peace in the middle east! not.

Foreward: this post has absolutely nothing to do with Harper, Rivers, or any family at all. This is one of those analytical venting sessions, so if you're disinterested in politics of the Middle East, you are excused.
If it wasn't made clear in my previous post, this Media, Terrorism and Insurgency class has been emotionally draining, to say the least. Exciting, but draining.
Yesterday our class was priviledged to speak on the phone with Ibrahim Mousawi, head of media relations for the Hizbollah in South Lebanon. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous to converse with a member of a USA-determined "terrorist" group. I know, I know...I shouldn't buy into this whole "terrorist scare" scheme concocted by the US government. According to American standards, I might even qualify for the terrorist watch list just for writing this blog. (Dear Uncle Sam: Ha Ha! Isn't this blog funny? It's all one big fat joke and I don't mean anything I say. But, just in case you don't catch my uproarious humor, I reserve the right to an attorney. Thank you. P.S-how do I look? Yeah, that's right. I know you're always watching.) Back to the point: Ibrahim couldn't have been farther away from the man I thought he might be. He was jovial, lighthearted and honest. He answered all of our questions candidly and with impressive clarity of mind amidst the obviously daunting reality he is faced with; Israeli expansion, political sectarianism in his own country, hundreds of thousand of Palestinian refugees with inadequate facilities to care for them, not to mention the fact that Big Brother is breathing down his neck at every turn (Don't worry Ibrahim. I might have the same ugly problem as you after I press "Publish Post".) He made it perfectly clear that Hizbollah's qualm with Israel is completely political, and he expressed hope that one day Jews, Muslims and Christians could live side by side as they have done for centuries. Still, he asserted that this couldn't be possible until justice had been met. I'm skeptical that this will ever happen. Sorry, University for Peace. At the end of his interview, Ibrahim even thanked us for listening to his "blah, blah, blah" as he so humbly put it, and invited us all to South Lebanon to stay with the Hizbollah for a time. ( Don't worry, The Man. Not even thinkin' about it.)
As if talking with Ibrahim wasn't exciting enough, today we were graced with the presence of the Israeli Ambassador to Costa Rica, Eihud Eitam. This one did not go so smoothly. As soon as the poor man walked into the room, I knew he was done-for. My first instinct was to run to him and gently whisper "Run. Run away, and never return" into his ear in a British accent. (Because let's face it, it's difficult not to comply with anything said in a British accent.) I didn't do this. Instead, I sat idly as student after student grilled him with incriminating questions about the "Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestine". While I disagreed with most of what Ehud said, I was even more dissapointed with my classmates and uninvited guests present at the Q&A session, who were relentless in their interrogation about Israel's crimes against humanity. In response, Eihud acted like a true diplomat and evaded the most pressing questions by saying that "we are talking about terrorism, not politics or history". While I didn't want to contribute to this man's metaphorical slaughter, I was compelled to ask how terrorism (or insurgency) could ever be separated from history and politics. As I meekly raised my hand and waited to be called upon, I began to realize that this man had no clue. He truly believes that Israel is an innocent state merely responding to acts of terrorism commited by Palestinians. While I in no way condone the killing of innocent civilians, I can understand the reasons why some feel that becoming a martyr is the only way get their message across: give us back our land. But how can this message be received as anything but meaningless, fanatical murder if those on the receiving end fail to believe that they are in posession of someone else's land at all?