Information Related to "An Overview of Conditions Around the World - May/Jun 2002"
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An OverView of Conditions Around the World
As
pressure mounts for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israelis and
Palestinians, it is important to understand why no easy solutions are in sight.
Much of the world press tends to blame the problems on Israeli intransigence.
In the news media's view, Israel, backed by the United States, has the weaponry
while the Palestinians are a suffering people that simply wants to return to
its ancestral homeland. Yet it's not so simple.
A recent article by American columnist Michael Barone sums up the situation:
". . . Israel is ready to accept a Palestinian state. The problem is that
the Palestinians refuse to accept the Israeli state."
Former Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu has repeatedly made the same
points in interviews on American and British television programs. The former
head of the Jewish state has explained the difference between the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO), led by Yasir Arafat, and Hamas, the Palestinian
terrorist organization that is generally considered more extreme than the PLO.
Mr. Netanyahu states that Hamas is consistent in calling for the destruction
of the Jewish state: It says the same in Arabic to Palestinians as it says in
English to the rest of the world. In contrast, Mr. Netanyahu notes, Mr. Arafat
says one thing in Arabic and another in English. While appearing to show a willingness
to compromise when speaking to the rest of the world, he sends a completely
different message when speaking in Arabic to Arabs.
In recent months, for example, he has repeatedly called for "martyrs"
(suicide bombers) to march on and liberate Jerusalem. As Israeli troops surrounded
his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, in a series of interviews on
March 29 he told Arab television reporters:
"Let those far and near understand: None, among the Palestinian people
or the Arab nation, will be willing to bow and surrender. But we ask Allah to
grant us martyrdom, to grant us martyrdom. To Jerusalem we march--martyrs
by the millions . . ."
"We are seekers of martyrdom. We are all seekers of martyrdom. The entire
Palestinian people is a seeker of martyrdom . . ."
"I may be martyred, but certainly one of our boys or one of our girls will
wave the flag of Palestine over the walls of Jerusalem, over the minarets of
Jerusalem, and over the churches of Jerusalem."
The destruction of Israel appears to remain the ultimate Palestinian goal. Schoolchildren
in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas learn
from textbooks that show "Palestine" where Israel now exists,
with "Israel" nonexistent on the maps.
For many Palestinians the return of refugees goes hand in hand with the elimination
of the Jewish state. If enough refugees returned to Israel, the Jewish population
would be swamped. Israel's democratic system would result in a Palestinian majority
that would put an end to the 53-year-old Jewish nation. Even if the numbers
returning were smaller, a higher birth rate could eventually have the same result.
In the interim, more Palestinians living in Israel would probably mean more
violence.
Pressure from the liberal Western democracies and the world's press may endanger
Israel's very existence. As Israelis themselves are quick to point out, they
have fought four wars for their survival since the nation's founding in 1948.
They cannot afford to lose a single one, for if they do their nation ceases
to exist.
Israelis remain reluctant to surrender the West Bank for a proposed Palestinian
state for two major reasons. First, many Israelis consider it part of the land
God promised them in perpetuity through Abraham. Indeed, some of the very places
in which the Bible records God making these promises (Genesis 12:6-7; 13:3,14-18) are today in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank.
Second, a return to pre-1967 borders would leave Israel barely a dozen miles
wide along much of its length and thus vulnerable to a potentially fatal military
assault from hostile neighbors.
As long as Israel's existence is threatened and the Palestinians' hopes are
thwarted, any peace agreement is not likely to last. Bible prophecies such as
Luke 21:20 and Zechariah 14:1-4 show that Jerusalem and its environs will lie
at the center of global strife immediately before Christ's return. Keep your
eyes on Jerusalem. The "City of Peace" will continue to be a focus
of world news. (Sources: U.S. News & World Report, BBC, Middle East
Media Research Institute Web site.)
Watching as little as one hour of
television a day can lead teenagers and young adults to engage in violence such
as fistfights and other assaults later in life, according to researchers who
conducted a study that tracked more than 700 young people over 17 years. Researchers
also concluded that the more television participants viewed, the more likely
they were to engage in violent behavior.
The study began in 1983 when researchers interviewed 707 teenagers, average
age 14, about their viewing habits. They followed up eight years later, correlating
the amount of television viewing with law-enforcement records and information
gleaned through interviews with the participants. Of those who watched TV less
than an hour a day, fewer than 6 percent had acted violently in a way that resulted
in a serious injury. However, the rate of violence tripled, to 18.4 percent,
among those
who watched one to three hours of TV daily. Among those who watched more than
three hours of TV, the rate of violence more than quadrupled to 25.3 percent.
Researchers also studied the group after another eight years had passed and
most were well into adulthood. Again the differences were startling. Of those
who watched less than an hour of TV daily as adults, only 1.2 percent had committed
a violent act–compared to 10.8 percent of those who averaged three or more
hours a day. This almost fivefold increase led researchers to conclude that
adult behavior, too, is shaped by TV viewing.
The impact of media exposure on our thinking, values and behavior is the subject
of several articles in this issue. We urge you to read all of them as well as
the sources mentioned in the recommended-reading boxes at the end of each article.
This study is further proof that what you allow into your mind has major consequences
in your life. (Source: The Washington Post.)
Related Information:
Table of Contents that includes "An Overview of Conditions Around the World - May/Jun 2002"
Origin of article "An Overview of Conditions Around the World - May/Jun 2002"
Keywords: Israeli Palestinian conflict September 11 European army television, influence of television and violence
September 11:
