Khaldoun: I have received a number of the responses to your question. I am not subscribed to the WSN, but you may wish to post this response to this piece (or not): Here is a controversial proposition: if the Palestinian movement would change its tactics and strategy, and instead of continuing the "violent rioting" mode of the latter-day intifadah, complete with brutal acts of its own in the face of Israeli atrocities, and shift to a mass, concerted movement of nonviolent resistance, throughout all of "Israel and the occupied territories," as is suggested, eliptically, in the Said statement, I believe a powerful solidarity movement would instantaneously come forward not only in the U.S., but around the world. Said talks in terms of a movement that would be comparable to the South African movement against apartheid, that came to enjoy nearly universal moral support around the world, and which came to include the boycotts and trade sanctions that apparently had a significant effect in bringing apartheid to an end (see the work of Kathleen Schwartzmann on this question). The talk of "war" is absurd -- it should be clear by now that the Palestinian movement is not going to prevail militarily. The present day Palestinian movement is not notably more violent than the anti-apartheid movement in its last decade. Most of the demonstrators throw rocks--that's why so many more Palestinians are getting killed than Israelis. Remember the controversies over, and I can't quite remember what this was called (rubber necking?), throwing burning tires over the heads of collaborators in South Africa? There was also more violent opposition to British colonialism in India (the non-violent movement par excellence) than people often remember. Not to mention the original Zionist movement. If a movement has broad moral support, people tend to look the other way at the violence that inevitably seems to accompany movements. If they do not enjoy that support, people dwell on these incidents as excuses to not support them. By the way, Said was photographed throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers, and explicitly defended this action in the press. So don't go enlisting him in some campaign of narrowly defined non-violence. Steven Sherman ssherman@gborocollege.edu Steven Sherman