank live with the former.
17
Israeli oppression of Palestinians should be described in more articles like this one and be disseminated around the world more routinely. Despite this intended cruelty to other people based on ethnicity, I hope the Palestinians are able to contain their frustration and anger, and just accept it on the grounds that their only hope lies in just remaining in place and having large families. I'm not expecting the Israelis to eventually become Jeffersonian Democrats who treat all people like brothers and sisters. But at some point the world will have had enough of their crimes, and slowly change will come.
This odyssey to the airport sounds dreadful. My heart broke for this poor man and all the others that must endure such hardship. The problem is that the governments have been mired in an everlasting spiral with no easy solution. If the borders were eased up, Israel would have to endure buses being blown up as they were in the past. Nobody should have to go through the hardship of the Palestinians crossing over to go to the airport or any other place. Nor should the Israelis have to endure the hardship of losing their loved ones to terrorism. I hope peace will occur soon.
2
Within the past week, Abbas made the following remarks:
"Today we mark the 69th anniversary of the Nakba..." The conflict "actually began with the regrettable Balfour Declaration."
He went on to praise West Bank/Gaza terrorists.
As you well know, the checkpoints and humiliation, as you express it, can stop tomorrow. I take it you have no difficulty with the existence of 21 Arab League states, and the larger bloc of 57 Islamic Conference states stretching from Indonesia to Morocco. In that context, I ask why it is the lone Jewish state, a mere pinprick in that vast swathe of land, that you single out for criticism.
By the way, as regards medical care, on my visit to Israel in 2015 I witnessed with my own eyes an ambulance traveling from the West Bank region into Israel. This, our tour guide advised, was a nearly daily occurrence. Provision of the best medical care to those who include among their number a substantial segment sworn to destroy you - that is some humiliation indeed.
"Today we mark the 69th anniversary of the Nakba..." The conflict "actually began with the regrettable Balfour Declaration."
He went on to praise West Bank/Gaza terrorists.
As you well know, the checkpoints and humiliation, as you express it, can stop tomorrow. I take it you have no difficulty with the existence of 21 Arab League states, and the larger bloc of 57 Islamic Conference states stretching from Indonesia to Morocco. In that context, I ask why it is the lone Jewish state, a mere pinprick in that vast swathe of land, that you single out for criticism.
By the way, as regards medical care, on my visit to Israel in 2015 I witnessed with my own eyes an ambulance traveling from the West Bank region into Israel. This, our tour guide advised, was a nearly daily occurrence. Provision of the best medical care to those who include among their number a substantial segment sworn to destroy you - that is some humiliation indeed.
It can take me up to 2 hours to drive from my home in Bernardsvillle New Jersey to Kennedy Airport and I can imagine if the New Jersey government officials were officially supporting the use of terrorism that New York might use checkpoints that would make my journey to the airport longer.
While I sympathize with the author and wish it weren't so - until his government decides to stop paying and honoring the use of terror and begins fill hearted negotiations for peace, his trip to the airport will remain as is.
While I sympathize with the author and wish it weren't so - until his government decides to stop paying and honoring the use of terror and begins fill hearted negotiations for peace, his trip to the airport will remain as is.
31
Clearly the Israelis are trying to make life as difficult as possible for the Palestinians of the West Bank in order that they "voluntarily" leave the country and move elsewhere. In getting Palestinians to leave Palestine they are ridding themselves of the demographic difficulty they face ruling over 3 million Palestinians and to free the land for more Jewish settlements.
What bothers me is not just the injustice of it all but that my government, the United States, is complicit in the oppression of another people going back decades. And our leaders know this.
What bothers me is not just the injustice of it all but that my government, the United States, is complicit in the oppression of another people going back decades. And our leaders know this.
12
Israel, like South Africa before it, will only undertake serious reforms with respect to human rights when international citizens of the world make the cost of the status quo to Israel's economy unsustainable.
14
And when will international citizens of the world demand human rights in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia (just recently sentenced a gay man to 85 lashes), and basically every other Muslim majority country on earth?
5
Another sad and heartfelt narrative of the Palestinians oppression and victimization. Yet over the many decades the root formula has not changed and the world bears witness. If the Palestinians agree to all Israeli demands recognize the state, guarantee security and free trade there would be peace.
If Israel agrees to all Palestinian demands there would be wholesale murder.
If Israel agrees to all Palestinian demands there would be wholesale murder.
30
The author complains that it was much easier to get to Ben Gurion airport 20 years ago. He fails to note that terrorism against Israelis in the form of the second intifada and other ways occurred in that period. He also fails to acknowledge that the Palestinians turned down proposals for a Palestinian state from President Clinton on PM Barak in 2000 and 2001 and from the Israeli PM in 2008 without even a counteroffer. He wants a Palestinian state but doesn't note that Ben Gurion airport is in Israel, and entrance into another country takes more time than it used to. Try flying into London from NY.
Finally he fails note the ultimate irony. I remember when I could get to the departure gate 15 minutes after arriving at LaGuardia airport. Now I have to leave at least 2 hours because of the security procedures put in plaice after a series of Palestinian airplane hijackings. Where are his sympathies for the millions of travelers each day who are inconvenienced as a result of Palestinian terrorism?
Finally he fails note the ultimate irony. I remember when I could get to the departure gate 15 minutes after arriving at LaGuardia airport. Now I have to leave at least 2 hours because of the security procedures put in plaice after a series of Palestinian airplane hijackings. Where are his sympathies for the millions of travelers each day who are inconvenienced as a result of Palestinian terrorism?
32
As usual, the writer forgets to mention that the checkpoints are not an inevitable result of the occupation. Before the mid-90's, and the start of widespread terror against Israelis (both inside and outside the occupied territories), there were very few checkpoints, and almost none internally within the West Bank.
26
Gee, who is at fault for the Israelis having checkpoints? It could not possibility be just one of the results of the Arab Rejectionist Policy of Israel's right to exist reaping what it sows??
29
In Aleppo might it be swifter?
Perhaps Beirut?
Could Baghdad be more inviting?
Can there be a reason?
Is the Buddha correct?
Hoping to live long enough to find out and feel haunted and hunted as a human on earth.
Peace.
Perhaps Beirut?
Could Baghdad be more inviting?
Can there be a reason?
Is the Buddha correct?
Hoping to live long enough to find out and feel haunted and hunted as a human on earth.
Peace.
1
" A light onto the nations " Upon what nations is this " light " shining ?
2
Ever used a computer or eaten a vegetable grown with drip irrigation or learned a thing or two about water reclamation? All of this, and more, while having to protect yourself from Arab leaders that would sooner impoverish their own citizens than make peace with you.
Not too shabby, Israel! Bravo!
Not too shabby, Israel! Bravo!
18
The only way this conflict will ever end is if the entire world (US and Israel included) recognize that Palestinians are not second class people.
8
And what class do Palestinians and other Muslim countries consider Jews to reside in?
6
Why are the checkpoints necessary ?
Perhaps it is because without the checkpoints, hundreds more innocent Israeli civilians would be blown up by Palestinian suicide bombers.
While the intent of this article is to elicit sympathy and support for the Palestinian cause, it conveniently leaves out the most important point: the checkpoints are in place because Palestinians simply want to murder Jews.
Israeli Prime ministers ehud Barak and ehud Olmert made very serious proposals to make peace with the Palestinians including a Palestinian state.
The Palestinian response: more bombings.
Not a counter proposal, but more murder.
The reason why there are checkpoints and barriers is that the Palestinians refuse to take half a loaf.
If they were willing to live in peace with Jews, peace would have broken out years ago.
Perhaps it is because without the checkpoints, hundreds more innocent Israeli civilians would be blown up by Palestinian suicide bombers.
While the intent of this article is to elicit sympathy and support for the Palestinian cause, it conveniently leaves out the most important point: the checkpoints are in place because Palestinians simply want to murder Jews.
Israeli Prime ministers ehud Barak and ehud Olmert made very serious proposals to make peace with the Palestinians including a Palestinian state.
The Palestinian response: more bombings.
Not a counter proposal, but more murder.
The reason why there are checkpoints and barriers is that the Palestinians refuse to take half a loaf.
If they were willing to live in peace with Jews, peace would have broken out years ago.
28
And the world looks on and does nothing. It's good, at least, that the New York Times is finally letting its readers see what goes on in Israel. Americans have been sheltered from the reality of what our tax dollars support for too long. However, it's hard to imagine Trump caring about the plight of the Palestinians, even if Americans do wake up.
The author states that 20 years ago her drive from Ramallah to Tel Aviv took 50 minutes; now it takes 5 hours.
Twenty years ago was 1997. What has happened since then that caused such delays? The primary answer is not "settlements" which had been growing since 1967.
It's the scores of suicide bombers smuggled into Israeli cities to blow up cafes, restaurants, bus stations and malls. They wore vests laden with bombs and shrapnel to kill as many people as possible. And the vests didn't discriminate. They killed even Arab children. Thousands of Israeli civilians were killed that way - mostly during the second intifada in 2001, and largely ending with the construction of the check points and the security fence.
The irony is that the so called "occupation" could have ended in 2001 had Arafat accepted President Clinton's two state proposal, accepted by Israeli Prime minister Barak; or if Abbas had accepted Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's proposal in 2008.
And the "occupation" did not start 50 years ago. Jordan occupied the West Bank for 20 years before 1967 (1948), the British occupied the area the 30 years before that (1917), and the Ottoman Empire occupied the area since the 15th Century.
The truth is much more complicated than this Palestinian lawyer lays out.
Twenty years ago was 1997. What has happened since then that caused such delays? The primary answer is not "settlements" which had been growing since 1967.
It's the scores of suicide bombers smuggled into Israeli cities to blow up cafes, restaurants, bus stations and malls. They wore vests laden with bombs and shrapnel to kill as many people as possible. And the vests didn't discriminate. They killed even Arab children. Thousands of Israeli civilians were killed that way - mostly during the second intifada in 2001, and largely ending with the construction of the check points and the security fence.
The irony is that the so called "occupation" could have ended in 2001 had Arafat accepted President Clinton's two state proposal, accepted by Israeli Prime minister Barak; or if Abbas had accepted Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's proposal in 2008.
And the "occupation" did not start 50 years ago. Jordan occupied the West Bank for 20 years before 1967 (1948), the British occupied the area the 30 years before that (1917), and the Ottoman Empire occupied the area since the 15th Century.
The truth is much more complicated than this Palestinian lawyer lays out.
Israel has had no major terrorist attack in years. From their perspective, whatever it is they are doing is working. Their obligation is to keep their citizens safe, not to make life comfortable for the Palestinians. The Palestinians are not blameless here. If they had accepted a deal decades ago, we wouldn't be where we are. The craziest thing is what they are holding out for. Israel isn't going to magically disappear.
48
And the story here is what? A Palestinian who chose to fly out of Tel Aviv's international airport got through a checkpoint between the West Bank and Israel with no difficulty?
22
Today is the 50th anniversary of Israel's overwhelming defeat of their Arab neighbor's attempt to destroy it. After that war, those Arab countries chose not to sign any peace treaty, and denied fleeing Arab refugees entry. In the subsequent fifty years, both Arab and Palestinian leaders have failed to even try to make peace with its Jewish neighbor. By holding on to this false hope that Israel will somehow just disappear, they have failed themselves, their own people, and have needlessly caused thousands of unnecessary deaths. Hopefully, one day, a true statesman/woman will rise from the Arab world and lead them to peaceful coexistence with Israel.
27
sorry to say, this doesn't sound bad at all. it takes me a long time to get to JFK as well. boo hoo. there are much more poignant issues with the so called occupation. this article probably does he opposite of what it intended
12
Palestinians dont accept, nor even, to talk about peace, without preconditions and reject every proposition to have their own state, remember the ones of Barak and Olmert Besides they use terrorism. Then, they complain when Israel defends itself.
31
A sad story. I wonder how the Palestinians can live under such horrible conditions. Makes me think of the David and Goliath story. In this case Israel is Goliath while Palestine is David. Just like in the story, in the end I believe justice will be done.
13
So justice is the genocidal slaughter of 6 million Israeli Jews?
6
The Palestinians are backed and funded by their fellow billion Muslims. Hardly a David of any sort.
We all know what would happen if Israel removed its security barriers. I do not blame them for valuing their lives above Palestinians' "frustrations".
27
In the 1980's, before the waves of Palestinian suicide bombings, shootings and knife attacks, there were few checkpoints. The Palestinians have no one to blame for themselves for the checkpoints and similar defensive restrictions on the part of Israel. Stop the endless Jihad on Israel and you'll see Palestinian freedom of movement improve.
21
"We cannot afford to abandon the struggle and must do what we can to end this occupation". Mr. Shehadeh: it's too late for you now. You've had a number of opportunities for self determination and independence but you repeatedly refused, and each time resorted to terror. Your obduracy cost you. You have now a government in Israel that will offer you nothing. You had your chance and you blew it.
19
Palestinians will begin to achieve dramatic and lasting gains for themselves on the day they accept a permanent Jewish State of Israel next to a demilitarized Palestinian state of their own.
Mr. Netanyahu’s phone number in Jerusalem is prominently displayed in Israel’s telephone books. Mr. Abbas should begin returning his calls.
Mr. Netanyahu’s phone number in Jerusalem is prominently displayed in Israel’s telephone books. Mr. Abbas should begin returning his calls.
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and will the Jewish state of Israel also be demilitarized?
2
Only when they become suicidal.
8
When Abbas recently visited Trump, Trump declared that making peace in the Middle East is not so complicated as others have made it out to be. Well, before Trump or Jared Kushner or Rex Tillerson tries to "do a deal," they should experience the endless frustrations imposed on Palestinians.
Arbitrary road closures, humiliating check points, obstacles to reaching work, school, medical care, you name it. And all while knowing that settlers are being treated like royalty. It is a systemic Israeli agenda of making life unbearable for Palestinians.
So, no, a peace plan cannot be made by a broker disinterested in details; said broker has to know what it means to live for the involved people.
Arbitrary road closures, humiliating check points, obstacles to reaching work, school, medical care, you name it. And all while knowing that settlers are being treated like royalty. It is a systemic Israeli agenda of making life unbearable for Palestinians.
So, no, a peace plan cannot be made by a broker disinterested in details; said broker has to know what it means to live for the involved people.
185
No israeli wants to be at any of these checkpoints, they are only there to stop suicide bombers and other terrorist. If they were not there, the arabs would kill every jew they could get there hands on. When the arabs stop trying to destroy Israel and start talking peace , the Israelis will jump at the chance .
19
Yes, quite humiliating.
Perhaps not as bothersome as getting stabbed while you shop for vegetables to feed your family, or being blown up while you are sitting in a cafe with your children.
Perhaps not as bothersome as getting stabbed while you shop for vegetables to feed your family, or being blown up while you are sitting in a cafe with your children.
21
Hopefully, NM, the involved people include Israelis that are worried about another failed, terrorist state lobbing missiles into their sovereign territory and are cognizant of the genocidal designs directed towards them inherent in the phrase "Palestine Will Be Free from the River to the Sea". Yes, the strong desire to obliterate Israel and kill all the Jews is a real thing in much of the Arab world, even if it isn't reported on in the NY Times. Supposedly, this will all go away as soon as there is a Palestinian state. Would you be willing to bet your life on that presumption?
8
Yes, the Israelis need security, but from this and other articles, the question cannot be avoided:how much more can Palestinian lives be constricted until irreversible despair prevails? Or has that occurred already? And what consequences may be expected?
It is not hard to make a case that Netanyahu's intentions far exceed essential concerns for security.
It is not hard to make a case that Netanyahu's intentions far exceed essential concerns for security.
179
This is easy for you, Fred, to say, living safely in Kansas. Before making this assessment, I would advise you to speak to the families of greater than 2000 individuals killed by Palestinain terrorism, including American citizens, very recently in stabbing attacks. It is only very recently also that both European and American citizens are becoing aware of terrorism on their own soil -- would you also say the US or Belgium, France or England are ' exceeding essential concerns"? The irony not mentioned here, and in many articles written by various "occupation victims" is that it could easily be the other way -- Palestinians could have their country, if they accepted Israeli peace proposals, (3 of them, actually). Instead, they choose to continue the struggle, the resistance, as a solutions to the occupations ("We cannot afford to abandon the struggle and must do what we can to end this occupation") As long as there is a state of war, and no peace, there will be an occupation, with all its indignity, and hours of waiting to catch a plane. Small price to pay, in my opinion, for more killings of innocent people.
15
The answer is, sadly, in the form of another question: Why have the Palestinian leaders rejected every peace offer that would presumably allow for the end of the "irreversible despair" that you mention, Fred? (That is assuming that the Palestinians could actually make a worthwhile peaceful state, which given the conditions of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan seems unlikely, but that is another matter). What possible end could they have in mind that makes the frustrations of people like the author of this article worthwhile?
Here's a hint... it's not good for the Jews!
Google "Two Stage Solution" and then get back to me.
Here's a hint... it's not good for the Jews!
Google "Two Stage Solution" and then get back to me.
13
How about the writer of this article uses the airports in Jordan? There is no issue here, most Palestinians do use them. The writer is creating a false narrative.
The Israelis are so inventive that it is criminal to torment them the way the Arabs have. I wonder what it would be like without U.S. aid? I was told that Egypt gets the same foreign aid as Israel, almost dollar for dollar. -Zin out