I usually look forward to waking up every morning. My family is still asleep. I make a cup of coffee, put on my headphones, and write. But I wasn't looking forward to mornings over the last week while I was working on this and tomorrow’s essays. It took me to a dark place where I did not want to go.
Yes, he can. But he is operating on a personal level right now---he has experienced what he says. He doesn't want his kids to experience it. One of his sons in on - duty now in Israel, I think. I cut Vitaliy slack here. I embrace him. The rational, calm voice can come from him later, maybe. And you, Tarun, are correct in what you have written. We don't have an either/or here; we must work to find a way to co-exist. As a non-believer, I am tempted to say, "A pox on all their houses!", but that will not help. Some people need religion. Let's find the good in religions to keep and try to ignore the rest of it. I think Vitaliy knows all this on a rational level. He just can't do that now.
We are limited in what "we" can do. But each of us must do what we can. For both peoples and for Peace. Understanding and agreeing on the history of the place is fundamental to a path forward, as you pointed out in your paragraph below. Thank you for writing that.
Thank you for cutting through the BS and succinctly getting to the heart of the matter.
May I make a respectful point that Jewish people where much safer in the USA and on
college campuses when America was over 90% white and Christian.
Now that we have imported the third world, we are reaping what we have sown.
We have lost our nominally shared values and now many college students are spouting such stupidity only an ivory tower academic could possibly believe it.
Well done. This is especially poignant: "Hamas is playing up to a weak, self-doubting Western world, turning us into useful idiots." Bingo. It's as if most of the population of the Western world is begging to be exploited as useful idiots. The lack of critical thinking and worship at the altar of false virtue is rampant. The "pandemic" woke me up to just how numb yet toxic much of society is. And it's the Universities (academic admins, professors and scientists) where it's cultivated. They started some years ago with the "safe spaces" and banning of "unpopular" speakers and ideas. This led to much of the pandemic garbage, and now to this disaster. Until a few years ago I could not imagine how society supported abominations like the Nazis. Now I see the required mind set is everywhere. Something must be done before it's too late. Or maybe it already is.
The irony that you have published this on the 85th anniversary of Kristalnacht is not lost on me. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. It's a shame this even needs to be written at all. Thank you for speaking up.
Unsolicited advice here. If you want your comments to be taken seriously then you must take the time to understand the history. Otherwise, those who possess strategic thinking skills AKA the people who run the world, will see you as nothing but a person to be manipulated and used for their bidding. Slow down. Read multiple articles on the subject. Speak intelligently and calmly with others then form your opinions and speak out if you wish. If you don’t, you just look unintelligent and will be ignored.
With your one sided , zionistic views and distorted view and explanation of history - I will unfollow you, unsubscribe from your newsletter and podcasts
I am not the author of this piece, but IMHO... good riddance to you. If you believe that he's described a distorted view of history, you are living in a different world with different history and "alternative facts". I don't know you so I will not pretend to understand your personal experiences; but if you don't believe that Jews have been scapegoated, attacked, and bullied for centuries, you're simply not educated on the actual facts.
Guess what... none of the surrounding Arab countries wanted to take in any Palistinians in 1948. In fact, Isreaelis and Palestinians mostly lived side by side peacefully. Yes, there were some cruel evictions, but most were not ripped from their land at the beginning. Then, the Arab countries attacked again in 1967 and 1973. After withstanding those, as well as continuing terrorist attacks, Israel began to reinforce it's security through occupying territories and sealing off Gaza from access to terrorist resources. This ultimately led to the unfortunate West Bank settlements which I believe were a mistake on Israel's part.
I could go on about the territorial offers Israel made to the Palestinian Authority that were rejected. The real basis for this conflict is simply, hatred of Jews and the existence of Israel itself. As the auther pointed out, Hamas cares nothing for Gazans. If they were frustrated by the lack of progress on Palestinian rights, they could have run their motorcycles into Isreal, kidnapped hostages to use as bargaining chips, and NOT massacred so many innocent people in such barbaric ways. They did so because they hate Jews, not because they love their Gazan brethren. Think of what Gaza could be if they used the Iranian money to build their society, instead of hoarding weapons, fuel, medicines, and food from their citizens. Of course, Iran is the ultimate hater of Jews so that money would not go to Gaza without Hamas' terror.
The bottom line is that Iran through Hamas and Hezbollah want all Jews dead and Israel to cease to exist. It's as simple and horrifying as that.
Be careful as they will come for you eventually. They have zero regard for human life, even that of their own people. They are predator animals. You will become their prey and no one will be left to fight for you.
What you are calling a miracle after WWII it has proven to be one of the worst ever decisions made by the UN in its history. How can you take 55% of a country territory out the blue and give it to another group of people? And then, not happy enough with it, Israel has conquered the rest of it with the help of its big friends to leave the native Palestinian people isolated and living in the most absolute misery.
Why don’t you make the math about how many lives in the US would have represented the 4200 Palestinian children killed this month out of the 2 million Palestinian in the Strip? That would have represented 660,000 casualties in the US in a month, that’s 220 times 9-11 casualties and we are only talking about children! If you think that is a forced moved that Israel had to make you have lost all respect for human life.
I appreciate your response; however, I disagree with some of the points you made in your comment. Here are some of the reasons why:
You claim that I have a distorted view of history, but you do not provide any evidence or sources to support your claim. You also accuse me of living in a different world with different history and “alternative facts”. This is an ad hominem attack, which is a logical fallacy and an attempt to undermine my credibility instead of addressing my arguments.
You state that none of the surrounding Arab countries wanted to take in any Palestinians in 1948, but this is not entirely true. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), more than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and many of them found refuge in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. These countries have hosted millions of Palestinian refugees for decades, despite the economic, social, and political challenges they face. * https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/israel-hamas-war-humanitarian-crisis-gaza
You assert that Israelis and Palestinians mostly lived side by side peacefully before the Arab countries attacked again in 1967 and 1973, but this is an oversimplification of the complex and violent history of the conflict. The 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War were not the only sources of tension and hostility between the two sides. There were also incidents of terrorism, guerrilla warfare, civil unrest, and human rights violations that occurred before, during, and after these wars.
You acknowledge that there were some cruel evictions of Palestinians from their land, but you downplay the extent and impact of these actions. The Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are not only a mistake, but also a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace. The settlements are built on occupied territory that the Palestinians claim as part of their future state, and they undermine the possibility of a two-state solution. The settlements also entail the confiscation of Palestinian land, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the restriction of Palestinian movement, and the discrimination of Palestinian rights.
You mention the territorial offers Israel made to the Palestinian Authority that were rejected, but you do not mention the reasons why the Palestinians rejected them. The offers were not as generous or fair as you imply. They did not address the core issues of the conflict, such as the status of Jerusalem, the fate of the refugees, the borders of the state, and the security arrangements. The offers also required the Palestinians to make major concessions and compromises, such as accepting Israeli sovereignty over parts of East Jerusalem, renouncing the right of return for refugees, and giving up on the 1967 borders.
You argue that the real basis for this conflict is simply hatred of Jews and the existence of Israel itself, but this is a reductive and biased view that ignores the historical, political, and social factors that have contributed to the conflict. The conflict is not a religious or ethnic war, but a territorial and national struggle between two peoples who have legitimate claims and aspirations to the same land. The conflict is also influenced by the role of regional and international actors, such as Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the United States, and the United Nations, who have their own interests and agendas in the region. There is also a tendency to point fingers at Iran constantly – How many wars did Iran start? How many times did they attack their neighbors? What’s the statistics for Israel on this?
In conclusion, I think you have presented a one-sided and inaccurate perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and I urge you to reconsider your views and learn more about the facts and the nuances of this complex and tragic issue. I hope that you can respect peoples right to express their opinion (especially when they provide relevant facts and not just opinions) and engage in a constructive and respectful dialogue with them and others who may disagree with you.
@Saxo I disagreed with your first comment but I do appreciate this second one. It is well researched and has a tone of “discussion” vs. desecrate. My only addition to the whole discussion is that people have been fighting over land since the beginning of time. There are so many groups of people that have been overthrown or forced from their land. Look at the indigenous people of America or multiple overthrown dynasties prior to the Renaissance. The list goes on and on and on. Not to be trite but “hurt people, hurt people.” The Jews were almost exterminated for no good reason. They will never forget this nor would any other group of people that suffered like this. The Palestinians have their own trauma from what’s happened to them. Both are real and just. However, there is ONE MAJOR PART TO THIS THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN ALL THE WARS OR TERRITORY DISPUTES OF THE PAST and that is the involvement of terrorists orgs manipulating and orchestrating both sides to do their bidding for them. The bottom line is that Hamas & friends are baiting Israel & Palestine. They are fueling the fires under both of them to get them to kill each other off. Then they are bringing in peace seeking orgs and usual allies into the mix and setting them up to duke it out too. Meanwhile, they sit back, watching, laughing, sticking the fire while all the whirling dervishes whirl. We all must unite against them first then settle our differences peacefully. If we don’t, we’ll effectively exterminate ourselves and the only ones left will be those savage terrorist animals.
The 2 state solution is the only real solution but both sides are not really interested in it. The Israelis are treating the Palestinians on the west bank worse than the native population of South Africa were treated with no freedom to carry on any trade or even move freely. It is the great irony of history that the most aggressive people the Germans and Japanese have become docile while the Jews a persecuted race throughout history have become the most aggressive. Secondly the us is a global superpower and like all superpowers is hypocritical. It will not tolerate the loss of lives of its citizens but will lecture others to bear much greater losses. Ask any African or Asian and they will tell you. The entire native population of both America's - north and south has been butchered by the Europeans as they fought each other to claim these territories. In short, might has always been right and shall remain so. Any righteous anger on these topics appears like a charade and is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Very important summary that is so very obvious to anyone who can put themselves in the shoes of the Israelites who are protecting their country from fanatical life hating terrorists, who have nothing better to do than die fighting as death is their religion.
Proverbs tells us:
"If a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether he rages or laughs, there is no rest. " (Prov 29:9)
Unfortunately sometimes you must contend with the fools of this world, as Israel must with Hamas, and they will never have peace until Christ returns.
As a Jew living in Israel, I lost relatives in an unimaginable terrorist attack by Hamas. Thank you for your kind words and for helping to reveal the truth.
Yes, he can. But he is operating on a personal level right now---he has experienced what he says. He doesn't want his kids to experience it. One of his sons in on - duty now in Israel, I think. I cut Vitaliy slack here. I embrace him. The rational, calm voice can come from him later, maybe. And you, Tarun, are correct in what you have written. We don't have an either/or here; we must work to find a way to co-exist. As a non-believer, I am tempted to say, "A pox on all their houses!", but that will not help. Some people need religion. Let's find the good in religions to keep and try to ignore the rest of it. I think Vitaliy knows all this on a rational level. He just can't do that now.
We are limited in what "we" can do. But each of us must do what we can. For both peoples and for Peace. Understanding and agreeing on the history of the place is fundamental to a path forward, as you pointed out in your paragraph below. Thank you for writing that.
Thank you for cutting through the BS and succinctly getting to the heart of the matter.
May I make a respectful point that Jewish people where much safer in the USA and on
college campuses when America was over 90% white and Christian.
Now that we have imported the third world, we are reaping what we have sown.
We have lost our nominally shared values and now many college students are spouting such stupidity only an ivory tower academic could possibly believe it.
Glad to see the universities continuing to utterly trivialize themselves. “Ivy League” will soon be a mark of shame.
Well done. This is especially poignant: "Hamas is playing up to a weak, self-doubting Western world, turning us into useful idiots." Bingo. It's as if most of the population of the Western world is begging to be exploited as useful idiots. The lack of critical thinking and worship at the altar of false virtue is rampant. The "pandemic" woke me up to just how numb yet toxic much of society is. And it's the Universities (academic admins, professors and scientists) where it's cultivated. They started some years ago with the "safe spaces" and banning of "unpopular" speakers and ideas. This led to much of the pandemic garbage, and now to this disaster. Until a few years ago I could not imagine how society supported abominations like the Nazis. Now I see the required mind set is everywhere. Something must be done before it's too late. Or maybe it already is.
The irony that you have published this on the 85th anniversary of Kristalnacht is not lost on me. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. It's a shame this even needs to be written at all. Thank you for speaking up.
“Israel, the only real democracy in the Middle East, values all life and goes out of its way to avoid harming innocent civilians.”
So why the UN continues to find Israel guilty of numerous crimes? On the official page of the United Nations you find clearly written on top:
<Illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory>
https://www.un.org/en/situation-in-occupied-palestine-and-israel
Unsolicited advice here. If you want your comments to be taken seriously then you must take the time to understand the history. Otherwise, those who possess strategic thinking skills AKA the people who run the world, will see you as nothing but a person to be manipulated and used for their bidding. Slow down. Read multiple articles on the subject. Speak intelligently and calmly with others then form your opinions and speak out if you wish. If you don’t, you just look unintelligent and will be ignored.
With your one sided , zionistic views and distorted view and explanation of history - I will unfollow you, unsubscribe from your newsletter and podcasts
I am not the author of this piece, but IMHO... good riddance to you. If you believe that he's described a distorted view of history, you are living in a different world with different history and "alternative facts". I don't know you so I will not pretend to understand your personal experiences; but if you don't believe that Jews have been scapegoated, attacked, and bullied for centuries, you're simply not educated on the actual facts.
Guess what... none of the surrounding Arab countries wanted to take in any Palistinians in 1948. In fact, Isreaelis and Palestinians mostly lived side by side peacefully. Yes, there were some cruel evictions, but most were not ripped from their land at the beginning. Then, the Arab countries attacked again in 1967 and 1973. After withstanding those, as well as continuing terrorist attacks, Israel began to reinforce it's security through occupying territories and sealing off Gaza from access to terrorist resources. This ultimately led to the unfortunate West Bank settlements which I believe were a mistake on Israel's part.
I could go on about the territorial offers Israel made to the Palestinian Authority that were rejected. The real basis for this conflict is simply, hatred of Jews and the existence of Israel itself. As the auther pointed out, Hamas cares nothing for Gazans. If they were frustrated by the lack of progress on Palestinian rights, they could have run their motorcycles into Isreal, kidnapped hostages to use as bargaining chips, and NOT massacred so many innocent people in such barbaric ways. They did so because they hate Jews, not because they love their Gazan brethren. Think of what Gaza could be if they used the Iranian money to build their society, instead of hoarding weapons, fuel, medicines, and food from their citizens. Of course, Iran is the ultimate hater of Jews so that money would not go to Gaza without Hamas' terror.
The bottom line is that Iran through Hamas and Hezbollah want all Jews dead and Israel to cease to exist. It's as simple and horrifying as that.
Be careful as they will come for you eventually. They have zero regard for human life, even that of their own people. They are predator animals. You will become their prey and no one will be left to fight for you.
Thank you for writing this article.
What you are calling a miracle after WWII it has proven to be one of the worst ever decisions made by the UN in its history. How can you take 55% of a country territory out the blue and give it to another group of people? And then, not happy enough with it, Israel has conquered the rest of it with the help of its big friends to leave the native Palestinian people isolated and living in the most absolute misery.
Why don’t you make the math about how many lives in the US would have represented the 4200 Palestinian children killed this month out of the 2 million Palestinian in the Strip? That would have represented 660,000 casualties in the US in a month, that’s 220 times 9-11 casualties and we are only talking about children! If you think that is a forced moved that Israel had to make you have lost all respect for human life.
Congratulations!
I appreciate your response; however, I disagree with some of the points you made in your comment. Here are some of the reasons why:
You claim that I have a distorted view of history, but you do not provide any evidence or sources to support your claim. You also accuse me of living in a different world with different history and “alternative facts”. This is an ad hominem attack, which is a logical fallacy and an attempt to undermine my credibility instead of addressing my arguments.
You state that none of the surrounding Arab countries wanted to take in any Palestinians in 1948, but this is not entirely true. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), more than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and many of them found refuge in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. These countries have hosted millions of Palestinian refugees for decades, despite the economic, social, and political challenges they face. * https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/israel-hamas-war-humanitarian-crisis-gaza
You assert that Israelis and Palestinians mostly lived side by side peacefully before the Arab countries attacked again in 1967 and 1973, but this is an oversimplification of the complex and violent history of the conflict. The 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War were not the only sources of tension and hostility between the two sides. There were also incidents of terrorism, guerrilla warfare, civil unrest, and human rights violations that occurred before, during, and after these wars.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict
You acknowledge that there were some cruel evictions of Palestinians from their land, but you downplay the extent and impact of these actions. The Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are not only a mistake, but also a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace. The settlements are built on occupied territory that the Palestinians claim as part of their future state, and they undermine the possibility of a two-state solution. The settlements also entail the confiscation of Palestinian land, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the restriction of Palestinian movement, and the discrimination of Palestinian rights.
* https://www.hrw.org/ Israeli Settlements
You mention the territorial offers Israel made to the Palestinian Authority that were rejected, but you do not mention the reasons why the Palestinians rejected them. The offers were not as generous or fair as you imply. They did not address the core issues of the conflict, such as the status of Jerusalem, the fate of the refugees, the borders of the state, and the security arrangements. The offers also required the Palestinians to make major concessions and compromises, such as accepting Israeli sovereignty over parts of East Jerusalem, renouncing the right of return for refugees, and giving up on the 1967 borders.
*https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ Why Palestinians Have Rejected Peace Offers
You argue that the real basis for this conflict is simply hatred of Jews and the existence of Israel itself, but this is a reductive and biased view that ignores the historical, political, and social factors that have contributed to the conflict. The conflict is not a religious or ethnic war, but a territorial and national struggle between two peoples who have legitimate claims and aspirations to the same land. The conflict is also influenced by the role of regional and international actors, such as Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the United States, and the United Nations, who have their own interests and agendas in the region. There is also a tendency to point fingers at Iran constantly – How many wars did Iran start? How many times did they attack their neighbors? What’s the statistics for Israel on this?
In conclusion, I think you have presented a one-sided and inaccurate perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and I urge you to reconsider your views and learn more about the facts and the nuances of this complex and tragic issue. I hope that you can respect peoples right to express their opinion (especially when they provide relevant facts and not just opinions) and engage in a constructive and respectful dialogue with them and others who may disagree with you.
@Saxo I disagreed with your first comment but I do appreciate this second one. It is well researched and has a tone of “discussion” vs. desecrate. My only addition to the whole discussion is that people have been fighting over land since the beginning of time. There are so many groups of people that have been overthrown or forced from their land. Look at the indigenous people of America or multiple overthrown dynasties prior to the Renaissance. The list goes on and on and on. Not to be trite but “hurt people, hurt people.” The Jews were almost exterminated for no good reason. They will never forget this nor would any other group of people that suffered like this. The Palestinians have their own trauma from what’s happened to them. Both are real and just. However, there is ONE MAJOR PART TO THIS THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN ALL THE WARS OR TERRITORY DISPUTES OF THE PAST and that is the involvement of terrorists orgs manipulating and orchestrating both sides to do their bidding for them. The bottom line is that Hamas & friends are baiting Israel & Palestine. They are fueling the fires under both of them to get them to kill each other off. Then they are bringing in peace seeking orgs and usual allies into the mix and setting them up to duke it out too. Meanwhile, they sit back, watching, laughing, sticking the fire while all the whirling dervishes whirl. We all must unite against them first then settle our differences peacefully. If we don’t, we’ll effectively exterminate ourselves and the only ones left will be those savage terrorist animals.
You have a good point. What terror organizations are in charge of the West Bank? Palestinian are being harassed and killed by the settlers and IDF!
The 2 state solution is the only real solution but both sides are not really interested in it. The Israelis are treating the Palestinians on the west bank worse than the native population of South Africa were treated with no freedom to carry on any trade or even move freely. It is the great irony of history that the most aggressive people the Germans and Japanese have become docile while the Jews a persecuted race throughout history have become the most aggressive. Secondly the us is a global superpower and like all superpowers is hypocritical. It will not tolerate the loss of lives of its citizens but will lecture others to bear much greater losses. Ask any African or Asian and they will tell you. The entire native population of both America's - north and south has been butchered by the Europeans as they fought each other to claim these territories. In short, might has always been right and shall remain so. Any righteous anger on these topics appears like a charade and is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Thanks for your perspective.
Very important summary that is so very obvious to anyone who can put themselves in the shoes of the Israelites who are protecting their country from fanatical life hating terrorists, who have nothing better to do than die fighting as death is their religion.
Proverbs tells us:
"If a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether he rages or laughs, there is no rest. " (Prov 29:9)
Unfortunately sometimes you must contend with the fools of this world, as Israel must with Hamas, and they will never have peace until Christ returns.
As a Jew living in Israel, I lost relatives in an unimaginable terrorist attack by Hamas. Thank you for your kind words and for helping to reveal the truth.