I am not in favor of human suffering, but I am finding it difficult to muster sympathy for this crowd:
The 1,500 Palestinian refugees stranded inside the Haifa Sports Club were once part of former president Saddam Hussein’s favorite foreign cause. He welcomed them after other Arab countries shut their doors, provided them with free housing, mentioned their political plight in major speeches and promised to liberate their homeland one day.
But with the collapse of Hussein’s government in April, the estimated 70,000 Palestinians living in Iraq — including some who arrived half a century ago and many who were born here — lost a powerful patron. And in the chaotic, score-settling days that followed, a society that had embraced them for decades revealed an uglier face.
“We lived with our neighbors for years; we went to each other’s parties; we took each other to the hospital. But after Saddam left, they told us there was no place for us in Iraq any more,” said Feduah Abdel Ghani, 34, whose family moved into a tent last month after being forced from their home of 14 years. “I thought they liked me. It is a big shock.”
Yes, the Palestinians have been played like pawns for years by every despot and tyrant in the region, but I still find it hard to feel bad for people whose sole goal in life is the destruction of Israel and the demise of the United States.
Joel
It is rather funny how the media always tries to mustur up sympathy for the “poor” Palis.