Sholeh Patrick's recent article about the "Holy Land" relates to a presentation by Rick Steves - "world-famous travel writer and PBS TV star."

Though Steves claims to have no bias in the Israel/Palestine debate, clearly he does. We find a clue to his beliefs simply by his labeling of the conflict. I'm pretty sure it isn't simply a "conflict over Palestine;" it is a conflict, rather, over Israel's very right to exist. We understand Steves' leanings further when we read that he believes a compromise will only come when there is an independent Palestine and that it is Israel that has said "never" to this possibility.

That simply isn't true. Israel has continually offered up "land for peace," their only condition being that they must remain a sovereign state with Jerusalem as their Capitol. That has been unacceptable to the Palestinians as far back as Yasser Arafat (past leader of Palestinian Liberation Organization) when he stormed out of meetings with then Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak. Barak foolishly offered greater concessions than ever before or since - offering land that the PLO had never requested; as well as offering to divide Jerusalem! But even that ill-conceived offer wasn't enough for the PLO then, and it still isn't enough, today. Why? Because it isn't peace they want! They will only be satisfied with the complete annihilation of Israel.

As an example of land offered for peace, Israel relinquished the Gaza Strip in 2005, which is now controlled by the Palestinian militant group, Hamas. That went well, didn't it? I'm sure we can all agree Hamas is a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel!

I suspect Mr. Steves and I would also have stark differences in our definition of "Palestine," but Gaza and the West Bank are at forefront today, with two factions. In ever-changing scenarios - PLO/Fatah and Hamas haven't been in agreement. But agreement comes through hatred of Israel and they have been united since April 2014.

The core of my personal beliefs comes from Genesis 13:14-17 where we are told God gave this land to Abram and his descendants. But even without citing Biblical facts, archeological evidence proves Jews existed there 3,000 years ago. History proves Israel existed until Romans conquered the land at the time of the Roman Empire. The Jews no longer had a homeland, but they have always had a presence.

Mrs. Patrick explains in her article how Israel became a nation in 1948 as mandated by the League of Nations. That's true, but it wasn't a simple matter of international organizations that "put one group atop another" causing the friction. Palestinians were driven out of the newly created Israeli state NOT by Jews, or international bodies; but rather they were warned to leave and driven out by Muslim terrorists that planned on annihilating Israel. Palestinians were told it would only be for a short time, but rather than assimilating these refugees as fellow Muslims into surrounding Arab land, they were forced into refugee camps and used as political pawns by Muslim leaders that wanted Israel to look like the bad guy in the world's eyes. It worked; many are not aware this took place. (www.commentarymagazine.com/article/1948-israel-and-the-palestinians-annotated-text/)

It seems there was little to no mention of the Jewish Holocaust, or Israel's miraculous wars that were won for their independence. Specifically those wars were: 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973. Israel was never the aggressor; rather they fought only to protect their land, even offering concessions after. It seems Mr. Steves didn't discuss that history, but instead he states: "So since the creation of Israel, Palestine's borders shrunk, again and again."

Really? Israel is a mere 1/8th of 1 percent of all the land where Muslim nations surround her. And still it is the "Palestinians" (and other Muslim nations) that continue in their quest to "drive Israel into the sea." Furthermore, Israel now possesses only a small part of the land they were originally given.

Further inaccuracies in Mr. Steves' claims, are that "The best farmland and water sources have been strategically carved out of Palestine's edges and are now Israeli territory...with Palestine's green areas shrinking to a small fraction of their original size." In truth, this area was a dried up desert, until Israel became a nation when they worked tirelessly and continuously through a democratic system to create the land of milk and honey that it is today. The nation of Israel did that, NOT the Palestinians. (www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/economy/pages/focus%20on%20israel-%20israel-s%20agriculture%20in%20the%2021st.aspx)

Terribly distressing is the fact that Steves rationalizes: "One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter..." Hardly! One shields women and children from bombs and terror, the other uses women and children as human shields! No one should refer to that as a "freedom fighter."

Finally, the contention that Palestinians allow Israelis to work and live peacefully while Israel does not is inaccurate. There are absolutely no Israelis living in the Gaza Strip at this time, having been driven out by Hamas. As further example of one who is humane and one who is not: we would never find an Israeli being taken care of in a Palestinian hospital; however, Israelis refuse service to no one, including Palestinians who have often sought care in Jewish hospitals which they could not receive in their own. (www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/01/cnnheroes.roth)

It seems Mr. Steves fails to mention a few important facts and indisputable history. This leaves us to question his "unbiased" view.

Jan Conner is a resident of Athol.