This was a disgusting take. Thanks for clearing up things. Unsubscribed. You had the nerve to justify the way in which Israel has treated Palestine for all these years? The chickens come home to roost. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a sick bitch.<\/p>\n
#FreePalestine<\/p>\n
Asa Ferguson<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Pathetic Bob. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m done with you. You know the history of that apartheid welfare state!<\/p>\n
Forget the chicken and egg crap. This is the new reality.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Matari<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Bob<\/p>\n
As if words \u00c2\u00a0could ever be enough.<\/p>\n
Amongst the sickening list of inhuman crimes against humanity is the one Golda Meir articulated long ago when she said:<\/p>\n
“If you kill my children, I may forgive you, \u00c2\u00a0if you make me kill yours, I wil never forgive you.”<\/p>\n
When innocent Palestinians \u00c2\u00a0are killed in reprisal and defence over the next few wks, watch how short memories are as to why.<\/p>\n
With all the verbiage spewing forth \u00c2\u00a0in the blame game , one should ask what Hamas, etc. would do if they had the military might of Israel.\u00c2\u00a0Genocide would be the upside.<\/p>\n
Stay strong.<\/p>\n
Sam Feldman<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Shalom Bob,<\/p>\n
Greetings from Pardes Hanna, Israel. Thank you for your recent post about the horrific tragedies that are occurring here as we speak. Thankfully where we live is relatively safe, however as you know, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very small country where everyone is one degree of separation away from someone who was murdered, missing, kidnapped or forced to flee their homes. My oldest daughter is in the IDF, fortunately in a non-combat unit. She was sent home from her base on Monday and told by her unit commander to stay by her phone as she would be needed to go to funerals. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 19 and lost a classmate already this week. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s f*cking heavy.<\/p>\n
What keeps us sane is community. Our local friends, our family and yes\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6the support we see online from people that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Stand with Israel,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from the NY Jets to Madonna. U2 wins the MVP for their rendition of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pride\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the other night in Vegas. It all helps and we appreciate it greatly.<\/p>\n
This being said I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m befuddled by the deafening silence of our community, the music industry. Several of the majors have opened up offices in Israel over the past several years, along with one of the largest promoters in the world. Clearly, Israel is of some importance to these companies. How many music industry organizations have publicly posted their support? You could count them on one hand.<\/p>\n
These may seem like small gestures, but their impact is tremendous. What we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve suffered collectively is an attack on the Jewish people, the children and grandchildren of some of the pioneers who helped build the music business. It would be nice if more of the major music companies would acknowledge that collective loss.<\/p>\n
P.S…as I was hitting “send,” I received a “Red Alert\u00e2\u20ac\u009d app notification on my phone…rockets about 30 minutes from my house in the Sharon region. Strange days indeed.<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
As a millennial Jew, may I point out that you make the classic boomer misstep of conflating a population of 2 Million Palestinians living in Gaza with the 30,000 Hamas Zealots.<\/p>\n
Why do their stories not matter? Why do you like other mainstream media sources conveniently overlook the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from a faction of Radical Zealots in Israel? Do these groups have a level playing field historically and presently?<\/p>\n
Hamas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 genocide and atrocity is horrific, and was the largest step backwards towards a two\/state solution in my lifetime. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a shame you lack nuance and blindly chose tribalism above humanism in your conflation of Palestinians as Hamas.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s akin to foreign onlookers labeling all Americans as White Nationalist Neo-Nazis. Not productive and may lead to justification of civilian murder. Is a child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s massacre really eye-for-an-eye?<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
I have followed your posts for a long time and appreciate your honesty.
\nI live in Rehovot,\u00c2\u00a03+ hours of rockets fell on us as we tried to have Shabbat and Simchat Torah.
\nAnd we are 35 miles from Gaza.<\/p>\n
The mess Hamas started, and we continue to find the levels of their depravity, is unreal. My son was one of the first groups of soldiers to get down there Saturday. I don’t want to think about what he saw, but he and his team were part of the process of clearing the settlements, inch by inch, one at a time of terrorists.<\/p>\n
How anyone can see these pictures and videos and still say it isn’t true or argue about what was found shows how immune people are to what they see.
\nBlame it on video games, movies, whatever, but for someone to still take the side of such evil, how can people go to work with them every day?<\/p>\n
Keith Brooks<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Last night I drove a friend to the Shura Army base in Ramle where the national sorting center is for the over 1300 killed so far. She is a social worker who is working with the victims families who have come to identify the bodies when possible. She explained to me that her job is to see each body and then explain to the family in what way they can identify or not their loved one. Of the 1100 bodies brought to the center only about 400 have been processed because many are missing faces, charred after being burnt or have been decapitated. The infants and yes\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 fetuses have no fingerprints so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s DNA identification only. There are so many bodies they are stored in refrigerator semi-trailers waiting to to be processed. I saw them and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realise till afterwards what was inside.<\/p>\n
This was conveyed not as PR but as a conversation between two friends as to what she was contending with personally.<\/p>\n
And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the 150 elderly, children and babies and adults kidnapped still being held captive in Gaza.<\/p>\n
And that 260 of the deaths were people attending a desert rave. Shot at point blank range and some even raped.<\/p>\n
And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the 5000 missiles\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.<\/p>\n
This is not about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Free Palestine\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. This is about\u00c2\u00a0Isis-like barbaric behaviour. Pure raw evil. The worst single day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
Thought this was worth sharing. I am sick, appalled and my heart is bleeding.<\/p>\n
Best,<\/p>\n
Hillel Wachs<\/p>\n
2b Vibes Music<\/p>\n
Tel Aviv – Jerusalem<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Well said, Bob<\/p>\n
It’s always the Jews that are the problem.<\/p>\n
No one talks about EGYPT’S blockade on their border with Gaza,\u00c2\u00a0which is 7.5 miles long. Why won’t they open it up? Because they don’t care. They also don’t want terrorists in their country. It’s always the Jews.<\/p>\n
No one talks about Gaza’s billion-plus dollars in aid that it has received from QATAR since 2012 that could have gone into building infrastructure, schools, a\u00c2\u00a0productive society, but instead Hamas used to dig tunnels into Israel, build rockets, and to create a Jew-hating destructive society. It’s always the Jews.<\/p>\n
No one talks about LEBANON’S limited legal status for the ~200,000 Palestinians living in their country. Lebanon DOES NOT grant citizenship to Palestinian refugees (they are regarded as foreigners), keeping them from basic needs like healthcare and education. Palestinians in Lebanon are prohibited from owning property and from working in dozens of skilled professions. But no, it’s always the Jews that are demonized.<\/p>\n
This is nothing new. Jews have been persecuted since the beginning of time… and continue to be persecuted in 2023.<\/p>\n
But, we will prevail as we always have.<\/p>\n
-Adam Cohen from New York<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
I am 54 years old. My grandfather was a Zionist, in the literal sense of the word. Golda Meir spent time with our family when she travelled to Chicago. Before he passed away, he sat me down as a young teenager in the mid-80s. He said, Josh, you are a smart young man, with a big heart. And I know as time goes on, you and other young liberal Jews in America will want to trade more land for peace. To do whatever is required for peace. Of course, peace is what we all want. But the thing you need to understand is the Palestinians do not want peace. They only want to see the annihilation of Jews and to take back Israel for themselves. After my generation is gone, the past can easily be forgotten. But please remember what I am telling you. While you think that you can negotiate a peace, it will not be on equal footing. It is impossible to engage in a real negotiation with people who do not value life. People who are willing to strap a bomb to the chest of a ten year old boy on a tricycle heading for a synagogue. I know this is impossible for you to imagine. People who believe that the more Jews they kill, the bigger martyr they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll become. Israel is the size of a pinhead in a region dominated by Arabs and Arab countries. These countries have no interest in helping the Palestinian people or taking any of them into their own lands. They will use them as pawns. In the coming decades, as their numbers multiply, most Palestinians will not actively seek to harm Jews as they go to work and raise their families, but look to their leaders. The people they have chosen to lead them, they are terrorists. Plain and simple. Please Josh, never forget.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This was said to me almost 40 years ago. Well, the world has just seen the reality of what happens when \u00c2\u00a0a people choose terrorists as their leaders. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absolutely horrifying to think what could possibly come next. The loss of innocent lives on both sides is a despicable tragedy. This fills me with an overwhelming sadness. But the dismantling and destruction of terrorist organizations and their operatives, such as Hamas, is the only path toward a lasting peace for Jews in Israel and the world.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Josh<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Thanks for this letter. I am from Austria and have been living in Israel for more than 25 years and we are all still in a state of shock and hurting. But not just a physical war has started, but the<\/p>\n
(dis)information war, too. You are a gifted writer, who knows how to get to the heart of the matter. Please put your excellent recommendations of books and Netflix shows aside and<\/p>\n
fight to defend not only Israel, but the values of the Western world (and especially women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rights) that have been targeted and tried to be eradicated in this Pogrom.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thanks, Angela Ballas<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Nothing crazy here Bob, I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even say there was much opinion in what you wrote. But I still want to make sure you knew this line “Sure, innocent people will be killed in Gaza. But these are the same people who chose to be represented by Hamas.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was untrue and unfair. If you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t met anyone, I can assure you there are a lot of\u00c2\u00a0Palestinians\u00c2\u00a0who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want Hamas there and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like the way things have gone. Just like there are tons of Israelis that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t support their government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s handling of this situation and others. Both of those groups of bystanders will continue to suffer, just like many of us will in this country.<\/p>\n
Dustin Edelhertz<\/p>\n
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I do “believe the Palestinians are an innocent people”, without believing any of the “mantra” you describe. I am of Jewish descent, and I think I can keep 2 thoughts in my head at once. One, is that terrorism must be answered, and crushed. AL Qaeda, Isis, \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Hamas. These people love death, not only of Jews, or Westerners, but of their own people. There is no legitimate way to support or excuse them. 2nd thought: Israel has to find peace with the Palestinian people, and the status quo up til now isn’t it. It does no good to say one side is right and innocent, and the other side deserves what they have. That will keep this situation going forever. If we don’t want the next Hamas to be created after we kill this one, that has to be faced. Everyone should ask themselves if that is the best way to go, for the sake of Israel, and Israel’s allies, like the US.<\/p>\n
Joseph Henderson<\/p>\n
Yonkers NY<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Bob:
\nI was 20 in 1972.
\nDoes anyone remember the Olympics in Munich?
\nI do.
\nDW Davis<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Fun fact: There are more black people in the five most populous states in America than there are Jews on earth.<\/p>\n
Danny Segelin<\/p>\n
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You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re making a key mistake in your narrative here by interpreting a fringe hardline view as a blanket fact for all Muslims. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m surprised at how shallow your understanding is here beyond an emotional response.<\/p>\n
The stated aim to get rid of Israel is a hardline manic view. It gets repeated. Repeated by US news until you believe that everyone wants this. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s BS designed to make you dehumanize people. It works.<\/p>\n
This is not what the vast majority of people want. Take a breath.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen at this point that Bibi was happy to keep Hamas as an ally-enemy so \u00e2\u20ac\u0153we can control the flames\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as was reported.<\/p>\n
The cynical vacuum of removing peaceful political elements seeking a two state solution has led to these madmen in charge in Palestine.<\/p>\n
Thankfully more people know about this now and the narrative is changing even in my lifetime.<\/p>\n
It really is on you to know more about this situation before sending out comments like \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcArab countries want us all dead\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. This is racist fear-mongering.<\/p>\n
No one has a monopoly on suffering but for a few days one side of the border has felt the fear that the other has felt for their lifetime.<\/p>\n
Israel controls all essential services in a small, packed area that is literally living an apartheid reality of squalor, with a brutal militia taking the lead.<\/p>\n
They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want you dead Bob.<\/p>\n
All the best, Patrick Stefan<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Beyond the horror, the tragedy, the sheer cruelty, the unspeakable shock, it is also a story of cowardice – I am writing from Paris (pointing that out for perspective)<\/p>\n
The reporters on tv talking about \u00c2\u00ab Hamas fighters \u00c2\u00bb – well, no you (expletive of your choice) there are terrorists, not \u00c2\u00ab fighters \u00c2\u00bb.<\/p>\n
The far left refusing to condemn explictly the attacks and putting the blame on Israel; (to be fair a few, but too few voices voiced their disagreement on their leader\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s choice of words);<\/p>\n
The mayor of Paris taking two days to put the Israel flag on the Eiffel tower, when it took less \u00c2\u00a024 hours or less for other official buildings in Europe to do it.\u00c2\u00a0 The only thing they did first was switching its light off, which may or may not been seen as an ambiguous tribute.<\/p>\n
They said it was a matter of technical challenge. Yeah right\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6just scared ###less of the suburbs and potential riots.<\/p>\n
Never seeing that playing buddies with Qatar is not exactly without consequences. Letting them buy the capital\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s football team. Handing them over the World Cup. And all intelligence agencies know this country bankrolls Hamas, and hosts their leader.<\/p>\n
Baptiste Pi\u00c3\u00a9gay<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Sorry Bob, normally respect your opinion but you’re well out of it on this one.<\/p>\n
This situation is a sh*t show and there are no good guys. Hamas and Israel are both criminal, and this conflict won’t end until one side is wiped out, and let’s face it, it won’t be the Israelis.<\/p>\n
What a stupid idea to try and create the Jewish homeland in Palestine, as a British person I take my own share of the blame, but it’s been generation after generation of needless bloodshed and stupidity.<\/p>\n
Think about it Bob, any other subject and you’d be able to see clearly.<\/p>\n
Tomer Krail<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
For many Americans you may be the only Jew they know.\u00c2\u00a0 I live in south Florida, and if you live in New York or LA, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plenty of interaction between the non-Jewish and the Jewry.<\/p>\n
I think a LOT of Americans have very little contact with Jewish people. And what these Americans hear, is the constant reporting on Jew-baiting on social media and congress critters talking about Jewish space lasers. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cartoonish, but what happens if your accountant or your doctor isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Jewish, is that the cartoon turns into a weird bias.<\/p>\n
Bjorn Larsen<\/p>\n
Florida<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
I refuse to look at posts on Instagram anymore because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all Free Palestine. How about Free Israel?? You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re right, the Jews have been on counterattack since the beginning. Last time I checked I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember a Holocaust for anyone else. Are there anti-Palestinian hate crimes? Haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t heard of that one.\u00c2\u00a0I am in NO way saying Palestinians are all bad or are to blame for what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on. They mostly just wanna live and let live. The problem is the vocal minority. Same thing we have here. Most Americans are either nice people or indifferent. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the small fraction who make noise and cause problems. Domestic terrorists. International terrorists.\u00c2\u00a0Same sh*t. Zero\u00c2\u00a0tolerance for extremism. We have our hands full with Ukraine against the Russians and may have spread ourselves too thin.\u00c2\u00a0It almost feels like the bad guys\u00c2\u00a0are starting to win the war here and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s infuriating and scary.<\/p>\n
Danny Jay<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Well of course you’re right. But I do have two minor comments.<\/p>\n
1) It’s not like the poor, and I do mean poor, Palestinians have really had a choice in elections. I don’t think elections (fair or not) have been held by Hamas in Gaza 2006. And in the West Bank, I think there’s not been an election since 2009.<\/p>\n
2) The failure of both Israeli intelligence and their military security at their Gaza border are failures of the government (duh).\u00c2\u00a0 Netanyahu cut the military budget to transfer money to the Orthodox Yeshivas in exchange for political support by the Orthodox parties to build his coalition and regain office.\u00c2\u00a0 The military itself I think is fine, it’s the politicians.\u00c2\u00a0 And, yes, the government did get lax at the Gaza border, lulled into complacency by Hamas inactivity (while they developed their plan and their arsenal) with Israel distracted by internal politics and policing the Jerusalem area.<\/p>\n
I’ve seen some ugly stuff online the past few days. Especially the theory that Netanyahu knew and did nothing because he wanted an excuse to go to war.\u00c2\u00a0 And, of course, that it’s Israel’s fault because it’s an apartheid state.<\/p>\n
FYI, I was winding down last Friday night, checking for late emails (Alice is on tour) and checking my Facebook when I got a Facebook message from an old school friend (7th\/8th grade in NYC), who moved to Israel after college to be a teacher there, 40+ years ago.\u00c2\u00a0 She said she was hearing way more rockets overhead than usual and she was worried something was very wrong.\u00c2\u00a0 She lives a bit northeast of Tel Aviv, not in the south.\u00c2\u00a0 I checked CNN right away. Nothing there. But obviously her instinct was right, as I found out early Saturday morning when I woke up.<\/p>\n
Toby Mamis<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Long time reader. \u00c2\u00a0Thanks for your article on the Hamas attacks. (Thanks for also mentioning Roger Waters. \u00c2\u00a0David Gilmour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wife said he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anti-Semitic to his rotten core\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I would think she knows.)<\/p>\n
Agreed that many people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to know the facts. \u00c2\u00a0Israel, of course, never wanted to control the Gaza Strip. \u00c2\u00a0As you noted, the UN supported a Jewish and Arab state, side by side in 1948. \u00c2\u00a0Jews said yes to the UN proposal; Arabs said no. Israel was created. \u00c2\u00a0Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
Then, in 1967, Israel was attacked by Arab countries. \u00c2\u00a0Israel gained territory, including the Gaza Strip. Israel gave 100% of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians in 2005. \u00c2\u00a0Hamas won elections in 2006. \u00c2\u00a0Missiles to Israel began soon after. \u00c2\u00a0In its charter, Hamas states its commitment to Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s destruction. \u00c2\u00a0Although many policymakers remained committed to the two-state solution for decades, with good intentions, how is that possible with a terrorist organization committed to Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s destruction?<\/p>\n
It is comforting that President Biden came out today with strong support for Israel. \u00c2\u00a0And many leaders from Europe, and Canada, have also been very supportive. \u00c2\u00a0Of course, rallies in support of Hamas in NY, and Sydney (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153gas the Jews\u00e2\u20ac\u009d?) are troubling. \u00c2\u00a0If these people rallying against Israel are criticizing Israelis just for being raped, tortured and killed, what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to happen around the world when Israel starts to fight back?<\/p>\n
33 student groups from Harvard, consistent with Iran, hold Israel solely responsible for Hamas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s carnage. Do people really want to give money to Harvard? \u00c2\u00a0One interesting development. \u00c2\u00a0In response to a similar statement by an NYU law student, the law firm that had made the student a job offer rescinded the offer. Good precedent.<\/p>\n
Perhaps something good can come of this tragedy, namely, the removal of Hamas from Gaza. \u00c2\u00a0It won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be easy, but it would hopefully be a first step toward a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Regards,
\nPhil Tretiak<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
As an atheist, raised Catholic, and after some research into my ancestry learned that in fact before the Inquisitions in the Iberian peninsula approximately 500 years (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a child of Portuguese immigrants) that I likely descended from Sephardic Jews(the options were convert, die, or leave, which explains why Spinoza and his family, as Portuguese Jews, escaped to the Netherlands), I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine the anti-Semitic bile that is coming your way in response to this newsletter. I lament the loss of Israeli life. I lament the loss of Palestinian life in Gaza and the Westbank, but just like there are progressive Israeli Jews constantly fighting against the authoritarian tendencies of the current right wing Israeli government, Palestinians need to throw off yolk that is Hamas. Because if they believe Hamas is their best chance at ending an occupation, they may learn that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153from the river to the sea\u00e2\u20ac\u009d may eventually happen, but not in the way they think.<\/p>\n
May cooler hearts eventually prevail in the Middle East, but honestly it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t appear it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to happen for quite some time now.<\/p>\n
Michael Moniz<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth mentioning that Jews represent less than 0.2% of the world population. Not even one percent<\/p>\n
Before the Holocaust, there were 19 million Jews in the world. Today there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about 16 million. Our population has still not recovered. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more saxophonists\u00c2\u00a0and squash players in the world than Jews.<\/p>\n
Iran welcome civilian casualties in Gaza. Their<\/p>\n
goal is to increase hatred of Israel in the Arab world to the point where Saudi Arabia pull out of the normalisation talks with Israel.<\/p>\n
Raphael Brous<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
I subscribe to your emails because I appreciate your opinions, whether I agree or disagree. It’s clear you enjoy the research, weighing the facts, and coming out the other side with an interesting critique, suggestion, or warning. That’s why it’s all the more upsetting that you wrote what you did about Israel. There’s a single sentence that shows you don’t know what you are talking about. You write:<\/p>\n
“Sure, innocent people will be killed in Gaza. But these are the same people who chose to be represented by Hamas.”<\/p>\n
This is simply not true, Bob. It’s a twist. Subtle misinformation. And it’s being used as an excuse to wipe out a people. The last election was in 2006, where some people voted, at a time when the country was largely divided. Hamas took control, or NPR reports, “violently took control.” Does that sound familiar? What that should make you think of is our dear young country, and January 6. Or the next election. Imagine if Trump managed to get elected again and the US didn’t have another election until 2040. Would you agree if someone said you chose MAGA to represent you?<\/p>\n
The point is: Hamas and Palestine are not one and the same.<\/p>\n
reference sample – NPR – Oct 10, 2023 -\u00c2\u00a0“Hamas won 2006 parliamentary elections and in 2007 violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.” Read the full article here:https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/10\/10\/1204826544\/hamas-israel-war-gaza-palestinian<\/p>\n
the words of Netanyahu (as reported in Haaretz):\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he told a meeting of his Likud party\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Knesset members in March 2019. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This is part of our strategy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0Read the full article here:\u00c2\u00a0https:\/\/archive.ph\/H8LSL#selection-1249.56-1249.65<\/p>\n
I’m curious to hear how you receive this, Bob; if you have a chance. I’m sure your inbox is packed.<\/p>\n
Warm regards,<\/p>\n
Peter Picard<\/p>\n
___________________________________<\/p>\n
Thank you for your measured words about Israel.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a terrible situation no matter how you slice it, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heartbreaking for the Israelis who did not invite this violence, and for the Palestinian civilians who do not want a part of this violence.<\/p>\n
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What can be said of Hamas that has not already been said?\u00c2\u00a0 It is barbarism, plain and simple.\u00c2\u00a0 What kind of a person cuts the head off an infant?\u00c2\u00a0 And sure, the usual suspects will go on about oppression and the stuff that happened in 1948\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6but those babies had nothing to do with anything that happened in 1948.\u00c2\u00a0 There is no justification for anything Hamas did, and shame on those who try to justify it.\u00c2\u00a0 What you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say, but what needs to be said, is that the PLO is incredibly corrupt and has failed to adequately represent the Palestinian people.\u00c2\u00a0 Its leaders have gotten fat off of the conflict, and as long as there is a conflict to exploit, people like Arafat and Abbas had no reason to pursue a true peaceful solution.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been said that the PLO takes in close to $2 billion a year.\u00c2\u00a0 Why has that money not gone toward improving the lives of the Palestinian people and securing a peace with Israel?\u00c2\u00a0 With that sad state of affairs, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s little wonder that some Palestinians sided with Hamas.<\/p>\n
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It is also my belief that Benjamin Netanyahu has failed Israel. \u00c2\u00a0His arrogance and hubris has damaged democracy in Israel and done great damage to Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s image on the world stage.\u00c2\u00a0 Netanyahu benefited politically from the presence of Hamas; they effectively functioned as a boogeyman that his party could point to to justify their political abuses.\u00c2\u00a0 Yitzhak Rabin understood decades ago that the solution to this conflict would not be a purely military one, and that a political solution needed to be found.\u00c2\u00a0 Netanyahu, in his arrogance, believed that he could wall in Gaza, bomb them occasionally, and everything would be all right.\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen how that turned out.\u00c2\u00a0 It is my hope that the events of the past few days will be the thing that causes the Israeli people to seek a better leader than Netanyahu, one who understands that the status quo cannot be sustained, and who will pursue a resolution to this conflict once and for all.<\/p>\n
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Take care,<\/p>\n
Wes R. Benash<\/p>\n
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Waking up to the jarring news of a massacre on the streets of Israel triggers a whirlwind of emotions. It’s the kind of shock that rattles you to your core. As I grapple with the details \u00e2\u20ac\u201c\u00c2\u00a0taking the phone of an elderly woman and recording themselves assassinating her along with posting the video on her Facebook page for her family and friends to see. Raping the dead bodies of Jewish teenagers on the streets of Gaza while thousands applauded and celebrated. Slaughtering 40 innocent babies, by decapitating them. Burning alive young girls and laughing with joy. The personal toll hits home. These are not just headlines; they’re stories of my neighbors, my friends, and my fellow citizens.<\/p>\n
Yet, what adds a bitter layer to this tragedy is the deafening silence from supposed allies. In moments like these, you expect solidarity, a shared sense of grief. Where are those with “I stand with Paris” profiles, adorned with French flags? Or the advocates of LGBTQ rights proudly displaying the rainbow flag? And what about those who’ve shown support for the Black Lives Matter movement on their social media? Where do they stand in the face of the single worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust? Instead, there’s a void that amplifies the pain.<\/p>\n
What perplexes me even more is the distant celebration of such profound loss. How can anyone rejoice in the face of innocent lives being snuffed out? It’s a disconnect that I find hard to fathom. Imagine seeing Americans cheering on ISIS crimes, or the 9-11 attacks?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The heartbreaking truth becomes evident: achieving peace is an elusive dream when confronted with such pervasive hatred. The choice becomes personal \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a decision between holding on to a vision of coexistence or prioritizing survival.<\/p>\n As I navigate through my complex emotions, the simplicity of the decision lingers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a stark reflection of the harsh reality we’re living. It’s not just a news story; it’s an experience that forces us to question the very essence of peace and unity.<\/p>\n Torn apart,<\/p>\n Amir Epstein | Resonant Management<\/p>\n ___________________________________<\/p>\n Good on you for saying something here Bob knowing all the hate you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get for it. People are too dumb to look at the history and too eager to find moral equivalence where it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist.\u00c2\u00a0 Not even the reports of babies beheaded by Hamas will stop the terrorist apologists citing a cycle of violence when the aggressor has always been clear to see.\u00c2\u00a0 Christian to Jew I stand with you.<\/p>\n From Andrew Harting<\/p>\n ___________________________________<\/p>\n Good point.\u00c2\u00a0 The land for the new Israel was carved out of arab land and it is true about the Palestinians refusing to give quarter.\u00c2\u00a0 The Egyptians or Jordanians could have easily offered up more land for them but they didn’t, thereby setting the stage for constant turf warfare.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the saying goes; there will be peace in the region when Hamas loves its’ children more than it hates Israel.<\/p>\n John Brodey<\/p>\n ___________________________________<\/p>\n Hi Bob, regarding this:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sure, innocent people will be killed in Gaza. But these are the same people who chose to be represented by Hamas\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n More than half the population of Gaza is under 18, which is the voting age. They didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t choose Hamas.<\/p>\n Slaughtering civilians is a war crime regardless of who does it or who anyone voted for.<\/p>\n John Mulkerin<\/p>\n ___________________________________<\/p>\n “But you probably don’t know the history anyway. How the Palestinians were offered their own country back in the forties and refused to accept it, because they insisted that the Jews not have their own country.”<\/p>\n I see. It’s their fault?\u00c2\u00a0 What the f*ck is this supposed to do? Because it ain’t helping, that is for sure. They were bigoted 80 years ago, so .. f*ck ’em?<\/p>\n Real nice Bob. Dog whistle much?<\/p>\n Bill Seipel<\/p>\n ___________________________________<\/p>\n See below:<\/p>\n Black Lives Matter Grassroots — BLM Grassroots (@blmgrassroots) October 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
Statement in #Solidarity<\/a> with the People of #Palestine<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/BgsQBAZdis<\/a><\/p>\n