UN Panel: Israeli Settlements Are Illegal

[YKohen]

I agree with everything you posted above here, because none of the call for repentance says that repentance is to be a precondition for forgiveness.

You must have missed it:

…In the very nature of things the sinner must repent before he can be reconciled with God (Sess. XIV, ch. iv, de Contritione, Fuit quovis tempore, etc.). Therefore he who has fallen into grievous sin must either make an act of perfect contrition or supplement the imperfect contrition by receiving the Sacrament of Penance; otherwise reconciliation with God is impossible…

newadvent.org/cathen/04337a.htm

 

[YKohen]

Now, please forgive my persistence on this question that you are at this point you are not answering. My observation is that when it comes to assigning blame you, like all of us humans, are very quick to respond with all the reasons why everyone else is to blame. Denial is the part of the human condition that keeps us from tearing ourselves up with guilt. We all do this.

On the other hand, when I ask you to respond to a person who says he forgives you, you have no response. Remember, we are in the process of investigating the possibility that unconditional forgiveness will lead to tyranny and chaos. Am I to conclude that your lack of response is an admission that unconditional forgiveness will not lead to tyranny and chaos? Well, so be it. I would like to know your response anyway, because what I am suggesting is that unconditional forgiveness does not lead to tyranny and chaos, but instead leads to universal reconciliation, which is what the G-d I know desires. So, I will try again:

Indeed, though war is to be understood in the context of escalation, I cannot deny that our side has done its share of the escalation. I have taken the time to forgive those fellow Palestinians who escalate the conflict. There has been plenty of “eye for an eye” going on in other places too, I cannot deny this. Our peoples have banished each other from lands we control. The point of what I am saying, though, has nothing to do with “who started this”.

What I am saying is that I used to hold your acts against you, and I no longer do. I have forgiven you. I know that you may be thinking “I never deserved your hatred”, but the fact is that I did hate, for understandable reasons, and now I do not. I have forgiven you. I see that you are a person, a human being, just like me, not an object of my contempt. By an act of my will, I have forgiven, because doing so is what my soul truly wants.

What do you say to this person who has come before you and spilled his soul? You say that you are involved somehow working with Christians, making their lives easier in Israel. I appreciate that. Pretend that one of the people you have run across has said this very statement to you. What would you say? Picture the person and the situation, as awkward as it may seem.

I say that there’s nothing to forgive us for. THEY chose war- not us. They have continued to choose war.

When they choose peace, there will be peace.

I don’t want their declarations. Actions are what count.

 

[mercytruth]

Jacob did humble himself, however, you’re missing an important point:

Jacob was returning to the land of Israel from Laban’s house (in today’s Iraq). Esav met him, coming from southern Israel. After they met, Jacob continued into the land that Isaac has passed on to him as per G-d’s will, and Esav left to Seir, which is southern Jordan.

Both knew that the land belonged to Jacob.

Unfortunately, this isn’t yet the case with the children of Ishmael, who presently occupy 99% of the Middle East.

That’s the point: We did. It was the Arabs who didn’t. Once they didn’t, all bets were off. Once one side breaks a contract with a major infraction, the other side can void the contract.

The Arabs are like the guy who murders his parents and then cries for mercy on the grounds that he is an orphan.

Life doesn’t work that way.

But were the Arabs in on the original contract with the UN? Israel and the UN agreed to the contract, but the Arabs did not. Now, President Abbas of the Palestians admits that it was wrong of the Arabs not to agree with the original contract. Is this not different from ‘voiding’ a contract which the Arabs never agreed to?

I can empathize with the fact that historically there are many holy places in the West Bank that are of great significance to the Jewish people. Is it not up to Messiah ben David to slay ‘Goliath’?

shalom

micah

 

[YKohen]

…I have seen it asserted that the “eye for an eye” injunction was also a directive that true justice limits penalties to proportionality. Not “your whole family’s life for an eye” or “both of your eyes for my one eye”.

An eye for an eye in Judaism is about monetary restitution. If I poke out your eye, G-d forbid, I have to pay you the value of that eye. The value is based on different factors, the most import being how it impacts on your ability to earn a living from your profession.

If you are a surgeon, how much money do you lose with the loss of the eye?
If you are a lawyer, how much money do you lose with the loss of the eye?
If you are a fireman, how much money do you lose with the loss of the eye?

This also limits claims to the reasonable; not like the insanity that exists today where if you spill a cup of hot coffee on yourself and get a small burn, you can sue McDonalds for $100 million and win.

 

[YKohen]

But were the Arabs in on the original contract with the UN? Israel and the UN agreed to the contract, but the Arabs did not. Now, President Abbas of the Palestians admits that it was wrong of the Arabs not to agree with the original contract. Is this not different from ‘voiding’ a contract which the Arabs never agreed to?

I can empathize with the fact that historically there are many holy places in the West Bank that are of great significance to the Jewish people. Is it not up to Messiah ben David to slay ‘Goliath’?

shalom

micah

There was a vote in the UN. The Arabs voted. They lost. They then went to war.

The train is 65 years out of the station and won’t return.

 

[Ridgerunner]

An eye for an eye in Judaism is about monetary restitution. If I poke out your eye, G-d forbid, I have to pay you the value of that eye. The value is based on different factors, the most import being how it impacts on your ability to earn a living from your profession.

If you are a surgeon, how much money do you lose with the loss of the eye?
If you are a lawyer, how much money do you lose with the loss of the eye?
If you are a fireman, how much money do you lose with the loss of the eye?

This also limits claims to the reasonable; not like the insanity that exists today where if you spill a cup of hot coffee on yourself and get a small burn, you can sue McDonalds for $100 million and win.

No disagreement from me. With regard to the monetary compensation, I am reminded of being fascinated, in college, with the “Dooms of King Alfred”, which was a long list of compensations for various wrongs prevalent in England at the time. The word “Dooms” is often misunderstood, it’s an archaic plural past tense of the word “deem”, meaning, in that context, “judgment”.

Same kind of thing.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I say that there’s nothing to forgive us for. THEY chose war- not us. They have continued to choose war.

When they choose peace, there will be peace.

I don’t want their declarations. Actions are what count.

I have said this before, but I’ll repeat it. The best imaginable outcome for the Palestinian Arabs would be a modified Swiss-like confederation in which Palestinian Arabs could work, trade, etc, in Israel freely, and in which Jews could live peacefully in the West Bank. And it would include formal defensive alliance between a Palestinian authority and Israel, and termination of all anti-Jewish propaganda. The Palestinian Arabs would see unprecedented prosperity flow their way.

But right now, that’s pipe-dreaming. It has to be admitted, though, that a prior cooperative project for the development of Gaza would have worked if Arafat had not backed out and started the intifada for his own gain. But for his doing so, Hamas would never have come to power there and Arabs in Gaza would be at full, lucrative employment, and part of a country they could call their own.

 

[chosen_people]

Hi chosenpeople. I hit the link there because I know something of the truly sad history of Jewish property rights, but I had to stop when I got to the part that said that mainstream American protestant churches have no moral aversion to the killing of Jews.

I am sure there is a better article out there, one that tells the real story of the sad history without making such statements.

We have the inevitable force of God and the eternal covenant with the Jewish people

youtube.com/watch?v=ydwxy9yqhzM

We have a country with the greatest moral, legal and historical right of existence

We have a country with a population of one tenth of one per cent of the world’s population which contributes so massively and disproportionately for the benefit of all mankind in the fields of science and technology and medicine and agriculture and green technology

We have a country with the greatest economic growth of all the western developed economies in the world, a country with a mix of private and socialized medicine that other countries can only dream of, a country with the second highest male life expectancy in the world, a country with the highest cancer survival rate in the world, a country with per capita rates of scientific publications, of patents, of doctors and scientists, of start ups that other countries can only envy.

And against this little tiny country, which is roughly the size of the State of New Jersey, which sits on about one per cent of the land of the Middle East, we have this disparate group whose single unifying factor is their maniacal hatred of the Jews and the Jewish State.

European governments, with their citizens staring out of the homes of murdered Jews, after two thousand years of persecuting Jews, of spreading lies and hate, still haven’t had enough. Having screamed for centuries for the Jews to go to Palestine, they now insist that the Jews must leave their eternal homeland. These children of Dengenndorf, where every imaginable crime was committed against God and the Jews, murder, theft, destruction of God’s house of worship, coveting, bearing of false witness, of hating your neighbor. These people who not only committed this evil but who celebrated it yearly for centuries, have yet to be satisfied. They have new sets of lies about the Jews and new monetary self interests. Their economies may be circling the drain, their youth unemployment may be astronomical, but still they can find hundreds of millions of euros to try and undermine the Jewish State, to send impressionable young minds to be indoctrinated with a whole new series of falsehoods and hate against the Jews and the Jewish State. The hatred of the Jew is such a unifying force that right wing fascists can join hand in hand with radical left wing anarchists, atheists with Church groups. United they sing “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” just as they have always sung for the expulsion and death of the Jew and theft from the Jew. So powerful is this hate, that it makes no difference that they seek to join forces and support those very groups that are murdering and killing and persecuting Christians throughout the Middle East and Africa. No matter that in one country alone, this single glowing diamond in the mud of the Middle East called Israel, are they protected.

The irony is that they actually think they are being moral. Some actually believe the lies. They even believe they are going to the World to Come. I think they may be disappointed.

 

[OneSheep]

I say that there’s nothing to forgive us for. THEY chose war- not us. They have continued to choose war.

When they choose peace, there will be peace.

I don’t want their declarations. Actions are what count.

I will again respond from the point of view of the forgiving Palestinian, I am filling in some details on the fictional character:

You are saying that I have nothing to forgive you for, but I have explained what it was that your people have done that I have reacted to. I explained that you have taken my land, killed my children, and built settlements that I may not inhabit, even though I was born here as were many of ancestors going back hundreds of years.

I am making the observation that your ability to empathize with me has been compromised by your negative emotion toward me. I am saying this from the position of experience. When I hated you Israelis, I had no inkling whatsoever that you could possibly be yourselves motivated by hate and anger. After all, it appeared, we were doing nothing but protecting ourselves from an evil, powerful, merciless occupier who violently tore down our homes and took our land; how could you blame us for what we were doing? Now that I have taken the time and prayer to forgive you, I see you as people no different from myself. We can all be blind to the emotions, wants, and needs of those we hold in contempt.

It does sound like you are rejecting my forgiveness. I did, at one time, choose war, but now that I forgive, I no longer want to choose war. Indeed, my forgiveness has been an act of repentance in itself. Your country is still oppressing our people and violating our property rights, and the U.N. agrees. Indeed, you have even chosen to build more settlements to punish us for pursuing statehood. This shows me that you are not repenting, but I forgive you anyway.

So, what does this mean in terms of action? I will no longer support military action against you. In fact, I will encourage people to do as I have, and forgive you. I know you find this baffling, but please, try for one moment to think of what it would be like to be in my shoes. Our people need to forgive. Both of our peoples need to do so. So, you may see this as an repentance. My forgiveness is a repentance from hatred and anger. This is the action I take. I may continue to seek all the non-violent means possible, though, to stop you from violating our people’s rights. And if you are using violent aggression toward us, I will support using violence to protect ourselves. I hope you understand this view.

I am asking you, sir, can you do the same? Can you forgive me for hating you? Can you forgive me for supporting violence against your people? I did not know what I was doing. I was blinded by my hatred. I could not admit that you and your people had good reason to hate us, because in my mind, I thought what I was doing was right.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We have the inevitable force of God and the eternal covenant with the Jewish people

youtube.com/watch?v=ydwxy9yqhzM

We have a country with the greatest moral, legal and historical right of existence

We have a country with a population of one tenth of one per cent of the world’s population which contributes so massively and disproportionately for the benefit of all mankind in the fields of science and technology and medicine and agriculture and green technology

We have a country with the greatest economic growth of all the western developed economies in the world, a country with a mix of private and socialized medicine that other countries can only dream of, a country with the second highest male life expectancy in the world, a country with the highest cancer survival rate in the world, a country with per capita rates of scientific publications, of patents, of doctors and scientists, of start ups that other countries can only envy.

And against this little tiny country, which is roughly the size of the State of New Jersey, which sits on about one per cent of the land of the Middle East, we have this disparate group whose single unifying factor is their maniacal hatred of the Jews and the Jewish State.

European governments, with their citizens staring out of the homes of murdered Jews, after two thousand years of persecuting Jews, of spreading lies and hate, still haven’t had enough. Having screamed for centuries for the Jews to go to Palestine, they now insist that the Jews must leave their eternal homeland. These children of Dengenndorf, where every imaginable crime was committed against God and the Jews, murder, theft, destruction of God’s house of worship, coveting, bearing of false witness, of hating your neighbor. These people who not only committed this evil but who celebrated it yearly for centuries, have yet to be satisfied. They have new sets of lies about the Jews and new monetary self interests. Their economies may be circling the drain, their youth unemployment may be astronomical, but still they can find hundreds of millions of euros to try and undermine the Jewish State, to send impressionable young minds to be indoctrinated with a whole new series of falsehoods and hate against the Jews and the Jewish State. The hatred of the Jew is such a unifying force that right wing fascists can join hand in hand with radical left wing anarchists, atheists with Church groups. United they sing “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” just as they have always sung for the expulsion and death of the Jew and theft from the Jew. So powerful is this hate, that it makes no difference that they seek to join forces and support those very groups that are murdering and killing and persecuting Christians throughout the Middle East and Africa. No matter that in one country alone, this single glowing diamond in the mud of the Middle East called Israel, are they protected.

The irony is that they actually think they are being moral. Some actually believe the lies. They even believe they are going to the World to Come. I think they may be disappointed.

At the same time, one needs to be cognizant that there are Palestinian Arabs who share none of this hatred. I know some of them. You seem to be a man of some consequence in Israel, and if I mentioned the names, you would probably recognize them. Possibly you know some of them. If you guess, of course, based on anything I say, please don’t post the names. One of the things I have been repeatedly reminded of by one of them is: “You have to remember, that’s a very small place, and everybody who is somebody knows everbody else who is somebody.”

It is from them that I got the understanding that a sort of “confederation” with “common market” aspects to it would bring untold prosperity to the Palestinian Arab population in the West Bank. Business and industry, they believe, not eradication of Jews, is what Palestinian ARabs need most. Hard to argue with that. But for either to flourish, there has to be peace. A precondition for that, of course, is rigorous elimination of the Arab “gangs” that infest the area; some ideological, some religious fanatics, some political opportunists, and some just plain criminals.

The worst thing I ever heard any of them say about Israeli Jews was: “They can seem arrogant at times in negotiation, but if they give you their word, you can count on it.”

 

[OneSheep]

We have the inevitable force of God and the eternal covenant with the Jewish people

youtube.com/watch?v=ydwxy9yqhzM

We have a country with the greatest moral, legal and historical right of existence

Well, this is your point of view, and I respect that. The problem is, when statements are made such as “my point of view is better than your point of view”, the common reaction is for the listener to turn off the deliverer. You already have my respect. We can’t force people to respect our opinions.

We have a country with a population of one tenth of one per cent of the world’s population which contributes so massively and disproportionately for the benefit of all mankind in the fields of science and technology and medicine and agriculture and green technology

We have a country with the greatest economic growth of all the western developed economies in the world, a country with a mix of private and socialized medicine that other countries can only dream of, a country with the second highest male life expectancy in the world, a country with the highest cancer survival rate in the world, a country with per capita rates of scientific publications, of patents, of doctors and scientists, of start ups that other countries can only envy.

Well, Israel does have a very impressive record in technology and economic growth. You have a great deal of pride in your country, and you want to describe your country’s achievements.

And against this little tiny country, which is roughly the size of the State of New Jersey, which sits on about one per cent of the land of the Middle East, we have this disparate group whose single unifying factor is their maniacal hatred of the Jews and the Jewish State.

In Christianity, we call such blanket statements without proof “bearing false witness”. I request that you refrain from such statements. The assertion by the link you gave was the same, bearing false witness against protestant Christians.

European governments, with their citizens staring out of the homes of murdered Jews, after two thousand years of persecuting Jews, of spreading lies and hate, still haven’t had enough. Having screamed for centuries for the Jews to go to Palestine, they now insist that the Jews must leave their eternal homeland.

This, again, is considered in our Church “bearing false witness”. I know of no modern European government official who has insisted that Jews leave Israel. Please correct me if you have heard such. If you are implying that these governments also “spread lies and hate”, without proof of such statements, this is also bearing false witness .

I suggest that your accusations may be counter-productive chosenpeople. I will happily work with you toward the goal of winning people’s respect for your people and your nation. For starters, please consider refraining from blanket statements and making accusations. The Israelis are people like everyone else. Israelis are to be neither hated nor idolized. Israelis are to be loved, and for those rare people who do hate Israel and Israelis, I pray that they can forgive. Pray with me on this, chosenpeople, let us pray that those who hate will learn to forgive, that they will learn that forgiveness of those we hate is G-d’s will.

 

[YKohen]

I will again respond from the point of view of the forgiving Palestinian, I am filling in some details on the fictional character

Yes. it is fiction.

THEY chose war. They lost. There are ramifications to that.

I don’t care if they forgive us for THEIR stupidity, aggression, and miscalculations.

Nobody forced them to choose war time and again. Nobody forced them to reject a state in peace time again.

It’s really quite simple.

 

[504Katrin]

We have the inevitable force of God and the eternal covenant with the Jewish people

youtube.com/watch?v=ydwxy9yqhzM

We have a country with the greatest moral, legal and historical right of existence

We have a country with a population of one tenth of one per cent of the world’s population which contributes so massively and disproportionately for the benefit of all mankind in the fields of science and technology and medicine and agriculture and green technology

We have a country with the greatest economic growth of all the western developed economies in the world, a country with a mix of private and socialized medicine that other countries can only dream of, a country with the second highest male life expectancy in the world, a country with the highest cancer survival rate in the world, a country with per capita rates of scientific publications, of patents, of doctors and scientists, of start ups that other countries can only envy.

And against this little tiny country, which is roughly the size of the State of New Jersey, which sits on about one per cent of the land of the Middle East, we have this disparate group whose single unifying factor is their maniacal hatred of the Jews and the Jewish State.

European governments, with their citizens staring out of the homes of murdered Jews, after two thousand years of persecuting Jews, of spreading lies and hate, still haven’t had enough. Having screamed for centuries for the Jews to go to Palestine, they now insist that the Jews must leave their eternal homeland. These children of Dengenndorf, where every imaginable crime was committed against God and the Jews, murder, theft, destruction of God’s house of worship, coveting, bearing of false witness, of hating your neighbor. These people who not only committed this evil but who celebrated it yearly for centuries, have yet to be satisfied. They have new sets of lies about the Jews and new monetary self interests. Their economies may be circling the drain, their youth unemployment may be astronomical, but still they can find hundreds of millions of euros to try and undermine the Jewish State, to send impressionable young minds to be indoctrinated with a whole new series of falsehoods and hate against the Jews and the Jewish State. The hatred of the Jew is such a unifying force that right wing fascists can join hand in hand with radical left wing anarchists, atheists with Church groups. United they sing “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” just as they have always sung for the expulsion and death of the Jew and theft from the Jew. So powerful is this hate, that it makes no difference that they seek to join forces and support those very groups that are murdering and killing and persecuting Christians throughout the Middle East and Africa. No matter that in one country alone, this single glowing diamond in the mud of the Middle East called Israel, are they protected.

The irony is that they actually think they are being moral. Some actually believe the lies. They even believe they are going to the World to Come. I think they may be disappointed.

what a beautiful post!

 

[TEPO]

UN panels should be Illegal.

 

[OneSheep]

Yes. it is fiction.

THEY chose war. They lost. There are ramifications to that.

I don’t care if they forgive us for THEIR stupidity, aggression, and miscalculations.

Nobody forced them to choose war time and again. Nobody forced them to reject a state in peace time again.

It’s really quite simple.

Okay, let me translate this into a direct response. I, the fictional Palestinian, have spilled my soul to you, explaining that I used to hate Israeli Jews, but I have now forgiven them. I no longer hold anything against you Israelis or your government.

Your response appears to be: “I don’t care if you forgive us for your stupidity, aggression, and miscalculations.” Please correct me if I am wrong on this.

So, here is my response: “I see that you are thinking that I, and my people, have caused all of our own pain and hurt. I understand your thinking. You are perhaps feeling some resentment and anger toward me and toward our people, too. You want us to behave differently. You would like our people to stop all aggression.”

So, what is your next response to me as the Palestinian? I would prefer that you respond directly, so that we are having a true conversation, but feel free to respond in whatever way you want. Are you picturing the situation? Pretend that I, the Palestinian, am sitting with you at a table outdoors overlooking a beautiful neighborhood in Israel, or picture us sitting in a depressed area of Palestine. Try to anticipate my reaction.

 

[OneSheep]

what a beautiful post!

Hello Katrin!

I pray that you are having a peaceful, blessed day.

Katrin, if there really was as much hatred in the world as the post claimed, would you be able to forgive the hatred? Have you forgiven people for hating? Perhaps you already have forgiven?

 

[OneSheep]

To the reader: In our last episode, I responded to YKohen in this manner:

THEY chose war. They lost. There are ramifications to that.

I don’t care if they forgive us for THEIR stupidity, aggression, and miscalculations.

Nobody forced them to choose war time and again. Nobody forced them to reject a state in peace time again.

It’s really quite simple.

Your response appears to be: “I don’t care if you forgive us for your stupidity, aggression, and miscalculations.” Please correct me if I am wrong on this.

So, here is my response: “I see that you are thinking that I, and my people, have caused all of our own pain and hurt. I understand your thinking. You are perhaps feeling some resentment and anger toward me and toward our people, too. You want us to behave differently. You would like our people to stop all aggression.”

Again, to the reader, if you haven’t been following this thread, I have been pursuing discussion with the premise that the answer to the Israel-Palestine conflict is for those involved to forgive one another. I know, this is asking a lot; forgiveness would be extremely difficult.

What this interchange has taught me is just what Jesus was up against in His own land. The Romans brutally occupied Israel. The people wanted a military savior to free them from their oppressor. The Palestinians want the same. The Israelis have an “oppressor” too, the aggressive Palestinians. No one wants to forgive unless the other side repents.

Jesus did not take up the sword, but told people to forgive, to love their enemies, to turn the cheek. What I did above is an example of turning the cheek, I did not return insult with insult, but reflected back what YKohen was saying, trying to discern his emotions, needs, and requests. Jesus spoke to a people who hated the Romans, understandably so, and His call to forgive was met with a lot of ire; this certainly contributed to His unpopularity.

YKohen insists that unconditional forgiveness is not the Catholic way, and he presents instances in Catholic history to prove His point. Are we presenting the same unforgiving face that YKohen points to? Are we modern Catholics forgiving our politicians, those of different political views, those who do things we find abhorrent?

YKohen is saying that unconditional forgiveness will lead to tyranny and chaos. I think that I have already adequately proven here that forgiveness, the change of heart that occurs when one forgives and lets go of their anger and hate, is anything but chaotic. If nothing else, imagine all of the Israeli lives that would have been saved if would-be suicide bombers and their colleagues had taken the initiative to forgive despite perceived unrepentance on the part of the Israelis.

It is very difficult for us people who hold onto hate and resentment to admit that such unconditional forgiveness is redemptive, because, of course, this means that it is the very action we all must take. Even though we resist, It is our calling to forgive even when the persecutor is unrepentant, just as Jesus did from the cross. When we assert that the other side has to repent before we forgive, we can go through our whole lives not forgiving, as many people have done. Jesus calls us to a different way.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you haven’t been following this thread, I have been pursuing discussion with the premise that the answer to the Israel-Palestine conflict is for those involved to forgive one another. I know, this is asking a lot; forgiveness would be extremely difficult.

I recall reading that some State Department person said “As soon as the Arabs accept Israel’s right to exist, everything is possible. As long as they don’t, nothing is possible.”

It’s not a matter of forgiveness for the past. It’s a matter of intentions for the present and the future.

 

[iamrefreshed]

To the reader: In our last episode, I responded to YKohen in this manner:

Since I am a “reader” I will respond.

You have continually ignored points made by YKohen and Ridgerunner. I mean, blatently ignored their posts and continually remained on your tirade like someone placing their fingers in their ears and singing LaLaLa…

If that was the effect you were looking for, you succeeded.

 

[OneSheep]

I recall reading that some State Department person said “As soon as the Arabs accept Israel’s right to exist, everything is possible. As long as they don’t, nothing is possible.”

It’s not a matter of forgiveness for the past. It’s a matter of intentions for the present and the future.

I suppose one could see it as a chicken-egg issue. If the parties involved have a change of heart, then their intentions for the present and future will change. If the parties involved don’t, then I don’t really see any change in intention. Forgiveness brings about a change of heart.

On the other hand, I think both sides are well intended. Both sides seek justice, both sides want security and autonomy. The problem is the way they go about it, and that there is plenty of resentment fueling everything.

As far as one side accusing the other of “denying our right to exist” (for which the State Dept person was appealing to the Israeli side) the two sides certainly do a lot of pointing at each other on this aspect. If my recollection is correct, political figures on both sides have, at times, acknowledged and denied the others’ right to exist.