Last night I got an email from a woman who just started a forum for Democratic Underground habitues who have become disaffected and appalled by the Left's antisemitism. Some of them are even thinking about voting Republican.

Think about that. DU.

An interesting link, and I take his points (the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers in Israel - by Hamas or Hezbollah - is without doubt a terrorist act under international law). I still feel that Israel has played into their opponents' hands by over-reacting.

I was very interested by his comment:

Like an experienced shepherd, Sharon sensed exactly which way the herd wanted to go. After his election, he led Israel into confrontation with the Palestinians -- the Second Intifada. He also forced Israelis to take the next step, that of turning their backs on their Palestinian neighbors. For my generation, this represented a huge defeat, and we felt betrayed when the younger generation agreed to Sharon's policy. It is this betrayal -- and this complete rejection of the idea of peace with the Palestinians -- which fills me with sadness when I follow the news today.

I hope next time you try to sell us the lie that Israel is interested in peace and it's the wicked Palestinians who want to keep on fighting, you will have the grace to remember that. If you don't, rest assured I will. Or will Zeev Avrahami, so eagerly cited by you when he supports the invasion of Lebanon, be dismissed by you as some nutty peacenik once you've had the use of the few sentences of his article that support your viewpoint?

It's not about lying Rob.

What Sharon did, quite openly, is to say "enough." We don't want to fight anymore, but there is no peace partner, so we are going to leave you all alone. We are going to walk out the door and then there will be no one to fight with. And you can do whatever the hell you want on your own.

In other words, this didn't "make peace" with a partner, but it was an attempt to disengage from the situation existentially - a divorce, as it were. Which is why it was called "disengagement."

To Zeev's eyes, this was a rejection of the idea of peace, because it was saying, in effect, peace as a positive creation is not possible, whereas disengagement, the enforcement of separation, is.

In other words, we acknowledge this action won't lead to a fertile peace, a peace where there is a positive relationship that continues, or even a cold peace, like the one with Egypt, rather just disengagement.

For Zeev, that was the betrayal of the desired outcome.

He didn't mean that disengagement was a policy decision to continue fighting. Because, quite evidently, it wasn't.

However, disengagement really can't be successful if the other side keeps firing rockets at your cities, because they don't believe it means anything.

This reminds me of an old lefty slogan, "Don't mourn. Organize!" It could almost be called "Don't mourn. Militarize!"

"We're going to walk out the door and then there will be no one to fight with. And you can do whatever the hell you want on you own."

Leaving aside the reoccupation of Gaza, which clearly wasn't planned, your comment is still disingenuous. Israel didn't "walk out the door". It walked out of the kitchen (Gaza) while remaining firmly dug in in the living room (West Bank). The entire world has been trying to persuade Israel to walk out the door and leave the Palestinians alone since 1967. Interest shown by Israel: 0. After all, you don't build a damn great wall down the middle of soemone's room if you're about to leave them alone to do what they want, do you? Because what's the first thing they'll do? Take down the wall, which is on their territory, not Israel's. Is Israel going to allow that?

Oh, and disengagement can't be successful if the Israelis keeps bombing Palestinian cities either. Because they don't believe it means anything. And of course it doesn't.

Sooner or later you're going to have to come to terms with the idea that it doesn't count as a peace plan if you get the other guys to stop violence and you then carry on bombing the crap out of them.