Via This Modern World, I see that Oprah is travelling to Israel to accept a humanitarian award. I highly doubt she would travel all that way and not spend some time meeting the locals and talking about the Intifada. But Jonathan Schwarz, The author of the TMW post, is right - the last thing the conflict needs is Oprah telling only one side of the story. She's an opinion-setter among her sizable audience. So write, and encourage her to visit the West Bank and Gaza while she's there. I have:
I was happy to read that Ms Winfrey will be travelling to Israel. I hope, even as she expresses her concern and sympathy for Israeli citizens, she'll also take the time to travel to, or at least meet with, regular citizens of the West Bank and Gaza. The last thing that conflict needs is a one-sided representation of it.
I believe that Ms Winfrey is fair-minded and sympathetic to all people who suffer. I believe that she likes to see through to the heart of seemingly intractable issues. I don't know what conclusions she might draw from visiting the occupied territories, but I'm certain she'd find the stories that need to be told, and tell them to a much wider audience. If she doesn't make the trip, I fear Palestinians will remain the invisible villians of the story she tells, and that can't be good for anyone who wants only peace in the region.
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