This is a post in progress – at least it’s a subject I think about a lot, especially as this situation deteriorates.  Right now it is a ramble and you could easily skip it today and wait until I have something more organized to say. 

today as I was talking to Oren and he introduced the subject of the need for respect for one another in this political situation, I suddenly realized what an enormous issue it is.  

Let me begin with the fact that we don’t understand the mentality of the Palestinians and they don’t understand us.  That’s the simple part.  They know how to surprise and shock us, but they have no idea about how to deal with us, how to achieve their goals and respect our lives.   Of course, they are not interested in understanding us – they just want to annihilate us, even at the cost of their own citizens.   Their savagery proves they did not see us as human beings, and the term respect is meaningless.  

At the same time, I have incredible respect for the Palestinian Israelis I have met, the way they have advanced their lives against all odds, the way they have incorporated both the West and the East, and in some ways transcended the difference between the two.