Enemies, enemies, enemies.

Editor,

Creating Israel in the wake of the horrors of WWII was an understandable mistake, but mistake it was to boot people who had been living there for generations out of their homes to make way for the Jews.

In light of current realities, with respect for the fear and suffering on all sides in this conflict, wouldn't the humane thing to do be to stop fighting over who killed whom in the last round of hostilities, lay down the guns, and share the land as one democratic, diverse, multicultural state?

The need that all people in the region feel for peace and reconciliation far outweighs the greed that certain of the leaders there feel. In exchange for Israel's knocking down their wall and ending their siege of Gaza ALL third parties should agree not to introduce weapons into Israel or to provoke violence.

I have felt for a long time that Israelis are being played for saps by their supposed friends, as are the Palestinians. Passions on both sides of this conflict are constantly aggravated by third parties who see a means to battle their own strategic nonsense out through their respective proxies there.

Look at the idiotic conflict between the United States and Iran. If the Americans respected the sovereignty of Iran and communicated with Iran honestly, there would be a basis for respect and trust in return. But instead we arm the Israelis to the teeth and encourage their wounded pride because the Palestinians won't just go off into the desert and disappear, and the Iranians scheme to undermine Israelis' security.

And not talking to Hamas? Hamas is reality, and not talking to them merely underscores the wish by the Israeli right to drive the Palestinians away and the refusal by the United States to yield one inch of legitimacy to its enemies in the region.

Enemies, enemies, enemies. As long as the so-called leaders of the nations involved in this tragic farce understand the world we live in in terms of enemies, nothing but suffering will result.

Re: "Israel and Outremer" (6/7/2010)