What is happening in Israel is sickening. This invasion is never an effort to better the lot of the Palestinians. It is the start of an asymmetrical war between terrorist groups and the Israeli military with civilians on both sides caught in the middle. I have sympathy for both sides in this conflict. Large numbers of Jews came to what then was Palestine after WW II as a reaction to the Nazi death camps. The survivors saw that Jews needed a country they could control to be safe. The Palestinians, most of whom were farmers and agricultural workers who had no connection to those concentration camps, found themselves pushed off their land to make room for Israel. The result is a complex situation with no easy answers that has not been helped by either the actions of right-wing Israelis who support settlements made outside Israel's recognized borders or by Hamas and other Arab terrorist organizations. This sudden onslaught will only make things worse and increase the violence, which is the aim of the terrorists. It gives the present right-wing Israeli leadership the excuse they have wanted to invade more of Palestine, killing large numbers of Arab civilians in the process, which gives the terrorists excuses to kill more Israelis. Having young, privileged people jump into the middle of this and pick sides without a full understanding of the complexity of the underlying situation is not going to help anything. It is a tragic situation.
I have often thought our unquestioning support for Israel has allowed us to turn a blind eye to the suffering of the Palestinians. Jimmy Carter even used the word “apartheid” to describe what was happening to Palestinians by Israel, and he made a strong case for it. But the unforgivable actions by Hamas may lead to an Israeli retaliation that will wipe them completely off the map. My heart is broken. And I fear what the coming days will bring.
I was in Germany yearly from 2008 through 2015. My first husband’s German and we’d go stay with his family. TV there is pretty lousy, so Frank would end up watching a lot of BBC news. I can’t remember which year or years Israel was waging war against Gaza. The BBC would show horrific atrocities the Israeli military was inflicting upon Palestinians in Gaza. It was beyond shocking. Just gross targeting and killing of civilians and then blocking all international aide and food. I had never in my lifetime (I’m 49 and have lived in the US all my life) have I ever seen such horrific human rights violations and bloodshed. The drone strikes were invisible 🫥 in the west. In the Gulf War the military strikes just seemed like night vision video games. A thousand points of light. But I have never seen anything like the violent horror Israel inflicted upon Gaza. Unrelentingly. And back in the US- nada. Nothing. Not a video. Not a mention. Completely erased from the media. Sanitized. No dead bloody Palestinian children. Nothing. Not mentioned. Erased completely. Their lives didn’t matter in the US press. No one covered it. So I get why these students in Harvard are speaking out about the atrocities Israel has inflicted upon Gaza for all these years.
Ida, there is an enormous difference between speaking out against violence perpetrated by the Israeli government and outright defending terrorists who murder innocent civilians.
It was covered here. I myself saw it in the news. But, also, remember that by that time Hamas completely ruled Gaza. Israel withdrew in 2005. Hamas purposefully launches rockets from residences, schools, hospitals, etc. so that when Israel strikes back there are mass casualties. They want as many dead and bloodied Palestinians for the cameras as possible, all while their leaders sit in luxury in Qatar. I read that at one point Hamas was supposed to be 3rd wealthiest terrorist organization in the world (don't remember what year.) As the government of Gaza, how come the Palestinians never got a cent of it?
There is a lot to blame Israel for, especially Bibi and how right wing the gov't has become (see, the massive protests over the last 8-9 months), but they're not alone to blame.
In 2017, when Donald Trump invited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and gave the Russian a bunch of military secrets, the Russian turned around and sold those to Iran who sold them to Hamas. So blood’s on Donnie’s hands.
Hamas has undeniably managed to turn the tide of public opinion, at least in the open, against the Palestinians as a whole. At our dinner table, we have confronted the brutality shown by the terrorists as well as the brutality showered on Palestinians by IDF and settlers alike, which will now be magnified exponentially.
Who is *more* righteous? Who is ultimately the weakest? Who will suffer consequences far beyond imagining?? While I defy anyone to justify the Hamas attack and the atrocities perpetrated on innocent civilians, I also defy everyone to justify wiping hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children who wanted nothing more than to LIVE - despite the open air prison in which they were interned - off the face of the earth. And I sincerely hope that Israel is ready with many more body bags for both sides, as anyone left alive will carry this brutality on to infinity.
I just reread this. I kept it in my in-box because in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, we were trying to get our teenage son home from his study-abroad program in Israel. Thank you again for seeing Jews as people. Over the past two months, I've struggled as members of my progressive community insist there is no complexity and that even the most helpless Israeli citizens deserved this slaughter. My son came home: sad and frightened but healthy and able to resume his life. So many parents cannot say the same. I am 52 and have experienced my share of anti-Jewish nonsense, but nothing like what I've seen in the past two months.
Thank you for this, Charlotte. Isn't Hamas' behavior similar to Russia's in Ukraine. We were all horrified over that. The reality is, if it is an atrocity for Israel to oppress and kill Palestinian civilians, it is an atrocity for Hamas to kill Israeli citizens. Period. This is not an ethical gray-zone. Both are horrid and the worst of humankind's behavior. I have no problem criticizing Israeli human rights violations, and the same applies to Hamas. In the end, it will be innocent Palestinians who will pay. And their anger will fester, and the cycle will continue. Heartbreaking.
What is happening in Israel is sickening. This invasion is never an effort to better the lot of the Palestinians. It is the start of an asymmetrical war between terrorist groups and the Israeli military with civilians on both sides caught in the middle. I have sympathy for both sides in this conflict. Large numbers of Jews came to what then was Palestine after WW II as a reaction to the Nazi death camps. The survivors saw that Jews needed a country they could control to be safe. The Palestinians, most of whom were farmers and agricultural workers who had no connection to those concentration camps, found themselves pushed off their land to make room for Israel. The result is a complex situation with no easy answers that has not been helped by either the actions of right-wing Israelis who support settlements made outside Israel's recognized borders or by Hamas and other Arab terrorist organizations. This sudden onslaught will only make things worse and increase the violence, which is the aim of the terrorists. It gives the present right-wing Israeli leadership the excuse they have wanted to invade more of Palestine, killing large numbers of Arab civilians in the process, which gives the terrorists excuses to kill more Israelis. Having young, privileged people jump into the middle of this and pick sides without a full understanding of the complexity of the underlying situation is not going to help anything. It is a tragic situation.
I have often thought our unquestioning support for Israel has allowed us to turn a blind eye to the suffering of the Palestinians. Jimmy Carter even used the word “apartheid” to describe what was happening to Palestinians by Israel, and he made a strong case for it. But the unforgivable actions by Hamas may lead to an Israeli retaliation that will wipe them completely off the map. My heart is broken. And I fear what the coming days will bring.
I was in Germany yearly from 2008 through 2015. My first husband’s German and we’d go stay with his family. TV there is pretty lousy, so Frank would end up watching a lot of BBC news. I can’t remember which year or years Israel was waging war against Gaza. The BBC would show horrific atrocities the Israeli military was inflicting upon Palestinians in Gaza. It was beyond shocking. Just gross targeting and killing of civilians and then blocking all international aide and food. I had never in my lifetime (I’m 49 and have lived in the US all my life) have I ever seen such horrific human rights violations and bloodshed. The drone strikes were invisible 🫥 in the west. In the Gulf War the military strikes just seemed like night vision video games. A thousand points of light. But I have never seen anything like the violent horror Israel inflicted upon Gaza. Unrelentingly. And back in the US- nada. Nothing. Not a video. Not a mention. Completely erased from the media. Sanitized. No dead bloody Palestinian children. Nothing. Not mentioned. Erased completely. Their lives didn’t matter in the US press. No one covered it. So I get why these students in Harvard are speaking out about the atrocities Israel has inflicted upon Gaza for all these years.
Ida, there is an enormous difference between speaking out against violence perpetrated by the Israeli government and outright defending terrorists who murder innocent civilians.
Stop conflating the two. It's ridiculous.
It was covered here. I myself saw it in the news. But, also, remember that by that time Hamas completely ruled Gaza. Israel withdrew in 2005. Hamas purposefully launches rockets from residences, schools, hospitals, etc. so that when Israel strikes back there are mass casualties. They want as many dead and bloodied Palestinians for the cameras as possible, all while their leaders sit in luxury in Qatar. I read that at one point Hamas was supposed to be 3rd wealthiest terrorist organization in the world (don't remember what year.) As the government of Gaza, how come the Palestinians never got a cent of it?
There is a lot to blame Israel for, especially Bibi and how right wing the gov't has become (see, the massive protests over the last 8-9 months), but they're not alone to blame.
Thank you!
In 2017, when Donald Trump invited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and gave the Russian a bunch of military secrets, the Russian turned around and sold those to Iran who sold them to Hamas. So blood’s on Donnie’s hands.
Hamas has undeniably managed to turn the tide of public opinion, at least in the open, against the Palestinians as a whole. At our dinner table, we have confronted the brutality shown by the terrorists as well as the brutality showered on Palestinians by IDF and settlers alike, which will now be magnified exponentially.
Who is *more* righteous? Who is ultimately the weakest? Who will suffer consequences far beyond imagining?? While I defy anyone to justify the Hamas attack and the atrocities perpetrated on innocent civilians, I also defy everyone to justify wiping hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children who wanted nothing more than to LIVE - despite the open air prison in which they were interned - off the face of the earth. And I sincerely hope that Israel is ready with many more body bags for both sides, as anyone left alive will carry this brutality on to infinity.
Amen
I just reread this. I kept it in my in-box because in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, we were trying to get our teenage son home from his study-abroad program in Israel. Thank you again for seeing Jews as people. Over the past two months, I've struggled as members of my progressive community insist there is no complexity and that even the most helpless Israeli citizens deserved this slaughter. My son came home: sad and frightened but healthy and able to resume his life. So many parents cannot say the same. I am 52 and have experienced my share of anti-Jewish nonsense, but nothing like what I've seen in the past two months.
Amen.
Thank you for this, Charlotte. Isn't Hamas' behavior similar to Russia's in Ukraine. We were all horrified over that. The reality is, if it is an atrocity for Israel to oppress and kill Palestinian civilians, it is an atrocity for Hamas to kill Israeli citizens. Period. This is not an ethical gray-zone. Both are horrid and the worst of humankind's behavior. I have no problem criticizing Israeli human rights violations, and the same applies to Hamas. In the end, it will be innocent Palestinians who will pay. And their anger will fester, and the cycle will continue. Heartbreaking.
Thank you. 💟✡️💟
Amen, selah.