Transformed by truth: Richard Forer's journey from AIPAC to compassion http://www.redress.cc/americas/pjballes20110419

Paul J. Balles charts the journey of Richard Forer, an American Jew brought up on Israeli propaganda, who had his early beliefs challenged by friends and, consequently, embarked on an honest study of the facts of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As a result, he underwent a monumental transformation.In his book, Breakthrough: Transforming Fear into Compassion, Forer tells of how he changed his thinking about Israel as a benign and democratic state to a tribe of people dominated by fear.“If Jews looked at the history and not at the fictions, their fear would crumble,” says Forer."They would realize that the Palestinians were not only human but that the Jews have dehumanized the Palestinians through their indoctrination."Forer's transformation took place at the time of the second Lebanese war.

The typical response to his transformation was to call him a self-hating Jew.Forer makes the important point, after his visit to the West Bank, that the Palestinians and Arabs are not angry at Jews but at the Zionist ideology and the government of Israel that oppresses them."Every single person I met [in the West Bank] said it's not about Jews or Muslims, it's about human beings, it's a human rights issue." Interestingly, Forer notes that the government of Israel does not represent the Jewish people. "That's just an excuse they make.Most of the Jewish people in Israel are apathetic. They don't know what's going on.”They don't even know that the Separation Wall is built mostly in Palestinian territory."They just live in denial. If the Israelis were honest, they'd say if the Palestinians would just lie down and do what we tell them to do, then we'll have peace and maybe we'll give them 8 to 10 per cent of Palestine."

[a.s > Richard Forer » Blog Archive » Rutgers University Must Put a Stop to Discrimination http://www.richardforer.com/2011/04/rutgers-university-must-put-a-stop-to-discrimination/