At work, I have friends on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the one side, I have pro-Muslim friends who condemn Israel for baselessly attacking peaceful Palestine. And on the other, I have Jewish friends who call on Israel to stop baselessly attacking peaceful Palestine.
Both groups have issued public statements and published open letters in support of their positions.
It’s great to see such spirited debate on campus!
No, there are no typos in my post.
The song is addressed to a farmer and tells him that the first birds of spring will arrive soon, bringing fecundity and well-being. It also says he should rejoice because he has a wife with black brows (which is the most important sign of beauty in Ukraine), and so he has all he needs.
LikeLike
At first, I was very happy to hear that a group of Jewish professors was writing a response to the pro-Palestinian open letter that hinted at a global financial Jewish conspiracy and blamed Israel for “the events of October 7.”.
And then I read the Jewish response, and it was just as anti-Israel. It called on Israel to “become truly progressive”. So we have “two sides” with cosmetic differences and a basic agreement on everything that matters.
LikeLike
Translated from Telegram – statistics and implications regarding two states solution:
// The Center for Social Research in Ramallah, one of the few that can be trusted in the Palestinian Authority, conducted a survey on how Palestinians perceive Hamas and its horrific October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. The results are simply amazing. The vast majority of Palestinians consider Hamas’s actions justified. In their opinion, the Hamas attack is to protect the Al-Aqsa mosque. This is the opinion of 82% of Palestinians in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and 57% of Gazans. Apparently, two months of war have sobered up the Gaza’s residents a little, unlike the residents of Ramallah. Yet only 10% of Palestinians said Hamas had committed “war crimes.”
Support for Hamas in the West Bank has increased THREE-fold from 12% in September to 44% now. Hamas’ actions are taken literally as heroic.
There is no desire to understand why they think this way. However, these data make it clear once again that Israel’s enemies live in the Palestinian Authority. People who, in the absolute majority, wish the Jews dead. They see Hamas’s atrocities as acts of heroism. They support Hamas politically and want Hamas to rule the Palestinian Authority the way it ruled Gaza.
That is why any discussion of the possibility of starting negotiations with the Palestinians on the principle of “two states for two peoples” after the end of the war will mean capitulation to Hamas, literally a victory for Hamas in the eyes of the Palestinians, and therefore a sign to all radicals in the region that this is exactly what needs to be done to force Jews to dialogue. This will cause a wave of new terrorist attacks, even if Hamas as a structure ceases to exist.
LikeLike
You are completely correct, but what is your solution? Keep them walled in forever? Kill them all? Because if you somehow manage to push them all out into Egypt and Jordan they will still hate you.
The rest of the world somehow magically solving that problem for you so you will not be responsible for how it turns out?
LikeLike
My Palestinian colleague says openly that the only solution is “to send the problem back where it was created”, which means sending Jews back to Europe. This is said at a university talk and everybody is happy to hear it. Nobody is responding with “if you somehow manage to push Jews to Berlin and Poland, they’ll still hate you.”
The reason why Palestinians are clutching on to Naqba is because it pays. Literally. They exist among endless handouts. I think once it stops paying, they’ll move on. Let’s stop humoring, coddling, and allowing atrocious behavior. Like my colleague who’s made a career out of his father losing a house in 1948 and is no saying atrocious things that can’t be said about other groups.
LikeLike
\ The reason why Palestinians are clutching on to Naqba is because it pays. Literally. They exist among endless handouts.
To make matters worse, it pays for their elite, like heads of Hamas or your university colleague.
Most Palestinians get only abject poverty and suffering, which their elite helps to turn into anger at Israel and putting all responsibility on me.
Reminds of Russian blaming the West for their horrible condition, only in the more extreme, Middle-Eastern, 100% genocidal version.
The original designation of apartheid as a crime against humanity was part of a Soviet propaganda campaign to justify targeting civilians in a people’s war strategy.
Calling Israel an apartheid state serves the same purpose.
https://konsequent.substack.com/p/a-dark-history-for-dark-times
That’s a great article. I didn’t know that the USSR was behind this! And we are still repeating the Soviet lies even today. This is extraordinary. It’s why we need to know history.
LikeLike
I don’t know what the solution is, but the whole situation is making me re-think the history of “Indian schools” here in north America. I mean, the normal, reflexive reaction to that whole episode of our history is horror– to forcibly remove a whole generation of children from their parents, send them off to government schools for years, deprive them of their language , religion, and every vestige of their culture is cruel beyond measure, right? Isn’t it?
I’ve always thought so.
But watching this whole Gaza episode… I’m not so sure anymore. I mean, it worked. And was arguably better than wholesale slaughter.
LikeLike
“I mean, it worked”
Define “worked”…. it helped create massive cultural dislocation and alienation that plague most Native American groups (not on its own but it was a very significant factor). Mostly it prevented them from functioning in their own culture without enabling them to function in the majority culture.
Palestinians need a better story. Right now their entire narrative is “we’re victims!” And while that appeals to leftists and aide organizations it doesn’t lead to anywhere good for a people (or for an individual for that matter).
LikeLike
It worked in that they were no longer a threat. I don’t think anyone can claim it was good for the inmates.
LikeLike
\ Because if you somehow manage to push them all out into Egypt and Jordan they will still hate you.
Iran hates me. Syria hates me. Most Egyptians hate me despite decades of peace agreement. I’ll stop since there are more 20+ Arab countries to remember.
So what? The solution is not to make Palestinians love me.
The solution is to make them not my problem, stop being an existential threat to Israel flourishing as a Jewish and democratic state.
\ The rest of the world somehow magically solving that problem for you so you will not be responsible for how it turns out?
I see the moral center of your argument: Jews made Palestinians what they’re now, so Jews must fix it themselves.
Israel tried to be responsible with endless rounds of peace negotiations. It doesn’t work. Currently there are several solutions:
a) ethnic cleansing (not going to happen despite many Jews in Israel dreaming of it)
b) Palestinians continue suffering in one way or another, with Israel ‘living on our sword’ and working to eliminate threats like one cutting grass every couple of days (what’s going to happen imo)
c) the rest of the world helps to solve this problem — would’ve been the best solution both for us and for Palestinians! In fact, Israel mentioned trying to get Muslim countries to help with post Hamas rebuilding and government of Gaza.
As a larger point, many conflicts in history were solved ‘for’ the warring sides and there is no ‘Justice’ in nation building. One is either strong enough to succeed, or not.
If Palestinians never had a state and are incapable of being normal neighbors, why should Israel provide ‘a state’ (a better word would be territory) for them to launch terrorist attacks at us, instead forcing them to move elsewhere?
As for solving one’s own problems, what about post-WW2 world order? Didn’t it attempt to solve disputes over borders without finding the ‘responsible’ party in every conflict and forcing it ‘pay’? France and England were fighting for centuries. Before Germany was united, different towns on its territory were at war with each other.
What is accepting mass immigration now if not solving problems for corrupt regimes and failed states, surviving since most active members leave instead of demanding better life in their own country?
LikeLike
Typo:
“Israel provide ‘a state’ (a better word would be territory) for them to launch terrorist attacks at us, instead OF forcing them to move elsewhere?”
LikeLike
Interesting post:
Легенды и мифы Ближнего- 2
Второй текст будет посвящен сразу двум, но в некоторой степени неразрывно связанным между собой мифам и легендам. Существует довольно устоявшееся мнение, что Израиль является полной марионеткой США, живет на их деньги и вообще без них не обладает никакой самостоятельностью и моментально пропадет без поддержки этой сверхдержавы. Но об этом сложно говорить, вовсе игнорируя ещё и экономику.
…
И тут, чтобы не мелочиться и не тонуть в пустых пререканиях, достаточно понять и зафиксировать основное. За всё время своего существования Израиль получил от США порядка ста шестидесяти миллиардов долларов.
…
в настоящее время годовой ВВП держится примерно на уровне пятисот миллиардов. Мне представляется, что в этой ситуации сложно говорить о том, что Израиль в нахлебниках у американцев.
…
Одним из самых мощных видов израильского оружия является американское вето в СБ ООН. Так что, не надо так уж презрительно отмахиваться от таких друзей.
И всё-таки. США не содержат Израиль. И Израиль существует отнюдь не только по капризу США и с их милостивого соизволения. И его выживание зависит не от Америки. Здесь основные действительно судьбоносные проблемы внутри.
Но и сила внутри.
https://auvasilev.livejournal.com/1878920.html
LikeLike
A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
Leave a comment