I fucking hate Israel. They’re an abhorant infestation.
I would have said, “settler colonial state”. What that state is doing to the Palestinians will, in the lense of history, be seen as equivalent to what the United States did to the indigenous peoples.
“Infestation” is too close to fascist antisemitic tropes and while criticism of Israel is NOT automatically antisemitic, it can be.
Yeah, fair enough. I just didn’t want to call them a country. They’re invaders committing a slow genocide of the Palestinian people.
They’re straight up razing the region into the ground. How the fuck are governments okay with this wanton destruction of people’s lives and homes.
Because speaking out against Israel is very frequently (and maliciously) intentionally misconstrued as antisemitism to allow them to get away with crimes against humanity. It’s been this way for decades, it’s just a lot more open and obvious currently.
The Nazi regime was both the worst and the best thing that could happen to the Jews. It was absolutely horrific, but it’s given them a seemingly infinite get out of jail card.
It’s actually worse than that. For decades the media, politicians, and the Israeli government have deliberately conflated Israel, the country, with the Israeli government/leadership, the Israeli population, Judaism, the religion, and the Jewish community more broadly (including the diaspora).
So now any criticism of the Israeli government is a criticism of the country, the people, and the religion simultaneously, depending on what’s most convenient.
And there’s a few rather alarming types of political movements that deliberately blur the lines between the people, the state, and the leadership (and in this case the dominant religion) in order to minimize criticism and maximize loyalty…
Yes! Thank you for putting this out there. I always forget about that aspect of it, and I was actually just listening to an episode of Hood Politics (You wasn’t outside part 2) that went over this and had a really good set of clips from a rabbi that expounded on this very topic.
So Cartman was right they control the world.
Very nice, succinct example of exactly what I was talking about: by blurring the line between Judaism, the Jewish people, and the Israeli state, folks like you can paint any kind of criticism of Israeli government action, their supporters in media, or allied governments, as antisemitic, thereby shutting down reasonable discussion. Truly a thought terminating comment. Well done.
Such a clear attempt to stop or totally derail conversation. I’ve taken to just blocking these accounts, but that’s only good for me, not the wider community.
it’s a lot more complicated than that. You and I, and some governments care for civilian structures, but terrorists do not. That’s why they make their bases in the middle of populous areas.
It’s not complicated at all. Bombing a residential building is a terrorist act.
It doesn’t matter what you claim is hiding underneath.
How would you, enlightened Westerner, as Israel, have responded to the massacres?
Great question!
I would have held onto the moral high ground instead of instantly bombing civilians.
I would do everything I could to rescue the hostages, instead of ignoring them and bombing them.
I would negotiate with Palestinian leadership, offering them a path towards autonomy and freedom from their open air prison in return for handing over every single Hamas terrorist that attacked on Oct 7th.
Of course there is no magic solution. Even if we find the best possible course there will still be bloodshed and deep resentment. But with the current Israeli strategy, for every Hamas terrorist that they kill, they are creating 2 more to take their place.
Negotiating with terrorists typically does not end well. Once they realize that their methods are effective to get what they want, they will keep doing the same over and over until they ask for something that you can’t give them, and then you’ll look like the bad guy.
Sadly your comment could equally apply to both sides.
Except that is not what the poster you’re replying to said. The poster said, ‘negotiate with Palestinians to hand over Hamas responsible for 10/7’. That’s not ‘negotiating with Hamas’.
There was an ongoing peace process between Israel and the secular PLO with the Oslo Accords and then Israel stopped the process. Israel accelerated land grabs and illegal settlements, and actually PROMOTED Hamas. The PLO organizations had either pledged to not harm civilians or given up armed struggle altogether. But Israel said NO to land for peace and so why should Palestinians choose peaceful negotiations?
Who’s gonna hand them over? The government? Hamas are the government.
I would negotiate with Palestinian leadership, offering them a path towards autonomy and freedom
Israel and the UN tried that already. Hamas said no.
It doesn’t take a military strategist to know that this wasn’t the right response. Terrorism is an ideological threat, it cannot be defeated or “rooted out” by conventional weapons until you kill every last person who finds it worthwhile to fight for the ideology. Out of all of the diverse peoples of the world, you might expect that the Jews would understand the gruesome impracticality of that goal.
So terrorists slaughter hundreds of your innocents, crossing over two border walls, and your response is what?
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.
Really now? Your response is to turn the other cheek to civilians being gunned down on mass throughout your country?
Oh, silly harmless Hamas raping women to death, stealing international civilians and slaughtering them inside of their own homes–we won’t do anything in response but give you a stern talking to!
The IDF has its headquarters next to the largest hospital in Tel Aviv. Are they not also using civilians as hostages?
The headquarters are 400 metres away. And the IDF didn’t capture Hamas civilians.
Israel currently has thousands of Palestinians in internment camps and prisons. FOH lmao
Got any source for that at all?
It’s not okay, but their reasoning is:
We have to rescue out citizens who have been taken hostage.
To do that we will send in troops.
To make it safe for the troops we will level all existing structures.
Dead civilians aren’t our responsibility because they are not our people.
It’s ghoulish, if someone kidnapped a family and hid in the basement of my apartment, no one reasonable would support demolishing the building with people inside their homes to get at them.
Really weird to carpet bomb a country BEFORE doing anything about hostages that were taken there especially when the country is smaller than the state of Rhode Island by almost a factor of 10. Other countries have already gotten people freed, Israel was busy putting the hostages in danger.
Add on to that the REFUSAL TO ACCEPT HOSTAGES because “we don’t want your dirty bargaining chips (our citizens)”. Yeah, really fucking weird.
What they’re doing is criminal, but I was actually a little surprised that the destruction isn’t as complete as I expected. It’s harder to tell though because many of the before pictures are directly top down, so you can’t easily tell how tall buildings were in the before photos.
Tough pill to swallow: Don’t make tunnels under your house.
Tough pill to swallow: don’t use proximity shielding as an excuse to kill civilians in one of the most dense areas in the world.
After Hamas broke through and started murdering people, I swear people just expected Israel to take it? Not react? Not retaliate? Leave? I don’t understand what anyone expected here. Hamas wanted this and knew it would happen.
You realize Israel has been the aggressor for over 20 years, right? Palestine has finally gathered enough military resources to counter attack in retaliation. It’s self defense at this point
So you agree with the IDF in that targeting civilians is self defense?
Or are we playing pedantic games again where we try to rationalize bad things by wearing victimized status one moment while murdering children the next? Maybe the IDF and Hamas are both responsible. Hamas aren’t freedom fighters like my fellow lefties are making them out to be. They want a theonomic system. And they have one.
Well, if they wanna fight, they shouldn’t be complaining that Israel is doing their part in the game. If they wanted peace they could have had it decades ago.
I mean asymmetrical warfare is a messy affair. Hamas gets new recruits who are angered about their family and homes being destroyed. Big nations typically don’t win these kind of engagements in the modern era because at least to modern sensibilities we don’t really want to see pointless slaughter and genocide, this isn’t to advocate for it, quite far from it but historically typically you would have to be ruthless to subjugate people but thankfully modern sensibilities say that is pretty fucked. So really this will either end up another “forever” war or one of the sides will be wiped out entirely.
Since the Gazans are using their own children as human shields, what do you suggest the Israelis do instead?
Not committing war crimes is an option. Do you not understand that?
So, nothing? With a mind like yours we could solve this conflict once and for all. Gaza slaughtered innocent children. Doing nothing is an unreasonable expectation. One which you would never accept had your children been murdered. The terrorists must be brought to justice, and yet you want them to be left alone?
So, nothing? With a mind like yours we could solve this conflict once and for all.
Straight to petty little barbs? I guess I upset you.
Gaza slaughtered innocent children. Doing nothing is an unreasonable expectation.
Now do Israel, they have blood on their hands too. Do you think Hamas committed the atrocities they did for funsies? That you’re blind to this speaks more to your bias than your understanding of the history of this conflict.
One which you would never accept had your children been murdered.
You’re so close to figuring it out, keep going. I believe in you.
The terrorists must be brought to justice, and yet you want them to be left alone?
Did I say that? No I didn’t. You started with an ad hominem and ended with a straw man, all in the same paragraph. Nice work, champ.
You’ve had two opportunities how to suggest a better path, but the silence is deafening. It’s clear you don’t want the terrorists brought to justice.
You want me to single-handedly solve the Israeli-Palestine problem? Do you really think that’s some kind of “gotcha” moment? It’s not.
We could start with the Israelis ditching Netanyahu and electing a non-war criminal who is committed to a two state solution. That would be a good start.
Copying your own comments is lazy and comes off as if you don’t take them seriously.
I’d actually like to see someone answer the question, so it’s kind of sad.
Regular Gazans are not using their children as human shields. Hamas is using children as human shields.
Almost 70% of Gazans support armed attacks on Israeli civilians. Most Gazans are terrorists or terrorist supporters. Nothing “regular” about that. The majority of them are clearly either using children or support using children as human shields.
A mere 38% would vote for Hamas, and the “attacks against civilians” thing is phrased in a way that makes it meaningless. For one: What’s the motive? Is it genocidal rampage or “I want them to feel the pain they cause us?”
If you do a poll right now in Israel and ask “Are you in favour of the IDF’s actions in Gaza right now” you’d get very high support for attacks on civilians. See how that works?
All you’re doing there is say “The enemy is not human, they are animals, they do not deserve humanity”. That that very attitude, Israeli right-wing disregard for Palestinian humanity, made them the way they are is conveniently left out. You may not realise it but you’re using fascist logic.
All you’re doing there is say “The enemy is not human, they are animals, they do not deserve humanity”. That that very attitude, Israeli right-wing disregard for Palestinian humanity, made them the way they are is conveniently left out. You may not realise it but you’re using fascist logic.
I’m pretty sure you can find Kahanite documents saying essentially the same thing in the other direction. And do I have to remind you that there’s currently Kahanites in the Israeli government. You don’t get to complain about other people’s fascists before you deal with yours at home.
Also how are you still equating Palestinians at large and Hamas.
Not bomb the children. I think it’s pretty easy.
So, nothing? With a mind like yours we could solve this conflict once and for all. Gaza slaughtered innocent children. Doing nothing is an unreasonable expectation. One which you would never accept had your children been murdered. The terrorists must be brought to justice, and yet you want them to be given amnesty? It’s always the same with you terrorists sympathisers.
So, nothing?
Literally Israel can stop committing war crimes but somehow that is not a good enough solution for you. Gaza didn’t slaughter anyone, instead they had to say goodbye to thousands of civilians, in mass graves. Israel is starving and dehydrating them, allowing diseases to spread by ignoring every call for a ceasefire. Israel is committing a genocide. Israel is repeating the atrocities of the holocaust. Palestinians are now dying in the West Bank and in Israeli prisons by the blessing of the army and government, just as Jews were disappearing and being killed on the hands of Nazi Germany. They are being demonized and dehumanized just as Jews were. We need to learn from history. Never again includes Palestinians. This is not only me speaking, but countless Jews around the world and in Israel. Israel has done so much to shame pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist Jewish peace organizations. It has done all it can to discredit and punish Palestinians. The list is so long, torture and rape, apartheid, land grabbing, etc. Then Bibi himself helped Hamas prosper as an extremist organization to now get a green light for genocide. This is the madness this world is in now.
What you are suggesting is genocidal. You are calling a population of almost 50% children terrorists and rationalizing their daily murder of Palestinians.
Four opportunities now, and you’ve made it clear you want to protect the terrorists. You’re in the minority. They should be brought to justice.
I gave you enough time and thoughtful comments. I’m done playing the troll game. It’s clear that you just want to be right rather than consider another person’s viewpoint.
You’re in the minority
That ratio though.
At the very least they should be TRYING to limit civilian deaths. They’re clearly not doing that much, as is evident by their invasion of the west bank as well where Hamas ISN’T.
Also: https://online.anyflip.com/nuvqm/zrwp/mobile/index.html
AP report describing Israeli arrests of 480 Hamas members in the West Bank
Israeli reports are claiming most of those killed in the West Bank were engaging in active combat, and are known members of Hamas (or PIJ)
Liars are lying.
Israel keeps saying they’re going to do something then kind of scales it back. They kept knocking after they said they were going to stop, for example. No clue if they are now, but I expected a higher death toll considering population density.
Also, Hamas and IJ do have some presence in the West Bank. I have no clue how much Israel is focusing on that since media coverage is focused on Gaza, and, well, I don’t fucking trust anyone.
@JasSmith @snek @dingleberry your commentary is disgusting
Thanks for being so informative lol
@snek not you, Jas
The images show war crimes CNN. War crimes.
Let the Israeli children destroy their sand castles. I’m sure they’ll learn that it costs money to build more, eventually
The rebel incursions are a direct challenge to the authority and stability of the Empire. It’s crucial to respond decisively to such threats.
Can you elaborate on this please?
This is not the explanation you’re looking for
I think it’s a star wars quote from tarkin.
But “Israel has a right to defend itself”.
I love that statement has no limits.
I love how nobody ever provides viable alternatives.
Yep, zero proposals, other than whining that “IDF should do MORE to avoid collateral damage”…
Maybe if the Palestinians had a bit more land, the IDF would be able to target one house, rather than a whole 6 floor apartment building…
OR, if they were under IDF control, the police could just enter and arrest the insurgents, similar to how they handle it in West bank… So maybe the 2005 disengagement was a mistake afterall…
many people have proposed several extremely viable alternatives but Israel doesn’t like them and the western imperial countries don’t like them either because it would make weird zionist settling very difficult and they want Israel to have control of the entire region because ironically they think it’s going to help them win friends and influence people in the arab world
many people have proposed several extremely viable alternatives
This discussion would be so much better if you people would just stop DODGING THE QUESTION.
Palestinian statehood like the PLO have been pushing for? that’s an obvious one. they’ve already got a prime minister and a president and everything, and they oppose hamas.
or they could tear down the stupid walls and give Palestinians the same rights as Israeli citizens? this one seems obvious enough that I kinda feel stupid typing it out.
How exactly does any of that help to get rid of Hamas?
you cannot be helped
well people did, it’s mainly Israeli government that demands the ability to genocide whenever they feel like it, at this point.
solution: stop occupying west bank/Gaza, let the PA actually work to police in Gaza, stop randomly killing Palestinians, stop cutting off their water, allow them to rebuild their own power plant, etc…
The last time someone got close to a viable alternative, Israeli fascists lead by Benjamin Netanyahu assassinated him
There was a map somewhere that showed all of Gaza and indicated damage and destroyed - they seem to be focussing on destroying various small(ish) areas pretty much to the ground.
I assume they have intel on tunnel complexes there, or just want to be able to flatten enough to have ‘safe’ areas inside Gaza?
It’s definitely a Russia style invasion style they are going for, not caring about collateral damage at all…
Edit: I can’t find the image so I don’t know if it was actually reliable
I think you’re referring to this Economist article which tracks the difference between October 6th and October 12th.
Not the exact map, but definitely showing the same thing (and a reputable source).
It is a huge amount of damage, but it is relatively contained (for now). I can’t imagine you would feel safe in one of the undamaged areas though.
