Comments like this aren't helping. If you want to contribute to the conversation, what are some suggested links? Where do you get your news? Do you have any recommended books? Documentaries? Just calling someone a racist doesn't solve the problem, nor does it advance the dialogue.

Just wanted to add myself to your growing number of fans. Your comments have been the most reasonable, nuanced and mature posts I have seen online since this conflict started. I hold the very same opinions as you do, and, unfortunately, many of my friends have become completely unbalanced - whether on the left or…

In my field, apartheid is only applied to South Africa as a general rule. The definition of the term inherently involves South Africa . Just like the Holocaust is only used to describe the Holocaust and you don't (or shouldn't) say things like "the Cambodian Holocaust". It's its own awful thing. They're going to have…

Where did I say I didn't think people should have opinions? Have opinions, just be open to changing them and understand that the situation is complicated. And I'd like to think you understand the difference between this situation and slavery, given your username. Israel is not yet an apartheid state, but it is going…

All that? How on earth do they manage to use what little time they have to imprison gays, launch statewide inquiries into music selection, beat women for not wearing Islamic dress, kill Fatah dissidents, kill pro Israel supporting Palestinians, kill off their children by using them as child laborers, arrest women for…

I guess the Palestinians must be as infantile as you actually believe they are, unable to discern anything resembling a civil and just society. They have no choice but to side with people who are terrorists.

Right. Hamas is just so busy sending its leaders to Qatar and enjoying five star accommodations, it just doesn't have the time to address the rampant rape and women abuse problem. Nor does it have the time to deal with gays.

Can I just say, you're basically my hero right now? Also, I've just realised the possible benefits of a degree in conflict resolution for the sole purpose of navigating internet commenting sections...

Ah yes. I always forget what a peaceful organization Hamas is. Truly, they are a shining beacon of light and truth, committed to women and gay rights, a bastion of democracy and goodwill.

Good thing I have two advanced degrees in the subject.

That happened in 2004. Shortly after, Israel pulled all of its troops and people out of Gaza...

Hamas has certainly killed its fair share of civilians (Palestinian civilians)... The 1300 is total dead, not total killed by the IDF.

Hah! You and I would get along well, I suspect.

The people in Gaza aren't "imprisoned" because they are ethnically different. There are many Arab-Israeli's who live successfully and happily in Israel, and the West Bank is completely open for people to come and go as they please. The people in Gaza are "imprisoned" because they elected a terrorist organization to…

I agree with most of what you're saying but this is really a clusterf*ck of a situation. Hell, I am Palestinian - born and raised in Canada - and even I'm not all "rah-rah Gaza." I truly do believe that Israel has a right to defend itself but - and again, this is just MHO - their response has gone too far. I'm not …

I don't think that it's accurate to say that Hamas is interested in peace when their charter explicitly calls for the elimination of Jews and they have repeatedly denied the Holocaust but say that, if given the opportunity, they would perpetrate a Holocaust. Also, the blockade was instituted in 2007 in response to a…

This isn't a soccer match. You can't decide on a conflict based on casualties. Unless you're of the opinion that Germany was right?

This blog post itself is an unsolicited opinion (unless it was solicited by your editor). But what enrages me about all of this is that no celebrity mouthpiece seems brave enough to criticize the root of all this tragedy, and that's Hamas. It's easy to look at the horrific images of Gaza and blame Israel, but it's…

It's exasperating to see supporters on both sides (or supporters who don't fully understand the sides) to come out and argue for one side or the other in such black and white terms - whether celebrity or the people in my newsfeed. This is a mostly gray conflict. Neither death tolls, nor number of bombs, nor…

It's controversial to realize that there isn't really a good guy or bad guy in this fight, and everybody seems to take the stance that since Israel is(at this moment) the aggressor that Hamas cannot be questioned or condemned for their actions.