Mischa asks why the Palestinians didn’t take to Gandhian techniques of non-violent passive resistance. The reason one would ask such a question is that non-violent resistance is ineffective without publicity. Because of the news censorship in the US, no one realizes that passive non-violent resistance has been “quietly” used in the Palestinian territories for years. The Israeli armed forces, however, are not particularly worried about it since it never gets into the mainstream media where it could do considerable damage to the Israeli occupation/colonization.

What dreams did Gandhi win for the people? Self-rule, yes. But self-rule over what? The Indian subcontinent was split into three parts. In all three parts the masses live in poverty.

No need to cite how Blacks still suffer racism and higher levels of incarceration and poverty in the US. Martin Luther King Jr. would still be carrying on the struggle today.

The message that violent oppressors want people to take from Gandhi is exactly the belief that non-violence can defeat violence.

You confuse and conflate your points Mischa. The people of the Indian subcontinent desired self-rule, yet you deny the Palestinians the same. You assert that Palestinians were “gainfully employed in Israel.” What you call Israel is what had long been Palestine. You would describe employment to the territorial thieves as “gainful”!? What is so “righteous” about that?

How short a history is 4,000 years? And, as for choosing the path of violence, how did Zionist Jews manage to steal the territory of the Palestinians?

Those who try to justify the theft of land from others “do NOT contribute to peace in the world.”

Until second intefadeh a large percentage of Pals. were gainfully employed in Israel in a wide variety of ( mostly) blue-collar work that provided income far above anything available in the Middle East ( may be except Saudi Arabia). The ONLY reason Pals. are no longer employed in Israel– suicide bombers entering Israel with the workers. Check one for idiots who are into “righteous struggle.”

Unfortunately, through out their short history the Palestinian organizations have CONSISTENTLY chosen the path of violence and murder against: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and each other. It’s unfortunate for both Palestinians and Israelis. Those who try to justify suicide bombers do NOT contribute to peace in the world.

Suicide bombing of civilians is not one of them. It provides an escape to the perpetrator, and political power to his/her operators.

But otherwise, it reinforces public and international support for the oppressor to continue. Sharon has made ingenious use of these bombings in 2001-2004, to alter Israel/Palestine’s reality and bring in levels of oppressions that no one would have believed were politically possible before that.

If there is a single thing that has hurt the Palestinian cause most, it is the discovery of suicide bombings as a “weapon”, and its extensive use against civilians.