And now Israelis are hitting Palestinian-Americans in their continuing aggression. It was inevitable. Will President Bush come to their aid the same way he did for the American accused of drug crimes? It is curious to most outside the US, outrageous to others, that American citizens continue, day to day, to sit in their homes eating dinner, watching television and allowing the violence to continue in the Occupied Territories. How can Americans sit back and watch a people ‘targeted’ by weapons their very government supplies? Are they unaware they are financing this aggression? Haven’t Americans realized their silence makes them as much a part of this as their President and his ill-defined policies? Truth is, they don’t. Americans’ relation to the world is complicated. It is a complexity that is perhaps best understood in the Middle East, where complexity is a way of life. It is complicated by a media that sees its job as entertainer first and then as a very selective informer. It is complicated by a society that seems to value pop culture and the Weather Channel over global warming and the ill-effects of globalization. It is a nation of consumers whose power is unknown to them. Many live in a vacuum unaware of the brutality outside. And now, largely unbeknownst to them, they are playing a role in the way a war is being waged. It is not a declared war; to label it so changes political dynamics. Though most involved would feel a sense of relief at calling a spade a spade. Are Americans aware that no response still counts as a response, leaving them complicit in actions they would surely find reprehensible? Right now Americans are worried about their dollars. The US economy is in the doldrums. Afraid to say the word ‘recession’, a struggle continues as the budget surplus promised by the previous administration dwindles and the finger pointing begins.

With all this in mind, will Americans remain mute when one of their own comes in harm’s way? Western media reports change their tone and direction when an American face or voice tells the tale.

American reports from the assassination of Abu Ali Mustapha ran with American voices telling American perspectives of the atrocity. Does this make it more legitimate to Americans? Yes. Should it? Surely not. But the reality is Americans come together when they see one of their own attacked. Israeli movement into Beit Jala resulted in reports subtly tinged with the words ‘a largely Christian community.’ Islam, so often misunderstood or maligned, can now be removed as a filter for American relevance. Here was a moment that showed it did not matter the faith; no one was immune. For the message to be understood it must cross the threshold, entering American homes, making point after point. Only then can the political change so desperately needed in American-Middle East policy begin.

It is difficult to blame an American public so dumbed down by a media tightly aligned with corporate sponsors whose primary focus is consumerism. The message gets lost time and again. It is unfortunate it takes the sound of an American voice to break through all the media static, but this is the American reality. The sound of one American voice speaking will not change things. But the fact it is heard at all could be the beginning of a sea of change. One report leads to another until slowly Americans develop some sophistication and awaken from their slumber. This fact should not be lost as the media war unfolds.

Seeing American faces standing amongst the rubble of another Israeli attack begs a question: Will it take American blood drawn by Israel and likely fired from American weaponry to make Americans care? Perhaps. In a war where the targets of so-called "targeted killings" end up women and children, such a circumstance seems inevitable. Americans don_t see Israel_s policies in the Middle East as a personal threat. It is out there, happening to a people and a faith they don_t understand. Only when they appreciate the relevance, understand the similarity and realize the faces on television could be their own, will they cry out for change and hopefully justice.