Sympathy For Israel

Sixty percent of Americans in the nationwide survey said they were sympathetic toward the Israelis, try compared with 17 percent who supported the Palestinians, search CNN reported today on its Web site. A recent European poll showed that 23 percent of French people said the Palestinian Hamas group was primarily responsible for the war while 18 percent mainly blamed Israel.

The results indicate Israel successfully communicated in the U.S. its view that it had to defend itself against rocket attacks from the militant Hamas organization that controls Gaza and is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and European Union. More than 1, diagnosis 300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died in the 22-day war. [source]

So much for the winning the PR war…

47 Comments

  • The Israeli’s have a well oiled PR machine whilst the Arabs needs tonnes of WD40. We need to have a common focus before we can deploy a sophisticated machine, we were too busy arguing who will attend the summits and trying to work out who won and who didn’t, our strings are always twisted and thats why we will always be useless in PR on the international level.

    There are many initiative by experts but are always knocked down by our own governments…

    Peace

    Over’n’Out

  • that is shocking !!!! and I thought that the brutality of israel is known all over the world from the demonstrations 🙁

  • hmm .. not surprised about the US considering the tight lid that is kept on the media over there ..

    however .. i take this story with a grain of salt considering the source

  • Americans know little about the games being played in their own flied….

    and there media did a tremendous job in stereotyping Arab=terrorist attitude!

    more people like you Naseem,and we’ll get our msg delivered

    all we lack is people who know what they do,and love what they do!

  • That sounds about right, sadly. You can imagine the arguments and “telling” my Mom gets when she corrects pople who are telling outright lies. Most of them have never even visited the region and feel qualified to speak like experts. Better PR would be such a needed lift… 🙁

  • There was a fantastic documentary on a few nights ago by John Snow, Unseen Gaza, in which he identified different strategies used by the Israeli government to ‘manage’ the coverage of the war. The episodes are usually then uploaded online, this one hasn’t been uploaded yet, but I am guessing it is because they are going to air it again on February 2nd. Here’s the link anyway, you should be able to access it after Feb 2nd – it’s really provocative.
    http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unseen-gaza

    I am also going to share the link with 2nd year students I am going to be teaching in a few weeks; the module is called Propaganda and the courework for the course involves them analysing how propaganda was used during the Gaza incursion. It will be interesting to see what side they choose as the ‘prppagandist’.

  • Predictable. I’m not surprised.

    IMHO the Arab audiovisual story across screens is still not convincing. The messages that represent us are still not compelling enough to turn hearts, minds and actions around. And our image in the media continues to be angry, bitter and vengeful offering a very myopic perspective. This is somewhat evolving though as everyday storytellers gain command of the tools, and main stream media is reaching out to citizen media.

    One way for anyone out there to contribute to shifting this negative perception is to tell stories in details and ways that convince. Arabs should get obsessed about this actually. Embrace our origins of storytelling culture and use these incredible tools to create and distribute words, images, sounds that truly represent us – in politics, life, love, faith, art, anything and everything.

    Once we deliver to the global mass a powerful view of our own reality, once that is authored by ourselves, the conversation begins.

  • i want to add something .. israelis had a unified message and their PR campaign is an ongoing one .. arabs on the other hand do not have a unified message and their PR campaign only lasts as long as the war .. so yeah good luck with your PR war

    also regarding this point ..
    A recent European poll showed that 23 percent of French people said the Palestinian Hamas group was primarily responsible for the war while 18 percent mainly blamed Israel

    i’d like to see how many arabs also share this point of view .. because from what i’ve seen/read/heard .. quite a few

  • What did we expect if our own leaders and their spokes minions touted the same message: Hamas is to be blamed!

    I seriously think that there are no more honest advisors surrounding our ailing leaders (young ones included). No one is opening their minds to the fact that soon they will all be replaced!

    What is being planned for the region is way bigger than a rocket here and bullet there. The Arab World, has found itself, yet once more, in the middle of a larger scheme that has to do with the West controlling energy resources in the Russian former territories and other areas. When will Arabs get out side the box!

    The West occupies us with trivial issues and we fall into their trap!

    BUT, there is always a way out….

  • Just wanted to point out that CNN polls are not the most reliable of sources….the Rasmussen poll that came out during the second week of the conflict had the numbers at 44% pro Israel invasion/strikes/etc 41% anti Israeli action, and the rest undecided.

    Also at this point in time I think it’s better to look at results like the CNN poll mentioned as a gap that is closing rather than a numbers game that we have conclusively lost. 60% supporting Israel also means 40% that chose not to support Israel (and not necessarily support Palestinians). Usually explicit support for Israel would be more than just 60%, no?

    Maybe I’m wrong, just trying to look at it in a positive light…

  • It is obvious that all the demonstrations that have been done haven’t changed people’s opinions on the issue, it is time for people to realize that demonstrations are not as effective as debates and discussions when it comes to convincing people.

  • I’m actually surprised and would think that’s actually inaccurate. Of course, my own observations aren’t scientific, but I would say that at the very least it has mobilized the pro-Palestinian forces to take action. I know that on my campus there have been several pro-Gaza rallies, counter Israel rallies and the organizations remain mobilized and active.

    It’s also important to remember that it’s not just the US that needs to be considered in the PR war. Other countries have been pro-Palestinian and that will, I hope, have an impact on American opinion as time wears on. Moreover, I think that if you were to ask American people if they were sympathetic to the Palestinian plight you might have larger numbers. At least I would hope so, anyway.

  • Hamas is sworn to Israel’s destruction. Its charter is nakedly and aggressively anti-Semitic; no fig leaf of “anti-Zionism” there. The closest it has ever come to terms with the Jewish state is the offer of a long-term hudna, on the model of the Prophet’s 10-year truce with the tribes of seventh century Arabia. “Anyone who thinks Hamas will change is wrong,” said supreme leader Khaled Mashal in 2006. Could he be any clearer?

  • srael vs. Hamas; civilization vs. terror

    Try to imagine any other state receiving randomly targeted rockets from a sworn enemy and refraining from violent response. Russia’s foreign minister has urged Israel to end its Gaza campaign because of “the suffering.” Can one imagine how long Russia would keep its bombers on the ground if Georgia fired rockets onto Russian soil? France, as the current head of the EU, deplored “disproportionate use of force.” Is France prepared to hold its fire if Belgium starts lobbing explosives across its border? Would Russia or France tolerate 5,500 missiles exploded on its soil?

  • Matt and your point is?
    This is a 60 + years battle, it about principle – Israel took their land and they want it back. Fact Hamas isn’t against Jews but Zionist.
    Don’t be throwing that anti-Semitic crap

  • Charles Krauthammer points out.

    Before the eyes of the whole world, Israel left Gaza. Every Jew, every soldier, every military installation, every remnant of Israeli occupation was uprooted and taken away. How do the Palestinians respond? What have they done with Gaza, the first Palestinian territory in history to be independent, something neither the Ottomans nor the British nor the Egyptians nor the Jordanians, all of whom ruled Palestinians before the Israelis, ever permitted? On the very day of Israel’s final pullout, the Palestinians began firing rockets out of Gaza into Israeli towns on the other side of the border. And remember: those are attacks not on settlers but on civilians in Israel proper, the pre-1967 Israel that the international community recognizes as legitimately part of sovereign Israel, a member state of the U.N. A thousand rockets have fallen since.
    Remember this is what the Palestinians have claimed they wanted – control of their own territory and Israeli withdrawl. No Israeli settlers to complain about and their own government. They could have used that opportunity to have governed themselves and proven how they could help their own people.

  • Listen you douche – for real your just a Zionist, open a blog and post ur opinion we can talk – calling yourself Matt and pasting random shit isn’t really a discussion. Listen Zionist took the land and made the state of Israel – that’s terrorism to the highest level.

  • Wun,
    FYI. History 101

    Israel became a nation about 1300 BCE, two thousand years before the rise of Islam. The people of modern day Israel share the same language and culture shaped by the Jewish heritage and religion passed through generations starting with the founding father Abraham. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 BCE, the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.

    After the Romans conquered Jerusalem about 2,000 years ago, Jewish people were expelled and dispersed to the Diaspora, and the Land of Israel was ruled by Rome, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire, and by the British Empire.

    Throughout centuries Jews prayed to return from the Diaspora to Israel. During the first half of the 20th century there were major waves of immigration of Jews back to Israel from the Arab countries and from Europe. In 1948 Jews reestablished their sovereignty over their ancient homeland with the establishment of the modern State of Israel.

    It was only after the Jews re-inhabited their historic homeland of Judea and Samaria, that the myth of a Palestinian nation was created and marketed worldwide. Jews come from Judea, not Palestinians. There is no language known as Palestinian, or any Palestinian culture distinct from that of all the Arabs in the area. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs indistinguishable from Arabs throughout the Middle East. The Palestinian National Charter adopted by the PLO states this fact in the first article
    For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem (1948-1967), they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.

    In the Jewish Bible, Jerusalem is mentioned over 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem, sometimes the Land of Israel) 154 times, or 823 times. The Christian Bible mentions Jerusalem 154 times and Zion 7 times. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. Jerusalem is also not mentioned in the Palestinian Covenant.

    King David established the city of Jerusalem as the capital of the whole Land of Israel. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem. Jerusalem remained under Turkish Ottoman Empire rule from 1517 to 1917, and under British rule from 1917 to 1948.

  • Dear Matt, if you’re here for a healthy discussion then welcome aboard, but it would be appreciated, out of respect for the type of debate i try to foster here, if you avoided copying pasting things here in the form of a comment.

    Most of us know how to use google

  • The Hamas charter is the best thing that ever happened to you guys….it’s like you’re able to switch yourself off to everything by harping on about how a group who fires manure-fueled rockets is on the verge of destroying the state of Israel…really? Really?

    Hamas’ charter is nakedly and aggressively anti-Israeli (Arabs are Semites too, buddy). And Israel’s Basic Law is nakedly and aggressively anti-Arab. So? What are you getting at? Israeli policy didn’t start with Hamas, it’s been this way for a long time.

    The comments were directed at the original post, which referred to a poll that asked for general US and European support for “Israeli” and “Palestinian” sides, as well as blame for “Hamas” or “Israel” for starting the war. Nobody was talking about support for the ideology of Hamas’ charter, we were talking about general perceptions about the conflict.

    And while we’re at it…why “hudna” and not “cease fire”? “supreme leader”? Cmon man..the most violent event in the history of the conflict has happened, a huge number of civilians have been killed, and every major human rights organization is suggesting that Israel is guilty of war crimes. You can talk about it, but don’t try to justify this massacre.

  • Wow Wow wait what?
    Justify this massacre, hamas didn’t killed the children and women in UN schools. Plus if hamas were really using the school as a hide-out couldn’t you fire simple rockets and not bombs with one aim – wipe the area clean.

    Hudna means truce/cease fire, just because they don’t ceasefire on arabic tv and then english tv think it has special meaning.

    omg
    Matt and now Dan? Can’t you pick less common names? Or is it part of the Blogging Army you Zionist have going? Try to fit in with the common man.

    This post has nothing to do with Hamas, you guys are just high-jacking the post.

  • Here is cutting edge commentary by angry Arab news service “The Abuse of Language
    The Zionist movement (from so-called liberals like Amos Oz to Israeli leaders of all stripes) debase language by regular and routine dehumanizing of the Palestinian people. For decades, they can’t use the word Palestinian without attaching the word “terrorist” and “terrorism”. We need to put this propaganda rhetoric on its head. I have lived long enough in this country to see enough Arabs getting nervous when asked whether they recognize Israel, and how they describes Israeli crimes. We need to be categorical: of course, we don’t recognize Israel, and we shall never recognize Israeli mass violence on the Palestinian people (which is referred to as “the creation of Israel” or its “war of independence” in this country). And whenever we use the word “Israeli” we need to use the word “terrorist”: we need to do to the enemy rhetorically what it has done to the Palestinian victims of Israeli terrorism. “

  • I have to say until recently, the Palestinian viewpoint had been missing from the US media. In the last two weeks I have seen two separate programs showing a Palestinian view point. I have seen Pro-Palestinian protest and marches. I have seen and heard complete strangers debate the issue. It may not seem like much but as an American living in a medium size city that is an improvement.
    To be honest…several people I know went to Al-Jazzeera on-line to get true story of what was going on in Gaza. Some have put Pro-Palestinian things up on their Facebook page and are sending emails asking for people to get the word out. Don’t think that all Americans have sympathy for Israel because it’s not true.

  • I don’t have a website and I am not an israeli propagandist, but from my name (Neighbor) you can tell that I Israeli. Although I am on the left wing of the Israeli political map, what has been going on in Gaza has even us leftist, liberals, baffled. Matt is right about some things – Israel left Gaza in front of the whole world’s eyes, left beautiful homes and plants (Gaza strip when it was occupied by Israeli settlers was home to many nurseries that exported flowers to the world, even tulips to the Dutch!) and what did Hamas do with that? did they give the homes to homeless palestinians? did they work the nurseries to create jobs? no, they chose to use the money they got from Iran and Syria to buy ammunition and bombs and shoot 80 rockets a day at Israeli towns, at Israeli civilians.
    Now you tell me, how are Israeli leftist supposed to believe that Hamas wants peace when this is what they do?
    Please explain to me why after 60 years, when it is clear that Israel isn’t going anywhere, that Hamas continues this cycle of violence. It is has alleviated not one iota of help to the palestinian cause, and I do believe (as do the majority of Israelis) that ALL settlements must be evacuated and the land returned to the palestinians so Israelis can live in the 67 borders. But if this is what we get when we return the Gaza strip, please tell me why should we expect any different if we return the west bank?
    One more thing – if you are going to respond to my post (if it posted), please elevate your argument from calling people names. I really would like a factual answer.

  • Neighbor but not so good of a neighbor ,,you are not only propagandist but a liar , and endorser of your terrorist army war crimes
    Do you like to know how many refugee camps in Gaza were erected and refugees who were ethnically cleansed in palestine by the terrorist Zionist gangs in the so called “independence” of Zionist entity?
    a good neighbor could not and does not do what you have been doing for the last sixty plus years,
    Your zionist gangs have been murdering Palestinians, stealing their land ,discriminating against them and ethnically cleansing them for far too long and now you come here with your pontification about how nice you were to the Palestinians by leaving nursery of tulips in Gaza, how nice and fluffy of you.
    To the contrary , Gaza became the biggest open air prison in the world, nothing can come or leave without you terrorist army’s permission,thousands of Palestinians children ,women and civilian were murdered in cold blood by your terrorist army?
    And what so funny, you call yourself a leftist ,if an Israeli leftist think like you ,so what a right wingers think ?
    Here some fact for you ,not so good of a neighbor by “Oxford professor of international relations Avi Shlaim served in the Israeli army and has never questioned the state’s legitimacy. But its merciless assault on Gaza has led him to devastating conclusions
    The only way to make sense of Israel’s senseless war in Gaza is through understanding the historical context. Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials bitterly resented American partisanship on behalf of the infant state. On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to the foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by “an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders”. I used to think that this judgment was too harsh but Israel’s vicious assault on the people of Gaza, and the Bush administration’s complicity in this assault, have reopened the question.”

  • Hey I can called anyone what I want, you guys use the 2005 -” giving Gaza back to Palestinians” as something you did morally. In-fact you did it to get world attention and a backup for why you would go back to Gaza. Listen Gaza was never yours to give back.

    You guys are the biggest douches I have ever seen, go spread your Propaganda to Westerners who have no clue about your evil crimes.

    One last thing, Arabs might not have the power but their people have love for another nation which you wouldn’t understand or know. The only reason your scare to have an open Israel country because you fear Arabs and Palestinians will over populate the country and it won’t be Jewish.

    Fact is, no one liked Jews(Zionist) back in 1800’s for a good reason. You guys are proving what Hitler said, although I don’t believe in Hitler gassing you – if that really happened – you Zionist changed history to benefit your needs.

    **Soz about grammar, couldn’t cba to proof read.**

  • Let’s not pretend for one second that Hamas didn’t want this war. Hamas’ missiles are only shot into Israel to provoke a response – from a much more powerful military. The missiles have no real military purpose, though they have improved in range over time. Hamas played a big role in starting this war and they knew exactly what they were doing.

    Most people on this blog blame only Israel for the war – but do you completely absolve Hamas?

  • To Neighbour,
    I will try to answer some of your queries, but no answer I can give you will be sufficient. The injustices committed against Palestinians in the last 60 years can not be summarised in a few lines.
    But I will attempt to start somewhere.
    I am originally Palestinian. My grandfather and his brothers, like his parents and ancestors before him, were born and lived in Jerusalem. My family name, which I carry with pride, is a Palestinian name, with a long history of achievement and political liberalism in Palestine. My family were entrusted to be the caretakers of the Prophet David’s Mausoleum, the hall where Jesus had his last supper, and the church where Catholics believe Mary lived her remaining days. My family cared for these historical and religious treasures, renovated them, and most importantly, allowed access to them, for free, to all. Sermons, Jewish, Muslim and Christian, were held daily without a need for a permit.
    In the Palestinian parliament, my family was the first to call for Christian Palestinians to be represented. They formed a coalition that lead to the recognition that ethnic and religious minorities need to be represented. The Palestinian parliament ended up including various religious as well as ethnic minorities (like Armenians and Greeks). In terms of sport, my family also sponsored a football team, which won the Palestine cup in 1944. And in terms of public space, a huge park in Jerusalem – today known as Independence Park after its annexation by the State of Israel – was once a public park set up, funded and cared for by my family in memory of Sheikh Ahmad Dajani. His tomb, at least, is still in ‘Independence Park’ if you want to verify this.
    So the point of my story is this: the Palestinians are capable of building. They have done it in the past, and they continue to build, educate and prove themselves in countless fields today. That is, in countries outside their Palestine.
    Therefore, the inability of Gazans to cultivate the land vacated by Israel is not a result of a cultural inferiority. Gazans too used to plant tulips once upon a time, in fact they were Holland’s largest source of tulip imports. The fact that Gazans couldn’t make use of the land vacated by Israeli settlement’s is the continuing blockade of Gaza: its borders, its ports, its sky. Please let us be clear about this: vacating the Jewish settlements in Gaza DID NOT free the Gazans. Freedom will only come when the blockade is removed and their right to self determination is recognised and fulfilled.

    Thus, your argument that Hamas continued to hit Israel with rockets even after they ‘gave their land back’ is null – because the Palestinians are still imprisoned. There is still an illegal blockade imposed on them. Remove that, pursue its complete removal by your government, give Palestinians a chance to import and export, to build, without having what they build turned to rubble… and then we can talk.

    …and then we can talk history. Because this isn’t about Hamas (who were elected only a few years ago). This is about a historical injustice. One that has been appeased for to long.

    You were wondering why Palestinians were not ready to recognise that Israel is here to stay. I find that hypocritical. Israeli’s themselves do not yet recognize the historical injustice they committed against Palestinians. Even during the signing of the peace treaty Shimon Peres said that today was a remarkable day because they were creating something that never was – ‘ a Palestine’. That is a historical fallacy.

    You described yourself as ‘left-wing’ (politically). As a person who also describes herself as a left-wing liberal, I ask you only this: do not ask for recognition whilst you, the oppressor, have not granted it yourself. And if you dream of peace and coexistence within the 67 borders (as you said), then let you pretext be the fulfilment of justice, and only that.

    And when justice is your pretext, it should be clear what needs to be done.

  • Guys, your discussions had drifted away from the topic of this post.
    Back to the post, I’m not in the US, but in the UK, and i was not in any surveys, but, i know quite few “local” people around, and the media was rather “good” in covering the issue, asking 10 out of 10 of the people i know, they all feel sympathetic to the Palestinians. IMHO: the survey made by CNN is BS.

  • Deena, I really appreciate your response, even though i disagree with some of what you say, but I see the truth in a lot of it. Please know that many Israelis are ALL FOR a Palestinian state side by side Israel, but are afraid that all Palestinians want to exterminate Israel. Apparently, Palestinians feel the same way – that they want peace but are afraid that all Israelis want to do is exterminate Palestinians….

    Alurdunia, do you see now why we can’t hope for peace with people like you? All you do is call names and spew venom. All you talk about is “war crimes” and Zionist terrorists and gangs, and yet you never once mention or take responsibility for Israeli women and children who were “ethnically cleansed” in suicide bombings. You are not civil in your post, why would I have any reason to think you would be civil if I met you face to face?

    Deena, I wish things were different and that all the settlements were gone and Israel went back to the 67 lines. I wish that Palestinians (who, by the way, I never said were culturally inferior, I really meant it when I asked why couldn’t they use the tulip nurseries and the houses that were left behind, if not to import because of the blockade then at least to house some homeless people?) I wish Palestinians could have their own country, free to live their lives in peace and prosperity.

    Thankfull for the very interesting response from Deena, and regardless of the hatefull response from Alurdunia, I am glad I found this post. It is very eye opening to hear from you about the prison that Gaza has become, and just like Israelis have to learn that not all Palestinians want to do is kill Israelis, I hope the readers of this post, too, learn that not all Israelis wish Palestinians were dead. There are many of us who had had enough of war and want peace.

  • A very interesting video….the middle east is a complicated mess and the settlers have to go. I just don’t understand how on this blog virtually no one critisizes Hamas for its role in the war and how they go about fighting. If Hamas really cared about human lives they would not be firing rockets (to provoke a response) into Israel nor would they fight in populated areas.

    Here is another video:
    http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/01/24/miller.gaza.hamas.itn?iref=videosearch

  • We’re not sympathetic with Israel, ALL WE SEE in American media is THEIR suffering.

    If both sides are getting killed, but we only see and hear about one side, with graphic images, NATURALLY we’re going to feel bad for the side we’re seeing dead on our TV’s more often.

    Stopn attacking an entire people that you know nothing about.

  • I don’t see CNN at all because I don’t have cable and I live in Australia. I mostly source my own news off the internet.

    I can tell you that I do sympathise with Israel. Hamas stated many times that they were putting civilian people in harms way just to proclaim a “moral victory”.

    I know it’s a popular thing to side with the people who scream the loudest that they are opressed but use some common sense here. If you don’t fire rockets into a city that have more rockets than you, you won’t get hurt.

    Try about 10 years of not attacking anyone and I bet people will think you are a rational people and won’t feel threatened by opening up boarders.

  • My friends and I have for many years, much earlier than the latest war outbreak, discussed the situation in Gaza and the plight of the Palestinians. I have spent much time in Jordan and have seen first hand how the Palestinians have had to leave their homeland because of the imprisonment and lack of opportunity. Whilst I hate war of any type and am particularly horror struck at the vivid images that have been shown on our TV screens in the UK for the past month, I have understanding of the history that causes the Palestinians to feel agrieved. I am definitely not alone and whilst I believe that Israels PR machine may have short-term benefits, history will speak for itself. Rest assured not all British people are led like sheep.

  • * CNN’s national polls are usually open for voting for 3 hours and they do not represent the actual NATION’s opinion. Just people who watch CNN all day to actually catch these polls and go to their laptops and vote real quick (usually caps at a thousand votes or so, less than 0.01% of our population).

    ** CNN’s coverage of this story was limited to a few videos that showed Hammas missiles. What do you expect? The general public only sees that side shooting, of course they thing they’re the bad guys, we NEVER see Israel shooting anyone.
    Conveniently.

    lol

  • For you to “NEVER” see Israel shooting anyone you must be turning the TV off just at the right time. All the news is showing Israel shooting because Israel is volunteering footage of them shooting at places just as rockets are coming out of the house.

    I love how everyone says that Israel produces propaganda when clearly blogs like this where people outright lie produce 10x what Israel could ever produce in the way of “propaganda”. Also, that word has been overused so much that it has little meaning. If Israel shows suffering it is “Propaganda” if Gaza shows suffering it’s “Those damn Jews”.

  • The Israelis and their hypocrite backers may have the USA population fooled. But they know one thing: they are losing the propaganda around the world, and they will never defeat the Palestinians. And eventually Israel, and the USA, will be defeated. If not now, gives two to three decades. That we can be certain.

Your Two Piasters: