Israeli snipers shot 750 Palestinian protesters and killed 18 of them. The culprit is Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. For more than a decade he has refused to enter into honest negotiations with Palestinian Leaders. Netanyahu continues to invade areas occupied by the Palestinian people and construct housing developments.

Recently, thanks to America’s illegitimate and ignorant president, Netanyahu has begun plans to create a larger presence in Jerusalem and declare once and for all that this city is the rightful capital of Israel.

More than 30,000 Palestinians took part in the protests as Israeli soldiers indiscriminately fired their rifles into the crowd. The theme was “right of return.” Since 1948, when Israel became a state, thousands of Palestinians have been forced from their native land.

The United Nations has recognized the right of Palestinians to have their own state, but Israel and the United States have vetoed the idea.

Netanyahu should have been defeated in his reelection attempt in 2015. He is the major impediment to lasting peace in the Middle East. The most important factor in Israel’s dominance in the region is support from America’s government. Until recently supporting Israel has been a national issue with more positive response than negative. As younger Americans have become our nation’s largest demographic, opinions are changing. Wars for any reason are unacceptable today, and all efforts to create peace in the world must be considered.

I am an original baby boomer, and therefore a “flower child.” The young men and women of today remind me of my generation which denounced the establishment’s continued participation in war. If Vietnam proved one thing, it was that wars are no longer winnable today. Physical destruction serves no purpose if the minds of your adversaries cannot be altered. Tolerance and understanding must become the norm in the 21^st century.

Words cause more harm than a barrage of bombs. Until Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Budhists, and all other religions recognize that they can coexist peacefully, military conflicts will continue. Failed leaders including Netanyahu, Trump, Assad, Putin, Erdogan, Duterte, and others must be deposed, and replaced by forward thinking men and women who are younger and can relate to the men and women they lead.

If you can vote, please go to the polls on November 6^th and take control of your country.

Op-ed by James Turnage

SOURCE

Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey

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