There is no problem with anyone obsessing with Palestine. My only concern is for activists who do not allow other activists to peacefully campaign for other issues that deserve an equal amount of attention, whether it’s Darfur or abused minorities. These are the people I essentially targeted my post with. I was criticizng this specific approach, and not the obsession itself, which I have absolutely no problem with.

Our obsession with palestine, is the only thing left for them to fight with. In a time when revolting against occupation became terrorism, and doubting a divine promise to the Israelis a blasphemy!

Don’t steal that away from them. Governments have turned their backs on them. Let them enjoy the support of the common. Is it too much to ask?

If you are interested in defending the rights of minorities, then you are an angel. Write 10 posts every day about that, but don’t forget that most atrocities and turmoils happening in the Middleeast happen because of Palestine & Oil. If you are doing your society a favor, don’t shy away from what really matters to them.

The article expresses my crucial point perfectly clearly, with some detailed examples listed, so please read it again, I don’t feel I have anything else to add, but all I know is that your comment is a bit misguided and not exactly relevant to the point I made within the article.

I personally find it very interesting that an Arab person is disgusted by the obsession about palestine. I’d say that you have chosen the wrong word to express your feelings! But, maybe I’m wrong, and you are actually disgusted by that!

Some arabs do discriminate against palestinians in their countries. This is a fact. But so do Lebanese against Syrians, Egyptians against sudanese, Saudis against Yemenis, and even Bahraini shiites against Bahraini Sunnis & the other way around, and so do Swedes against Danish, Spanish against Catalans, Whites against blacks, Yankees against rednecks. And this is happening in what is called the advanced world.

People don’t discriminate against each other because they hate each other. It’s just our nature. Humans. If you watched the movie Crash you might understand what I mean. You will side with your brother against your cousin, you’ll side with your cousin against your neighbor, you’ll side with your neighbor against the guy from the next town. As such, you’ll side with bahrainis against palestinians, and with palestinians against the Jews.

You’ve given a half-man Kuwaiti writer as an example. I know there are some half-men Kuwaitis who are following the same trend, but I assure you that if the call was made, Kuwaitis will side with the palestinians. It’s in the nature of this stupid world, that politicians do something, and the “common” fall in the trap. I’m highlighting the common, because you can not blame the common for going with the flaw. This is why they are called the common. Saddam attacked Kuwait, he needed a cause that arabs will undoubtedly support, so he started bombarding Tel Aviv. Palestinians, being victims for 50 years of Israeli agression looked up to the only guy who challenged Israel for decades. The funny thing is that Israel didn’t reply because they know if they did it will look like they are on the same side as the Gulf states, Egypt & Syria, etc. Which will obviously embarass these countries, and might risk them pulling out of the coalition.

Your Italian reader pointed out that the world doesn’t know anything about palestine. Have you given any thought on why this is the case? I’ll tell you why. It is simply because there isn’t enough obsession about it. I do agree with you that there are other atrocities in the arab world, just like in all other nations, but do you really think that your voice is as much needed on those issues?

I think you should leave it to FOX, CNN, and the rest of the gang to stress on these issues. Believe me they did a pretty good job highlighting what is going on in Darfur. How long has it been? 10 years? The whole world knows by now what is Darfur & what is going on there. On the other hand, I still get questions on where the hell is palestine? Something like, why are these Israelis called palestinians causing troubles to their state? Is it because they are Muslim Israeli?! So you see, our obsession didn’t succeed in convincing the whole world that Palestinians are actually different from Israelis, let alone convincing them with their cause.

Why? Because we whine about Palestine to ourselves. We know the story, but we keep telling it to ourselves. Not enough coverage in English. That’s probably why i’m getting a bit excited with Aljazeera international. Because maybe, just maybe, they can send out a message in english that the world can hear. CNN & FOX are never going to do that.

So my suggestion is that people like you, who were blessed with the ability to communicate in english, and reach out to a big audience like your site’s, should be more obsessed with palestine. If you are obsessed with the rights of Baha’is, Minorities, Homosexuals, and the likes, fine! write about them 10 posts/day. But equally write 10 about Palestine. Whether you like it or not, the main cause, and issue that the Arab & Muslim population is concerned about, is palestine, and you have no right to try and change that.

All these opressed segments of the community are getting more than enough support and rallying from the Western media, and probably they deserve it. But when Palestine doesn’t get that attention, I think it is your duty to expose it.

I would’ve loved to read here about how much you’re disgusted by our inability to translate our obsession about palestine to a lobbying effect in the world. Instead, you have chosen to decide for your readers, and the population you are supposed to be helping, that they shouldn’t be as obsessed with Palestine.

The west for example, is obsessed by labelling all arabs as anti-semitic, which is a laughable thing for me, because we are actually semitic. They are so obsessed with supporting Israel, to the limit that it was the only thing both american presidential candidates agreed upon! I think the whole world will butcher and Arab president, if his campaign had a big space for the palestinian issue.

Our obsession with palestine, is the only thing left for them to fight with. In a time when revolting against occupation became terrorism, and doubting a divine promise to the Israelis a blasphemy!

Don’t steal that away from them. Governments have turned their backs on them. Let them enjoy the support of the common. Is it too much to ask?

If you are interested in defending the rights of minorities, then you are an angel. Write 10 posts every day about that, but don’t forget that most atrocities and turmoils happening in the Middleeast happen because of Palestine & Oil. If you are doing your society a favor, don’t shy away from what really matters to them.

I hope you wake up from your slumber and realize that it is the zionists who are obsessed with Palestine, not the Arabs…

It is an Arab obsession, and you’re just in denial. Your whole comment is a testament to that fact, which I have already explained in detail in the post. You happen to misunderstand the point of this article and what it is trying to express, but I won’t put that past you. You, like most Arabs, are blinded by this destructive and aggressive obsession and it is the reason why we lack the vital progression that we need here in the Arab world.