End the Gaza Blockade...for Israel's Sake?

That's the argument Ivan Eland of the Independent Institute makes in a new article:

As the United States should do with its ridiculously counterproductive embargo against Fidel Castro’s Cuba—which has used the U.S. sanctions as an external threat to win internal support and blame all of the island’s economic problems on the United States—Israel should dismantle all aspects of its counterproductive blockade, not just relax a ban on imports. Increased commerce among Gazans and among Gaza, Israel, and the world would undermine the Islamic radicalism on which Hamas prospers.

Read the entire (very interesting) piece here.

Liberty is Contagious

With Israel pushing settlements farther into Palestinian territory, there has been some chatter of a reemergence of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

Israel’s claim to land in Gaza pushes Palestinian residents out of their homes and into refugee camps in none other than their northern neighbor, Lebanon. Israel’s antagonism in the 1980’s led to the materialization of Palestinian camps in Southern Lebanon and Beirut, resulting in a fierce civil war and severe cultural discontent between Lebanese Maronite Christians and Muslims.

Lebanon, enduring unwanted occupation by armed Palestinian “refugees,” was also under surveillance by Syria and imperialist Syrian ambitions. The displacement of Palestinians led to a 30-year occupied Lebanon by a belligerent, careless, and socialized Syria. For Lebanon, a “two-state” solution is irrelevant and unimportant. For this little parliamentarian republic in the Middle East, the people there simply want to be left alone. After President Bush called for the UN to pass Resolution 1559, Syrian forces officially withdrew from Lebanon in 2005. For five years, the Lebanese people enjoyed free markets, low taxes, and a relatively peaceful lifestyle.

But the only thing constant is change.

Can you tell the difference between a Palestinian and an Israeli?

On of these children is Israeli; one is Palestinian.  Which is which?  I can't tell either.  In fact, the boy on the left is Palestinian, and the girl on the right is Israeli.  But just as the artist intended, it's hard to see the differences here.

Using kids is a genius move for equally obvious reasons. It's hard to look at the pictures and not think about allowing their fresh faces to make up for centuries of mistakes, about letting them just be kids. Or maybe that's just me. If you're dead set on destroying the "other kind," these pictures probably won't have much affect. But for those good souls have simply gotten caught up in the fervor of the crowd, the face of a child (or two children who look like one) may be just what it takes.

Read more about this project here (I'm a few months late in finding it, but it's still worth a look).  Read more on the situation in Israel and Palestine here.