Hey Dan

I angry man stands on a corner and hurls rocks at cars. A driver stops and beats him up. Who is right? The man in the car was defending himself and hurting another human being. The man on the corner was defending his land and hurting cars. In the example both can claim great passion and injustices.

Israel is sounded by people who want them wiped from the face of the earth. They are out numbered and under constant attack. Imagine if a bomb went off somewhere in your city or town every two weeks. The person who detonated it was trying to kill the people you loved.

The Palestinians are a people living in an occupied land. They are under siege everyday. Walls, tanks, and barbed wire greet them every morning. At night Helicopters fire missiles into their houses. There is no way for them to fight back. They have no army, no air force, and no tanks.

This is the reality the Middle East, on land that is considered holy to three religions. On race, religion, ideology, economics, alliances, and even language these two sides are polarized. For Arabs it is a wound to pride that Israel stands. To the Israel it is an issue that threatens anyone who prays to a Jewish God. They and their allies are targets though out the world.

A brave man is struggling for his life. Yasser Arafat is a terrorist and a peace maker, a freedom fighter and tyrant. He has killed many in the name of God and seen his people dieing for simply being what they were born. All of this does not matter, this is a cross roads in history.

Arafat wants to be buried in Jerusalem, the holy city to Jew and Palestinians. An Israeli Cabinet minister said “the holy city is reserved for the burial of Jewish kings, not Arab terrorists." He spoke from the heart, but imagine burring Yasser Arafat as a Palestinian leader not an Arab terrorists. View the Palestinians as more then Arab terrorists. Restore pride to his people.

As Israeli knows force will not solve this problem. At some point you have to put a hand out. Arafat will not be that last Palestinian leader. It costs is a patch of land. If the price looks high, think about what this war is going to coast you.