There is plenty of bigotry, hatred and intolerance on both sides and over time I've found my views have shifted on some things. I AM "pro-Palestinian on a number issues - I strongly oppose the settlements, the lopsided permit process and inequities suffered by the Arab population, and the Price Tag movement - but I do not think Israel is the source of all that is wrong, I do think that Israel has a right to exist and defend it's people, and I do think that often, the Palestinians are their own worst enemy. However it's impossible to discuss these things because it seems that an extreme and inflexible position is demanded even when it is wrong.
Take for example stone throwing. At first, I didn't think that seriously about it. In the US - it's not that common. It can cause serious accidents and has - but it's not in the news much. Whether the intent is to kill or not, it still causes serious injury and death.
That brings us to two good examples and the question of why each side can't seem to condemn something that is clearly wrong - in *my view* - which is just that, my own view.
A stone throwing incident caused a near-fatal traffic accident that left a toddler seriously injured and probably permanently impaired. This was spread out over several threads and several months. While there was considerable condemnation of the incident - there was also considerable excuse-making and even blame on the parents. Some people said they had not business living in a "war-zone"; that the baby should have been in a seatbelt (seriously? She was strapped in baby seat that provided all the protection possible), that it was the parents fault for living there because they were breaking "international law". The thing is - they were just an ordinary family of ordinary people driving in an area considered safe. They were living there legally according the the rules of the government under which they lived. No one goes around thinking about whether or not they are violating some vague concept of "international law", they pay attention to the local laws that directly affect them. Governments deal with international law, not citizens. They did nothing to deserve what happened to them yet people were clutching at straws trying to find a way to blame them (ie - the seatbelt issue) rather than outright condemn it for what it was - a crime. It was similar with the murder of the Fogels. I strongly oppose the "settler" movement and their aims and think it's wrong. But - again, the Fogels were living there legally according to their government, they had done nothing to deserve being killed in the middle of the night and, frankly I can't begin to think of anything a small child can possibly do to deserve what was done. They were civilians and they were brutally murdered by someone who couldn't even man-up and look them in the eye. They did it while they were sleeping. Yet rather than condemnation, we see from some - excuses, justifications and even attempts to portray Mrs. Fogel as a terrorist.
As a pro-Palestinian, can't you simply say - ya, I'm a pro-Palestinian, but the murder of innocent civilians is just wrong and condemn it for what it is?
Likewise, consider the recent issue of incarceration of Palestinian children in outdoor enclosures mostly for the crime of stone-throwing. Couple that with well documented abuses in the arrest of children, the forceable isolation of them from adult family members, physically abusing them and threatening them into confessions without the presence of any legal help, and putting them into the military justice system? Instead of condemnation you get excuses, rationalizations, comments that the claims are all false and those who believe them are anti-semites or Israel haters, or worse - the kids are just going to grow up to be terrorists so they deserve that treatment - and eventually, deflections onto "why aren't you concerned with what your fellow muslims yada yada yada...".
When you look at how Palestinian children are treated and how Israeli children are treated for the exact same crimes - can't a Pro-Israeli person simply say, ya I'm pro-Israeli but this is just plain wrong?
