Kind of funny, but not surprising. How are the MSM (both sides of the pond) and a pile of poop different?

The pile.

I saw another one today about how heinous we were to cut off aid, and how the "bad press" the US gives Palestinians has caused this season in Bethlehem to be almost totally devoid of tourists.

...I'm thinking the fear of being beheaded on camera probably outweighs any "bad press" or debatable politics. I'd be more apt to ask whether or not Jewish Mary would have SURVIVED a night in Palestine without an IDF escort now.

...I'm thinking the fear of being beheaded on camera probably outweighs any "bad press"

You miss the point, the beheadings are the bad press. We selfish Americans do not wish to die that way and it is our fault. We should be as happy as the Jews in WWII going into the gas chambers. Come one come all! What, that does not work for you?

Of course she was Palestinian. Never mind the fact that she was a Jew, that's just an irrelevant detail.

And how dare the press say bad things about the Palestinians, regardless of the fact they are true! For shame.

(Does that sound like a message that the Virgin Mary would have endorsed?)

Certainly not. This sounds like a howl of a deranged person in the middle of a fight with his own cousin both claiming to have the exclusive right to the land they live on. They both forgot that they came from the same ancestors who were living on that land.

The current Palestinians are the descendents of the Jews who are the descendants of the tribe of Aaron who accepted Moses, his message and then his people when they came with him from Egypt. These are the historical facts. The Jews of Europe came from the same land. So yes Mary is either a Palestinian or an Israeli or both which is closer to the truth since Israel is the old name of the whole area called Palestine till 1948.

The problem started when the West used the UN to partition that Palestine to create Israel on part of it. Both the Jews and the Palestinians will never be happy with half the land. both know that the land is theirs. and it is.

Both sides should wise up and correct the problem by voiding that artificial partition. The only solution is a ONE STATE solution, not TWO-STATE one. if the Jews are so nostalgic about the name of the old Israel, it is understandable, but let it be a part of the old unified Palestine. make it like Canada, two areas, two languages but one unified State. This way all will be satisfied because they will feel that they live on the same land that their ancestors lived on. All of it, not just part of it.

I don’t know if the Powers to be will let that happen, since it will make them all irrelevant in the Middle East politics and future development.

Crazy idea of mine, but I don’t see what is wrong with it. I know for a fact that there is no reason whatsoever that Jews, Christians and Muslims can't live together on the same land in harmony and brotherhood. I know for a fact that it happened before in the same area and it could happen again. Only let outsiders stay away.

make it like Canada, two areas, two languages but one unified State.

Why would you want to introduce a reasonable proposal in an unreasonable situation?

The fact is, the Muslim radicals wouldn't stand for it. They will settle for nothing less than the destruction of Israel. "In the name of Allah, we will destroy you, blow you up, take revenge against you, purify the land of you, pigs that have defiled our country... This operation is revenge against the sons of monkeys and pigs."

MasonM: Why would you want to introduce a reasonable proposal in an unreasonable situation?

Good point ..... Unfortunately. But that area is dear to the whole of humanity, ok ... almost all. I just cant stand the suffering it is enduring.

the Muslim radicals wouldn't stand for it

Once the main problem is solved, these radicals will disappear in their rat holes as before. They will be swept like dirt in a rain storm.

ThinkAloud said "The current Palestinians are the descendents of the Jews who are the descendants of the tribe of Aaron who accepted Moses, his message and then his people when they came with him from Egypt. These are the historical facts. The Jews of Europe came from the same land. So yes Mary is either a Palestinian or an Israeli or both which is closer to the truth since Israel is the old name of the whole area called Palestine till 1948."

That is somewhat debatable. The name "Palestine" originates from "Philistine" which comes from the Semitic Philash meaning "invader." It referred to invaders who came from Mycenea (Greece) and settled along the cost of Canaan, prior to the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt. That would make the ancestors of the Palestinians a completely different people. See Link

There are genetic similarities between modern day Palestinians and both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish peoples that lend credence to your supposition of common ancestors. A controversial study by Antonio Arnaiz-Villena of differences in the Human leukocyte antigen found Palestinians to be more closely related to Hebrews than to other Arab peoples, but even allowing for this, that is not the same as saying that Mary was of the tribe of Aaron. See Link for the ancestry of the Palestinians.

The tribe of Aaron refers to the Levites, the priestly class of the Hebrew people. During the Exodus, only Aaron and Moses were allowed to make sacrifice. After the deaths of the Patriarchs that obligation feel to the Levites. At the time in question, Second Temple Era, the Levites (also known as the Kohanim or priests) continued to live apart. In fact modern genetic testing has identified a Cohen modal haplotype, which only people from that distinct group have.

So the closest that one can come is same tree, different branch.

Now for the rest of your point. Violence between Palestinians and Israeli settlers predates the UN partition. In fact it pre-dates the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1917 and the League of Nations mandate. The reason for that, historically verifiable, is that Arabs keep attacking. The current state of Israel is the result of failed Arab attacks in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1970.

Studies indicate that most Arab people and most Israelis WOULD accept a partition, peace in exchange for a return to the 1967 borders. However neither side trusts the other. With good reason.

But none of that speaks to today's sorry state of affairs. You are aware of the current conflict between Hamas and Fatah, right? The election of Hamas and their continued call for the destruction of Israel is the single, proximate cause for the sorry state of affairs in the Palestinian state. Why does Israel have check points? Could terrorism be the reason?

The problem started when the West used the UN to partition that Palestine to create Israel on part of it. Both the Jews and the Palestinians will never be happy with half the land. both know that the land is theirs. and it is.

Actually they were supposed to share the land.

Larry Kuperman:So the closest that one can come is same tree, different branch.

Exactly. If you go to the minute details, you can make any brother and sister completely different people. The lineages as i described them are essentially correct. you detail it to the point that no one can be related to anyone else except may be his direct siblings. THAT IS NOT HOW NATIONS ARE. Every nation in the world have that kind of detailed ancestors.

(Violence between Palestinians and Israeli settlers predates the UN partition. In fact it pre-dates the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1917 and the League of Nations mandate)

Yes it did. and you know when? After Britain's Belfor declared the intentions of creating Israel in 1897. Before that, they were all living together across the whole regions with no problem whatsoever. In fact, except for Palestine, there were no problems between Jews and Muslim in any other arab country. It started when the Arabs realized that the west is trying to create an area that it can control.

The UN partition was the last straw that proved the Arab's suspicions.

Trust me, take the outsiders out of the equation and make it one state for both, they will live in peace as before that tragic partition of a land that both the palestenians and the Israelis dearly love. neither one of them will ever be satisfied as long as it is partioned. And I dont blame any of them.

Did we accept the North/South Partition? of course not, and we had the civil war. but we were fortunate that outsiders didnt get into it. Same thing. People all over the world are not that much different when it comes to these basic human feelings.

ThinkAloud, you really see the American Civil War as being comparable to the current Arab Israeli conflict? How so?

"One state for both?" Really? You see Israelis living comfortably in a state with a Palestinian majority?

But we are getting far off the original topic. The Independent claims that the Virgin Mary was a Palestinian, which has no support in the Bible or any other record. They did this in an attempt to generate sympathy for the plight of Palestinian women who receive no medical treatment from their own doctors, doctors who don't get paid because their government spends all its money on guns and rockets, which they use to attack each other and Israelis.

The land has been partitioned several times to create homelands for both peoples. The Palestinians continue to launch attacks from their areas, while neglecting the people that live there.