it stinks that you use this quazi nazi imagery to justify what is being done now, today in Palestine. And, actually, that you use this quazi nazi imagery to support your view on what is being done in Israel too.

People in Palestine and Israel are dying and the principle reason that people continue to die is that Israel will not get out of the occupied West Bank despite endless UN resolutions (worth jackshit), and will not stop building their wall of occupation. This wall will kill people because, in a land where Israels have swimming pools and Palestinians know they do not have water which is safe even for their children to drink, where Israelis have the majority of the fertile land and the Palestinian farmers are cut off from even the poorer land they have by the wall, there is no chance of equality, no chance of being a fellow human being, a person. What Israel is doing is like the Berlin Wall. it is like the Nazis.

If you, Sarah, are afraid, and must shelter your child tenderly (as in the cartoon) against the "ravaging Palestinian Wolf", if you really want to protect your child, then now is the time to start thinking....

Argue endlessly and fiercely always for the demolition of the settlements because, even if you cannot grasp the legal and moral issue, you can maybe understand that the price that is being paid in terms of real people (Palestinian and Israeli) dying for the existance of these settlements is too high.

And fight against the Wall. Because the Wall will force people into further escalating
desperate situations. What would you do, Sarah, if you cannot feed your child, because the only way you have to make some money is the farm on the other side of a wall guarded by people who will only let you pass for half an hour a day? What would you do if your child is ill and you cannot get through the checkpoints and you have to stand there and listen and be so worried and afraid? What would you do if day after endless day you daughter came home, hopeless.. because she cannot get to school.. and because she knows she has to face humiliation and has no control, no choice.

and because Palestinian kids know that just nearby, just over the wall there is the other land the 'promised land', where water flows, and you can swim with your mates, and go to school. And have a real American comfort lifestyle except that..
you get blown up on buses when you were just reaching for the crayon to colour in your picture.

More dead children.

Think about it Sarah. Please. In the second world war, why did people who were Jewish hide down cesspits, why did they fight with whatever tools and imagination they had, why did they keep on resisting, resisting, resisting against the most unimaginable terror but still never gave up their knowledge of who they are, their feeling of collective identity?

Not for Israel. Not for a Jewish state. But to stay alive. To have families in peace and safety. To have choice and the freedom to decide. To be.

Why did some people, brave people, who were not Jewish,help people through the underground, sometimes risking their lives?

Because they saw in those people, some part of themselves.

Make the connections.

What matters, above everything I think, is what it is to be human.

Make the fucking connections.

I've just formed a group called NGOs for Palestine,
which seeks to promote the human rights of all
Palestinian people. The idea is to connect NGO
workers in UK so that they can share information
about how to push the plight of the Palestinians
higher up the agenda of their organisations.

If people want to subscribe they should go to
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Palestine_support

This is an admission of failure. The written word is a failure at making tangible to Israeli readers the true horror of the occupation in the Gaza Strip. When something is written about the sea being closed off to Palestinians in the north and south of the Strip, the response will be "they are terrorists." If something is written about neighborhoods in the western part of the Khan Yunis refugee camp and how the buildings are all full of bullet holes from heavy machine guns and cannon shells, the response will be "the Palestinians started it." Tell the story of how 15-year-old Yusuf Bashir's family home in Dir al-Balah has been turned into an army fortress, and in Israel they'll say, "there is no choice, the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom must be protected, like Kfar Dekalim, Atzmona and Morag."

A report that the soldiers in a military position right next to Yusuf's house agreed to allow a UN team into the family's courtyard will be used in Israel as proof of the humanitarian attitudes of soldiers who are ready to take risks while doing their duties. And when it's reported that suddenly one of the soldiers - an officer, as the IDF spokeswoman would later say - "shot at the wheels of a suspicious vehicle" (the UN team's car), in Israel that will be a shooting that never happened. And then, it will be reported that the boy, Yusuf Bashir, was shot in the back as he waved goodbye to the visitors from the UN, and it is possible he'll remain paralyzed for life - maybe that word "paralyzed" will give a few readers pause. But so many stories about so many Yusufs never get reported, and never will get reported.

This admission of the failure of the written word is not meant to enhance the role of photography. A picture may indeed be worth a thousand words, but for the Israeli occupation to approach some level of comprehension, Israelis need to see tens of thousands of photographs, one after the other, or watch documentaries that are at least eight hours long each, so they could grasp in real time the fear in the eyes of the school children when some whistling above turns into twisted crushed metal with charcoaled bodies inside.

Another movie should show the viewers the vineyards of Sheikh Ajalin, the ripe grapefruits, the peasants who for years nurtured the fruit with great love only to see it all turned to scorched earth left behind by Israeli tanks and bulldozers. No movie has yet been produced that would enable Israelis to taste the wonderful grapes of Sheikh Ajalin. The vineyards are gone so the military positions can protect Netzarim.

How would photographs illustrate the following facts - from September 29th up to Monday this week, 94 Israelis have been killed - 27 civilians and 67 soldiers, according to the IDF. From that same date up to February 18th this year 1,231 Palestinians have been killed - all of them were terrorists? Lacking a central Palestinian agency, there are differences between the data provided by Palestinian groups and none claim to be 100 percent accurate.

The human rights group Mezan, based in Jabalya refugee camp, found that 81 women were killed by IDF gunfire in the Strip; 344 children under the age of 18 were killed by IDF gunfire; 255 members of the Palestinian security and police forces, killed either at their positions or offices and frequently in battle; 264 were armed men who took part in battles with the IDF or tried to attack military positions or settlers and settlements. In the IDF's targeted assassinations, 46 of those killed were the targets of the attacks - and 80 were passersby killed with "pinpoint prevention."

The failure to bring all this home to to readers is not because of the weakness of words or a lack pictures. It is because Israeli society has learned to live in peace with the following facts. There are 8,000 Jews and 1.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The total area of the Strip is 365 square kilometers. The settlements occupy 54 square kilometers. Along with the areas held by the IDF, according to the Oslo accords, 20 percent of the Strip is under Israeli control. That's 20 percent of the territory for half of one percent of the population.

The Israeli army's mission is to protect the security of the Israeli half of one percent, which occupies plenty of land, has freedom of movement, opportunities for development, and fresh water - unlike the saline liquid allocated to the Palestinians. Israeli military positions meant to protect the settlements are located inside and beside the settlements and have a commanding view of all the civilian Palestinian neighborhoods.

The proximity of every expansive settlement to the densely populated, suffocating crowded Palestinian community is what causes the large number of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza Strip, including many civilians. It is what determines the flexible rules of engagement, the type of bombs that break into fragments, the unmanned aircrafts that fire missiles.

The IDF operates within the logic of those arrogant, cynical, and ruthless settlements of a privileged fat few sitting in the midst of the only land reserves that the Palestinians have in the Gaza Strip. Despite talk of "withdrawal," Israeli society has yet to show any signs that it is shaking off the blatantly immoral logic that feeds the very existence of the settlements. And that's as true of the Gaza Strip as it is of the West Bank.

Had you thought that you are in fact creating racial hatred, and fueling the violence that comes from that?

How sick and inhumane is it to tie a target to your child and send them across the street?

I think this cartoon is disgusting! The Israeli Mother and child are represented by "typically Jewish"-looking stereotypes, very similar to jewish stereotypes used by nazi-propaganda. Why not depict a person with glasses as well, to represent the archetypal "Jewish intellectual"? Besides, aren´t there non-Jewish citizens living in Israel? Is this how Jewish citizens in Israel see themselves? If so, oh dear! This cartoon is not only anti-arab - it is also antisemitic! I want to know: is this an Israeli cartoon, are the authors US-wasps, or what? Probably it is a projection of the artist´s antisemitism on the situation in Israel, lying subconsciously beneath the artist´s intention to create "pro-Israel" propaganda.

///

///

Heather is a long standing cheerleader for murder and genocide against the Israeli people. I would therefore expect her to feign ignorance of the fact that building a barrier is an extremely calm and reasonable response to the endless mass murders committed by Palestinians who aspire to exterminate every Jew on earth.

I find it completely incredible that she compares the cartoon to 'nazi imagery', when anyone who has seen a Latuff cartoon, or the images that are constantly shown on Arab TV and printed in Arab newspapers knows that many are copied directly from nazi publications.

I really cannot say much more about this posters website, it really is a load of old US paraniod crap, schoolboy mentality really.

If you can be arsed to post on indymedia, how come you aint opened your eyes to whats really happening around you.

I really can't be arsed wasting any more electricity on you....... bye

It's a simple equation...if there were no suicide bombers, there would be no need for a security fence. Apparently, there are those among the "palestinians" that prefer murder as a form of negotiation...it won't work, and it only hurts the "pali" cause. Three years ago there was hope for peace, nobody was killing anybody there was mutual cooperation...an offer was laid on the table by Barak...instead of negotiating, the response was INTIFADA, bloody intifada.
The basic problem, is that the palestinains cannot accept their own state, because that is defacto acceptance of the existence of Israel. Bottom line- there are elements within the Paletinians who wnat nothing less then the destruction of israel---PEACE is not their goal.

John F, I do not cheerlead for anything. when would you stop building your wall? when it stalks and encloses the "enemy" completely? If you build walls that oppress people you will never be safe.

look at history. it has never worked before and it won't work now. I think people do want to feel safe, of course they do, its about being human. but you and other people who think like you and deny the common humanity of people, are exploiting and using that need cynically so that somehow, the dream of an Israeli state will continue. How much responsiblity do you and the people who think like you, have in the deaths of the children on the buses in Israel?

Do you think you have none? Do you think you can take the land away from other people's children, take the water, take away the simple things whilst taking them for yourselves and not see that as wrong?

What did the Nazis do to Jewish people?
They took away their homes, their freedom to behave as themselves, they took away the lives of their children, of their families.

The Nazis tried to take everything. They tried to make people into objects who can be controlled and who can be killed without thought or feeling from the killers...

I respect Jewish people who went through this hell because they survived, and they survived because they were and are people who tried so hard to stay together, to stay alive.

And I respect Jewish people now who know that your family, your children, the people you care about are more important than the creation of an state on a piece of land called Israel, which is apparently more important than the lives of the people who live on it?

Why take a child to live in a settler community on the occupied West Bank? what for? Is the idea, the state, the dream, more important than the life of that child?
Is it so important that you can shoot other people's kids and feel that it is justified?

This wall will kill people. It is already killing people. When exactly, John F, do you want it to stop?

"This wall will kill people. It is already killing people. "

Camrl Dung...
The security fence will save lives on both sides.
If it weren't for the Suicide Bombers, there wouldn't be a need for a security fence...it's very simple.
Suicide Bombers are NOT peace advocates!
(How can there possibly be peace, if Palestinians aren't allowed to murder Jewish kids?)

Dear will you calm down already?
You are pulling your hair over some sick bastard who ties a bomb to his child to get money.

Tell me this dear, why aren't you pulling your hair over thousands tortured in ayatollahs prisons in Iran? Because > you're politicians did not program you for it! they want the bloody trades and they also want ayatolahs to support hamas, anything to go against jews.

No dear, politics it's not all black & white the way you guys see it.
The same 'hizbollah' is beating our children in streets of Iran with British made electric batons and rape our kids inside prisons, help smuggle kids to sexual preverts arab sheikhs.

I don't see anyone in Britain pulling their hair over 25 years of torture and massacre in Iran, 25 years of mass hangings on streets, mass graves in every city. why?

It's written in quran: the land belongs to the jewish people.

Tell the palestinians, what have you done with the land you have already?
Do you think they would ever start using your brain instead of their guns? I doubt it.

Billions of dollars of oil revenue goes to hizbollah terrorist groups, without it they are nothing. The day we end ayatollahs reign of terror in Iran, is the day palestinians will have to work for their bread not blow up thier children and rape ours!

I'm more sick of this political game than any of you, but that's what it is a game. It takes two players, and you're forgetting this. You're forgetting that Even Britain, and Europe for that matter supports ayatollahs bloody regime, wich in turn gives billions to terrorist groups.

Let's end this BLOODY GAME! I'll be the 1st one to cheer when it's over.
Ask the European governments to stop supporting tyrant regimes like ayatollahs!
Everyone wants peace, but terrorist groups.
and trust me after the jews they WILL GO AFTER CHRISTIAN KIDS.
Europe is not that innocent observer here, far from it. Only if you opened your eyes, only if you knew! Your politicians are loving it, all your anti-semitic activism! Ayatollash are their best buddies, and they've got the terrorists wrapped around their fingers.

Millions of Puppets played by anti-Semitic fascist sick minds & powers in Europe. and you all pure to the streets pulling your hair over Iraq and Palestine. I condemn all wars, but look it's Britain who's selling WMD to mad ayatollahs! and the oil is puring to Europe (not US) while our children are raped by some arab hizbollahs in prisons and tortured and drugged in prisons for wanting to live FREELY.

I prey for all of you European Activists to one day open your eyes to what's really going on and not look at the world with One eye CLOSED.

It is time that Humanity is not some Puppet in politicians' hands, but rise beyond all politics and all hatred to unite and think of a way out of this mess.

cheers!

Heather what you said was inspiering and unarguable.

What can any one do but be inspiered.

that but for the illegal occupation of palestinian area's by fanatical jewish settlers, then suicide bombing would lessen and gain much less support within the palestinian community.
how is it justified that 3000 people can occupy 30% of the gaza strip (including its most fertile area) confining the 1million others to the other 70%.
also, if israel/palestine is the promised land then your god has one hell of a perverted sense of humour. most of it is desert, it has inadequate water and if all jews were to move there they would need to stand on each others shoulders for lack of space.

The wall isn't a security barrier - it weaves all over the place, a blatant land grab.

But, even leaving that aside...

Of course the Israelis have an understandable need for security.

But the Palestinians need security too. Cut the double standards.

Peace can never be built on injustice.