Comments on: Who Shall Stay? Who Shall Go?

By: jasmin live

jasmin live — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:54:31 +0000

Took me awhile to read all the comments, but I really love the article. It proved to be very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here! It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also engaged! I’m sure you had fun writing this article.

By: Anthony Reich

Anthony Reich — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:44:35 +0000

There are many issues at play here.

The NGOs may be doing a good job in helping the disadvantaged Palestinians who are not being helped by their own leadership. The problem is that the NGOs find it ok to spread negative information about Israel. This is surely getting involved in regional politics when their role is to deliver humanitarian aid. NGOs have the responsibility not to insult the government that is hosting them, irrespective of what their political views may be. In this respect, the NGOs have clearly overstepped the mark.

To expect that Israel can deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians is expecting too much. They are not delivering enough aid to Israelis, let alone the Palestinians. To many Israelis still live below the poverty line, and this must be a higher priority. To think that Israeli NGOs will be tolerated by Palestinian leaders is expecting too much in this political climate.

The truth is that the Palestinian leaders are taking the cream of all resources for their own private pockets first, and then leaving their population to suffer with what is left. It is in their interests to allow their people to suffer more, because they can all blame the Israelis together.

Surely the international NGOs are above getting involved in this political game, and can behave more professionally?

By: Joel

Joel — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:46:31 +0000

“What is a country to do?”
There are plenty of options:
-Do an honest evaluation of the work that an NGO is doing.
-Provide the services themselves
-Create or fund Israeli NGOs to do this work

Lots of NGOs have political agendas that run contrary to their host country. Amnesty International certainly has a political agenda that runs contrary to the United States’, but you don’t see us kicking them out.

Israel is acting like it’s backed up against a wall politically. These actions make me wonder if they’re expecting something major, like a war with Iran.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:21:45 +0000

I think it is difficult for Israel to decide which NGOs are really doing work for the people and which are there serving alterior motives. Sadly, a small group of corrupt people has ruined something great for the Palestinian civilans living around the disputed territories.

I agree that this is too strong of a move, but how should a government screen out the NGOs that are really there for terrorist reasons, not for their stated purpose. Doctors without Borders, sadly, does have a poltical agenda that is not always flattering to Israel, but that does not mean they do not do good work for people that need it. On the other hand, many Arab funded NGOs do much less to help the people, and do more for the “leadership” that is corrupt anyway.

What is a country to do?

By: Joel

Joel — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:18:07 +0000

The anti-Zionist movement relies on distortions of facts, which is precisely my point above. Also, last I checked, neither Save the Children nor Doctors without Borders goes around handing out money. True, some terrorists are educated and wealthy, but extremist ideologies flourish better in desperate circumstances; otherwise, it would just be a coincidence that some of the poorest places in the world–Lebanon, Afghanistan, Gaza–are also hotbeds of terror. Giving people money may not change their ideology, but proving to them that Israel is their friend and Hamas is their foe can.

By: Steven

Steven — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:37:20 +0000

The anti-Zionist movement doesn’t rely on facts, and giving people more money doesn’t change their ideology. Many terrorists are rich, and highly educated.