# 32 – Answer to Aubrey’s Friend

May 21, 2004

I just received this forwarded e-mail.

I don’t often react to such e-mails, or perhaps a quick comment to the person who sent it on to me.

But, in this case, I decided to write to the one who had originated the e-mail (although I doubt he wrote it), as follows:

Greetings –

I’m an Englishman living in Israel already 20 years – my Israeli wife was stronger…

I like to think I am objective about the political situation.

Every now & then I write a ‘letter from Israel’ to a few friends, trying to add the right words to the (naturally) subjective media.

Why am I writing to to you directly now?

The words of your e-mail are all, of course, correct.

So what’s the problem. It’s a combination of many things, but primarily, it’s the fact that the opposition (part of an obvious Muslim revolution that’s been going on for some decades) plays a different game – or the same game, but with totally different rules.

It’s hypocritical, it’s unfair, it’s morally wrong, but that’s the game out there. The temptation is to play them at their rules, as Israel is doing in Gaza. But it doesn’t work. That’s because their rules are wrong, destructive.

If there IS one, it is to ‘attack’ with restraint. Ghandi or ML King techniques would perhaps be overdoing it. If you see how they died, you think they lost. But India and the blacks of America are unquestionably better off because of such leaders. It’ll never be perfect, but it’s the best India and the US blacks are gonna get in this messed up world.

Stephen