Don't Know Much About...

....the precise history of the Gaza strip, except that it has been the bone of contention between the Palestinians and Israelis for decades. As the Israeli Army continues to remove Jewish settlers from the strip, though, it becomes more and more apparent that this is a staggering deeply personal story, without regard to politics.

There's been some random violence. A few settlers have vowed not to be unearthed quietly. They believe it is their land -- because that is what they were told when they moved there -- and now, they are less concerned with someone else's political expedience than they are the wellbeing of their own families. I hear ya.

However, the saddest, most poignant part about it is that young Israeli soldiers, who have been raised to believe that theWest Bank is part of the Israeli homeland, and plays a vital role in maintaining a safe, sovereign Israel, have been ordered to unsettle their fellow countrymen. It is clearly taking its toll, not only on the dislocated Gaza settlers, but on the soldiers as well. Young men and women torn between their dedication to duty and their strong patriotic political beliefs.

How do we humans get ourselves into these messes? And, once in, why can't we seem to get out without somebody winding up with a broken heart?

~CA~