"You do realize that this is what YOU>/b> appear to be, in the opinion of most Americans."

Yep.

"Your inclination to take a marginal position and immediately believe that it is correct in the face of massive opinion to the contrary is a case study in arrogance."

"Case study"? Am I that good? Don't believe it. Arrogance? Is it arrogant to take and hold an unpopular position which is based on more of the facts than the popular? I may be arrogant, and I don't think you made the case for it with that.

Your "massive opinion" has been shaped by years and years of a very effective pro-Israeli lobby which has attacked any media publicizing the Palestinian cause as anti-Semetic.

This is a very recent example. <a href=
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05012002/business/46889.htm>Rabbis call for boycott of NY Times

How often have you seen where the Palestinians have been able to complain effectively about media coverage? Who would have the courage to print that in the face of the Anti-Defamation League, et al.? It just isn't worth it to the networks and larger papers, and the US public doesn't get the whole story.

I watched Nightline on Thursday night. They were doing a story on Jenin. Interviewed 4 Israelis, 2 Palestinians, 2 Israelis, 2 Palestinians, 2 Israelis and closed with a long interview of Sharon.

Publicized an Israeli army guy who was indignant at the idea of their using human shields. The same guy then described using Palestinians to knock on doors so that if anyone was shot from inside it was not the Israeli soldier standing back.

Koppel didn't challenge that. Talk about softball!

I've seen the "peace offer" described probably 10 times on network TV, and not once has it included the Israelis keeping Palestinian land, land which Israel agreed is the Palestinians, and continuing to build more settlements. Not once. Heard that from a Palestinian representative on PBS. Obscure. What I did see was quotes from Bill Clinton saying it was good, Barak saying it was good.

You're right. On this one I come down on another side, because I don't believe everything I hear on the US networks. When everyone is looking right, someone has to look left. And in this case the US conventional wisdom is wrong.

And to not see it this way requires an almost completely blindness to anything but what the Israelis publicize.

Do you think it is reasonable to expect the Palestinians to happily settle for "peace" while Israel continues to appropriate their land by building settlement? Seriously, do you think you could do that, or the US could do that? Would you protest, or would you vote for any politician who tried to tell you that we wouldn't miss 9% of our land?

Arf