OUR QUESTIONS:

1. What's your name?

2. Where do you go to school?

3. Will having an independent Palestinian state established end terrorism against Israel?

4. Do you think the fence between Israel and Palestine has made a difference in safety?

5. Do the settlements have to go in order for there to be peace in the Middle East, or is there a way they can stay?

YOUR ANSWERS:

1. Johnny Berry

2. Morehead State University, Morehead, KY

3. No.

4. No.

5. There will NEVER be peace. It is a religious hatred of Jews by those in the world that will never allow for peace in the Middle East. It will never end--just like in the American South where racism is still alive even though a new generation of leadership is in place that did not experience segregation.

1. Jonathan Mansfield

2. MIT, Boston

3. No

4. Yes

5. The large settlement blocks like Gush Etzion can stay and be annexed/incorporated by Israel.

1. Adam Elisha

2. University of Toronto, Toronto

3. Most likely, only though if a strong enough security and economic infrastructure is built around the duly elected Palestinian government and security forces.

4. None, only through mutual dialogue and not unilateral decisions by a right-winged government led by Sharon can true peace ever be achieved between the Israelis and Palestinians.

5. All must go, they are are provocative and only incite further hatred towards the legitimate Israeli state.

1. Anna Hershkowitz

2. Normandale CC, Bloomington

3. No. There will always be terrorism and there will always be people who hate Israel and the Jews. However, the issue of a Palestinian state only with elimination of terrorism altogether is, unfortunately, too ideal. Palestinian hatred against Israel is at an all-time high. With an independent Palestinian state, terrorism will not diminish completely. However, it will decline immensely. If even ten percent of the Palestinians who hate us now change their views when they have a state, then it is worth it, because then one day that 10 percent can turn in to twenty percent, and then it has the ability to grow even more from there.

4. I do not think that building a security fence is illegal. However, I do not think it is a good idea. It will just inflame the Palestinians, as well as others who rely on traveling back and forth for economic reasons.

5. Not all of the settlement have to go, however some do, such as settlements in Gaza, as well as ones in which there are very few people living in them. One of my professors in Israel, while on a recent reserve duty, was given the job of transporting four settlers with six soldiers in two armed vehicles to piano lessons in a nearby settlement. Situations such as those are a drain on the Israeli economy, hard-working soldiers, and the peace process.

1: [Name withheld on request]

2: University of Victoria

3: No, absolutely not! The issue is about hating Jews and not about the state whatsoever. If it were about the state, the Arabs would have created their own when the offer was on the table. They teach their children to hate and train their people and their children to murder themselves and others, in the name of their religion.

4: Yes, I think that the security fence is a very good thing for both the Israeli and the Arab people because it is limiting the opportunities for violence.

5: If the Arabs wanted peace, they would live peacefully. They don't therefore they will not live peacefully, no matter what the politicians negotiate. The only way the settlements could stay is if the land stayed with Israel. If not, then there would be no way the settlements should stay, as the people would be harassed, and most likely murdered by hateful terrorists.

1: Jake Sugerman

2: Boston University

3: Over 50% of Palestinians recently polled support the continuation of terrorist tactics against Israel after an independent Palestine is created. It is highly likely, given the current conditions in the Middle East region, that it will continue long after a Palestinian state is established.

4: Although only a portion of the fence has been completed so far, since that part has been finished there has been a significant decrease in attacks and threats of terrorism from the regions where the fence was built.

5: The settlements are a major issue in the plan for peace in the region. However, given the demographics of some of these places (a few have populations over 30,000 inhabitants), not all are going to be able to be uprooted. Most, however, will be forced to be evacuated.

[Posted 4/19/04]