Tuesday, 6 June 2006 - 3:59 PM BST

Don't weep just yet, this is scripted/staged propaganda

Tuesday, 6 June 2006 - 4:44 PM BST

Yeah, prety depressing, but it's it not all bad news. Statistically, they're much more likely to die at the hands of an Israeli bullet or bomb than to inflict injury on any Israelis.

I hope that will help you sleep well at night, even if it gives the poor girls nightmares.

Tuesday, 6 June 2006 - 5:23 PM BST

Some strange comments so far.

Firstly, even if it's staged, it's still utterly sick. And even if the girls don't mean what they are saying (and I actually think that they do) then it will still influence impressionable young minds watching.

It should also be noted that in the dialogue one girl says that 'Shahada' is better than peace and full rights for Palestinians and that she will receive her full rights after 'Shahada'. So what exactly can Israel offer her then?

I know you all want to criticise Israel and I too have my criticisms, but no Israeli has ever forced the Palestinians to tell their children that they are human bombs! This is a self-inflicted injury.

DY

Wednesday, 7 June 2006 - 2:14 AM BST

Shahada means "MARTYDOM" It doesn't mean suicide bomber.

Wednesday, 7 June 2006 - 10:57 AM BST

To Armchair politicians and philosophers like us, Shahada of a young girl sounds sick. To some people whose ideas had been warped by 35 years of occupation, the concept sounds natural. This type of brainwashing is no less sick than that to which the Jewish children are subjected. To be taught that Judaism is a race rather than a simple religion and that the Jews have a biblical right to “liberate” Palestine from its natives is more bizarre than teaching children, whose country had been raped by occupation, the concept or Martyrdom (Shahada= Martyrdom in Arabic)

Wednesday, 7 June 2006 - 2:25 PM BST

My point was that with the acceptable assumption that this is propaganda, my reaction would not be:

Why are these children saying this?

Instead:

Why does somebody want us to see children saying this?


And if you think about it if I was a tv producer I could get similar footage out of two polite, well behaved British Christian 11 year olds.

Is heaven beautiful?
- Yes
Is anything better than heaven?
- No
Not even living in a peaceful country with human rights for all?
- No. Nother is better than heaven.
So if you had to choose between heaven and peace/rights?
- Heaven


Now roll cameras:

What is better: peace and full rights or Heaven?


---------

I read a thought-provoking statement recently:

The only difference between "sane" religious moderates and "crazy" religious fundamentalists is that the latter have the courage to act on their convictions.

As much as this makes sense to me, it conflicts with my instinctive dislike for fundamentalists and corresponding indifference to the moderates. This is a personal instinctive bias that, much as I think about it, I find hard to shake.

Any thoughts?