Dear FRONTLINE,
If the Arabs put down their weapons today
there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today
there would be no more Israel.
Nathan Wolkovitz
houston, tx
Dear FRONTLINE, This a very one-sided and misleading program that completely adopts the Israeli version of the story and uses the same terms used by Israel. The big picture of Israeli occupation of Palestinians and confiscation of their lands for Israeli settlements was surprisingly missing. Definitely this was not by accident, rather it was by design to mislead viewers about the root causes of the conflict. Force and deception didnít work for the past 35 years of Israeli occupation of West Bank and Gaza. It is time that Israel withdraws from those areas and allow the Palestinian people to live with dignity and free of occupation. This is the only way that Palestinians and Israelis can live with and respect each other.
detroit, mi
Dear FRONTLINE, I sit in amazement as these leaders engage in a land for peace negotiations. It is akin to offering Osama Bin Laden Rhode Island if he promises to never attack us again. Absurd. It is also interesting that you, PBS, never make mention that Palistinian citizens of Israel have all the same rights as Jews and Arabs to vote and live peacefully, that is why Isareal would never agree to letting 500,000 refugees to enter the land. It would lead to the utter destruction of Isreal.
houston, tx
Dear FRONTLINE, peace will happen only when the terrorists are defeated.the terrorists do not want peace or for israel to be destroyed, even if they say so, because then they would not have any power or reason to exist. so they continue to commit homicide bombings by using emotionally depressed people, playing for the tv cameras, and killing and depriving their own people.israel has the god-given right to defend itself and when the terrorists are destroyed then the arabs will understand that negotiation and peace is the only way, not by murder and rioting.
karen tupper
brooklyn, new york
Dear FRONTLINE, Thank you for presenting this program. I've been delinquent in trying to understand this in the past. I'm so glad for the opportunity to now understand it better. Despite some criticism from other posts, I feel that this program was a great service to people like me. The timeline, on your web site, serves as much needed notes to my continued understanding of this important world issue.
Eric Lentz
concord, ohio
Dear FRONTLINE, That was quite a piece of journalism alright. Thank you for trying to help us understand a situation that has become unbearable to all. How moving those moments of a peace at hand... I pray that we will soon see the day when Palestinian and Israeli children can live side by side in peace. Will this program air again?
arlington, va
FRONTLINE's editors respond:
Please check with your local PBS station which has the option to rebroadcast the program. FRONTLINE's
current broadcast season ended with this report. We will be back with new programs in September. |
Dear FRONTLINE, I have just watched this program. I was amazed that your program presented Arafat as such a hero for peace. Nowhere was it mentioned of Arafat's involvement with the terrorists, nor his knowledge of attempts to bring greater and greater involvement with more deadly weapons.
Also, the implication that the Israeli army acted without restraint. The cries of genocide were only lies.
I felt that the report was very one sided.
houston, texas
Dear FRONTLINE, Despite PBS's strongest attempts to portray Israel in a negative light; despite the overwhelming segments with Arafat's team; it all comes down to a central belief of the Palestinians that Israel cannot exist, that the Temple Mount is a myth. Sadly the lack of any Palestinian leadership and statemanship will only continue the turmoil of the Middle East
jonesboro, ar
Dear FRONTLINE, Tonight's documentary (Shattered Dreams) was very well done and I thank you, however you let us down in one important way. You cowered from mentioning the present US Administrations lack of interest in the Middle East up until 9/11. That even if briefly mentioned along with the footage of increased violence lends a vital lesson to be learned. Our administration needs to now roll up their sleeves more and get to know the intimacies of this culture and complex relationship. Making simplistic statements about invisioning two states at peace someday is welcome, but we urgently need more hard work of genuine direct communication with and less rhetoric.
anthony donovan
nyc, nyc
Dear FRONTLINE, Why was there no mention of our current President's disengagement in Frontline's account of the tragic failures of leadership that brought an end to any hope of peace in the Middle East for the foreseeable future? Surely Bush's "hands off" attitude left a void that was all too eagerly filled by two irascible belligerents at the expense of scores of innocent Israelis and Palestinians.
Richard Contiguglia
new york, new york
Dear FRONTLINE, I enjoyed your program. However, you made the glaring error of failing to fully show what Arafat said to his people in Arabic. Only once did I see Arafat exhorting his people to martyrdom. His consistent message to his people -- in Arabic -- in the schools, in the summer camps that taught youth to use weaponry, in his exhortations to martyrdom and jihad -- illustrated his true intentions vis-a-vis the Israelis. These actions place a context around his actions at Camp David. Simply put, he never really wanted to abandon the struggle and get to the dirty work of building a nation.
Alan Surchin
new york, new york
Dear FRONTLINE, my comment is the reaction I got when I finished watching this heart renching program. Without being partial, look how many different Isreali leaders there were to try to make peace, but still only Arafat. He has to go. Nothing has been accomplished by him in helping his people deal with the crisis.
wantagh, ny
Dear FRONTLINE, Very bleak under the current administration. We need an intelligent, caring, charismatic, thoughtful and bold leader like we had with Clinton. Thank you for your balanced report.
Your report showed both sides as human and in pain. Your report showed intelligent thoughtful Palestinians and Israelis. But as long as Sharon and Bush call the shots, we all remain in hell. It will get worse.
denville, new jersey
Dear FRONTLINE, that was an amazing documentary that was extremely needed and deserved. thank you for clearly explaining the issues at hand and recognizing israel's terrible position as a target of daily terrorism. cheers to peace and security of an Israeli state and to more documentaries just like this one!
new york, ny
Dear FRONTLINE, This was a very good, clear and hopeful documentary on the peace process. It makes all the parties, except Sharon, to look like they tried to make peace possible. I congratulate the producers and hope that President Bush watches this program to help him understand the politics of the situation, so he might be inspired to take an active, positive role. President Clinton's role was key to bring a radical like Netanyahu to the peace table. We need strong leadership from America to continue the peace effort, not confusing and vague leadership.
peri v.
new york, ny
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