That gung-ho, one-sided view usually passes once one gets 3 months past high school or boot camp, whichever comes later. It's cute in kids, befits Matt, and it can't be any other way. For older folk, though, they've usually been around a bit.

"You mean 35 years of Arafat promising to end terrorism?"

One of them has 35 years of building illegal settlements on the territory of the other. (Hint - that same one has years of ignoring the international agreements they signed.)

One of them has extremist terrorists trying to defend their land through terrorism of the worst kind.

The other has 35 years of a uniformed army engaging in systematic war crimes.

Now, one of these leaders has the Nobel Peace Prize.

One of them is a war criminal.

One of them is trying drive a native culture out of it's homeland.

One if them is trying to keep it's homeland from an aggressor.

One of them has armor, airplanes, rockets, artillery, and the other accoutrements of an army.

The other has light arms.

One of them has a 35 year strategy of punishing innocent civilians because of race, a war crime, which hasn't worked.

One of them ignores UN requests it honor the agreements it has signed.

Now, here are some statements from Israelis. May be extremists, well-know, high ranking extremists. Remember the name "Barak"?

Ehud Barak Ha'aretz June 3rd, 1998 issue reported a revealing slip by Ehud Barak, Rabin's Labor Party successor, sharing the frustration of the Palestinians: "If I were Palestinian, I'd also join terror group." Later Barak apologized for this slip.

How about an Israeli Defense Force Chief of Staff -

"We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel.... Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours ... When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do will be to scurry around like drugged roaches in a bottle." -- Israeli Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan (Gad Becker, Yediot Ahronot 4/13/83, NYTimes 4/14/83)

Or, a Minister of Education.

"In our country there is room only for the Jews. We shall say to the Arabs: Get out! If they don't agree, if they resist, we shall drive them out by force."
--Professor Ben-Zion Dinur Israel's First Minister of Education, 1954 from History of the Haganah.

Deny that, Amos.

Arf