Blog 198: Unauthorized Imigrants; Israel,Hamas, Palestine; Ideas Welcome

The blog today involves my attempt to have correct information about two important areas — unauthorized immigrants and the Israel-Hamas war. I see the situations as complex and I want to clear and careful in my understanding of the issues.. I know several of you have information I do not have and perspectives I may not have. I hope you will share your views.

Unauthorized Immigrants. Our son Scott forwarded a Pew Research report to me. The information was very different from my perception of the immigrantation issue. The report showed the unauthorized immigrants in the United States has declined since 2007.

Since the information was new to me, I checked the source. The Pew Research Institute gets very positive reports. They are highly transparent about their methodology. They are not bias in the language used to report findings.

I am working to understand the information and how I integrate it with my perception of our southern border and the immigration problems in New York City. I have several working hypotheses. I would be very interested in your thoughts.

What we know about unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. | Pew Research Center

Complex Situation. The Israel, Palestine, Hamas situation is complicated by history and misinformation and misunderstandings about the present. I have been working to be sure I am thinking in a clear and unbiased manner. It is not easy because the situation is complicated.

I want you to look at my thoughts and please correct any misconceptions I may have.

1. Israel exists
2. Palestine exists, but exact borders, governance, acceptance by other nations and other factors are not entirely clear.
3. On October 7 Hamas made a terrorist attack against Israel. The attack is not defensible.
4. Israel has a right to respond to the attack.
5. Hamas has all Palestinian members.
6. All Palestinians are not members of Hamas.
7. Some Palestinians are Christians
8. To be pro-Palestinian is not the same as to be pro-Hamas or pro-terrorist actions.
9. You can be pro-Palestinian and Pro-Israel
10. To criticize an Israeli policy is not in and of itself antisemitic.
11. To raise the issue of Israeli settlements on the West Bank is not antisemitic.
12. Both Israelis and Palestinians are victims of discrimination.
13. Both innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinian citizens are suffering from collateral damage of war.

Opinions:

I see four possible solutions:

1. Eliminate Israel. I am not in favor of this solution.
2. Have one state with different cultures having rights like the United States. I do not see evidence that Israel would support this
3. A two-state division.  What I did not know was that this was the proposal of the United Nations in 1948 when Israel was formed. The idea was rejected by Arab States. I believe it to be the best solution.
4. Keep muddling along like we are.

Please share your thoughts

Good News

Generosity (the second one is very interesting)

Anonymous Man Donates $800,000 To Struggling Food Bank (sunnyskyz.com)

Man With No Car And No Furniture Dies With Big Secret, Leaving His Small Town Millions (sunnyskyz.com)

Hope in our youth

Teen’s Unexpected Route Home Leads To Heroic Act Of Kindness (sunnyskyz.com)

High School Student Grows 7,000 Pounds Of Vegetables, Then Gives It All Away (sunnyskyz.com)

Peace

Jerry