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Hello, this is Blase Bonpane with a comment.

A football game is a poor analogy for international conflicts. In the ball game there is a level playing field and you root for your team. In the violence of armed conflicts, however, there is no level playing field and there is no reason to root for the more violent oppressor.

Our commercial media has referred to recent demonstrations as pro-palestinian or pro-Israel. Here is the useless football analogy. If the demonstrations are pro-palestinian, why are so many jews present? And why are so many jews protesting in front of Israeli consulates?

The reason is simple. Mature people want to root for justice, they do not want to be a cheering section for their state as some form of idol worship. No matter how strong the rhetoric, the whole world can see that one side has tanks. One side has military bulldozers. One side has planes, bombs and heavy artillery. One side has helicopters. One side has received hunreds of billions of our tax payers money.

Now to associate the quest for justice with anti-semitism is an affront to millions of jewish people who are demanding justice from their government. To jewish people who are marching into palestine with food and medicine. Everyone knows who the oppressor is and who are the oppressed. Oppressed people will fight back saying give me liberty or give me death... Yes, profound humiliation and disrespect can actually lead peaceful people to become suicide bombers. Those who make non-violent change impossible make violent change inevitable -- John Kennedy.

On saturday, march 30, 2002, security council resolution 1402 was approved calling for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from palestinian cities. The security council reaffirmed previous resolutions and expressed its grave concern at the further deteriorating situation including the suicide bombings in Israel as well as the attacks on the president of the palestinian authority. This new resolution calls upon both parties for an immediate cease fire.

And now, the fifteen member Security Council of the United Nations including the United States holds an emergency meeting insisting on immediate implementation of resolutions demanding an Israeli-Palestinian cease fire and an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities without delay. Stating that Israel's continued military action against Palestinians is both unacceptable and a violation of international humanitarian law. This decision was unanimous and binding.

We are either going to have compliance with international law or non-existence.

The United States and Israel are aware of their responsibility to comply with these resolutions and are flaunting international law at the expense of civilians in both Palestine and Israel.

The millions of jews who oppose the Israeli government's policy of state terror are not anti-semites.

People who hate arabs are anti-semites.

People who hate jews are anti-semites.

Another world is possible. Let us love one another.

For a free copy of this commentary, call the Office of the Americas at 213/852-9808 or visit the OOA web site at http://OfficeOfTheAmericas.org.

This is Blase Bonpane.