That so many of the Islamic and Arab countries have called for a peaceful resolution based on a two-state solution is encouraging. Perhaps the Israelis will finally see the light, and end their persecution of Palestine, and Hamas will be out of power. A glimmer of hope in a situation that has festered for too long.
That so many of the Islamic and Arab countries have called for a peaceful resolution based on a two-state solution is encouraging. Perhaps the Israelis will finally see the light, and end their persecution of Palestine, and Hamas will be out of power. A glimmer of hope in a situation that has festered for too long.
Like Putin, Netanyahu is betting that Trump will return to the White House, thus allowing him and his right-wing fanatics to destroy any hope of a two-state solution and kill many more Palestinians.
You are so right, if the bull in the China shop cheats his way back in, Putin and Netanyahu think their problems will be over. Seems that Joe’s enemies in this country give aid and comfort to our enemies abroad.
There are people in this country who air weakness they find in Biden having to do with the Willows Project, oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips located on the plain of the North Slope of Alaska in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska entirely on wetlands; attacks on the rights and lives of Black people, homosexuals, women, and other groups; on our public schools, its curriculums and books; the embrace and funding of Israel's war, which is decimating the Palestinians, etc., - without supporting Trump and the Republicans who follow him or abandoning their determination for another Biden term as president. Biden's commitment to the welfare of the American people will grow with these voices. It is our right as citizens to convey our opinions; support the principles of democracy and encourage our leaders to be the of best public servants for the people.
“The other day Tony Blinken posted an astonishingly obnoxious tweet fretting about how “This has been an extraordinarily dangerous year for press around the world,” as though his own administration had not directly facilitated the lion’s share of the deadly attacks on journalists in 2023. The utter gall of these freaks still surprises me sometimes.”
Anybody who doesn’t think Biden is complicit in genocide spews ignorance and/or a total denial of reality.
Edited to add - Jeri, the best thing about calling out Genocide Joe is watching you spew weak, imperialist American propaganda in response, and then watching the Team Blue lemming commenters here rush to your defense with a wave of ‘likes’. Tickles me no end.
Anyone who thinks genocide applies here has the IQ of a kumquat. If Israel remotely wanted to commit genocide, all it had to do was drop a hundred thermobaric bombs on Gaza, and poof, 2.2 million Gazans are ash, ready to be 'dozed into the Med. Instead, Israel is in the third straight month of through Gaza slogging building, with more months to come, crippling its own economy by NOT just killing every Gazan ever born with a bombing wave reminiscent of Dresden.
Some "genocide."
It's war, one Hamas brought on itself voluntarily by massacring more than 1,000 Israeli innocents. All Hamas has to do to end it is say two little words: "We surrender." But since it insists on fighting to the bitter end, IDF will oblige. The non-combatant Gazans also dying? That's because Hamas hides its fighters inside the civilian population. The IDF fights right out in the open, not shielding itself with babies. If Hamas did the same, no innocents would be dead. Of course Gazans are going to die, in great numbers; it's what happens to the human shields of psychopaths.
Have the guts to blame the right party for the death of 20,000+ Gazans, Tom: not Israel, but Hamas. Absent the Hamas pogrom, both parties would have celebrated New Year's with Champagne, not high explosives.
Genocide is killing to exterminate an ethnic or religious group. You may call what Israel is doing war or even murder, but it is not genocide, and using that word gets in the way of progress. (Hamas, on the other hand, really does intend genocide, and says so publicly.) U.S. options are limited, because Israel is an ally, not a satellite, and we can try to influence, but not control her behavior.
'South Africa’s genocide case against Israel sets up a high-stakes legal battle at the UN’s top court'
'WHAT IS SOUTH AFRICA’S ARGUMENT?'
'South Africa’s 84-page filing says Israel’s actions “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinians in Gaza.'
'It asks the ICJ, also known as the world court, for a series of legally binding rulings. It wants the court to declare that Israel “has breached and continues to breach its obligations under the Genocide Convention,” and to order Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza that could amount to breaches of the convention, to offer reparations, and to provide for reconstruction of what it’s destroyed in Gaza.'
'The filing argues that genocidal acts include killing Palestinians, causing serious mental and bodily harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions meant to “bring about their physical destruction as a group.” And it says statements by Israeli officials express genocidal intent.'
'South Africa argues that the court has jurisdiction because both countries are signatories of the genocide convention. The convention’s ninth article says disputes between nations over the convention can be submitted to the International Court of Justice.'
'Many South Africans, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have compared Israel’s policies regarding Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with South Africa’s past apartheid regime of racial segregation. Israel rejects such allegations.'
'WHAT WAS ISRAEL’S RESPONSE?'
'Israel’s government swiftly rejected the genocide claim. A Foreign Ministry statement said South Africa’s case lacks a legal foundation and constitutes a “despicable and contemptuous exploitation” of the court.'
'Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister’s office, on Tuesday accused South Africa of “giving political and legal cover” to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered Israel’s campaign. But he confirmed that Israel would send a legal team to the Hague “to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” he said.'
'An Israeli official said the country, which has a history of ignoring international tribunals, decided to defend itself for several reasons. Among them are Israel’s role in promoting the original genocide convention after the Holocaust and its belief that “we have a strong case.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes deliberations.'
'Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the war until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the militant group in Gaza are freed. He’s said that could take several more months.'
'WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?'
'South Africa’s filing includes a request for the court to urgently issue legally binding interim orders for Israel to' “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”
BS. Genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass murder of innocents…. all are applicable.
As to ‘control her behavior’…. BS. Reagan did it in the 80s when Israel bombed refugee camps in Lebanon. You threaten to withhold military aid, and mean it. Biden doesn’t have the guts to piss off the Israeli lobby nor the MIC. Without the U.S., there is no Israel; it most certainly is a satellite, and has been in a geopolitical context since the Iranian Revolution got rid of the Shah.
Obtuse comes to mind. Thinking requires seeing more thsn the brick wall in your lane. I will expect an adolescent response to verify your deep as a birdbath mode of thinking.
Words have meanings, and in order to communicate it's important to show some discipline in using them. Your loose use of the loaded word genocide puts you in the same group as Elise Stefanik. Are you comfortable in the company of such a person?
I also note that you do not comment on Hamas' clearly expressed intent to commit genocide, or its horrible, inhuman and unlawful acts on October 7th, or its continuing crimes against humanity by holding hostages and embedding its combatants in civilian areas. Nor do you mention that Hamas spent billions on weapons and tunnels to use for military purposes, but nothing to protect civilians against the Israeli response that it has said it wanted to generate. Why that double-standard? (Whether Israel should have reacted as it did is another question.)
Your pal Caitlin is a lunatic. She spends thousands of words condemning Israel for, well, everything, but particularly for "slaughtering fucking children." OK, I hate slaughtered fucking children too, so I went through her backlog to see how harshly she condemned Hamas for slaughtering, you know, fucking children, as well as for baking a baby in an oven, raping women, dismembering women, butchering children, burning Israelis alive, machinegunning innocents driving by on the highway--the whole psychopathic playbook. Here's the sum total of what ol' Caitlin had to say about the Hamas pogrom on Oct. 8:
"Ultimately this is just Palestinians doing what they feel they need to do out of total desperation . . ."
Goebbels is smiling from Hell.
Get back to us when you have something remotely intelligent to say about Israel-Palestine-United States. Everything you've posted today, including "Genocide Joe," is useless unless you hate Israel, in which case it's been splendid.
You’re the lunatic. Every one of your examples of the horrors of 10/7 have been either been removed from context, totally debunked, or shown to be committed by the IDF.
Could be why many of the survivors of the music festival ‘slaughter’ are suing the Israel government.
You don’t hate slaughtered children; were that the case, you wouldn’t countenance it under any circumstances.
“False accusations of anti-semitism are all Israel and its defenders have left. It’s the only tool left in their toolbox. Once you’ve exhausted the “But Hamas!” and “But October 7!” excuses they make for Israel’s deliberate butchery of civilians via airstrikes and siege warfare, false accusations of hating Jews is all that remains.
And it’s so sick, because it exploits a healthy impulse in those of us who oppose racism and genocide, and does so in order to defend racist acts of genocide. It causes people who care deeply about human rights to take a step back and say “Hold on, am I guilty of embodying the same hateful prejudices which led to the Holocaust?” and shuts us down and shuts us up, even as Israel rolls out its own holocaust against Palestinians.”
Excuses for deliberate butchery. That’s all you’ve got here, Shane.
War IS deliberately butchery. If Hamas didn't want their own people butchered by the machinery of modern warfare, all it had to do was stay home in October and Israel would have done zip, zero, nada. Hamas chose badly, and the people it governs are doing the suffering for their elected leaders' psychopathy.
Own that.
P.S. I didn't call you, or her, antisemitic. Far as I know, your hatred is aimed solely at Israel's conduct of the war. I profoundly disagree with your complaints about that, but nothing you've written makes me belive you or she are antisemitic.
I think we can be angry with Biden's weakness and ineffectiveness re Netanyahu- our unconditional support- WITHOUT calling Biden Genocide Joe. You shoot yourself in the foot about the point with name calling.
No, I bring the Team Blue jump-circle genocide defenders out into the light so they can be recognized. Those whose party-line allegiance clouds their understanding of right and wrong, and contributes to their defending the indefensible.
He is Genocide Joe. He’s made plenty of disastrous political decisions in his career, from dissing Anita Hill and putting Thomas on the Court, to aiding and abetting mass incarceration, student debt, and endless war. Nothing comes close to aiding and abetting the slaughter in Gaza, which he could have ended with a phone call.
Wouldn’t shock me one bit if he stumbles us into a war in the Middle East. As long as we’re talking shooting feet here.
I'm upset about the way Biden gave permission to Netanyahu. This was an emotional response and what has ensued is a disaster for Palestinians and Israel. They are trying to work it out now but Netanyahu is in charge with us or without us.. Without our involvement in the ME and Ukraine, things would be a lot different. We overall have an important role to play. Biden has been too reticent in Ukraine, though essential, very good, no question. Ukraine needs help and the Euros are stepping up now. At home Biden has done tremendously well. Team Red on the other hand has devolved into something very toxic and dangerous for this country. We have to stop thinking in terms of partisanship. I wish for the old Republicans, gone now. Conservatism has been corrupted and has gone to something else.
You insist on your Team Blue categorization which in its opposition has to dig deep to make that the primary issue here and you fail. You fail because this push behind Biden is more than about Team Blue, sir. It’s about the country. As far as war in the Middle East goes we either have it go all out or it cools down. Biden/US is only one player and a weaker one than in the past in this more multi dimensional situation. Spiro Agnew’s term “Nattering Nabob of Negativism” is useful. People evolve. Or should.
Israel, since 1948, has met antagonism with antagonism, continuously dispossessing and displacing its Palestinian opponents in the process. Has it been Israel’s goal to eliminate the Palestinian people and their culture?
Zionists, who dominate Israel’s government at present, and who have been a major force throughout its history, certainly want Palestinians either ethically cleansed or oppressed.
The earlier that Netanyahu is forced from power the better. Today would not be too soon. But it will be vital that he is not replaced by someone as narrow as he is.
Maybe once Netanyahu is gone, cooler more competent heads will prevail. And his expiration date is probably being moved up as the investigations unfold as to how October 7th happened. Don't something like 75% of Israelis want him gone?
It's encouraging that so many Gulf states envision a two state solution sans Hamas. If Hamas is not purged, there will never be a lasting peace.
What worries me a lot is the influence and activities of the ultra extremist "settlers" and their supporters who are committing crimes in the West Bank - murder and the theft of ancestral lands. They undermine their own nation's integrity and security.
Jon, did you read the Counterpunch article? The writer included a link to a letter sent to the NY Times in 1948 signed by Hannah Arendt & Albert Einstein plus several more people. I went online & it was, in truth, an actual letter. Interesting reading.
And yes, Netanyahu really does the Israelis a disservice to put it mildly. Past time!
Netanyahu and his ilk have made it worse for sane Jews in America and in other countries by his actions. He too, has adopted being a “strongman”. He has ruined Israel.
Too bad the AIPAC lobby & others voices are so loud.
What he and his cohorts are doing to the Palestinian people and quite honestly, to the Israelis right now - beyond the slaughter of non-Hamas civilians is and will create more fighters for Hamas and more hatred towards Israelis AND Americans! How hard is that to understand?
I have a newsflash for you: There is no conceivable replacement for Netanyahu who will support a two-state solution. The reason for that is simple. October 7 killed the two-state solution. Any politician who supported or advocated for it would be rejected by the Israeli people. For obvious reasons, they’ve come to disbelieve in it.
Well, I don’t wish to be rude, but I feel compelled to point out that a solution neither party wants is no solution. You’ve fallen into the error of making a picture, as Napoleon put it in a military context: seeing thing the way you want to see them, not the way they are. Instead, you might try thinking yourself into the mentality of the average Israeli and the average Palestinian. Those are the people whose attitudes are relevant. And those people have no interest in a two-state solution. What you or I or Anthony Blinken or Joe Biden may think is irrelevant. This leads me to think that the right policy going forward is one that conforms to that reality. And that means , first, putting our own preferences to the side.
I don't think I quite agree. If Hamas truly ceases to be a power in Gaza, the biggest obstacle to the two state solution is removed. And as for Bibi, October 7 has disproved the theory that having right wing maniacs in charge can keep anyone safe.
No. Recall how the overwhelming majority of Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, cheered the October 7 pogrom. The big obstacle to a two-state solution is genocidal, river-to-sea Palestinian nationalism.
It’s all very well for American progressives to talk up a two-state solution. The resultant terrorist state wouldn’t be right next door to them. After all that has happened, why should the Israeli people take a chance like that? Well, they won’t. Even the Israeli Left has soured on the peace process and the two-state solution. Think you can talk them around? Good luck with that.
There grows in today’s pieces/letters/posts a general principle inside my head. So, the players in these negotiations -whether it’s here ,there , or anywhere have PEACE the object based upon TRUTHS...is an operative anyone who sits at this table of solution negotiating?
Killing is never the answer, never has been, never will be , the innocents play too high a price , are presented as the bargaining chip. 20,000 dead over 60% + women and children brought into our livings rooms as what ? to be informed? A high mucky muck (mm) killed along with several others ( assumably also high mm’s) a conquest ? well knowing next in command could be worse but definitely already named for ‘in the position’?
If so, our scrutiny of who’s next in line is critical. The present ‘presidents’ precedents are well known ....but is it truth , is it PEACE, is it retaliation, is it consistent in message and action. Must we always wait for somebody to prove beyond the doubt shadow, or trust they aren’t insiders playing with words,lives,hidden agendas?
Track records? and Tact? Do they speak Truth? How many words, actions, bombs, dead, destruction, or lies however cleverly structured or reconstructed does it take?
And if it could just be made more clear that the reason Trump is in this position of power is because he is so controlled and “owned” by Putin and Netanyahu and probably others. He does what they tell him to do and then his Magamates do what he tells them to do. He in fact is a very frightened, impotent, not very intelligent puppet.
You had me right up until the last sentence. Don't underestimate his intelligence. His baffoonery is an act. It makes him relatable to the masses of uncritical thinkers who follow him.
Thank you for this eye-popping article that bolsters the fact that Netanyahu and his right-wingers will go to limitless lengths until they obliterate all Palestinians out of Israel. Bibi is no "friend" of ours as long as his army is handing out rifles to the settlers! He wants nothing to do with the notion of a two-state solution...or peace for that matter. This genocide of Gaza has got to stop. NO MORE ANNUAL MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL!!!
Yes, but Israel's vision and mission is for Jews as well as "followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned". Quoted from Article 6 of the Hamas Charter.
So, just a 2 state solution is insufficient unless Jewish settlers in Palestine and Gaza coexist in security and safety as citizens of Palestinian, or Morocco, Syria, Lebanon. Iran, and all other theocracy based countries.
What we should be shooting for are reforms away from ancient "beliefs and practices resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance or a false conception of causation" (Websters definition of superstition). People should be able to walk to shul, mosque or church, wear veils. kippah, or mantilla or what ever cultural garment they choose in security and safety.
Sorry. The Encyclopedia Brittanica quotes the following:
“Hamas continued to reject the legitimacy of Israel, and hard-liners within the organization remained strident in their rhetoric. Months after one such hard-liner, Yahya Sinwar, became the local leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip (2017– ), he stated in a roundtable discussion with young Gazans: “Gone is the time in which Hamas discussed recognition of Israel. The discussion now is about when we will wipe out Israel.”
Folks are failing to understand the mission of Hamas. Also, the way the MSM is reporting the war is almost as if it is only Israel doing the attacking. Hamas of course is fighting back. According to Al Jazeera, their well-funded fighting force is estimated to be 35-40,000. (To put this in context, the standing army of Canada is 68,000.) Hamas has regularly been sending rockets into Israel since 2001.
Annie, if US citizens were living in Israel, and having the power, Hamas would have been stepped on and eliminated a long time ago. We,the US would not have put up with it. Eventually,what occurred on 10-7, was bound to happen. And now everyone is shocked at the results.
And what happens after all this? Another group of psychology warped people will take Hamas place. Hopefully there will be a lull of a few years. Religion and real estate have sure been the reason for a lot of deaths. Being an atheist with some real estate, I am on the target list.
Well, I’m not so sure of that. It’s not easy to tell who is a terrorist and who is not. Witness the Islamist terrorist attacks that have taken place on US soil.
Yes! Okay, Article 6 of the Hamas Charter is not their top priority yet, but nudging them in that direction might help.
Let's ask Thaler and Sunstein on how to Nudge people on both sides to accept a better outcome.
"For Thaler and Sunstein, a nudge is “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without [1] forbidding any options or [2] significantly changing their economic incentives."
Instead of paying Hamas terrorists to attack Israel maybe the default could be business contracts and currency transfers be between different cultures by default or suffer through a mountain of red-tape. Kind of like nudging people into 401K participation.
Say a Jew wants to build a house in Palestine. The default builders are not Jews as a Jewish builder costs X% more than other culture builders as they would be taxed X% and have more lengthy inspections and permits. Muslims would also be nudged not to use Muslim contractors. As an example.
James, Diplomacy, the act of getting obstructionists to take knee without using a 1000 pound weight to the shoulder. While being a bit slower, 900 does just fine
That so many of the Islamic and Arab countries have called for a peaceful resolution based on a two-state solution is encouraging. Perhaps the Israelis will finally see the light, and end their persecution of Palestine, and Hamas will be out of power. A glimmer of hope in a situation that has festered for too long.
Like Putin, Netanyahu is betting that Trump will return to the White House, thus allowing him and his right-wing fanatics to destroy any hope of a two-state solution and kill many more Palestinians.
You are so right, if the bull in the China shop cheats his way back in, Putin and Netanyahu think their problems will be over. Seems that Joe’s enemies in this country give aid and comfort to our enemies abroad.
There are people in this country who air weakness they find in Biden having to do with the Willows Project, oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips located on the plain of the North Slope of Alaska in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska entirely on wetlands; attacks on the rights and lives of Black people, homosexuals, women, and other groups; on our public schools, its curriculums and books; the embrace and funding of Israel's war, which is decimating the Palestinians, etc., - without supporting Trump and the Republicans who follow him or abandoning their determination for another Biden term as president. Biden's commitment to the welfare of the American people will grow with these voices. It is our right as citizens to convey our opinions; support the principles of democracy and encourage our leaders to be the of best public servants for the people.
The bull in the China shop is America. Genocide Joe is giving aid (bombs) and comfort (no to a ceasefire) to Israel. Just to clear that up.
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/i-dont-care-what-religion-the-genocidal
“The other day Tony Blinken posted an astonishingly obnoxious tweet fretting about how “This has been an extraordinarily dangerous year for press around the world,” as though his own administration had not directly facilitated the lion’s share of the deadly attacks on journalists in 2023. The utter gall of these freaks still surprises me sometimes.”
Anybody who spews Genocide Joe is giving aid and comfort to Putin.
He's crossed over into a troll. Don't engage
I wish we had an ignore or mute option so as not to even have to see such ridiculous comments.
I've reported, Miselle.
The troll should not be reading Heather Cox Richardson's letters and should not be making his/her stupid remarks.
The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!
Anybody who doesn’t think Biden is complicit in genocide spews ignorance and/or a total denial of reality.
Edited to add - Jeri, the best thing about calling out Genocide Joe is watching you spew weak, imperialist American propaganda in response, and then watching the Team Blue lemming commenters here rush to your defense with a wave of ‘likes’. Tickles me no end.
Anyone who thinks genocide applies here has the IQ of a kumquat. If Israel remotely wanted to commit genocide, all it had to do was drop a hundred thermobaric bombs on Gaza, and poof, 2.2 million Gazans are ash, ready to be 'dozed into the Med. Instead, Israel is in the third straight month of through Gaza slogging building, with more months to come, crippling its own economy by NOT just killing every Gazan ever born with a bombing wave reminiscent of Dresden.
Some "genocide."
It's war, one Hamas brought on itself voluntarily by massacring more than 1,000 Israeli innocents. All Hamas has to do to end it is say two little words: "We surrender." But since it insists on fighting to the bitter end, IDF will oblige. The non-combatant Gazans also dying? That's because Hamas hides its fighters inside the civilian population. The IDF fights right out in the open, not shielding itself with babies. If Hamas did the same, no innocents would be dead. Of course Gazans are going to die, in great numbers; it's what happens to the human shields of psychopaths.
Have the guts to blame the right party for the death of 20,000+ Gazans, Tom: not Israel, but Hamas. Absent the Hamas pogrom, both parties would have celebrated New Year's with Champagne, not high explosives.
Tom High, "Tickles me no end." You live in a sad world.
Genocide is killing to exterminate an ethnic or religious group. You may call what Israel is doing war or even murder, but it is not genocide, and using that word gets in the way of progress. (Hamas, on the other hand, really does intend genocide, and says so publicly.) U.S. options are limited, because Israel is an ally, not a satellite, and we can try to influence, but not control her behavior.
'South Africa’s genocide case against Israel sets up a high-stakes legal battle at the UN’s top court'
'WHAT IS SOUTH AFRICA’S ARGUMENT?'
'South Africa’s 84-page filing says Israel’s actions “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinians in Gaza.'
'It asks the ICJ, also known as the world court, for a series of legally binding rulings. It wants the court to declare that Israel “has breached and continues to breach its obligations under the Genocide Convention,” and to order Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza that could amount to breaches of the convention, to offer reparations, and to provide for reconstruction of what it’s destroyed in Gaza.'
'The filing argues that genocidal acts include killing Palestinians, causing serious mental and bodily harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions meant to “bring about their physical destruction as a group.” And it says statements by Israeli officials express genocidal intent.'
'South Africa argues that the court has jurisdiction because both countries are signatories of the genocide convention. The convention’s ninth article says disputes between nations over the convention can be submitted to the International Court of Justice.'
'Many South Africans, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have compared Israel’s policies regarding Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with South Africa’s past apartheid regime of racial segregation. Israel rejects such allegations.'
'WHAT WAS ISRAEL’S RESPONSE?'
'Israel’s government swiftly rejected the genocide claim. A Foreign Ministry statement said South Africa’s case lacks a legal foundation and constitutes a “despicable and contemptuous exploitation” of the court.'
'Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister’s office, on Tuesday accused South Africa of “giving political and legal cover” to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered Israel’s campaign. But he confirmed that Israel would send a legal team to the Hague “to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” he said.'
'An Israeli official said the country, which has a history of ignoring international tribunals, decided to defend itself for several reasons. Among them are Israel’s role in promoting the original genocide convention after the Holocaust and its belief that “we have a strong case.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes deliberations.'
'Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the war until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the militant group in Gaza are freed. He’s said that could take several more months.'
'WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?'
'South Africa’s filing includes a request for the court to urgently issue legally binding interim orders for Israel to' “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”
https://apnews.com/article/un-court-south-africa-israel-gaza-genocide-71be2ce7f09bfee05a7cae26689ee262
BS. Genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass murder of innocents…. all are applicable.
As to ‘control her behavior’…. BS. Reagan did it in the 80s when Israel bombed refugee camps in Lebanon. You threaten to withhold military aid, and mean it. Biden doesn’t have the guts to piss off the Israeli lobby nor the MIC. Without the U.S., there is no Israel; it most certainly is a satellite, and has been in a geopolitical context since the Iranian Revolution got rid of the Shah.
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/theyre-calling-ethnic-cleansing-voluntary
And if you’d like a more detailed look at why what Israel is doing is indeed a genocide, here you go. You’re welcome.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/03/the-genocide-will-be-televised/
Obtuse comes to mind. Thinking requires seeing more thsn the brick wall in your lane. I will expect an adolescent response to verify your deep as a birdbath mode of thinking.
Words have meanings, and in order to communicate it's important to show some discipline in using them. Your loose use of the loaded word genocide puts you in the same group as Elise Stefanik. Are you comfortable in the company of such a person?
I also note that you do not comment on Hamas' clearly expressed intent to commit genocide, or its horrible, inhuman and unlawful acts on October 7th, or its continuing crimes against humanity by holding hostages and embedding its combatants in civilian areas. Nor do you mention that Hamas spent billions on weapons and tunnels to use for military purposes, but nothing to protect civilians against the Israeli response that it has said it wanted to generate. Why that double-standard? (Whether Israel should have reacted as it did is another question.)
@Jon Margolis. There it is. Thank you. Well said.
Your pal Caitlin is a lunatic. She spends thousands of words condemning Israel for, well, everything, but particularly for "slaughtering fucking children." OK, I hate slaughtered fucking children too, so I went through her backlog to see how harshly she condemned Hamas for slaughtering, you know, fucking children, as well as for baking a baby in an oven, raping women, dismembering women, butchering children, burning Israelis alive, machinegunning innocents driving by on the highway--the whole psychopathic playbook. Here's the sum total of what ol' Caitlin had to say about the Hamas pogrom on Oct. 8:
"Ultimately this is just Palestinians doing what they feel they need to do out of total desperation . . ."
Goebbels is smiling from Hell.
Get back to us when you have something remotely intelligent to say about Israel-Palestine-United States. Everything you've posted today, including "Genocide Joe," is useless unless you hate Israel, in which case it's been splendid.
You’re the lunatic. Every one of your examples of the horrors of 10/7 have been either been removed from context, totally debunked, or shown to be committed by the IDF.
Could be why many of the survivors of the music festival ‘slaughter’ are suing the Israel government.
You don’t hate slaughtered children; were that the case, you wouldn’t countenance it under any circumstances.
More Caitlin for you - https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-says-its-anti-semitic-to-invoke
“False accusations of anti-semitism are all Israel and its defenders have left. It’s the only tool left in their toolbox. Once you’ve exhausted the “But Hamas!” and “But October 7!” excuses they make for Israel’s deliberate butchery of civilians via airstrikes and siege warfare, false accusations of hating Jews is all that remains.
And it’s so sick, because it exploits a healthy impulse in those of us who oppose racism and genocide, and does so in order to defend racist acts of genocide. It causes people who care deeply about human rights to take a step back and say “Hold on, am I guilty of embodying the same hateful prejudices which led to the Holocaust?” and shuts us down and shuts us up, even as Israel rolls out its own holocaust against Palestinians.”
Excuses for deliberate butchery. That’s all you’ve got here, Shane.
Own it.
War IS deliberately butchery. If Hamas didn't want their own people butchered by the machinery of modern warfare, all it had to do was stay home in October and Israel would have done zip, zero, nada. Hamas chose badly, and the people it governs are doing the suffering for their elected leaders' psychopathy.
Own that.
P.S. I didn't call you, or her, antisemitic. Far as I know, your hatred is aimed solely at Israel's conduct of the war. I profoundly disagree with your complaints about that, but nothing you've written makes me belive you or she are antisemitic.
I recognize a troller. 😈
I think we can be angry with Biden's weakness and ineffectiveness re Netanyahu- our unconditional support- WITHOUT calling Biden Genocide Joe. You shoot yourself in the foot about the point with name calling.
No, I bring the Team Blue jump-circle genocide defenders out into the light so they can be recognized. Those whose party-line allegiance clouds their understanding of right and wrong, and contributes to their defending the indefensible.
He is Genocide Joe. He’s made plenty of disastrous political decisions in his career, from dissing Anita Hill and putting Thomas on the Court, to aiding and abetting mass incarceration, student debt, and endless war. Nothing comes close to aiding and abetting the slaughter in Gaza, which he could have ended with a phone call.
Wouldn’t shock me one bit if he stumbles us into a war in the Middle East. As long as we’re talking shooting feet here.
I'm upset about the way Biden gave permission to Netanyahu. This was an emotional response and what has ensued is a disaster for Palestinians and Israel. They are trying to work it out now but Netanyahu is in charge with us or without us.. Without our involvement in the ME and Ukraine, things would be a lot different. We overall have an important role to play. Biden has been too reticent in Ukraine, though essential, very good, no question. Ukraine needs help and the Euros are stepping up now. At home Biden has done tremendously well. Team Red on the other hand has devolved into something very toxic and dangerous for this country. We have to stop thinking in terms of partisanship. I wish for the old Republicans, gone now. Conservatism has been corrupted and has gone to something else.
You insist on your Team Blue categorization which in its opposition has to dig deep to make that the primary issue here and you fail. You fail because this push behind Biden is more than about Team Blue, sir. It’s about the country. As far as war in the Middle East goes we either have it go all out or it cools down. Biden/US is only one player and a weaker one than in the past in this more multi dimensional situation. Spiro Agnew’s term “Nattering Nabob of Negativism” is useful. People evolve. Or should.
Oops, sorry, Miselle has it right.
Israel, since 1948, has met antagonism with antagonism, continuously dispossessing and displacing its Palestinian opponents in the process. Has it been Israel’s goal to eliminate the Palestinian people and their culture?
Zionists, who dominate Israel’s government at present, and who have been a major force throughout its history, certainly want Palestinians either ethically cleansed or oppressed.
Excellent clueless comment, mother. Can I have a cookie now?
Amen!
Aid and comfort and lots of it! Johnson et al should be ashamed.
And visa versa.
The earlier that Netanyahu is forced from power the better. Today would not be too soon. But it will be vital that he is not replaced by someone as narrow as he is.
Agreed.
Maybe once Netanyahu is gone, cooler more competent heads will prevail. And his expiration date is probably being moved up as the investigations unfold as to how October 7th happened. Don't something like 75% of Israelis want him gone?
It's encouraging that so many Gulf states envision a two state solution sans Hamas. If Hamas is not purged, there will never be a lasting peace.
What worries me a lot is the influence and activities of the ultra extremist "settlers" and their supporters who are committing crimes in the West Bank - murder and the theft of ancestral lands. They undermine their own nation's integrity and security.
Right you are.
I worry that if Trump returns to power, the support for Netanyahu will be 100%. And that will please Putin. And Ukraine will be left by the wayside.
Exactly. Just one more reason he cannot be permitted to attain the presidency again.
We owe it to the entire world not to let Trump regain access to the Oval.
I share your concern.
I should have added......: and there will be no peace
If Ukraine is abandoned, Putin will feel empowered to attack other countries like Poland...
Jon, did you read the Counterpunch article? The writer included a link to a letter sent to the NY Times in 1948 signed by Hannah Arendt & Albert Einstein plus several more people. I went online & it was, in truth, an actual letter. Interesting reading.
And yes, Netanyahu really does the Israelis a disservice to put it mildly. Past time!
Netanyahu and his ilk have made it worse for sane Jews in America and in other countries by his actions. He too, has adopted being a “strongman”. He has ruined Israel.
Too bad the AIPAC lobby & others voices are so loud.
What he and his cohorts are doing to the Palestinian people and quite honestly, to the Israelis right now - beyond the slaughter of non-Hamas civilians is and will create more fighters for Hamas and more hatred towards Israelis AND Americans! How hard is that to understand?
I have a newsflash for you: There is no conceivable replacement for Netanyahu who will support a two-state solution. The reason for that is simple. October 7 killed the two-state solution. Any politician who supported or advocated for it would be rejected by the Israeli people. For obvious reasons, they’ve come to disbelieve in it.
But a two-state solution is the only way to attain a durable peace. Full stop. So it is necessary to work did that even when it seems impossible.
Well, I don’t wish to be rude, but I feel compelled to point out that a solution neither party wants is no solution. You’ve fallen into the error of making a picture, as Napoleon put it in a military context: seeing thing the way you want to see them, not the way they are. Instead, you might try thinking yourself into the mentality of the average Israeli and the average Palestinian. Those are the people whose attitudes are relevant. And those people have no interest in a two-state solution. What you or I or Anthony Blinken or Joe Biden may think is irrelevant. This leads me to think that the right policy going forward is one that conforms to that reality. And that means , first, putting our own preferences to the side.
Do you not believe that Israelis and Palestinians must find some way to live together? If not, what then? If so, how?
I don't think I quite agree. If Hamas truly ceases to be a power in Gaza, the biggest obstacle to the two state solution is removed. And as for Bibi, October 7 has disproved the theory that having right wing maniacs in charge can keep anyone safe.
No. Recall how the overwhelming majority of Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, cheered the October 7 pogrom. The big obstacle to a two-state solution is genocidal, river-to-sea Palestinian nationalism.
It’s all very well for American progressives to talk up a two-state solution. The resultant terrorist state wouldn’t be right next door to them. After all that has happened, why should the Israeli people take a chance like that? Well, they won’t. Even the Israeli Left has soured on the peace process and the two-state solution. Think you can talk them around? Good luck with that.
There grows in today’s pieces/letters/posts a general principle inside my head. So, the players in these negotiations -whether it’s here ,there , or anywhere have PEACE the object based upon TRUTHS...is an operative anyone who sits at this table of solution negotiating?
Killing is never the answer, never has been, never will be , the innocents play too high a price , are presented as the bargaining chip. 20,000 dead over 60% + women and children brought into our livings rooms as what ? to be informed? A high mucky muck (mm) killed along with several others ( assumably also high mm’s) a conquest ? well knowing next in command could be worse but definitely already named for ‘in the position’?
If so, our scrutiny of who’s next in line is critical. The present ‘presidents’ precedents are well known ....but is it truth , is it PEACE, is it retaliation, is it consistent in message and action. Must we always wait for somebody to prove beyond the doubt shadow, or trust they aren’t insiders playing with words,lives,hidden agendas?
Track records? and Tact? Do they speak Truth? How many words, actions, bombs, dead, destruction, or lies however cleverly structured or reconstructed does it take?
Huh?
Huh.
I’m VOTING BLUE💙💙
And of course, many Israelis, civilians and IDF soldiers, will also be killed. The killing must stop!
And if it could just be made more clear that the reason Trump is in this position of power is because he is so controlled and “owned” by Putin and Netanyahu and probably others. He does what they tell him to do and then his Magamates do what he tells them to do. He in fact is a very frightened, impotent, not very intelligent puppet.
You had me right up until the last sentence. Don't underestimate his intelligence. His baffoonery is an act. It makes him relatable to the masses of uncritical thinkers who follow him.
Wonder whether Israeli bots are supporting that happening as well as Russian bots.
Speaking of festering, why did Netanyahu SUPPORT Hamas for so many years?
https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/
Thank you for this eye-popping article that bolsters the fact that Netanyahu and his right-wingers will go to limitless lengths until they obliterate all Palestinians out of Israel. Bibi is no "friend" of ours as long as his army is handing out rifles to the settlers! He wants nothing to do with the notion of a two-state solution...or peace for that matter. This genocide of Gaza has got to stop. NO MORE ANNUAL MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL!!!
I agree Sophia. Israel has a robust military. If it were up to Netanyahu all Palestinians would be killed under the guise of going after Hamas
I agree. The only way to stop Netanyahu is to demand be step down or the US stops sending them money, like they are our belligerent child
John Schmeeckle "https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/"
FWIW: To add validity.
"𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑤𝑒 (MediaBiasFactCheck<dot>com) 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑠𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑙 𝑎𝑠 𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑡-𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡. 𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡-𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑑."
Because it is always in the best interest of a dictator to be able to point focus to an external enemy. Which, John, you already know.
Haaretz also pointed this out, as Bibi’s move to avoid a two-state solution. The settlements he encourages make it harder still.
Good point
Here's an article from Haaretz, talking about what is really going on in the Gaza campaign:
https://archive.is/RauFq
Yes, but Israel's vision and mission is for Jews as well as "followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned". Quoted from Article 6 of the Hamas Charter.
So, just a 2 state solution is insufficient unless Jewish settlers in Palestine and Gaza coexist in security and safety as citizens of Palestinian, or Morocco, Syria, Lebanon. Iran, and all other theocracy based countries.
What we should be shooting for are reforms away from ancient "beliefs and practices resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance or a false conception of causation" (Websters definition of superstition). People should be able to walk to shul, mosque or church, wear veils. kippah, or mantilla or what ever cultural garment they choose in security and safety.
Sorry. The Encyclopedia Brittanica quotes the following:
“Hamas continued to reject the legitimacy of Israel, and hard-liners within the organization remained strident in their rhetoric. Months after one such hard-liner, Yahya Sinwar, became the local leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip (2017– ), he stated in a roundtable discussion with young Gazans: “Gone is the time in which Hamas discussed recognition of Israel. The discussion now is about when we will wipe out Israel.”
Folks are failing to understand the mission of Hamas. Also, the way the MSM is reporting the war is almost as if it is only Israel doing the attacking. Hamas of course is fighting back. According to Al Jazeera, their well-funded fighting force is estimated to be 35-40,000. (To put this in context, the standing army of Canada is 68,000.) Hamas has regularly been sending rockets into Israel since 2001.
Annie, if US citizens were living in Israel, and having the power, Hamas would have been stepped on and eliminated a long time ago. We,the US would not have put up with it. Eventually,what occurred on 10-7, was bound to happen. And now everyone is shocked at the results.
And what happens after all this? Another group of psychology warped people will take Hamas place. Hopefully there will be a lull of a few years. Religion and real estate have sure been the reason for a lot of deaths. Being an atheist with some real estate, I am on the target list.
Well, I’m not so sure of that. It’s not easy to tell who is a terrorist and who is not. Witness the Islamist terrorist attacks that have taken place on US soil.
And, there are actually many Jewish Americans living in Israel.
Yes! Okay, Article 6 of the Hamas Charter is not their top priority yet, but nudging them in that direction might help.
Let's ask Thaler and Sunstein on how to Nudge people on both sides to accept a better outcome.
"For Thaler and Sunstein, a nudge is “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without [1] forbidding any options or [2] significantly changing their economic incentives."
Instead of paying Hamas terrorists to attack Israel maybe the default could be business contracts and currency transfers be between different cultures by default or suffer through a mountain of red-tape. Kind of like nudging people into 401K participation.
Say a Jew wants to build a house in Palestine. The default builders are not Jews as a Jewish builder costs X% more than other culture builders as they would be taxed X% and have more lengthy inspections and permits. Muslims would also be nudged not to use Muslim contractors. As an example.
James, Diplomacy, the act of getting obstructionists to take knee without using a 1000 pound weight to the shoulder. While being a bit slower, 900 does just fine