Whatever President Biden’s motives are for finally stopping the flow of arms to kill more innocent people in this conflict, he is abiding by US regulations. Whether it has the intended effect of bringing about peace, it is too early to tell. He is at least trying!
Well said. As someone who knows the Middle East extremely well, it is usually painful to hear most Americans think they know what they are talking about re: layers & nuance.
Unfortunately, 34,000 dead Palestinians will no longer be able to appreciate layers and nuance. Bullets, bombs, and artillery shells do that to a person.
Hey Roger, neither will the innocent young Jewish women taken from a musical festival on 10/7, tortured and raped, or the babies piled up dead and burned or the hostages kidnapped by your freedom fighters Hamas.
Roger you are parroting Hamas numbers. Were the A bombs dropped on Japan Truman's instruments of death? was Shock and Awe in Iraq, Bush;s instrument of death? Was the napalm dropped on Nam JFK 's instrument of death?
IDF are Israel's defense force. They didn't have them in WWII when 6 million innocent Jews were killed by Nazis. Netanyahu is not going to let that real genocide happen, "never , never , again. So your answer is yes, they are my instruments of death against terrorists you support that deny my right to exist, again.
War and genocide are like that, yes they are... Still a bad idea all around for both sides of any conflict. Fortunately, there is a better solution. See my Comment.
Israel is not committing genocide. they are defending themselves and their right to exist. what don't you get about they were invaded by Hamas, and innocent Jewish young women were tortured then raped, babies were slaughtered and burned and innocents were taken as hostages? what don't you get about Hamas using their own people as human shields and inflating the numbers claimed as collateral damage? what don't you get about Israel warning people to evacuate where they are bombing? what don't you get about Israel sending in humanitarian aid and supplies? What don't you get about Israel giving up Gaza in 2005 as a peace gesture and it's population growing to 2.5 million? This is not genocide by any definition.
Hey Roger, when I read your despicable comment I picture this, a group of Hamas leaders hiding in a tunnel under a hospital in Rafah eating Humanitarian supplies sent by Israel meant to go to their so called "innocent " Palestinians serving as their human shields. They are laughing while reading your comment on their PCs and are in view of the 10/7 hostages in cages . "We are winning, here is some clueless American, Roger, all in on our lies and propaganda calling Israel's attempts to defend itself, "genocide". "Lets put out another updated release from our ministries that another 5,000 children were just found under the rubble." Maybe we'll win over some more Rogers.
Dan, expanding on your excellent piece, I'd like to start with the "founding" of Israel. In 1947-48, following WWII and the Holocaust, Great Britain withdrew its strict militrary occupation of Paloestine and encouraged Holocaust survivors in Europe to establish a "Jewish State" in Palestine
No surprise that the "founding" of Israel was violent, not peaceful, as heavily armed European Zionist Jews stormed into Palestine, massicreing and destroying more than 400 cities and villages, forcing at gunpoint 750,000 Palestinians out of their homes and from their own sovereign nation, with no right of return. Hence, the beginning of Zionist Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestine's indegenous population, the Palestinians.
Consequently, British military occupation was replaced with European Zionist military occupation. History recorded that the European Zionists saw Palestine as "a land without a people for a people (the Zionists) without a land." This obviously was a false premise! Palestine at that time had a developed econimy, schools, universities, health care, infrastructure and public transportation, including railroads, and was a hub for Middle East trade.
And yes, there was no peace between the invading European Zionists and Palestinians, as the European Zionists believed (and many still do) they were returning home, to their "God-given promised land," after 2,000 years in diespora.
The UN "partitioned" Palestine, providing a portion of Palestine for Israel and the balance deemed the "Palestinian Terrorities." Following a war in 1967, Zionist Israel confiscated a larger portion of Palestine and placed what little remained of Palestine under strict and brutal apatheid/racist military occupation. And so it is to this day, including Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem. Gaza population is 2.3 million Palestinian refugees within a narrow strip only 5 miles wide and about 20 miles long. Gaza has come to be known as an "open air prison" and a "concentration camp."
Zionist Israel had already established "settlements" in Gaza. But, after Hamas (ironically supported by Zionist Israel) won election to govern Gaza, these "settlements" were withdrawn and Gaza placed under siege and blockade by Zionist Israel's Defense Force (IDF). Zionist Israel controlled who was permited to enter or leave Gaza, as well as foods, medicines, water, electricity and building materials. The IDF also attacked and bombed Gaza several times prior to October 7, 2023. The Zionists called it "mowing the grass," a eu·phe·mism for ethnic cleansing.
Hamas became Palestine's only resistance force, resistance against Zionist Israel's brutal, apartheid/racist, dehumanizing, ethnic cleansing, neo-fascist Zionist regime.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas's 30,000 strong resistance force invaded Zionist Israel, killing 1,200 Zionists and IDF troops and returning to Gaza with 240 Zionist captives to bargain for release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Zionist Israel's prisons, including hundreds of children held without charge or trial.
Zionist Israel wasted no time in retaliating in its war on Gaza, now in its seventh month. Zionist Israel's IDF has massacred more than 40,000, wounded more than 76,000 (and counting) Gazans, destroyed/damaged 70 percent of Gaza homes and destroyed infrastructure, including UN facilities for providing humanitarian needs, schools, universities, health care system, water, electricity, sewage etc.
The Zionist Regime and its IDF ordered Gaza inhabitants to move to Rafah City in South Gaza on the border with Egypt, where 1.4 million Gazans are living in tents and scant housing. And now the Zionist regime forces are preparing a fullscale attack on Rafah to destroy the last of Hamas resistance forces.
However, over the past seven months, most of the world have called for an immediate ceasefire, isolating both the US and the Zionist Israel in negative opinion; the International Criminal Court has charged Zionist Israel with "plausable genocide" in Gaza, and students at hundreds of US and European universities are protesting Zionist Israel's war on Gaza and an end to its genocidal, racist, ethnic cleansing, neo-fascist military occupation of Palestine. Zionists and pro-Zionists were quick to charge "anti-Semitism." However, many of these protesting students are Jewish, joining in the demand for ceasefire in the genocidal war on Gaza and an end to the Zionist regime's occupation of Palestine. The cry heard on these campuses and on city street marches worldwide: FREE FREE PALESTINE! FREE FREE PALESTINE! FREE FREE PALESTINE!
Hey Jim, this is about 100% pure radical Islamist, Hamas and terrorist bullshit. It is the most dishonest Hamas fairy tale I've yet to see in writing. But I'm sure it is straight out of Hamas' we hate Jews and Israel has no right to exist history taught in Gaza since 2007 when Hamas took over Gaza ( which was given to so called Palestinians as a peace gesture) and Hamas turned it into a military shithole base for attacks on Israel.
There was no Palestine state when the land was divided up to Israel and the Arab tribes on the land. There were not that many Jews in Eastern Europe left after the Holocaust (or do you deny that reality as well). Certainly not enough or well armed enough to drive your Arabs out of the land Israel was given by UN. Your Arabs refused the division and rejected the offer of their own land and tried to keep Israels land. Israel won and kept it's land.. In 1967 Israel defended itself again in a war against 6 Arab states and they won. after the war they acquired Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. Just like America acquired California, Texas, parts of New Mexico etc after defeating Mexico in wars. But nobody calls America occupiers or colonizers of California etc. After losing the war in 67, the Arabs formed a terrorist group called the PLO and they gave all the refugee Arabs from their lost war the name Palestinians and they started a campaign to try to get back the land Israel acquired and to call it Palestine. The PLO and offshoots the PLA and especially Iran backed Hamas have rejected every piece offer for their own state since 67 and there have been many. The reason is they want Israel's land.
Because Israel formed a democratic state for Jews out of a desert that became the wonder of the world and still is. 20% of Israel's citizens are Arabs with more equal rights than they would have in any other middle eastern territory or state. Israel has given the world more discoveries and products in technology, health, science, business, education, equal rights, and lawful and peaceful values than all of the middle eastern states combined. Plus more Nobel Prize winners. They are Americas best ally and the envy of every Middle eastern country.
There are so many other lies in your bullshit pro Hamas history it is laughable if it wasn't so dangerous supporting ongoing terrorism. Israel never supported Hamas in 2007 when they won an election by intimidation over a more moderate terrorist, Abbas and the PLA.
I could go on and on about your lies, but the irrefutable undeniable truth about Hamas and Israel is there could have been a separate state in 2007 and up until Oct 7 of last year, any time Hamas agreed in writing Israel's right to exist and stopped wasting aid money on arms, rockets and tunnels to attack Israel and agreed to lay down their arms and live peacefully as a neighbor of Israel.
When a economically thriving Gaza was turned over in 2005 to the Arab refugees NOBODY ELSE IN THE MIDDLE EAST WANTED, had Hamas decided to build schools, hospitals, and factories instead of attack tunnels they could have had a peaceful solution. You know this. If you don't you are so hateful and brainwashed you might as well join Hamas as a another Jew hater.
Dear Alan, you sadly have an issue with Islam. Discrimination emerges in many forms. My Jewish grandson could enlighten you on that human frailty. We also have an adopted dranddaughter living in Gaza. She is a journalist and has an 18-month old daughter. We communicate almost daily, so I may be a bit up on the news than you may be. She is a brilliant young lady and writes well. But she and her little girl are now living in a tent, after losing her husband and home in the bombing several months ago. Indeed, Alan, I know fairly well both sides of issues involving Palestine and Zionist Israel. I would urge you to research these matters for yourself. Wishing you all the best!
What's the depth of reading through Graham Stoker and Bram Stoker in your lifetime, and have you visited Hungary to get a real idea of his background of writings?
All these efforts have taken throughout decades to plant some naked European thugs in the heart of Middle East Palestine) to make - Ethiopian slaves (Egyptians didn't bring slaves from incurable diseases ridden Europe, but from Ethiopia to carry out their gigantic building projects) white people. Also, control the Middle East through suppression and thuggery!
Gee, I have a 1990 degree in International Relations with Middle East focus, & the only comment I made was about Netanyahu. Funny how black & white thinking causes one to extrapolate out protecting a criminal con man. Obviously, Hamas is not part of the solution either, but you sound like someone saying the solution is more of the same.
I have a degree from UT as does my husband and one son who makes more money now than you can ever hope for. There's the Baylor and Tech and CMU graduates too.
A degree in what? Manichaeism Studies. Standard narcissist is to equate wealth with intelligence or knowledge, when the opposite is proven every day. You are a clown. This thread is going no where. Be quiet or be blocked. Your choice. However, since narcissists always need to have the last word, everyone will see you prove me right or have the pleasure of the end of your close-minded toxicity. Win-win. I know, that's another concept you do not grasp. buh bye!
So you’re OK with Israel killing 34,000 and injuring 75,000 innocent civilians because of what happened on October 7? And using food as a weapon against humanity. Caring for other human beings has nothing to do with being an antisemite.
How is it that you don’t point the finger at Hamas for putting its civilians in harms way, and for hiding in tunnels underneath hospitals and homes where they know that innocent civilians will die? What do you expect Israel to do when Hamas’ goal is to annihilate the Jewish State? Hamas is thrilled that Israel is the target; that was their strategy all along and you play into their hands. If someone was living next to you that called for you and your family’s destruction, would you not do whatever you had to do to protect your family?
And Zionists who are not even Semitic people (DNA proof) and are riding on Judaism and condemning Jews for not following their genocide and you think your mystical god delivered you to a desk that was brokered in 1879 when Zionists invented themselves!
I know the IDF targeted and killed aide workers who got clearance and were still MURDERED! You show your ignorance by your blind acceptance of Bibi’s lies. THIS is why the free world is pulling away from Israel.
I've read that in reality the majority of Palestinians don't like Hamas and would prefer better government (if you want to call it that). Just take one look at how and where their leaders live their lives, and the results of what they've done with their power.
What would be the source of that poll? Pollsters walking around Gaza collecting thoughts? Hamas? And you and I have agreed that the people of Gaza can't speak freely against Hamas. They blame Hamas and Israel for their current predicament
You are just attacking a ton of people in this comment section with an excessively aggressive tone. You are making it a hostile place rather than a safe space for honest, nuanced, and difficult conversations. And I absolutely hate how the cruel position you hold is defining the jewish response to this crisis.
What is the "past" is dependent on who the speaker is. I could say that October 7th is the past and the only thing of importance is the current bombardment of Gaza. I prefer Mr Rather's interpretation of what is important in the history of the current problem, which is that it is confusing. How far back do you want to go? A few months? A few years? A few decades or a few centuries? I agree that the attack on Gaza has to stop, but I also think there are no easy questions or answers.
Wow you are ignorant. Palestine has existed for centuries. Just not as a country. Next you are going to say there is no Kurdistan and it never existed. I feel a block of a moronic troll coming on. Keep revealing yourself.
In '67 a Palestinian Presbyterian pastor, (the natural outcome of the Presbyterian Church's work in that part of the Mideast) and I talked about his grandfather's experience in 1948, when Israel was established. He was forced off his land which he'd farmed with his father and the father before that. In that 20 years, '48 - '68, the hatred still fueled my colleague to the point he refused to read from the book of Hebrews lest he say the name of those hated people who took over his family's heritage, land.
Agree but Netanyahu is more than a narcissist. He is a murderous criminal and will be charged with war crimes. He has cynically used the Oct 7 atrocity as an excuse to conduct a genocidal ethnic cleansing and land grab. Some even suggest he and his right wing coalition were complicit in the Oct 7 attack. I don't know but I do know that he is desperate to stay in power.
Agreed. Netanyahu has been an obstacle to true peace and a real solution all along. He, for all his suits and veneer of statesmanship, is a "strongman" type of leader. His personal leanings are far to the right, and he would burn it all to the ground before he will give up power and dominance. Sound familiar? They are brothers in this. I am pretty sure he would have found a reason or way to torpedo any big deal between the three world players which did not bend to his wishes. His major support for years within Israel has been the ultra-orthodox faction, but their older leaders are slowly waning in influence. His standing among the general population appears to have been waning before the Hamas attack, and that has accelerated as he has refused to do anything to get the hostages released in favor of obliterating Hamas - and as many Palestinians as possible in Gaza.
I grew up in an area which was roughly 3/4 Jewish and 1/4 Catholic - and we were neither. I have supported Jews and Israel from childhood until recently. I know their story - not the political one, the one told by families about their families and history. I am deeply empathetic. However, Netanyahu's belligerence and the actions in Gaza show a deeply troubling picture, one which I cannot believe my childhood friends could support. Israel is beginning to look like it's own oppressors - creating "ghettos" in the West Bank and Gaza, cramming all the Palestinians into both as possible, making their oppression and imprisonment there state policy. Making it easy to kill them wholesale while searching for Hamas terrorists. It's an ugly look, and it appears that not much but bloodlust is driving Netanyahu to HIS idea of a final solution.
I find it all sickening and highly troubling, my alliance with the Jewish people frayed and things far beyond my control tearing at my thinking. I understand why the Israelis are defiant and determined not to give up the land they turned from desert to prosperity and safety, but I cannot condone how near they are drawing to the horrors of their own past - this time as the bad guys. I weep for them, and hope Biden can help them draw back from the brink, jettisoning Natanyahu in the process. They deserve better.
My goodness, what an ugly ad hominem attack. You know nothing about me, and yet you resent my opinions and experience so greatly you have to shout personal insults? But I'll try to reach you through reason, futile though that looks to be.
First, "Strongman" in the mold of Idi Amin, Kim Jong Un, Papa Doc Duvalier and his Tontons Macoutes and such. And yes, Hamas is nothing but a terrorist mob, devoted to hatred and murder of all Jews, regardless of whether it leads to a Palestinian state or not (which, of course, it would not.) They have no real political presence, and were "elected" to rule Gaza practically by default. The Palestinians who remained in Gaza are as terrorized by Hamas as anyone, but they have no choice in leadership any more - they have been reduced to the level of just trying to maintain their existence - i.e. obtaining clean water, food and shelter. I do not support Hamas in any way - their obliteration, in my mind, is as desirable as that of the Waffen SS was.
Netanyahu's entire political regime is based on not only taking a strong stand against the presence of ANY Palestinians in Israel, he has aggressively tried to push them away from Israel's borders. He has violated past agreements to allow Israeli Jews to seize the land and farms of families which have been there for over 100 years and throw them out, to build new settlements in lands which were accorded to the Arabs years ago, etc. His actions have exceeded anything reasonable, especially in the face of the fact that the Palestinians (NOT Hamas) have offered no resistance other than protesting being thrown out of their homes.
Netanyahu has spent his entire adult life trying to amass power and prestige, and he is not about to give them up. The Palestinians are his whipping boy, just as the Jews were Europe's whipping boy for uncounted generations. If Hamas did not exist, he would find some other excuse - he needs an enemy in order to make himself look powerful politically. He has been losing ground at home, as his tough approach to Gaza has not produced any desired effects - except, of course, for the deaths of thousands (at the very least) of unarmed men, women and children - easily avoidable civilian deaths.
Try to get it through your own thick prejudices - the Arabs left in Gaza have not been fantasizing about killing Jews, they have been scrambling to survive and keep their children alive. Netanyahu will have to answer for that some day.
Oh, poor Dan K... your arguments are so simplistic and clueless, you have to resort to nastiness and invective. Can you not present a reasoned argument without calling me names and trying to put me down? It does not make you look better, I do assure you. I think this is a waste of time, as are you. Endit.
Everyone—this is obviously a contentious issue and always has been. We appreciate your comments and while we encourage differing points of view, I ask that we be respectful of one another. Please, no name calling. Thank you.
Thank you for a fine article. I understand the evil of Hamas. But I also understand the innocent lives taken...and so many!! It must stop. Whatever it takes. My heart & prayers are with Pres. Biden. He has so much on his shoulders right now.
Go kill some innocent children and pregnant women giving birth. I detest Hamas but the IDF is showing themselves to be no better. You are blind to the truth.
Go peddle your ignorance somewhere else. Resorting to personal attack doesn't prove that you know what you're talking about; it just proves that you know how to be argumentative.
Those of any nationality who wish to rule with an iron hand, impose a police state, squelch all but propaganda broadcasts that support their extreme viewpoints, etc. must all be gone from power. Ordinary citizens everywhere want to work, be self-sufficient, raise their families, and have a decent life. It is the power/control hungry that have to spoil things for everyone else with their great egotistical imaginings. Too bad we can't seem to get beyond their kind....
Exactly, that is what Hamas has done to Gaza over the past 20 years. So terrible to have such little regard for human life. I believe that the West is severely limited in regards to its Middle Eastern policy and always has been. Why are there no government officials who speak Arabic? How is anyone supposed to create a policy while completely disregarding and disrespecting the region while also not speaking the language. During the Cold War this was unthinkable. Every agent in the field or in the Embassy had to have knowledge of the language of that country. The US has a tendency to condescend to its allies. Israel is holding up the wall, don’t be so shortsighted.
Dan, where, in my comment do you see an implication that I am pro Hamas? One can support the good, hard working, ordinary people on either "side". Hamas is, of course, among the extremists of which I speak. The ordinary Palestinians and Jewish people are not included. I am all in favor of removing Hamas from a free Palestinan state but there does need to be a free Palestinian state. There are extremists on each side.
I live in Dearborn, Michigan (largely Muslim) know many people from various Middle Eastern countries and the majority of them are quite ordinary people. You cannot lump all people of any group into one basket. We will have to agree to disagree.
Why is there such reticence to mention the continuous violence of the Jews in the West Bank? Jounalists who have been around for so long can’t obviate it because is exculpates Israel of at least a share of responsibility in Hamas’ violence. There have been more deaths by army backed settlers than those killed on Oct. 7 by Hamas. Why are media always trying to conceal them?
Thank you, Dan. We are all on the edge of our collective seats. Will the closing music be rash and loud, or, perhaps, soft and soothing. The script was written at the end of WWI and the carving up of the Ottoman empire. Read the Balfour Declaration again. In that script, the Palestinian people and the surviving European Jews are equal victims. The forces that made them so are still the root of the problem.
I remember that, but never read it. My history and poli-sci imersion was forty to sixty years ago. My piles of unread books are all important. but.... It's time to give them to the library book sale.
Richard Halliburton wandered all over that region in the early 1900s to 30s, I think. When I was a 10 year old, I read all his books. Facinating too.
Thank you for this. The possibility Biden can somehow forge a peace deal that also includes rebuilding at least a little of what people in Gaza have lost is heartening.
The situation, at best, is precarious. Making peace and establishing a two-state solution is nothing new. Bringing Israelis and Arab to the point of reconciliation is not new either. But is a dangerous proposition. The Camp David Accords cost Anwar Sadat his life. The agreements in Oslo cost Yitzhak Rabine his life. Both at the hands of their own countrymen. Yassir Arafat would not follow through with the Oslo agreements because he knew it would most likely end up with his demise. Ultra conservative forces on both sides will kill anyone and everyone who aligns the chess board with peace, prosperity, and a two-state solution. Biden takes a great risk in putting his hand into this caldron. Perhaps only God can find a way for peace in this part of the world? Man surely doesn’t seem to be able to do do.
My only question is which God will grant the peace? That's part of the problem that goes back centuries - the different people have a different God, and they haven't seemed to be very compatible.
Hebrews, Muslims, and Christians (monotheistic religions in the Middle East) share a common God. However, they are not willing to share much of anything else. Hard to imagine how disappointed God is in all three of these religions.
Thank you for this information, Mr. Rather. I wasn’t aware of the efforts to unite in lessening the power of Iran. I pray President Biden can work for the betterment of all countries involved and beyond.
May God be with him and others working for justice and peace despite the efforts of Hamas.
Biden is a White Hat, but in a nation where huge swaths of the population have slid into a real-time Idiocracy. This is unfortunate. Recent polls for an example show that the voting public sees no difference between Trump and Biden's stand on Climate Change. I am optimistic about the future, even if it involves splitting into different experiments as sub-nations. However, it seems prudent to prepare for some extreme times ahead before we get there. Hopefully we will all finally learn to take care of each other instead of exploiting each other like selfish Raptors. There's a lot at stake right now. A lot is riding on the choice we make: love or fear.
Dan….that was a most fine perspective on the situation in the Middle East. I remember when I was in high school, during the end of the 1960s, we students were all worried about the Vietnam War. One of my astute history teachers, constantly emphasized that Vietnam would be resolved shortly. She further strongly posited the Middle East was troubled area. That it was the powder keg that would keep exploding for decades upon decades. How prescient of her.
There are many theories why the war started 7 months ago. Yours is quite viable but there are some other disturbing thoughts…. “Bibi knew about and let it happen”. Hamas wanted it to happen so they could bring attention of their plight to eyes and hearts of the rest of the world. Whatever started it, it has to be fixed. Antony Blinken and CIA director, William Burns are trying their best. Bibi is not going to listen to anyone; he is interested in ending Hamas and most importantly saving himself ….sound like someone we know? And that is Joe Biden’s biggest issue. But he can reach younger people thru other issues; reproductive rights, climate change, the economy and saving democracy. And I don’t believe for one minute that these student protests are not about antisemitism. They are. Where were these students during the plight of Syria when Assad was murdering over 500,000 civilians and reducing cities and homes to dust and wood? And other parts of the world where genocide was surely the modus operandi.
If the situation is resolved quickly I’d be surprised. Netanyahu is making it very difficult. I don’t know who can thru to the brain matter in that head.
One has to be mortified knowing that innocent girls and women were brutally raped, killed, and kidnapped along with elders, men and women. Then there’s the young children, the babies who were burnt while sleeping in their cribs. I blame the IDF for their lackadaisical misstep in not monitoring the fence lines, which could’ve prevented these atrocities by young Hamas fighters. Bibi let his own people down. He let us down too because we have a few Americans who were taken hostage. We hear of the atrocities that these hostages have been through. Their aftermath will be many sessions with a mental health specialist(s). i am sad, mad, furious, and scared.
Fear of the 'other'. The Jews have always been different and until the 20th century, never had a homeland where they were the majority. The human race is more naturally prone to bullying than democracy.
I'm horrified by the loss of innocent lives in Gaza. I understand Israel wanting security from attacks from Hamas, but this has gotten out of hand. Netanyahu is a hard liner and bent on retribution. I pray for a ceasefire!
The single main obstacle for any agreement in the Middle East has a name: Benjamin Netanyahu. Nothing will advance until he is gone. He is the equivalent of the US Trump.
It is not only young people and Muslim people in the US that disagree with Biden's actions regarding the Middle East; they are joined by a considerable number of other voters of all ages (including myself). Reportedly, even his wife Jill begged him: "End it, Joe."
In a way, Biden is lucky to be running against Trump because, as much as I dislike his foreign policy, there is not a chance on Earth I would vote for someone else. But were Biden running against a reasonable GOP candidate, he would have already lost the election.
Yes, what Hamas did is inexcusable, cannot be pardoned, and needs to be addressed. But the indiscriminate killing of thousands of Gazans and the destruction of their territory is not an acceptable solution at all.
Narcissist Netanyahu finally being gone from power is a required step in any solutional direction.
Whatever President Biden’s motives are for finally stopping the flow of arms to kill more innocent people in this conflict, he is abiding by US regulations. Whether it has the intended effect of bringing about peace, it is too early to tell. He is at least trying!
Well said. As someone who knows the Middle East extremely well, it is usually painful to hear most Americans think they know what they are talking about re: layers & nuance.
Unfortunately, 34,000 dead Palestinians will no longer be able to appreciate layers and nuance. Bullets, bombs, and artillery shells do that to a person.
Hey Roger, neither will the innocent young Jewish women taken from a musical festival on 10/7, tortured and raped, or the babies piled up dead and burned or the hostages kidnapped by your freedom fighters Hamas.
Not my freedom fighters, but are Netanyahu and his instrument of death IDF yours?
Roger you are parroting Hamas numbers. Were the A bombs dropped on Japan Truman's instruments of death? was Shock and Awe in Iraq, Bush;s instrument of death? Was the napalm dropped on Nam JFK 's instrument of death?
IDF are Israel's defense force. They didn't have them in WWII when 6 million innocent Jews were killed by Nazis. Netanyahu is not going to let that real genocide happen, "never , never , again. So your answer is yes, they are my instruments of death against terrorists you support that deny my right to exist, again.
Don't attack the "biggest guy on the block" IF you can't Beat Him!
Obviously, a Lesson still to be Learned...
War and genocide are like that, yes they are... Still a bad idea all around for both sides of any conflict. Fortunately, there is a better solution. See my Comment.
Don't Forget!
Those Muslem Men consider women & children to be no better than a "dog". And that's how the men regard them.
Religion is the Greatest Evil Ever CREATED BY MAN! As long as there is Religion, there will Never be World Peace.
BUT, only if "allah" wills it
Israel is not committing genocide. they are defending themselves and their right to exist. what don't you get about they were invaded by Hamas, and innocent Jewish young women were tortured then raped, babies were slaughtered and burned and innocents were taken as hostages? what don't you get about Hamas using their own people as human shields and inflating the numbers claimed as collateral damage? what don't you get about Israel warning people to evacuate where they are bombing? what don't you get about Israel sending in humanitarian aid and supplies? What don't you get about Israel giving up Gaza in 2005 as a peace gesture and it's population growing to 2.5 million? This is not genocide by any definition.
Does spewing trauma porn statistics make you feel like a big man?
So what do you do for self-affirmation besides pulling wings off flies?
TikTok has told them what to think. By design.
How condescending
.
What regulations would that be? Not aiding and abetting genocide?
Hey Roger, when I read your despicable comment I picture this, a group of Hamas leaders hiding in a tunnel under a hospital in Rafah eating Humanitarian supplies sent by Israel meant to go to their so called "innocent " Palestinians serving as their human shields. They are laughing while reading your comment on their PCs and are in view of the 10/7 hostages in cages . "We are winning, here is some clueless American, Roger, all in on our lies and propaganda calling Israel's attempts to defend itself, "genocide". "Lets put out another updated release from our ministries that another 5,000 children were just found under the rubble." Maybe we'll win over some more Rogers.
Dan, expanding on your excellent piece, I'd like to start with the "founding" of Israel. In 1947-48, following WWII and the Holocaust, Great Britain withdrew its strict militrary occupation of Paloestine and encouraged Holocaust survivors in Europe to establish a "Jewish State" in Palestine
No surprise that the "founding" of Israel was violent, not peaceful, as heavily armed European Zionist Jews stormed into Palestine, massicreing and destroying more than 400 cities and villages, forcing at gunpoint 750,000 Palestinians out of their homes and from their own sovereign nation, with no right of return. Hence, the beginning of Zionist Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestine's indegenous population, the Palestinians.
Consequently, British military occupation was replaced with European Zionist military occupation. History recorded that the European Zionists saw Palestine as "a land without a people for a people (the Zionists) without a land." This obviously was a false premise! Palestine at that time had a developed econimy, schools, universities, health care, infrastructure and public transportation, including railroads, and was a hub for Middle East trade.
And yes, there was no peace between the invading European Zionists and Palestinians, as the European Zionists believed (and many still do) they were returning home, to their "God-given promised land," after 2,000 years in diespora.
The UN "partitioned" Palestine, providing a portion of Palestine for Israel and the balance deemed the "Palestinian Terrorities." Following a war in 1967, Zionist Israel confiscated a larger portion of Palestine and placed what little remained of Palestine under strict and brutal apatheid/racist military occupation. And so it is to this day, including Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem. Gaza population is 2.3 million Palestinian refugees within a narrow strip only 5 miles wide and about 20 miles long. Gaza has come to be known as an "open air prison" and a "concentration camp."
Zionist Israel had already established "settlements" in Gaza. But, after Hamas (ironically supported by Zionist Israel) won election to govern Gaza, these "settlements" were withdrawn and Gaza placed under siege and blockade by Zionist Israel's Defense Force (IDF). Zionist Israel controlled who was permited to enter or leave Gaza, as well as foods, medicines, water, electricity and building materials. The IDF also attacked and bombed Gaza several times prior to October 7, 2023. The Zionists called it "mowing the grass," a eu·phe·mism for ethnic cleansing.
Hamas became Palestine's only resistance force, resistance against Zionist Israel's brutal, apartheid/racist, dehumanizing, ethnic cleansing, neo-fascist Zionist regime.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas's 30,000 strong resistance force invaded Zionist Israel, killing 1,200 Zionists and IDF troops and returning to Gaza with 240 Zionist captives to bargain for release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Zionist Israel's prisons, including hundreds of children held without charge or trial.
Zionist Israel wasted no time in retaliating in its war on Gaza, now in its seventh month. Zionist Israel's IDF has massacred more than 40,000, wounded more than 76,000 (and counting) Gazans, destroyed/damaged 70 percent of Gaza homes and destroyed infrastructure, including UN facilities for providing humanitarian needs, schools, universities, health care system, water, electricity, sewage etc.
The Zionist Regime and its IDF ordered Gaza inhabitants to move to Rafah City in South Gaza on the border with Egypt, where 1.4 million Gazans are living in tents and scant housing. And now the Zionist regime forces are preparing a fullscale attack on Rafah to destroy the last of Hamas resistance forces.
However, over the past seven months, most of the world have called for an immediate ceasefire, isolating both the US and the Zionist Israel in negative opinion; the International Criminal Court has charged Zionist Israel with "plausable genocide" in Gaza, and students at hundreds of US and European universities are protesting Zionist Israel's war on Gaza and an end to its genocidal, racist, ethnic cleansing, neo-fascist military occupation of Palestine. Zionists and pro-Zionists were quick to charge "anti-Semitism." However, many of these protesting students are Jewish, joining in the demand for ceasefire in the genocidal war on Gaza and an end to the Zionist regime's occupation of Palestine. The cry heard on these campuses and on city street marches worldwide: FREE FREE PALESTINE! FREE FREE PALESTINE! FREE FREE PALESTINE!
Hey Jim, this is about 100% pure radical Islamist, Hamas and terrorist bullshit. It is the most dishonest Hamas fairy tale I've yet to see in writing. But I'm sure it is straight out of Hamas' we hate Jews and Israel has no right to exist history taught in Gaza since 2007 when Hamas took over Gaza ( which was given to so called Palestinians as a peace gesture) and Hamas turned it into a military shithole base for attacks on Israel.
There was no Palestine state when the land was divided up to Israel and the Arab tribes on the land. There were not that many Jews in Eastern Europe left after the Holocaust (or do you deny that reality as well). Certainly not enough or well armed enough to drive your Arabs out of the land Israel was given by UN. Your Arabs refused the division and rejected the offer of their own land and tried to keep Israels land. Israel won and kept it's land.. In 1967 Israel defended itself again in a war against 6 Arab states and they won. after the war they acquired Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. Just like America acquired California, Texas, parts of New Mexico etc after defeating Mexico in wars. But nobody calls America occupiers or colonizers of California etc. After losing the war in 67, the Arabs formed a terrorist group called the PLO and they gave all the refugee Arabs from their lost war the name Palestinians and they started a campaign to try to get back the land Israel acquired and to call it Palestine. The PLO and offshoots the PLA and especially Iran backed Hamas have rejected every piece offer for their own state since 67 and there have been many. The reason is they want Israel's land.
Because Israel formed a democratic state for Jews out of a desert that became the wonder of the world and still is. 20% of Israel's citizens are Arabs with more equal rights than they would have in any other middle eastern territory or state. Israel has given the world more discoveries and products in technology, health, science, business, education, equal rights, and lawful and peaceful values than all of the middle eastern states combined. Plus more Nobel Prize winners. They are Americas best ally and the envy of every Middle eastern country.
There are so many other lies in your bullshit pro Hamas history it is laughable if it wasn't so dangerous supporting ongoing terrorism. Israel never supported Hamas in 2007 when they won an election by intimidation over a more moderate terrorist, Abbas and the PLA.
I could go on and on about your lies, but the irrefutable undeniable truth about Hamas and Israel is there could have been a separate state in 2007 and up until Oct 7 of last year, any time Hamas agreed in writing Israel's right to exist and stopped wasting aid money on arms, rockets and tunnels to attack Israel and agreed to lay down their arms and live peacefully as a neighbor of Israel.
When a economically thriving Gaza was turned over in 2005 to the Arab refugees NOBODY ELSE IN THE MIDDLE EAST WANTED, had Hamas decided to build schools, hospitals, and factories instead of attack tunnels they could have had a peaceful solution. You know this. If you don't you are so hateful and brainwashed you might as well join Hamas as a another Jew hater.
Dear Alan, you sadly have an issue with Islam. Discrimination emerges in many forms. My Jewish grandson could enlighten you on that human frailty. We also have an adopted dranddaughter living in Gaza. She is a journalist and has an 18-month old daughter. We communicate almost daily, so I may be a bit up on the news than you may be. She is a brilliant young lady and writes well. But she and her little girl are now living in a tent, after losing her husband and home in the bombing several months ago. Indeed, Alan, I know fairly well both sides of issues involving Palestine and Zionist Israel. I would urge you to research these matters for yourself. Wishing you all the best!
Graham Stoker and his novel “Dracula” have nothing on you.
Bram, not Graham.
What's the depth of reading through Graham Stoker and Bram Stoker in your lifetime, and have you visited Hungary to get a real idea of his background of writings?
This comment is an excellent example of applying way too much of the wrong kind of force in a delicate situation.
All these efforts have taken throughout decades to plant some naked European thugs in the heart of Middle East Palestine) to make - Ethiopian slaves (Egyptians didn't bring slaves from incurable diseases ridden Europe, but from Ethiopia to carry out their gigantic building projects) white people. Also, control the Middle East through suppression and thuggery!
The problem is Hamas/Palestine. I don't care what happened years ago. That is the past. Stop attacking Israel. None of your excuses are valid.
Gee, I have a 1990 degree in International Relations with Middle East focus, & the only comment I made was about Netanyahu. Funny how black & white thinking causes one to extrapolate out protecting a criminal con man. Obviously, Hamas is not part of the solution either, but you sound like someone saying the solution is more of the same.
Your degree, if you really have one, is dated. Better go back to school and broaden your horizons.
I have a degree from UT as does my husband and one son who makes more money now than you can ever hope for. There's the Baylor and Tech and CMU graduates too.
A degree in what? Manichaeism Studies. Standard narcissist is to equate wealth with intelligence or knowledge, when the opposite is proven every day. You are a clown. This thread is going no where. Be quiet or be blocked. Your choice. However, since narcissists always need to have the last word, everyone will see you prove me right or have the pleasure of the end of your close-minded toxicity. Win-win. I know, that's another concept you do not grasp. buh bye!
Well said.
who cares? not I!
So you’re OK with Israel killing 34,000 and injuring 75,000 innocent civilians because of what happened on October 7? And using food as a weapon against humanity. Caring for other human beings has nothing to do with being an antisemite.
How is it that you don’t point the finger at Hamas for putting its civilians in harms way, and for hiding in tunnels underneath hospitals and homes where they know that innocent civilians will die? What do you expect Israel to do when Hamas’ goal is to annihilate the Jewish State? Hamas is thrilled that Israel is the target; that was their strategy all along and you play into their hands. If someone was living next to you that called for you and your family’s destruction, would you not do whatever you had to do to protect your family?
Truly disappointed by the use of Hamas numbers. Everything in this read hollow once I saw that.
How do you know that EVERYBODY is indoctrinated by Hamas and that most support Hamas? Who are you To make that judgment?
Thank you!
And Zionists who are not even Semitic people (DNA proof) and are riding on Judaism and condemning Jews for not following their genocide and you think your mystical god delivered you to a desk that was brokered in 1879 when Zionists invented themselves!
Hahaha hysterical
And of course the IDF has NO vested interest in making it appear that all the people they killed were Hamas. Get a grip.
I know the IDF targeted and killed aide workers who got clearance and were still MURDERED! You show your ignorance by your blind acceptance of Bibi’s lies. THIS is why the free world is pulling away from Israel.
I've read that in reality the majority of Palestinians don't like Hamas and would prefer better government (if you want to call it that). Just take one look at how and where their leaders live their lives, and the results of what they've done with their power.
What would be the source of that poll? Pollsters walking around Gaza collecting thoughts? Hamas? And you and I have agreed that the people of Gaza can't speak freely against Hamas. They blame Hamas and Israel for their current predicament
That blood won’t wash off your hands! No one alive voted for Hamas , they were too young. Besides Hamas, who has tried to defend Palestine?
You are just attacking a ton of people in this comment section with an excessively aggressive tone. You are making it a hostile place rather than a safe space for honest, nuanced, and difficult conversations. And I absolutely hate how the cruel position you hold is defining the jewish response to this crisis.
As if the IDF is any sort of reliable source
Spoke like a genuine, Bonafide troll. DK Troll
What is the "past" is dependent on who the speaker is. I could say that October 7th is the past and the only thing of importance is the current bombardment of Gaza. I prefer Mr Rather's interpretation of what is important in the history of the current problem, which is that it is confusing. How far back do you want to go? A few months? A few years? A few decades or a few centuries? I agree that the attack on Gaza has to stop, but I also think there are no easy questions or answers.
Yes, I agree there are no easy answers because this is a very critical and delicate situation.
Are you seriously saying the past doesn't matter? History doesn't matter?
You know you have entered Dunning-Krugerville when people say things like that.
I disagree. It's important to understand the past of these countries that have fighting for centuries.
Wow you are ignorant. Palestine has existed for centuries. Just not as a country. Next you are going to say there is no Kurdistan and it never existed. I feel a block of a moronic troll coming on. Keep revealing yourself.
In '67 a Palestinian Presbyterian pastor, (the natural outcome of the Presbyterian Church's work in that part of the Mideast) and I talked about his grandfather's experience in 1948, when Israel was established. He was forced off his land which he'd farmed with his father and the father before that. In that 20 years, '48 - '68, the hatred still fueled my colleague to the point he refused to read from the book of Hebrews lest he say the name of those hated people who took over his family's heritage, land.
Agree but Netanyahu is more than a narcissist. He is a murderous criminal and will be charged with war crimes. He has cynically used the Oct 7 atrocity as an excuse to conduct a genocidal ethnic cleansing and land grab. Some even suggest he and his right wing coalition were complicit in the Oct 7 attack. I don't know but I do know that he is desperate to stay in power.
You're going to find CNI's upcoming psychological profile on Bibi validating & illuminating.
Agreed. Netanyahu has been an obstacle to true peace and a real solution all along. He, for all his suits and veneer of statesmanship, is a "strongman" type of leader. His personal leanings are far to the right, and he would burn it all to the ground before he will give up power and dominance. Sound familiar? They are brothers in this. I am pretty sure he would have found a reason or way to torpedo any big deal between the three world players which did not bend to his wishes. His major support for years within Israel has been the ultra-orthodox faction, but their older leaders are slowly waning in influence. His standing among the general population appears to have been waning before the Hamas attack, and that has accelerated as he has refused to do anything to get the hostages released in favor of obliterating Hamas - and as many Palestinians as possible in Gaza.
I grew up in an area which was roughly 3/4 Jewish and 1/4 Catholic - and we were neither. I have supported Jews and Israel from childhood until recently. I know their story - not the political one, the one told by families about their families and history. I am deeply empathetic. However, Netanyahu's belligerence and the actions in Gaza show a deeply troubling picture, one which I cannot believe my childhood friends could support. Israel is beginning to look like it's own oppressors - creating "ghettos" in the West Bank and Gaza, cramming all the Palestinians into both as possible, making their oppression and imprisonment there state policy. Making it easy to kill them wholesale while searching for Hamas terrorists. It's an ugly look, and it appears that not much but bloodlust is driving Netanyahu to HIS idea of a final solution.
I find it all sickening and highly troubling, my alliance with the Jewish people frayed and things far beyond my control tearing at my thinking. I understand why the Israelis are defiant and determined not to give up the land they turned from desert to prosperity and safety, but I cannot condone how near they are drawing to the horrors of their own past - this time as the bad guys. I weep for them, and hope Biden can help them draw back from the brink, jettisoning Natanyahu in the process. They deserve better.
My goodness, what an ugly ad hominem attack. You know nothing about me, and yet you resent my opinions and experience so greatly you have to shout personal insults? But I'll try to reach you through reason, futile though that looks to be.
First, "Strongman" in the mold of Idi Amin, Kim Jong Un, Papa Doc Duvalier and his Tontons Macoutes and such. And yes, Hamas is nothing but a terrorist mob, devoted to hatred and murder of all Jews, regardless of whether it leads to a Palestinian state or not (which, of course, it would not.) They have no real political presence, and were "elected" to rule Gaza practically by default. The Palestinians who remained in Gaza are as terrorized by Hamas as anyone, but they have no choice in leadership any more - they have been reduced to the level of just trying to maintain their existence - i.e. obtaining clean water, food and shelter. I do not support Hamas in any way - their obliteration, in my mind, is as desirable as that of the Waffen SS was.
Netanyahu's entire political regime is based on not only taking a strong stand against the presence of ANY Palestinians in Israel, he has aggressively tried to push them away from Israel's borders. He has violated past agreements to allow Israeli Jews to seize the land and farms of families which have been there for over 100 years and throw them out, to build new settlements in lands which were accorded to the Arabs years ago, etc. His actions have exceeded anything reasonable, especially in the face of the fact that the Palestinians (NOT Hamas) have offered no resistance other than protesting being thrown out of their homes.
Netanyahu has spent his entire adult life trying to amass power and prestige, and he is not about to give them up. The Palestinians are his whipping boy, just as the Jews were Europe's whipping boy for uncounted generations. If Hamas did not exist, he would find some other excuse - he needs an enemy in order to make himself look powerful politically. He has been losing ground at home, as his tough approach to Gaza has not produced any desired effects - except, of course, for the deaths of thousands (at the very least) of unarmed men, women and children - easily avoidable civilian deaths.
Try to get it through your own thick prejudices - the Arabs left in Gaza have not been fantasizing about killing Jews, they have been scrambling to survive and keep their children alive. Netanyahu will have to answer for that some day.
Oh, poor Dan K... your arguments are so simplistic and clueless, you have to resort to nastiness and invective. Can you not present a reasoned argument without calling me names and trying to put me down? It does not make you look better, I do assure you. I think this is a waste of time, as are you. Endit.
no Hamas must be gone.
What solution
A just and secure peace for all people of goodwill.
Projection is strong in this one.
Bless your heart, as my southern friends might mean it.
If you are talking to me, I'm wondering why such a genius like you has zero followers.
You got it backward. Zero followers = nobody cares what you think sad troll.
Everyone—this is obviously a contentious issue and always has been. We appreciate your comments and while we encourage differing points of view, I ask that we be respectful of one another. Please, no name calling. Thank you.
—Dan
Thank you for a fine article. I understand the evil of Hamas. But I also understand the innocent lives taken...and so many!! It must stop. Whatever it takes. My heart & prayers are with Pres. Biden. He has so much on his shoulders right now.
You are a fool.
Go kill some innocent children and pregnant women giving birth. I detest Hamas but the IDF is showing themselves to be no better. You are blind to the truth.
Go peddle your ignorance somewhere else. Resorting to personal attack doesn't prove that you know what you're talking about; it just proves that you know how to be argumentative.
Those of any nationality who wish to rule with an iron hand, impose a police state, squelch all but propaganda broadcasts that support their extreme viewpoints, etc. must all be gone from power. Ordinary citizens everywhere want to work, be self-sufficient, raise their families, and have a decent life. It is the power/control hungry that have to spoil things for everyone else with their great egotistical imaginings. Too bad we can't seem to get beyond their kind....
Hopefully we won’t elect one in November.
Well stated and from the heart
Exactly, that is what Hamas has done to Gaza over the past 20 years. So terrible to have such little regard for human life. I believe that the West is severely limited in regards to its Middle Eastern policy and always has been. Why are there no government officials who speak Arabic? How is anyone supposed to create a policy while completely disregarding and disrespecting the region while also not speaking the language. During the Cold War this was unthinkable. Every agent in the field or in the Embassy had to have knowledge of the language of that country. The US has a tendency to condescend to its allies. Israel is holding up the wall, don’t be so shortsighted.
Many government officials speak many dialects of Arabic.
Dan, where, in my comment do you see an implication that I am pro Hamas? One can support the good, hard working, ordinary people on either "side". Hamas is, of course, among the extremists of which I speak. The ordinary Palestinians and Jewish people are not included. I am all in favor of removing Hamas from a free Palestinan state but there does need to be a free Palestinian state. There are extremists on each side.
I live in Dearborn, Michigan (largely Muslim) know many people from various Middle Eastern countries and the majority of them are quite ordinary people. You cannot lump all people of any group into one basket. We will have to agree to disagree.
Why is there such reticence to mention the continuous violence of the Jews in the West Bank? Jounalists who have been around for so long can’t obviate it because is exculpates Israel of at least a share of responsibility in Hamas’ violence. There have been more deaths by army backed settlers than those killed on Oct. 7 by Hamas. Why are media always trying to conceal them?
Continuous violence? What are you referring to?
Thank you, Dan. We are all on the edge of our collective seats. Will the closing music be rash and loud, or, perhaps, soft and soothing. The script was written at the end of WWI and the carving up of the Ottoman empire. Read the Balfour Declaration again. In that script, the Palestinian people and the surviving European Jews are equal victims. The forces that made them so are still the root of the problem.
I remember that, but never read it. My history and poli-sci imersion was forty to sixty years ago. My piles of unread books are all important. but.... It's time to give them to the library book sale.
Richard Halliburton wandered all over that region in the early 1900s to 30s, I think. When I was a 10 year old, I read all his books. Facinating too.
Certainly a well studied steady presentation.
Biden is herding domestic cats while dealing with the fanged beasts in the geopolitical arena.
He deserves our support.
SUCH TRUTH!!!! I pray every day for that man...he carries the world on his shoulders.
Thank you for this. The possibility Biden can somehow forge a peace deal that also includes rebuilding at least a little of what people in Gaza have lost is heartening.
The situation, at best, is precarious. Making peace and establishing a two-state solution is nothing new. Bringing Israelis and Arab to the point of reconciliation is not new either. But is a dangerous proposition. The Camp David Accords cost Anwar Sadat his life. The agreements in Oslo cost Yitzhak Rabine his life. Both at the hands of their own countrymen. Yassir Arafat would not follow through with the Oslo agreements because he knew it would most likely end up with his demise. Ultra conservative forces on both sides will kill anyone and everyone who aligns the chess board with peace, prosperity, and a two-state solution. Biden takes a great risk in putting his hand into this caldron. Perhaps only God can find a way for peace in this part of the world? Man surely doesn’t seem to be able to do do.
My only question is which God will grant the peace? That's part of the problem that goes back centuries - the different people have a different God, and they haven't seemed to be very compatible.
Hebrews, Muslims, and Christians (monotheistic religions in the Middle East) share a common God. However, they are not willing to share much of anything else. Hard to imagine how disappointed God is in all three of these religions.
We have one God for all three religions. God is not the issue, religion is certainly the dividing factor.
Thank you for this information, Mr. Rather. I wasn’t aware of the efforts to unite in lessening the power of Iran. I pray President Biden can work for the betterment of all countries involved and beyond.
May God be with him and others working for justice and peace despite the efforts of Hamas.
Biden is a White Hat, but in a nation where huge swaths of the population have slid into a real-time Idiocracy. This is unfortunate. Recent polls for an example show that the voting public sees no difference between Trump and Biden's stand on Climate Change. I am optimistic about the future, even if it involves splitting into different experiments as sub-nations. However, it seems prudent to prepare for some extreme times ahead before we get there. Hopefully we will all finally learn to take care of each other instead of exploiting each other like selfish Raptors. There's a lot at stake right now. A lot is riding on the choice we make: love or fear.
Why don you expect the US to solve all your problems and rescue you financially?
Huh?
Please God bring us justice and peace for all you children - every last one of them.
Dan….that was a most fine perspective on the situation in the Middle East. I remember when I was in high school, during the end of the 1960s, we students were all worried about the Vietnam War. One of my astute history teachers, constantly emphasized that Vietnam would be resolved shortly. She further strongly posited the Middle East was troubled area. That it was the powder keg that would keep exploding for decades upon decades. How prescient of her.
There are many theories why the war started 7 months ago. Yours is quite viable but there are some other disturbing thoughts…. “Bibi knew about and let it happen”. Hamas wanted it to happen so they could bring attention of their plight to eyes and hearts of the rest of the world. Whatever started it, it has to be fixed. Antony Blinken and CIA director, William Burns are trying their best. Bibi is not going to listen to anyone; he is interested in ending Hamas and most importantly saving himself ….sound like someone we know? And that is Joe Biden’s biggest issue. But he can reach younger people thru other issues; reproductive rights, climate change, the economy and saving democracy. And I don’t believe for one minute that these student protests are not about antisemitism. They are. Where were these students during the plight of Syria when Assad was murdering over 500,000 civilians and reducing cities and homes to dust and wood? And other parts of the world where genocide was surely the modus operandi.
If the situation is resolved quickly I’d be surprised. Netanyahu is making it very difficult. I don’t know who can thru to the brain matter in that head.
One has to be mortified knowing that innocent girls and women were brutally raped, killed, and kidnapped along with elders, men and women. Then there’s the young children, the babies who were burnt while sleeping in their cribs. I blame the IDF for their lackadaisical misstep in not monitoring the fence lines, which could’ve prevented these atrocities by young Hamas fighters. Bibi let his own people down. He let us down too because we have a few Americans who were taken hostage. We hear of the atrocities that these hostages have been through. Their aftermath will be many sessions with a mental health specialist(s). i am sad, mad, furious, and scared.
Where does all of this hatred come from? I do not understand why and for what it goes on and on... everywhere!!
Every corner of the world... it's ludicrous!
Religion.
Exactly what I was going to say!!
Fear of the 'other'. The Jews have always been different and until the 20th century, never had a homeland where they were the majority. The human race is more naturally prone to bullying than democracy.
I'm horrified by the loss of innocent lives in Gaza. I understand Israel wanting security from attacks from Hamas, but this has gotten out of hand. Netanyahu is a hard liner and bent on retribution. I pray for a ceasefire!
The single main obstacle for any agreement in the Middle East has a name: Benjamin Netanyahu. Nothing will advance until he is gone. He is the equivalent of the US Trump.
It is not only young people and Muslim people in the US that disagree with Biden's actions regarding the Middle East; they are joined by a considerable number of other voters of all ages (including myself). Reportedly, even his wife Jill begged him: "End it, Joe."
In a way, Biden is lucky to be running against Trump because, as much as I dislike his foreign policy, there is not a chance on Earth I would vote for someone else. But were Biden running against a reasonable GOP candidate, he would have already lost the election.
Yes, what Hamas did is inexcusable, cannot be pardoned, and needs to be addressed. But the indiscriminate killing of thousands of Gazans and the destruction of their territory is not an acceptable solution at all.