New York Times, January 15, 2005, Front Page.
“Jerusalem, Jan. 14. — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered Friday that all government officials cut ties with the Palestinian Authority and that the Gaza Strip be sealed until Palestinian leaders moved to curb terrorism.”

Yet again, the promise of ‘peace’ lasts a day.

I went to Jerusalem on September 11, 2000, full of the hope of a young boy, wanting to change my world. Wanting to achieve that ‘peace’ that people sing about, that I sang in “Where have all the flowers gone” — ‘when will they ever learn…’ — I truly believed that all people had to do was learn, and that peace would happen.

And then my childhood was broken apart just as easily as a few words are spoken, as easily as a few bodies were shot and torn.

Still, 5 years later, they are still at the same point. Do we truly believe that all is possible because of the death of Yasser Arafat? Was everything his fault in this whole conflict?

In the year 2000, when Arafat and Barak were meeting at Camp David with Bill Clinton and Aaron Miller, they had agreed on everything — everything was simple — the Israelis pull out from the land that they have illegally claimed in the last 40 years, and the Palestinians stop acting out in violence. There had been no ‘terrorist’ attacks in 3 years. Are we better off now? What happened between then and now.

Yet here we stand again in the ‘peace’ process, three steps backwards, and three steps forwards…

Will there be peace? Can there be peace? What does it mean to have peace in Palestine, in Israel, in Jerusalem, in Gaza, in Tel Aviv?

For the Israelis, its a big big wall — its a cage around Gaza — keep the animals in, and they won’t hurt us. For the Palestinians, it is freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom of resources.

Sharon suspends Palestinian ties. What do we think when we read this in the paper. This has happened before — Sharon does this all the time — it’s a trick — make everybody around the world think that you want ‘peace’ — and then pull out at the last second, pointing your finger at the other guy, saying everything’s their fault.

God be with the children in Gaza tonight, angry and poor. God be with the children in Israel tonight, scared and secure.

I know many Israeli children, and they are all good. I know many Palestinan children. They are all good. Children need not pick up stones and M-16s to fight their parents’ useless war. Children need not pour this concrete to build up their parents’ wall.

The wall gets higher every day. More cement poured, more barbed wire layed down with razors on the top.

And somehow, it all seems so silly. I read a story about the death of a man who was climbing over the wall and shot by Israeli soldiers as he scrambled down the other side. What was he doing? Going to work? He certainly was no spy — he was ‘armed’ with a table knife… And yet the newspaper article portrayed him as a terrorist…

I think there are no terrorists, there are no soldiers. There are children, there are adults, and there are human beings. Each one lost is another tear from the eye of God.

Take Care.