reaction to Farid H

Submitted by Jerry KRoth (United States), Oct 1, 2006 at 08:02

I liked Farid's comments, but Palestinians in this article are treated in a somewhat dismissive way. One needs to get some empirical data to look at in order to understand the various myths each party has. Certainly if one looks at the per capita income of Israelis (almost 20K per year) and their life expectancy (about 74) and compares that to Palestinian per capita income and life expectancy, then certainly one comes closer to understanding more about the split that exists, because the disparity is symptomatic of a fundamental inequality between the two groups.

Secondly, a classic in psychology is The Territorial Imperative. It talks about the human, primate, and pre-primate instinct to establish a home territory and defend it. To dislodge a people from their land sets off this instinctual process.

When one looks at the life expectancy data, the income levels, and understands the inherent sense of injustice that comes from being expelled from one's ancestral lands, then Palestianian rage, resilience, and resolve can more properly be appreciated.

Having said that, then one must deal with the Israeli sense of having been expelled from these same lands and then the problems come more deeply into focus. Both peoples have unleashed this instinctual paradigm to defend with their lives their home territories. Trouble is both unconsciously are defending the same home territory

There is no solution at hand, merely the prospect of deepening perceptions. Treating either side dismissively or with condescension only exacerbates the dilemma. Not to take sides seems to be the hardest job for anyone witnessing these events, but probably the only real rational route to an ultimate resolution of the problem.

Jerry Kroth

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".