Code Red sirens sound as a red sun sets over south Israel

If you read his articles well, you would have known that Gideon has sympathy for ALL people, irrespective of who they are or where they come from, when they are the innocent victims of violence beyond their control. Gideon is indeed a vociferous critic of Israeli government policy and of the racism pervading Israeli society, but he is able to show empathy for his fellow Israelis and for Palestinians as human beings. Any decent person would want to see an end to this war, but a cease-fire without a political solution that sees justice done on both sides, especially on the Palestinian side, is bound to lead to further rounds of violence, in which innocent people usually are the prime victims. It is with THESE people that Gideon Levy always has empathised. This piece was not Gideon Levy singing "a new tune". It was actually vintage Gideon Levy.

The people who suffer in wars are rarely the ones who decided to wage it. Why this and why now? I hope this has nothing to do with the upcoming election.

Ben Alofs, Thank you for stating the obvious about Gideon levy's position which I realize is not so obvious to Israelis- especially as they are often the victims of their own government's propaganda and fear mongering campaigns as the Palestinian people are.. And of course, taking government deceptive one step forward on how it is being used in the international community to sell Israel's narrative.... The former US historian Howard Zinn illustrates this in his review of the historical events of the 20th century in his column and warns Americans of the necessity of building a future beyond their government's for themselves and other people... Dutch America's blinders, Howard Zinn http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0321-20.htm