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shibboleth
You cant compare it. The Palestinians have endured a century of oppression and injustice. Gaza is the largest prison in the world and has been for decades. Thousands of Palestinian hostages are detained in Israel, many of whom are young children. Israel has stated it will end this conflict – and will do so in the only way it knows, by systematic extermination. Last century, another national and ideology attempted the same and was repulsed and defeated. It is incumbent and essential we do the same now.
What is worth pointing out also is that Gaza, itself, is a huge refugee camp:
During the 1948 Palestine war and more specifically the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees fled or were expelled to the Gaza Strip.[38] By the end of the war, 25% of Mandatory Palestine’s Arab population was in Gaza, though the Strip constituted only 1% of the land.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip#1948%E2%80%931959:_All-Palestine_government
So basically you have Israel that ethnically cleansed the native population in 1948, pushed many of them into a crowded Gaza; since then Israel has occupied them, waged invasions multiple times, put a harsh blockade on these refugees – and now Israel wages a war of genocide against this refugee camp.
And then they wonder why groups like Hamas emerge?!
If this is not the epitome of evil, what is?
I don’t think people understand that, Jack – despite the information being widely available. They are unable or unwilling to process what has happened and to compare it to their own situation. It is not dissimilar to having an abusive parent who is exposed as a sadistic, brutal paedophile; the first reaction is one of denial, which often persists. To confront the truth is simply too painful. Try parking in front of someone’s driveway in England and you will find trouble. Imagine then expelling the residents at gunpoint, stealing their possessions and installing your own family in their house. And you have the Police and Army supporting you. It ain’t right under any measure. You know it, I know it and everybody else knows it too – but some are complicit in their silent support.
What is clear is the sense of impotency in the ordinary man and woman, to influence in any small way, the conduct of people whom they trusted to represent their views. When complicity in genocide is so apparent within the British parliamentary system and the Establishment, the feeling of helplessness in the face of impunity and dishonest propaganda is greatly exaggerated. What is clear, politicians will not stop this genocide – but ordinary people can and have done so in Britain before.
Fifty years ago, half a dozen ordinary men stopped a genocide on the other side of the world with a peaceful, principled protest and in doing so, saved thousands of innocent lives – people whom they had no previous connection and owed no allegiance other than solidarity between men.
Not far from me is another aircraft factory who supply fighter jets and armaments to many countries that are used against civilian populations predominately in the Middle East. Half a century on, the only principle that matters is profit.
These are true heroes. Just look how history remembers their incredible courage. If you haven’t seen this before, please take the time to have a watch. Nae Paseran.
I was just checking out the reviews of some books on Amazon, one of which was a book by Norman Finkelstein entitled Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom (published in 2018), and in the first (lengthy) review it said the following:
His objective, he writes, is to refute the ”Big Lie” -ie the “official consensus” that Israel acts in “self-defence” — by “exposing each of the little lies”.
“In the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead” Finkelstein writes, “as many as three hundred human rights reports were issued”. These overwhelmingly gave the lie to Israeli hasbara (propaganda). For instance, in a chapter examining the often unthinkingly-accepted Israeli claim that Hamas used civilians as “human shields”, Finkelstein quotes Amnesty International’s categorical exoneration of Hamas and other Palestinian fighters on this charge:
“In the cases investigated by Amnesty International of civilians killed in Israeli attacks, the deaths could not be explained as resulting from the presence of fighters shielding among civilians, as the Israeli Army generally contends. In all of the cases investigated by Amnesty International of families killed when their homes were bombed from the air by Israeli forces, for example, none of the houses struck was being used by armed groups for military activities.”
Amnesty did, however, find ample evidence of the use of human shields by Israeli troops.
__________________And from the little (so far) I’ve read of Amnesty’s latest report, the IDF/Israel have been doing the same again since October 7th last year – ie lying through their nasty rotten evil teeth to justify bombing schools and hospitals etc where civilians are sheltering – as I’m sure just about everyone who follows Craig concluded a long time ago. As I said in a recent post – it having just occured to me – surely the only way the IDF would be able to determine if Hamas were in a given location – a school, for example – would be by a drone, or drones, and if that’s the case, then they must have footage and, as such, proof and evidence that Hamas WERE in said location (had a command and control center or whatever in said location), and yet the IDF/Israel have never ONCE made such footage public as far as I am aware (and I’m pretty sure I would be if they had), which of course you WOULD do if you had such footage/evidence, AND do so quite regularly.
I posted this yesterday in the comments section of Craig’s current article, but I thought I’d post it on here as well as it amounts to a comprehensive account/compilation of just how evil Israel is:
Just came across this on JVL’s website, posted yesterday – i.e. an article in Haaretz published a couple of days ago. The following is from the JVL introduction:
« Israeli historian Lee Mordechai has compiled a massive archive of material called “Bearing Witness to the Israel-Gaza War” which Ha’aretz says “constitutes the most methodical and detailed documentation in Hebrew (there is also an English translation) of the war crimes that Israel is perpetrating in Gaza. It is a shocking indictment comprised of thousands of entries relating to the war, to the actions of the government, the media, the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli society in general.” »
And here’s a link direct to the Haaretz piece:
« A Massive Database of Evidence, Compiled by a Historian, Documents Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza
A woman with a child is shot while waving a white flag . Starving girls are crushed to death in line for bread. A cuffed 62-year-old man is run over, evidently by a tank. An aerial strike targets people trying to help a wounded boy. A database of thousands of videos, photos, testimonies, reports and investigations documents the horrors committed by Israel in Gaza.
by Nir Hasson, Ha’aretz »
But it’s all just Israel defending itself, as our political masters keep telling us.
Susan Abdulhawa’s address at Oxford University last week. Highly recommended.
Re my 11.25 post a couple of days ago (up the page a tad), isn’t it funny how in past conflicts Israel has accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields but bomb them anyway, and that Hamas just go on doing the same again and again. Will they NEVER learn!
Or could it be that Israel is spouting complete and utter B/S so as to justify blowing women and children and the elderly and disabled and sick and non-combatents to bits.
Allan Howard
Exactly and from what I know there have not been 1 single incident where a palestinans fighter somehow have, against someones will, taken that indivudlal, in effect hostage, and used that inidivudal as a human shield. Still media, politicians to this day claim that this is what palestinians do and the reason why so many are killed in Gaza. It is such cynical so evilly corrupt argument.
As Norman Finkelstein said years ago:
NORMAN FINKELSTEIN:Well, the question is whether or not there is a significant difference between what Israel does and what the Palestinians do, apart from the fact that Israel does it in a much higher proportion than Palestinians. If you indiscriminately fire on a civilian population, which Israel routinely does, under international law — and here I can quote the president of Tel Aviv University, Yoram Dinstein, who’s one of the leading international experts on these matters; he says, “There’s no difference whatsoever between intentionally targeting civilians and indiscriminately firing into a civilian crowd.”
https://www.democracynow.org/2006/6/29/aipac_v_norman_finkelstein_a_debate
Ana from The Young Turks also had a good argument on this topic:
Video: https://www.instagram.com/todaywithjulius/reel/CzDyFq5rzN_/Besides, for all the talk about palestinians, allegedly having this or that base in civilian areas, meanwhile, in reality, Israel’s military HQ lies in Tel Aviv right in the middle of civilian population/buildings:
https://x.com/JanieceTurner/status/1395491586377756681
But of course that is nothing that western msm ever bring up or considering to be an example of human shielding by Israel.
