Cut all US military aid to Israel

GOD is well and alive.. Why do people keep asking the same old, tired, boring questions about "where is God" "why did He let this happen?", etc etc. We are
NOT to understand God, what he does or does not do. Just as a parent you rear your children and hope for the best....BUT again they have their own free will and choices to make (which may be the opposite of what they were taught). As a parent you keep your mouth shut unless asked for advice.. pretty much the same with God, our Father. Our free will can be real tricky.. Many blessings and thank you for letting me have a say.
mary kay faulhaber

I'm not fan of the state of Israel as they cause the US more trouble than support for them is worth, but perhaps the blockade wouldn't exist if the Israelis could be sure that the ships were carrying bread instead of bombs.

Ms. Faulhaber: Perhaps those questions are old and boring to you, but for those civilians, especially young children and their mothers, who are on the receiving end of violence, war, oppression, blockades etc. it is a very real question as I know from my own experience as a child. You seem so sure of your definition of who God is and how it works. Those of us who have had to suffer the consequences of war are not so certain of those answers. I don't believe that God works like the parent you describe who keeps his mouth shut unless asked for advice.

After a lifetime of struggling with just the question you found so old and tired, I have come to the conclusion that it is humanity who let's this violence, these wars happen. Many German soldiers went to war with the message of "God with us" on their belt buckles. I am closer to believing what President Lincoln said, that it is more important that we are on God's side. So you work for peace by working for justice. That is not just a slogan....that is the Gospel Message of Jesus. The world would look far different if we take that Gospel Message to heart.

After nearly 2000 years, the teachings of the Christ still seem to take a back seat to logic devoid of belief in God.

Any nation that supports violence by continuing to fund preparation for war and uses lies about the other side to advance violence, does not "practice" the nonviolence if Jesus, or Gandhi, or the prophets.

Any nation founded "Under God", including Israel or the United States, can resort to violence because God will not stop it. The perfect proof of that is that God allowed Herod to kill innocents in his attempt to kill the heir to the kingdom of Israel, or the torture and excruciating death of nonviolent peoples, such as Jesus.

How many countries have had leaders democratically elected toppled by the U.S. with the help of the C.I.A. and replaced by tyrants who defy democratic principles who had bishops, archbishops, even cardinals hearing their confessions and blessing their actions by remaining silent?

I don't know if Jesus is God or that God is divisible in three parts, like Rome was. I try to follow his teachings not because the are easy, but because he actually seemed to follow his teachings by accepting his own torture and execution. To say that he died because he was God may actually weaken the meaning of his life and teachings because his death seems to have been important for all the wrong reasons.

I apolgize for rambling on and on. The spirit of Jesus seems to be truth love and forgiveness. Why don't we hear this message from more priests?

Peace?

The USA's problem with the Arab world stems from the late 1940's vote in the UN allowing Isreal to be an independent state. Our representative abstained on the first vote and when it came time to vote again, our rep. then voted yes in order to allow Israel to be an independent state. From that point on, we have had incessant troubles. Another problem we have is what I sould refer to as the Apocalyptic presidencies that we have had over the past 60 years. That is, for fear of Armageddon, we have to support Israel no matter what. I don't know why we even need Israel. Iraq was no threat to us, only a threat to Isreal. Iran is no threat to us, only a threat to Israel. So we are ready to do to war to support Israel. Some one needs to write a piece on the Apocalyptic presidency, then maybe something might change.

Perhaps the U.S. could take 2/3 of the military support we give to Israel and spend it on basic necessities for the world's poor, including those in the Middle East...at least then we might have a start on peace.

It seems that a few details are missing here:
"Israeli masked commandos stormed a peace flotilla" whose mebers openly admitted they sought martyrdom and were well armed to repel borders. What makes this a "peace flotilla"? None of the other ships had an armed force prepared to repel borders.
The "evil blockade on Gaza" allows humanitarian aid in every day - tons of it. And the ships of the flotilla were offered the opporunity offload and have the supplies trucked in - an offer they refused.
"I mourn that the soldiers opened fire" as do th e soldiers themselves - which is why they initially fired only paintballs. After the peace activists opened fire with stolen weapons, the soldiers asked for permission to return fire. There is no equivelance to the civil rights movement here.
"As a member of the Free Gaza movement, I returned a few months ago after an attempt to get aid, overland, into Gaza. The attempt was foiled..." note that he does not specify why it was foiled. It is likely that his group refused to cooperate with the Israeli request to screen the "humanitarian aid" and assume control over it.
"...it goaded me all the more to vehemently demand an end to the Israeli repression of the Palestinians, an end to the siege of Gaza, an end to Israeli apartheid." Any call to an end to the Hamas rocket attacks John?
"Such a beginning means a cut of all U.S. military aid to Israel." The beginning of an end to the nation Israel at the mercy of the most vile of terrortist regimes.

I'm afraid that the psalms and prophets are part of the most violent portrayal of God in all the world's religions, and that Israel's duty to defend itself with the sword against all those who stand in her way is grounded in the Hebrew scriptures far more than Fr. Dear would like to think. It's fundamentally dishonest to pick and choose texts about shalom and ignore the fact that the people of Israel have interpreted those texts very differently for thousands of years. Ultimately, the only way to support the author's argument is by doing violence to the scriptures from which he quotes.

I am not defending anyone, just interested in the Truth: With all the media verbally attacking the Israeli army, I wonder about the video of the ship's personnel attacking the army as it propelled on to the ship- even one soldier being thrown overboard! It clearly shows me these personnel were not all nonviolent activists.

A very complicated matter, and one on which I can shed little new light. However, Fr. Dear seems too quick to hang the label of "evil" on Israel when whatever they do conflicts with his own views of social justice. I think if the Palestinians truly want peace, they must do three things: 1. Get rid of the terrorist organization Hamas as their elected government base. 2. Stop firing missiles randomly into Israel, killing innocent people and destroying property. 3. Put an end to the "murderer-bombers" who explode themselves in market places, hospitals, and public places to call attention to their cause by killing the innocent.

Also, the "peace flotilla" seemed more ready for a fight than for a peaceful protest of a blockade. Those supplies could have been transferred in, after inspection, by other aid agencies.

The questions isn't "where is God?"; the question is "which God?" The Israeli hardliners believe in God--the angry, vindictive,bloodthirsty God of the Old Testament who gives his "favorites", the Israelis, past,present, and future, a blank check to kill their "enemies"--"every man, woman,and child, sheep and oxen, etc." anytime, anywhere and for any reason. Trying to reconcile that God who chooses one ethnic group among all others to be "the apple of his eye" with the universal loving Father revealed by Jesus Christ is a conumdrum that has not been solved for some 2,000 years. But in contemporary Israel we are seeing the kind of fruit which believing in a God who plays favorites bears among those who believe themselves to be the "favorites".

This is long overdue, and yet, undo-able, until we run out of gas.

Gods is bringing peace to humanity as i type.Peace from without to within. From without the personified anger of God within humanities consciousness, God will bring peace fo all humanity in free will and love.For it is the innate ability in every individual to seek love and nurturing to be united and at peace. In our free will and desire for peace acknowledge God who is not of gender or form but the essensce of pure love in whom there is no condradiction, and the relief of suffering in all humanity will be come to be. Gods love transforms our anger realising love fulfilling the intended.

It seems kind of strange to use the Old Testament to argue for non violence. According to the Old Testament, God commanded King Saul through his prophet to kill Amalek and all his people. “Do not spare him, but kill men and women, children and infants” (see 1 Samuel 15)

let's put aside the lie that israel is embargoing food and medical supplies (yes even those expired drugs that the "freedom flots" tried to smuggle in... so what if a coupla kids die - the main thing is the political statement).
let me ask you if you also questioned god's existence during the maalot massacre, munich, the midrachov, the dolphinarium, the list goes on and on, but i suppose for you jewish blood does not warrant the wrath of god or the american taxpayer.
at least now that the danes, the brits, even the turks admit that the 'freedom flotilla" was manned by al qaeda members, people who tried bombing LA last year, we know just how blindly located your sympathies are.

Yes, I agree.

Did anyone see a news article about the kid shot dead in Ciudad Juarez, on the Mexican bank of the Rio Grande, under an international bridge, for daring to escape the sweltering city heat by playing in the mud on the Mexican side?

A sharpshooter from the US side shot him in the head.

I pray to go there this weekend to see what happened, and to pray for peace, and forgiveness, and repentance.

Have we all gone mad?

I'll send photos to NCR, too, from Juarez.

Many agree with Maureen Fiedler, Helen Thomas, John Dear, etc., etc., that the Palestinians should triumph, that Israel should be destroyed, and Jews eradicated.

Sickening.

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Arafat, Hitler, etc, etc; yes let's trust them all! Hiding your head in the sand and pretending it isn't so doesn't mean that a hatred for the Jews doesn't exist. Pretending that Islam is not inimical to Christianity shows a complete lack of reality, particularly in the Mid-East. How many times must a country be invaded before you begin to think they are enemies? I am surprised that Israel even bothered to carve out territory for the Palestinians when all they've proved is that they can't be trusted. You will notice that the Arab countries in the region did not want to give up any land for the creation of an Arab Palesinian state, and one can only imagine why.

Humanitarian aid can and does get through to the people in the Gaza strip. The Israelis stopped this "peace flotilla" to check for weapons. The column is hopelessly one-sided; biased toward the Palestinians.

I wonder if Father Dear would support an open border for Gaza; it works out so well with the US and Mexico, why shouldn't it work there? You'd need to lobby the Egyptians to opne the southern Gaza border too, that's been locked down for a long time now.

Dear John,
Like so many other articles you hit the nail on the head so to speak and I really appreciate your comments.

If we don't aid Israel, there will be a second holocaust at the hands of the Arabs. I for one am not willing to see that happen.

That any person of integrity would defend Israel's latest manifestation of unbridled inhumanity, as seems to be the case from some of the above commentary on Fr. Dear's article, can only be explained by that person being in a state of profound ignorance of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The comment beginning with the words "A very complicated matter....." is particularly pathetic as it regurgitates the same old trite pro-Israel jingoistic propaganda. Do these people ever have an original thought or verbalize a sentence that isn't a regurgitation of inane talk-radio or CNN/Fox News? Do they ever crack a history book or exercise their brain on even marginally erudite social criticism? Over the years I've found that those with the most cock-sure defense of Israel are the ones who are the least intellectually grounded in the tragic history of the Holy Land from the early 20th Century to the present day.

There is nothing wrong with the Jews the problem is Israel Government that does
not want to loose financial and military aids to Israel by causing regional
problems and creating sleeping symphony by Netanyahu listened by (the cencored
TV and Newspapers and black propaganda) educated but blind and deaf citizens

## For a bit of sanity, this helps:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/6065955/the-derangement-of-th...

"In the Jerusalem Post, William Shawcross has written a blistering piece about the ‘irrational, obscene hatred’ of Israel now coursing so terrifyingly across both the Islamic and western worlds. ‘Shut up. Go back to Auschwitz’ was the flotilla’s response to the Israelis when they warned it not to enter the area under naval blockade...

fast action needed for peace:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100609/world/lt_chile_cluster_bombs_1

"The United States is among those refusing to sign. The Pentagon considers cluster bombs to be a key part of its defence strategy."

John, Jesuits are supposed to think clearly...

You write: " Some friends suggest that since Israel has an embargo on all food and medicine to the people of Gaza, the U.S. should place an embargo on all weapons and funding for war on Israel." Israel does not have an embargo on all food and medicine - obviously your friend is misinformed. I'm assuming you have to know better, so I have to wonder why you wrote it?

As you know, medicine, cooking oil, fuel, and food, is transferred (at Israel's expense) to Gaza on a daily basis. Tons of it. People are not starving. There is a lot of food available in the markets - do your own google search for articles and photos of what is available - and cement is allowed in if it is used for specific reconstruction projects supervised by international organizations. Beyond that, Hamas itself makes a great deal of money via the smuggling tunnels to Egypt by charging a fee for each tunnel to open, and then taking a percentage of what comes through. And a lot comes through, lots of food, medicines, what we would call luxury items, live animals... and yes, weapons. But small weapons - not the long-range stuff that you could bring in, say, by boat in a freighter...

Oh, I don't know if the recent opening of an olympic size swimming pool in Gaza was one of those projects, but this Palestinian news site reported on the pool here:

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=285242

I guess there was cement and enough water for the pool. Let's hope it doesn't get destroyed by Islamic fundamentalists in Gaza like the UN summer camp for children was: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/05/201052310367932926....

But let's get to the nitty gritty, John. Do you even allow that Israel has a right to exist? As a Jewish state?

You consider yourself a peace activist, yet you support Hamas??? Land for peace, right? Israel left Gaza, and the Palestinians did what with it? Rockets from Hamas - thousands of them, targeting civilians in Israel. That's OK with you? That's peace? Sorry... they're just Jews. They shouldn't be there, I guess... Who was it that said it recently? That they should go back to Germany, or Poland, or wherever those troublesome Jews came from originally... And you know, of course, that for two years, after Israel left, there was no blockade. Was it just those capricious unpeaceful Israelis or did Hamas rockets have something to do with the need for a blockade?

And Lebanon - Israel left the buffer area on the Lebanese border. Completely. And got from Hizbullah peace? Hizbullah, Hamas, both do not accept Israel's right to exist and actively seek to destroy it. This is your peace? These are YOUR peace partners? Hamas has instituted a violent and repressive regime in Gaza and yet you turn a blind eye to the tremendous suffering it causes to the people you say you want to help.

From 1948 to 1967 the Arab nations of Egypt and Jordan occupied East Jerusalem, the west bank, and Gaza. What stopped a Palestinian state from being created in those areas? Many of your fellow-travelers say that if Israel would only return to the pre-1967 borders then there will be peace. So, why wasn't there peace from 48-67?

Giving you the benefit of the doubt, I can only assume that you don't know much history. You certainly don't know the facts, and unfortunately, you don't know what shalom really means.

One sided, obvisouly anti Israeli "peace activism" simply turns into another form of political activism.

I do agree that U.S. aid to Israel needs to be cut. That is the only thing the Israelis respect. Unfortunatly, cutting it is almost impossible due to the influence of various pro Israeli groups in the american political process.

God is both loving and just- to many times we forget one at the expense of the other. Israel has a right to exist and has a right to self-defense. When there have been opportunities for the advancement of peace within the region they have only been used by Israel's enemies to re-arm and the use of aid shipments to do so is not unusual.

For the United States to disarm itself as the author calls for is irresponsible and would help jeopardize the very freedoms which allow him to write what he does. I understand Israel is not above reproach in the the region but neither are the Palestinians and their supporters. We live in a world in which true peace has not come and will not come through the social justice ideals that seem to dominate the postings. Social justice is simply treating others as you would want to be treated- it needs to start there. In the mean time it behooves us to remember George Washington who said "to have peace we must be prepared for war."

“When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You're talking anti-Semitism.”

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

I lived in Israel for over 12 years and hold Jerusalem as the chief of my joys. I do not support the occupation and certainly decry the actions taken by the Israel navy against the aid flotilla to Gaza in which 9 persons were murdered. I believe the occupation is evil and has had catastrophic effects on Israel and certainly on the Palestinians living under the heel of that oppression. But... I find an amazing callousness among many of these posters. None of you mention the experience of the Holocaust and how this has affected the response of Israel to pretty much everything. To ask a nation who went through that to simply trust in God and not rely on strong defences seems naieve and foolish.The nations that did nothing to come to the aid of the Jews during the reign of Satan on earth hardly inspries confidence. God helps those who help themselves and though no nation can endure through military might alone and oppression of one nation by another can never be countenanced, it seems to be to be the height of arrogance to demand of Israel the same even, balanced thinking regarding its defences as, say of Norway, Ireland or Luxemburg.

I cringe at the one-sided agit prop
written on this page as an analysis of a deep seated problem.
Dear Father John, at least Israel can say that it's existence was legally sanctioned by the United Nations. It is strange that those that want Israel to hold to UN declarations are the first to deny its UN sanctioned right to exist.
The problem is simply identified. Muslim states and their friends wish to eliminate Israel. Hamas, the current goverment in Gaza has as its stated aim the elimination of Israel. Arab states that failed to destroy Israel on the battlefield now use proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the useful idiots like yourself, to continue the process.
Please ponder the action of the U.S. in blockading Cuba when Cuba as a sovereign nation agreed to base Russian nuclear missiles on its soil and compare this action in the context of what Irael is doing, i.e. reinforcing its right to exist against groups that are intent on eliminating it.
So Father John, maybe if you came up with aa analysis which included a solution that ensured its existence within its 1967 borders, I could join the debate. As its is , all you have demonstrated to me here is your deep seated prejudice against the Israeli state and its right to exist.

Has no American read the Balfour Declaration of 1916?

The King of England "rewarded" a group of atheistic zionists with land in the nation of PALESTINE!!
Tolstoy, the historian,said,"this is a huge mistake-- the land gift should have been in England not in Palestine"!!

TRUER WORDS WERE NEVER SPOKEN. THE ZIONISTS,BY MURDER AND TERROR, OCCUPIED THIS SOVEREIGN NATION OF PALESTINE AND TO THIS DAY JUNE 10, 2010 CONTINUE THEIR REIGN OF TERROR AND THE WHOLE WORLD SUFFERS!

The reason they had no homeland,and never will have one, is found in 2Kings,7-41.

President Obama and Congress,study this History lesson,and act to save the Palestinian People and the World!!

What a bunch of pollyannish poppycock! How can Israel live in peace when the Muslims(Palestinians & Arabs) want to destroy her. Israel wouldn't need military aid if her neighbors would recognize her right to exist. Stop portraying the Palestinians as being innocent victims of Israeli oppression.Israel has offered many opportunities for peace, but the Palestinians turned them down. War is a two street.

Articles like these are the reasons I no longer support the "Peace" movements. The members pretend to be for peace, but only look where they want in a biased and unbalanced way. The current peace movement still holds hunger strikes, etc. Very immature and ineffective. Look to what is happening in Krygyzstan, etc. The current structure of the "peace" movement make things worse by putting out information that is simply not true based on emotion not fact.

Can you please tell me, Father, why you are a supporter of the Free Gaza movement, which supports a violent 'holy war' against Israel in furtherance of a false religion which commands believers to fight with military force?

The idea of ending war forever will only happen when all of us are extinct because war is a basic part of man no matter how you look at it war has been there in 99% of the history of the human race. Also there are some who only exist to kill and fight.

I just returned from a pilgrimmage to Jerusalem and the West Bank. Incredible trip; I highly recommend it.

Each time our group (EOHSJ) returned from the West Bank, including Bethlehem where the Prince of Peace was born, we were subjected to long waits at the crossing points back into Israel, and soldiers with automatic weapons, paid for by we the busriders, boarded our bus and subjected us to scrutiny.

There is something really wrong with that picture.