Copyeditor thinks this sentence needs a tweak: "But we must also be careful *not* to conflate legitimate political protest against the Israeli government or against groups like Hamas *with* hate speech."
Thank you again, David for this chilling analysis. I have two more questions: when are world leaders/governments going to listen to people like you, and when is killing not going to be the first option?
A terrific analysis, David. The unending crisis in the Middle East was a part of my undergraduate work and a big part of my graduate work. My master’s thesis was about Lebanon’s Byzantine political system. I have all of these questions and more. One that occupies me is when will Israel finally complete its stated objective of clearing out Hezbollah? Or is there some unstated objective the occupation of Lebanon up to and including the Litani River. Would the world stand by and let this happen?
I'm not 100% convinced there wasn't a provocation by Dear Bibi. Like the WMD - another leader willing to sacrifice his own people for political and strategic advantage. I've seen the ads for the Nova rave: drugs, sex and rock'n'roll right on the border with Gaza. Why there? Why poke bare breasts and screaming guitars in the eyes and ears of a conservative Muslim population? The horrible Hamas response was 100% wrong - of course. But, the organizers - or Bibi - need to answer: WHY THERE? WHY THEN? WHY PROVOKE? I wouldn't question a rational leader - BIBI IS NOT RATIONAL. SOMEHOW BIBI IS COMPLICIT IN AN ACT TO RE-ELECT DONALDT DRUMPF. OR WORSE.
Thank you for such a well written, deeply thoughtful text on this horrific day.
When I lived in Israel, each year in May, on the Holocaust remembrance day the sirens would sound in the entire country and everyone would stop what they were doing and stand up and stand still to recall and respect those who were murdered by the Nazi regime.
There is only one common denominator between the Holocaust and October 7 2023 massacre: the brutal, bestialic slaughter of innocents.
The European Jews were truly innocent, victims of nothing but their ethnicity and religion.
The civilians murdered last year in Israel were for the most part, the most peace yearning citizens of Israel, opposed to Netanyahu, many having worked hard for most of their adult lives to live in peace and community with their Palestinian neighbors.
But as opposed to the holocaust, last year’s attack was literally invited upon Israel, by the fascist Netanyahu regime.
Decades of oppression and war and death.
Psychopathological arrogance and denigration of all opposed to him, the belief that only brutal force is the answer, and the horrific conviction of the supremacy of the Jews.
As long as the messianic theocratic fascists remain in power - and i do not see any chance for any change in the near or distant future - the situation will only worsen. Much much worse than we can imagine.
Just as Yahya Sinwar declared years ago, that sacrificing the lives of innocent Palestinians was the right thing to do in the holy war of the Islamists, Netanyahu and his fascist cohort are ABSOLUTELY and without any hesitation willing to sacrifice each and all hostages, and an unlimited number of soldiers to remain in power.
As long as the free flow of arms and money go to Israel (except for the air defence system rockets), Netanyahu will only enhance his going-rogue. And then some.
Very thoughtful and important questions. How do we get these in front of the people we have elected to deal with this situation. Are they already grappling with these questions or ones similar? The indiscriminate killing of innocent citizens especially children breaks my heart.
Netanyahu will never provide answers, and one of the main goals of staying in power is so the likelihood of an investigative commission will lessen with time. As it is, it is unfathomable that he is not only still in power, but scoring higher in the polls with each passing day.
There has already been much investigation done and much revealed in the premath to 10/7, mostly done by investigative journalists and some minor military commissions. And Netanyahu has railed and denounced each and everyone of them
Nutandyahoo and Drumpf, desperate brothers piling crime upon crime in failing attempts to stay in power - so they won't spend the rest of their lives in jail.
- Was the drug-laced, rock-n-roll Nova Rave ON the Gaza border PLANNED by Nutandyahoo to provoke neighboring conservative Gazans in order to create enough chaos to put Drumpf back in office, thus saving Bibi's government??
- Check out the maps of the recent Mediterranean natural gas discoveries. The rich gas fields are clearly within Gazan offshore borders.
- Once Bibi eliminates the Gazans, Trump's big energy donors will move in to develop the lucrative gas fields.
- Bibi will be thrown under the bus when Jared's Saudi-funded development firm fills the Gaza seaside with waterfront properties. Muslims conquered Gaza in 637 AD. Saudi Arabia just wants their land back.
I know he will never answer questions himself, but I would love to get them from him if I could. So much deceit. It is chilling to think he could have put his own people in danger by ignoring warning signs of Oct. 7, and by funding Hamas for years. His strikes on Lebanese tech products really makes me wonder about the supposed necessity for so much killing in Gaza. Destroying the entirety of the Palestinian land there with no remaining infrastructure, etc. pretty much guarantees no near-term two state solution. Taking out terrorists is a legitimate enterprise, but more than that…And you end up creating hundreds upon hundreds of people who will now grow up to hate you.
I understand Israel’s feelings of vulnerability. It seems to me that the incursions into the West Bank and so on are doing more to stir the hornets’ nest than gaining safety. After all the land is not Israel’s. But perhaps they think it has topographic features that would make it an important asset? I just don’t know how much land it would take before they felt safe.
I wholly believe in Israel’s right to exist. Having studied Russia and WWII for decades the case does not need to be made. It was obviously a diplomatic bungle to set them in the middle of Palestine. But the fault lies with others, not the Jewish settlers. Being an overly empathic person, I am pained by all the killing and torture. I can’t understand why the Mossad did not use its highly effective methods to take out Hamas before or after October 7. I suppose only a few know the answers to all this and they sit in Neranyahu’s cabinet.
Mossad Does NOT EQUAL SuperPower. Human INTEL should first and foremost be understood to NOT EQUAL WISDOM. INTEL is what a properly functioning "WE" could do. WISDOM is knowing what we SHOULD\SHOULD NOT do.
That Bibi and his political base can ever untether themselves from the privileges of CRONYOCRACY is no more likely than bid-net men\women like the Trumps taking the time and expending the disciplined energy over time to consider the PUBLIC INTEREST ahead of their own angling for what they figure their PRIVATE INTEREST can maximize.
We shouldn't go looking for any SAINTED SOULS to lead US. Would be necessary and sufficient though to find the OPTIMIZERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST and who have a track record of NOT MAXIMIZING THEIR PRIVATE INTEREST over the endless and rarely PERSONALLY rewarding tasks of OPTIMIZING A PUBLIC INTEREST where the benefits keep flowing communally from generation to SLOW LEARNER generation on a re-generating hospitable orbiting ting ting spinning atmospherically blessed rock we can call home.
May our Maker help us and the rest of Creation know the difference and provide inner eye-lids that can bare the marathon squinting and sleep-deprived parsing that comes from those all-night wrestling matches with our better angels. T'ain't no shortcuts to Jacob becoming Israel nor to Israel stepping outside of our own diaspora's self-delusions & eternal Checks & Balances on the limits of mytho-poetics. Or, MitchoPoetics, insert TradeMark symbol....
Gmar chatimah tovah and Compassionate Mercy as only a TRUE MAKER can summon on this maddening spinning and swirling universal orb made of dust and sure to return to same as are we all............
This is so complicated and recommend two books to help is arrive at creating a future that recognizes the humanity of all involved. The books — The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Nexus by Yuvel Noah Harari or you can listen to Trevor Noah’s podcast interview with Yuvel.
I have heard Mr Coates on several interviews he gave to the media, and I was horrified by his lack of knowledge about the history of the region and his choice to a very one sided interpretation. And I am saying this as a fervent opponent of the Netanyahu regime and the current war.
I so appreciate and respect your thoughts on this, which is one of the reasons I’m so hesitant to say anything, the history and deeply felt perspectives are so varied. That being said, it seemed to me that Ta-Nahisi Coates in his conversation with Fareed Zakaria on Sunday went to the region and researched the controversy without a pre disposition based on the history that would distort his interpretation of his conclusions. And what I appreciate about Yuvel Noah Harari in his podcast conversation with Trevor Noah is he said to”use history to help us determine what is and what could be. Don’t try to save the past, save the present and the future. You cannot bring back the people killed but people alive now will be dead if we don’t make the right decisions now.”
Only the US can save itself, Europe and Israel. It won't happen under Donald J Trump.
Copyeditor thinks this sentence needs a tweak: "But we must also be careful *not* to conflate legitimate political protest against the Israeli government or against groups like Hamas *with* hate speech."
Correct. Fixed.
Thank you again, David for this chilling analysis. I have two more questions: when are world leaders/governments going to listen to people like you, and when is killing not going to be the first option?
Your words are, again, what needs to be said. Thank you.
A terrific analysis, David. The unending crisis in the Middle East was a part of my undergraduate work and a big part of my graduate work. My master’s thesis was about Lebanon’s Byzantine political system. I have all of these questions and more. One that occupies me is when will Israel finally complete its stated objective of clearing out Hezbollah? Or is there some unstated objective the occupation of Lebanon up to and including the Litani River. Would the world stand by and let this happen?
Thank you for asking these very challenging questions.
I'm not 100% convinced there wasn't a provocation by Dear Bibi. Like the WMD - another leader willing to sacrifice his own people for political and strategic advantage. I've seen the ads for the Nova rave: drugs, sex and rock'n'roll right on the border with Gaza. Why there? Why poke bare breasts and screaming guitars in the eyes and ears of a conservative Muslim population? The horrible Hamas response was 100% wrong - of course. But, the organizers - or Bibi - need to answer: WHY THERE? WHY THEN? WHY PROVOKE? I wouldn't question a rational leader - BIBI IS NOT RATIONAL. SOMEHOW BIBI IS COMPLICIT IN AN ACT TO RE-ELECT DONALDT DRUMPF. OR WORSE.
I could write a whole essay in response.
Thank you for such a well written, deeply thoughtful text on this horrific day.
When I lived in Israel, each year in May, on the Holocaust remembrance day the sirens would sound in the entire country and everyone would stop what they were doing and stand up and stand still to recall and respect those who were murdered by the Nazi regime.
There is only one common denominator between the Holocaust and October 7 2023 massacre: the brutal, bestialic slaughter of innocents.
The European Jews were truly innocent, victims of nothing but their ethnicity and religion.
The civilians murdered last year in Israel were for the most part, the most peace yearning citizens of Israel, opposed to Netanyahu, many having worked hard for most of their adult lives to live in peace and community with their Palestinian neighbors.
But as opposed to the holocaust, last year’s attack was literally invited upon Israel, by the fascist Netanyahu regime.
Decades of oppression and war and death.
Psychopathological arrogance and denigration of all opposed to him, the belief that only brutal force is the answer, and the horrific conviction of the supremacy of the Jews.
As long as the messianic theocratic fascists remain in power - and i do not see any chance for any change in the near or distant future - the situation will only worsen. Much much worse than we can imagine.
Just as Yahya Sinwar declared years ago, that sacrificing the lives of innocent Palestinians was the right thing to do in the holy war of the Islamists, Netanyahu and his fascist cohort are ABSOLUTELY and without any hesitation willing to sacrifice each and all hostages, and an unlimited number of soldiers to remain in power.
As long as the free flow of arms and money go to Israel (except for the air defence system rockets), Netanyahu will only enhance his going-rogue. And then some.
the other side, there is no Good side, just ..the poor humans caught in the vicious demonic destruction of power and evil: https://rumble.com/v4l4oqw-october-7-was-an-inside-job-documentary-2024.html
Thank you for this, David. These are the core questions we need to be addressing and not avoiding.
Very thoughtful and important questions. How do we get these in front of the people we have elected to deal with this situation. Are they already grappling with these questions or ones similar? The indiscriminate killing of innocent citizens especially children breaks my heart.
Very balanced overview. I would love some answers from Netanyahu on several points.
Netanyahu will never provide answers, and one of the main goals of staying in power is so the likelihood of an investigative commission will lessen with time. As it is, it is unfathomable that he is not only still in power, but scoring higher in the polls with each passing day.
There has already been much investigation done and much revealed in the premath to 10/7, mostly done by investigative journalists and some minor military commissions. And Netanyahu has railed and denounced each and everyone of them
Nutandyahoo and Drumpf, desperate brothers piling crime upon crime in failing attempts to stay in power - so they won't spend the rest of their lives in jail.
- Was the drug-laced, rock-n-roll Nova Rave ON the Gaza border PLANNED by Nutandyahoo to provoke neighboring conservative Gazans in order to create enough chaos to put Drumpf back in office, thus saving Bibi's government??
- Check out the maps of the recent Mediterranean natural gas discoveries. The rich gas fields are clearly within Gazan offshore borders.
- Once Bibi eliminates the Gazans, Trump's big energy donors will move in to develop the lucrative gas fields.
- Bibi will be thrown under the bus when Jared's Saudi-funded development firm fills the Gaza seaside with waterfront properties. Muslims conquered Gaza in 637 AD. Saudi Arabia just wants their land back.
I know he will never answer questions himself, but I would love to get them from him if I could. So much deceit. It is chilling to think he could have put his own people in danger by ignoring warning signs of Oct. 7, and by funding Hamas for years. His strikes on Lebanese tech products really makes me wonder about the supposed necessity for so much killing in Gaza. Destroying the entirety of the Palestinian land there with no remaining infrastructure, etc. pretty much guarantees no near-term two state solution. Taking out terrorists is a legitimate enterprise, but more than that…And you end up creating hundreds upon hundreds of people who will now grow up to hate you.
Absolutely agree with you. In over 75 years of Israel’s existence only one truth holds: war begets war.
I understand Israel’s feelings of vulnerability. It seems to me that the incursions into the West Bank and so on are doing more to stir the hornets’ nest than gaining safety. After all the land is not Israel’s. But perhaps they think it has topographic features that would make it an important asset? I just don’t know how much land it would take before they felt safe.
I wholly believe in Israel’s right to exist. Having studied Russia and WWII for decades the case does not need to be made. It was obviously a diplomatic bungle to set them in the middle of Palestine. But the fault lies with others, not the Jewish settlers. Being an overly empathic person, I am pained by all the killing and torture. I can’t understand why the Mossad did not use its highly effective methods to take out Hamas before or after October 7. I suppose only a few know the answers to all this and they sit in Neranyahu’s cabinet.
Simple: Blame the Brits. They gave Palestine to Israel after the war.
Mossad Does NOT EQUAL SuperPower. Human INTEL should first and foremost be understood to NOT EQUAL WISDOM. INTEL is what a properly functioning "WE" could do. WISDOM is knowing what we SHOULD\SHOULD NOT do.
That Bibi and his political base can ever untether themselves from the privileges of CRONYOCRACY is no more likely than bid-net men\women like the Trumps taking the time and expending the disciplined energy over time to consider the PUBLIC INTEREST ahead of their own angling for what they figure their PRIVATE INTEREST can maximize.
We shouldn't go looking for any SAINTED SOULS to lead US. Would be necessary and sufficient though to find the OPTIMIZERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST and who have a track record of NOT MAXIMIZING THEIR PRIVATE INTEREST over the endless and rarely PERSONALLY rewarding tasks of OPTIMIZING A PUBLIC INTEREST where the benefits keep flowing communally from generation to SLOW LEARNER generation on a re-generating hospitable orbiting ting ting spinning atmospherically blessed rock we can call home.
May our Maker help us and the rest of Creation know the difference and provide inner eye-lids that can bare the marathon squinting and sleep-deprived parsing that comes from those all-night wrestling matches with our better angels. T'ain't no shortcuts to Jacob becoming Israel nor to Israel stepping outside of our own diaspora's self-delusions & eternal Checks & Balances on the limits of mytho-poetics. Or, MitchoPoetics, insert TradeMark symbol....
Gmar chatimah tovah and Compassionate Mercy as only a TRUE MAKER can summon on this maddening spinning and swirling universal orb made of dust and sure to return to same as are we all............
Tio Mitchito
Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers
Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of Atonement Seekers)
Media Discussion List\Looksee
All great questions that many of us have asked. Unfortunately, a lot MORE people need to ask these questions before anyone takes action.
This is so complicated and recommend two books to help is arrive at creating a future that recognizes the humanity of all involved. The books — The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Nexus by Yuvel Noah Harari or you can listen to Trevor Noah’s podcast interview with Yuvel.
I have heard Mr Coates on several interviews he gave to the media, and I was horrified by his lack of knowledge about the history of the region and his choice to a very one sided interpretation. And I am saying this as a fervent opponent of the Netanyahu regime and the current war.
I so appreciate and respect your thoughts on this, which is one of the reasons I’m so hesitant to say anything, the history and deeply felt perspectives are so varied. That being said, it seemed to me that Ta-Nahisi Coates in his conversation with Fareed Zakaria on Sunday went to the region and researched the controversy without a pre disposition based on the history that would distort his interpretation of his conclusions. And what I appreciate about Yuvel Noah Harari in his podcast conversation with Trevor Noah is he said to”use history to help us determine what is and what could be. Don’t try to save the past, save the present and the future. You cannot bring back the people killed but people alive now will be dead if we don’t make the right decisions now.”