Salaamualaikum Sama,

I think this was a great article with some very good ideas.

I don’t like the idea of following the jews step by step down a lizard hole – BUT, given the very volatile position of Muslims in this country – your suggestion could be part of an overall strategy.

It would seem from your article that one of the biggest factors would be raising/donating cash without being paralyzed by terror cash (false) claims. The cheapest way to begin would be to stsart publicising things on Arab andMuslim blogs as welkl as using email lists informing sand requesting donations…

We could go on and on about honour killings in Kurdistan(and there are a lot) or gangs in Jerusalem that go around beating up girls in a who’s-the-most-retarded olympics (cause nobody is totally clean) but the issue is actually pretty simple:
Are ______ human beings or are they not?

A lot of that is down to government and the contours of society, though. Kurdistan often gets a big pass in American media for precisely the same reason — it’s perceived as more secular, in tune with liberal constitutional values.

If you want to improve Palestine’s image in the west, a successful gay pride parade in Ramallah wouldn’t be a bad place to start.

At the same time, we should also increase our efforts to inform the public, not reduce it. At the end of the day, the average American feels a much stronger kinship with Israel while being far more likely to be hostile towards Palestinians, because Israelis are seen as ‘Western’ and Palestinians as ‘different’. Educating the public is necessary to reduce such stereotypes and give representatives the political safety net they crave to support justice for Palestinians (and Arabs).

Why should we disenfranchise ourselves and ensure our exclusion from the government that represents us? An American Lobby representing American constituents that have no voice is a noble idea not immoral. We are not talking here about GM lobby or a tobacco lobby representing the narrow interests of an industry but a lobby that speaks for an American minority that needs desperately to influence American policies abroad.

What is more immoral an Arab/Muslim Lobby or the occupation? Do we not have a responsibility to the Palestinians and indeed to the rest of the Arab world as the only Arabs and Muslims capable of effectively affecting American policy?

Groups like AIPAC are a hazard to this country’s well being. You are totally right when you say that they need to be countered (not necessarily with the same methods). I think you make a strong argument that some people probably just don’t understand. I do however have to agree with anonymous #2 – Oslo was nothing to clap at…