I am Jewish and lived in Occupied Palestine for 15 years, 1981 - 1997, and saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears the genocidal destruction of Palestinian life throughout all of Palestine (this includes the area of 1948 Occupied Palestine, better known as Israel). I was also in West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2002. I saw demolished homes and destruction of private businesses and food crops in Ramallah, Beit Sahour, Beit Jalla, Bethlehem, and Gaza Strip. It was extremely clear that the Israeli soldiers had done their utmost to cause as much destruction to personal possessions of Palestinians as they could. In downtown Ramallah all I saw was destruction.

In Gaza I saw agricultural fields totally destroyed, not only the crops were ruined, food for the people, but also irrigation pipes cut up by the bulldozers. What is the purpose of destroying food? Can a crop of eggplant cause harm to anyone? Can plastic irrigation pipes in Gaza Strip cause any harm to anyone living in Tel-Aviv?

I have seen the aftermath of Israeli soldiers shooting at apartment buildings throughout the Gaza Strp. The outside of the houses look like swiss cheese there are so many holes in them. Many of the apartment houses, where children, women and men civilians live, have been so badly shot up that they barely stand and are too dangerous to live in, this is besides the thousands of homes that have been demolished by specially built bulldozers made by Caterpillar for the Israeli Army, for decades.

I have heard Zionist Israelis express their outright hatred of Palestinians, and all Arabs. I have seen them on Israeli television shouting out in the streets "Death to the Arabs". Inciting people to actually go out and commit murder.

Israelis are taught to fear and hate all Arabs from the time they are born. I know this because I lived in the Tel-Aviv area and I saw and heard their racism. When I would tell Jewish Israelis that I was going to a Palestinian village in Israel, they would always ask me "Aren't you afraid?" I would ask them, afraid of what? I was always made to feel very welcome in the homes of Palestinians wherever I went, whether inside the 1948 borders, better known as Israel, or in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It was always known by the Palestinians I visited that I am Jewish and had Israeli citizenship.

I have been to Gaza Strip and to Jenin many times and a few times to Nablus, my life was NEVER in danger, I was never afraid, at least not of the Palestinians. My life was in danger a few times by Israeli soldiers. There were times when I feared I was going to be shot by a trigger-happy Israeli soldier.

My experience of Palestinians I have met is that they are a peaceful people. They love their children, they love their families, they are extremely generous and will offer you their last food to welcome you into their homes. Despite living under a very horrendous and genocidal Israeli occupation for more than 50 years, they are not a hateful nor bitter people. They make very clear distinctions between Jews and Zionists and Israeli soldiers and civilians.

During my stay in Occupied Palestine (all of Israel is Occupied Palestine) it became very clear to me that the Israeli Occupation Forces, the Israeli settlers and the Israeli government commit War Crimes, crimes against Peace and crimes against Humanity on a daily basis.

I totally support Palestinian Statehood and the Right to Return to every Palestinian.

I had my own experience with Lee Kaplan and Becky Johnson, both are extremely uninformed as to the truth about Palestine and Palestinians.