Discuss Etgar Keret's Jan. 7 Op-Ed article.

When reading this it looks like these are quotes from real people, i.e. "It's time for us to kill them" (attributed to an unknown Israeli). This is a little hypothetical conversation in the author's head. There's no real person actually saying these things to the author. I totally agree with the zero body count being the acceptable solution. But to print an imaginary conversation with comments like the one above is irresponsible. You know someone is going to blast this all over as a "real" statement by an Israeli.

Kris @ 7:26 AM PST, Jan 9, 2009

I do not support Hamas's shelling of Israel nor do I support the oppressive violence visited upon the Palestinian's by Israel. Killing is killing no matter what side of the debate you are on, and it is morally and ethically abhorrent. I am a pro-peace American Jew who believes that Israel has the right to exist and that a free and autonomous Palestinian State has the right to exist. We need diplomacy; continued violence will get us nothing but more shame and grief.

Kay @ 7:06 PM PST, Jan 8, 2009

The disingenuousness of this article is striking. Let's drop the proportionality distraction. ALL of the power in this so-called conflict is on one side. There is a giant Israeli boot on the neck of Palestine, and the Israelis are saying: quit scuffing our boot while we suffocate you. A glance at a map of all the land Israel has confiscated from the Palestinians since 1947 is all the context you need.

A Harvey @ 9:53 AM PST, Jan 8, 2009

Would this conflict have started, or continue, if no one believed in their silly space gods?

Seth @ 6:21 AM PST, Jan 8, 2009

Please check the facts. It was Israel who broke the cease fire on November 5th when it killed 5 people in Gaza. From 2005 until this war 11 Israelis have been killed from rocket launched from Gaze. Within the same stretch more than 2900 Palestinians have been killed, including 222 childre. See article by Avi Shlaim, an Israeli Professor who served once in the Israeli army. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-palestine

Ayham Dahi @ 8:04 PM PST, Jan 7, 2009

Keret is absolutely right. Enough killing. Enough justification of killing. Enough.

Steve @ 6:10 PM PST, Jan 7, 2009

George Washington was right when he warned against establishing any kind of favoritism between America and any other nation. We've done it with Israel, and she appears to be a chronic liability.

Tara @ 5:55 PM PST, Jan 7, 2009

http://www.zshare.net/video/53615165ce62d17b/ Go to this website and get a sense of what war is like

dan @ 5:52 PM PST, Jan 7, 2009

I'm still shocked each time we co-sign Israel's behavior. contempt of u.n. resolutions? no problem. building illegal settlements at a frienzied pace? no big deal. proposing a wall that would fracture palestinian lands and neighborhoods? no big deal. Israel, with the amount of intel it' s collected over the years through its agents, must have something on u.s. maybe we're being blackmailed into approval even when israel commits crimes against humanity.

arcataberry @ 5:52 PM PST, Jan 7, 2009

'proportionality' is a soft-pedalling word. it really means numbers of dead humans. 'Collateral damage" is the one that really bothers me: it means innocent bystanders, men, women, children and yes, animals, annihilated. Politically and culturally, I think that Israel has become addicted to conflict. Israel needed Yasser Arafat and the PLO as their 'enemy'--it justified their arming themselves to the teeth at the U.S.'s expense. Now they're our little DOD franchise, the wold's largest exporter of arms and military equipment. Israel's true conflict is its own hypocrisy.

Tara @ 5:40 PM PST, Jan 7, 2009

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