One Year of War, Violence, and Genocide - and Expansion
October 5, 2024 7:51 AM Subscribe
The past year in pictures of Israel and Gaza by Reuters. Casting a pall over Israeli life. CNN's defining images from the past year. Al Jazeera released a documentary on war crimes in Gaza. Zeteo released a documentary on Israel's Reel Extremism. Israel has now escalated the violence to include bombing hospitals, suburbs and refugee camps in Lebanon, a Russian airbase in Syria, the West Bank, and is preparing to attack Iran as the Oct 7 anniversary looms. Lebanon's Foreign Minister revealed Abdallah Bou Habib that the Hezbollah leader Hasran Nasrallah had agreed to a 21 day ceasefire before being assassinated by Israel. Iran has expressed supported for a ceasefire contingent upon a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel rejected global calls for a ceasefire on Thursday.
Ten journalists reveal the pro-Israel slant at CNN and BBC. Inside the State Department's weapons pipeline to Israel. Naomi Klein writes about how Israel has made trauma a weapon of war.
English-language news sources for coverage of the Middle East:
- Al-Jazeera
- Zeteo
- 972 mag
- New Lines Magazine
- Drop-Site News
- The Intercept
- ProPublica
- Haaretz
- Jerusalem Post
US legislation concerning Israel/Palestine/free speech:
- Federal lawsuit challenges US' mask ban.
- Jews for Mask Rights.
- CAIR disapproves of CA gov Newsom signing 3 bills chilling free speech rights.
- Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a joint resolution of disapproval of offensive weaponry to the state of Israel.
Places to donate:
- PCRF
- Doctors Without Borders
- UNRWA
- World Central Kitchen
- Operation Olive Branch
- Gaza Funds
Previously.
Ten journalists reveal the pro-Israel slant at CNN and BBC. Inside the State Department's weapons pipeline to Israel. Naomi Klein writes about how Israel has made trauma a weapon of war.
English-language news sources for coverage of the Middle East:
- Al-Jazeera
- Zeteo
- 972 mag
- New Lines Magazine
- Drop-Site News
- The Intercept
- ProPublica
- Haaretz
- Jerusalem Post
US legislation concerning Israel/Palestine/free speech:
- Federal lawsuit challenges US' mask ban.
- Jews for Mask Rights.
- CAIR disapproves of CA gov Newsom signing 3 bills chilling free speech rights.
- Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a joint resolution of disapproval of offensive weaponry to the state of Israel.
Places to donate:
- PCRF
- Doctors Without Borders
- UNRWA
- World Central Kitchen
- Operation Olive Branch
- Gaza Funds
Previously.
Not commenting on the rest for now, but I really appreciate the links about mask bans. I didn't realize we were beyond the stage of a few right-leaning counties (or even states) enacting legislation.
The intersectionality of banning masks during legal or illegal protests (the Democratic version of a new NY State ban) is breathtaking. The next time I march in the Dyke March, if such a ban were in place in Philly, I'd be breaking it, even if they soften it to illegal protests only.
Unauthorized protest and direct action are signs of a functioning democracy.
Wearing masks during them is a sign of compassion for others.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:12 AM on October 5 [27 favorites]
The intersectionality of banning masks during legal or illegal protests (the Democratic version of a new NY State ban) is breathtaking. The next time I march in the Dyke March, if such a ban were in place in Philly, I'd be breaking it, even if they soften it to illegal protests only.
Unauthorized protest and direct action are signs of a functioning democracy.
Wearing masks during them is a sign of compassion for others.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 8:12 AM on October 5 [27 favorites]
Netanyahu is continuing to endanger Palestinian and Israeli lives through this genocide, and now Lebanon and the entire region. It is just genuinely so upsetting and horrible. American media is also suppressing news of how there are thousands of Israelis protesting Netanyahu every single day, I only have learned from talking with folks there now..
posted by yueliang at 8:14 AM on October 5 [22 favorites]
posted by yueliang at 8:14 AM on October 5 [22 favorites]
It’s a genocide-by-airstrike, and no amount of pedantry will change that fact.
posted by FallibleHuman at 8:59 AM on October 5 [19 favorites]
posted by FallibleHuman at 8:59 AM on October 5 [19 favorites]
It’s really awful seeing all the chilling of free speech without Democratic comment.
posted by corb at 9:02 AM on October 5 [14 favorites]
posted by corb at 9:02 AM on October 5 [14 favorites]
The Democrats have been commenting, quite extensively. They think the chilling of free speech is good, and they applaud Biden's handling of the rampant Hamas influence on our campuses.
posted by jy4m at 9:06 AM on October 5 [28 favorites]
posted by jy4m at 9:06 AM on October 5 [28 favorites]
Mod note: Comment removed, please be mindful of making accusations.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:13 AM on October 5 [1 favorite]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:13 AM on October 5 [1 favorite]
Israel sure seems to murder anyone honestly trying to negotiate for a ceasefire.
posted by congen at 9:38 AM on October 5 [18 favorites]
posted by congen at 9:38 AM on October 5 [18 favorites]
This is what happens when foreign interests PACs like AIPAC are allowed to buy our politicians. Our tax dollars being spent on genocide isn't what most people want but our leadership doesn't care about our preferences, just their paymasters.
posted by nofundy at 9:42 AM on October 5 [14 favorites]
posted by nofundy at 9:42 AM on October 5 [14 favorites]
At least in the US we no longer have Democratic commentators pretending to believe Biden is only supporting Israel so he can use his influence to create a ceasefire, or that he is walking some tightrope between supporting Israel's "right to self-defense" and humanitarian concerns. Now they are just openly okay with genocide as long as it is happening to Muslims.
posted by pattern juggler at 9:44 AM on October 5 [13 favorites]
posted by pattern juggler at 9:44 AM on October 5 [13 favorites]
In a few hours, I'm gonna have to go offline for the next couple of days, and I can't even countenance what's going to be greeting me when I check back in --
Israel Radar: Preparing to strike Iran: US General Kurilla, the head of CENTCOM, will be arriving in Israel in next 24 hours, @ynetalerts reports; he is expected to coordinate Israel’s retaliation for Iran’s missile assault.
-- Civil society Just Foreign Policy comments: If @CENTCOM is helping "coordinate Israel’s retaliation" on Iran, that is a direct violation of US law.
Unless Congress authorizes US military action, Pentagon cannot "coordinate" the "military forces of any foreign country" if "such forces will become engaged in hostilities"
(But I think precedence have been long set even from Obama's time to circumvent the US Congress War Powers, I believe)
(Please calibrate for the fact that their name is attached to this and as far as I can tell, the writer is not retired) US Naval Institute: A Closer Look at Israel’s Use of 80 Bunker-Buster JDAMs in Beirut
Reporting on the quantity of JDAMs used varies between 60 and 80 weapons, and it is unclear whether all the weapons employed were GBU-31(v)3 and whether 60 to 80 represents the quantity of weapons dropped or the overall size of the strike package (which would include some redundancy).
Regardless, to U.S. strike aviators with experience in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, in Afghanistan), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation Inherent Resolve (in Syria), using the GBU-31(v)3 in such quantity against urban targets might raise some eyebrows.
(...) Given that the buildings targeted in Lebanon were high-rises with basements and possibly bunkers below the basements, using GBU-31(v)3s makes sense as primary strike weapons. Exact settings are classified, but the bunker buster’s electronic fuse can be set for a long delay. Combined with the hardened bomb body, this allows the weapon to punch through to the heart of a structure before detonating—ideally inside a room where the explosive damage can destroy the target.
Two factors in the Israeli strike stand out. The first is quantity. According to a U.S. Air Force Central Command report on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. air forces expended a total of 24 GBU-24 and GBU-28 (4,000-lb) bunker busters in the entire conflict against the Iraqi military. Last Friday, Israel dropped up to three times as many weapons in one night. Considering the targets, however, helps explain the apparent overkill.
(...) Based on my experience flying F/A-18 Super Hornets as a Navy strike lead, a strike this large in this environment still seems like it might be overkill. But in part this could be because of the F/A-18E/F’s smaller payload capacity compared to the F-15I and the stricter rules of engagement that typically govern U.S. operations. U.S. military air strikes in urban environments during OIF and OEF typically used 500- or 1,000-lb bombs without any bunker-busting capability, because the structure of the targets (unfortified low-rise buildings) and the prevalence of civilians in urban areas necessitated smaller warheads and salvos.
This leads to the second stand-out factor in the Israeli strike. The IAF (and the Israeli Defense Forces in general) seems to have taken a notably different approach to collateral damage than U.S. forces over the past few decades.
On that note, as shared in the previous thread of the Lebanon pager attack:
DW: Israel may be using German-leased Heron war drones
German soldiers were being trained on the two drones in Israel when Israel's war in Gaza began in October 2023. Germany then handed over the drones to the IDF "in solidarity with Israel," as a German Defense Ministry statement said at the time. The drones were part of a package of military support that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius pledged during a summit in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas terror attack of October 7.
What was not clear in the months following was whether or not the lease contract — reported to be worth around €1 billion ($1.1 bio) — was still being paid by Germany. A freedom of information request from April confirmed that, though the German military no longer had access to the drones, the contract with Israel was still "active."
(...) The prospect that the Heron drones could be used to breach international law in the war in Gaza was raised by Nicaragua in its allegations against Germany brought before the International Court of Justice under the UN Genocide Convention earlier this year.
Defending the case, Germany's lawyers downplayed Germany's involvement: "While German soldiers trained on them, the drones were unarmed. After 7 October, German military personnel left Israel, as their security could not be guaranteed; and so their training on Israeli soil temporarily ended."
(...) The original lease deal, made under Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2018, caused some controversy in the German parliament at the time — the then-opposition Green Party raised objections to the idea of Germany operating armed drones, and Merkel's coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), U-turned on a campaign promise it made in the 2017 election, when it opposed the deal.
Max Mutschler explained that there were major concerns in the public discourse at the time. "Drones had a very negative image, mainly because of the 'war on terror' carried out by the US," he told DW. "The reports at the time were very critical, as they often suggested that the deployment of drones meant accepting a lot of collateral damage."
The Atlantic: Netanyahu Doesn’t Care About His Friendship With Biden - Washington should be dictating policy to Jerusalem, not the other way around.
Hmmm did the WH lose The Atlantic? Anyway: In April, Israel conducted an air strike in Damascus on a facility adjacent to the Iranian embassy. The United States received no warning about the strike; Biden and his advisers were caught unaware. The strike killed seven Iranian officers. Then Iran and its affiliates in the region launched a barrage of missiles at Israel. But the United States and several of its partners—most notably Jordan, France, the United Kingdom—helped blunt the attack with a coordinated display of air and missile defenses.
With that, a Rubicon had been quietly crossed. Israel had always boasted that a generous supply of U.S. arms allowed Israel to fight its own fights, and that no American soldier had ever been asked to fight Israel’s battles for it. But America has tens of thousands of troops semipermanently garrisoned in the region, in part to respond to contingencies involving Israel, and by interceding to thwart the missile attack, American troops were fighting directly on Israel’s behalf.
The situation in April repeated itself this past week, when Israel dramatically escalated its military offensive in Lebanon. No one should mourn the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. But Israeli aerial and ground assaults have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese, and America was once again forced to commit its troops, including two Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, to repelling an Iranian ballistic-missile attack. This is now a pattern: Israel escalates the conflict, Biden and his team do nothing to stop it, and America follows Israel into war.
Which dovetails to I think a tangent in the Coates thread (I think!) about if it's now the correct time to make statements that US boots are on the ground.
posted by cendawanita at 9:51 AM on October 5 [21 favorites]
Israel Radar: Preparing to strike Iran: US General Kurilla, the head of CENTCOM, will be arriving in Israel in next 24 hours, @ynetalerts reports; he is expected to coordinate Israel’s retaliation for Iran’s missile assault.
-- Civil society Just Foreign Policy comments: If @CENTCOM is helping "coordinate Israel’s retaliation" on Iran, that is a direct violation of US law.
Unless Congress authorizes US military action, Pentagon cannot "coordinate" the "military forces of any foreign country" if "such forces will become engaged in hostilities"
(But I think precedence have been long set even from Obama's time to circumvent the US Congress War Powers, I believe)
(Please calibrate for the fact that their name is attached to this and as far as I can tell, the writer is not retired) US Naval Institute: A Closer Look at Israel’s Use of 80 Bunker-Buster JDAMs in Beirut
Reporting on the quantity of JDAMs used varies between 60 and 80 weapons, and it is unclear whether all the weapons employed were GBU-31(v)3 and whether 60 to 80 represents the quantity of weapons dropped or the overall size of the strike package (which would include some redundancy).
Regardless, to U.S. strike aviators with experience in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, in Afghanistan), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation Inherent Resolve (in Syria), using the GBU-31(v)3 in such quantity against urban targets might raise some eyebrows.
(...) Given that the buildings targeted in Lebanon were high-rises with basements and possibly bunkers below the basements, using GBU-31(v)3s makes sense as primary strike weapons. Exact settings are classified, but the bunker buster’s electronic fuse can be set for a long delay. Combined with the hardened bomb body, this allows the weapon to punch through to the heart of a structure before detonating—ideally inside a room where the explosive damage can destroy the target.
Two factors in the Israeli strike stand out. The first is quantity. According to a U.S. Air Force Central Command report on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. air forces expended a total of 24 GBU-24 and GBU-28 (4,000-lb) bunker busters in the entire conflict against the Iraqi military. Last Friday, Israel dropped up to three times as many weapons in one night. Considering the targets, however, helps explain the apparent overkill.
(...) Based on my experience flying F/A-18 Super Hornets as a Navy strike lead, a strike this large in this environment still seems like it might be overkill. But in part this could be because of the F/A-18E/F’s smaller payload capacity compared to the F-15I and the stricter rules of engagement that typically govern U.S. operations. U.S. military air strikes in urban environments during OIF and OEF typically used 500- or 1,000-lb bombs without any bunker-busting capability, because the structure of the targets (unfortified low-rise buildings) and the prevalence of civilians in urban areas necessitated smaller warheads and salvos.
This leads to the second stand-out factor in the Israeli strike. The IAF (and the Israeli Defense Forces in general) seems to have taken a notably different approach to collateral damage than U.S. forces over the past few decades.
On that note, as shared in the previous thread of the Lebanon pager attack:
DW: Israel may be using German-leased Heron war drones
German soldiers were being trained on the two drones in Israel when Israel's war in Gaza began in October 2023. Germany then handed over the drones to the IDF "in solidarity with Israel," as a German Defense Ministry statement said at the time. The drones were part of a package of military support that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius pledged during a summit in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas terror attack of October 7.
What was not clear in the months following was whether or not the lease contract — reported to be worth around €1 billion ($1.1 bio) — was still being paid by Germany. A freedom of information request from April confirmed that, though the German military no longer had access to the drones, the contract with Israel was still "active."
(...) The prospect that the Heron drones could be used to breach international law in the war in Gaza was raised by Nicaragua in its allegations against Germany brought before the International Court of Justice under the UN Genocide Convention earlier this year.
Defending the case, Germany's lawyers downplayed Germany's involvement: "While German soldiers trained on them, the drones were unarmed. After 7 October, German military personnel left Israel, as their security could not be guaranteed; and so their training on Israeli soil temporarily ended."
(...) The original lease deal, made under Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2018, caused some controversy in the German parliament at the time — the then-opposition Green Party raised objections to the idea of Germany operating armed drones, and Merkel's coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), U-turned on a campaign promise it made in the 2017 election, when it opposed the deal.
Max Mutschler explained that there were major concerns in the public discourse at the time. "Drones had a very negative image, mainly because of the 'war on terror' carried out by the US," he told DW. "The reports at the time were very critical, as they often suggested that the deployment of drones meant accepting a lot of collateral damage."
The Atlantic: Netanyahu Doesn’t Care About His Friendship With Biden - Washington should be dictating policy to Jerusalem, not the other way around.
Hmmm did the WH lose The Atlantic? Anyway: In April, Israel conducted an air strike in Damascus on a facility adjacent to the Iranian embassy. The United States received no warning about the strike; Biden and his advisers were caught unaware. The strike killed seven Iranian officers. Then Iran and its affiliates in the region launched a barrage of missiles at Israel. But the United States and several of its partners—most notably Jordan, France, the United Kingdom—helped blunt the attack with a coordinated display of air and missile defenses.
With that, a Rubicon had been quietly crossed. Israel had always boasted that a generous supply of U.S. arms allowed Israel to fight its own fights, and that no American soldier had ever been asked to fight Israel’s battles for it. But America has tens of thousands of troops semipermanently garrisoned in the region, in part to respond to contingencies involving Israel, and by interceding to thwart the missile attack, American troops were fighting directly on Israel’s behalf.
The situation in April repeated itself this past week, when Israel dramatically escalated its military offensive in Lebanon. No one should mourn the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. But Israeli aerial and ground assaults have displaced more than 1 million Lebanese, and America was once again forced to commit its troops, including two Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, to repelling an Iranian ballistic-missile attack. This is now a pattern: Israel escalates the conflict, Biden and his team do nothing to stop it, and America follows Israel into war.
Which dovetails to I think a tangent in the Coates thread (I think!) about if it's now the correct time to make statements that US boots are on the ground.
posted by cendawanita at 9:51 AM on October 5 [21 favorites]
What's really been grating me is how Israel seems to have no plan for a post-Hamas, post-Hezbollah world. It seems that Israel has largely defanged both groups; but even if Israel gets everything they want - what next? It doesn't seem like anyone is particularly keen to administer Gaza (and understandably so; there would be yet more global outcry if Israel were to do that and Egypt is decidedly uninterested). And Iran has enough animosity towards Israel that it will likely continue funding anti-Israel terrorism.
It's really tempting to imagine that we're at the brink of a much better situation for most people; Hezbollah and Hamas both seemed to have a major negative impact on everyday life especially for liberal minded people, but there needs to be a positive vision if Israel expects to be good neighbors for a while to come.
posted by LSK at 9:59 AM on October 5 [3 favorites]
It's really tempting to imagine that we're at the brink of a much better situation for most people; Hezbollah and Hamas both seemed to have a major negative impact on everyday life especially for liberal minded people, but there needs to be a positive vision if Israel expects to be good neighbors for a while to come.
posted by LSK at 9:59 AM on October 5 [3 favorites]
I apologize that i can’t find the article now, but in a recent speech Netanyahu used some language that i could have sworn came right out of W.’s mouth during the ramp-up to the con that was called Operation Iraqi Freedom. Netanyahu is the lowest form of life, but i have to hand it to him, it’s a brilliant strategy, repurposing America’s lies to justify indiscriminate killing. I mean, not exactly *necessary* that he do so, given how willing we collectively are to look the other way when arms sales mean jobs and apple pie back home amongst the amber waves of grain, the purple mountain majesties, enjoying the fruits of the plain.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 10:03 AM on October 5 [7 favorites]
posted by armoir from antproof case at 10:03 AM on October 5 [7 favorites]
LSK Israel has plans for both a post-Hamas Gaza and a post-Hezbollah Lebanon.
Israel's plan for post-Hamas Gaza is an Arab civilian administration with continuing Israeli military, police and intelligence overwatch to assure that no anti-Israel military capacity can be rebuilt, with EU, Gulf and US providing billions of reconstruction dollars. Who will be that Arab civilian administration and will those funds flow are sizeable problems to be solved, but the plan is there.
The plan for post-Hezbollah Lebanon is for the balance of Lebanese civil society to retake effective governance over southern Lebanon helped along by significant degradation of Iranian capacity/will to meddle. Once again, easier said than done, but it is a plan.
posted by MattD at 10:10 AM on October 5 [1 favorite]
Israel's plan for post-Hamas Gaza is an Arab civilian administration with continuing Israeli military, police and intelligence overwatch to assure that no anti-Israel military capacity can be rebuilt, with EU, Gulf and US providing billions of reconstruction dollars. Who will be that Arab civilian administration and will those funds flow are sizeable problems to be solved, but the plan is there.
The plan for post-Hezbollah Lebanon is for the balance of Lebanese civil society to retake effective governance over southern Lebanon helped along by significant degradation of Iranian capacity/will to meddle. Once again, easier said than done, but it is a plan.
posted by MattD at 10:10 AM on October 5 [1 favorite]
concepts of a plan
posted by lalochezia at 10:15 AM on October 5 [25 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 10:15 AM on October 5 [25 favorites]
lol that isn't even the table of contents to an outline of a concept of a plan
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 10:24 AM on October 5 [15 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 10:24 AM on October 5 [15 favorites]
also the plan is actually genocide and ethnic cleansing, along with a healthy touch of mass desecration of cultural heritage sites
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 10:26 AM on October 5 [33 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 10:26 AM on October 5 [33 favorites]
Strange how all that only ever considers Israel's security and right to life but no one else's.
Retrospective pieces:
Guardian: In Gaza, we have one question for the rest of the world: aren’t we human, just like you?
try to look at things optimistically. If the war ended, I could go out on the street and feel safe again, although I don’t know how likely that is, or whether I will still be alive after the war. But one of the things that could help me is not feeling that our cause is marginalised and everyone is ignoring it.
It’s essential for the world to advocate for political solutions and peace negotiations to address the root causes of the conflict. It’s also crucial for our immediate survival that we receive humanitarian aid such as food, medical care and psychological support. And we need safe spaces for education and personal development, to provide a refuge and help young people prepare for a better future.
We need to believe that there is hope, but right now that’s getting harder. In Gaza we don’t feel anyone is looking out for us. The young feel abandoned by the outside world – the conflict has gone on and on and people are no longer shocked by what is happening to us. We are just waiting for someone to tell us that the war is over.
(ICYMI: (ProPublica) Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Two Government Bodies Concluded. Antony Blinken Rejected Them. -
Blinken told Congress, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting” aid, even though the U.S. Agency for International Development and others had determined that Israel had broken the law. )
+972: After a year of terror in Gaza, our souls feel suspended in time -
I’ve cheated death, mourned friends, and lost my livelihood. Just when I was on the cusp of leaving this torment, Israel shut our last crossing to the world.
Our escape plan was in motion. We managed to register with a travel agency to leave through the Rafah Crossing, our bags were packed, and we were merely waiting for our names to appear on the exit list. On the night of May 6, our time finally arrived. Then the unimaginable happened: the following morning, as we awaited confirmation that we could leave the next day, the Israeli army invaded Rafah. The first thing it did was occupy the Rafah Crossing, cutting off our last passageway to the outside world.
Every day, we wait for the crossing to reopen so that we will be allowed to leave. We dream of that moment. But each day that I remain stuck here, I lose a little more hope for the future of Gaza.
The Markaz Review: A Year of War Without End
I don’t know what language it’s possible to use with people who will never see you as human. Who will always hear an animal braying when you speak. Aware that we will be misinterpreted, we too try to translate ourselves for the West in every sense of the word in order to make our suffering intelligible. We speak to them in their languages. We say: imagine this was your city. Imagine these were your children. For we cannot simply assume that they will see our children and ascribe to them the same innocence, the same promise, the same irresistible sweetness as theirs. We translate our landscapes. We say, imagine 2,000,000 people packed into a strip of land the size of… We say, “Beirut is a cosmopolitan city with a vibrant nightlife.” Imagine, we exhort them, your children killed, your city bombed, your future gone, your sense of self erased.
Because, ask any Arab what the most painful realization of the last year has been and it is this: that we have discovered the extent of our dehumanization to such a degree that it’s impossible to function in the world in the same way.
On the last day of 2023, I wrote out a long thread on X in which I anticipated the spread of the war to all of Lebanon. “I walk around Beirut,” I wrote, “trying to memorize all its beloved details. I have no idea how long my city will stand. Every time I feel horror over this, every time I think, no, this could never happen to Beirut, it could never be allowed, I realize how profoundly stupid this is. How is Beirut better or more deserving than Gaza? How is any Lebanese different from the people of Gaza who have watched their entire universe get wiped off the map while the world allows it? And what have I ever experienced in or from the west that allows me to labor under the delusion that Lebanon, that any country in our region besides the Zionist entity, is perceived any differently than Palestine?”
Now that this is a reality, now that my beloved Beirut is being sadistically pulverized, and I’m forced to see the repetition of the same justifications and excuses that were used — are still being used — to justify and excuse the wholesale destruction of Gaza, I’m finding it more and more difficult to figure out what to even say. I know only that I’m not interested in translating myself anymore. I’m not interested in “writing for the West” the way I was before, or for seeking out places based on the prestige of their platform. “Do they see us as human?” This is the only litmus test I’m interested in at this point. I don’t want to have to try and convince anybody.
New Arab (analysis): Israel is replicating its brutal Gaza playbook in Lebanon
posted by cendawanita at 10:26 AM on October 5 [31 favorites]
Retrospective pieces:
Guardian: In Gaza, we have one question for the rest of the world: aren’t we human, just like you?
try to look at things optimistically. If the war ended, I could go out on the street and feel safe again, although I don’t know how likely that is, or whether I will still be alive after the war. But one of the things that could help me is not feeling that our cause is marginalised and everyone is ignoring it.
It’s essential for the world to advocate for political solutions and peace negotiations to address the root causes of the conflict. It’s also crucial for our immediate survival that we receive humanitarian aid such as food, medical care and psychological support. And we need safe spaces for education and personal development, to provide a refuge and help young people prepare for a better future.
We need to believe that there is hope, but right now that’s getting harder. In Gaza we don’t feel anyone is looking out for us. The young feel abandoned by the outside world – the conflict has gone on and on and people are no longer shocked by what is happening to us. We are just waiting for someone to tell us that the war is over.
(ICYMI: (ProPublica) Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Two Government Bodies Concluded. Antony Blinken Rejected Them. -
Blinken told Congress, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting” aid, even though the U.S. Agency for International Development and others had determined that Israel had broken the law. )
+972: After a year of terror in Gaza, our souls feel suspended in time -
I’ve cheated death, mourned friends, and lost my livelihood. Just when I was on the cusp of leaving this torment, Israel shut our last crossing to the world.
Our escape plan was in motion. We managed to register with a travel agency to leave through the Rafah Crossing, our bags were packed, and we were merely waiting for our names to appear on the exit list. On the night of May 6, our time finally arrived. Then the unimaginable happened: the following morning, as we awaited confirmation that we could leave the next day, the Israeli army invaded Rafah. The first thing it did was occupy the Rafah Crossing, cutting off our last passageway to the outside world.
Every day, we wait for the crossing to reopen so that we will be allowed to leave. We dream of that moment. But each day that I remain stuck here, I lose a little more hope for the future of Gaza.
The Markaz Review: A Year of War Without End
I don’t know what language it’s possible to use with people who will never see you as human. Who will always hear an animal braying when you speak. Aware that we will be misinterpreted, we too try to translate ourselves for the West in every sense of the word in order to make our suffering intelligible. We speak to them in their languages. We say: imagine this was your city. Imagine these were your children. For we cannot simply assume that they will see our children and ascribe to them the same innocence, the same promise, the same irresistible sweetness as theirs. We translate our landscapes. We say, imagine 2,000,000 people packed into a strip of land the size of… We say, “Beirut is a cosmopolitan city with a vibrant nightlife.” Imagine, we exhort them, your children killed, your city bombed, your future gone, your sense of self erased.
Because, ask any Arab what the most painful realization of the last year has been and it is this: that we have discovered the extent of our dehumanization to such a degree that it’s impossible to function in the world in the same way.
On the last day of 2023, I wrote out a long thread on X in which I anticipated the spread of the war to all of Lebanon. “I walk around Beirut,” I wrote, “trying to memorize all its beloved details. I have no idea how long my city will stand. Every time I feel horror over this, every time I think, no, this could never happen to Beirut, it could never be allowed, I realize how profoundly stupid this is. How is Beirut better or more deserving than Gaza? How is any Lebanese different from the people of Gaza who have watched their entire universe get wiped off the map while the world allows it? And what have I ever experienced in or from the west that allows me to labor under the delusion that Lebanon, that any country in our region besides the Zionist entity, is perceived any differently than Palestine?”
Now that this is a reality, now that my beloved Beirut is being sadistically pulverized, and I’m forced to see the repetition of the same justifications and excuses that were used — are still being used — to justify and excuse the wholesale destruction of Gaza, I’m finding it more and more difficult to figure out what to even say. I know only that I’m not interested in translating myself anymore. I’m not interested in “writing for the West” the way I was before, or for seeking out places based on the prestige of their platform. “Do they see us as human?” This is the only litmus test I’m interested in at this point. I don’t want to have to try and convince anybody.
New Arab (analysis): Israel is replicating its brutal Gaza playbook in Lebanon
posted by cendawanita at 10:26 AM on October 5 [31 favorites]
It doesn't seem like anyone is particularly keen to administer Gaza (and understandably so; there would be yet more global outcry if Israel were to do that and Egypt is decidedly uninterested).
Oh, have the State of Palestine disappeared recently?
posted by cendawanita at 10:30 AM on October 5 [26 favorites]
Oh, have the State of Palestine disappeared recently?
posted by cendawanita at 10:30 AM on October 5 [26 favorites]
WXYZ Detroit: Lebanese Americans hope class action lawsuit against State Department will help reunite families
The Lebanese in Lebanon are counting on Lebanese Americans that they believe we will be able to do something," said Micho.
On Thursday, the Arab American Civil Rights League in Michigan filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of U.S. citizens and green card holders currently trapped in Lebanon. ACRL's Nabhi Ayad says so far, the five plaintiffs named in the complaint have been unable to secure assistance from the State Department.
And ICYMI - picking this one specifically for the subhead: (The Intercept) U.S. Citizens in Lebanon “Abandoned” by the State Department as Israel Invades -
The State Department coordinated massive evacuations from Lebanon in 2006 and Egypt in 2011. What’s different now?
posted by cendawanita at 10:39 AM on October 5 [12 favorites]
The Lebanese in Lebanon are counting on Lebanese Americans that they believe we will be able to do something," said Micho.
On Thursday, the Arab American Civil Rights League in Michigan filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of U.S. citizens and green card holders currently trapped in Lebanon. ACRL's Nabhi Ayad says so far, the five plaintiffs named in the complaint have been unable to secure assistance from the State Department.
And ICYMI - picking this one specifically for the subhead: (The Intercept) U.S. Citizens in Lebanon “Abandoned” by the State Department as Israel Invades -
The State Department coordinated massive evacuations from Lebanon in 2006 and Egypt in 2011. What’s different now?
posted by cendawanita at 10:39 AM on October 5 [12 favorites]
nofundy I'm doubtful that the pro-Israel lobby needed to buy much support. Mostly I think they just help out those already in agreement with them. And, of course, the threat to those who don't do as AIPAC wants: do as they tell you to or they'll do to you what they did to Rep Talib.
Like so much else in America, it's about white supremacy. In this case expressed through Christian nationalism, but the white supremacy is the core. All the people who give a shit about the exact definition of "white" can argue endlessly about whether Jews are really white or not, but they're closer than Muslims of Middle Eastern descent are and that's the critical factor.
As a rule, in any given conflict, the USA will pick the whiter side. And in this case that's Israel.
I think ultimately that's really all there is to it for people like Biden. He sees Jews as people he can deal with, even if personally he's not what you'd call fond of Jews. But he sees Muslims, especially Middle Eastern Muslims, as not-people. And so do most white Americans, they won't say it openly, they may not even think it consciously. But we've seen over and over how white America frames the conflict in terms of Hamas attacking Israel and Israel defending itself. A framing that is only valid if you pretend it doesn't count when Israel murders Palestinians.
If AIPAC really is buying influence, they're doing so in a market already leaning heavily in their favor.
posted by sotonohito at 12:28 PM on October 5 [12 favorites]
Like so much else in America, it's about white supremacy. In this case expressed through Christian nationalism, but the white supremacy is the core. All the people who give a shit about the exact definition of "white" can argue endlessly about whether Jews are really white or not, but they're closer than Muslims of Middle Eastern descent are and that's the critical factor.
As a rule, in any given conflict, the USA will pick the whiter side. And in this case that's Israel.
I think ultimately that's really all there is to it for people like Biden. He sees Jews as people he can deal with, even if personally he's not what you'd call fond of Jews. But he sees Muslims, especially Middle Eastern Muslims, as not-people. And so do most white Americans, they won't say it openly, they may not even think it consciously. But we've seen over and over how white America frames the conflict in terms of Hamas attacking Israel and Israel defending itself. A framing that is only valid if you pretend it doesn't count when Israel murders Palestinians.
If AIPAC really is buying influence, they're doing so in a market already leaning heavily in their favor.
posted by sotonohito at 12:28 PM on October 5 [12 favorites]
Israel sure seems to murder anyone honestly trying to negotiate for a ceasefire..
Their current Minister of National Security first gained national prominence by calling for the assassination of their own Prime Minister in 1995, due to Rabin's role in the Oslo peace accords. Ben-Gvir held up Rabin's hood ornament and declared, "We got to his car and we'll get to him, too."
Netanyahu led a mock funeral procession featuring a coffin and hangman's noose at an anti-Rabin rally where protesters chanted, "Death to Rabin," then denied any incitement of violence on his part when Rabin was assassinated soon after.
In case anyone had any remaining doubts about how dangerous working for peace is in that neighborhood.
posted by delfin at 12:38 PM on October 5 [50 favorites]
Their current Minister of National Security first gained national prominence by calling for the assassination of their own Prime Minister in 1995, due to Rabin's role in the Oslo peace accords. Ben-Gvir held up Rabin's hood ornament and declared, "We got to his car and we'll get to him, too."
Netanyahu led a mock funeral procession featuring a coffin and hangman's noose at an anti-Rabin rally where protesters chanted, "Death to Rabin," then denied any incitement of violence on his part when Rabin was assassinated soon after.
In case anyone had any remaining doubts about how dangerous working for peace is in that neighborhood.
posted by delfin at 12:38 PM on October 5 [50 favorites]
Chen Almog-Goldstein was kidnapped by Hamas along with her three youngest children on October 7, 2023. This week, she tells the story of their life as hostages in Gaza.This American Life: 51 Days
I am giving the generic This American Life link because the show itself won't be available online until tomorrow -- but I just listened to it. Chev Almog-Goldstein saw her husband and oldest daughter slaughtered before her eyes and then was taken captive into Gaza along with the rest of her children. The story is about the time she and they spent with her captors. It is both harrowing and full of humanity. It is one of the best This American Life episodes I have ever heard. It is so worth the listen.
posted by y2karl at 12:45 PM on October 5 [6 favorites]
https://www.thetorah.com/article/obliterating-cherem
I love living by morality from 3000 years ago. It's so fucking awesome.
posted by symbioid at 1:05 PM on October 5 [5 favorites]
I love living by morality from 3000 years ago. It's so fucking awesome.
posted by symbioid at 1:05 PM on October 5 [5 favorites]
"morality"
posted by symbioid at 1:05 PM on October 5 [4 favorites]
posted by symbioid at 1:05 PM on October 5 [4 favorites]
It is one of the best This American Life episodes I have ever heard.
Better than the one about the sad Israeli settler kid who was missing her high school friends because she had to go live in a hotel ... while hundreds of thousands of Gazans were fleeing Gaza city on foot under gun fire and bombing??
Let me know when TAL does a story on Ayşenur Ezgi.
posted by Surfurrus at 1:15 PM on October 5 [20 favorites]
Better than the one about the sad Israeli settler kid who was missing her high school friends because she had to go live in a hotel ... while hundreds of thousands of Gazans were fleeing Gaza city on foot under gun fire and bombing??
Let me know when TAL does a story on Ayşenur Ezgi.
posted by Surfurrus at 1:15 PM on October 5 [20 favorites]
(sorry to spam here, but, just saw this in my youtube feed (I follow Derrick and have watched TIR off and on in the past)):
C Derrick Varn and This Is Revolution Podcast on the year anniversary of 10/7...
Almost 3 hours long so be ready. 6 commenters. Derrick, Kuba, Djene, Pascal, Jason, and Electra (? not sure who she is, haven't seen her on the podcast before).
There are some domestic US politics discussed, too, and the wars impact on the US election. While the hosts are generally socialist, they don't necessarily just engage in typical socialist demagoguery that a lot of socialist stuff engages in. I figure it's pertinent enough and outside of the mainstream enough per se to share here as an alternative.
posted by symbioid at 1:21 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
C Derrick Varn and This Is Revolution Podcast on the year anniversary of 10/7...
Almost 3 hours long so be ready. 6 commenters. Derrick, Kuba, Djene, Pascal, Jason, and Electra (? not sure who she is, haven't seen her on the podcast before).
There are some domestic US politics discussed, too, and the wars impact on the US election. While the hosts are generally socialist, they don't necessarily just engage in typical socialist demagoguery that a lot of socialist stuff engages in. I figure it's pertinent enough and outside of the mainstream enough per se to share here as an alternative.
posted by symbioid at 1:21 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
The Democrats have been commenting, quite extensively. They think the chilling of free speech is good, and they applaud Biden's handling of the rampant Hamas influence on our campuses.What's this all about...? o.0
posted by slater at 2:31 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
Not particularly interested in hearing Zionist propaganda, thanks. Let me know when they tell the story of someone who's lost hundreds of relatives in Gaza as a result of Israeli retaliation and had to watch their children starve to death in front of their eyes. This isn't any different from the 19th century tales of "captured by savage Indians" that were used to justify the USA's genocide of Native Americans. Very telling re who gets to have humanity and with whom we're expected to empathise, though.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 2:36 PM on October 5 [33 favorites]
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 2:36 PM on October 5 [33 favorites]
Motaz Azaiza interviewed with Hasan Piker here. Motaz is a Gazan photographer touring America to raise money for UNWRA. Eighteen of his relatives and twenty nine of his friend have been killed during the genocide. His stomach has been hurting on tour because he's not used to our greasy food. While Hasan is normally a polemicist, he's just on lowkey interview mode for this one.
posted by Hume at 3:02 PM on October 5 [11 favorites]
posted by Hume at 3:02 PM on October 5 [11 favorites]
Oh, have the State of Palestine disappeared recently?
I believe that is exactly what happens, if you fight and lose a war. Similar to the disappearance and effective replacement of the German and Japanese state after they began a war and lost it. The US, 80 years later, still has 55,000 troops stationed in Japan and 35,000 troops in Germany.
The official reason (I kid you not) is that the troops are there to "promote and strengthen democracy" make of that what you will...
posted by xdvesper at 4:20 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
I believe that is exactly what happens, if you fight and lose a war. Similar to the disappearance and effective replacement of the German and Japanese state after they began a war and lost it. The US, 80 years later, still has 55,000 troops stationed in Japan and 35,000 troops in Germany.
The official reason (I kid you not) is that the troops are there to "promote and strengthen democracy" make of that what you will...
posted by xdvesper at 4:20 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
I believe that is exactly what happens, if you fight and lose a war
Actually it isn't anymore; the right of conquest is not recognised since the end of WWII (NB that Germany wasn't annexed by one of the Western Allies, and Japan wasn't annexed by the USSR or China).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 4:32 PM on October 5 [25 favorites]
Actually it isn't anymore; the right of conquest is not recognised since the end of WWII (NB that Germany wasn't annexed by one of the Western Allies, and Japan wasn't annexed by the USSR or China).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 4:32 PM on October 5 [25 favorites]
And kinda one of the cornerstones of trying to get ahead of history and end the Warring (European) Kingdoms period tbh.
posted by cendawanita at 4:34 PM on October 5 [12 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 4:34 PM on October 5 [12 favorites]
(also, I just want to be clear. The modern Palestine - that would very much like to abide to the 1967 borders even if that meant a loss of almost 80% of historical Palestine per the British Mandate boundaries at least - is officially called the State of Palestine. That's the one that has a seat at the UN General Assembly now.)
posted by cendawanita at 4:39 PM on October 5 [14 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 4:39 PM on October 5 [14 favorites]
New from Akbar Shahid Ahmed: (HuffPo) A Quiet Rebellion On Gaza Is Growing Among Civil Servants Across The West -
As Israel continues to retaliate for Oct. 7 — while receiving huge support from the U.S. and its allies — government officials have felt compelled to act in ways they never thought they would.
HuffPost interviewed nearly two dozen current and former officials challenging their governments’ post-Oct. 7 policies in four capitals, tapping an international whisper network. HuffPost is shielding most of their identities.
While limits on political activity by government employees vary from country to country, unauthorized conversations with the press are generally a red line. Sources also feared they would be targeted by pro-Israel activists or by right-wing media outlets in many Western countries, which demonize bureaucrats as standing in the way of populist policies.
Conversations with these officials reveal insular patterns in policymaking around the war in many of the world’s most powerful democracies, and illuminate how the bloodshed in Gaza has forged bonds among concerned government employees across boundaries of citizenship, specialty and rank.
(Honestly it's kinda interesting to see how the journalism has been shaking out in the past year. Ravid at Axios for upper echelon access journalism, just Hedda Hopper at the White House kind of gig, and Ahmed which is turning out to be the go-to guy for what the technocrats really think, the class of people where in my country would be very ironically talking about their "political masters". And based on what I've read from fellow American mefites, the class of people that's much more closer and likely to be present here than a political appointee)
posted by cendawanita at 4:45 PM on October 5 [10 favorites]
As Israel continues to retaliate for Oct. 7 — while receiving huge support from the U.S. and its allies — government officials have felt compelled to act in ways they never thought they would.
HuffPost interviewed nearly two dozen current and former officials challenging their governments’ post-Oct. 7 policies in four capitals, tapping an international whisper network. HuffPost is shielding most of their identities.
While limits on political activity by government employees vary from country to country, unauthorized conversations with the press are generally a red line. Sources also feared they would be targeted by pro-Israel activists or by right-wing media outlets in many Western countries, which demonize bureaucrats as standing in the way of populist policies.
Conversations with these officials reveal insular patterns in policymaking around the war in many of the world’s most powerful democracies, and illuminate how the bloodshed in Gaza has forged bonds among concerned government employees across boundaries of citizenship, specialty and rank.
(Honestly it's kinda interesting to see how the journalism has been shaking out in the past year. Ravid at Axios for upper echelon access journalism, just Hedda Hopper at the White House kind of gig, and Ahmed which is turning out to be the go-to guy for what the technocrats really think, the class of people where in my country would be very ironically talking about their "political masters". And based on what I've read from fellow American mefites, the class of people that's much more closer and likely to be present here than a political appointee)
posted by cendawanita at 4:45 PM on October 5 [10 favorites]
Actually it isn't anymore
I tend to agree, and would even call this common knowledge, as I plugged in about 25 different Wars and conflicts since World War II in my head without using reference material and saw no real similar conditions that Germany and Japan faced at least by the United States. another factor is renumeration by the countries that we have troops in this includes South Korea, in other words, we pay a little bit more and I think this is to keep it balanced so it's not to look as the United States is well bilking these countries for billions above the cost allocated by the Department of defense. I'm 99% sure there are no more binding agreements that the United States must occupy these two countries as of the date. I said it for 20 years, if a country wants the United States to leave, all they do is have to ask. of course there are exceptions to that. The armored aspect of the United States forces alone in Europe is significant in firepower. to give you an idea, it would cost a million dollars a half mile to move these forces once deployed. armor is still the battleship of the land as it has many accompanying supply and support vehicles including numerous aircraft including if need be b-52's and Naval support if available.
and end the Warring (European) Kingdoms period tbh. I would concur with this insight common knowledge.
I've had this earwig without the parenthetical European, my brain started plugging in Sengoku Jidai. Talk about whoah. forgive my long-winded statement, but there are many good links in this post to comment on other than European history in comparative analysis in my opinion.
posted by clavdivs at 5:56 PM on October 5 [2 favorites]
I tend to agree, and would even call this common knowledge, as I plugged in about 25 different Wars and conflicts since World War II in my head without using reference material and saw no real similar conditions that Germany and Japan faced at least by the United States. another factor is renumeration by the countries that we have troops in this includes South Korea, in other words, we pay a little bit more and I think this is to keep it balanced so it's not to look as the United States is well bilking these countries for billions above the cost allocated by the Department of defense. I'm 99% sure there are no more binding agreements that the United States must occupy these two countries as of the date. I said it for 20 years, if a country wants the United States to leave, all they do is have to ask. of course there are exceptions to that. The armored aspect of the United States forces alone in Europe is significant in firepower. to give you an idea, it would cost a million dollars a half mile to move these forces once deployed. armor is still the battleship of the land as it has many accompanying supply and support vehicles including numerous aircraft including if need be b-52's and Naval support if available.
and end the Warring (European) Kingdoms period tbh. I would concur with this insight common knowledge.
I've had this earwig without the parenthetical European, my brain started plugging in Sengoku Jidai. Talk about whoah. forgive my long-winded statement, but there are many good links in this post to comment on other than European history in comparative analysis in my opinion.
posted by clavdivs at 5:56 PM on October 5 [2 favorites]
ask any Arab what the most painful realization of the last year has been and it is this: that we have discovered the extent of our dehumanization to such a degree that it’s impossible to function in the world in the same way.
The Cat is the US and the big pink cat ring is dehumanization and the nature of Voom is distressing to contemplate.
posted by flabdablet at 5:56 PM on October 5 [4 favorites]
The Cat is the US and the big pink cat ring is dehumanization and the nature of Voom is distressing to contemplate.
posted by flabdablet at 5:56 PM on October 5 [4 favorites]
Actually it isn't anymore; the right of conquest is not recognised since the end of WWII
No one said anything about conquest. Regime change is what MattD was talking about.
I'm talking about practical outcomes - Israel has a goal of returning over 100,000 displaced persons to their homes and workplaces, and if the international community doesn't help (eg UNSC 1701) then Israel will do it themselves. If a state doesn't like how it is done they could volunteer to go to Gaza and Lebanon and do it themselves, Israel would be more than happy... which is exactly the proposal now.
And if we want to talk about "warring states" - Gaza has seen a lot more war than Japan post WW2, and I daresay the Japanese have a higher standard of living. That's hardly an argument in favour of the current situation... though a permanent state of war that cannot be legally resolved seems to be a marvelous boon to weapons manufacturers.
posted by xdvesper at 6:05 PM on October 5
No one said anything about conquest. Regime change is what MattD was talking about.
I'm talking about practical outcomes - Israel has a goal of returning over 100,000 displaced persons to their homes and workplaces, and if the international community doesn't help (eg UNSC 1701) then Israel will do it themselves. If a state doesn't like how it is done they could volunteer to go to Gaza and Lebanon and do it themselves, Israel would be more than happy... which is exactly the proposal now.
And if we want to talk about "warring states" - Gaza has seen a lot more war than Japan post WW2, and I daresay the Japanese have a higher standard of living. That's hardly an argument in favour of the current situation... though a permanent state of war that cannot be legally resolved seems to be a marvelous boon to weapons manufacturers.
posted by xdvesper at 6:05 PM on October 5
No one said anything about conquest.
This is pretty much the whole problem. Israel can just keep on doing conquest that the weapons-industrial-propaganda complex just keeps on enabling via ongoing studious refusal to call it what it is.
posted by flabdablet at 6:31 PM on October 5 [15 favorites]
This is pretty much the whole problem. Israel can just keep on doing conquest that the weapons-industrial-propaganda complex just keeps on enabling via ongoing studious refusal to call it what it is.
posted by flabdablet at 6:31 PM on October 5 [15 favorites]
Israel would be more than happy
to bomb the crap out of them as well.
posted by flabdablet at 6:32 PM on October 5 [11 favorites]
to bomb the crap out of them as well.
posted by flabdablet at 6:32 PM on October 5 [11 favorites]
UNRWA Sitation Report 140. Among others,
- According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people (or nine in ten people) across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including people who have been repeatedly displaced (some, up to 10 times or more).
- ...with the amount of aid Israel is currently allowing into Gaza, it would take humanitarian agencies more than two years to deliver the kits needed to prepare tents, makeshift shelters and damaged homes south of Wadi Gaza for this coming winter. ... to meet the vast needs, this would be the equivalent of 25 truckloads per week. In August, an average of just two trucks per week crossed into the south with shelter items, just eight per cent of what is needed weekly.
- ...492 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza, with 747 individuals killed. Every hospital in Gaza has been affected and no hospital remains fully functional...
- As of 26 September, the total number of UNRWA team members killed since 7 October is 222.
No one said anything about conquest. Regime change is what MattD was talking about.
The Israeli government under Netanyahu selected this regime for Gaza. Very deliberately, and precisely to justify the actions now underway.
I'm talking about practical outcomes - Israel has a goal of returning over 100,000 displaced persons to their homes and workplaces, and if the international community doesn't help (eg UNSC 1701) then Israel will do it themselves.
That doesn't give them carte blanche to murder civilians, bomb hospitals, target aid workers and journalists, nor to engage in the use of systematic rape and torture as weapons of war. Israel has occupied Gaza illegally for decades and has engaged in an inhumane blockade for twenty years, Acting as if Israel is somehow a uniquely mistreated state that has no choice but to engage in war crimes is absurd.
The war against Gaza is an illegal and immoral campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide. There is no goal or justification that could make their actions acceptable.
Would Surfurrus gone as half-cocked a one woman circular virtue signalling squad if she had listened to it before she commented? I would like to think not.
This is like doing a special about 9/11 victims during the Iraq war without ever mentioning Abu Ghraib or the civilian death toll. The decision to focus on the very small number of victims in the state carrying out atrocities, and not the victims of the ongoing mass murder is a deliberate choice by the producers of TAL and one that deserves criticism.
This might be a worthwhile story in a larger context, but that context hasn't been provided by NPR or other western media outlets.
posted by pattern juggler at 6:36 PM on October 5 [31 favorites]
The Israeli government under Netanyahu selected this regime for Gaza. Very deliberately, and precisely to justify the actions now underway.
I'm talking about practical outcomes - Israel has a goal of returning over 100,000 displaced persons to their homes and workplaces, and if the international community doesn't help (eg UNSC 1701) then Israel will do it themselves.
That doesn't give them carte blanche to murder civilians, bomb hospitals, target aid workers and journalists, nor to engage in the use of systematic rape and torture as weapons of war. Israel has occupied Gaza illegally for decades and has engaged in an inhumane blockade for twenty years, Acting as if Israel is somehow a uniquely mistreated state that has no choice but to engage in war crimes is absurd.
The war against Gaza is an illegal and immoral campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide. There is no goal or justification that could make their actions acceptable.
Would Surfurrus gone as half-cocked a one woman circular virtue signalling squad if she had listened to it before she commented? I would like to think not.
This is like doing a special about 9/11 victims during the Iraq war without ever mentioning Abu Ghraib or the civilian death toll. The decision to focus on the very small number of victims in the state carrying out atrocities, and not the victims of the ongoing mass murder is a deliberate choice by the producers of TAL and one that deserves criticism.
This might be a worthwhile story in a larger context, but that context hasn't been provided by NPR or other western media outlets.
posted by pattern juggler at 6:36 PM on October 5 [31 favorites]
Some of that context was provided by an episode This American Life ran a few months ago, Yousef and the Fourth Move, about a man desperately trying to get his family out of Rafah before it was invaded.
posted by escabeche at 7:03 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
posted by escabeche at 7:03 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
For a full year, the news every morning had been Israel kills X people in Y place. Other governments "protest", but it continues. I think the unspoken truth is that people, including Americans, actually want an ethnic cleanse in the middle East :(
posted by Popular Ethics at 8:13 PM on October 5 [9 favorites]
posted by Popular Ethics at 8:13 PM on October 5 [9 favorites]
doesn't help (eg UNSC 1701) then Israel will do it themselves.
That doesn't give them carte blanche to ....Israel has occupied Gaza
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701
posted by clavdivs at 8:43 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
That doesn't give them carte blanche to ....Israel has occupied Gaza
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701
posted by clavdivs at 8:43 PM on October 5 [1 favorite]
For a full year, the news every morning had been Israel kills X people in Y place. Other governments "protest", but it continues. I think the unspoken truth is that people, including Americans, actually want an ethnic cleanse in the middle East :(
I don't.
posted by Gadarene at 8:43 PM on October 5 [7 favorites]
I don't.
posted by Gadarene at 8:43 PM on October 5 [7 favorites]
Profiteers take over Gaza food trade as UN aid falters (Financial Times, archive.is link)
The UN and NGOs have been increasingly deterred by lawlessness and active combat along the delivery routes, according to two UN officials based in Gaza. The situation became more perilous after Israel’s Rafah operation closed the key crossing with Egypt; the number of trucks delivering aid from humanitarian organisations declined by more than two-thirds between April and September, reaching the lowest point since the war began, according to the UN.posted by runcifex at 8:50 PM on October 5 [5 favorites]
[...]
To import one truck from the West Bank to Gaza, the trader pays between $5,000 and $35,000 for a permit on the secondary market, depending on the value of the goods; $3,000 to guard the truck inside Gaza; and a minimum of $4,000 in transport fees. Before the war, the sole cost was $300 in transport fees.
Mod note: A few deleted: derail about how much hostages of 19th C. Native Americans did or didn't want to be hostages, and a back and forth about Mefi mail. As to Mefi mail, A) it shouldn't be used to pursue an argument about a post topic, unless that is something the other person has explicitly agreed to (like, "let's talk about this more in Mefi mail rather than derail here" or whatever), B) please just block each other.
posted by taz (staff) at 9:38 PM on October 5 [3 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 9:38 PM on October 5 [3 favorites]
...the very small number of victims
On what is known as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. It doesn't excuse killing Palestinian civilians in the tens of thousands but all the same trivializing what sparked the Israeli reaction is both pointless and useless. Iran becoming an openly nuclear state is one likely result of that very small number. Which is extremely not helpful. Because now we are talking about World War III. Which is not something anyone wants. I haven't been this scared since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yet here we are.
posted by y2karl at 10:31 PM on October 5 [3 favorites]
On what is known as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. It doesn't excuse killing Palestinian civilians in the tens of thousands but all the same trivializing what sparked the Israeli reaction is both pointless and useless. Iran becoming an openly nuclear state is one likely result of that very small number. Which is extremely not helpful. Because now we are talking about World War III. Which is not something anyone wants. I haven't been this scared since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yet here we are.
posted by y2karl at 10:31 PM on October 5 [3 favorites]
trivializing what sparked the Israeli reaction is both pointless and useless
Honestly, so is trivialising the 75 years of dispossession, ethnic cleansing, ghettoisation, and apartheid that preceded it and directly led to the creation of a Palestinian resistance in the first place. And yet somehow Israel's defenders like to pretend that Israel is somehow an innocent victim of hateful terrorists motivated by antisemitism and not targeted by an insurgency from an occupied people who've been under the Israeli boot for decades.
Iran becoming an openly nuclear state is one likely result of that very small number
Israel is an undeclared nuclear state; if one thing that seven decades of mutually assured destruction between the US and USSR/Russia have shown, it's that the threat of massive retaliation with nuclear weapons acts as a check on direct acts of aggression. Hard to blame Iran for seeking nuclear weapons; if they had them then Israel would be forced to negotiate and make concessions, instead of engaging in airstrikes.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:41 PM on October 5 [21 favorites]
Honestly, so is trivialising the 75 years of dispossession, ethnic cleansing, ghettoisation, and apartheid that preceded it and directly led to the creation of a Palestinian resistance in the first place. And yet somehow Israel's defenders like to pretend that Israel is somehow an innocent victim of hateful terrorists motivated by antisemitism and not targeted by an insurgency from an occupied people who've been under the Israeli boot for decades.
Iran becoming an openly nuclear state is one likely result of that very small number
Israel is an undeclared nuclear state; if one thing that seven decades of mutually assured destruction between the US and USSR/Russia have shown, it's that the threat of massive retaliation with nuclear weapons acts as a check on direct acts of aggression. Hard to blame Iran for seeking nuclear weapons; if they had them then Israel would be forced to negotiate and make concessions, instead of engaging in airstrikes.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:41 PM on October 5 [21 favorites]
the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust
is a formulation that trivializes the Holocaust to such an extent that if it were anybody but Likud and its fellow travellers peddling it, they would be denounced as the worst kind of denier.
posted by flabdablet at 11:03 PM on October 5 [30 favorites]
is a formulation that trivializes the Holocaust to such an extent that if it were anybody but Likud and its fellow travellers peddling it, they would be denounced as the worst kind of denier.
posted by flabdablet at 11:03 PM on October 5 [30 favorites]
Acting as if Israel is somehow a uniquely mistreated state that has no choice but to engage in war crimes is absurd.
I wouldn't be claiming that Israel is unique. Look at similar wars fought in the immediate region - Syrian Civil War, 620,000 dead. Yemen Civil War 377,000 dead. 2nd Sudan Civil War (380,000) and the current around of fighting there will likely claim just as many lives, with up to 150,000 dead this year alone.
The best analogy is the Houthi USV (uncrewed surface vessel) attacks - see footage and photos from an attack on the MV Tutor. They use a motorboat with mannequins on it to make it look like the crew are lost or seeking help, allowing them to get close enough to blow up the merchant vessel. They only realise the boat has mannequins on it instead of humans when it's way too close and they shout "get inside! inside inside!" as they know it's going to blow up. Their accent sounds Malay, funnily enough...
You can't tell at a distance if those are mannequins or real people, so what do you do? Shoot every boat that approaches your ship, even if it kills innocent people? That may well be the new norm in the Red Sea now. Eg this footage with a Ukrainian defense team blowing up an approaching boat after debating for a few moments if it was "really" crewed or not.
Is blowing up an approaching boat without being able to communicate with it a "crime"? Probably. But this will probably be the norm operating in such a dangerous environment created by the Houthis. That's just the practical reality of it.
I don't believe Israel is doing anything unique, by this standard. Which brings us back to - could anyone else do better, fighting against Hamas and Hezbollah for the last 20 years? They're certainly welcome to try.
posted by xdvesper at 1:18 AM on October 6 [2 favorites]
I wouldn't be claiming that Israel is unique. Look at similar wars fought in the immediate region - Syrian Civil War, 620,000 dead. Yemen Civil War 377,000 dead. 2nd Sudan Civil War (380,000) and the current around of fighting there will likely claim just as many lives, with up to 150,000 dead this year alone.
The best analogy is the Houthi USV (uncrewed surface vessel) attacks - see footage and photos from an attack on the MV Tutor. They use a motorboat with mannequins on it to make it look like the crew are lost or seeking help, allowing them to get close enough to blow up the merchant vessel. They only realise the boat has mannequins on it instead of humans when it's way too close and they shout "get inside! inside inside!" as they know it's going to blow up. Their accent sounds Malay, funnily enough...
You can't tell at a distance if those are mannequins or real people, so what do you do? Shoot every boat that approaches your ship, even if it kills innocent people? That may well be the new norm in the Red Sea now. Eg this footage with a Ukrainian defense team blowing up an approaching boat after debating for a few moments if it was "really" crewed or not.
Is blowing up an approaching boat without being able to communicate with it a "crime"? Probably. But this will probably be the norm operating in such a dangerous environment created by the Houthis. That's just the practical reality of it.
I don't believe Israel is doing anything unique, by this standard. Which brings us back to - could anyone else do better, fighting against Hamas and Hezbollah for the last 20 years? They're certainly welcome to try.
posted by xdvesper at 1:18 AM on October 6 [2 favorites]
Given that both Hamas and Hezbollah only exist as direct consequences of unjust and disproportionate Israeli aggression, I truly hope nobody else is as stupidly eager to accept that invitation.
posted by flabdablet at 2:13 AM on October 6 [18 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 2:13 AM on October 6 [18 favorites]
My history notes. There are plenty of omissions etc. Please accept these as mistaken oversights, requesting enlightenment, rather than willful omissions.
Before October 7th, 2023
The Netanyahu government was embattled in corruption charges and civil protests over judicial and legal reforms, meant to solidify the ruling blocs control of the legal system; judicial reforms meant to usher in an additional set of reforms for the expansion of Israeli settlements and annexation. Even then, authors, human rights groups, and former Israeli leaders were criticizing such policies as "driving Israel deeper and deeper into inhuman, cruel behavior beyond any defense" [previous link] and accusations of apartheid.
Gazans were also dissatisfied with Hamas and suffering under blockade. Hamas came to power following a fair and democratic election (required by the US and Israel) in 2006, in which Hamas gained a plurality of votes in Gaza (where many votes for Hamas were seen as 'protest votes', the Bush Admin and Israel did not believe Hamas would win in their roadmap to Democracy in the Middle East). Economic sanctions were implemented against the Palestinian government (Hamas was already labeled a terrorist organization by the Quartet), Israel's 2005 'disengagement' became blockade in which even the calories available for Gazans were carefully calculated and restricted (after being "adjusted to culture and experience" of Gazans): fishing boats were not permitted to enter the Mediterranean from Gaza; import, export and industry limited. While conflict also broke out between Hamas and Fatah, including the 2007 'Battle for Gaza,' in which Hamas emerged as the dominant political force in Gaza without further elections. Human rights groups called Gaza 'an open air prison' (history). After 2007 through October 6th 2023, 6400 Palestinian and 300 Israeli had been killed in ongoing conflicts, with pre-October 7th the deadliest year for residents of West Bank due to extrajudicial killings by Israeli security forces and settlers, following incendiary statements and policies from the Israeli far-right. Likud and Hamas, the ruling parties of Israel and Gaza, respectively, had since-excised historic language "from the river to the sea" from their founding charters, that was later declared 'genocidal'. October 2023, the population of Gaza was estimated near 2.23 million, 0.8% of whom (18,000 individuals) had been previously issued work permits into Israel.
October 7th, 2023
Estimates of up to 6000 Gazans crossed into Israel (3800 trained militants) with an additional 1000 providing rocket fire from within Gaza, killing 1,139 people (695 Israeli civilians (38 children), 71 foreign nationals, 373 members of Israeli security forces). Approximately 250 Israeli civilians (30 children) and soldiers taken hostage into the Gaza Strip, alive or dead. Human rights groups report the intentional and/or systematic use of rape and sexual violence by belligerents on both sides of the conflict (UN Report); verification and reporting has been contentious (wiki for more detail, context, and examples). In retrospect, in the weeks that followed, internal grief was also met with outrage over the failures of an overconfident Netanyahu government. “We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings,....” at least 3 days prior to the attack, stated Egyptian intelligence. Netanyahu denies he was warned by Egypt’s head of intelligence about Hamas’s plans before the onslaught. The IDF denies the blueprint of the attack was widely circulated for a year. However, following the October 7th attacks, judicial protests cease and opposition leaders join Netanyahu's 'War Cabinet.' Hamas states its reasoning for the attack were in solidarity with West Bank Palestinians over attacks in Jenin and checkpoints, and tensions over the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Mosque; many analysts believe the sophistication of the attacks were long planned, and a feeling by Palestinians they were being sidelined with normalization of relations between Israel and other Middle East nations.
There has been more tragedy in the last year than is possible to write and I struggle to read out loud. More than 42,000 Gazans have been killed, more than half women and children (with excess deaths estimated as high as 8% of the entire population as of mid-June 2024); >90% of the population of Gaza has been displaced. The structure of Gaza has been destroyed: 80% of commercial facilities; 85% of school buildings; 17 of 36 hospitals remain, but only partially functional; 65% of road networks; 65% of cropland. So numerous, identities have become statistics. Some Israeli hostages remain in captivity in Gaza: some dead through the direct actions of both IDF and Hamas, some released (clear numbers are not forthcoming). Netanyahu's corruption trial resumed. The Israeli coalition government disbanded, and power re-solidified with farther right support. Leaders of Hamas and Israel have been indicted on war crimes with little hope of extradition or justice; the UN is investigating war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed by both sides with lawsuits brought before the ICC and ICJ, including lawsuits against nations who have abetted the conflict. The occupation of all Palestinian territories was ruled illegal. Conflict expanded into West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen, with the support of allies.
posted by rubatan at 2:26 AM on October 6 [24 favorites]
Before October 7th, 2023
The Netanyahu government was embattled in corruption charges and civil protests over judicial and legal reforms, meant to solidify the ruling blocs control of the legal system; judicial reforms meant to usher in an additional set of reforms for the expansion of Israeli settlements and annexation. Even then, authors, human rights groups, and former Israeli leaders were criticizing such policies as "driving Israel deeper and deeper into inhuman, cruel behavior beyond any defense" [previous link] and accusations of apartheid.
Gazans were also dissatisfied with Hamas and suffering under blockade. Hamas came to power following a fair and democratic election (required by the US and Israel) in 2006, in which Hamas gained a plurality of votes in Gaza (where many votes for Hamas were seen as 'protest votes', the Bush Admin and Israel did not believe Hamas would win in their roadmap to Democracy in the Middle East). Economic sanctions were implemented against the Palestinian government (Hamas was already labeled a terrorist organization by the Quartet), Israel's 2005 'disengagement' became blockade in which even the calories available for Gazans were carefully calculated and restricted (after being "adjusted to culture and experience" of Gazans): fishing boats were not permitted to enter the Mediterranean from Gaza; import, export and industry limited. While conflict also broke out between Hamas and Fatah, including the 2007 'Battle for Gaza,' in which Hamas emerged as the dominant political force in Gaza without further elections. Human rights groups called Gaza 'an open air prison' (history). After 2007 through October 6th 2023, 6400 Palestinian and 300 Israeli had been killed in ongoing conflicts, with pre-October 7th the deadliest year for residents of West Bank due to extrajudicial killings by Israeli security forces and settlers, following incendiary statements and policies from the Israeli far-right. Likud and Hamas, the ruling parties of Israel and Gaza, respectively, had since-excised historic language "from the river to the sea" from their founding charters, that was later declared 'genocidal'. October 2023, the population of Gaza was estimated near 2.23 million, 0.8% of whom (18,000 individuals) had been previously issued work permits into Israel.
October 7th, 2023
Estimates of up to 6000 Gazans crossed into Israel (3800 trained militants) with an additional 1000 providing rocket fire from within Gaza, killing 1,139 people (695 Israeli civilians (38 children), 71 foreign nationals, 373 members of Israeli security forces). Approximately 250 Israeli civilians (30 children) and soldiers taken hostage into the Gaza Strip, alive or dead. Human rights groups report the intentional and/or systematic use of rape and sexual violence by belligerents on both sides of the conflict (UN Report); verification and reporting has been contentious (wiki for more detail, context, and examples). In retrospect, in the weeks that followed, internal grief was also met with outrage over the failures of an overconfident Netanyahu government. “We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings,....” at least 3 days prior to the attack, stated Egyptian intelligence. Netanyahu denies he was warned by Egypt’s head of intelligence about Hamas’s plans before the onslaught. The IDF denies the blueprint of the attack was widely circulated for a year. However, following the October 7th attacks, judicial protests cease and opposition leaders join Netanyahu's 'War Cabinet.' Hamas states its reasoning for the attack were in solidarity with West Bank Palestinians over attacks in Jenin and checkpoints, and tensions over the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Mosque; many analysts believe the sophistication of the attacks were long planned, and a feeling by Palestinians they were being sidelined with normalization of relations between Israel and other Middle East nations.
There has been more tragedy in the last year than is possible to write and I struggle to read out loud. More than 42,000 Gazans have been killed, more than half women and children (with excess deaths estimated as high as 8% of the entire population as of mid-June 2024); >90% of the population of Gaza has been displaced. The structure of Gaza has been destroyed: 80% of commercial facilities; 85% of school buildings; 17 of 36 hospitals remain, but only partially functional; 65% of road networks; 65% of cropland. So numerous, identities have become statistics. Some Israeli hostages remain in captivity in Gaza: some dead through the direct actions of both IDF and Hamas, some released (clear numbers are not forthcoming). Netanyahu's corruption trial resumed. The Israeli coalition government disbanded, and power re-solidified with farther right support. Leaders of Hamas and Israel have been indicted on war crimes with little hope of extradition or justice; the UN is investigating war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity committed by both sides with lawsuits brought before the ICC and ICJ, including lawsuits against nations who have abetted the conflict. The occupation of all Palestinian territories was ruled illegal. Conflict expanded into West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen, with the support of allies.
posted by rubatan at 2:26 AM on October 6 [24 favorites]
On what is known as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
What has the last year been for Gazans, then? The death toll and displacements have vastly exceeded the Nakba.
The number of victims on 10/7 was in fact relatively small relative to the ongoing mass murder. Pretending otherwise is absurd. 9/11 killed four times as many civilians as 10/7. It was still utterly dwarfed by the horrors inflicted on Afghanistan and Iraq. Saying so isn't minimizing the suffering of those victims, it is recognizing reality. Focusing on the small number of victims in the state currently carrying out mass killing, instead of the much larger number of victims currently suffering and dying is a kind of propaganda, a kind the US media does continuously.
I don't believe Israel is doing anything unique, by this standard.
Are Assad or MBS the benchmark for moral governance now?
But the example is ridiculous. The problem with Israel isn't blowing up potentially booby trapped boats. It is targeting hospitals and aid workers. Deliberately bombing civilian populations and children, engaging in campaigns of rape and torture, and engaging in ethnic cleansing and genocide. The people ordering these actions are criminals. The people carrying them out are criminals. The people cheering them on and offering apologia for them have morally bankrupted themselves. If someone tried to justify the US arming Saudi proxies in Yemen or Putin backing Assad, they'd receive the same answer.
Which brings us back to - could anyone else do better, fighting against Hamas and Hezbollah for the last 20 years?
Israel had numerous offramps to avoid fighting Hamas and Hezbollah for decades. This result is exactly what Likud had intended. Its why they killed Rabin, after all.
Could another government do better? Yes, they could stop engaging in a deliberate ethnic cleansing. They could stop bombing hospitals and civilian neighborhoods. They could withdraw from Palestinian territory. They could remove the illegal settlements in Gaza. I'd say there is quite a lot of room for improvement.
posted by pattern juggler at 6:10 AM on October 6 [36 favorites]
What has the last year been for Gazans, then? The death toll and displacements have vastly exceeded the Nakba.
The number of victims on 10/7 was in fact relatively small relative to the ongoing mass murder. Pretending otherwise is absurd. 9/11 killed four times as many civilians as 10/7. It was still utterly dwarfed by the horrors inflicted on Afghanistan and Iraq. Saying so isn't minimizing the suffering of those victims, it is recognizing reality. Focusing on the small number of victims in the state currently carrying out mass killing, instead of the much larger number of victims currently suffering and dying is a kind of propaganda, a kind the US media does continuously.
I don't believe Israel is doing anything unique, by this standard.
Are Assad or MBS the benchmark for moral governance now?
But the example is ridiculous. The problem with Israel isn't blowing up potentially booby trapped boats. It is targeting hospitals and aid workers. Deliberately bombing civilian populations and children, engaging in campaigns of rape and torture, and engaging in ethnic cleansing and genocide. The people ordering these actions are criminals. The people carrying them out are criminals. The people cheering them on and offering apologia for them have morally bankrupted themselves. If someone tried to justify the US arming Saudi proxies in Yemen or Putin backing Assad, they'd receive the same answer.
Which brings us back to - could anyone else do better, fighting against Hamas and Hezbollah for the last 20 years?
Israel had numerous offramps to avoid fighting Hamas and Hezbollah for decades. This result is exactly what Likud had intended. Its why they killed Rabin, after all.
Could another government do better? Yes, they could stop engaging in a deliberate ethnic cleansing. They could stop bombing hospitals and civilian neighborhoods. They could withdraw from Palestinian territory. They could remove the illegal settlements in Gaza. I'd say there is quite a lot of room for improvement.
posted by pattern juggler at 6:10 AM on October 6 [36 favorites]
The US, 80 years later, still has 55,000 troops stationed in Japan and 35,000 troops in Germany.
The official reason (I kid you not) is that the troops are there to "promote and strengthen democracy" make of that what you will...
Are you implying that Germany and Japan somehow exist as US vassal states or colonies, or are somehow not independent (and thriving, even) democracies? If so that's an absolutely WILD reading of US-German and US-Japanese relations over the intervening 80 years. I would be absolutely thrilled if Palestine looked like Germany or Japan in a few decades.
posted by pullayup at 6:25 AM on October 6 [11 favorites]
The official reason (I kid you not) is that the troops are there to "promote and strengthen democracy" make of that what you will...
Are you implying that Germany and Japan somehow exist as US vassal states or colonies, or are somehow not independent (and thriving, even) democracies? If so that's an absolutely WILD reading of US-German and US-Japanese relations over the intervening 80 years. I would be absolutely thrilled if Palestine looked like Germany or Japan in a few decades.
posted by pullayup at 6:25 AM on October 6 [11 favorites]
A pro-Gaza protester attempted to self-immolate outside the White House.
Netanyahu considering plan presented by retired generals to force all Palestinians out of northern Gaza. Reminder: the entire Gaza Strip is about 141 square miles.
The UN special rapporteur calling out universities on their repressive policies: After reviewing persistent allegations, and talking with around 150 people from 30 countries, including students and faculty members, I can conclude that the situation surrounding protests and international solidarity with the Palestinian people and victims within university environments, coupled with inadequate institutional responses, reveals a widespread hostile environment for the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. I wonder which universities she could be talking about. Could it be NYU, conflating Zionism with Judaism? Columbia students risking their financial aid to protest? California professors accusing their universities of repression of pro-Palestinian speech?
VP Kamala Harris made a single statement outlining US support for assistance with humanitarian needs in Lebanon on X.
posted by toastyk at 6:52 AM on October 6 [13 favorites]
Netanyahu considering plan presented by retired generals to force all Palestinians out of northern Gaza. Reminder: the entire Gaza Strip is about 141 square miles.
The UN special rapporteur calling out universities on their repressive policies: After reviewing persistent allegations, and talking with around 150 people from 30 countries, including students and faculty members, I can conclude that the situation surrounding protests and international solidarity with the Palestinian people and victims within university environments, coupled with inadequate institutional responses, reveals a widespread hostile environment for the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. I wonder which universities she could be talking about. Could it be NYU, conflating Zionism with Judaism? Columbia students risking their financial aid to protest? California professors accusing their universities of repression of pro-Palestinian speech?
VP Kamala Harris made a single statement outlining US support for assistance with humanitarian needs in Lebanon on X.
posted by toastyk at 6:52 AM on October 6 [13 favorites]
972: A plan to liquidate northern Gaza is gaining steam
Guardian: As war and religion rages, Israel’s secular elite contemplate a ‘silent departure’
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 6:57 AM on October 6 [9 favorites]
Guardian: As war and religion rages, Israel’s secular elite contemplate a ‘silent departure’
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 6:57 AM on October 6 [9 favorites]
FYI, the Harris-Walz campaign now has a Contact Us form, if you want to make yourself heard.
I forgot to link to BDS Movement in the original post if you want to keep track of protest and boycott actions. No Thanks app will also help you avoid products you want to boycott.
posted by toastyk at 7:18 AM on October 6 [10 favorites]
I forgot to link to BDS Movement in the original post if you want to keep track of protest and boycott actions. No Thanks app will also help you avoid products you want to boycott.
posted by toastyk at 7:18 AM on October 6 [10 favorites]
.
posted by constraint at 8:19 AM on October 6 [2 favorites]
posted by constraint at 8:19 AM on October 6 [2 favorites]
known as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust
This formulation is also, quite honestly, grotesque, because to say they were targeted because they were Jews is a bald-faced lie in the service of a particular narrative of victimhood meant to justify Israel's genocidal response. Their Jewishness had nothing at all to do with it; if Israel had been settled by Zoroastrian Persians who otherwise behaved similarly w/r/t the Palestinians, the same thing would likely have happened.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 8:23 AM on October 6 [17 favorites]
This formulation is also, quite honestly, grotesque, because to say they were targeted because they were Jews is a bald-faced lie in the service of a particular narrative of victimhood meant to justify Israel's genocidal response. Their Jewishness had nothing at all to do with it; if Israel had been settled by Zoroastrian Persians who otherwise behaved similarly w/r/t the Palestinians, the same thing would likely have happened.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 8:23 AM on October 6 [17 favorites]
For a full year, the news every morning had been Israel kills X people in Y place. Other governments "protest", but it continues. I think the unspoken truth is that people, including Americans, actually want an ethnic cleanse in the middle East :(
This is not the case, if it makes you feel better about humanity. Polling data clearly shows that bombing Gaza is broadly unpopular with Americans. 70% of all US voters are in support of a ceasefire in Gaza and a deescalation by Israel, and that includes a slim majority of Republican voters. This has been true since the spring at least. The way people's representatives are generally voting, and the way the media is representing the issue, truly is not reflecting the will of the people here. This is true in many other countries as well, for example in England.
Zeteo poll from August
Gallup poll from this June
These polls don't reflect Israel's most recent attacks on Lebanon, but I can't imagine that's going to change the minds of anyone who feels like the Israeli government needs to stop bombing civilians. Americans don't want this to be happening and they ARE calling their reps, they are protesting, they are boycotting (Starbucks and McDonalds both took a hit this year). If that wasn't being felt, there wouldn't be laws at the state and federal level to criminalize protests and boycotts.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 8:23 AM on October 6 [19 favorites]
This is not the case, if it makes you feel better about humanity. Polling data clearly shows that bombing Gaza is broadly unpopular with Americans. 70% of all US voters are in support of a ceasefire in Gaza and a deescalation by Israel, and that includes a slim majority of Republican voters. This has been true since the spring at least. The way people's representatives are generally voting, and the way the media is representing the issue, truly is not reflecting the will of the people here. This is true in many other countries as well, for example in England.
Zeteo poll from August
Gallup poll from this June
These polls don't reflect Israel's most recent attacks on Lebanon, but I can't imagine that's going to change the minds of anyone who feels like the Israeli government needs to stop bombing civilians. Americans don't want this to be happening and they ARE calling their reps, they are protesting, they are boycotting (Starbucks and McDonalds both took a hit this year). If that wasn't being felt, there wouldn't be laws at the state and federal level to criminalize protests and boycotts.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 8:23 AM on October 6 [19 favorites]
killing Palestinian civilians in the tens of thousands
You might want to check the most recent estimates.
posted by Gadarene at 9:14 AM on October 6 [6 favorites]
You might want to check the most recent estimates.
posted by Gadarene at 9:14 AM on October 6 [6 favorites]
These polls don't reflect Israel's most recent attacks on Lebanon
These below don't either.
I wonder how many USians support the latest deployment (to Lebanon) of troops, fighter jets, aircraft carriers, "boots on the ground" USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group ... and more. (Sep 30): "https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/09/30/pentagon-sending-few-thousand-more-troops-middle-east-israel-strikes-hezbollah.html"
March 27 - US poll: "Approval [of Israeli action in Gaza] has dropped from 50% to 36% since November"
https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/majority-americans-oppose-sending-us-forces-defend-israel-if
August 6 US poll: "Whether attacked by its neighbors or Tehran, majorities of Americans oppose using US troops to come to Israel’s defense."
https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/majority-americans-oppose-sending-us-forces-defend-israel-if
posted by Surfurrus at 9:48 AM on October 6 [11 favorites]
These below don't either.
I wonder how many USians support the latest deployment (to Lebanon) of troops, fighter jets, aircraft carriers, "boots on the ground" USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group ... and more. (Sep 30): "https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/09/30/pentagon-sending-few-thousand-more-troops-middle-east-israel-strikes-hezbollah.html"
March 27 - US poll: "Approval [of Israeli action in Gaza] has dropped from 50% to 36% since November"
https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/majority-americans-oppose-sending-us-forces-defend-israel-if
August 6 US poll: "Whether attacked by its neighbors or Tehran, majorities of Americans oppose using US troops to come to Israel’s defense."
https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/majority-americans-oppose-sending-us-forces-defend-israel-if
posted by Surfurrus at 9:48 AM on October 6 [11 favorites]
Polling data clearly shows that bombing Gaza is broadly unpopular with Americans.
I would venture that Americans for the most part think of international goings-on broadly in the abstract, and among this group there is a distaste for our involvement in Israel-Palestinian affairs which is really very superficial. Among people who pay attention to the ongoing genocide, there's strong disapproval of Israel's actions. Among Zionists and creepy Dominionist-Zionists, there's strong approval. For everyone else... I don't think they think much about Israel and/or Palestine, and only when you ask their opinion do they even bother to formulate one, and it doesn't go much beyond "why are we involved at all?". Many of them might well be surprised to learn how long and how staunchly America has been supporting Israel.
Honestly, most Americans are astonishingly provicial and ill-informed when it comes to world affairs. Any foreign affair that isn't resulting in attacks on American soil or sending Americans home in body bags doesn't really capture their attention.
And this is a problem, because the political elite, across the board, leans pro-Israel for reasons which largely boil down to status quo inertia. They know their constituents mostly don't care, so why would they rock the boat and spend political capital pushing against decades of American foreign policy?
I don't know how to make the average Amercan care. Describing the situation as it is sounds hyperbolic and conspiracy-theoretical, because there's no way Israel could be that terrible (even though they are). If you soften the description, you get into territory where people can rationalize it away as not really a problem of international scope.
posted by jackbishop at 12:21 PM on October 6 [11 favorites]
I would venture that Americans for the most part think of international goings-on broadly in the abstract, and among this group there is a distaste for our involvement in Israel-Palestinian affairs which is really very superficial. Among people who pay attention to the ongoing genocide, there's strong disapproval of Israel's actions. Among Zionists and creepy Dominionist-Zionists, there's strong approval. For everyone else... I don't think they think much about Israel and/or Palestine, and only when you ask their opinion do they even bother to formulate one, and it doesn't go much beyond "why are we involved at all?". Many of them might well be surprised to learn how long and how staunchly America has been supporting Israel.
Honestly, most Americans are astonishingly provicial and ill-informed when it comes to world affairs. Any foreign affair that isn't resulting in attacks on American soil or sending Americans home in body bags doesn't really capture their attention.
And this is a problem, because the political elite, across the board, leans pro-Israel for reasons which largely boil down to status quo inertia. They know their constituents mostly don't care, so why would they rock the boat and spend political capital pushing against decades of American foreign policy?
I don't know how to make the average Amercan care. Describing the situation as it is sounds hyperbolic and conspiracy-theoretical, because there's no way Israel could be that terrible (even though they are). If you soften the description, you get into territory where people can rationalize it away as not really a problem of international scope.
posted by jackbishop at 12:21 PM on October 6 [11 favorites]
The average American who IS aware of the ongoing atrocities is also suffering fatigue.
It has been a year of one horrible act after another, with nothing done that seems even capable of slowing it down. Schumer and Johnson stood arm-in-arm voicing their support. The hard right is running ads accusing Harris of supporting Gaza and Palestine, as they view that as a winning stance for them. The Democratic establishment is aware of our awareness of their failures, but would like everyone to STFU about it while they work to try to keep Trump out next month.
Chappell Roan's response when cornered about her views, "Look, fuck Trump, obviously, BUT" resonates strongly with many. But people don't want to hear BUTs right now.
posted by delfin at 12:40 PM on October 6 [9 favorites]
It has been a year of one horrible act after another, with nothing done that seems even capable of slowing it down. Schumer and Johnson stood arm-in-arm voicing their support. The hard right is running ads accusing Harris of supporting Gaza and Palestine, as they view that as a winning stance for them. The Democratic establishment is aware of our awareness of their failures, but would like everyone to STFU about it while they work to try to keep Trump out next month.
Chappell Roan's response when cornered about her views, "Look, fuck Trump, obviously, BUT" resonates strongly with many. But people don't want to hear BUTs right now.
posted by delfin at 12:40 PM on October 6 [9 favorites]
I absolutely will be in the streets protesting if the US sucks itself into this. There’s no reason for us to be involved … even shooting down the Iranian missiles feels like too much given that Israel’s government has created this problem for itself in both the short and long terms. I’m not absolving groups like Hamas and Hezbollah of moral responsibility here, but I want to see Israel behave as if diplomacy is the main tool in the toolbox because they are a small country with a lot to lose. The way I hear some people here defending their past I feel like I’m hearing arguments in favor of the Confederacy. Israel’s path to peace and righteousness starts with publicly recognizing that the founding of the country by imperialist Western powers was itself a grievous wrong that needs to be at least acknowledged. At least here in the US most people have finally realized that what we did to the Native Americans was bad.
Israel doesn’t need to cease to exist but it needs to show some fucking humility for once. Otherwise why do I as an American care whether that land is full or Jews, or Arabs? I don’t.
posted by caviar2d2 at 2:45 PM on October 6 [5 favorites]
Israel doesn’t need to cease to exist but it needs to show some fucking humility for once. Otherwise why do I as an American care whether that land is full or Jews, or Arabs? I don’t.
posted by caviar2d2 at 2:45 PM on October 6 [5 favorites]
Even now, a year on from the acceleration of the genocide of Palestinians by the Israeli government people still seem to be talking about Hamas as if the Israeli government are not responsible for ensuring Hamas were created, and that Hamas received financial support. This is all well documented and recorded. The Israeli government also prevented any further elections from taking place in Gaza.
The purpose of this government policy was to damage the peace process and cause maximum disruption and division in the area. The Israeli military have now declared that the Hamas forces have been defeated, but obviously they also state that they are going to continue with the genocide because they are committed to continuing the cycle of violence in the most grotesque way possible. Within 12 months of Smotrich publishing his guide to genocide of the Palestinian people Hamas published their 2017 charter which clearly states that colonialist Zionists are the threat to peace, not Jewish people in general. The Hamas charter offered a way forward for peace, unlike Israeli policy.
Comparisons with the US response to the successful attacks by Al Qaida upthread are pertinent. Everywhere the US invaded or attacked is much worse for the inhabitants than the conditions prior to that unnecessary, often illegal, and incredibly expensive violence. It destabilised regions and caused further destruction and instability. The Israeli government is entirely reliant on US money to sustain it's existence, to maintain it's aggressive colonialist project.
Hamas perpetrated an incredibly successful rout against the Israeli military in the hopes of exchanging some of the thousands of hostages held by the Israeli government, who then commenced an orgy of violence against everyone in the area, including Israeli citizens. IOF tanks and helicopters fired on Israelis with orders to empty their weapons cache before returning to base. They carry a lot of Hellfire missiles, hence all of the burned cars and corpses. This is not a sign of strength, it is a sign of weakness. They don't have a plan for the future because they are looking backwards, just like the US government, stuck in 20th century paranoia. They seem intent on destroying any illusion of a global rules based order, which doesn't bode well.
The ICJ has ruled that the Israeli government must end illegal occupation and settling of Palestinian land 'as soon as possible'. That means the return of Gaza, the West Bank and all other illegal settlements to Palestine.
posted by asok at 3:27 PM on October 6 [19 favorites]
The purpose of this government policy was to damage the peace process and cause maximum disruption and division in the area. The Israeli military have now declared that the Hamas forces have been defeated, but obviously they also state that they are going to continue with the genocide because they are committed to continuing the cycle of violence in the most grotesque way possible. Within 12 months of Smotrich publishing his guide to genocide of the Palestinian people Hamas published their 2017 charter which clearly states that colonialist Zionists are the threat to peace, not Jewish people in general. The Hamas charter offered a way forward for peace, unlike Israeli policy.
Comparisons with the US response to the successful attacks by Al Qaida upthread are pertinent. Everywhere the US invaded or attacked is much worse for the inhabitants than the conditions prior to that unnecessary, often illegal, and incredibly expensive violence. It destabilised regions and caused further destruction and instability. The Israeli government is entirely reliant on US money to sustain it's existence, to maintain it's aggressive colonialist project.
Hamas perpetrated an incredibly successful rout against the Israeli military in the hopes of exchanging some of the thousands of hostages held by the Israeli government, who then commenced an orgy of violence against everyone in the area, including Israeli citizens. IOF tanks and helicopters fired on Israelis with orders to empty their weapons cache before returning to base. They carry a lot of Hellfire missiles, hence all of the burned cars and corpses. This is not a sign of strength, it is a sign of weakness. They don't have a plan for the future because they are looking backwards, just like the US government, stuck in 20th century paranoia. They seem intent on destroying any illusion of a global rules based order, which doesn't bode well.
The ICJ has ruled that the Israeli government must end illegal occupation and settling of Palestinian land 'as soon as possible'. That means the return of Gaza, the West Bank and all other illegal settlements to Palestine.
posted by asok at 3:27 PM on October 6 [19 favorites]
This is true in many other countries as well, for example in England.
this is indeed true (and it should be seriously disturbing to proponents of representative democracy how uniformly and stubbornly --- in many cases vindictively --- out of step with popular will so many governments are in their stance on this particular matter).
it's also a good link to post, because that article is an excellent example of the Guardian carrying water for the occupation and genocide in what they consider a plausibly deniable way but which nobody much buys anymore. ironic given the article's topic.
for instance: 7 Oct attack throat-clearing ritual before any mention of why Adam might reference the people of Gaza in an election speech in Leicester; Israeli casualty figures reported without comment on source but Palestinian casualties are attributed to the "Hamas-run health ministry"; "a territory the UN considers to be under Israeli occupation" (either a bad joke at this point, or the Guardian writer is going for some sort of "UN (derogatory)" framing in which the UN view on whether a territory at this moment crawling with IOF personnel is occupied is somehow a suspect view, like they consider the UN as trustworthy as they consider the "Hamas-run health ministry").
supposedly all in service, i guess, of the article's conclusion "One year on, claim and counter-claim remains the language through which the war in Gaza is debated."
like how the fuck else do debates get conducted? if asked to define the word "debate", one could do worse than "an exchange of claims and counter-claims". and, okay, big deal --- vapid article by journalist who feels the need to quote suella braverman's expired fever-dreams at the same level of seriousness as that attributed to actual serious people.
but it's good to offer up this article as an example because it's an example of why elected officials (except a few mentioned in the article) are largely out of step with the public on this --- it's actually the broader media-electoral politics-academia complex that's largely been dithering while most of everyone else has been able to see atrocities for what they are pretty much from the get-go. the actual effect on UK politics (US too) of the genocide is to rub in our faces the degree to which our representatives are way more incentivised by whatever forces are at play in relatively rarefied cliquey little echo chambers than they are by whatever pressure the public can bring to bear.
(this is part of what the "...we are all Palestinians" protest chant is saying: turns out we've all always just been subjects, not citizens; some people just get that memo in much more unrelentingly brutal terms than others.)
posted by busted_crayons at 6:42 PM on October 6 [13 favorites]
this is indeed true (and it should be seriously disturbing to proponents of representative democracy how uniformly and stubbornly --- in many cases vindictively --- out of step with popular will so many governments are in their stance on this particular matter).
it's also a good link to post, because that article is an excellent example of the Guardian carrying water for the occupation and genocide in what they consider a plausibly deniable way but which nobody much buys anymore. ironic given the article's topic.
for instance: 7 Oct attack throat-clearing ritual before any mention of why Adam might reference the people of Gaza in an election speech in Leicester; Israeli casualty figures reported without comment on source but Palestinian casualties are attributed to the "Hamas-run health ministry"; "a territory the UN considers to be under Israeli occupation" (either a bad joke at this point, or the Guardian writer is going for some sort of "UN (derogatory)" framing in which the UN view on whether a territory at this moment crawling with IOF personnel is occupied is somehow a suspect view, like they consider the UN as trustworthy as they consider the "Hamas-run health ministry").
supposedly all in service, i guess, of the article's conclusion "One year on, claim and counter-claim remains the language through which the war in Gaza is debated."
like how the fuck else do debates get conducted? if asked to define the word "debate", one could do worse than "an exchange of claims and counter-claims". and, okay, big deal --- vapid article by journalist who feels the need to quote suella braverman's expired fever-dreams at the same level of seriousness as that attributed to actual serious people.
but it's good to offer up this article as an example because it's an example of why elected officials (except a few mentioned in the article) are largely out of step with the public on this --- it's actually the broader media-electoral politics-academia complex that's largely been dithering while most of everyone else has been able to see atrocities for what they are pretty much from the get-go. the actual effect on UK politics (US too) of the genocide is to rub in our faces the degree to which our representatives are way more incentivised by whatever forces are at play in relatively rarefied cliquey little echo chambers than they are by whatever pressure the public can bring to bear.
(this is part of what the "...we are all Palestinians" protest chant is saying: turns out we've all always just been subjects, not citizens; some people just get that memo in much more unrelentingly brutal terms than others.)
posted by busted_crayons at 6:42 PM on October 6 [13 favorites]
With so much news continuing on the I/P+ front, I posted a link to the graphically detailed WaPo Exclusive on the Israel/Lebanon post.
/not sure how to navigate ever boiling over posts
posted by rubatan at 10:53 PM on October 6 [3 favorites]
The idea for the pager operation originated in 2022, according to the Israeli, Middle Eastern and U.S. officials familiar with the events. Parts of the plan began falling into place more than a year before Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack that put the region on a path to war. It was a time of relative quiet on Israel’s war-scarred northern border with Lebanon....
..., booby-trapped walkie-talkies, began being inserted into Lebanon by Mossad nearly a decade ago, in 2015.
/not sure how to navigate ever boiling over posts
posted by rubatan at 10:53 PM on October 6 [3 favorites]
@mods,
What is the most up-to-date best practice for how to segregate, split, collect, join the I/P posts without exhausting the front page but also maintain coherent threads?
We have multiple "How to: I/P posts" on MeTa and MefiWiki (Good & Bad). I think all discussions were before the current flurry.
posted by rubatan at 12:24 AM on October 7 [1 favorite]
What is the most up-to-date best practice for how to segregate, split, collect, join the I/P posts without exhausting the front page but also maintain coherent threads?
We have multiple "How to: I/P posts" on MeTa and MefiWiki (Good & Bad). I think all discussions were before the current flurry.
posted by rubatan at 12:24 AM on October 7 [1 favorite]
Are you implying that Germany and Japan somehow exist as US vassal states or colonies, or are somehow not independent (and thriving, even) democracies? If so that's an absolutely WILD reading of US-German and US-Japanese relations over the intervening 80 years. I would be absolutely thrilled if Palestine looked like Germany or Japan in a few decades.
Pullayup - surely we would all be thrilled if Palestine looked like Germany or Japan - but since you asked, I'll clarify with exactly what happened with Japan -
1. Temporary military occupation, higher rank leaders executed, lower rank military and civilian staff permanently disqualified from holding government office, dissolution of military organization and all bases turned over to the US.
2. Removal of state sponsored religion, turning the country to a secular democracy
3. New constitution and laws guaranteeing civil, political and religious freedoms, including right for women to vote. Also removed the sovereign right to military force (Article 9, "armed forces with war potential will not be maintained")
4. Since Japan was disarmed, it was forced to sign a defense treaty allowing US military presence on their soil in exchange for defense obligations. Hence the 55,000 troops on Japanese soil until today - the USFJ is responsible for the defense of Japan, and Japan pays 75% of the operating cost of those bases.
Of course, in the early years, the US military was also there to ensure the terms of surrender were followed - they were authorized to put down domestic riots and disturbances.
Japan still has significant anti-military sentiment leftover from the "re-education" of the surrender. (our armed forces led us into wars of adventure and resulted in mass suffering). So the process of rearming Japan, which the US really wants, has been slow. Germany on the other hand, while initially also disarmed, had less qualms about rearming quickly during the Cold War as the Soviet threat was a lot closer at hand.
That's the current proposal as stated earlier in this thread, surrender, then a permanent disarmament and a continuous foreign military presence, and then reconstruction.
posted by xdvesper at 4:23 AM on October 7
Pullayup - surely we would all be thrilled if Palestine looked like Germany or Japan - but since you asked, I'll clarify with exactly what happened with Japan -
1. Temporary military occupation, higher rank leaders executed, lower rank military and civilian staff permanently disqualified from holding government office, dissolution of military organization and all bases turned over to the US.
2. Removal of state sponsored religion, turning the country to a secular democracy
3. New constitution and laws guaranteeing civil, political and religious freedoms, including right for women to vote. Also removed the sovereign right to military force (Article 9, "armed forces with war potential will not be maintained")
4. Since Japan was disarmed, it was forced to sign a defense treaty allowing US military presence on their soil in exchange for defense obligations. Hence the 55,000 troops on Japanese soil until today - the USFJ is responsible for the defense of Japan, and Japan pays 75% of the operating cost of those bases.
Of course, in the early years, the US military was also there to ensure the terms of surrender were followed - they were authorized to put down domestic riots and disturbances.
Japan still has significant anti-military sentiment leftover from the "re-education" of the surrender. (our armed forces led us into wars of adventure and resulted in mass suffering). So the process of rearming Japan, which the US really wants, has been slow. Germany on the other hand, while initially also disarmed, had less qualms about rearming quickly during the Cold War as the Soviet threat was a lot closer at hand.
That's the current proposal as stated earlier in this thread, surrender, then a permanent disarmament and a continuous foreign military presence, and then reconstruction.
posted by xdvesper at 4:23 AM on October 7
1. Temporary military occupation, higher rank leaders executed, lower rank military and civilian staff permanently disqualified from holding government office, dissolution of military organization
2. Removal of state sponsored religion, turning the country to a secular democracy
3. New constitution and laws guaranteeing civil, political and religious freedoms
After the last year? Quite sincerely, Israel could stand to receive the same treatment. The IDF is an undisciplined terrorist rabble every bit as much as Hamas or Hezbollah, and just as much under the command of extremists (cf. "Eretz Israel" and the far-right religious faction who want to destroy the Dome of the Rock so they can rebuild the Temple and resume blood sacrifice), its leaders have overseen the commission of war crimes in every respect equal to what Nazis were hanged for at Nuremberg, the ethnoreligious character of the Israeli state leads to significant discrimination against non-Jews, and Israel's treatment of Palestinians has been found by most international human rights bodies to be a system of apartheid. If any country in the world were ripe for the Imperial Japan treatment, it's Israel.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:41 AM on October 7 [9 favorites]
2. Removal of state sponsored religion, turning the country to a secular democracy
3. New constitution and laws guaranteeing civil, political and religious freedoms
After the last year? Quite sincerely, Israel could stand to receive the same treatment. The IDF is an undisciplined terrorist rabble every bit as much as Hamas or Hezbollah, and just as much under the command of extremists (cf. "Eretz Israel" and the far-right religious faction who want to destroy the Dome of the Rock so they can rebuild the Temple and resume blood sacrifice), its leaders have overseen the commission of war crimes in every respect equal to what Nazis were hanged for at Nuremberg, the ethnoreligious character of the Israeli state leads to significant discrimination against non-Jews, and Israel's treatment of Palestinians has been found by most international human rights bodies to be a system of apartheid. If any country in the world were ripe for the Imperial Japan treatment, it's Israel.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:41 AM on October 7 [9 favorites]
That's the current proposal as stated earlier in this thread, surrender, then a permanent disarmament and a continuous foreign military presence, and then reconstruction.
Bullshit.
The plan is ethnic cleansing and continued colonization by settlers. This has been the obvious intention of the Israeli right for decades, and has motivated the illegal settlements, the blockade, and the undermining of any political entity more moderate than Hamas.
The mass murder and displacement of Palestinians isn't an unwanted side effect, it is the goal. Israel's plans for Palestine aren't the US plans for post war Germany. They're Germany's plans for post war Poland.
posted by pattern juggler at 6:48 AM on October 7 [23 favorites]
Bullshit.
The plan is ethnic cleansing and continued colonization by settlers. This has been the obvious intention of the Israeli right for decades, and has motivated the illegal settlements, the blockade, and the undermining of any political entity more moderate than Hamas.
The mass murder and displacement of Palestinians isn't an unwanted side effect, it is the goal. Israel's plans for Palestine aren't the US plans for post war Germany. They're Germany's plans for post war Poland.
posted by pattern juggler at 6:48 AM on October 7 [23 favorites]
Mod note: One comment deleted for violating the content policy. Let's avoid personal attacks, you may disagree with people without having to call their words bullshit.
posted by loup (staff) at 8:13 AM on October 7 [2 favorites]
posted by loup (staff) at 8:13 AM on October 7 [2 favorites]
IfNotNow hosting 10/7 memorial gatherings across the US. Together, we will mourn every Israeli, Palestinian, and Lebanese life taken — every universe destroyed.
Mourn the dead. Fight for the living. Not another bomb.
One year of protesting to stop genocide - Today, Day 367, it is almost impossible not to despair. “Catastrophe is not in the future, the Nakba is not the past,” historian Sherene Seikaly tells us. We are not on the precipice of apocalypse; we have been building life in its folds.
And yet, our collective labor has left an indelible impact: The United States and Israel are isolated globally, their influence has been reduced to the use of naked coercive force devoid of any legal or ethical persuasion. Their boundless destruction is matched only by their moral bankruptcy, now plain for those who want to see, to see.
In Octavia Butler’s treatise on building the world anew, she reminds us, “All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you.” We have made change—and we are also forever changed: Our eyes wide open, primed to distrust media, social and political authorities bullying us into become walking zombies obsessed with pop culture distractions, wide open to the fact imperialism shapes the minute details of our daily lives, to the fact that Zionism is racism and that a free Palestine has the potential to set us all free.
The Gaza we leave behind by Mosab Abu Toha - ungated - I have always loved a line from “Open the Door, Homer,” a song by Bob Dylan. “Take care of all of your memories,” he sings, “for you cannot relive them.” The words made me want to hang on to my memories, and to make good ones. In the past year, I have lost many of the tangible parts of my memories—the people and places and things that helped me remember. I have struggled to create good memories. In Gaza, every destroyed house becomes a kind of album, filled not with photos but with real people, the dead pressed between its pages.
Remarkable for this being published in USA Today - Unless or until the underlying causes of the violence we have been witnessing for the past year are addressed, Palestinians and Israelis are doomed to unending death and suffering.
President Biden has the power to stop the violence in Lebanon and Gaza and to put the region on a path to a more peaceful future. But instead of working to de-escalate, he has continued to flood Israel with billions of dollars worth of weapons even as evidence mounted that Israel is using them in violation of both U.S. and international law ‒ and contrary to the will of a majority of Americans who support a cease-fire and an end to weapons transfers to Israel as long as the violence continues.
posted by toastyk at 8:36 AM on October 7 [9 favorites]
Mourn the dead. Fight for the living. Not another bomb.
One year of protesting to stop genocide - Today, Day 367, it is almost impossible not to despair. “Catastrophe is not in the future, the Nakba is not the past,” historian Sherene Seikaly tells us. We are not on the precipice of apocalypse; we have been building life in its folds.
And yet, our collective labor has left an indelible impact: The United States and Israel are isolated globally, their influence has been reduced to the use of naked coercive force devoid of any legal or ethical persuasion. Their boundless destruction is matched only by their moral bankruptcy, now plain for those who want to see, to see.
In Octavia Butler’s treatise on building the world anew, she reminds us, “All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you.” We have made change—and we are also forever changed: Our eyes wide open, primed to distrust media, social and political authorities bullying us into become walking zombies obsessed with pop culture distractions, wide open to the fact imperialism shapes the minute details of our daily lives, to the fact that Zionism is racism and that a free Palestine has the potential to set us all free.
The Gaza we leave behind by Mosab Abu Toha - ungated - I have always loved a line from “Open the Door, Homer,” a song by Bob Dylan. “Take care of all of your memories,” he sings, “for you cannot relive them.” The words made me want to hang on to my memories, and to make good ones. In the past year, I have lost many of the tangible parts of my memories—the people and places and things that helped me remember. I have struggled to create good memories. In Gaza, every destroyed house becomes a kind of album, filled not with photos but with real people, the dead pressed between its pages.
Remarkable for this being published in USA Today - Unless or until the underlying causes of the violence we have been witnessing for the past year are addressed, Palestinians and Israelis are doomed to unending death and suffering.
President Biden has the power to stop the violence in Lebanon and Gaza and to put the region on a path to a more peaceful future. But instead of working to de-escalate, he has continued to flood Israel with billions of dollars worth of weapons even as evidence mounted that Israel is using them in violation of both U.S. and international law ‒ and contrary to the will of a majority of Americans who support a cease-fire and an end to weapons transfers to Israel as long as the violence continues.
posted by toastyk at 8:36 AM on October 7 [9 favorites]
For something more lighthearted, and completely irreverent Bassem Youssef's latest music video on "Bibi's Trial".
posted by toastyk at 8:46 AM on October 7 [3 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 8:46 AM on October 7 [3 favorites]
Excerpt from my MP's email this morning (Alberta, NDP):
Over the past year, Jewish Canadians have faced an alarming and unacceptable rise in antisemitism. The Jewish community is currently observing the High Holidays, and we know that synagogues and community centres have unfortunately required enhanced security measures given the rise in antisemitism. Jewish families live with worry for their safety here in Canada, and fear for family and loved ones living in Israel who are caught in the crossfire of violence they did not choose.posted by mazola at 8:53 AM on October 7 [5 favorites]
There is no justification or rationale for the horrific terror attacks of October 7th, and the significance of this day - not just for the Jewish community, but for all those who uphold the sanctity of international law - cannot and should not be minimized. This day stands on its own as a devastating blow for so many.
For many Canadians, the response to October 7th from Netanyahu’s extremist government, was the beginning of a brutal assault on the people of Gaza, who did not and do not deserve collective punishment. Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab communities in Canada are feeling the weight of immense suffering from the ongoing genocide by Netanyahu’s extremist government that has killed tens of thousands of innocent people, including children. Just as there is no justification for the brutal terror attacks on October 7, there is likewise no justification for the high number of civilian casualties and indiscriminate attacks on the people of Gaza.
New Democrats also mourn with these Canadians who have experienced an alarming rise of anti-Palestinian hate and Islamophobia over the past year. And as we witness another war in Lebanon, their pain – and indeed, the pain of so many Canadians - has only increased.
New Democrats stand in solidarity with all Canadians who yearn for peace and justice for all people. As we mark this terrible anniversary and grieve the losses that have come before us and the losses that continue to mount, we reiterate the need to hold space for each other, to privilege dialogue and compassion over hate and violence.
We also remember that war is political, genocide is preventable, and Canada and the international community have a responsibility to act to end this horror.
There is no possible military solution to this decades-long conflict. We reiterate the actions Canada must take now: Work for a hostage deal and immediate ceasefire; sanction all those who violate international law, whether Hamas or Netanyahu’s extremist government; impose an arms embargo while the atrocities continue; recognize the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel and work to end the decades-long illegal occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem; and support international court efforts to bring all perpetrators to justice.
That's the current proposal as stated earlier in this thread, surrender, then a permanent disarmament and a continuous foreign military presence, and then reconstruction.
Sounds like a great plan for Israel.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 8:54 AM on October 7 [6 favorites]
Sounds like a great plan for Israel.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 8:54 AM on October 7 [6 favorites]
That's the current proposal as stated earlier in this thread, surrender, then a permanent disarmament and a continuous foreign military presence, and then reconstruction.
The only way you could possibly believe that this is on the cards for Gaza is if you deliberately ignore the outcome of occupation in the West Bank. If anything it's been a slow-motion annexation, not "reconstruction."
posted by BungaDunga at 8:55 AM on October 7 [13 favorites]
The only way you could possibly believe that this is on the cards for Gaza is if you deliberately ignore the outcome of occupation in the West Bank. If anything it's been a slow-motion annexation, not "reconstruction."
posted by BungaDunga at 8:55 AM on October 7 [13 favorites]
anyway Israel "settled" Gaza during their previous occupation, and the denoument was not reconstruction by any measure
posted by BungaDunga at 9:41 AM on October 7 [10 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 9:41 AM on October 7 [10 favorites]
Very telling re who gets to have humanity and with whom we're expected to empathise, though.
Empathy and humanity are not zero sum.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:50 AM on October 7 [3 favorites]
Empathy and humanity are not zero sum.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:50 AM on October 7 [3 favorites]
Empathy and humanity are not zero sum.
In this context, they very much are. People do not have an infinite reservoir of emotional reserves nor attention.
The media makes choices about who they give time and attention to, and whose suffering they portray as real and human. And the media in the US has overwhelmingly chosen not to portray the genocide in Gaza with remotely the kind of intensity as they have used to describe the suffering of Israelis. Even the most obviously fictitious horror stories invented in the immediate wake of 10/7 received more attention than many of the still ongoing crimes against Palestinians ever have.
posted by pattern juggler at 11:24 AM on October 7 [13 favorites]
In this context, they very much are. People do not have an infinite reservoir of emotional reserves nor attention.
The media makes choices about who they give time and attention to, and whose suffering they portray as real and human. And the media in the US has overwhelmingly chosen not to portray the genocide in Gaza with remotely the kind of intensity as they have used to describe the suffering of Israelis. Even the most obviously fictitious horror stories invented in the immediate wake of 10/7 received more attention than many of the still ongoing crimes against Palestinians ever have.
posted by pattern juggler at 11:24 AM on October 7 [13 favorites]
y2karl recommended this story: "Chev Almog-Goldstein saw her husband and oldest daughter slaughtered before her eyes and then was taken captive into Gaza along with the rest of her children. The story is about the time she and they spent with her captors."
Yes, time and energy and attention is finite. Call attention to and humanize all victims; criticize what you see as biases.
But Pseudonymous Cognomen responded to the link to the story with: "Not particularly interested in hearing Zionist propaganda, thanks. Let me know when they tell the story of someone who's lost hundreds of relatives in Gaza as a result of Israeli retaliation and had to watch their children starve to death in front of their eyes. This isn't any different from the 19th century tales of "captured by savage Indians" that were used to justify the USA's genocide of Native Americans. Very telling re who gets to have humanity and with whom we're expected to empathise, though."
That read to me not just as a call to empathize with Gazan suffering but a dismissal of both the truth of and the humanity of the Israeli victims.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:20 PM on October 7 [8 favorites]
Yes, time and energy and attention is finite. Call attention to and humanize all victims; criticize what you see as biases.
But Pseudonymous Cognomen responded to the link to the story with: "Not particularly interested in hearing Zionist propaganda, thanks. Let me know when they tell the story of someone who's lost hundreds of relatives in Gaza as a result of Israeli retaliation and had to watch their children starve to death in front of their eyes. This isn't any different from the 19th century tales of "captured by savage Indians" that were used to justify the USA's genocide of Native Americans. Very telling re who gets to have humanity and with whom we're expected to empathise, though."
That read to me not just as a call to empathize with Gazan suffering but a dismissal of both the truth of and the humanity of the Israeli victims.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:20 PM on October 7 [8 favorites]
From The New Republic, "Joe Biden Chose This Catastrophic Path Every Step of the Way:
What’s happening in the Middle East was enabled by a president with ideological priors, aides who failed to push back, and a cheerleading media establishment."
It’s unclear yet whether the consequences of Israel’s post–October 7 war will be as bad as the Iraq War. They very well might, but one thing already clear is that both catastrophes were enabled in part by a U.S. president with strong ideological biases, a confidence in his own judgment as unshakeable as it was unjustified, advisers unwilling or unable to push back effectively, and an elite media establishment with an overtly militarist bent and a shockingly callous disregard for Arab lives, far more interested in editorializing about college student chants than about sitting U.S. senators—that is, people with actual power—urging Israel to “flatten” Gaza. (It’s hard to imagine a better demonstration of the bigotry still underlying our foreign policy discourse that, amid the flood of anti-Palestinian invective issuing from members of Congress, the only censure the U.S. House managed to pass was of its one Palestinian American member.)
It was obvious from early on in this war that Biden administration officials either did not understand, or just refused to acknowledge, what they were dealing with. As the public statements from Israeli leaders (collected as evidence in South Africa’s brief charging Israel with the crime of genocide), combined with the staggering amount of destruction being poured onto the 2.3 million people trapped within an area about twice the size of Washington, D.C., show, Israel’s concept of “self-defense” includes the intentional infliction of civilian suffering.
A memo from a defense attaché at the Dutch Embassy in Tel Aviv from November made this clear barely a month into the war. Israel’s strategy, the attaché wrote, is “deliberately causing massive destruction to the infrastructure and civilian centers” in Gaza, targeting houses, bridges, and roads, and causing massive civilian casualties. Israel’s approach, he concluded, clearly violated “international treaties and laws of war.” Israeli military conduct over the past year has repeatedly and consistently proven that analysis correct.
And the people in this administration know it. Early this year a senior official described to me the administration’s efforts to convince the Israeli government to loosen its onerous aid restrictions into Gaza. The Israeli public was still in a vengeful mood and felt that all Gazans should be made to suffer, he said, and the Israeli government, deeply embarrassed by its failure to prevent the worst attack in Israel’s history and frantic to direct the public’s anger elsewhere, was still very happy to oblige.
“It’s a kind of sickness,” he said.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:45 PM on October 7 [13 favorites]
What’s happening in the Middle East was enabled by a president with ideological priors, aides who failed to push back, and a cheerleading media establishment."
It’s unclear yet whether the consequences of Israel’s post–October 7 war will be as bad as the Iraq War. They very well might, but one thing already clear is that both catastrophes were enabled in part by a U.S. president with strong ideological biases, a confidence in his own judgment as unshakeable as it was unjustified, advisers unwilling or unable to push back effectively, and an elite media establishment with an overtly militarist bent and a shockingly callous disregard for Arab lives, far more interested in editorializing about college student chants than about sitting U.S. senators—that is, people with actual power—urging Israel to “flatten” Gaza. (It’s hard to imagine a better demonstration of the bigotry still underlying our foreign policy discourse that, amid the flood of anti-Palestinian invective issuing from members of Congress, the only censure the U.S. House managed to pass was of its one Palestinian American member.)
It was obvious from early on in this war that Biden administration officials either did not understand, or just refused to acknowledge, what they were dealing with. As the public statements from Israeli leaders (collected as evidence in South Africa’s brief charging Israel with the crime of genocide), combined with the staggering amount of destruction being poured onto the 2.3 million people trapped within an area about twice the size of Washington, D.C., show, Israel’s concept of “self-defense” includes the intentional infliction of civilian suffering.
A memo from a defense attaché at the Dutch Embassy in Tel Aviv from November made this clear barely a month into the war. Israel’s strategy, the attaché wrote, is “deliberately causing massive destruction to the infrastructure and civilian centers” in Gaza, targeting houses, bridges, and roads, and causing massive civilian casualties. Israel’s approach, he concluded, clearly violated “international treaties and laws of war.” Israeli military conduct over the past year has repeatedly and consistently proven that analysis correct.
And the people in this administration know it. Early this year a senior official described to me the administration’s efforts to convince the Israeli government to loosen its onerous aid restrictions into Gaza. The Israeli public was still in a vengeful mood and felt that all Gazans should be made to suffer, he said, and the Israeli government, deeply embarrassed by its failure to prevent the worst attack in Israel’s history and frantic to direct the public’s anger elsewhere, was still very happy to oblige.
“It’s a kind of sickness,” he said.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:45 PM on October 7 [13 favorites]
I can't say how it should read to you.
I can only say that to me it seemed a very natural reaction to a media environment that has repeatedly humanized and focused on the emotional reality of Israeli suffering, while ignoring the violence and horror that that suffering (and fictitious embellishments of it) has been used to justify.
Obviously real people suffered on 10/7. Real people suffered on 9/11. And that suffering has been used as a bloody shirt to garner support for horrible crimes. The media is very much at fault in both cases for how they reported and contextualized those events.
posted by pattern juggler at 12:46 PM on October 7 [8 favorites]
I can only say that to me it seemed a very natural reaction to a media environment that has repeatedly humanized and focused on the emotional reality of Israeli suffering, while ignoring the violence and horror that that suffering (and fictitious embellishments of it) has been used to justify.
Obviously real people suffered on 10/7. Real people suffered on 9/11. And that suffering has been used as a bloody shirt to garner support for horrible crimes. The media is very much at fault in both cases for how they reported and contextualized those events.
posted by pattern juggler at 12:46 PM on October 7 [8 favorites]
That read to me not just as a call to empathize with Gazan suffering but a dismissal of both the truth of and the humanity of the Israeli victims.
A thousand people dying on O7 is nothing to mock or ignore. The majority were not uniformed soldiers or combatants in a time of war, but civilian victims of sudden and brutal violence and cruelty.
It is easier, of course, to empathize with Gazan suffering when Israel's response was not one retaliatory strike but dozens and dozens, when the death toll rose to forty times that of O7 and counting, when Netanyahu and his base are as dismissive of human life and dignity as the fiercest O7 attacker had been, and when the result is the systematic destruction of not just lives but the ability to live in Gaza.
posted by delfin at 1:59 PM on October 7 [8 favorites]
A thousand people dying on O7 is nothing to mock or ignore. The majority were not uniformed soldiers or combatants in a time of war, but civilian victims of sudden and brutal violence and cruelty.
It is easier, of course, to empathize with Gazan suffering when Israel's response was not one retaliatory strike but dozens and dozens, when the death toll rose to forty times that of O7 and counting, when Netanyahu and his base are as dismissive of human life and dignity as the fiercest O7 attacker had been, and when the result is the systematic destruction of not just lives but the ability to live in Gaza.
posted by delfin at 1:59 PM on October 7 [8 favorites]
Did the people objecting to that TAL episode (even going so far as to call it Zionist propaganda) even bother to listen to at least the first five minutes? Clearly not, because it starts out explaining how the hostages and their families are often the target of violence in Israel - the fact that their stories are often at odds with the story that the Israeli state wants to tell is a theme that resurfaces throughout the episode. Or you could listen to an older TAL episode, first Yousef’s Week, and then Yousef and the Fourth Move, about one Palestinian man in Gaza and his efforts to keep his family safe. Or you could listen from a woman named Youmna in Gaza City. Or this story on the Palestinian journalists that have died. Because yes, they've actually been reporting on a range of perspectives of this horrific conflict. I had taken a break from these threads since despite being in general agreement with people here, the number of knee-jerk assumptions people make with little pushback is pretty depressing - I mean, no, just because a media outlet or a person expresses any curiosity about Israelis or empathy for the hostages, this does not necessarily mean they're a Zionist. It just means that they are capable of empathy.
posted by coffeecat at 2:04 PM on October 7 [7 favorites]
posted by coffeecat at 2:04 PM on October 7 [7 favorites]
It just means that they are capable of empathy.
Is that what it means? You'll have to excuse the suspicion. All we hear about are Israeli deaths. Harris today released a disgusting statement that not only repeated Hasbara talking points, but erased Palestinians again, on the anniversary of the latest genocide.
If we're being proportional, I'd imagine I'd hear about 3% of stories on TAL about Israeli's suffering vs 97% of Palestinians. Is that where TAL is sitting at?
posted by iamck at 3:35 PM on October 7 [11 favorites]
Is that what it means? You'll have to excuse the suspicion. All we hear about are Israeli deaths. Harris today released a disgusting statement that not only repeated Hasbara talking points, but erased Palestinians again, on the anniversary of the latest genocide.
If we're being proportional, I'd imagine I'd hear about 3% of stories on TAL about Israeli's suffering vs 97% of Palestinians. Is that where TAL is sitting at?
posted by iamck at 3:35 PM on October 7 [11 favorites]
I listened to the TAL ep. Basically it is a story about how as hostages they had to experience all of the harrowing shit that people in Gaza experienced, from bombardment to food and water shortage to them and their families being hated or silenced by Israeli society. It's a bunch of stuff that we already know - how scary it was for them, how some of them found their captors to be relatively respectful, how some of them declined an invitation to meet with Netanyahu and be used as a photo op once freed, etc. One of them meets Sinwar face to face and finds him "arrogant"...ok cool.
I suppose this could be a useful perspective and story for someone who vaguely Stands with Israel, vaguely thinks Israel is the good guys, but is not following jack shit and perhaps needs to be challenged. But apart from that I'd argue that this POV from the civilian victims of an occupying/genocidaire state - as though there is some shortage of Israeli perspective or support - is not that relevant in the context of discussion of an ongoing genocide, and reinforces the inherent and gross power imbalance at the heart of everything under the patina of typical liberal zionist "Well I don't stand with Netanyahu, but also this 'conflict" is 'complicated'" (as discussed in the TNC thread). Note how the story does not use the term genocide to describe what's happening - like any other mainstream US media property - because they are either restricted from doing so, think they'll lose funding/donors, or like many folks genuinely don't believe that a genocide is occurring. It's a glaring omission either way.
posted by windbox at 4:30 PM on October 7 [11 favorites]
I suppose this could be a useful perspective and story for someone who vaguely Stands with Israel, vaguely thinks Israel is the good guys, but is not following jack shit and perhaps needs to be challenged. But apart from that I'd argue that this POV from the civilian victims of an occupying/genocidaire state - as though there is some shortage of Israeli perspective or support - is not that relevant in the context of discussion of an ongoing genocide, and reinforces the inherent and gross power imbalance at the heart of everything under the patina of typical liberal zionist "Well I don't stand with Netanyahu, but also this 'conflict" is 'complicated'" (as discussed in the TNC thread). Note how the story does not use the term genocide to describe what's happening - like any other mainstream US media property - because they are either restricted from doing so, think they'll lose funding/donors, or like many folks genuinely don't believe that a genocide is occurring. It's a glaring omission either way.
posted by windbox at 4:30 PM on October 7 [11 favorites]
This piece in the Financial Times is fantastic: The year that changed Israel (link is to an archived version)
This is a stunning indictment of an average Israeli, out of his own mouth:
This is a stunning indictment of an average Israeli, out of his own mouth:
The condemnation of the Israel Defense Forces’ actions in Gaza — even from their closest allies — has turned Israelis inward. Despite the steadfast support of the US, and many western governments, Israelis today say they feel abandoned by the world, painted as callous to Palestinian suffering when they are overwhelmingly convinced that they are acting in self-defence, prosecuting a just war against an enemy that hides behind civilians.posted by adrienneleigh at 4:37 PM on October 7 [18 favorites]
“Do you know why I hate Hamas?” says Hai Bar-El, a human rights lawyer based in Tel Aviv. “I hate Hamas because it forces my children to kill Palestinian children.”
I mean, no, just because a media outlet or a person expresses any curiosity about Israelis or empathy for the hostages, this does not necessarily mean they're a Zionist. It just means that they are capable of empathy.
re: empathy.
i know an american kid who didn't grow up in israel and by any reasonable (i.e. intelligible to non-subscribers to a fanatical right-wing nationalist movement) standard doesn't have that much to do with the place. but he moved there as a young adult because everything in his entire world said it was the thing to do.
this means that now he's in the idf. and i've been hearing from this guy's parent --- an old friend whom i care about irrespective of finding out the degree to which he's an insane fanatic who raised his kid extremely wrong --- about his kid taking part in the invasion of gaza in a combat role and doing god knows what there.
and obviously my friend is very worried about his kid. i think i can genuinely empathise with that. i really think it would be tragic if the kid --- essentially a volunteer for the fucking genocidal occupying army, he didn't have to move there, mind you --- were to be injured or killed and i think i understand my friend's fears about that and something about the anguish he'd feel were that to happen. i actually really hope the kid gets out safely and stays out. i think that is a reasonably advanced display of empathy given the circumstances and what that kid is probably contributing to them.
and simultaneously: that kid's a soldier in an invading genocidal army. i can only imagine how the kid's been programmed by intentional military indoctrination and supremacist rhetoric and political fear-mongering, and then by stress and shock and sleep deprivation and trauma and maybe moral injury and who knows. it's not in every sense the kid's individual fault; i've known him since he was a nice thoughtful little kid. he in no sense made some sort of unconstrained free choice of his life's trajectory, certainly not in the dumb naive liberal-individualist sense of freedom of choice. it's at a some level not the kid's fault that he's in the idf in gaza, likely doing and seeing horrible things, even though he "freely chose" it to a greater degree than actual conscripts (if i understand correctly how that works).
but i'm, like, entirely disinterested in individual actors and individual blame and therefore also disinterested in individual absolution. i just think there should be non-genocide by any means necessary. one of the most upsetting things about israel's recent escalation is that depending on how things go, they may well soon be under less military pressure to stop committing genocide. one doesn't have to be a "hizbullah supporter" or whatever to understand that whatever military resources the idf has to commit to actual defence can't get used to murder palestinians and destroy their civilisation.
(note that hamas and hizbullah have both murdered numerous israeli civilians, thereby committing war crimes/terrorist atrocities, but in no realistic scenario is israel going to be systematically destroyed in the way gaza has been systematically destroyed. and more to the point, no remotely recent attack has been even a credible attempt to do to israel what israel has done in gaza.
yet almost every instance of empathy with israeli victims i've seen in the mainstream english-language press this year mainly ignores this massive distinction.
because not ignoring it amounts to admitting that the invasion of gaza isn't something that can be waved away with tut-tutting about "heavy-handedness", reminiscent of obama's sickeningly breezy admission that "we tortured some folks". the idf is systematically attacking the infrastructure of society in order to make human life impossible or unbearable for an entire people. genocide is objectively, measurably, worse than terrorism and what some of you are reading as lack of empathy with israel is actually people being driven basically over the edge by the level of official gaslighting and denialism about that point.)
empathy matters in this case to the extent that it motivates us to take some action that contributes to the creation of a non-genocide situation. there are some links upthread. call your representatives. don't buy the apartheid houmous. go to a demonstration. support someone who's found a way to fight it and is being repressed. figure out whatever leverage you have and use it. find quite a few friends and smash/replace your local utterly discredited ruling regime, probably. empathy for palestinians and israelis demands those things at this point.
but the empathy, as a set of thoughts and feelings divorced from action, of people like me and maybe most people here is worth so little, un-utilised, that it's weird to even make bystanding news-consumer empathy --- for palestinians or israelis --- into a topic.
that kind of individualistic centring of feelings (and obsession with lending words and feelings more power than we give to actions and material realities) is a part of my "western" culture and my insane hysterical culture produced genocidal kids and genocidal adults pulling the strings; it's fucking suspect. that kid's a soldier in an invading genocidal army and despite understanding my friend's anguish if anything happens to the kid, if that kid is in some situation in gaza where someone -- civilian or fighter on their own land facing an invader -- is going to come to harm through his actions, i and any other humane person should without hesitation hope that those undertaking the defence of that land and its people do anything and everything that needs doing, unencumbered by any thought of my friend's fear and anguish. because people (irrespective of who they are) have pretty wide moral latitude re: defending their homes from genocidal invaders (irrespective of who they are). right? or did we all go fucking mad somewhere?
when my friend's kid hopefully exits palestine, and the army, physically intact, having (improbably) not done any of the things that a sane person would hope the defenders would have prevented, i don't know what it will mean to prioritise empathising with that kid. he didn't know any better, maybe, but so what? under no actual pressure, he made the unforced error of volunteering to join a massacre. and it's not about him, anyway, it's about what we're all supposed to do about someone in our midst who is a person who's been replaced by a weapon.
how will that kid be deprogrammed and reintegrated when the people who know he needs to be deprogrammed and reintegrated are all of us comparatively powerless, and the people with real power are still blithely insisting that whatever the kid did (or was at least part of) was at worst regrettable, and in any event justified by the suffering of the 7 October victims?
this is a realistic question. the obverse --- the one upthread where postwar palestine is the nation deserving the role of post-WWII japan --- is a sick propaganda fantasy.
empathy only matters when it spurs us to action. empathy for palestinians suffering under genocide and occupation has tended to push people to try to contribute what little they can to ending that situation. i think that empathy for israelis should motivate one to take exactly the same actions. i think/hope this is literally happening in many cases.
but in western media, there is (real or cynical, performative) empathy with (some) israelis that is doing no work other than to justify and excuse murder and ethnic cleansing and all the rest.
i do feel empathy for israeli victims of last year's war crimes. i've spent a certain amount of time in israel and i think there is often a palpable siege mentality that is founded in some fears that are real in addition to fears that have been manufactured or magnified by cynical politicians and non-cynical actual nationalist fanatics. i think there's a degree to which one should empathise with peoples' fear even where it is not realistic, because fear itself is a form of suffering.
but precisely because of what empathy for israelis has been twisted to justify, because of what's currently ongoing and what, objectively, isn't, and because of how power is distributed, it is perfectly reasonable to look at media outlets in enabler countries centring the 7 October attacks at this present moment with a default side-eye, even if that is not in every case entirely fair.
posted by busted_crayons at 4:47 PM on October 7 [20 favorites]
re: empathy.
i know an american kid who didn't grow up in israel and by any reasonable (i.e. intelligible to non-subscribers to a fanatical right-wing nationalist movement) standard doesn't have that much to do with the place. but he moved there as a young adult because everything in his entire world said it was the thing to do.
this means that now he's in the idf. and i've been hearing from this guy's parent --- an old friend whom i care about irrespective of finding out the degree to which he's an insane fanatic who raised his kid extremely wrong --- about his kid taking part in the invasion of gaza in a combat role and doing god knows what there.
and obviously my friend is very worried about his kid. i think i can genuinely empathise with that. i really think it would be tragic if the kid --- essentially a volunteer for the fucking genocidal occupying army, he didn't have to move there, mind you --- were to be injured or killed and i think i understand my friend's fears about that and something about the anguish he'd feel were that to happen. i actually really hope the kid gets out safely and stays out. i think that is a reasonably advanced display of empathy given the circumstances and what that kid is probably contributing to them.
and simultaneously: that kid's a soldier in an invading genocidal army. i can only imagine how the kid's been programmed by intentional military indoctrination and supremacist rhetoric and political fear-mongering, and then by stress and shock and sleep deprivation and trauma and maybe moral injury and who knows. it's not in every sense the kid's individual fault; i've known him since he was a nice thoughtful little kid. he in no sense made some sort of unconstrained free choice of his life's trajectory, certainly not in the dumb naive liberal-individualist sense of freedom of choice. it's at a some level not the kid's fault that he's in the idf in gaza, likely doing and seeing horrible things, even though he "freely chose" it to a greater degree than actual conscripts (if i understand correctly how that works).
but i'm, like, entirely disinterested in individual actors and individual blame and therefore also disinterested in individual absolution. i just think there should be non-genocide by any means necessary. one of the most upsetting things about israel's recent escalation is that depending on how things go, they may well soon be under less military pressure to stop committing genocide. one doesn't have to be a "hizbullah supporter" or whatever to understand that whatever military resources the idf has to commit to actual defence can't get used to murder palestinians and destroy their civilisation.
(note that hamas and hizbullah have both murdered numerous israeli civilians, thereby committing war crimes/terrorist atrocities, but in no realistic scenario is israel going to be systematically destroyed in the way gaza has been systematically destroyed. and more to the point, no remotely recent attack has been even a credible attempt to do to israel what israel has done in gaza.
yet almost every instance of empathy with israeli victims i've seen in the mainstream english-language press this year mainly ignores this massive distinction.
because not ignoring it amounts to admitting that the invasion of gaza isn't something that can be waved away with tut-tutting about "heavy-handedness", reminiscent of obama's sickeningly breezy admission that "we tortured some folks". the idf is systematically attacking the infrastructure of society in order to make human life impossible or unbearable for an entire people. genocide is objectively, measurably, worse than terrorism and what some of you are reading as lack of empathy with israel is actually people being driven basically over the edge by the level of official gaslighting and denialism about that point.)
empathy matters in this case to the extent that it motivates us to take some action that contributes to the creation of a non-genocide situation. there are some links upthread. call your representatives. don't buy the apartheid houmous. go to a demonstration. support someone who's found a way to fight it and is being repressed. figure out whatever leverage you have and use it. find quite a few friends and smash/replace your local utterly discredited ruling regime, probably. empathy for palestinians and israelis demands those things at this point.
but the empathy, as a set of thoughts and feelings divorced from action, of people like me and maybe most people here is worth so little, un-utilised, that it's weird to even make bystanding news-consumer empathy --- for palestinians or israelis --- into a topic.
that kind of individualistic centring of feelings (and obsession with lending words and feelings more power than we give to actions and material realities) is a part of my "western" culture and my insane hysterical culture produced genocidal kids and genocidal adults pulling the strings; it's fucking suspect. that kid's a soldier in an invading genocidal army and despite understanding my friend's anguish if anything happens to the kid, if that kid is in some situation in gaza where someone -- civilian or fighter on their own land facing an invader -- is going to come to harm through his actions, i and any other humane person should without hesitation hope that those undertaking the defence of that land and its people do anything and everything that needs doing, unencumbered by any thought of my friend's fear and anguish. because people (irrespective of who they are) have pretty wide moral latitude re: defending their homes from genocidal invaders (irrespective of who they are). right? or did we all go fucking mad somewhere?
when my friend's kid hopefully exits palestine, and the army, physically intact, having (improbably) not done any of the things that a sane person would hope the defenders would have prevented, i don't know what it will mean to prioritise empathising with that kid. he didn't know any better, maybe, but so what? under no actual pressure, he made the unforced error of volunteering to join a massacre. and it's not about him, anyway, it's about what we're all supposed to do about someone in our midst who is a person who's been replaced by a weapon.
how will that kid be deprogrammed and reintegrated when the people who know he needs to be deprogrammed and reintegrated are all of us comparatively powerless, and the people with real power are still blithely insisting that whatever the kid did (or was at least part of) was at worst regrettable, and in any event justified by the suffering of the 7 October victims?
this is a realistic question. the obverse --- the one upthread where postwar palestine is the nation deserving the role of post-WWII japan --- is a sick propaganda fantasy.
empathy only matters when it spurs us to action. empathy for palestinians suffering under genocide and occupation has tended to push people to try to contribute what little they can to ending that situation. i think that empathy for israelis should motivate one to take exactly the same actions. i think/hope this is literally happening in many cases.
but in western media, there is (real or cynical, performative) empathy with (some) israelis that is doing no work other than to justify and excuse murder and ethnic cleansing and all the rest.
i do feel empathy for israeli victims of last year's war crimes. i've spent a certain amount of time in israel and i think there is often a palpable siege mentality that is founded in some fears that are real in addition to fears that have been manufactured or magnified by cynical politicians and non-cynical actual nationalist fanatics. i think there's a degree to which one should empathise with peoples' fear even where it is not realistic, because fear itself is a form of suffering.
but precisely because of what empathy for israelis has been twisted to justify, because of what's currently ongoing and what, objectively, isn't, and because of how power is distributed, it is perfectly reasonable to look at media outlets in enabler countries centring the 7 October attacks at this present moment with a default side-eye, even if that is not in every case entirely fair.
posted by busted_crayons at 4:47 PM on October 7 [20 favorites]
A more accurate way to express what I was trying to get at would be "Sometimes it just means they are capable of empathy."
I'd imagine I'd hear about 3% of stories on TAL about Israeli's suffering vs 97% of Palestinians. Is that where TAL is sitting at?
Well, you're wrong. I'm not sure why you'd imagine that, especially since I linked to two full episodes focused on Gaza. This week's episode was the first full-episode TAL did from Israeli perspectives since Oct 7. So they've actually given more attention to Gaza, as, I think we agree, should be the case. There have been a couple shorter segments from the Israeli perspective, and a few shorter stories focused on Palestinian experiences.
Anyway, I really don't want to fight here - merely pointing out that it's kinda a bummer that a user shares a link to a podcast episode, which genuinely does not paint a good picture of Israel, and which gets into some of the intimacies that took place between captives and captors (which sure, isn't new information, but it's still information that's worth putting out into the wider ecosystem), but simply because it includes interviews with hostages another user reacts with "get that zionist propaganda out of here" without bothering to actually investigate what it is, and many others affirm them - if you value trying to have productive conversation with other people, you must see why that's not effective, yeah? I case it wasn't clear, we probably agree on most points politically, but likely disagree greatly on tactics for building a movement.
posted by coffeecat at 5:01 PM on October 7 [7 favorites]
I'd imagine I'd hear about 3% of stories on TAL about Israeli's suffering vs 97% of Palestinians. Is that where TAL is sitting at?
Well, you're wrong. I'm not sure why you'd imagine that, especially since I linked to two full episodes focused on Gaza. This week's episode was the first full-episode TAL did from Israeli perspectives since Oct 7. So they've actually given more attention to Gaza, as, I think we agree, should be the case. There have been a couple shorter segments from the Israeli perspective, and a few shorter stories focused on Palestinian experiences.
Anyway, I really don't want to fight here - merely pointing out that it's kinda a bummer that a user shares a link to a podcast episode, which genuinely does not paint a good picture of Israel, and which gets into some of the intimacies that took place between captives and captors (which sure, isn't new information, but it's still information that's worth putting out into the wider ecosystem), but simply because it includes interviews with hostages another user reacts with "get that zionist propaganda out of here" without bothering to actually investigate what it is, and many others affirm them - if you value trying to have productive conversation with other people, you must see why that's not effective, yeah? I case it wasn't clear, we probably agree on most points politically, but likely disagree greatly on tactics for building a movement.
posted by coffeecat at 5:01 PM on October 7 [7 favorites]
My primary empathy is for those Israelis who are protesting the ongoing genocide, putting themselves in harm's way by doing so, knowing that many of their fellow citizens consider them traitors and quislings for doing so. It takes a lot to stick your neck out when your government and many of your fellow citizens are waving blades around and actively craving blood.
I have empathy for those who lost friends or family on O7, and for those worried about those held hostage. I seem to have far more empathy for them than Bibi does.
I have empathy for those suffering indiscriminate collective punishment for actions taken by others, allegedly in their name. That cuts both ways to a degree, but far more in one obvious direction.
I have empathy for those unwilling to overlook America's co-starring role in this saga. I only ask that they distribute both blame and expectations fairly next month.
posted by delfin at 5:09 PM on October 7 [1 favorite]
I have empathy for those who lost friends or family on O7, and for those worried about those held hostage. I seem to have far more empathy for them than Bibi does.
I have empathy for those suffering indiscriminate collective punishment for actions taken by others, allegedly in their name. That cuts both ways to a degree, but far more in one obvious direction.
I have empathy for those unwilling to overlook America's co-starring role in this saga. I only ask that they distribute both blame and expectations fairly next month.
posted by delfin at 5:09 PM on October 7 [1 favorite]
I case it wasn't clear, we probably agree on most points politically, but likely disagree greatly on tactics for building a movement.
I am generally in agreement with your larger point, but I think any idea of building political movements on MetaFilter is misguided. At best one might hope to inform people of what is happening. Ultimately though, posting isn't activism. It is something done for personal gratification and to enrich the online community you are interacting with. Knee jerk responses like mine above aren't great for that either, of course.
It seems at the start of these threads there are always a flurry of posts normalizing or rationalizing what is happening in Palestine, and I think it makes people (myself included) take a more jaundiced eye toward the motives of people sharing material that seems to focus on the Israeli perspective. One more thing to try to do better on I guess.
posted by pattern juggler at 5:16 PM on October 7 [8 favorites]
I am generally in agreement with your larger point, but I think any idea of building political movements on MetaFilter is misguided. At best one might hope to inform people of what is happening. Ultimately though, posting isn't activism. It is something done for personal gratification and to enrich the online community you are interacting with. Knee jerk responses like mine above aren't great for that either, of course.
It seems at the start of these threads there are always a flurry of posts normalizing or rationalizing what is happening in Palestine, and I think it makes people (myself included) take a more jaundiced eye toward the motives of people sharing material that seems to focus on the Israeli perspective. One more thing to try to do better on I guess.
posted by pattern juggler at 5:16 PM on October 7 [8 favorites]
i and any other humane person should without hesitation hope that those undertaking the defence of that land and its people do anything and everything that needs doing, unencumbered by any thought of my friend's fear and anguish. because people (irrespective of who they are) have pretty wide moral latitude re: defending their homes from genocidal invaders (irrespective of who they are). right?
QFFT.
posted by adrienneleigh at 5:34 PM on October 7 [5 favorites]
QFFT.
posted by adrienneleigh at 5:34 PM on October 7 [5 favorites]
I think any idea of building political movements on MetaFilter is misguided. At best one might hope to inform people of what is happening. Ultimately though, posting isn't activism.
Certainly I agree that real movement building has to happen in rooms with people engaging in-person, or going door to door talking with your neighbors, etc. But at the heart of a lot of that is listening, figuring out what arguments work or how different audiences respond to the same argument, etc. And to that end, I'd say there is value in hearing at least a certain range of viewpoints - I mean, I would imagine many people here occasionally learn something from a link posted or comment shared, and then make use of that information somehow in their daily interactions with the people in their lives. I know I have. I personally have no interest in hearing from militant propagandists (on either side - it's just pretty boring rhetoric), but there used to be a wider range of viewpoints in these threads, and I at least found it valuable - not all of them (again, pure propaganda is boring), but on the whole I'd say the discussion was richer for it. And I'd like to keep whatever range of viewpoints still exists here, rather have more people turned off from say, whatever weird Q-Anon conspiracy still remains upthread.
posted by coffeecat at 6:42 PM on October 7 [1 favorite]
Certainly I agree that real movement building has to happen in rooms with people engaging in-person, or going door to door talking with your neighbors, etc. But at the heart of a lot of that is listening, figuring out what arguments work or how different audiences respond to the same argument, etc. And to that end, I'd say there is value in hearing at least a certain range of viewpoints - I mean, I would imagine many people here occasionally learn something from a link posted or comment shared, and then make use of that information somehow in their daily interactions with the people in their lives. I know I have. I personally have no interest in hearing from militant propagandists (on either side - it's just pretty boring rhetoric), but there used to be a wider range of viewpoints in these threads, and I at least found it valuable - not all of them (again, pure propaganda is boring), but on the whole I'd say the discussion was richer for it. And I'd like to keep whatever range of viewpoints still exists here, rather have more people turned off from say, whatever weird Q-Anon conspiracy still remains upthread.
posted by coffeecat at 6:42 PM on October 7 [1 favorite]
The IDF is using Israeli UNIFIL (peacekeeper) troops as human shields. (Twitter link)
"Hezbollah has told Irish Defence Forces they will not fire on the area despite the IDF presence to avoid inadvertently hitting the Irish troops."
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:30 PM on October 7 [9 favorites]
"Hezbollah has told Irish Defence Forces they will not fire on the area despite the IDF presence to avoid inadvertently hitting the Irish troops."
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:30 PM on October 7 [9 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted for wildly triggering and completely gratuitous CSA reference. Do Not Do This. Do not counter horrors in the world by describing / comparing other horrific things and terrible suffering, especially as some dark wink-wink joke. Day off, and permanent ban if it happens again.
posted by taz (staff) at 12:08 AM on October 8 [11 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 12:08 AM on October 8 [11 favorites]
Re: the human shields, that's an illogical assertion to make, the IDF instructed UNIFIL to leave but they refused.
If IDF prevented UNIFIL from leaving in order to use them as shields, then at least that accusation would make sense...
In any case, I have to question what UNIFIL is doing there anyway, their primary mission was supposed to be confirming Hezbollah's demilitarization and support the Lebanese Army's operations against Hezbollah. They should be coordinating with the IDF to eliminate Hezbollah right now, in which case having their operating base side by side makes total sense...
In recent news, Macron has called on other nations to halt arms exports to Israel (BBC link), saying they have halted arms exports themselves.
There are two parallels here to what happened in 1967. The entire 200 strong Israeli air force consisted of French aircraft, as the British and French were Israel's primary allies. Egypt blockaded Israel by closing the Straits of Tiran, and mobilized their army towards the border and ordered the UNEF to depart. The UNEF, similar to UNIFIL, was an interim force intended to keep the peace along the border, and they followed the Egyptian orders to evacuate.
It was during this few days before the war breaking out that France suddenly imposed an arms embargo on Israel, intending to cripple their entire air force by withholding spare parts and weapons. There were also 50 more fighter jets that Israel had paid for but France never delivered - which was finally resolved with a refund 5 years later.
Visualization of 1 year of rocket attacks on Israel - an average of 70 rockets per day, every day, for the past 365 days. The ground operations in Gaza have successfully eliminated most rocket fire from that direction, with only very short range rockets being fired now. I think it is clear that Israel is seeing the high volume of rocket fire from Lebanon and is confident it has the military means, domestic and international support it needs to achieve the same outcome of returning its citizens to their homes and workplaces in the north.
ABC News - The war in Lebanon is asymmetric — Israel's winning from above, as Hezbollah makes a major strategic mistake below.
---
What the past three weeks of this new war have shown is that Israel learnt more significantly from 2006 than did Hezbollah.
---
This time Israel has not fallen into the trap of a ground war set by Hezbollah. Fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon is much more difficult than fighting Hamas in Gaza.
---
Now, Israel is picking off one Hezbollah leader, or weapons facility, after another. At nights here you hear the constant low-level hum of drones. Sometimes, when it appears two or three drones hover over a target, the sound reaches a crescendo.
That usually means that Israel has decided on a target — a massive explosion often follows.
Against this, Hezbollah has no defence. It is unable to shoot down any of these drones which are therefore presenting a round-the-clock threat.
posted by xdvesper at 12:17 AM on October 8
If IDF prevented UNIFIL from leaving in order to use them as shields, then at least that accusation would make sense...
In any case, I have to question what UNIFIL is doing there anyway, their primary mission was supposed to be confirming Hezbollah's demilitarization and support the Lebanese Army's operations against Hezbollah. They should be coordinating with the IDF to eliminate Hezbollah right now, in which case having their operating base side by side makes total sense...
In recent news, Macron has called on other nations to halt arms exports to Israel (BBC link), saying they have halted arms exports themselves.
There are two parallels here to what happened in 1967. The entire 200 strong Israeli air force consisted of French aircraft, as the British and French were Israel's primary allies. Egypt blockaded Israel by closing the Straits of Tiran, and mobilized their army towards the border and ordered the UNEF to depart. The UNEF, similar to UNIFIL, was an interim force intended to keep the peace along the border, and they followed the Egyptian orders to evacuate.
It was during this few days before the war breaking out that France suddenly imposed an arms embargo on Israel, intending to cripple their entire air force by withholding spare parts and weapons. There were also 50 more fighter jets that Israel had paid for but France never delivered - which was finally resolved with a refund 5 years later.
Visualization of 1 year of rocket attacks on Israel - an average of 70 rockets per day, every day, for the past 365 days. The ground operations in Gaza have successfully eliminated most rocket fire from that direction, with only very short range rockets being fired now. I think it is clear that Israel is seeing the high volume of rocket fire from Lebanon and is confident it has the military means, domestic and international support it needs to achieve the same outcome of returning its citizens to their homes and workplaces in the north.
ABC News - The war in Lebanon is asymmetric — Israel's winning from above, as Hezbollah makes a major strategic mistake below.
---
What the past three weeks of this new war have shown is that Israel learnt more significantly from 2006 than did Hezbollah.
---
This time Israel has not fallen into the trap of a ground war set by Hezbollah. Fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon is much more difficult than fighting Hamas in Gaza.
---
Now, Israel is picking off one Hezbollah leader, or weapons facility, after another. At nights here you hear the constant low-level hum of drones. Sometimes, when it appears two or three drones hover over a target, the sound reaches a crescendo.
That usually means that Israel has decided on a target — a massive explosion often follows.
Against this, Hezbollah has no defence. It is unable to shoot down any of these drones which are therefore presenting a round-the-clock threat.
posted by xdvesper at 12:17 AM on October 8
the IDF instructed UNIFIL to leave but they refused
the UNIFIL troops in question are in lebanon and they are part of a UN mission; the IDF has no legitimate authority to "instruct" them on anything. the same way they have no legitimate authority to tell civilians to evacuate, as they have done in southern lebanon (the latter amounting to forcible population transfer, a war crime).
posted by busted_crayons at 12:25 AM on October 8 [25 favorites]
the UNIFIL troops in question are in lebanon and they are part of a UN mission; the IDF has no legitimate authority to "instruct" them on anything. the same way they have no legitimate authority to tell civilians to evacuate, as they have done in southern lebanon (the latter amounting to forcible population transfer, a war crime).
posted by busted_crayons at 12:25 AM on October 8 [25 favorites]
(I missed one paragraph) The French were previously allied with Israel because of shared interests - the Suez was built and controlled by the French but it was seized by Egypt in order to blockade Israel, so Israel and France attacked Egypt in 1956 to regain control of the Suez. But by 1967 the French decided it needed oil more than it needed the Suez and so switched sides to the Arabs instead of Israel... which shows how fickle international relations can be.
posted by xdvesper at 12:29 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]
posted by xdvesper at 12:29 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]
The language of "ABC News - The war in Lebanon is asymmetric" sounds triumphantly pro-IDF:
Hezbollah+ and Likud+ are both apocalyptic cults. It baffles me to reciprocally justify indiscriminate explosion killings with other explosion killings. I don't know that "Hezbollah makes a major strategic mistake" so much as not having the worlds largest army backing up your army, in arms and moral support. Its chilling. "The war in Lebanon [and Gaza] is asymmetric..." indeed! And that is exactly why it counts as apartheid and genocide (on one side), and illegal actions (on both): Power. If Hezbollah had the precision weapons to remove Likud+ leadership, I'll bet they would. What else would they do with them? I shudder to think what lessons they might have learned from their cousins to the south, but we sure wouldn't want them replicating what Israel is doing. Encouraging the ingenuity of tools of cruelty and inhumanity abets "genocidal apocalyptic cults" to continue. The war has been left, on both sides, to the lowest common denominator.
"Visualization of 1 year of rocket attacks on Israel": classic data misframing error. [Bart Simpson]
posted by rubatan at 1:11 AM on October 8 [6 favorites]
With the extraordinary capability of the cameras on these drones, they can study the identities of every person walking from the terminal. They can use facial recognition to try to spot anybody of interest arriving in Beirut.
That usually means that Israel has decided on a target — a massive explosion often follows.To the point, it disregards that there are other civilian noncombatants at the terminal and these are extrajudicial killings. This is not a partner to democracy or international law and justice, and if we were to justify that in anyway "this situation is unique" seems simple bigotry (against everyone involved).
Hezbollah+ and Likud+ are both apocalyptic cults. It baffles me to reciprocally justify indiscriminate explosion killings with other explosion killings. I don't know that "Hezbollah makes a major strategic mistake" so much as not having the worlds largest army backing up your army, in arms and moral support. Its chilling. "The war in Lebanon [and Gaza] is asymmetric..." indeed! And that is exactly why it counts as apartheid and genocide (on one side), and illegal actions (on both): Power. If Hezbollah had the precision weapons to remove Likud+ leadership, I'll bet they would. What else would they do with them? I shudder to think what lessons they might have learned from their cousins to the south, but we sure wouldn't want them replicating what Israel is doing. Encouraging the ingenuity of tools of cruelty and inhumanity abets "genocidal apocalyptic cults" to continue. The war has been left, on both sides, to the lowest common denominator.
"Visualization of 1 year of rocket attacks on Israel": classic data misframing error. [Bart Simpson]
posted by rubatan at 1:11 AM on October 8 [6 favorites]
an average of 70 rockets per day, every day, for the past 365 days. The ground operations in Gaza have successfully eliminated most rocket fire from that direction, with only very short range rockets being fired now.
How many Israelis have been killed by these rocket attacks, in the last 365 days?
posted by pattern juggler at 3:14 AM on October 8 [9 favorites]
How many Israelis have been killed by these rocket attacks, in the last 365 days?
posted by pattern juggler at 3:14 AM on October 8 [9 favorites]
with only very short range rockets being fired now
Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israeli city of Haifa
How many Israelis have been killed by these rocket attacks, in the last 365 days?
It would probably be more if Israel hadn't evacuated a bunch of people from northern Israel.
Elsewhere:
posted by BungaDunga at 8:19 AM on October 8 [2 favorites]
Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israeli city of Haifa
How many Israelis have been killed by these rocket attacks, in the last 365 days?
It would probably be more if Israel hadn't evacuated a bunch of people from northern Israel.
Elsewhere:
In its lead editorial this morning, Israeli newspaper Haaretz has accused finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of “promoting a dangerous agenda”, claiming the pair “are shamelessly exploiting 7 October to re-settle Gaza.”...(paywalled, via the Guardian)
Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are sticking to their mission of exploiting what they see as a historic opportunity that fell into the Jewish people’s lap last 7 October.
Their goal is to occupy the Gaza Strip and settle it with Jews, and this goal dictates their positions, including their irresponsible willingness to sacrifice the hostages. This is also what lies behind their demand to transfer responsibility for humanitarian aid in Gaza to the Israel Defense Forces. The problem is that their hunger for occupation is receiving an attentive ear from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:19 AM on October 8 [2 favorites]
In any case, I have to question what UNIFIL is doing there anyway, their primary mission was supposed to be confirming Hezbollah's demilitarization and support the Lebanese Army's operations against Hezbollah. They should be coordinating with the IDF to eliminate Hezbollah right now, in which case having their operating base side by side makes total sense...
there's, uh, a big difference between UN peacekeepers supporting the state of Lebanon against non-state militants and supporting another nation's cross-border invasion force. it's a tiny bit outside of their mandate to "Assist the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area." (emphasis mine)
posted by BungaDunga at 8:34 AM on October 8 [5 favorites]
there's, uh, a big difference between UN peacekeepers supporting the state of Lebanon against non-state militants and supporting another nation's cross-border invasion force. it's a tiny bit outside of their mandate to "Assist the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area." (emphasis mine)
posted by BungaDunga at 8:34 AM on October 8 [5 favorites]
Late comments:
Quote: “Do you know why I hate Hamas?” says Hai Bar-El, a human rights lawyer based in Tel Aviv. “I hate Hamas because it forces my children to kill Palestinian children.”
I think Golda Meir said it better.
---
A thousand people dying on O7 is nothing to mock or ignore. The majority were not uniformed soldiers or combatants in a time of war, but civilian victims of sudden and brutal violence and cruelty.
It is easier, of course, to empathize with Gazan suffering when Israel's response was not one retaliatory strike but dozens and dozens, when the death toll rose to forty times that of O7 and counting, when Netanyahu and his base are as dismissive of human life and dignity as the fiercest O7 attacker had been, and when the result is the systematic destruction of not just lives but the ability to live in Gaza.
Just using delfin's comment as a jumping off point - I'm assuming the American media epistemic closure has continued to play cover for the genocidal parts of Israeli society? Because Israeli media has pretty much shown that a significant number of Israeli casualties were also due to the IDF and its messed up response on that day, yet I keep seeing western politicians repeat not only the canards that include collapsing the numbers between active-duty soldiers and civilians (about 800) - Obama even used 1400, a number the Israeli government has walked back on - but also no acknowledgement of what the IDF did to its people, even for those sympathetic to the Palestinians? Because it's been wrongfully assumed that it's conspiracy theorizing? FWIW Australia's ABC finally became one of the mainstream Anglophone media that came out with an article last month, because this needs validation (to repeat myself, I suppose in this matter Israelis are finally Middle Eastern in their trustworthiness in Western eyes): Israeli forces accused of killing their own citizens under the 'Hannibal Directive' during October 7 chaos.
Anyway, oh no: (Axios) Scoop: White House loses trust in Israeli government as Middle East spirals
Driving the news: U.S. officials say the Biden administration has been surprised several times recently by Israeli military or intelligence operations.
- In some cases, the U.S. wasn't consulted or notified in advance. Or, it was given a heads up as Israeli jets were already on their way to conduct an airstrike somewhere in the Middle East.
- The Israelis didn't tell the Biden administration in advance about the dramatic move to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
- Moreover, it took place several days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Biden in the Oval Office that he was going to take steps to make progress toward a deal with Hamas to release the hostages they are holding and establish a ceasefire in Gaza.
The U.S. was also in the dark about Israel's plans to remotely detonate pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon and the assassination of the militia's leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Interestingly, out of this Dropsite piece: Blinken Approved Policy to Bomb Aid Trucks, Israeli Cabinet Members Suggest which was brought up during one of the sessions with the press pool at State Dept, Miller let it drop that: State Dept. Spox Matt Miller finally admits that Hamas is not taking aid trucks: "There's not been any widespread evidence that we have seen of Hamas actually taking convoys and commandeering them"
Orly.
Orly pt 2: (JPost) Gallant confirms no cabinet talks on hostages in at least two weeks at Tel Aviv event
Orly pt 3: US to give Israel 'compensation' if it hits acceptable targets in Iran - report (this is before the whole Axios scoop which I'm sure have left us all on tenterhooks)
posted by cendawanita at 8:53 AM on October 8 [11 favorites]
Quote: “Do you know why I hate Hamas?” says Hai Bar-El, a human rights lawyer based in Tel Aviv. “I hate Hamas because it forces my children to kill Palestinian children.”
I think Golda Meir said it better.
---
A thousand people dying on O7 is nothing to mock or ignore. The majority were not uniformed soldiers or combatants in a time of war, but civilian victims of sudden and brutal violence and cruelty.
It is easier, of course, to empathize with Gazan suffering when Israel's response was not one retaliatory strike but dozens and dozens, when the death toll rose to forty times that of O7 and counting, when Netanyahu and his base are as dismissive of human life and dignity as the fiercest O7 attacker had been, and when the result is the systematic destruction of not just lives but the ability to live in Gaza.
Just using delfin's comment as a jumping off point - I'm assuming the American media epistemic closure has continued to play cover for the genocidal parts of Israeli society? Because Israeli media has pretty much shown that a significant number of Israeli casualties were also due to the IDF and its messed up response on that day, yet I keep seeing western politicians repeat not only the canards that include collapsing the numbers between active-duty soldiers and civilians (about 800) - Obama even used 1400, a number the Israeli government has walked back on - but also no acknowledgement of what the IDF did to its people, even for those sympathetic to the Palestinians? Because it's been wrongfully assumed that it's conspiracy theorizing? FWIW Australia's ABC finally became one of the mainstream Anglophone media that came out with an article last month, because this needs validation (to repeat myself, I suppose in this matter Israelis are finally Middle Eastern in their trustworthiness in Western eyes): Israeli forces accused of killing their own citizens under the 'Hannibal Directive' during October 7 chaos.
Anyway, oh no: (Axios) Scoop: White House loses trust in Israeli government as Middle East spirals
Driving the news: U.S. officials say the Biden administration has been surprised several times recently by Israeli military or intelligence operations.
- In some cases, the U.S. wasn't consulted or notified in advance. Or, it was given a heads up as Israeli jets were already on their way to conduct an airstrike somewhere in the Middle East.
- The Israelis didn't tell the Biden administration in advance about the dramatic move to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
- Moreover, it took place several days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Biden in the Oval Office that he was going to take steps to make progress toward a deal with Hamas to release the hostages they are holding and establish a ceasefire in Gaza.
The U.S. was also in the dark about Israel's plans to remotely detonate pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon and the assassination of the militia's leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Interestingly, out of this Dropsite piece: Blinken Approved Policy to Bomb Aid Trucks, Israeli Cabinet Members Suggest which was brought up during one of the sessions with the press pool at State Dept, Miller let it drop that: State Dept. Spox Matt Miller finally admits that Hamas is not taking aid trucks: "There's not been any widespread evidence that we have seen of Hamas actually taking convoys and commandeering them"
Orly.
Orly pt 2: (JPost) Gallant confirms no cabinet talks on hostages in at least two weeks at Tel Aviv event
Orly pt 3: US to give Israel 'compensation' if it hits acceptable targets in Iran - report (this is before the whole Axios scoop which I'm sure have left us all on tenterhooks)
posted by cendawanita at 8:53 AM on October 8 [11 favorites]
It would probably be more if Israel hadn't evacuated a bunch of people from northern Israel.Must be nice to be able to evacuate
posted by sagc at 9:10 AM on October 8 [11 favorites]
> The language of "ABC News - The war in Lebanon is asymmetric" sounds triumphantly pro-IDF:
That's because it is. It's hasbara filtered through a journalist. Ever since they assassinated Nasrallah (killing hundreds of others at the same time in a blatant war crime) they've been riding high, acting like the war is already over, and emphasizing their air superiority because despite the decimation of the leadership, Hezbollah's units in south lebanon remain a genuinely formidable fighting force and if they try a real ground invasion they are going to get slaughtered
posted by dis_integration at 9:19 AM on October 8 [5 favorites]
That's because it is. It's hasbara filtered through a journalist. Ever since they assassinated Nasrallah (killing hundreds of others at the same time in a blatant war crime) they've been riding high, acting like the war is already over, and emphasizing their air superiority because despite the decimation of the leadership, Hezbollah's units in south lebanon remain a genuinely formidable fighting force and if they try a real ground invasion they are going to get slaughtered
posted by dis_integration at 9:19 AM on October 8 [5 favorites]
Came back from dinner and saw France 24 having a moment. Anyway, per Guardian: Netanyahu warns people in Lebanon could face destruction 'like Gaza'
Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Lebanese people that they could face “destruction and suffering” like the Palestinians in Gaza if they don’t “free” the country from Hezbollah.
“You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza,” the Israeli prime minister said in a video address directed to the people of Lebanon.
Wow, what a gangster beloved by the American establishment, speaking to other country's citizens like he's their colonial master. Very safe, very secure, the dream of never again wrought in flesh.
posted by cendawanita at 11:44 AM on October 8 [12 favorites]
Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Lebanese people that they could face “destruction and suffering” like the Palestinians in Gaza if they don’t “free” the country from Hezbollah.
“You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza,” the Israeli prime minister said in a video address directed to the people of Lebanon.
Wow, what a gangster beloved by the American establishment, speaking to other country's citizens like he's their colonial master. Very safe, very secure, the dream of never again wrought in flesh.
posted by cendawanita at 11:44 AM on October 8 [12 favorites]
Brown comedians are not playing around this year. Aamer Rahman on the "only democracy in the Middle East".
Apparently Biden called Netanyahu a "son of a bitch" and a "bad fucking guy", according to a new book by Bob Woodward, the same guy who also held onto knowledge that Trump knew COVID was bigger than the flu (ungated) and also now, that he sent Putin COVID test machines during a shortage.
For the perspective of an Israeli, Mehdi Hasan interviews Zahiro Shahar Mor, the nephew of former Israeli hostage Avraham Munder, 79 and asks about his perspective on Israel. "It's a pariah state...as it should be...we are all being taken hostage by our governments."
The Failure of Liberal Zionism - All of this was predictable, and many predicted it. It took no special insight to understand that the war Israel launched that week would be one of indiscriminate mass murder rather than the just, targeted, legitimate war against Hamas that so many liberal Zionists called for. It simply required being clear-eyed, both about the long history of Israeli treatment of the Palestinians and about the composition of the actual Israeli government headed by Netanyahu, which, as anyone paying attention knew going into October 7, included members of the far-right settler movement like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich whose stated positions toward Palestinians were objectively genocidal.
NYers might want to take a look at proposed NY Assembly Bill 10721 - which "Relates to punitive measures and the collection of student loans and suspension and revocation of tuition assistance awards for individuals found guilty of anti-Semitism", which looks prime for suppressing pro-Palestinian speech.
The IDF is encircling a refugee camp in northern Gaza, claiming it sees signs of Hamas regrouping. Palestinians trying to evacuate northern Gaza say they are being shot at by the IDF.
posted by toastyk at 12:47 PM on October 8 [11 favorites]
Apparently Biden called Netanyahu a "son of a bitch" and a "bad fucking guy", according to a new book by Bob Woodward, the same guy who also held onto knowledge that Trump knew COVID was bigger than the flu (ungated) and also now, that he sent Putin COVID test machines during a shortage.
For the perspective of an Israeli, Mehdi Hasan interviews Zahiro Shahar Mor, the nephew of former Israeli hostage Avraham Munder, 79 and asks about his perspective on Israel. "It's a pariah state...as it should be...we are all being taken hostage by our governments."
The Failure of Liberal Zionism - All of this was predictable, and many predicted it. It took no special insight to understand that the war Israel launched that week would be one of indiscriminate mass murder rather than the just, targeted, legitimate war against Hamas that so many liberal Zionists called for. It simply required being clear-eyed, both about the long history of Israeli treatment of the Palestinians and about the composition of the actual Israeli government headed by Netanyahu, which, as anyone paying attention knew going into October 7, included members of the far-right settler movement like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich whose stated positions toward Palestinians were objectively genocidal.
NYers might want to take a look at proposed NY Assembly Bill 10721 - which "Relates to punitive measures and the collection of student loans and suspension and revocation of tuition assistance awards for individuals found guilty of anti-Semitism", which looks prime for suppressing pro-Palestinian speech.
The IDF is encircling a refugee camp in northern Gaza, claiming it sees signs of Hamas regrouping. Palestinians trying to evacuate northern Gaza say they are being shot at by the IDF.
posted by toastyk at 12:47 PM on October 8 [11 favorites]
Just using delfin's comment as a jumping off point - I'm assuming the American media epistemic closure has continued to play cover for the genocidal parts of Israeli society?
I would certainly say so. As you noted, the "we blew up that building and 200 people because we insist that one of them was a terrorist" rationale for indiscriminate attacks is only one part of the equation. Netanyahu's disregard for even thinking about recovering hostages, not just deliberate but aggressive targeting of aid workers, civilians blocking aid trucks, the "of course anally raping POWs with objects is fine" panel discussion, and so on... if you actively go looking for it or keep an ear to the types of sources comfortable with reporting such things, you can find discussion of these, but the average American either has no idea that they're happening or dismisses them with a blanket Look What Hamas Made Them Do attitude.
The very existence of someone like Ben-Gvir in any proximity to power, much less having Netanyahu's ear to even a small degree, should be setting off multinational alarm bells. But it isn't.
posted by delfin at 12:50 PM on October 8 [11 favorites]
I would certainly say so. As you noted, the "we blew up that building and 200 people because we insist that one of them was a terrorist" rationale for indiscriminate attacks is only one part of the equation. Netanyahu's disregard for even thinking about recovering hostages, not just deliberate but aggressive targeting of aid workers, civilians blocking aid trucks, the "of course anally raping POWs with objects is fine" panel discussion, and so on... if you actively go looking for it or keep an ear to the types of sources comfortable with reporting such things, you can find discussion of these, but the average American either has no idea that they're happening or dismisses them with a blanket Look What Hamas Made Them Do attitude.
The very existence of someone like Ben-Gvir in any proximity to power, much less having Netanyahu's ear to even a small degree, should be setting off multinational alarm bells. But it isn't.
posted by delfin at 12:50 PM on October 8 [11 favorites]
"Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Lebanese people that they could face 'destruction and suffering' like the Palestinians in Gaza if they don’t 'free' the country from Hezbollah." In this allegory, the Lebanese people are simultaneously the terrorists (punished and able to end it when they chose) and the hostages (Israel is trying to save)? I hope I never need Likudniks to save me.
The UN reported use of the 'Hannibal Directive' on May 27th Section III, F-2 & Section IV, 11
'Hannibal Directive' previously discussed (1) (2).
The report is worth reading, across the board fact finding.
- Catch22
posted by rubatan at 9:36 PM on October 8 [9 favorites]
The UN reported use of the 'Hannibal Directive' on May 27th Section III, F-2 & Section IV, 11
"The Commission is aware of allegations that ISF used the 'Hannibal Directive' to prevent the capture of Israeli civilians and their transfer to Gaza, even at the cost of killing them. Such allegations were made in relation to ISF actions in the Nova site, including reports of ISF attack helicopters shooting at Israeli civilian cars, resulting in the killing of Israelis. The Commission confirmed the presence of at least eight attack helicopters in various locations on 7 October, but it could not confirm that they shot at civilians or civilian cars, including in the area of the festival. The Commission documented one statement by an ISF tank crew, confirming that the crew had applied the Hannibal Directive by shooting at a vehicle which they suspected was transporting abducted ISF soldiers."
"The Commission notes that Israeli authorities failed to protect civilians in southern Israel on almost every front. This included failing to swiftly deploy sufficient security forces to protect civilians and evacuate them from civilian locations on 7 October. In several locations ISF applied the so-called ‘Hannibal Directive’ and killed at least 14 Israeli civilians. Israeli authorities also failed to ensure that forensic evidence was systematically collected by concerned authorities and first responders, particularly in relation to allegations of sexual violence, undermining the possibility of future judicial proceedings, accountability and justice.
'Hannibal Directive' previously discussed (1) (2).
The report is worth reading, across the board fact finding.
“They're trying to kill me," Yossarian told him calmly.
No one's trying to kill you," Clevinger cried.
Then why are they shooting at me?" Yossarian asked.
They're shooting at everyone," Clevinger answered. "They're trying to kill everyone."
And what difference does that make?”
“The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he is on.”
- Catch22
posted by rubatan at 9:36 PM on October 8 [9 favorites]
Aamer Rahman on the "only democracy in the Middle East"
and an equally on-point piece on Biden: SCRATCH A LIBERAL AND A FASCIST BLEEDS
posted by flabdablet at 12:32 AM on October 9 [7 favorites]
and an equally on-point piece on Biden: SCRATCH A LIBERAL AND A FASCIST BLEEDS
posted by flabdablet at 12:32 AM on October 9 [7 favorites]
The Nation: Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again, Noura Erakat
UK Guardian: As a Palestinian living in the US, I have lost friends, job opportunities – and my faith in humanity, Arwa Mahdawi
UK Guardian: Rashid Khalidi, America’s foremost scholar of Palestine, is retiring: ‘I don’t want to be a cog in the machine any more’
Baffler: The Failure of Liberal Zionism (archived)
Jacobin: One Year on, Gaza Is Democrats’ Far-Right War
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 3:20 AM on October 9 [9 favorites]
UK Guardian: As a Palestinian living in the US, I have lost friends, job opportunities – and my faith in humanity, Arwa Mahdawi
UK Guardian: Rashid Khalidi, America’s foremost scholar of Palestine, is retiring: ‘I don’t want to be a cog in the machine any more’
Baffler: The Failure of Liberal Zionism (archived)
Jacobin: One Year on, Gaza Is Democrats’ Far-Right War
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 3:20 AM on October 9 [9 favorites]
You might want to check the most recent estimates.
Over 10,000 Antisemitic Incidents Recorded in the U.S. since Oct. 7, 2023, According to ADL Preliminary Data
posted by y2karl at 6:13 AM on October 9
Over 10,000 Antisemitic Incidents Recorded in the U.S. since Oct. 7, 2023, According to ADL Preliminary Data
posted by y2karl at 6:13 AM on October 9
Over 10,000 Antisemitic Incidents Recorded in the U.S. since Oct. 7, 2023, According to ADL Preliminary Data
How does the ADL define "antisemitic"?
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 6:20 AM on October 9 [5 favorites]
How does the ADL define "antisemitic"?
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 6:20 AM on October 9 [5 favorites]
How does the ADL define "antisemitic"?
From a BBC article:
Part of the overall increase comes from a change in methodology to include "expressions of opposition to Zionism, as well as support for resistance against Israel or Zionists that could be perceived as supporting terrorism", the ADL said.
In other words, they're counting anti-genocide protests as "antisemitic", the numbers are bullshit, and the ADL is garbage.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:34 AM on October 9 [23 favorites]
From a BBC article:
Part of the overall increase comes from a change in methodology to include "expressions of opposition to Zionism, as well as support for resistance against Israel or Zionists that could be perceived as supporting terrorism", the ADL said.
In other words, they're counting anti-genocide protests as "antisemitic", the numbers are bullshit, and the ADL is garbage.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 6:34 AM on October 9 [23 favorites]
The ADL Is Making It Less Safe to Be a Progressive Jew
Anti-Defamation League staff decry ‘dishonest’ campaign against Israel critics
The Anti-Defamation League Has Abandoned Some of the People It Exists to Protect
Wikipedia called the ADL ‘unreliable.’ It’s a wake-up call the civil rights organization badly needs
Examining the ADL’s Antisemitism Audit
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 6:38 AM on October 9 [14 favorites]
Anti-Defamation League staff decry ‘dishonest’ campaign against Israel critics
The Anti-Defamation League Has Abandoned Some of the People It Exists to Protect
Wikipedia called the ADL ‘unreliable.’ It’s a wake-up call the civil rights organization badly needs
Examining the ADL’s Antisemitism Audit
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 6:38 AM on October 9 [14 favorites]
How is this anything but racist trolling at this point? To respond to someone saying "you've underestimated the number of deaths of Palestinian children" with an ADL report of antisemitic incidents... Do you realize how that looks, y2karl? Forget the ADL as an organization, what statement do you think you're making when you equate these things?y2karl: Over 10,000 Antisemitic Incidents Recorded in the U.S. since Oct. 7, 2023, According to ADL Preliminary Datay2karl: killing Palestinian civilians in the tens of thousandsGadarene: You might want to check the most recent estimates.
posted by sagc at 6:45 AM on October 9 [19 favorites]
In other words, they're counting anti-genocide protests as "antisemitic", the numbers are bullshit, and the ADL is garbage.
If one lumps together all of the opposition to the ongoing genocide as a single homogenous blob, yes, there are anti-Semitic elements within it. Because there are plenty of genuine anti-Semites in the world, and thanks to Elon's hard work and diligence, it's easier than ever to go onto social media and find their heartfelt words of ignorance regarding Judaism and its practitioners.
If I look at a Twitter thread criticizing American aid and arms flowing to Israel, for example, I find it necessary to check the contents of it carefully before deciding to participate in it, because opposition to that pours in from several different camps. One camp contains well-meaning people who are horrified by the continuing genocide being conducted by the current government of Israel and its enablers. One camp contains reactionary Trumpoids screaming AMERICA FIRST! and insisting that all foreign aid be discontinued immediately, because they claim that it is inherently wrong that anyone receives help or comfort besides their own tribe, and it is politically expedient for them to act and yell that way. And another camp contains Nick Fuentes-type full-on racists and trolls and bigots and hateful fucks opposed to the aid specifically because it helps any Jews in any way.
The enemy of my enemy can also be my enemy, and very often is. Different groups can oppose the same people and actions for diametrically opposed reasons. That does not taint every group with the motives and beliefs of the worst actors out there, or make them allies, or remove any and all nuance from those distinctions.
But anyone who claims that criticizing the Netanyahu government or criticizing ongoing massacres is anti-Semitic abuse against all Jews and against Judaism itself is a pure natural dolt and shouldn't wonder why their credibility has all melted away.
posted by delfin at 8:52 AM on October 9 [8 favorites]
If one lumps together all of the opposition to the ongoing genocide as a single homogenous blob, yes, there are anti-Semitic elements within it. Because there are plenty of genuine anti-Semites in the world, and thanks to Elon's hard work and diligence, it's easier than ever to go onto social media and find their heartfelt words of ignorance regarding Judaism and its practitioners.
If I look at a Twitter thread criticizing American aid and arms flowing to Israel, for example, I find it necessary to check the contents of it carefully before deciding to participate in it, because opposition to that pours in from several different camps. One camp contains well-meaning people who are horrified by the continuing genocide being conducted by the current government of Israel and its enablers. One camp contains reactionary Trumpoids screaming AMERICA FIRST! and insisting that all foreign aid be discontinued immediately, because they claim that it is inherently wrong that anyone receives help or comfort besides their own tribe, and it is politically expedient for them to act and yell that way. And another camp contains Nick Fuentes-type full-on racists and trolls and bigots and hateful fucks opposed to the aid specifically because it helps any Jews in any way.
The enemy of my enemy can also be my enemy, and very often is. Different groups can oppose the same people and actions for diametrically opposed reasons. That does not taint every group with the motives and beliefs of the worst actors out there, or make them allies, or remove any and all nuance from those distinctions.
But anyone who claims that criticizing the Netanyahu government or criticizing ongoing massacres is anti-Semitic abuse against all Jews and against Judaism itself is a pure natural dolt and shouldn't wonder why their credibility has all melted away.
posted by delfin at 8:52 AM on October 9 [8 favorites]
dylan saba on Twitter:
For both American and Israeli Zionists pretending to hate Netanyahu is the ultimate release valve—it functions as a guilt and blame repository where they can disavow the ugly consequences of everything they support
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:36 AM on October 9 [9 favorites]
For both American and Israeli Zionists pretending to hate Netanyahu is the ultimate release valve—it functions as a guilt and blame repository where they can disavow the ugly consequences of everything they support
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:36 AM on October 9 [9 favorites]
Uncommitted movement declines to endorse Harris – but warns against Trump presidency: The Uncommitted National Movement says Harris campaign failed to meet deadline to meet with Palestinians [The Guardian]
The Uncommitted National Movement announced that it will not endorse Kamala Harris for president, saying on Thursday she failed to respond to the movement’s requests that she meet with Palestinian families in Michigan and to discuss a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza by 15 September.posted by mazola at 9:48 AM on October 9 [5 favorites]
…
“At this time, our movement opposes a Donald Trump presidency whose agenda includes plans to accelerate the killing in Gaza while intensifying the suppression of anti-war organizing,” said Alawieh. “And our movement is not recommending a third-party vote in the presidential election, especially as third-party votes in key swing states could help inadvertently deliver a Trump presidency, given our country’s broken electoral college system.”
…
“We urge uncommitted voters to register anti-Trump votes and vote up and down the ballot. Our focus remains on building this anti-war coalition, both inside and outside the Democratic party,” said Layla Elabed, a leader of the Uncommitted National Movement and a Palestinian American.
Israeli soldiers beat renowned Palestinian activist to death in Hebron (Middle East Eye)
Ziad Abu Helaiel was specifically known for his peaceful resistance to occupiers. He wasn't armed. He was 66 years old. When you hear people ask, "Where are the peaceful Palestinian protestors?" tell them, "They were beaten to death by invading soldiers."
posted by adrienneleigh at 10:59 AM on October 9 [14 favorites]
Ziad Abu Helaiel was specifically known for his peaceful resistance to occupiers. He wasn't armed. He was 66 years old. When you hear people ask, "Where are the peaceful Palestinian protestors?" tell them, "They were beaten to death by invading soldiers."
posted by adrienneleigh at 10:59 AM on October 9 [14 favorites]
NYT: 65 Doctors, Nurses, and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza (ungated): “I saw many children. In my experience the gunshot wound was often to the head. Many had non-curable, permanent brain damage. It was almost a daily occurrence to have children arrive at the hospital with gunshot wounds to the head.”
Tell me why we're supporting this again?
posted by toastyk at 12:11 PM on October 9 [11 favorites]
Tell me why we're supporting this again?
posted by toastyk at 12:11 PM on October 9 [11 favorites]
Tell me why we're supporting this again?
Because boomers still mostly run everything:
Zionism’s hegemony in American public life is an integral part of the world crafted by the baby boomer generation in its heyday, from the 1970s onward. Obvious examples of boomer Zionists include dispensers of conventional wisdom like New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman and Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker. But just as many Jews of this generation are not Zionist, many of the most important boomer Zionists are not Jews. Joe Biden, though born in 1942 and a Catholic, is an exemplary boomer Zionist, proudly making self-damning statements like “I’m a Zionist. Where there’s no Israel, there’s not a Jew in the world [that is] safe.” So is Henry Louis Gates Jr., who has waxed eloquent about first visiting Israel at age 19 (“a treasure of civilization for the entire human community, but a most vulnerable one,” he said in blurbing Alan Dershowitz’s The Case for Israel). In pretty much any domain, boomer Zionists are amply represented among the gatekeepers.
Anyone who moves through elite institutions implicitly understands the parameters set by boomer Zionists. One learns to follow the lead of friends, colleagues, and kin who reflexively give Israel the benefit of the doubt, fostering a culture of deference — what Umayyah Cable has called “compulsory Zionism” — reinforced by the punishment of dissenting voices. As a result, it is very common for even those with no emotional attachment to Israel to nonetheless practice a willful ignorance stemming from empty mantras about Israel’s “right” to self-defense or about “Middle East politics” being a faraway, messy, “just don’t go there” issue.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:25 PM on October 9 [8 favorites]
Because boomers still mostly run everything:
Zionism’s hegemony in American public life is an integral part of the world crafted by the baby boomer generation in its heyday, from the 1970s onward. Obvious examples of boomer Zionists include dispensers of conventional wisdom like New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman and Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker. But just as many Jews of this generation are not Zionist, many of the most important boomer Zionists are not Jews. Joe Biden, though born in 1942 and a Catholic, is an exemplary boomer Zionist, proudly making self-damning statements like “I’m a Zionist. Where there’s no Israel, there’s not a Jew in the world [that is] safe.” So is Henry Louis Gates Jr., who has waxed eloquent about first visiting Israel at age 19 (“a treasure of civilization for the entire human community, but a most vulnerable one,” he said in blurbing Alan Dershowitz’s The Case for Israel). In pretty much any domain, boomer Zionists are amply represented among the gatekeepers.
Anyone who moves through elite institutions implicitly understands the parameters set by boomer Zionists. One learns to follow the lead of friends, colleagues, and kin who reflexively give Israel the benefit of the doubt, fostering a culture of deference — what Umayyah Cable has called “compulsory Zionism” — reinforced by the punishment of dissenting voices. As a result, it is very common for even those with no emotional attachment to Israel to nonetheless practice a willful ignorance stemming from empty mantras about Israel’s “right” to self-defense or about “Middle East politics” being a faraway, messy, “just don’t go there” issue.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:25 PM on October 9 [8 favorites]
From a retrospective on a different Genocide that sounded very similar,
posted by rubatan at 7:42 PM on October 9 [3 favorites]
...leading up to the genocide, tension and division between the [two groups] had been simmering for decades. Set off in part by [European colonialism] in the 1930s, that introduced identity cards distinguishing [arbitrarily different] peoples. The tension continued to escalate in the years leading up to the [...] genocide" [+ paraphrase: where "10% of the population engaged in mass slaughter", including the murder of people in the hegemonic group who wanted to use their voice to speak out].
"What was the international response?" "Not a good one. It was extremely slow, and it was just not a good one. I think the first thing was, and I feel troubled to say that, the first thing was that it was happening in [_____], in a place that had not necessarily been the most stable place on the continent. So they were like, 'It's just tribalism at its core. It's just people fighting. We're not necessarily going to really pay attention to that.'"CAVEAT: I'd like to be careful in the comparison to not loose sight of the fundamental power asymmetry of power in the I/P+ conflict.
posted by rubatan at 7:42 PM on October 9 [3 favorites]
Its been very sad to see the ADL de-legitimize itself (above), reminiscent of seeing Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre (Los Angeles), vitriolic even, weaponize Israeli courts to expand the Museum of Tolerance (Jerusalem) over the ancient cemetery Mamilla, "We have permits!" The weaponized newspeak is terrifying. A Nationalist project has used a threatened people as their human shield, with the specter of that threat used as a protective spell to commit wrongdoing its supposed to protect against. It makes the world less safe for that threatened people by erasing another people from the land. We need more voices in the world protecting all threatened peoples, not fewer of them. Nationalism is one helluva drug.
posted by rubatan at 7:43 PM on October 9 [3 favorites]
posted by rubatan at 7:43 PM on October 9 [3 favorites]
Because boomers still mostly run everything
Gen Z will save us
posted by flabdablet at 10:21 PM on October 9 [2 favorites]
Gen Z will save us
posted by flabdablet at 10:21 PM on October 9 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Couple deleted, let's not fight in here.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 3:57 AM on October 10
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 3:57 AM on October 10
Israeli troops fire at 3 UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon, U.N. source says (Reuters)
posted by kmt at 6:43 AM on October 10 [3 favorites]
posted by kmt at 6:43 AM on October 10 [3 favorites]
well clearly they should have been "coordinating with the IDF to eliminate Hezbollah" as inanely suggested upthread /s
posted by BungaDunga at 6:57 AM on October 10 [4 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 6:57 AM on October 10 [4 favorites]
IDF firing at Irish peacekeepers with no response from his administration would be a fitting capstone humiliation for Biden
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 7:01 AM on October 10 [8 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 7:01 AM on October 10 [8 favorites]
Just to add for the record, that tweet above QT a UNIFIL twt, so where the Reuters article couldn't provide details, the "firing" is from a Merkava tank. And further down: Yesterday, IDF soldiers deliberately fired at and disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras. They also deliberately fired on UNP 1-32A in Ras Naqoura, where regular Tripartite meetings were held before the conflict began, damaging lighting and a relay station.
And I'll just add this wiki entry: The Qana massacre[1] took place on April 18, 1996, near Qana, a village in then Israeli-occupied Southern Lebanon, when the Israeli military fired artillery shells at a United Nations compound, which was sheltering around 800 Lebanese civilians,[2][3] killing 106 and injuring around 116. Four Fijian United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers were also seriously injured.[4][5]
posted by cendawanita at 7:17 AM on October 10 [8 favorites]
And I'll just add this wiki entry: The Qana massacre[1] took place on April 18, 1996, near Qana, a village in then Israeli-occupied Southern Lebanon, when the Israeli military fired artillery shells at a United Nations compound, which was sheltering around 800 Lebanese civilians,[2][3] killing 106 and injuring around 116. Four Fijian United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers were also seriously injured.[4][5]
posted by cendawanita at 7:17 AM on October 10 [8 favorites]
The hassling and attacking UN forces is one of those things that causes waves of discomfort through me literally physically. I read multiple first person accounts from UN peacekeepers who were present during the Rwandan genocide where they could do little and the world's powerful watched and delayed. I can't also help but note how much people from the less powerful countries -- many of those involved in UN deployments -- believe in the promise of the United Nations. They disproportionately contribute to peace keeping efforts especially when the "Great Powers" don't or for political reasons don't want be seen to care or participate. No doubt there are also less straightforwardly ethical and less savory political reasons for this too. But so many people in UN deployments -- much like international aid groups (UN or otherwise) -- believe so strongly they are making the world better. Having a major power sit by and do nothing (or worse do things to make a situation worse) has to be one of the most grotesque experiences a person can have (after the obvious of being a non-combatant attacked because you happen to be a member of the ethno-racial group a powerful country doesn't like).
I believe in the promise of the United Nations and I wish my leaders in the United States would stand up for the ideals they claimed to espouse. I have gone to the Muir Woods grove that is the official "this is where the UN was founded!" spot. I want a world where we largely settle conflicts peacefully and when that fails we take violent action with broad and true consensus among most of the world's leaders, not just the handful of the most powerful ones.
This is far afield from the thread but critical to how this is happening: Israel the state has been doing awful things to the Palestinians as a whole my entire life and they get away with it because my own nation does not abide by the spirit of the promise we made in helping to found the United Nations. To be honest we as a nation regularly act unilaterally. But I still hope that could change.
posted by R343L at 8:09 AM on October 10 [15 favorites]
I believe in the promise of the United Nations and I wish my leaders in the United States would stand up for the ideals they claimed to espouse. I have gone to the Muir Woods grove that is the official "this is where the UN was founded!" spot. I want a world where we largely settle conflicts peacefully and when that fails we take violent action with broad and true consensus among most of the world's leaders, not just the handful of the most powerful ones.
This is far afield from the thread but critical to how this is happening: Israel the state has been doing awful things to the Palestinians as a whole my entire life and they get away with it because my own nation does not abide by the spirit of the promise we made in helping to found the United Nations. To be honest we as a nation regularly act unilaterally. But I still hope that could change.
posted by R343L at 8:09 AM on October 10 [15 favorites]
From Reuters: UN inquiry accuses Israel of crime of 'extermination' in destruction of Gaza health system
GENEVA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - A United Nations inquiry said on Thursday it found that Israel carried out a concerted policy of destroying Gaza's healthcare system in the Gaza war, actions amounting to both war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.
A statement by ex-U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay released ahead of a full report accused Israel of "relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities" in the war, triggered by Hamas militants' deadly cross-border attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
"Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system," said Pillay, whose report will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 30.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 9:16 AM on October 10 [15 favorites]
GENEVA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - A United Nations inquiry said on Thursday it found that Israel carried out a concerted policy of destroying Gaza's healthcare system in the Gaza war, actions amounting to both war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.
A statement by ex-U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay released ahead of a full report accused Israel of "relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities" in the war, triggered by Hamas militants' deadly cross-border attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
"Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system," said Pillay, whose report will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 30.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 9:16 AM on October 10 [15 favorites]
Didn't we already establish that the UN is Hamas like, months ago?
posted by flabdablet at 5:56 PM on October 10 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 5:56 PM on October 10 [1 favorite]
The US needs to stop arming Israel, full stop. None of the arguments that have been made on this site re why it can't stop or why stopping would make no difference would be accepted if we were discussing Russia or China. The lack of consequences for Israel continually violating international law over the decades is what has brought us to this horrific present moment and it will only get worse if the US continues to flood Israel with billions of dollars in weapons.
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 8:12 PM on October 10 [11 favorites]
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 8:12 PM on October 10 [11 favorites]
I agree pretty much entirely with that assessment; the only change I'd make is "if as the US continues to flood Israel with billions of dollars in weapons."
posted by flabdablet at 4:40 AM on October 11 [3 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 4:40 AM on October 11 [3 favorites]
"Reuters has a quick snap that it has been informed by a UN source that Israel again fired at a UN observation post in southern Lebanon, injuring two people."
Human Rights Watch calls for UN inquiry into Israeli attacks on Unifil peacekeeping force in Lebanon: "On Friday morning, a Unifil outpost in south Lebanon came under fire."
posted by BungaDunga at 6:18 AM on October 11 [5 favorites]
Human Rights Watch calls for UN inquiry into Israeli attacks on Unifil peacekeeping force in Lebanon: "On Friday morning, a Unifil outpost in south Lebanon came under fire."
posted by BungaDunga at 6:18 AM on October 11 [5 favorites]
UK Guardian: The mainstream media has failed us after 7 October, Peter Beinart
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:14 AM on October 11 [3 favorites]
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:14 AM on October 11 [3 favorites]
Reuters: Germany will send more weapons to Israel soon, Scholz says
Once more showing that the talk about a rules based international order is just that, talk.
posted by the_dreamwriter at 8:25 AM on October 11 [5 favorites]
Once more showing that the talk about a rules based international order is just that, talk.
posted by the_dreamwriter at 8:25 AM on October 11 [5 favorites]
So you know those meetings that the Harris campaign has been touting with "Arab American leaders in Michigan" - according to critics, they are handpicked attendees rather than actual people from the communities there.
Dearborn's mayor calls bullshit on Biden: When you have residents pouring in saying, “I have lost a family member, I have missed the burial that would provide some semblance of peace, and we couldn’t even find the body of my family member—we only found limbs that were cast because of the size of the explosion,” how would you approach them and say, “While I understand this pain you’re feeling, you still should cast your vote for the quote-unquote lesser of two evils?” It is a very difficult conversation to be had, and so what we are doing is: one, comforting our residents, first and foremost, and secondly, advocating for the vote. That is what we can do.
The conundrum is real, but ultimately what I keep pushing back on is it’s not this community that has to move in its values and principles and any issues that it’s taken a stance on. It’s the candidates who have to move.
Dearborn City Council voted unanimously to divest from weapons factories tied to Israel.
Elsewhere, Dutch prosecutors mull criminal case over alleged Israel interference into ICC.
UN says "relentless" attacks on Gaza medical workers are war crimes. (ungated)
American journalist Jeremy Loffredo has been released from Israeli custody after being arrested on suspicion of "assisting an enemy in war" which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or death.
posted by toastyk at 8:31 AM on October 11 [9 favorites]
Dearborn's mayor calls bullshit on Biden: When you have residents pouring in saying, “I have lost a family member, I have missed the burial that would provide some semblance of peace, and we couldn’t even find the body of my family member—we only found limbs that were cast because of the size of the explosion,” how would you approach them and say, “While I understand this pain you’re feeling, you still should cast your vote for the quote-unquote lesser of two evils?” It is a very difficult conversation to be had, and so what we are doing is: one, comforting our residents, first and foremost, and secondly, advocating for the vote. That is what we can do.
The conundrum is real, but ultimately what I keep pushing back on is it’s not this community that has to move in its values and principles and any issues that it’s taken a stance on. It’s the candidates who have to move.
Dearborn City Council voted unanimously to divest from weapons factories tied to Israel.
Elsewhere, Dutch prosecutors mull criminal case over alleged Israel interference into ICC.
UN says "relentless" attacks on Gaza medical workers are war crimes. (ungated)
American journalist Jeremy Loffredo has been released from Israeli custody after being arrested on suspicion of "assisting an enemy in war" which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or death.
posted by toastyk at 8:31 AM on October 11 [9 favorites]
The mainstream media has failed us after 7 October
I think any fair minded observer could only conclude that on matters relating to Palestine the mainstream media has been failing us for a hell of a lot longer than that.
The deliberate, State-sponsored use of illegal Israeli settlements to confine the Palestinian population of the West Bank to ever-shrinking and ever-more-fragmented bantustans has been happening pretty much uninterrupted since 1967, and yet this flagrant and ongoing violation of international law almost never gets a mention even as those Palestinian leaders with the temerity to object to it have consistently been portrayed as unreasonable and/or unrealistic.
the talk about a rules based international order is just that, talk
Are you perhaps confused about what those words mean? The US rules, and we internationals just take the orders, and if we don't like that? Well. Nice little democracy you have there. Be an awful pity if something were to... happen to it.
posted by flabdablet at 8:35 AM on October 11 [9 favorites]
I think any fair minded observer could only conclude that on matters relating to Palestine the mainstream media has been failing us for a hell of a lot longer than that.
The deliberate, State-sponsored use of illegal Israeli settlements to confine the Palestinian population of the West Bank to ever-shrinking and ever-more-fragmented bantustans has been happening pretty much uninterrupted since 1967, and yet this flagrant and ongoing violation of international law almost never gets a mention even as those Palestinian leaders with the temerity to object to it have consistently been portrayed as unreasonable and/or unrealistic.
the talk about a rules based international order is just that, talk
Are you perhaps confused about what those words mean? The US rules, and we internationals just take the orders, and if we don't like that? Well. Nice little democracy you have there. Be an awful pity if something were to... happen to it.
posted by flabdablet at 8:35 AM on October 11 [9 favorites]
American journalist Jeremy Loffredo has been released from Israeli custody after being arrested on suspicion of "assisting an enemy in war"
"The allegations stem from his reporting for American media outlet The Grayzone" ah. well, look, I don't think locking up journalists is a good idea, but if a journalist for any outlet is going to do something that might deserve it, it's someone working for The Grayzone.
posted by BungaDunga at 4:50 PM on October 11 [1 favorite]
"The allegations stem from his reporting for American media outlet The Grayzone" ah. well, look, I don't think locking up journalists is a good idea, but if a journalist for any outlet is going to do something that might deserve it, it's someone working for The Grayzone.
posted by BungaDunga at 4:50 PM on October 11 [1 favorite]
The Grayzone is extremely shitty about both Syria and Ukraine, but their reporting about Palestine has been very solid.
posted by adrienneleigh at 5:34 PM on October 11 [3 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 5:34 PM on October 11 [3 favorites]
And regardless, the facts of this case are public and the journalist definitely should not have been imprisoned.
posted by adrienneleigh at 6:03 PM on October 11 [2 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 6:03 PM on October 11 [2 favorites]
according to critics, they are handpicked attendees rather than actual people
There are better sources on the who, what, when, etc. but it's not far off. The Vice President follows the directives of the CE and while running for president, has little latitude to convey a policy of her own. Does she have to? that's a matter of latitude and statecraft that is carefully avoiding a political reality but seems intent on staying the course.
The US rules, and we internationals just take the orders, and if we don't like that? Well. Nice little democracy you have there. Be an awful pity if something were to... happen to it
I get the sentiment but I still think it's rather
oblique. Lots of things are changing quite fast.
someone up thread mentioned about United States boots on the ground, this is not going to happen ,et's look back at the previous time United States troops were in Lebanon. "The Reagan administration was divided over how to respond to Israel’s invasion. Secretary of State Alexander Haig argued that the United States should not pressure Israel to withdraw without demanding that the PLO and Syria do likewise. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Vice President George Bush, and National Security Advisor William Clark wanted the IDF to withdraw immediately and to sanction Israel if they did not."
now here's the question, why were bush and the rest so... adamant
posted by clavdivs at 6:08 PM on October 11
There are better sources on the who, what, when, etc. but it's not far off. The Vice President follows the directives of the CE and while running for president, has little latitude to convey a policy of her own. Does she have to? that's a matter of latitude and statecraft that is carefully avoiding a political reality but seems intent on staying the course.
The US rules, and we internationals just take the orders, and if we don't like that? Well. Nice little democracy you have there. Be an awful pity if something were to... happen to it
I get the sentiment but I still think it's rather
oblique. Lots of things are changing quite fast.
someone up thread mentioned about United States boots on the ground, this is not going to happen ,et's look back at the previous time United States troops were in Lebanon. "The Reagan administration was divided over how to respond to Israel’s invasion. Secretary of State Alexander Haig argued that the United States should not pressure Israel to withdraw without demanding that the PLO and Syria do likewise. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Vice President George Bush, and National Security Advisor William Clark wanted the IDF to withdraw immediately and to sanction Israel if they did not."
now here's the question, why were bush and the rest so... adamant
posted by clavdivs at 6:08 PM on October 11
It would behoove the Harris campaign to maybe start changing course, and maybe differentiating themselves from Biden aside from saying "Yay we love Republicans", especially if they are panicking about polls, which they are reportedly doing. Like, maybe distance themselves from ongoing genocide and war, but no, she's all in on war with Iran as "the greatest adversary of the US". Like, really? Beyond China in the Pacific? Beyond Russia with Ukraine?
Anyway, aside from that, some free-speech/censorship news:
The StopAntisemitism X account called out The Weather Channel for using an ad featuring a woman wearing a keffiyeh as anti-semitic, and The Weather Channel caved and removed it, sparking outrage from people who aren't racist against Arabs.
The ADL tried to sue the Icelandic hosting company 1984.is into deplatforming an antiwar website called The Mapping Project and failed. The ADL is now required to pay the hosting company's court costs. See 1984.is explanation here.
There is a movement to get organizations to Drop the ADL, if you want to read more about it.
Renown author and activist Arundhati Roy has been awarded the PEN Pinter Prize 2024 - here is her speech: What can possibly justify what Israel is doing?
The answer, according to Israel and its allies, as well as the Western media, is the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th last year. The killing of Israeli civilians and the taking of Israeli hostages. According to them, history only began a year ago.
So, this is the part in my speech where I am expected to equivocate to protect myself, my ‘neutrality’, my intellectual standing. This is the part where I am meant to lapse into moral equivalence and condemn Hamas, the other militant groups in Gaza and their ally Hezbollah, in Lebanon, for killing civilians and taking people hostage. And to condemn the people of Gaza who celebrated the Hamas attack. Once that’s done it all becomes easy, doesn’t it? Ah well. Everybody is terrible, what can one do? Let’s go shopping instead…
I refuse to play the condemnation game. Let me make myself clear. I do not tell oppressed people how to resist their oppression or who their allies should be.
Nobel Prize winner Han Kang declines press conference, refuses to celebrate while people die in wars.
Atomic bomb survivors winning Nobel Peace Prize compare Gaza to Japan 80 years ago.
posted by toastyk at 8:46 AM on October 12 [8 favorites]
Anyway, aside from that, some free-speech/censorship news:
The StopAntisemitism X account called out The Weather Channel for using an ad featuring a woman wearing a keffiyeh as anti-semitic, and The Weather Channel caved and removed it, sparking outrage from people who aren't racist against Arabs.
The ADL tried to sue the Icelandic hosting company 1984.is into deplatforming an antiwar website called The Mapping Project and failed. The ADL is now required to pay the hosting company's court costs. See 1984.is explanation here.
There is a movement to get organizations to Drop the ADL, if you want to read more about it.
Renown author and activist Arundhati Roy has been awarded the PEN Pinter Prize 2024 - here is her speech: What can possibly justify what Israel is doing?
The answer, according to Israel and its allies, as well as the Western media, is the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th last year. The killing of Israeli civilians and the taking of Israeli hostages. According to them, history only began a year ago.
So, this is the part in my speech where I am expected to equivocate to protect myself, my ‘neutrality’, my intellectual standing. This is the part where I am meant to lapse into moral equivalence and condemn Hamas, the other militant groups in Gaza and their ally Hezbollah, in Lebanon, for killing civilians and taking people hostage. And to condemn the people of Gaza who celebrated the Hamas attack. Once that’s done it all becomes easy, doesn’t it? Ah well. Everybody is terrible, what can one do? Let’s go shopping instead…
I refuse to play the condemnation game. Let me make myself clear. I do not tell oppressed people how to resist their oppression or who their allies should be.
Nobel Prize winner Han Kang declines press conference, refuses to celebrate while people die in wars.
Atomic bomb survivors winning Nobel Peace Prize compare Gaza to Japan 80 years ago.
posted by toastyk at 8:46 AM on October 12 [8 favorites]
It would behoove the Harris campaign to maybe start changing course, and maybe differentiating themselves from Biden aside from saying "Yay we love Republicans", especially if they are panicking about polls, which they are reportedly doing.
At this point I honestly think she's trying to lose. At the least, actively trying to lose would not look that much different. "I'm going to appoint a bipartisan council with people from the fascist party that's been working to actively undermine democracy in the USA since 1964" is not the galaxy-brain move she apparently thinks it is.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 9:12 AM on October 12 [4 favorites]
At this point I honestly think she's trying to lose. At the least, actively trying to lose would not look that much different. "I'm going to appoint a bipartisan council with people from the fascist party that's been working to actively undermine democracy in the USA since 1964" is not the galaxy-brain move she apparently thinks it is.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 9:12 AM on October 12 [4 favorites]
She's trying to appeal to swing-state voters who, unaccountably, insist to pollsters that they love bipartisanship and think she's a mega-liberal. That's the game. Is it very, very stupid? Of course it is. Will it work? I hope so!
posted by BungaDunga at 9:25 AM on October 12 [1 favorite]
posted by BungaDunga at 9:25 AM on October 12 [1 favorite]
She's trying to appeal to swing-state voters who, unaccountably, insist to pollsters that they love bipartisanship and think she's a mega-liberal. That's the game. Is it very, very stupid? Of course it is.
That's what Clinton did in 2016, and it didn't work then either.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 9:41 AM on October 12 [7 favorites]
That's what Clinton did in 2016, and it didn't work then either.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 9:41 AM on October 12 [7 favorites]
That's the game. Is it very, very stupid? Of course it is. Will it work? I hope so!
If the tack to the right fails, will they accept any responsibility? Absolutely not. Will they instead blame people who are vocal about not siding with genocidal fascists? Signs point to yes!
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 10:01 AM on October 12 [14 favorites]
If the tack to the right fails, will they accept any responsibility? Absolutely not. Will they instead blame people who are vocal about not siding with genocidal fascists? Signs point to yes!
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 10:01 AM on October 12 [14 favorites]
BungaDunga Don't blame the left when the traditional Democratic rush to the right fails yet again. If Harris loses it's not our fault.
posted by sotonohito at 10:19 AM on October 12 [6 favorites]
posted by sotonohito at 10:19 AM on October 12 [6 favorites]
an anecdote from reddit on that bipartisan board thing working on someone. voting or not voting for Harris based on that is extremely dumb but if there are leftists out there who were on board with the genocide stuff but hopped off the train based on dumb bipartisan messaging then their policy preferences are so incoherent that they are probably not gettable anyway
posted by BungaDunga at 12:04 PM on October 12 [1 favorite]
posted by BungaDunga at 12:04 PM on October 12 [1 favorite]
N12 (Hebrew): First publication: Israel will receive batteries to intercept ballistic missiles from the US -
The air defense batteries will be operated by American soldiers, in Israeli territory. An attack, even a light one
As part of the preparations for an Israeli response to the Iranian attack - the US will send Israel air defense batteries to intercept ballistic missiles, as we first published this evening (Saturday) in the "Weekend News". This is the first time in the war that the US has given Israel the defense batteries.
The defense systems will be operated by American soldiers on Israeli territory. This is a move that was practiced in the past - and now it will be implemented. The goal is to prepare together with the Americans for an Iranian response - which is expected to come into effect if Israel attacks Iran.
Guardian: US-made munition used in Israeli strike on central Beirut, shrapnel shows -
Exclusive: Strike that killed 22 is first time US-made munition confirmed to have been used in attack on central Beirut since 2006 (didn't even get the person they wanted, as he wasn't in the building. But accuracy only matters if they're made to matter)
The Guardian found remnants of a US-manufactured joint direct attack munition (Jdam) in the rubble of the collapsed apartment building on Friday afternoon. Jdams are guidance kits built by the US aerospace company Boeing that attach to large “dumb bombs” ranging up to 2,000lbs (900kg), converting them into GPS-guided bombs.
The weapons remnant was verified by the crisis, conflict and arms division of Human Rights Watch and a former US military bomb technician.
//Absolutely unrelated except in vibes, analogies, and implications: (Telegraph) Joe Biden pushed UK to surrender Chagos Islands -
Senior officials told incoming Labour government that refusing to sign away the islands would jeopardise ‘special relationship’ //
posted by cendawanita at 1:03 PM on October 12 [8 favorites]
The air defense batteries will be operated by American soldiers, in Israeli territory. An attack, even a light one
As part of the preparations for an Israeli response to the Iranian attack - the US will send Israel air defense batteries to intercept ballistic missiles, as we first published this evening (Saturday) in the "Weekend News". This is the first time in the war that the US has given Israel the defense batteries.
The defense systems will be operated by American soldiers on Israeli territory. This is a move that was practiced in the past - and now it will be implemented. The goal is to prepare together with the Americans for an Iranian response - which is expected to come into effect if Israel attacks Iran.
Guardian: US-made munition used in Israeli strike on central Beirut, shrapnel shows -
Exclusive: Strike that killed 22 is first time US-made munition confirmed to have been used in attack on central Beirut since 2006 (didn't even get the person they wanted, as he wasn't in the building. But accuracy only matters if they're made to matter)
The Guardian found remnants of a US-manufactured joint direct attack munition (Jdam) in the rubble of the collapsed apartment building on Friday afternoon. Jdams are guidance kits built by the US aerospace company Boeing that attach to large “dumb bombs” ranging up to 2,000lbs (900kg), converting them into GPS-guided bombs.
The weapons remnant was verified by the crisis, conflict and arms division of Human Rights Watch and a former US military bomb technician.
//Absolutely unrelated except in vibes, analogies, and implications: (Telegraph) Joe Biden pushed UK to surrender Chagos Islands -
Senior officials told incoming Labour government that refusing to sign away the islands would jeopardise ‘special relationship’ //
posted by cendawanita at 1:03 PM on October 12 [8 favorites]
The ADL tried to sue the Icelandic hosting company 1984.is into deplatforming an antiwar website called The Mapping Project and failed.
glad to see the Mapping Project still up and running, and cool to see it mentioned here.
some folks i know wrote a little essay (pdf) with some further history of the totally deranged reaction to the Mapping Project and a sort of toy (sort of technical) attempt to show how to use the Mapping Project data for organising. it's mostly irrelevant here, but i mention it because they've got a footnote which is a potted history of reactionary garbage from the ADL going way back, and because there are a bunch of other useful links in the footnotes, including to the Mapping Project's own article on the ADL, which is maybe part of the source of the weirdly vindictive (even by repression of palestinian solidarity activism standards) reaction the Mapping Project got.
posted by busted_crayons at 2:59 PM on October 12 [6 favorites]
glad to see the Mapping Project still up and running, and cool to see it mentioned here.
some folks i know wrote a little essay (pdf) with some further history of the totally deranged reaction to the Mapping Project and a sort of toy (sort of technical) attempt to show how to use the Mapping Project data for organising. it's mostly irrelevant here, but i mention it because they've got a footnote which is a potted history of reactionary garbage from the ADL going way back, and because there are a bunch of other useful links in the footnotes, including to the Mapping Project's own article on the ADL, which is maybe part of the source of the weirdly vindictive (even by repression of palestinian solidarity activism standards) reaction the Mapping Project got.
posted by busted_crayons at 2:59 PM on October 12 [6 favorites]
Other than the American boots on the ground, take note, consent formation is taking place:
NYT - Secret Documents Show Hamas Tried to Persuade Iran to Join Its Oct. 7 Attack -
The Times reviewed the minutes of 10 meetings among Hamas’s top leaders. The records show the militant group avoided several escalations since 2021 to falsely imply it had been deterred — while seeking Iranian support for a major attack.
Maybe this time the IDF and western journos are actually handling legitimate intelligence. There's always a first time for everything in the fog of war (that no one wanted but hey, election year), or even this year.
The Israeli military declined to comment. Hamas and Hezbollah did not respond to requests for comment. Iran’s Mission to the United Nations denied the claims made in the minutes.
“All the planning, decision-making and directing were solely executed by Hamas’s military wing based in Gaza, any claim attempting to link it to Iran or Hezbollah — either partially or wholly — is devoid of credence and comes from fabricated documents,” the Iranian statement said.
If it was the American military, a year in, these same American journalists wouldn't be so coy: Hamas was more successful in its efforts to mislead Israel. - yeah, that's because the entire domestic security architecture is rotted. All that defence support, and for what? All that national service, and the inflated military titles, and for what? Anyway, better to imagine an enemy of incredible superhuman talent and not the fact the apartheid system and a culture of striking harmless civilians from afar produced a lazy yet paranoid society with broken heuristics in actually identifying risks. Or targets. This is the Western ally they want to coddle (in the meantime Mike Johnson is signalling an end to support to Ukraine because he's bored apparently.)
Newsweek: Iran Responds to 'Secret Documents' Linking Tehran to Hamas' Oct. 7 Attack - a bit more elaboration than what's in the NYT article.
posted by cendawanita at 9:16 PM on October 12 [7 favorites]
NYT - Secret Documents Show Hamas Tried to Persuade Iran to Join Its Oct. 7 Attack -
The Times reviewed the minutes of 10 meetings among Hamas’s top leaders. The records show the militant group avoided several escalations since 2021 to falsely imply it had been deterred — while seeking Iranian support for a major attack.
Maybe this time the IDF and western journos are actually handling legitimate intelligence. There's always a first time for everything in the fog of war (that no one wanted but hey, election year), or even this year.
The Israeli military declined to comment. Hamas and Hezbollah did not respond to requests for comment. Iran’s Mission to the United Nations denied the claims made in the minutes.
“All the planning, decision-making and directing were solely executed by Hamas’s military wing based in Gaza, any claim attempting to link it to Iran or Hezbollah — either partially or wholly — is devoid of credence and comes from fabricated documents,” the Iranian statement said.
If it was the American military, a year in, these same American journalists wouldn't be so coy: Hamas was more successful in its efforts to mislead Israel. - yeah, that's because the entire domestic security architecture is rotted. All that defence support, and for what? All that national service, and the inflated military titles, and for what? Anyway, better to imagine an enemy of incredible superhuman talent and not the fact the apartheid system and a culture of striking harmless civilians from afar produced a lazy yet paranoid society with broken heuristics in actually identifying risks. Or targets. This is the Western ally they want to coddle (in the meantime Mike Johnson is signalling an end to support to Ukraine because he's bored apparently.)
Newsweek: Iran Responds to 'Secret Documents' Linking Tehran to Hamas' Oct. 7 Attack - a bit more elaboration than what's in the NYT article.
posted by cendawanita at 9:16 PM on October 12 [7 favorites]
After the "terrorist roster" wall calendar debacle, I'm half expecting these "secret documents" to be a room service breakfast menu.
posted by flabdablet at 10:27 PM on October 12 [4 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 10:27 PM on October 12 [4 favorites]
Worth remembering at this point that Israel passed the US bogus intelligence about non-existent Iraqi WMD; considering that they have previous with this sort of thing, forgive me for not finding the "secret documents" claims credible (and in any case they're irrelevant even if real, as it is pretty clear from what we know re 7 October 2023 that Hamas did not in fact have any Iranian assistance).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:04 PM on October 12 [7 favorites]
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:04 PM on October 12 [7 favorites]
Israeli siege of northern Gaza kills 300 Palestinians and traps thousands more.
Jordan joins France and Spain in calls for weapons embargo on Israel.
Zeteo's look at the ex-IDF veteran Amos Hochstein advising the Biden administration: Maha Yahya, director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said that while Hochstein has a good relationship with various political actors in Lebanon, recent events may have corroded his broader credibility.
“[It] depends on who you ask,” Yahya said, “but overall, it is quite shot through, particularly after it came out that the US had green-lighted Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. There were already a lot of questions around him as a ‘neutral’ mediator, given … his participation in the IDF. These have now intensified.”
Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, added, “It's stunning that a former Israeli soldier can help broker energy deals for Netanyahu's Israel from inside the US administration, and no one in mainstream circles bats an eye.”
He added, “One can only imagine the media reaction if a foreign-born Arab-American — who was a former militant — was even given a single meeting with our aging and vulnerable Commander in Chief.”
posted by toastyk at 7:00 AM on October 13 [8 favorites]
Jordan joins France and Spain in calls for weapons embargo on Israel.
Zeteo's look at the ex-IDF veteran Amos Hochstein advising the Biden administration: Maha Yahya, director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said that while Hochstein has a good relationship with various political actors in Lebanon, recent events may have corroded his broader credibility.
“[It] depends on who you ask,” Yahya said, “but overall, it is quite shot through, particularly after it came out that the US had green-lighted Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. There were already a lot of questions around him as a ‘neutral’ mediator, given … his participation in the IDF. These have now intensified.”
Erik Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, added, “It's stunning that a former Israeli soldier can help broker energy deals for Netanyahu's Israel from inside the US administration, and no one in mainstream circles bats an eye.”
He added, “One can only imagine the media reaction if a foreign-born Arab-American — who was a former militant — was even given a single meeting with our aging and vulnerable Commander in Chief.”
posted by toastyk at 7:00 AM on October 13 [8 favorites]
Yesterday was Yom Kippur. As a cultural Jew who's basically not religiously affiliated (and who is unequivocal that the Netanyahu regime is enacting genocide) I nonetheless feel a need to connect with my culture on this day, and I watch livestreamed services from congregations I feel are in line with my upbringing (progressive Reform). I'd heard good things about Central Synagogue, out of Manhattan, so they were my service of choice (and, to start with the good, they honestly have a very well-done presentation of the liturgy and a skillful cantor and choir). The service is of course mostly familiar ritual but as is the case with many rituals, there are a lot of spaces in the liturgy for the rabbis to talk about specific things of present concern.
So, after a year of the world's only Jewish state undeniably engaging in an action which is killing huge numbers of innocents, what is the topic of concern in an ostensibly progressive Jewish community at a time of community repentance and self-reflection? Antisemitism, mostly. The morning sermon spent a lot of time talking about acts of hate against Jews, in such a nebulous way that I wasn't sure there were any real examples behind their vibe that the last year had seen a tremendous rise in antisemitism in America. (For reference: my own recent exemplars of anti-Jewish hate in America were the Charlottesville march and the Tree of Life shooting. Those were in 2017 and 2018 respectively, so if you're going to say that 2023-2024 was a catastrophically threatening one for American Jews, I'm gonna need more than a vibe, or even a few "I got into a shouting match with someone at a protest" stories. Go to a protest, you're definitionally going to meet the most passionately angry people.) Now, for a Yom Kippur sermon you kind of have to have some sort of internal self-correction, so what do we need to do to make ourselves better in these putatively extra-threatening times? Be less extremist, apparently. Apparently all of us are way too certain of our own rightness and we need to embrace centrism. I am not joking. The sermon included a passionate defense of centrism. Bret Stephens was approvingly quoted. I was agog. It was as if the New York Times had been given flesh and incarnated as a rabbi to give the sermon*. I am pretty sure the phrase "Palestinian" was never used**. The closest they came to acknowledging that there are non-Jews being harmed was in a prayer which mentioned "the suffering in Gaza". One reasonably ignorant of demographics might think they were talking about Gazan Jews; for all I know, they were meaning to be talking about Gazan Jews.
Also, later in the service, they performed the unexpurgated version of Israel's Eurovision entry, presumably because the censorship was so unfair (and, presumably, evidence of this Antisemitism which somehow never happens to Jews who don't support Israel without reservation). Suffice to say, I'm not exactly impressed by my community's powers of self-reflection and self-criticism now. I wasn't expecting a passionate denunciation of the Netanyahu government from the rabbi of a major politically active congregation, but some acknowledgement that K'lal Yisrael (the house of Israel) has caused the death of innocents seems like it would be a very low bar to clear in a time when our transgressions should be uppermost in our mind.
* Which, given that "upper-class self-described-progressive Reform Manhattan Jew" is a description of both the typical Central Synagogue member and New York Times target audience, is at least figuratively true.
** Notably, neither was "Hamas". If you'd woken out of a two-year coma to listen to the service, you'd conclude that October 7th, 2023 was first and foremost the day America decided to be extra-Antisemitic, for some reason. The Palestinians were neither pitied nor vilified in the oratory. I imagine that was a political decision so that the clergy didn't have to take a stance, but as Elie Wiesel, among others, noted, "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." And arguably erasure is even more pernicious than vilification.
posted by jackbishop at 9:07 AM on October 13 [15 favorites]
So, after a year of the world's only Jewish state undeniably engaging in an action which is killing huge numbers of innocents, what is the topic of concern in an ostensibly progressive Jewish community at a time of community repentance and self-reflection? Antisemitism, mostly. The morning sermon spent a lot of time talking about acts of hate against Jews, in such a nebulous way that I wasn't sure there were any real examples behind their vibe that the last year had seen a tremendous rise in antisemitism in America. (For reference: my own recent exemplars of anti-Jewish hate in America were the Charlottesville march and the Tree of Life shooting. Those were in 2017 and 2018 respectively, so if you're going to say that 2023-2024 was a catastrophically threatening one for American Jews, I'm gonna need more than a vibe, or even a few "I got into a shouting match with someone at a protest" stories. Go to a protest, you're definitionally going to meet the most passionately angry people.) Now, for a Yom Kippur sermon you kind of have to have some sort of internal self-correction, so what do we need to do to make ourselves better in these putatively extra-threatening times? Be less extremist, apparently. Apparently all of us are way too certain of our own rightness and we need to embrace centrism. I am not joking. The sermon included a passionate defense of centrism. Bret Stephens was approvingly quoted. I was agog. It was as if the New York Times had been given flesh and incarnated as a rabbi to give the sermon*. I am pretty sure the phrase "Palestinian" was never used**. The closest they came to acknowledging that there are non-Jews being harmed was in a prayer which mentioned "the suffering in Gaza". One reasonably ignorant of demographics might think they were talking about Gazan Jews; for all I know, they were meaning to be talking about Gazan Jews.
Also, later in the service, they performed the unexpurgated version of Israel's Eurovision entry, presumably because the censorship was so unfair (and, presumably, evidence of this Antisemitism which somehow never happens to Jews who don't support Israel without reservation). Suffice to say, I'm not exactly impressed by my community's powers of self-reflection and self-criticism now. I wasn't expecting a passionate denunciation of the Netanyahu government from the rabbi of a major politically active congregation, but some acknowledgement that K'lal Yisrael (the house of Israel) has caused the death of innocents seems like it would be a very low bar to clear in a time when our transgressions should be uppermost in our mind.
* Which, given that "upper-class self-described-progressive Reform Manhattan Jew" is a description of both the typical Central Synagogue member and New York Times target audience, is at least figuratively true.
** Notably, neither was "Hamas". If you'd woken out of a two-year coma to listen to the service, you'd conclude that October 7th, 2023 was first and foremost the day America decided to be extra-Antisemitic, for some reason. The Palestinians were neither pitied nor vilified in the oratory. I imagine that was a political decision so that the clergy didn't have to take a stance, but as Elie Wiesel, among others, noted, "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." And arguably erasure is even more pernicious than vilification.
posted by jackbishop at 9:07 AM on October 13 [15 favorites]
I'm going to try and corral the following as best I can in a coherently chronological fashion:
After hours of demurral following Israel media breaking the news, AP: US will send a missile defense system and troops to run it to Israel to aid defense against Iran
Bibi once again threatens UNIFIL - per Dropsite News:
BREAKING: Netanyahu Demands Immediate Removal of UN Peacekeepers From Southern Lebanon
Key Points:
▪️Netanyahu addressing UN Secretary General António Guterres, claims UNIFIL’s “repeated refusals” to leave turn peacekeepers into “human shields for Hezbollah terrorists.”
▪️He places the blame on the UN Chief: “We regret the injuring of UNIFIL soldiers,” but “your refusal to evacuate soldiers has turned them into hostages of Hezbollah.”
▪️UNIFIL’s mandate however is set by the United Nations Security Council, and Secretary General Guterres does not have authority to unilaterally alter it. Israel had earlier declared UN’s Guterres persona non grata. The announcement, made by Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, followed Guterres’s perceived failure to unequivocally condemn Iran’s missile attacks on Israel.
▪️At least 5 UN peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israeli forces directly fired at them in their advancing invasion of Lebanon.
Per UNIFIL, direct attacks have included tank fire and chemical weapons.
Just in the last hour, news broke of a successful Hezbollah drone attack on an IDF base. Numbers still uncertain, it's creeping upwards to 80 last I checked.
Ori Goldberg: Israeli media reports that our "political leadership" has instructed the IDF to cease bombing in Beirut. When I say there is no plan, this is what I mean. We are bullies, relying on our air supremacy. But like all bullies, we rattle easily. We don't care until we're hit.
posted by cendawanita at 12:01 PM on October 13 [8 favorites]
After hours of demurral following Israel media breaking the news, AP: US will send a missile defense system and troops to run it to Israel to aid defense against Iran
Bibi once again threatens UNIFIL - per Dropsite News:
BREAKING: Netanyahu Demands Immediate Removal of UN Peacekeepers From Southern Lebanon
Key Points:
▪️Netanyahu addressing UN Secretary General António Guterres, claims UNIFIL’s “repeated refusals” to leave turn peacekeepers into “human shields for Hezbollah terrorists.”
▪️He places the blame on the UN Chief: “We regret the injuring of UNIFIL soldiers,” but “your refusal to evacuate soldiers has turned them into hostages of Hezbollah.”
▪️UNIFIL’s mandate however is set by the United Nations Security Council, and Secretary General Guterres does not have authority to unilaterally alter it. Israel had earlier declared UN’s Guterres persona non grata. The announcement, made by Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, followed Guterres’s perceived failure to unequivocally condemn Iran’s missile attacks on Israel.
▪️At least 5 UN peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israeli forces directly fired at them in their advancing invasion of Lebanon.
Per UNIFIL, direct attacks have included tank fire and chemical weapons.
Just in the last hour, news broke of a successful Hezbollah drone attack on an IDF base. Numbers still uncertain, it's creeping upwards to 80 last I checked.
Ori Goldberg: Israeli media reports that our "political leadership" has instructed the IDF to cease bombing in Beirut. When I say there is no plan, this is what I mean. We are bullies, relying on our air supremacy. But like all bullies, we rattle easily. We don't care until we're hit.
posted by cendawanita at 12:01 PM on October 13 [8 favorites]
The drone strikes as covered by Al-Jazeera. Spends time a bit on how no alarms are tripped.
In the meantime, during Yom Kippur itself actually: Jabalia's Palestinians share 'final' messages of possible extermination -
Besieged and bombarded by invading Israeli military, Palestinians in Gaza's Jabalia city are posting videos and images on social media, pleading the world they are living their "final moments".
Coincidentally: (JPost) The great emigration: Israel sees an unprecedented number leave the country
In the meantime: (Haaretz, ungated): Israeli Defense Officials: Gov't Pushing Aside Hostage Deal, Eyeing Gaza Annexation -
IDF commanders in Gaza say the recent decision to operate in the northern part of the Strip was taken without proper deliberations, and is apparently aimed at pressuring civilians in the area to relocate
The 162nd Division, which had been operating in southern Gaza, was ordered to prepare a major assault on Jabalya refugee camp in the north, even though there was no intelligence to justify the move. The security establishment didn't unanimously back the move, and some in the army and the Shin Bet security service warned that it might endanger the lives of hostages.
Sources told Haaretz that when troops entered Jabalya, they did not directly encounter any terrorists.
No shit.
Once again, people have rights, states deliver them. Israel can't even defend its own people and worse, robs other people of their rights.
posted by cendawanita at 12:19 PM on October 13 [12 favorites]
In the meantime, during Yom Kippur itself actually: Jabalia's Palestinians share 'final' messages of possible extermination -
Besieged and bombarded by invading Israeli military, Palestinians in Gaza's Jabalia city are posting videos and images on social media, pleading the world they are living their "final moments".
Coincidentally: (JPost) The great emigration: Israel sees an unprecedented number leave the country
In the meantime: (Haaretz, ungated): Israeli Defense Officials: Gov't Pushing Aside Hostage Deal, Eyeing Gaza Annexation -
IDF commanders in Gaza say the recent decision to operate in the northern part of the Strip was taken without proper deliberations, and is apparently aimed at pressuring civilians in the area to relocate
The 162nd Division, which had been operating in southern Gaza, was ordered to prepare a major assault on Jabalya refugee camp in the north, even though there was no intelligence to justify the move. The security establishment didn't unanimously back the move, and some in the army and the Shin Bet security service warned that it might endanger the lives of hostages.
Sources told Haaretz that when troops entered Jabalya, they did not directly encounter any terrorists.
No shit.
Once again, people have rights, states deliver them. Israel can't even defend its own people and worse, robs other people of their rights.
posted by cendawanita at 12:19 PM on October 13 [12 favorites]
I had saved in my read later app the NYT article about what doctors and nurses doing volunteer rotations in Gaza said they saw some days ago and could only bring myself to read it earlier this morning, partly because I had our UU service to attend so I knew I would have some goodness after. I'm sure it's been posted upthread -- I might have even saved the link from here -- but it's worth reading if you haven't. It is too easy for Americans -- Jewish or not -- to dismiss what Israel is doing as "what else can Israel do? what other options do they have?". But it seems something must be dead inside oneself to read stories like these medical workers and not ask what could change or what choices could those with the most power in the world -- unquestionably the leaders of the United States and Israel -- have made to not have five year olds permanently disabled or dead from bullet wounds to the head and mothers losing their infants to starvation because there's no formula and they are themselves too starved to produce milk.
posted by R343L at 12:49 PM on October 13 [9 favorites]
posted by R343L at 12:49 PM on October 13 [9 favorites]
The plan now is to starve the entire population.
ABC:
ABC:
The plan proposed to Netanyahu and the Israeli parliament by a group of retired generals would escalate the pressure, giving Palestinians a week to leave the northern third of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, before declaring it a closed military zone....
Those who remain would be considered combatants — meaning military regulations would allow troops to kill them — and denied food, water, medicine and fuel, according to a copy of the plan given to The Associated Press by its chief architect
“They will either have to surrender or to starve,” Eiland said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to kill every person,” he said. “It will not be necessary. People will not be able to live there (the north). The water will dry up.”...
The copy of the plan shared with the AP says that if the strategy is successful in northern Gaza, it could then be replicated in other areas, including tent camps further to the south sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.posted by away for regrooving at 7:56 PM on October 13 [9 favorites]
The footage last night of Al-Aqsa hospital, is it too much to hope for that the names of every pilot and drone operator is known so that one day a measure of justice might be extracted?
posted by Kitten as a cat at 8:52 PM on October 13 [6 favorites]
posted by Kitten as a cat at 8:52 PM on October 13 [6 favorites]
May every Israeli soldier and settler have their deeds returned to them threefold.
posted by adrienneleigh at 8:59 PM on October 13 [4 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 8:59 PM on October 13 [4 favorites]
I am not sure why a comment calling for justice under the due processes of international law was just deleted, but that sucks, ftr.
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:48 PM on October 13 [4 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:48 PM on October 13 [4 favorites]
I'm not sure what exactly called for such swift and efficient mod action just now, but I hope to witness this standard continued into the future when undoubtedly in future threads individuals once again paint the actual (note, not the speculative or even figurative) dissolution of the Palestinian state as justified or necessary.
posted by Kitten as a cat at 9:49 PM on October 13 [6 favorites]
posted by Kitten as a cat at 9:49 PM on October 13 [6 favorites]
Mod note: Swiftness due to I just came on duty and responded to a flag. Descriptions of death / violence wished on people is against the guidelines, even if everyone agrees that the target people are deserving. Sorry, but this is a standing rule that we enforce to keep threads from filling with graphic revenge scenarios, etc.
posted by taz (staff) at 10:00 PM on October 13 [2 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 10:00 PM on October 13 [2 favorites]
Long term reports and analyses (came out before the last 24 hours):
Polygraph: Israel has displaced 3 million people [across Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon] since Oct 2023
ACLED: After a year of war, Hamas is militarily weakened — but far from ‘eliminated’
UN: Treatment of detainees and hostages and attacks on medical facilities and personnel (7 October 2023 to August 2024) – Third Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel (this made no waves in mainstream media - interesting because this is another report containing reports of sexual abuse)
The Commission documented more than 20 cases of sexual and gender-based violence against male and female detainees in more than 10 military and Israel Prison Service facilities, in particular in Negev prison and Sde Teiman camp for male detainees and in Damon and Hasharon prisons for female detainees. Sexual violence was used as a means of punishment and intimidation from the moment of arrest and throughout detention, including during interrogations and searches. Acts of sexual violence documented by the Commission were motivated by extreme hatred towards and a desire to dehumanize the Palestinian people.
The Commission found that forced nudity, with the aim of degrading and humiliating victims in front of both soldiers and other detainees, was frequently used against male victims, including repeated strip searches; interrogation of detainees while they were naked; forcing detainees to perform certain movements while naked or stripped and, in some cases, also filmed; subjecting detainees to sexual slurs as they were transported naked; forcing naked detainees into a crowded cell together; and forcing stripped and blindfolded detainees to crouch on the ground with their hands tied behind their back. (and six more paragraphs)
Common Dreams: Historic ICC War Crimes Complaint Names 1,000 Israeli Soldiers -
"This complaint is not only the largest ever submitted to the ICC, but it is also a milestone in documenting Israeli war crimes for future generations."
Sky News: 'I'm so scared, please come': Heartbreaking final moments of girl, 5, killed in Gaza
Sky News has investigated the circumstances surrounding Hind's death, and those of her extended family and the two paramedics who were killed trying to rescue her. We have analysed satellite imagery, IDF press materials, and spoken to weapons and forensics experts.
(...) A Sky News camera team recorded footage of both the car and the ambulance, which was used to analyse the damage to the vehicles. Amael Kotlarski, weapons team manager at JANES, which provides security and defence analysis, said the damage shows the ambulance was hit with a "large calibre weapon", with the projectile's exit hole visible at the back of the vehicle.
The black Kia Picanto was covered in bullet holes, with dozens of entry holes on the right-hand side of the car. Sky News has examined satellite imagery taken on 29 January, the day of the attack.
It shows at least 15 military vehicles in the Tel al Hawa neighbourhood - where the family's car was found. The closest military vehicle is just 300m away. One satellite image was taken at 4.31pm local time - just over an hour before the PRCS said it received approval to send an ambulance.
Satellite imagery taken in the days following the attack show how heavy the military presence remained, with at least 13 military vehicles seen on 7 February. A day later, on 8 February, at least nine military vehicles were seen in the area near the Islamic University in Gaza City.
The IDF says it was not in the area on the day of the incident, but its presence in the area was made public by itself, perhaps mistakenly. Twelve days after the attack, on the same day the car and ambulance was found, the IDF published a press release about its activities in Gaza. It said "over the last two weeks" it had "conducted raids on terror targets" with forces operating in Shati and Tel al Hawa neighbourhoods in Gaza.
"mistakenly". All grace must be extended for a clown army despite contrary evidence.
Airwars: The Killings They Tweeted
In the largest public analysis of Israeli military strike footage, Airwars, in collaboration with Sky News, reviewed hundreds of clips of strikes in Gaza posted on official military social media accounts in the first month of the war. Despite the grainy videos published with few details on targets or locations, Airwars matched 17 strikes to specific geo-coordinates where our researchers had tracked Palestinians killed or injured. In these strikes alone, more than 400 civilians were reported killed.
The video above explains our findings in detail, while the interactive map below features all strike footage geolocated as well as those cases matched to the Airwars civilian harm archive.
Mother Jones: Report: In One Year, More Than 100,000 Deaths in Gaza—Aided by $17.9 Billion From the US -
Brown University’s Costs of War Project calculated “the money that’s spent on war, and the toll on human lives” after a year of war in Gaza. The numbers are staggering.
NZZ (Swiss outlet): Seen from Space: New satellite images show how war is turning Gaza into a desert
FT: Radar shows scale of damage from Israeli strikes on Lebanon - Satellite data shows more than 3,100 buildings affected as intense wave of attacks kills over 1,300 people
Forensic Architecture: Israel's ecocide in Gaza, 2023-2024
Under 'if the NYT says it I guess it's finally true': How Israel’s Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza -
Israeli soldiers and Palestinian former detainees say troops have regularly forced captured Gazans to carry out life-threatening tasks, including inside Hamas tunnels.
An investigation by The New York Times found that Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents, throughout the war in Gaza, have regularly forced captured Palestinians like Mr. Shubeir to conduct life-threatening reconnaissance missions to avoid putting Israeli soldiers at risk on the battlefield.
(...) Prof. Michael N. Schmitt, a scholar at West Point who has studied the use of human shields in armed conflicts, said he was unaware of another military routinely using civilians, prisoners of war or captured terrorists for life-threatening reconnaissance missions in recent decades. Military historians say the practice was used by U.S. forces in Vietnam.
“In most cases,” Professor Schmitt said, “this constitutes a war crime.”
(...) They were all considered expendable, the soldier said. “If the tunnel explodes, at least he will die and not one of us,” he recalled an officer saying.
Inside the tunnel underneath the U.N. compound, the unit discovered a huge bank of computer servers that the Israeli military later concluded was a major Hamas communications hub.
Days later, the military brought a group of journalists, including from The Times, to see the servers in the tunnels.
The military escorts did not disclose that a Palestinian detainee had been used to explore the area. The Times discovered his involvement nearly four months afterward.
posted by cendawanita at 3:40 AM on October 14 [9 favorites]
Polygraph: Israel has displaced 3 million people [across Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon] since Oct 2023
ACLED: After a year of war, Hamas is militarily weakened — but far from ‘eliminated’
UN: Treatment of detainees and hostages and attacks on medical facilities and personnel (7 October 2023 to August 2024) – Third Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel (this made no waves in mainstream media - interesting because this is another report containing reports of sexual abuse)
The Commission documented more than 20 cases of sexual and gender-based violence against male and female detainees in more than 10 military and Israel Prison Service facilities, in particular in Negev prison and Sde Teiman camp for male detainees and in Damon and Hasharon prisons for female detainees. Sexual violence was used as a means of punishment and intimidation from the moment of arrest and throughout detention, including during interrogations and searches. Acts of sexual violence documented by the Commission were motivated by extreme hatred towards and a desire to dehumanize the Palestinian people.
The Commission found that forced nudity, with the aim of degrading and humiliating victims in front of both soldiers and other detainees, was frequently used against male victims, including repeated strip searches; interrogation of detainees while they were naked; forcing detainees to perform certain movements while naked or stripped and, in some cases, also filmed; subjecting detainees to sexual slurs as they were transported naked; forcing naked detainees into a crowded cell together; and forcing stripped and blindfolded detainees to crouch on the ground with their hands tied behind their back. (and six more paragraphs)
Common Dreams: Historic ICC War Crimes Complaint Names 1,000 Israeli Soldiers -
"This complaint is not only the largest ever submitted to the ICC, but it is also a milestone in documenting Israeli war crimes for future generations."
Sky News: 'I'm so scared, please come': Heartbreaking final moments of girl, 5, killed in Gaza
Sky News has investigated the circumstances surrounding Hind's death, and those of her extended family and the two paramedics who were killed trying to rescue her. We have analysed satellite imagery, IDF press materials, and spoken to weapons and forensics experts.
(...) A Sky News camera team recorded footage of both the car and the ambulance, which was used to analyse the damage to the vehicles. Amael Kotlarski, weapons team manager at JANES, which provides security and defence analysis, said the damage shows the ambulance was hit with a "large calibre weapon", with the projectile's exit hole visible at the back of the vehicle.
The black Kia Picanto was covered in bullet holes, with dozens of entry holes on the right-hand side of the car. Sky News has examined satellite imagery taken on 29 January, the day of the attack.
It shows at least 15 military vehicles in the Tel al Hawa neighbourhood - where the family's car was found. The closest military vehicle is just 300m away. One satellite image was taken at 4.31pm local time - just over an hour before the PRCS said it received approval to send an ambulance.
Satellite imagery taken in the days following the attack show how heavy the military presence remained, with at least 13 military vehicles seen on 7 February. A day later, on 8 February, at least nine military vehicles were seen in the area near the Islamic University in Gaza City.
The IDF says it was not in the area on the day of the incident, but its presence in the area was made public by itself, perhaps mistakenly. Twelve days after the attack, on the same day the car and ambulance was found, the IDF published a press release about its activities in Gaza. It said "over the last two weeks" it had "conducted raids on terror targets" with forces operating in Shati and Tel al Hawa neighbourhoods in Gaza.
"mistakenly". All grace must be extended for a clown army despite contrary evidence.
Airwars: The Killings They Tweeted
In the largest public analysis of Israeli military strike footage, Airwars, in collaboration with Sky News, reviewed hundreds of clips of strikes in Gaza posted on official military social media accounts in the first month of the war. Despite the grainy videos published with few details on targets or locations, Airwars matched 17 strikes to specific geo-coordinates where our researchers had tracked Palestinians killed or injured. In these strikes alone, more than 400 civilians were reported killed.
The video above explains our findings in detail, while the interactive map below features all strike footage geolocated as well as those cases matched to the Airwars civilian harm archive.
Mother Jones: Report: In One Year, More Than 100,000 Deaths in Gaza—Aided by $17.9 Billion From the US -
Brown University’s Costs of War Project calculated “the money that’s spent on war, and the toll on human lives” after a year of war in Gaza. The numbers are staggering.
NZZ (Swiss outlet): Seen from Space: New satellite images show how war is turning Gaza into a desert
FT: Radar shows scale of damage from Israeli strikes on Lebanon - Satellite data shows more than 3,100 buildings affected as intense wave of attacks kills over 1,300 people
Forensic Architecture: Israel's ecocide in Gaza, 2023-2024
Under 'if the NYT says it I guess it's finally true': How Israel’s Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza -
Israeli soldiers and Palestinian former detainees say troops have regularly forced captured Gazans to carry out life-threatening tasks, including inside Hamas tunnels.
An investigation by The New York Times found that Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents, throughout the war in Gaza, have regularly forced captured Palestinians like Mr. Shubeir to conduct life-threatening reconnaissance missions to avoid putting Israeli soldiers at risk on the battlefield.
(...) Prof. Michael N. Schmitt, a scholar at West Point who has studied the use of human shields in armed conflicts, said he was unaware of another military routinely using civilians, prisoners of war or captured terrorists for life-threatening reconnaissance missions in recent decades. Military historians say the practice was used by U.S. forces in Vietnam.
“In most cases,” Professor Schmitt said, “this constitutes a war crime.”
(...) They were all considered expendable, the soldier said. “If the tunnel explodes, at least he will die and not one of us,” he recalled an officer saying.
Inside the tunnel underneath the U.N. compound, the unit discovered a huge bank of computer servers that the Israeli military later concluded was a major Hamas communications hub.
Days later, the military brought a group of journalists, including from The Times, to see the servers in the tunnels.
The military escorts did not disclose that a Palestinian detainee had been used to explore the area. The Times discovered his involvement nearly four months afterward.
posted by cendawanita at 3:40 AM on October 14 [9 favorites]
How Does Israel Justify Mass Killings? It Starts in the Schools.
Nurit Peled-Elhanan is a retired lecturer in language education at Hebrew University and at the David Yellin Academic College in Jerusalem, and the author of several books. In this exclusive interview, she discusses how Israeli schoolbooks (and by extension, Israeli schools) powerfully frame anti-Palestinian discourse and inculcate Israeli children with suspicion, fear and hatred of Palestinians. Peled-Elhanan’s work provides a powerful analysis of the relationship between Israeli state pedagogical power and racist, anti-Palestinian ideology.posted by kmt at 6:39 AM on October 14 [6 favorites]
George Yancy: Provide a few examples of how Palestinians are portrayed in racist ways through the medium of Israeli schoolbooks.
Nurit Peled-Elhanan: Schoolbooks always, not only in Israel, are meant to legitimate the state and its actions. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have schoolbooks, they would just be books. So, the raison d’être of schoolbooks is to legitimate the state, and especially the controversial actions of the state such as what are called the founding crimes, and so on. In Israel, what must be legitimated is the colonization of Palestine and the ongoing occupation. Israel must justify its policies. So, like all colonizers, Israel portrays the colonized as primitive, evil or superfluous. Israel portrays them as a racialized group that cannot change and never will change.
For instance, in one geography schoolbook, there is a passage about factors that “inhibit” the development of the Arab village. So, they say that Arab villages are far from the center, the roads to them are difficult, and they have remained out of the process of change and development. They say they are hardly exposed to modern life, and there are difficulties connecting them to the electricity and water networks. You would think we’re talking about somewhere the size of Australia. But Israel is smaller than New Jersey. So where are these remote villages that have stayed out of development?
With booby-trapped robots loaded with explosives, Israel escalates killing and destruction in northern Gaza
posted by kmt at 7:59 AM on October 14 [4 favorites]
Israel's use of booby-trapped robots is prohibited under international law, as these robots are considered indiscriminate weapons that cannot be directed or limited to military targets. Due to their nature, they directly hit civilians, or hit military targets, civilians or civilian property indiscriminately. As such, they are illegal weapons under international law, and using them in residential areas is a crime against humanity in and of itself.For reference, here's a video from 2023 Ukraine, where the Russians used a similar device (T-55 tank lodad with tons of explosives). Trees (and the tank) show the scale of the explosion. And this was in a field between trenches, not in a city block.
In his testimony to the Euro-Med Monitor team, one of the people trapped in an area near the Al-Qassabi neighborhood, southwest of Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip (his name was withheld for security reasons), said: "On Wednesday evening (9 October), a huge explosion occurred in the Al-Qassabi neighborhood, close to where we were. There was an enormous explosion sound. That was the loudest I have ever heard it. We can now differentiate between different explosion sounds, so we can determine if this sound is coming from artillery, aircraft, or another source. In fact, the sound of the explosion was actually louder than the sound of air strikes, to the point that white dust covered the entire area. It was subsequently discovered that this explosion was caused by a robot equipped with tons of explosives, destroying roughly six or seven houses at once. Regardless of whether civilians are inside the houses or not, the occupation army blows up the robot."
posted by kmt at 7:59 AM on October 14 [4 favorites]
Non-American scoops:
Stefan Talmon: Germany reportedly asked Israel to sign a 'genocide clause'
On 13 October 2024, German newspaper BILD reported in an exclusive (behind a paywall) that Germany asked the Israeli government to sign a so-called ‘genocide clause’ as a precondition for further arms deliveries. This clause apparently contained a written assurance from the Israeli government that German arms will not be used to commit genocide. The document is said to have arrived in Berlin on 10 October and allowed Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to declare in parliament the next day that "We have supplied arms, and we will supply arms".
This raises several questions:
1) Does this imply that the German Government shares in the suspicion that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip?
2) Can such an assurance absolve Germany from its responsibility under international law not to aid or assist acts of genocide?
(Coincidentally: Are European countries still supplying arms to Israel? )
News24 (South Africa): Sandton man, 22, identified as sniper in elite Israeli unit that killed unarmed civilians in Gaza
Guardian: US officials attend [daily] Gaza aid meetings on site of Israeli prison accused of ‘horrific’ torture -
Revealed: USAid officials meet Israeli counterparts at Sde Teiman base, where detainees say abuse runs rampant
The Guardian viewed an internal USAid document that referred to “the present JCB location on Sde Teiman IDF base”, located outside of Be’er Sheva in southern Israel. In the document, the base’s name links to its Wikipedia entry, which features photos of blindfolded Palestinian prisoners and details their mistreatment.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian that two USAid officials travel to Sde Teiman daily for JCB meetings with Israeli and UN officials.
“I can’t sleep at night knowing that it’s going on,” one US official told the Guardian. “It’s another form of psychological torture to make someone work there.”
(ICYMI: (New York Magazine) The Price of Power - America’s chief humanitarian official rose to fame by speaking out against atrocities. Now she’s trapped by one.)
Older article: (Guardian) As a Palestinian living in the US, I have lost friends, job opportunities – and my faith in humanity
Otherwise, Dropsite News: Israel is turning northern Gaza into a killing cage -
With international media coverage shifting to potential war with Iran, Israel is intensifying its campaign to obliterate the Palestinians of Gaza
posted by cendawanita at 8:26 AM on October 14 [8 favorites]
Stefan Talmon: Germany reportedly asked Israel to sign a 'genocide clause'
On 13 October 2024, German newspaper BILD reported in an exclusive (behind a paywall) that Germany asked the Israeli government to sign a so-called ‘genocide clause’ as a precondition for further arms deliveries. This clause apparently contained a written assurance from the Israeli government that German arms will not be used to commit genocide. The document is said to have arrived in Berlin on 10 October and allowed Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to declare in parliament the next day that "We have supplied arms, and we will supply arms".
This raises several questions:
1) Does this imply that the German Government shares in the suspicion that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip?
2) Can such an assurance absolve Germany from its responsibility under international law not to aid or assist acts of genocide?
(Coincidentally: Are European countries still supplying arms to Israel? )
News24 (South Africa): Sandton man, 22, identified as sniper in elite Israeli unit that killed unarmed civilians in Gaza
Guardian: US officials attend [daily] Gaza aid meetings on site of Israeli prison accused of ‘horrific’ torture -
Revealed: USAid officials meet Israeli counterparts at Sde Teiman base, where detainees say abuse runs rampant
The Guardian viewed an internal USAid document that referred to “the present JCB location on Sde Teiman IDF base”, located outside of Be’er Sheva in southern Israel. In the document, the base’s name links to its Wikipedia entry, which features photos of blindfolded Palestinian prisoners and details their mistreatment.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian that two USAid officials travel to Sde Teiman daily for JCB meetings with Israeli and UN officials.
“I can’t sleep at night knowing that it’s going on,” one US official told the Guardian. “It’s another form of psychological torture to make someone work there.”
(ICYMI: (New York Magazine) The Price of Power - America’s chief humanitarian official rose to fame by speaking out against atrocities. Now she’s trapped by one.)
Older article: (Guardian) As a Palestinian living in the US, I have lost friends, job opportunities – and my faith in humanity
Otherwise, Dropsite News: Israel is turning northern Gaza into a killing cage -
With international media coverage shifting to potential war with Iran, Israel is intensifying its campaign to obliterate the Palestinians of Gaza
posted by cendawanita at 8:26 AM on October 14 [8 favorites]
I really, today, can't find fault in this reasoning: Unlike Biden & Harris, who have been completely unmoved by images of massacred Palestinians, Trump hates war gore and has already commented on the horrible images and the bad PR Israel is getting. He's a piece of shit, but at this point he's the lesser evil for us
posted by cendawanita at 8:30 AM on October 14 [5 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 8:30 AM on October 14 [5 favorites]
It is pretty hard to imagine what it would mean for the slaughter to be "worse" under Trump. Trump will give them more free reign, be more apologetic for blatant war crimes? Is that even possible? The USA will be worse under Trump, but under Biden (and Harris has shown no inclination to change course) there is no limit to the depravity and inhumanity and criminality in Palestine we don't just tolerate but are the accomplices of.
posted by dis_integration at 8:38 AM on October 14 [6 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 8:38 AM on October 14 [6 favorites]
It is pretty hard to imagine what it would mean for the slaughter to be "worse" under Trump
The only "worse" possibility there is a regional war with Iran that draws in US troops, and Harris is already sabre-rattling for a potential war with Iran, which does not inspire confidence on top of her "no conditions on Israel" support for genocide.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 8:45 AM on October 14 [7 favorites]
The only "worse" possibility there is a regional war with Iran that draws in US troops, and Harris is already sabre-rattling for a potential war with Iran, which does not inspire confidence on top of her "no conditions on Israel" support for genocide.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 8:45 AM on October 14 [7 favorites]
Trump at least twice during his term wanted to use nuclear weapons including against Iran. For all that I am horrified by Biden's response and have little trust that Harris will be better, neither is at all likely to suggest nuclear weapons woud be permissible by anyone to use. That is a meaningful and relevant difference in attitude.
posted by R343L at 8:48 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]
posted by R343L at 8:48 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]
One can just imagine how frustrated Biden would be if Israel were to do something he didn't approve of.
posted by sagc at 8:53 AM on October 14 [5 favorites]
posted by sagc at 8:53 AM on October 14 [5 favorites]
The frustrating reality here is that there are decades running alliances of powerful and wealthy interests as well as "education" that gives people in many groups reasons to excuse or even support horrors. I do not excuse anyone with this but acknowledging a reality that this isn't just Netanyahu or Biden or any single or small group of people who are the cause. They certainly have more power to change course -- and a moral responsibility to do so -- but there is no magic change we can make to leadership that will fix things. I do think there are leadership changes that could make things even worse though. This is a frustrating place to be because it's hardly inspiring to be only be able to push for a maintenance of a horrifying status quo.
posted by R343L at 8:54 AM on October 14 [4 favorites]
posted by R343L at 8:54 AM on October 14 [4 favorites]
The only thing I will say about nuclear being the potential redline: Israel drops 'depleted uranium bombs' inside Beirut: Official [president of the Lebanese Association of Social Medicine] -
Radioactive dust emitted by depleted uranium munitions has been linked to rises in cancer and congenital defects in babies following the US bombing of Iraq
I legitimately do not know if there are redlines balanced against non-Israeli lives (which includes Americans).
posted by cendawanita at 8:58 AM on October 14 [8 favorites]
Radioactive dust emitted by depleted uranium munitions has been linked to rises in cancer and congenital defects in babies following the US bombing of Iraq
I legitimately do not know if there are redlines balanced against non-Israeli lives (which includes Americans).
posted by cendawanita at 8:58 AM on October 14 [8 favorites]
Sadly I don't know if US leaders broadly considers depleted uranium to be nuclear weapons in the same way considering we use them too at times. :(
posted by R343L at 9:05 AM on October 14 [3 favorites]
posted by R343L at 9:05 AM on October 14 [3 favorites]
Considering Jared Kushner has already bragged about Gaza being valuable real estate waterfront, I don't find Trump as a "lesser evil" argument convincing. I also find the immovability of Biden-Harris terrifying, so let's just say I don't relish picking a side to go with, either.
posted by toastyk at 10:04 AM on October 14 [7 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 10:04 AM on October 14 [7 favorites]
More belated articles:
FT: Tehran urges Gulf states to stay ‘neutral’ amid Israel tensions
Both Iran and Gulf states are keen to keep diplomatic channels open as the regional crisis intensifies. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week held talks with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who made a rare trip to Riyadh to discuss the “latest regional developments”, the Saudi state news agency said.
(...) The Saudis and Emiratis have for years fretted about the Shia group’s dominance over Lebanese politics at the expense of the Sunni parties they traditionally backed, reducing Riyadh’s political influence in Beirut.
But the concern in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi is the destabilising impact of Israel’s expanding offensive.
“There is no love lost between Hizbollah and Saudi, but Lebanon is a sovereign state and this is a very dangerous precedent that the Israelis are setting. They are making it complicated for everybody,” a Saudi official said.
The official said Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon “have created a growing sense of anger [in the Arab world]”.
“So the question is can anyone take the political step of making a compromise? At the moment it is down to Israel.”
Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati politics professor, said the Gulf also worried about emboldening Netanyahu and his far-right allies in Israel.
“We benefit from [Israel] weakening Iran and its proxies but we see the cost of emboldening Netanyahu,” he said “We’re entrapped in this . . . We have two devils. One is just as bad as the other.”
Zeteo: A Year of Living Among Genocide Apologists -
Diana Buttu on what life in Israel has been like since Oct. 7, 2023.
Haaretz (ungated): Almost Half the Jews, Nearly All Arabs Think the Gaza War Must Stop, Survey Shows -
Most Israelis, Jewish and Arab alike, agree the war's main goal is to regain the hostages but the Jews are significantly more upbeat about the future
Fifty-three percent of the 1,000 respondents said that they think that "the war should be ended". But that breaks down to 45 percent of the Jews surveyed and 93 percent of the Arab respondents.
Among those identifying with the political left, 83 percent said they believe the war must end. In the self-proclaimed political center, the figure dropped to 63 percent and among right-wing Israelis, just 27 percent think it is time to halt the fighting.
(...) The majority of Jewish (56 percent) and Arab (45 percent) respondents alike said that the main reason to end the war was the danger it poses to the 101 hostages still held captive. Respondents also cited that ending the Gaza war will allow the IDF to focus its attention on Hezbollah in Lebanon – the second-most given reason among the Jews surveyed, with 20 percent.
(...) Jews and Arabs agree that the main goal of the war should be bringing back the hostages – 59 percent of Jews and 77 percent of Arabs – rather than toppling Hamas. This contrasts with a January 2024 survey, when a small majority of 51 percent said that it is the main goal of the war, and 36 percent prioritized the end of Hamas rule.
(...) When asked if the Palestinian people have the right to their own state, a slight majority – 52 percent – of the respondents answered that they do not. But the answers are starkly divided by ethnic and political lines: 89 percent of Arabs believe that Palestinians have the right to statehood with 9.5 percent saying that they do not. Among Jewish respondents, 28 percent said that Palestinians have the right to statehood, and 61 percent answered that they do not.
HuffPost: The Year That Israel Collapsed Gaza’s Health Care System -
At the one-year mark of Israel's ongoing siege, medical workers describe how the destruction of Palestinian health care has reached every corner of society.
Oxfam: More women and children killed in Gaza by Israeli military than any other recent conflict in a single year
Adam Tooze in the Guardian: Facing war in the Middle East and Ukraine, the US looks feeble. But is it just an act?
By comparison with Trump, the Biden team boast of their commitment to a rules-based order. But when it came to the world economy and the rise of China, Biden has been every bit as aggressive as, perhaps more so than, his predecessor.
Under Biden, Washington has been committed to reversing years of decline apparently brought on by excessive favour shown to China. The US has tried to stop China’s development in tech. To do so, it has strong-armed allies such as the Dutch and the South Koreans. When the World Trade Organization dared to protest against US steel tariffs, the White House reaction was contemptuous. Bidenomics is Maga for thinking people.
(...) In the Middle East, the situation is even more clear cut. Here, too, the Biden administration was not looking to escalate. Trump’s Abraham accords between the United Arab Emirates and Israel had opened up a promising vista. But Russia’s growing ties with Iran, and China’s involvement in the region darkened the picture. Once Hamas launched its attack on 7 October, and once the Israeli government’s determination to end the modus vivendi with Hamas and Hezbollah became clear, Washington gave the green light.
The US is paying for more than 25% of Israel’s rampage as it physically annihilates Gaza, victimises the West Bank and sets about uprooting Hezbollah. It has pulled allies such as Germany and the UK into line. It is shielding Netanyahu against the reach of international justice.
Of course, unlike in Ukraine, the US has continued diplomacy. But to what effect? First and foremost to keep Iran boxed in and the powerful Gulf states on side. Meanwhile, Israel is wiping out Iran’s network of influence and annihilating the 1990s vision of a two-state solution.
In all three arenas – China, Ukraine and the Middle East – the US will say that it is responding to aggression. But rather than working consistently for a return to the status quo it is, in fact, raising the stakes. While insisting that it supports the rules-based order, what we are witnessing is something closer to a revival of the ruinous neoconservative ambition of the 1990s and 2000s.
posted by cendawanita at 10:22 AM on October 14 [8 favorites]
FT: Tehran urges Gulf states to stay ‘neutral’ amid Israel tensions
Both Iran and Gulf states are keen to keep diplomatic channels open as the regional crisis intensifies. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week held talks with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who made a rare trip to Riyadh to discuss the “latest regional developments”, the Saudi state news agency said.
(...) The Saudis and Emiratis have for years fretted about the Shia group’s dominance over Lebanese politics at the expense of the Sunni parties they traditionally backed, reducing Riyadh’s political influence in Beirut.
But the concern in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi is the destabilising impact of Israel’s expanding offensive.
“There is no love lost between Hizbollah and Saudi, but Lebanon is a sovereign state and this is a very dangerous precedent that the Israelis are setting. They are making it complicated for everybody,” a Saudi official said.
The official said Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon “have created a growing sense of anger [in the Arab world]”.
“So the question is can anyone take the political step of making a compromise? At the moment it is down to Israel.”
Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati politics professor, said the Gulf also worried about emboldening Netanyahu and his far-right allies in Israel.
“We benefit from [Israel] weakening Iran and its proxies but we see the cost of emboldening Netanyahu,” he said “We’re entrapped in this . . . We have two devils. One is just as bad as the other.”
Zeteo: A Year of Living Among Genocide Apologists -
Diana Buttu on what life in Israel has been like since Oct. 7, 2023.
Haaretz (ungated): Almost Half the Jews, Nearly All Arabs Think the Gaza War Must Stop, Survey Shows -
Most Israelis, Jewish and Arab alike, agree the war's main goal is to regain the hostages but the Jews are significantly more upbeat about the future
Fifty-three percent of the 1,000 respondents said that they think that "the war should be ended". But that breaks down to 45 percent of the Jews surveyed and 93 percent of the Arab respondents.
Among those identifying with the political left, 83 percent said they believe the war must end. In the self-proclaimed political center, the figure dropped to 63 percent and among right-wing Israelis, just 27 percent think it is time to halt the fighting.
(...) The majority of Jewish (56 percent) and Arab (45 percent) respondents alike said that the main reason to end the war was the danger it poses to the 101 hostages still held captive. Respondents also cited that ending the Gaza war will allow the IDF to focus its attention on Hezbollah in Lebanon – the second-most given reason among the Jews surveyed, with 20 percent.
(...) Jews and Arabs agree that the main goal of the war should be bringing back the hostages – 59 percent of Jews and 77 percent of Arabs – rather than toppling Hamas. This contrasts with a January 2024 survey, when a small majority of 51 percent said that it is the main goal of the war, and 36 percent prioritized the end of Hamas rule.
(...) When asked if the Palestinian people have the right to their own state, a slight majority – 52 percent – of the respondents answered that they do not. But the answers are starkly divided by ethnic and political lines: 89 percent of Arabs believe that Palestinians have the right to statehood with 9.5 percent saying that they do not. Among Jewish respondents, 28 percent said that Palestinians have the right to statehood, and 61 percent answered that they do not.
HuffPost: The Year That Israel Collapsed Gaza’s Health Care System -
At the one-year mark of Israel's ongoing siege, medical workers describe how the destruction of Palestinian health care has reached every corner of society.
Oxfam: More women and children killed in Gaza by Israeli military than any other recent conflict in a single year
Adam Tooze in the Guardian: Facing war in the Middle East and Ukraine, the US looks feeble. But is it just an act?
By comparison with Trump, the Biden team boast of their commitment to a rules-based order. But when it came to the world economy and the rise of China, Biden has been every bit as aggressive as, perhaps more so than, his predecessor.
Under Biden, Washington has been committed to reversing years of decline apparently brought on by excessive favour shown to China. The US has tried to stop China’s development in tech. To do so, it has strong-armed allies such as the Dutch and the South Koreans. When the World Trade Organization dared to protest against US steel tariffs, the White House reaction was contemptuous. Bidenomics is Maga for thinking people.
(...) In the Middle East, the situation is even more clear cut. Here, too, the Biden administration was not looking to escalate. Trump’s Abraham accords between the United Arab Emirates and Israel had opened up a promising vista. But Russia’s growing ties with Iran, and China’s involvement in the region darkened the picture. Once Hamas launched its attack on 7 October, and once the Israeli government’s determination to end the modus vivendi with Hamas and Hezbollah became clear, Washington gave the green light.
The US is paying for more than 25% of Israel’s rampage as it physically annihilates Gaza, victimises the West Bank and sets about uprooting Hezbollah. It has pulled allies such as Germany and the UK into line. It is shielding Netanyahu against the reach of international justice.
Of course, unlike in Ukraine, the US has continued diplomacy. But to what effect? First and foremost to keep Iran boxed in and the powerful Gulf states on side. Meanwhile, Israel is wiping out Iran’s network of influence and annihilating the 1990s vision of a two-state solution.
In all three arenas – China, Ukraine and the Middle East – the US will say that it is responding to aggression. But rather than working consistently for a return to the status quo it is, in fact, raising the stakes. While insisting that it supports the rules-based order, what we are witnessing is something closer to a revival of the ruinous neoconservative ambition of the 1990s and 2000s.
posted by cendawanita at 10:22 AM on October 14 [8 favorites]
Peter Raleigh: There's basically zero question that if Trump were president and Israel's actions were exactly unchanged this would be a central plank of the liberal argument that he and the GOP needed to be forced from power at any cost
Tariq Kennedy-Shawa: This is an under discussed consideration in the “lesser evil” debate - the wider anti-genocide mobilizing effect a Trump Admin would’ve had. Many establishment Dems (not all) would’ve had to forcefully oppose Trump’s unconditional support of Israel’s genocide on principle.
posted by cendawanita at 1:35 PM on October 14 [10 favorites]
Tariq Kennedy-Shawa: This is an under discussed consideration in the “lesser evil” debate - the wider anti-genocide mobilizing effect a Trump Admin would’ve had. Many establishment Dems (not all) would’ve had to forcefully oppose Trump’s unconditional support of Israel’s genocide on principle.
posted by cendawanita at 1:35 PM on October 14 [10 favorites]
I guess the images of Palestinians being burned alive were horrific enough for AOC to call for an arms embargo now.
posted by toastyk at 1:39 PM on October 14 [9 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 1:39 PM on October 14 [9 favorites]
New writeups:
Dropsite News: As Israeli Tanks Take Aim at Irish Peacekeepers, Weapons Fly Illegally Over Irish Territory -
Ireland has 379 troops in Lebanon acting as peacekeepers
Though Ireland has 379 troops in Lebanon on peacekeeping duties, the Irish government hasn’t indicated it will seek to stop these illegal flights. Tánaiste Micheál Martin—the second-highest-ranking politician in Ireland—suggested last week these airlines travelled over Ireland without diplomatic clearance so they could save fuel.
(...) Transporting munitions of war through Irish sovereign airspace without clearance from the transport minister is an indictable criminal offense. The government says it hasn’t granted any such clearance for Israel-bound munitions since October 2023.
"People worldwide will be disappointed to learn to learn Ireland, one of the few Western countries that had shown some humanity over the past year, apparently is violating its own laws to facilitate the Israeli genocide," said Erik Sperling, executive director of the DC-based Just Foreign Policy. "How many laws can the U.S. and its allies break before we retire the phrase 'rules-based international order' for good."
The Nation: A Study Reveals CNN and MSNBC’s Glaring Gaza Double Standard -
Palestinians received far less sympathetic and humanizing coverage than either Israelis or Ukrainians, a Nation analysis has found
We do not do this to imply that Ukrainians were somehow unworthy of the compassionate coverage they received. But highlighting biases in US media is impossible without having a point of reference, and given the closeness in time and the total inversion of the geopolitical dynamics, the coverage of Ukraine is a useful way of showing that American media can, indeed, be broadly sympathetic when it chooses to be. The point of this analysis is not that US media should reduce its coverage of the tragedies in Ukraine to achieve parity with Gaza, but that it should elevate its coverage of the suffering in Gaza to be comparable to that of Ukraine, with the same urgent and moralizing tone.
CNN and MSNBC’s pointed lack of sympathy with Palestinians is also important to examine because the media’s consistent dehumanization and erasure of their suffering has helped 12 months of a killing campaign, backed by unending American military and political support, that is unprecedented in the 21st century, according to Oxfam International. Israel’s operations have been characterized by a level of brutality that is difficult to capture with statistics, but here are two examples: As of January, Save the Children was reporting that an average of 10 children a day in Gaza were losing one or both of their legs per day, and in April, UN Women estimated that 19,000 children had been orphaned.
Moira Donegan in the Guardian: Time is running out for Kamala Harris to break with Biden on the Gaza catastrophe
Guardian: Anti-Zionist beliefs ‘worthy of respect’, UK tribunal finds - Judges say unfairly dismissed academic David Miller’s views on Israel should be protected by antidiscrimination laws
New Isaac Chotiner interview: Rationalizing the Horrors of Israel’s War in Gaza -
The novelist Howard Jacobson has argued that too much press coverage of dead Palestinian children is a new form of “blood libel” against Jews.
IC: I asked you about the specific intentional denial of humanitarian aid, and your answer was something like “Well, I don’t know what to believe anymore when I read the news, so I can’t really comment on that.” Is that right?
HJ: Put quite like that it sounds as though what I said was stupid and ignorant. One got accounts and accounts and accounts and it was very hard to know what was the truth.
(...) IC: Yeah, of course. I guess my fear is that your anger about antisemitism in Britain is leading you to a place where basically nothing the Israeli government can do will be seen as too far. And you may say you feel torn about it, but fundamentally you are going to support this Israeli government whatever it does.
HJ: No, I won’t. No, no, no. There’s no “whatever it does.” I don’t know what they’re going to do tomorrow. And I’m not prepared to say I support it.
IC: But fundamentally you think this war should be supported and that the West should continue giving Israel weapons. Is that accurate?
HJ: I think the West should continue to give them weapons because I think they are an island surrounded by enemies. They’ve got a lot of fights on their head. But just to be clear: I do not support anything that they might do. I do not support everything that they have done. But I get why they have to do it. I get why they have to do it.
IC: What are things you don’t support but that you think that they have to do?
HJ: Well, I didn’t support the whole notion from the start of going in and wiping Hamas out. That looks a bit pitiless, but how do you show pity? This is the problem. How do you show pity when you have to remove an enemy that wants you dead?
IC: I think you should show pity to civilians.
HJ: Well, of course you do. And if there’s any suggestion that they are, if you are telling me that you know for sure that the Israelis are going out there and they’re picking off civilians for the fun of picking off civilians, I agree with you. That’s unforgivable if that’s what they’re doing.
IC: They intentionally denied humanitarian aid to people who didn’t have food. We can start there.
HJ: If we know for sure that’s what they did, then, A, that’s cruel. And, B, that’s stupid.
IC: I would tell you it’s been all over the news, but I feel like you’re not going to trust me when I say that.
HJ: Well, I don’t trust. I know, I know. That sounds as though I’ve just turned myself into somebody that puts his head in the sand. I am unwilling on all sides, actually, to trust anybody at the moment. This is what I support: I support the Israeli government’s attempt to wipe out Hamas, to kill them all, to get rid of them all. I support that.
IC: Despite thinking it’s unrealistic?
HJ: Despite thinking it’s unrealistic, I want them to do the best they can. I remember Amos Oz saying about a previous war, What do you do if the people you are trying to get to because they are trying to kill you are holding up a child in one hand and shooting at you with another? You go wrong is what you do. You go a little bit too far is what you do. You are forced into cruelties is what you are. Yeah.
That's so sad. And pathetic. And familiar. I wish such people can take all the time they need in the world to cope without it being tied to Palestinians and Lebanese being actually murdered though. Sorry your worldview is shaken. Must be shocking. /Muslim majoritarian in another ethnostate but never raised westerner so never suffered from that type of cultural superiority
Anyway: It's not much but it's a tiny ray of hope: every few weeks I get a message from another young Israeli who's been quietly following me, telling me how their whole world view changed, thanking me for helping them open their eyes and escape the Zionist matrix they've been born into.
It isn't about me of course - whoever is not terminally blinded by Zionism could not have avoided seeing the true, genocidal, racist face of Israel being fully exposed this past year.
(Should I mention that that's an Israeli account?)
posted by cendawanita at 1:58 PM on October 14 [12 favorites]
Dropsite News: As Israeli Tanks Take Aim at Irish Peacekeepers, Weapons Fly Illegally Over Irish Territory -
Ireland has 379 troops in Lebanon acting as peacekeepers
Though Ireland has 379 troops in Lebanon on peacekeeping duties, the Irish government hasn’t indicated it will seek to stop these illegal flights. Tánaiste Micheál Martin—the second-highest-ranking politician in Ireland—suggested last week these airlines travelled over Ireland without diplomatic clearance so they could save fuel.
(...) Transporting munitions of war through Irish sovereign airspace without clearance from the transport minister is an indictable criminal offense. The government says it hasn’t granted any such clearance for Israel-bound munitions since October 2023.
"People worldwide will be disappointed to learn to learn Ireland, one of the few Western countries that had shown some humanity over the past year, apparently is violating its own laws to facilitate the Israeli genocide," said Erik Sperling, executive director of the DC-based Just Foreign Policy. "How many laws can the U.S. and its allies break before we retire the phrase 'rules-based international order' for good."
The Nation: A Study Reveals CNN and MSNBC’s Glaring Gaza Double Standard -
Palestinians received far less sympathetic and humanizing coverage than either Israelis or Ukrainians, a Nation analysis has found
We do not do this to imply that Ukrainians were somehow unworthy of the compassionate coverage they received. But highlighting biases in US media is impossible without having a point of reference, and given the closeness in time and the total inversion of the geopolitical dynamics, the coverage of Ukraine is a useful way of showing that American media can, indeed, be broadly sympathetic when it chooses to be. The point of this analysis is not that US media should reduce its coverage of the tragedies in Ukraine to achieve parity with Gaza, but that it should elevate its coverage of the suffering in Gaza to be comparable to that of Ukraine, with the same urgent and moralizing tone.
CNN and MSNBC’s pointed lack of sympathy with Palestinians is also important to examine because the media’s consistent dehumanization and erasure of their suffering has helped 12 months of a killing campaign, backed by unending American military and political support, that is unprecedented in the 21st century, according to Oxfam International. Israel’s operations have been characterized by a level of brutality that is difficult to capture with statistics, but here are two examples: As of January, Save the Children was reporting that an average of 10 children a day in Gaza were losing one or both of their legs per day, and in April, UN Women estimated that 19,000 children had been orphaned.
Moira Donegan in the Guardian: Time is running out for Kamala Harris to break with Biden on the Gaza catastrophe
Guardian: Anti-Zionist beliefs ‘worthy of respect’, UK tribunal finds - Judges say unfairly dismissed academic David Miller’s views on Israel should be protected by antidiscrimination laws
New Isaac Chotiner interview: Rationalizing the Horrors of Israel’s War in Gaza -
The novelist Howard Jacobson has argued that too much press coverage of dead Palestinian children is a new form of “blood libel” against Jews.
IC: I asked you about the specific intentional denial of humanitarian aid, and your answer was something like “Well, I don’t know what to believe anymore when I read the news, so I can’t really comment on that.” Is that right?
HJ: Put quite like that it sounds as though what I said was stupid and ignorant. One got accounts and accounts and accounts and it was very hard to know what was the truth.
(...) IC: Yeah, of course. I guess my fear is that your anger about antisemitism in Britain is leading you to a place where basically nothing the Israeli government can do will be seen as too far. And you may say you feel torn about it, but fundamentally you are going to support this Israeli government whatever it does.
HJ: No, I won’t. No, no, no. There’s no “whatever it does.” I don’t know what they’re going to do tomorrow. And I’m not prepared to say I support it.
IC: But fundamentally you think this war should be supported and that the West should continue giving Israel weapons. Is that accurate?
HJ: I think the West should continue to give them weapons because I think they are an island surrounded by enemies. They’ve got a lot of fights on their head. But just to be clear: I do not support anything that they might do. I do not support everything that they have done. But I get why they have to do it. I get why they have to do it.
IC: What are things you don’t support but that you think that they have to do?
HJ: Well, I didn’t support the whole notion from the start of going in and wiping Hamas out. That looks a bit pitiless, but how do you show pity? This is the problem. How do you show pity when you have to remove an enemy that wants you dead?
IC: I think you should show pity to civilians.
HJ: Well, of course you do. And if there’s any suggestion that they are, if you are telling me that you know for sure that the Israelis are going out there and they’re picking off civilians for the fun of picking off civilians, I agree with you. That’s unforgivable if that’s what they’re doing.
IC: They intentionally denied humanitarian aid to people who didn’t have food. We can start there.
HJ: If we know for sure that’s what they did, then, A, that’s cruel. And, B, that’s stupid.
IC: I would tell you it’s been all over the news, but I feel like you’re not going to trust me when I say that.
HJ: Well, I don’t trust. I know, I know. That sounds as though I’ve just turned myself into somebody that puts his head in the sand. I am unwilling on all sides, actually, to trust anybody at the moment. This is what I support: I support the Israeli government’s attempt to wipe out Hamas, to kill them all, to get rid of them all. I support that.
IC: Despite thinking it’s unrealistic?
HJ: Despite thinking it’s unrealistic, I want them to do the best they can. I remember Amos Oz saying about a previous war, What do you do if the people you are trying to get to because they are trying to kill you are holding up a child in one hand and shooting at you with another? You go wrong is what you do. You go a little bit too far is what you do. You are forced into cruelties is what you are. Yeah.
That's so sad. And pathetic. And familiar. I wish such people can take all the time they need in the world to cope without it being tied to Palestinians and Lebanese being actually murdered though. Sorry your worldview is shaken. Must be shocking. /Muslim majoritarian in another ethnostate but never raised westerner so never suffered from that type of cultural superiority
Anyway: It's not much but it's a tiny ray of hope: every few weeks I get a message from another young Israeli who's been quietly following me, telling me how their whole world view changed, thanking me for helping them open their eyes and escape the Zionist matrix they've been born into.
It isn't about me of course - whoever is not terminally blinded by Zionism could not have avoided seeing the true, genocidal, racist face of Israel being fully exposed this past year.
(Should I mention that that's an Israeli account?)
posted by cendawanita at 1:58 PM on October 14 [12 favorites]
Muslim majoritarian in another ethnostate but never raised westerner so never suffered from that type of cultural superiority
That is to say: I do feel like I have more in common with the marginalized and anti-war, anti-occupation, and anti-zionist Israeli Jews than I would ever have with western Muslims who come to my country (or places like Dubai) to feel liberated from the actual Islamophobia they face back home so they close one eye to the fuckery because oh! Look! An advanced-ish enough economy in a Muslim society! They have iced lattes and pray five times a day! If anything, the fear Ta-Nehisi Coates expressed in his new book about where Black nationalism could take a people, people like me and those Israelis have already realized.
posted by cendawanita at 2:11 PM on October 14 [7 favorites]
That is to say: I do feel like I have more in common with the marginalized and anti-war, anti-occupation, and anti-zionist Israeli Jews than I would ever have with western Muslims who come to my country (or places like Dubai) to feel liberated from the actual Islamophobia they face back home so they close one eye to the fuckery because oh! Look! An advanced-ish enough economy in a Muslim society! They have iced lattes and pray five times a day! If anything, the fear Ta-Nehisi Coates expressed in his new book about where Black nationalism could take a people, people like me and those Israelis have already realized.
posted by cendawanita at 2:11 PM on October 14 [7 favorites]
I...feel like I have more in common with the marginalized and anti-war, anti-occupation, and anti-zionist Israeli Jews
Speaking for myself, apart from Palestinians, the vast majority of people I've been following on social media for news and viewpoints related to Gaza have been anti-Zionist Jews, who represent the best of what I, as a gentile, grew up thinking were "Jewish values", and I greatly admire their courage in standing up and speaking out for what is right in the face of ostracism from their families and communities while faced with the loss of educational and professional opportunities (and for those in Israel, imprisonment). Anti-Zionist Jews have been at the forefront of the protest movement here in the USA, and have been some of the loudest voices speaking out against Israel's brutality.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 3:22 PM on October 14 [8 favorites]
Speaking for myself, apart from Palestinians, the vast majority of people I've been following on social media for news and viewpoints related to Gaza have been anti-Zionist Jews, who represent the best of what I, as a gentile, grew up thinking were "Jewish values", and I greatly admire their courage in standing up and speaking out for what is right in the face of ostracism from their families and communities while faced with the loss of educational and professional opportunities (and for those in Israel, imprisonment). Anti-Zionist Jews have been at the forefront of the protest movement here in the USA, and have been some of the loudest voices speaking out against Israel's brutality.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 3:22 PM on October 14 [8 favorites]
Putting those US missile defense troops in Israel looks to me like using Americans as human shields. Maybe the bet is that with Americans there, Iran can’t risk killing them for fear of inducing a US “you killed a citizen now we slaughter you” response. And if that doesn’t deter Iran, well then we “have” to defend Israel because they are deeply embedded in the US power structure like a cancer.
Also there’s way too much breathless coverage of what Israel’s response to Iran might be - which, you know, they have to do even though they deliberately provoked Iran repeatedly - and not enough discussion of how insane it is that they are being allowed to just open as many fronts as they want. Fuck Israel, man. The US should have kicked them to the curb long ago.
posted by caviar2d2 at 3:49 PM on October 14 [5 favorites]
Also there’s way too much breathless coverage of what Israel’s response to Iran might be - which, you know, they have to do even though they deliberately provoked Iran repeatedly - and not enough discussion of how insane it is that they are being allowed to just open as many fronts as they want. Fuck Israel, man. The US should have kicked them to the curb long ago.
posted by caviar2d2 at 3:49 PM on October 14 [5 favorites]
Putting those US missile defense troops in Israel looks to me like using Americans as human shields.
I see what you mean, more like an extra deterrent as this is a missile defense system and the only way the enemy would most likely strike them is with missiles so human shield is not quite accurate. the United States maintains an AN/TPY-2 station in Israel. I don't think it's been quite noted but this Wikipedia exception on us military stockpiles is quite interesting.
"War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel also known as War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel or simply WRSA-I was established in the 1990s and is maintained by the United States European Command.[16] It is one of the United States' biggest War Reserves, located within Israel"
see that, that's a big howdy Target but could Iran strike it... who really knows.
the phrase boots on the ground is applicable here and it is not therefore it's not really a precise term as it implies full combat troops for example United States Marines. The addition of 100 troops is interesting and I think it is meant to be a political deterrent. as to the prevailing political wisdom of such a move, I leave to the reader.
posted by clavdivs at 4:35 PM on October 14 [2 favorites]
I see what you mean, more like an extra deterrent as this is a missile defense system and the only way the enemy would most likely strike them is with missiles so human shield is not quite accurate. the United States maintains an AN/TPY-2 station in Israel. I don't think it's been quite noted but this Wikipedia exception on us military stockpiles is quite interesting.
"War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel also known as War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel or simply WRSA-I was established in the 1990s and is maintained by the United States European Command.[16] It is one of the United States' biggest War Reserves, located within Israel"
see that, that's a big howdy Target but could Iran strike it... who really knows.
the phrase boots on the ground is applicable here and it is not therefore it's not really a precise term as it implies full combat troops for example United States Marines. The addition of 100 troops is interesting and I think it is meant to be a political deterrent. as to the prevailing political wisdom of such a move, I leave to the reader.
posted by clavdivs at 4:35 PM on October 14 [2 favorites]
man that New Yorker interview with Howard Jacobson is pretty out there. like: my brother in neuroticism, maybe sit down with a therapist in private instead of with the person's who's widely regarded as basically the Hannibal Lecter of interviewers, getting an incoherent deny-it-but-support-it cope tantrum dragged out of you and publicly displayed. and maybe have the therapist help you with a sense of proportion and perspective, not even about numbers of murdered civilians in different communities but just about the relatives importance of objective reality versus your personal feelings. fucking hell.
posted by busted_crayons at 4:46 PM on October 14 [9 favorites]
posted by busted_crayons at 4:46 PM on October 14 [9 favorites]
NYTimes (!): How Israel’s Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza (archived)
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 12:24 AM on October 15 [3 favorites]
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 12:24 AM on October 15 [3 favorites]
Need more of this energy: Ofer Cassif (Knesset member from Hadash, one of the very few electeds who's been against this genocide/siege/war), in a Hebrew tweet (machine translation corrected by BM):
If opposing racial supremacy and war crimes and being shocked by burning people alive is treason, then I'm proud to be a traitor.
It is a great honor for me to betray the racists, the nationalists, the messianic
fanatics, the haters of man and the bloodthirsty, the followers of Jewish supremacy, the admirers of power and the worshipers of death
I pledge publicly to continue this betrayal and deepen it.
Somewhat of a context: Owen Jones highlighted replies to Alon-Lee Green's (Standing Together) tweet from "respectable" Israelis over the strike yesterday (Threadreader).
posted by cendawanita at 12:53 AM on October 15 [8 favorites]
If opposing racial supremacy and war crimes and being shocked by burning people alive is treason, then I'm proud to be a traitor.
It is a great honor for me to betray the racists, the nationalists, the messianic
fanatics, the haters of man and the bloodthirsty, the followers of Jewish supremacy, the admirers of power and the worshipers of death
I pledge publicly to continue this betrayal and deepen it.
Somewhat of a context: Owen Jones highlighted replies to Alon-Lee Green's (Standing Together) tweet from "respectable" Israelis over the strike yesterday (Threadreader).
posted by cendawanita at 12:53 AM on October 15 [8 favorites]
Huh, I can see how Germany excels at genocides so well: (with clip) Tarek Baé (German journalist) - German Foreign Minister Baerbock defends Israel's killings of Palestinian civilians. "Civilian places" lose "their protected status" because "terrorists abuse that", she claims. This is of course nonsense under international law. The International Criminal Court accuses Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But Baerbock wants to justify the crimes. "That's what Germany stands for", she claims. What a disgrace.
Found the full translated transcript on their Federal Foreign Office site: "That’s why we have made it clear time and again that self-defence means, of course, not only attacking terrorists, but also destroying them. This’s why I have made it so clear that when Hamas terrorists hide behind people, behind schools, then we end up in very difficult waters. But we’re not shying away from this. This is why I made it clear at the United Nations that civilian sites could lose their protected status if terrorists abuse this status. That’s what Germany stands for – and that’s what we mean when we refer to Israel’s security."
I believe she's a Green Party too. Maybe they're just bad at international law.
posted by cendawanita at 1:19 AM on October 15 [5 favorites]
Found the full translated transcript on their Federal Foreign Office site: "That’s why we have made it clear time and again that self-defence means, of course, not only attacking terrorists, but also destroying them. This’s why I have made it so clear that when Hamas terrorists hide behind people, behind schools, then we end up in very difficult waters. But we’re not shying away from this. This is why I made it clear at the United Nations that civilian sites could lose their protected status if terrorists abuse this status. That’s what Germany stands for – and that’s what we mean when we refer to Israel’s security."
I believe she's a Green Party too. Maybe they're just bad at international law.
posted by cendawanita at 1:19 AM on October 15 [5 favorites]
JPost has a very brief English version, but according to N12, Biden is threatening an arms embargo in a month. 🙄
Per translated screenshot byRagip Soylu:
The US threatens Israel: resolve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza - or we will impose an arms embargo
Exposing N12: The administration's senior officials sent a clear message, according to which the humanitarian crisis in the Strip must be brought to an end within a month . American Secretary of State Lincoln and Defense Minister Austin delivered a document to Ministers Gallant and Dermer - in which they clarified the demand . "Failure to implement these measures may lead to consequences for United States policy" , was written
In the meantime, in Hebrew Haaretz, as summarized by David Sheen: After Israeli soldiers were filmed gang-raping a Palestinian man kidnapped from the Gaza Strip, their army buddies beat up the military police officers who came to detain them – but no charges will be filed, because the latter are too terrified to testify
posted by cendawanita at 6:16 AM on October 15 [8 favorites]
Per translated screenshot byRagip Soylu:
The US threatens Israel: resolve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza - or we will impose an arms embargo
Exposing N12: The administration's senior officials sent a clear message, according to which the humanitarian crisis in the Strip must be brought to an end within a month . American Secretary of State Lincoln and Defense Minister Austin delivered a document to Ministers Gallant and Dermer - in which they clarified the demand . "Failure to implement these measures may lead to consequences for United States policy" , was written
In the meantime, in Hebrew Haaretz, as summarized by David Sheen: After Israeli soldiers were filmed gang-raping a Palestinian man kidnapped from the Gaza Strip, their army buddies beat up the military police officers who came to detain them – but no charges will be filed, because the latter are too terrified to testify
posted by cendawanita at 6:16 AM on October 15 [8 favorites]
UK sanctions target settler outposts in the West Bank.
Sending a THAAD air defense system to Israel adds to strain on US Army forces - The move adds to what have been growing tensions within the Defense Department about what weapons the U.S. can afford to send to Ukraine, Israel or elsewhere and the resulting risks to America’s military readiness and its ability to protect the nation.
(In other unrelated news, North Korea blew up roads near border with South Korea, China holds military drills near Taiwan, US and Philippines start military drills, so US military obligations are being pulled in many directions.)
There is currently an active petition for solidarity against UCSF repression of healthcare workers.
posted by toastyk at 8:55 AM on October 15 [4 favorites]
Sending a THAAD air defense system to Israel adds to strain on US Army forces - The move adds to what have been growing tensions within the Defense Department about what weapons the U.S. can afford to send to Ukraine, Israel or elsewhere and the resulting risks to America’s military readiness and its ability to protect the nation.
(In other unrelated news, North Korea blew up roads near border with South Korea, China holds military drills near Taiwan, US and Philippines start military drills, so US military obligations are being pulled in many directions.)
There is currently an active petition for solidarity against UCSF repression of healthcare workers.
posted by toastyk at 8:55 AM on October 15 [4 favorites]
Is Syria next in Israel's crosshairs after Quneitra incursion? "Israel has seized farmland in Syria's southern Quneitra province, which could become part of Israel's 'Sufa 53' road project."
posted by BungaDunga at 9:31 AM on October 15 [5 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 9:31 AM on October 15 [5 favorites]
not even about numbers of murdered civilians in different communities but just about the relatives importance of objective reality versus your personal feelings
"Our personal feelings are more important than objective reality" is an argument that's been used by Zionists to delimit the parameters of acceptable discourse around Palestine for literally decades; Jacobson is probably confused and wondering why it doesn't work anymore.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:13 AM on October 15 [4 favorites]
"Our personal feelings are more important than objective reality" is an argument that's been used by Zionists to delimit the parameters of acceptable discourse around Palestine for literally decades; Jacobson is probably confused and wondering why it doesn't work anymore.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:13 AM on October 15 [4 favorites]
I believe she's a Green Party too.
fash, but on a bike.
posted by busted_crayons at 10:23 AM on October 15 [2 favorites]
fash, but on a bike.
posted by busted_crayons at 10:23 AM on October 15 [2 favorites]
The English version of that Haaretz article is now up (ungated)
Israeli Soldiers Attacked Military Police at Gunpoint for Arresting Comrades Over Sde Teiman Abuse -
IDF reservists with 'Force 100' assaulted military cops coming to arrest other soldiers suspected of attacking and sexually abusing a Gazan detainee. The claim wasn't investigated, as IDF police are avoiding the inquiry due to right-wing pressure, a source says
Even though the military police has witness testimonies to the assault, it has not investigated, on the grounds that the assaulted soldiers are afraid to officially complain even though in its aftermath, some of the investigators involved stopped fulfilling operational roles, and one stopped showing up for reserves duty.
According to sources and information obtained by Haaretz, shortly after the incident, the military detectives and investigators involved in arresting the suspects described a severe attack. Two testified that they were pepper sprayed and one told, in tears, how a rifle barrel was shoved against his torso to force him to release a suspect.
The military tribunal and media were told about a "violent incident" that included the use of pepper spray, but the other details were not released.
Imperial boomerang.
posted by cendawanita at 3:10 PM on October 15 [9 favorites]
Israeli Soldiers Attacked Military Police at Gunpoint for Arresting Comrades Over Sde Teiman Abuse -
IDF reservists with 'Force 100' assaulted military cops coming to arrest other soldiers suspected of attacking and sexually abusing a Gazan detainee. The claim wasn't investigated, as IDF police are avoiding the inquiry due to right-wing pressure, a source says
Even though the military police has witness testimonies to the assault, it has not investigated, on the grounds that the assaulted soldiers are afraid to officially complain even though in its aftermath, some of the investigators involved stopped fulfilling operational roles, and one stopped showing up for reserves duty.
According to sources and information obtained by Haaretz, shortly after the incident, the military detectives and investigators involved in arresting the suspects described a severe attack. Two testified that they were pepper sprayed and one told, in tears, how a rifle barrel was shoved against his torso to force him to release a suspect.
The military tribunal and media were told about a "violent incident" that included the use of pepper spray, but the other details were not released.
Imperial boomerang.
posted by cendawanita at 3:10 PM on October 15 [9 favorites]
Mehdi Hasan argues for Israel's removal from the UN: Perhaps the biggest question of all: how is Israel still allowed to remain a member of the UN? Why has it not yet been expelled from an organization that it is relentlessly and shamelessly attacking and undermining? Sure, there are other human rights abusers that remain card-carrying members of the UN – Syria, Russia and North Korea, to name but a few – but none of them have killed UN employees en masse; none of them have sent tanks to invade a UN base; none of them have “refused to comply with more than two dozen UNSC resolutions”. It has been more than 60 years since any country in the world dared make the UN secretary general himself “persona non grata”.
UN calls for independent investigation into an Israeli airstrike that killed 22.
NYT issued a statement on their recent opinion essay that gathered the accounts of 65 healthcare workers who attested that the IDF were shooting children in the head - While our editors have photographs to corroborate the CT scan images, because of their graphic nature, we decided these photos — of children with gunshot wounds to the head or neck — were too horrific for publication. We made a similar decision for the additional 40-plus photographs and videos supplied by the doctors and nurses surveyed that depicted young children with similar gunshot wounds.
We stand behind this essay and the research underpinning it. Any implication that its images are fabricated is simply false.
(2 questions I have: 1. Why was this in the Opinion section in the first place? 2. Are they going to start rigorously fact-checking all opinion essays?)
Columbia University has temporarily suspended assistant professor Shai Davidai for harassment - “Columbia has consistently and continually respected Assistant Professor Davidai’s right to free speech and to express his views. His freedom of speech has not been limited and is not being limited now,” Wert wrote. “Columbia, however, does not tolerate threats of intimidation, harassment, or other threatening behavior by its employees.”
Columbia employees are held to the University’s Policy on Ethical Conduct, which demands that they respect others at Columbia, are civil toward others, and refrain from abusing their power.
Though Davidai was restricted from entering campus, these limitations don’t affect his compensation or status as a faculty member, a University spokesperson told Spectator. The University offered to provide Davidai with alternative office space off campus, the spokesperson said.
UNIFIL will remain in all positions despite demands from Netanyahu that they leave.
posted by toastyk at 8:24 AM on October 16 [9 favorites]
UN calls for independent investigation into an Israeli airstrike that killed 22.
NYT issued a statement on their recent opinion essay that gathered the accounts of 65 healthcare workers who attested that the IDF were shooting children in the head - While our editors have photographs to corroborate the CT scan images, because of their graphic nature, we decided these photos — of children with gunshot wounds to the head or neck — were too horrific for publication. We made a similar decision for the additional 40-plus photographs and videos supplied by the doctors and nurses surveyed that depicted young children with similar gunshot wounds.
We stand behind this essay and the research underpinning it. Any implication that its images are fabricated is simply false.
(2 questions I have: 1. Why was this in the Opinion section in the first place? 2. Are they going to start rigorously fact-checking all opinion essays?)
Columbia University has temporarily suspended assistant professor Shai Davidai for harassment - “Columbia has consistently and continually respected Assistant Professor Davidai’s right to free speech and to express his views. His freedom of speech has not been limited and is not being limited now,” Wert wrote. “Columbia, however, does not tolerate threats of intimidation, harassment, or other threatening behavior by its employees.”
Columbia employees are held to the University’s Policy on Ethical Conduct, which demands that they respect others at Columbia, are civil toward others, and refrain from abusing their power.
Though Davidai was restricted from entering campus, these limitations don’t affect his compensation or status as a faculty member, a University spokesperson told Spectator. The University offered to provide Davidai with alternative office space off campus, the spokesperson said.
UNIFIL will remain in all positions despite demands from Netanyahu that they leave.
posted by toastyk at 8:24 AM on October 16 [9 favorites]
> Mehdi Hasan argues for Israel's removal from the UN:
I think it pretty clearly should be expelled, and it meets the first condition:
There's a bigger question as to whether expelling it would be good or bad for the UN as an institution, although it is in many ways a dead institution today anyway. We need a new international order, clearly, or we're headed straight for catastrophe. But maybe you only get a new order after the catastrophe.
posted by dis_integration at 8:55 AM on October 16 [8 favorites]
I think it pretty clearly should be expelled, and it meets the first condition:
Can a Member State be expelled from the United Nations?But the requirement that the Security Council recommend the removal means it will never happen, since the US holds a permanent veto and will just say no.
Article 6 of the Charter reads as follows:
"A Member of the United Nations which has persistently violated the Principles contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council."
This has never happened.
Article 5 provides for the suspension of a Member State:
"A Member of the United Nations against which preventive or enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council may be suspended from the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. The exercise of these rights and privileges may be restored by the Security Council."
There's a bigger question as to whether expelling it would be good or bad for the UN as an institution, although it is in many ways a dead institution today anyway. We need a new international order, clearly, or we're headed straight for catastrophe. But maybe you only get a new order after the catastrophe.
posted by dis_integration at 8:55 AM on October 16 [8 favorites]
A small but horrifying detail from the NYT's story on the Israeli military using Palestinians as human shields, how they're referred to insects. This is how Hutus referred to Tutsis. How slave owners referred to slaves. How the Nazis referred to Jews
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 11:20 AM on October 16 [9 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 11:20 AM on October 16 [9 favorites]
The New York Times' Bret Stephens is oddly quiet about insect metaphors at the moment
posted by dis_integration at 11:21 AM on October 16 [7 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 11:21 AM on October 16 [7 favorites]
There's a scene early in the 1994 movie The Shadow in which Alec Baldwin's character is busy threatening another crime lord who takes Baldwin's elderly aid hostage and tells Baldwin, and the audience, he knows that Baldwin's guards aren't good enough marksmen to shoot him and leave the old man unharmed.
Baldwin tells the old that he has been like a father to him and that he is grateful for his support. Then tells his guards to shoot through him.
This scene is there to establish that Baldwin's charcter is a very bad person. I don't think you'd find many people on the planet who would say he was in the right to give that order, or that it was justified in any way. Becuse when we're not distorting our morality by playing favorites we understand that while taking hostages and using human shields is bad, it's at least as bad if not worse to kill those human shields.
In any media where you see someone using human shields they're definitley not seen as the good guys, but the good guys will not just casually kill the human shields. The bad guys will, every time. But you can't be a hero and also kill human shields. Everyone knows that.
Except for when it comes into conflict with our in group alliegance mechanism and then the in group alliegance wins almost every time. There are few human motivators stronger than in group identification and support.
When you hear someone say Israel is justified in killing human shields, you know their moral reasoning is temporarially offline due to in group thinking.
posted by sotonohito at 12:24 PM on October 16 [7 favorites]
Baldwin tells the old that he has been like a father to him and that he is grateful for his support. Then tells his guards to shoot through him.
This scene is there to establish that Baldwin's charcter is a very bad person. I don't think you'd find many people on the planet who would say he was in the right to give that order, or that it was justified in any way. Becuse when we're not distorting our morality by playing favorites we understand that while taking hostages and using human shields is bad, it's at least as bad if not worse to kill those human shields.
In any media where you see someone using human shields they're definitley not seen as the good guys, but the good guys will not just casually kill the human shields. The bad guys will, every time. But you can't be a hero and also kill human shields. Everyone knows that.
Except for when it comes into conflict with our in group alliegance mechanism and then the in group alliegance wins almost every time. There are few human motivators stronger than in group identification and support.
When you hear someone say Israel is justified in killing human shields, you know their moral reasoning is temporarially offline due to in group thinking.
posted by sotonohito at 12:24 PM on October 16 [7 favorites]
When you hear someone say Israel is justified in killing human shields, you know their moral reasoning is temporarially offline due to in group thinking.
I'd say that extends to anyone who says Israel is justified in pretty much anything they've been doing for the past 76 years: ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, collective punishment, apartheid, etc. A selective morality that makes some things okay when done to other people but crimes when perpetrated against your own group is no morality at all (and that's fundamentally what all the Zionist arguments for Israel's right to do whatever it wants are).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 1:18 PM on October 16 [6 favorites]
I'd say that extends to anyone who says Israel is justified in pretty much anything they've been doing for the past 76 years: ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, collective punishment, apartheid, etc. A selective morality that makes some things okay when done to other people but crimes when perpetrated against your own group is no morality at all (and that's fundamentally what all the Zionist arguments for Israel's right to do whatever it wants are).
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 1:18 PM on October 16 [6 favorites]
Merely bringing the following here:
First we got: US assured Lebanon that Israel would ease Beirut strikes, Lebanese prime minister says
Then we got: Israeli jets struck southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people including a city mayor, Lebanese officials said.
---
Elsewhere, from an actual fascist: More restrictive than partners on arms to Israel - Meloni
New export licences have been suspended says premier (I'll put a pin on this though because you can never be in-good-faith with whatever a fascist says)
Jordanian Court Sentences Journalist to One Year in Prison and Fines Over $7,000 for Report on Jordan-Israel Ties
Ireland ready to go it alone and restrict trade ties with Israel, taoiseach says -Ireland “will not wait for everybody in Europe to move on the issue of trade in the occupied Palestinian territories,” PM Simon Harris tells reporters.
---
And back to Palestine
If they are not killed in the ongoing Israeli bombing, 400,000 Palestinians could be starved to death in northern Gaza
‘It’s quite evil’: a US-based Palestinian on the ‘nightmare’ of having family left in Gaza
Number of Palestinian children in administrative detention quadrupled since last year
posted by cendawanita at 2:30 PM on October 16 [11 favorites]
First we got: US assured Lebanon that Israel would ease Beirut strikes, Lebanese prime minister says
Then we got: Israeli jets struck southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people including a city mayor, Lebanese officials said.
---
Elsewhere, from an actual fascist: More restrictive than partners on arms to Israel - Meloni
New export licences have been suspended says premier (I'll put a pin on this though because you can never be in-good-faith with whatever a fascist says)
Jordanian Court Sentences Journalist to One Year in Prison and Fines Over $7,000 for Report on Jordan-Israel Ties
Ireland ready to go it alone and restrict trade ties with Israel, taoiseach says -Ireland “will not wait for everybody in Europe to move on the issue of trade in the occupied Palestinian territories,” PM Simon Harris tells reporters.
---
And back to Palestine
If they are not killed in the ongoing Israeli bombing, 400,000 Palestinians could be starved to death in northern Gaza
‘It’s quite evil’: a US-based Palestinian on the ‘nightmare’ of having family left in Gaza
Number of Palestinian children in administrative detention quadrupled since last year
posted by cendawanita at 2:30 PM on October 16 [11 favorites]
IDF fires at watchtower near southern Lebanon: "This morning, peacekeepers at a position near Kafer Kela observed an IDF Merkava tank firing at their watchtower. Two cameras were destroyed, and the tower was damaged. Yet again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire on a Unifil position."
posted by BungaDunga at 3:33 PM on October 16 [9 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 3:33 PM on October 16 [9 favorites]
Shaaban Al-Dalou, Burned Alive in Gaza, Would Have Been 20 Today
Reporter Abubaker Abed, a native of Deir al-Balah, where the hospital is located, quickly found the family and friends of that victim—Shaaban Al-Dalou. The gut-wrenching story you’re about to read is about Shaaban—his dreams and aspirations before October 7, 2023, and his life after all of that was destroyed.
Shaaban’s family saw him as a beacon of hope amid Israel’s destruction of their entire way of life. “I say to the world,” said Ahmed Al-Dalou, Shaaban’s father, “after this holocaust that burnt my son alive, ‘Why are you not moving to act and stop this genocide? Were it one of your children, would you stay silent? What else would you want to see to stop it?’”
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 7:03 AM on October 17 [7 favorites]
Reporter Abubaker Abed, a native of Deir al-Balah, where the hospital is located, quickly found the family and friends of that victim—Shaaban Al-Dalou. The gut-wrenching story you’re about to read is about Shaaban—his dreams and aspirations before October 7, 2023, and his life after all of that was destroyed.
Shaaban’s family saw him as a beacon of hope amid Israel’s destruction of their entire way of life. “I say to the world,” said Ahmed Al-Dalou, Shaaban’s father, “after this holocaust that burnt my son alive, ‘Why are you not moving to act and stop this genocide? Were it one of your children, would you stay silent? What else would you want to see to stop it?’”
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 7:03 AM on October 17 [7 favorites]
With regards to the UN, the Palestinian Authority is moving to expel Israel from the UN General Assembly. (ungated) - the Israeli ambassador called it "diplomatic terrorism".
France bans Israeli companies from top naval warfare show.
130 Israeli soldiers refusing to serve (ungated) - "I can't do it anymore. The judicial coup is continuing and the war serves as a smoke screen. The country that will rise after the war won't be the same country I enlisted for. This is not a country I'm willing to sacrifice my life for. Too many things here have gone in a direction I don't believe in, and I can no longer justify it."
Anti-Zionist Jewish students build "Liberation Sukkah" on Math lawns at Columbia - “We as anti-Zionist Jewish students are religious and celebrate this holiday and wanted to be able to celebrate it in a space that aligns with our values,” Shay, a Columbia student and member of the organizing collective, who spoke to Spectator on the condition of partial anonymity, citing safety concerns, said. “We believe that prayer is inherently political in every single space on this campus.”
Biden envoy told aid groups that Israel is too close an ally to suspend arms - At the Aug. 29 meeting in Washington, Lise Grande told the leaders of more than a dozen aid organizations that the U.S. could potentially consider other tactics to convince Israel to allow life-saving aid into Gaza — such as applying pressure through the United Nations, but stressed that the administration would continue to support Israel and would not delay or stop weapons shipments.
CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil is experiencing mild consequences from the fallout of his interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates: Noting that the anchor has gotten a list of people involved in coverage of the region, another insider said that some of the folks Dokoupil has reached out to “have not been biting their tongues” and are “confronting him directly” about his biased editorializing. Two sources also pointed out that during one of these conversations, Dokoupil was directly told that he basically sounds “like an IDF spokesperson” during his segments. An additional staffer said that Dokoupil had called to apologize to some foreign correspondents for potentially putting them in danger with his pro-Israel rhetoric while they were reporting from the front lines of the war.
posted by toastyk at 7:23 AM on October 17 [9 favorites]
France bans Israeli companies from top naval warfare show.
130 Israeli soldiers refusing to serve (ungated) - "I can't do it anymore. The judicial coup is continuing and the war serves as a smoke screen. The country that will rise after the war won't be the same country I enlisted for. This is not a country I'm willing to sacrifice my life for. Too many things here have gone in a direction I don't believe in, and I can no longer justify it."
Anti-Zionist Jewish students build "Liberation Sukkah" on Math lawns at Columbia - “We as anti-Zionist Jewish students are religious and celebrate this holiday and wanted to be able to celebrate it in a space that aligns with our values,” Shay, a Columbia student and member of the organizing collective, who spoke to Spectator on the condition of partial anonymity, citing safety concerns, said. “We believe that prayer is inherently political in every single space on this campus.”
Biden envoy told aid groups that Israel is too close an ally to suspend arms - At the Aug. 29 meeting in Washington, Lise Grande told the leaders of more than a dozen aid organizations that the U.S. could potentially consider other tactics to convince Israel to allow life-saving aid into Gaza — such as applying pressure through the United Nations, but stressed that the administration would continue to support Israel and would not delay or stop weapons shipments.
CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil is experiencing mild consequences from the fallout of his interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates: Noting that the anchor has gotten a list of people involved in coverage of the region, another insider said that some of the folks Dokoupil has reached out to “have not been biting their tongues” and are “confronting him directly” about his biased editorializing. Two sources also pointed out that during one of these conversations, Dokoupil was directly told that he basically sounds “like an IDF spokesperson” during his segments. An additional staffer said that Dokoupil had called to apologize to some foreign correspondents for potentially putting them in danger with his pro-Israel rhetoric while they were reporting from the front lines of the war.
posted by toastyk at 7:23 AM on October 17 [9 favorites]
Israel is reporting they’ve genetically identified Sinwar’s remains. Will his death give Netanyahu a sacrificial lamb to bring the war to a close? Or will threats by the Israeli-right to collapse the coalition government if there’s a ceasefire, and the continuing encroachment of Bibi’s own domestic corruption trials, keep the war going?
Domestic opinion polls show the assassination of Nesrallah made Netanyahu more popular than ever; even as charges of war crimes, extermination, and genocide build internationally.
🪄 ✨Mission accomplished! ✨
posted by rubatan at 6:17 PM on October 17 [7 favorites]
Domestic opinion polls show the assassination of Nesrallah made Netanyahu more popular than ever; even as charges of war crimes, extermination, and genocide build internationally.
🪄 ✨Mission accomplished! ✨
posted by rubatan at 6:17 PM on October 17 [7 favorites]
More revelations from Woodward's book: "Democrats wouldn't vote for it if [former president Donald] Trump introduced it because they hate [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and they hate Trump," Graham told Biden, according to the book. "Republicans would vote for the defense agreement with Saudi Arabia if Israel encouraged us to. We can get 45 Republican votes."
Biden assured Graham that he could get the rest of the votes from the Democratic caucus, Woodward reports.
Hamas issues defiant message after Sinwar's death; Israel says war will continue - In Hamas' first public response to Israel's killing of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, a senior member of the organization told NBC News today that the militant group would only become stronger. Hamas later declared mourning for Sinwar in a lengthy obituary.
US officials are using the death of Sinwar to issue messages about a ceasefire, which Netanyahu has already rejected.
Meanwhile, Palestinians and Lebanese alike are continuing to be harassed, killed, bombed, and starved.
Resistance elsewhere continues:
Greek Piraeus port dockers block ammunition cargo destined for Israel.
1199SEIU calls for ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza and arms embargo against Israel.
Harvard Law students did a "study-in" protest.
posted by toastyk at 12:46 PM on October 18 [7 favorites]
Biden assured Graham that he could get the rest of the votes from the Democratic caucus, Woodward reports.
Hamas issues defiant message after Sinwar's death; Israel says war will continue - In Hamas' first public response to Israel's killing of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, a senior member of the organization told NBC News today that the militant group would only become stronger. Hamas later declared mourning for Sinwar in a lengthy obituary.
US officials are using the death of Sinwar to issue messages about a ceasefire, which Netanyahu has already rejected.
Meanwhile, Palestinians and Lebanese alike are continuing to be harassed, killed, bombed, and starved.
Resistance elsewhere continues:
Greek Piraeus port dockers block ammunition cargo destined for Israel.
1199SEIU calls for ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza and arms embargo against Israel.
Harvard Law students did a "study-in" protest.
posted by toastyk at 12:46 PM on October 18 [7 favorites]
France bars Israeli firms from naval trade fair in November
(In Norwegian; Foreign Ministry) Sharpens the advice to Norwegian business: Avoid trade that contributes to maintaining Israel's occupation of Palestine
The government warns Norwegian companies against contributing to maintaining Israel's illegal presence in Palestine, that is in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Gaza.
(In French; Belgian) Ucclois man implicated as sniper in Gaza: federal prosecutor opens investigation for “war crimes” - A Palestinian journalist, whose work was relayed by the "Morgen", highlights the involvement of an Uccle resident in a sniper unit that he accuses, based on a six-month investigation, of acting like a "death squad". The federal prosecutor's office is opening a judicial investigation into potential "war crimes".
In the meantime:
Ihab Hassane: 🚨Breaking: The Israeli army has cut off all communication and electricity services in northern Gaza.
Every time they have done this, it has been followed by a massive bombing or massacre.
Hind Khoudary: Our colleagues and journalists inside Jabalia Camp are telling us that the airstrikes did not stop.
They are saying that the situation is very bad and they are being exterminated.
AJPlus (with video): Israeli snipers wounded a pregnant Palestinian woman as she was on her way to the hospital.
Over 400,000 Palestinians are trapped without food in northern Gaza, which aid groups say is being “wiped from the map.” (the story doesn't seem to ignite the passions of western feminist institutional voices... Not brat enough perhaps)
(Sample of the general temp) BM: While celebrating the death of Yahya Sinwar, Israelis at Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem sing the new unofficial Israeli anthem: "May your village burn"
I lost a post that drew the connection between what Biden said after the opportune assassination about him directing resources to assist and the fact that the US military had demurred from back in January, but roughly compare the following:-
1. White House Oct 17 brief: Shortly after the October 7 massacres, I directed Special Operations personnel and our intelligence professionals to work side-by-side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.
(I have to say, I regret knowing even a little international law; that entire statement is, hmm, enraging.)
2. The Intercept in January: Biden Admin Deployed Air Force Team to Israel to Assist With Targets, Document Suggests -
Guidance for officers deployed to Israel appears to show the U.S. military providing intelligence for airstrikes in Gaza. - “I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise the Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts,” said President Joe Biden three days after the Hamas attack.
But several weeks later, on November 21, the U.S. Air Force issued deployment guidelines for officers, including intelligence engagement officers, headed to Israel. Experts say that a team of targeting officers like this would be used to provide satellite intelligence to the Israelis for the purpose of offensive targeting.
And for all the US publicity team is working as intended presenting this as a targeted and planned effort, Israeli media is faithfully printing govt statements with no self-awareness that they're basically saying the opposite (accidental encounter; escalating firepower because he didn't die, at some point involving tank artillery and then finally a drone.)
With that level of funfair shootout skills (blind and panicking with unlimited ammo), no surprises for the following. This may indicate a future attack all right, but precipitated by the country that may just get about 1/3 of the inventory if this goes through: Israel said to request US send second THAAD missile defense battery ahead of Iran attack
Don't forget to save the date: (Haaretz, ungated) Netanyahu's Likud Party Issues Invitation to Event Titled 'Preparing to Settle Gaza' -
The event, scheduled for next week, is part of an initiative by the Nachala movement, which is known for establishing illegal outposts in the West Bank. Several ministers and MKs from Likud and Otzma Yehudit are expected to attend
posted by cendawanita at 3:01 PM on October 18 [17 favorites]
(In Norwegian; Foreign Ministry) Sharpens the advice to Norwegian business: Avoid trade that contributes to maintaining Israel's occupation of Palestine
The government warns Norwegian companies against contributing to maintaining Israel's illegal presence in Palestine, that is in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Gaza.
(In French; Belgian) Ucclois man implicated as sniper in Gaza: federal prosecutor opens investigation for “war crimes” - A Palestinian journalist, whose work was relayed by the "Morgen", highlights the involvement of an Uccle resident in a sniper unit that he accuses, based on a six-month investigation, of acting like a "death squad". The federal prosecutor's office is opening a judicial investigation into potential "war crimes".
In the meantime:
Ihab Hassane: 🚨Breaking: The Israeli army has cut off all communication and electricity services in northern Gaza.
Every time they have done this, it has been followed by a massive bombing or massacre.
Hind Khoudary: Our colleagues and journalists inside Jabalia Camp are telling us that the airstrikes did not stop.
They are saying that the situation is very bad and they are being exterminated.
AJPlus (with video): Israeli snipers wounded a pregnant Palestinian woman as she was on her way to the hospital.
Over 400,000 Palestinians are trapped without food in northern Gaza, which aid groups say is being “wiped from the map.” (the story doesn't seem to ignite the passions of western feminist institutional voices... Not brat enough perhaps)
(Sample of the general temp) BM: While celebrating the death of Yahya Sinwar, Israelis at Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem sing the new unofficial Israeli anthem: "May your village burn"
I lost a post that drew the connection between what Biden said after the opportune assassination about him directing resources to assist and the fact that the US military had demurred from back in January, but roughly compare the following:-
1. White House Oct 17 brief: Shortly after the October 7 massacres, I directed Special Operations personnel and our intelligence professionals to work side-by-side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.
(I have to say, I regret knowing even a little international law; that entire statement is, hmm, enraging.)
2. The Intercept in January: Biden Admin Deployed Air Force Team to Israel to Assist With Targets, Document Suggests -
Guidance for officers deployed to Israel appears to show the U.S. military providing intelligence for airstrikes in Gaza. - “I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise the Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts,” said President Joe Biden three days after the Hamas attack.
But several weeks later, on November 21, the U.S. Air Force issued deployment guidelines for officers, including intelligence engagement officers, headed to Israel. Experts say that a team of targeting officers like this would be used to provide satellite intelligence to the Israelis for the purpose of offensive targeting.
And for all the US publicity team is working as intended presenting this as a targeted and planned effort, Israeli media is faithfully printing govt statements with no self-awareness that they're basically saying the opposite (accidental encounter; escalating firepower because he didn't die, at some point involving tank artillery and then finally a drone.)
With that level of funfair shootout skills (blind and panicking with unlimited ammo), no surprises for the following. This may indicate a future attack all right, but precipitated by the country that may just get about 1/3 of the inventory if this goes through: Israel said to request US send second THAAD missile defense battery ahead of Iran attack
Don't forget to save the date: (Haaretz, ungated) Netanyahu's Likud Party Issues Invitation to Event Titled 'Preparing to Settle Gaza' -
The event, scheduled for next week, is part of an initiative by the Nachala movement, which is known for establishing illegal outposts in the West Bank. Several ministers and MKs from Likud and Otzma Yehudit are expected to attend
posted by cendawanita at 3:01 PM on October 18 [17 favorites]
Israel is requesting a 2nd THAAD missile defense battery - according to this CNN article, the US has seven of them.
Apropos of nothing, Foreign Affairs just published an article on how China is ready for war, but the US is not. (ungated)
posted by toastyk at 4:38 PM on October 18 [6 favorites]
Apropos of nothing, Foreign Affairs just published an article on how China is ready for war, but the US is not. (ungated)
posted by toastyk at 4:38 PM on October 18 [6 favorites]
Two great pieces from Adam Johnson:
The Horrors of Gaza Won’t End Until Liberals Admit Biden and Harris Are Lying About ‘Ceasefire Talks’ (Adam Johnson at The Column)
Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Challenging the Cognitive Dissonance of Pro-Israel Liberalism (Adam Johnson at In These Times)
posted by adrienneleigh at 8:25 PM on October 18 [10 favorites]
The Horrors of Gaza Won’t End Until Liberals Admit Biden and Harris Are Lying About ‘Ceasefire Talks’ (Adam Johnson at The Column)
Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Challenging the Cognitive Dissonance of Pro-Israel Liberalism (Adam Johnson at In These Times)
posted by adrienneleigh at 8:25 PM on October 18 [10 favorites]
I want to note the insanity of the repression on the Harvard Law protest. Students went to study, at the law library that they need to scan an ID to get into - I have been there, the security is no joke. There is a manned desk. Then they studied, with signs attached to the back of their laptops. Laptop sized signs. Students always have stickers on their laptops.
The fact that administrators confronted and scanned the IDs of people doing this is absolutely insane and nothing but an intimidation tactic.
posted by corb at 8:41 PM on October 18 [10 favorites]
The fact that administrators confronted and scanned the IDs of people doing this is absolutely insane and nothing but an intimidation tactic.
posted by corb at 8:41 PM on October 18 [10 favorites]
about the video: which idf comms person thought it was a good idea to release this, from a propaganda perspective? twitter says it evokes the refaat alareer quote about throwing a pen at soldiers but i think everyone's too polite to name the actual vibes.
posted by busted_crayons at 3:12 AM on October 19 [4 favorites]
posted by busted_crayons at 3:12 AM on October 19 [4 favorites]
In addition to that, consider the following tweet:
Extremely difficult scenes:
An Israeli drone targeted a child with live ammunition in one of the streets of northern Gaza.
When citizens gathered to rescue and assist him, they were hit by a direct strike, turning them into scattered remains.
And how in either video it's fairly easy to tell the conditions of the person under the crosshair - a child or a man in fatigued with an injured arm. But genocidal Israelis and their allies and sympathizers don't care - they're so busy with coward and mouse memes their eyes can't see what others are registering: the full human details of the people they killed.
(Hmm puts all those wedding parties being accidentally struck by the US into perspective too, unless of course we must consider advancement in pixel resolution.)
posted by cendawanita at 8:15 AM on October 19 [8 favorites]
Extremely difficult scenes:
An Israeli drone targeted a child with live ammunition in one of the streets of northern Gaza.
When citizens gathered to rescue and assist him, they were hit by a direct strike, turning them into scattered remains.
And how in either video it's fairly easy to tell the conditions of the person under the crosshair - a child or a man in fatigued with an injured arm. But genocidal Israelis and their allies and sympathizers don't care - they're so busy with coward and mouse memes their eyes can't see what others are registering: the full human details of the people they killed.
(Hmm puts all those wedding parties being accidentally struck by the US into perspective too, unless of course we must consider advancement in pixel resolution.)
posted by cendawanita at 8:15 AM on October 19 [8 favorites]
which idf comms person thought it was a good idea to release this, from a propaganda perspective?
my best guess is that if you see everything in terms of dominance, a video of someone ineffectually resisting looks like proof of how dominant you are
posted by BungaDunga at 9:25 AM on October 19 [7 favorites]
my best guess is that if you see everything in terms of dominance, a video of someone ineffectually resisting looks like proof of how dominant you are
posted by BungaDunga at 9:25 AM on October 19 [7 favorites]
a video of someone ineffectually resisting looks like proof of how dominant you are
Yep, fascists look at that and think "look how pathetically weak! We squashed him like the insect he is!" while normal people look at this video of a dying man with one arm blown off by a tank remaining defiant to his very last breath and see a strength and resolve that perfectly illustrate why Israel will never have the "victory" it wants, and that many will view as both heroic and inspirational.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:05 AM on October 19 [10 favorites]
Yep, fascists look at that and think "look how pathetically weak! We squashed him like the insect he is!" while normal people look at this video of a dying man with one arm blown off by a tank remaining defiant to his very last breath and see a strength and resolve that perfectly illustrate why Israel will never have the "victory" it wants, and that many will view as both heroic and inspirational.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 10:05 AM on October 19 [10 favorites]
cendawanita I'm not going to say the US invented the despicable practice of an initial drone attack followed up by a second timed to kill the maximum number of first responders, but it definitely was one of the major powers implementing it from Bush through Trump.
posted by sotonohito at 1:29 PM on October 19 [5 favorites]
posted by sotonohito at 1:29 PM on October 19 [5 favorites]
Very de-escalation: Drone 'launched towards' Israeli PM Netanyahu's home - article is worth noting for also including the fact that Israel is now striking Christian-majority Lebanese areas. Man, not only Lebanon has to return the hostages, people also need to stop being *check notes* Shia Christian. /s
Back in Palestine: Israel bars six medical NGOs from entry to Gaza, WHO says - The World Health Organization said Israel provided no explanation for barring its partner organizations from the Strip, where the health-care system has collapsed.
I like how the header needs to include "WHO says" - because whoa whoa whoa what an accusation
Medics in Northern Gaza Won't Leave — Despite Siege and Bombs -
Despite the Israeli military's siege and the threat of bombardment, the medical staff at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza refuse to evacuate or abandon their patients.
On the ground eyewitness mentioned another child is killed from one of those airdropped aid boxes if you're wondering the inefficient yet somehow great at murder as well method is going.
Literally just posted: Leaked documents show US intelligence on Israel’s plans to attack Iran, sources say
The leak is “deeply concerning,” a US official told CNN.
The documents, dated October 15 and 16, began circulating online Friday after being posted on Telegram by an account called “Middle East Spectator.”
They are marked top secret and have markings indicating they are meant to be seen only by the US and its “Five Eyes” allies — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
They describe preparations Israel appears to be making for a strike against Iran. One of the documents, which says it was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans involve Israel moving munitions around
Those foolish bureaucrats! Don't they know they're poisoning the well of comity and amity where it's just understood that Israel isn't to be treated like a normal country? (Anyway if it wasn't clear - that's my speculation that's not at all covered in the article)
LMAO: Mulroy added that “the future coordination between the US and Israel could be challenged as well. Trust is a key component in the relationship, and depending on how this was leaked that trust could be eroded.”
Bro, they're not listening to you anyway.
Another US official said that “these two documents are bad, but not horrible. The concern is if there are more.”
Anyway on the Aussie side, I guess this falls under AUKUS, but I'm sure I'm wrong - for one thing the Yemenis aren't Chinese: Australian air bases assisted with US strike on Houthi weapon stores
In short:
The Department of Defence has confirmed Australia provided support for the US strikes on underground bunkers used by Yemen's Houthi rebels "through access and overflight for US aircraft in northern Australia".
The US said its strikes were ordered by President Joe Biden to degrade the Houthi weapons stores and send a message to "our adversaries", which includes Iran.
An Australian official said the support was "consistent with our long-standing alliance commitment and close cooperation, demonstrating the interoperability of our militaries".
(...) Justin Bassi, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the operation was unprecedented in scale, means and what it targeted.
Overshadowed by global attention falling on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Mr Bassi said the raid is "possibly the major international story" of the past 24 hours.
"A direct message of power and deterrence to not only the Houthis, but Iran, it took a B-2 to be able to destroy these underground facilities in Yemen containing sophisticated weaponry supplied by Iran," he said.
UK: Palestinian academic wins significant victory against UK university over leaked confidential details
Prominent Palestinian academic, activist and artist Shahd Abusalama has won a significant victory and reached a settlement agreement with Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) for an undisclosed sum, including payment of 100 per cent of her legal costs. This brings an end to Dr Abusalama’s long-running legal battle in which she alleged that the university shared confidential and derogatory information about her with third parties, including politicians and the Jewish Chronicle, a community newspaper which is in crisis following the publication of fabricated stories justifying Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Oh hmmm maybe this is the Ken Klippenstein post that I misplaced: With Sinwar Dead, Biden Reveals U.S. Role -
White House admits it worked with Israel to kill Hamas leader
The Biden administration admitted today that the CIA and military special operations forces have been assisting Israel to locate and track Hamas leaders, an involvement in the Gaza war that goes far beyond what the government previously disclosed. The revelation follows Wednesday’s killing of October 7 architect Yayha Sinwar, but also comes after months of assurances by the White House that American intelligence and special operators were merely involved in hostage recovery.
God, please protect me from enabling friends like Joe Biden.
posted by cendawanita at 3:00 PM on October 19 [13 favorites]
Back in Palestine: Israel bars six medical NGOs from entry to Gaza, WHO says - The World Health Organization said Israel provided no explanation for barring its partner organizations from the Strip, where the health-care system has collapsed.
I like how the header needs to include "WHO says" - because whoa whoa whoa what an accusation
Medics in Northern Gaza Won't Leave — Despite Siege and Bombs -
Despite the Israeli military's siege and the threat of bombardment, the medical staff at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza refuse to evacuate or abandon their patients.
On the ground eyewitness mentioned another child is killed from one of those airdropped aid boxes if you're wondering the inefficient yet somehow great at murder as well method is going.
Literally just posted: Leaked documents show US intelligence on Israel’s plans to attack Iran, sources say
The leak is “deeply concerning,” a US official told CNN.
The documents, dated October 15 and 16, began circulating online Friday after being posted on Telegram by an account called “Middle East Spectator.”
They are marked top secret and have markings indicating they are meant to be seen only by the US and its “Five Eyes” allies — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
They describe preparations Israel appears to be making for a strike against Iran. One of the documents, which says it was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans involve Israel moving munitions around
Those foolish bureaucrats! Don't they know they're poisoning the well of comity and amity where it's just understood that Israel isn't to be treated like a normal country? (Anyway if it wasn't clear - that's my speculation that's not at all covered in the article)
LMAO: Mulroy added that “the future coordination between the US and Israel could be challenged as well. Trust is a key component in the relationship, and depending on how this was leaked that trust could be eroded.”
Bro, they're not listening to you anyway.
Another US official said that “these two documents are bad, but not horrible. The concern is if there are more.”
Anyway on the Aussie side, I guess this falls under AUKUS, but I'm sure I'm wrong - for one thing the Yemenis aren't Chinese: Australian air bases assisted with US strike on Houthi weapon stores
In short:
The Department of Defence has confirmed Australia provided support for the US strikes on underground bunkers used by Yemen's Houthi rebels "through access and overflight for US aircraft in northern Australia".
The US said its strikes were ordered by President Joe Biden to degrade the Houthi weapons stores and send a message to "our adversaries", which includes Iran.
An Australian official said the support was "consistent with our long-standing alliance commitment and close cooperation, demonstrating the interoperability of our militaries".
(...) Justin Bassi, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the operation was unprecedented in scale, means and what it targeted.
Overshadowed by global attention falling on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Mr Bassi said the raid is "possibly the major international story" of the past 24 hours.
"A direct message of power and deterrence to not only the Houthis, but Iran, it took a B-2 to be able to destroy these underground facilities in Yemen containing sophisticated weaponry supplied by Iran," he said.
UK: Palestinian academic wins significant victory against UK university over leaked confidential details
Prominent Palestinian academic, activist and artist Shahd Abusalama has won a significant victory and reached a settlement agreement with Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) for an undisclosed sum, including payment of 100 per cent of her legal costs. This brings an end to Dr Abusalama’s long-running legal battle in which she alleged that the university shared confidential and derogatory information about her with third parties, including politicians and the Jewish Chronicle, a community newspaper which is in crisis following the publication of fabricated stories justifying Israel’s war against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Oh hmmm maybe this is the Ken Klippenstein post that I misplaced: With Sinwar Dead, Biden Reveals U.S. Role -
White House admits it worked with Israel to kill Hamas leader
The Biden administration admitted today that the CIA and military special operations forces have been assisting Israel to locate and track Hamas leaders, an involvement in the Gaza war that goes far beyond what the government previously disclosed. The revelation follows Wednesday’s killing of October 7 architect Yayha Sinwar, but also comes after months of assurances by the White House that American intelligence and special operators were merely involved in hostage recovery.
God, please protect me from enabling friends like Joe Biden.
posted by cendawanita at 3:00 PM on October 19 [13 favorites]
It was a year ago this past week that Israel bombed the Al-Ahli hospital for the first time, and then convinced everyone in the western media (and a whole lot of MeFites) that it couldn't possibly have been them, it must've been a "misfired Hamas rocket" or whatever. Because of course the IDF would never do such a thing!
One year later, they've bombed every hospital in Gaza at least twice, they just got done burning a bunch of people to death in the parking lot of one, and i just wonder whether any of those MeFites have wised up, tbh.
posted by adrienneleigh at 8:53 PM on October 19 [20 favorites]
One year later, they've bombed every hospital in Gaza at least twice, they just got done burning a bunch of people to death in the parking lot of one, and i just wonder whether any of those MeFites have wised up, tbh.
posted by adrienneleigh at 8:53 PM on October 19 [20 favorites]
One year later, they've bombed every hospital in Gaza at least twice, they just got done burning a bunch of people to death in the parking lot of one, and i just wonder whether any of those MeFites have wised up, tbh.
And the whole thing has been so normalized that Israel doesn't even bother trying to provide phony "proof" any more that the hospitals it strikes are "legitimate military targets."
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 9:11 PM on October 19 [8 favorites]
And the whole thing has been so normalized that Israel doesn't even bother trying to provide phony "proof" any more that the hospitals it strikes are "legitimate military targets."
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 9:11 PM on October 19 [8 favorites]
i just wonder whether any of those MeFites have wised up, tbh.
Even in the beginning of this thread we had a deleted meltdown for the sheer temerity of continuing to talk about this (not to mention other deleted comments). The only silver lining is that it's not the same people, who've steadily dropped off from either engaging or admitting anything. Maybe when Israel strikes another country in another criminal action and it was too shocking not to share separately (or it makes it on the NYT) we might see them and even then--
Speaking of NYT: U.S. ‘Fusion Cells’ Assist in Israel’s Hunt for Hamas Leaders -
American commandos and intelligence officers began helping Israel soon after the Oct. 7 attacks last year.
Now that Biden took credit: Days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Pentagon quietly dispatched several dozen commandos to Israel to help advise on hostage recovery efforts, U.S. officials said.
Those troops from the Joint Special Operations Command were quickly joined by a group of intelligence officers, some working with the commandos in Israel and others back at the C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Va.
(...) And from nearly the beginning of the war, the U.S. military and intelligence cells were focused not just on looking for hostages, but also hunting for the top leaders of Hamas.
The rest of the article talks about the intelligence assistance provided to make Sinwar's death an evidence-based outcome but can someone please inform Israeli govt and the media because that's certainly not their story. (Eg this Walla Hebrew article)
Interestingly I keep seeing Arab or Palestinian posts (I didn't save because I expected to see it corroborated in the news) with photos of American soldiers in Jabaliya involved in a ops to extract hostages that went badly (among other things the hostages died). I could be missing things though (I'm still mostly afk).
Ken Klippenstein posted those leaked documents: Israel Preps for Strike on Iran, Top Secret Leak Reveals
Interestingly:
The United States aggressively spies on Israel, because as Ronald Reagan once said: “Trust but verify.”
The extent of that spying is revealed in a pair of highly classified U.S. intelligence reports I have published below. They first circulated on social media this week and they provide extraordinary insight into how closely the U.S. is monitoring Israel amid a particularly fraught moment.
Two Top Secret documents outlining Israel’s preparations for a large-scale attack on Iran – which would be Israel’s largest, and here’s what’s most interesting: the mainstream media is silent. Colleagues at some of the biggest media outlets, from The New York Times to NBC, tell me that their outlets are aware of the documents. But it’s been days and no one in the sanctioned elite press is reporting on them (Axios only just reported their existence but declined to publish the documents themselves). As with the J.D. Vance Dossier, which the entire media knew about but refused to publish, it appears the media has once again lost its nerve – and its sense of what’s news.
(...) The first intelligence report is titled, “Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran.” The Top Secret document provides a sense of not just how much the intelligence community knows, but how much it doesn’t know. “We cannot definitively predict the scale and scope of a strike on Iran, and such a strike can occur with no further GEOINT warning,” the report states.
(...) The second intelligence report is titled “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise.” The document details Israeli activities during an evident “mission rehearsal” (in U.S. lingo) that could be indicative of how Israel will strike Iran. Citing imagery analysis and other sources, the NGA report notes that the Israeli Air Force is already conducting covert drone operations over Iran (evidently doing its own spying), and how, as part of Israeli Air Force activity, has been handling air-launched ballistic missiles and other weapons.
UN : Freedom of expression also under fire in Gaza war, rights expert says - “Rarely have we seen – and this is what bothers me - extensive patterns of unlawful, discriminatory and disproportionate restriction by States and private actors on freedom of expression,” said Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur mandated to promote and protect this right globally.
Ms. Khan briefed journalists at UN Headquarters on her latest report, which she had presented to the UN General Assembly the previous day.
It documents severe restrictions of violations of freedom of expression arising from the conflict, including the killing of journalists in Gaza, the crushing of protests worldwide, and the silencing of artists and scholars.
404: This Is Exactly How an Elon Musk-Funded PAC Is Microtargeting Muslims and Jews With Opposing Messages
I'm not a subscriber so I can't see the rest of the report - not sure if Russia is involved. I'm sure that would be validating to some.
Discontent Deepens Among Guardian Staff Over Palestine ‘Double Standard’
Six Guardian journalists who spoke to Novara Media said they understood why Viner had resisted Abulhawa’s use of the term “holocaust”; doing so would have kicked off a media storm. What they don’t understand is why Viner seems happy to repeatedly weather such storms for advocates of Israel. This, they suggest, points to a pattern of deference towards the paper’s pro-Israel critics, one that has shifted only slightly as Israel’s assault on Gaza has intensified.
“Is the Guardian more worried about the reaction to what is said about Israel than Palestine? Absolutely,” said one long-serving staff member.
(...) After 7 October, staff say that the Guardian’s editor-in-chief has maintained a vice-like grip over the paper’s output on Israel and Palestine – or at least one side of it. Some desks say that in the initial weeks and months following the Hamas attack, every piece on the subject was sent to Viner for approval, delaying and sometimes halting publication.
“Everything is scrutinised,” said one senior staff member. “You’re under such an amount of suffocating control, it’s like throwing sand in the gears [to] deliberately… frustrate the smooth running [of the paper].”
In two cases, Viner overruled section editors to withdraw pieces by Palestinian contributors, Abulhawa and Dylan Saba. Both were commissioned by the Guardian US, whose distance from the paper’s London headquarters has emboldened it to push left on certain issues where the UK edition tends right (notably gender, though also Palestine).
(...) One senior staffer pointed out that Viner’s control is not exercised consistently, however – “only if you’re publishing something critical of Israel.”
I resigned from Canada’s largest broadcasting corporation over its complicity in Israel’s genocide -
I resigned from CBC after voicing my concerns over their coverage of Palestine. I have since seen how the CBC's policy on impartiality helped manufacture consent for genocide.
+972: The ‘pact of silence’ between Israelis and their media -
Israel’s long-subservient media has spent the past year imbuing the public with a sense of righteousness over the Gaza war. Reversing this indoctrination, says media observer Oren Persico, could take decades.
I don't doubt they're subservient - I've been tracking the papers a bit too. But if that is so then what the hell can I call the Western media then?
Back in Palestine: Israel stops processing key commercial food imports to Gaza, sources say
Israel has stopped processing requests from traders to import food to Gaza, according to 12 people involved in the trade, choking off a track that for the past six months supplied more than half of the besieged Palestinian territory's provisions.
Since Oct. 11, Gaza-based traders who were importing food from Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank have lost access to a system introduced in spring by Cogat, the Israeli government body that oversees aid and commercial shipments, and have received no reply to attempts to contact the agency, the sources said.
The shift has driven the flow of goods arriving in Gaza to its lowest level since the start of the war, a Reuters analysis of official Israeli data shows. The details of the halt in commercial goods into Gaza have not been previously reported.
‘I hate the night’: life in Gaza amid the incessant sounds of war - visual story
Oxfam condemns killing of water engineers in Gaza
posted by cendawanita at 10:12 PM on October 19 [14 favorites]
Even in the beginning of this thread we had a deleted meltdown for the sheer temerity of continuing to talk about this (not to mention other deleted comments). The only silver lining is that it's not the same people, who've steadily dropped off from either engaging or admitting anything. Maybe when Israel strikes another country in another criminal action and it was too shocking not to share separately (or it makes it on the NYT) we might see them and even then--
Speaking of NYT: U.S. ‘Fusion Cells’ Assist in Israel’s Hunt for Hamas Leaders -
American commandos and intelligence officers began helping Israel soon after the Oct. 7 attacks last year.
Now that Biden took credit: Days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Pentagon quietly dispatched several dozen commandos to Israel to help advise on hostage recovery efforts, U.S. officials said.
Those troops from the Joint Special Operations Command were quickly joined by a group of intelligence officers, some working with the commandos in Israel and others back at the C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Va.
(...) And from nearly the beginning of the war, the U.S. military and intelligence cells were focused not just on looking for hostages, but also hunting for the top leaders of Hamas.
The rest of the article talks about the intelligence assistance provided to make Sinwar's death an evidence-based outcome but can someone please inform Israeli govt and the media because that's certainly not their story. (Eg this Walla Hebrew article)
Interestingly I keep seeing Arab or Palestinian posts (I didn't save because I expected to see it corroborated in the news) with photos of American soldiers in Jabaliya involved in a ops to extract hostages that went badly (among other things the hostages died). I could be missing things though (I'm still mostly afk).
Ken Klippenstein posted those leaked documents: Israel Preps for Strike on Iran, Top Secret Leak Reveals
Interestingly:
The United States aggressively spies on Israel, because as Ronald Reagan once said: “Trust but verify.”
The extent of that spying is revealed in a pair of highly classified U.S. intelligence reports I have published below. They first circulated on social media this week and they provide extraordinary insight into how closely the U.S. is monitoring Israel amid a particularly fraught moment.
Two Top Secret documents outlining Israel’s preparations for a large-scale attack on Iran – which would be Israel’s largest, and here’s what’s most interesting: the mainstream media is silent. Colleagues at some of the biggest media outlets, from The New York Times to NBC, tell me that their outlets are aware of the documents. But it’s been days and no one in the sanctioned elite press is reporting on them (Axios only just reported their existence but declined to publish the documents themselves). As with the J.D. Vance Dossier, which the entire media knew about but refused to publish, it appears the media has once again lost its nerve – and its sense of what’s news.
(...) The first intelligence report is titled, “Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran.” The Top Secret document provides a sense of not just how much the intelligence community knows, but how much it doesn’t know. “We cannot definitively predict the scale and scope of a strike on Iran, and such a strike can occur with no further GEOINT warning,” the report states.
(...) The second intelligence report is titled “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise.” The document details Israeli activities during an evident “mission rehearsal” (in U.S. lingo) that could be indicative of how Israel will strike Iran. Citing imagery analysis and other sources, the NGA report notes that the Israeli Air Force is already conducting covert drone operations over Iran (evidently doing its own spying), and how, as part of Israeli Air Force activity, has been handling air-launched ballistic missiles and other weapons.
UN : Freedom of expression also under fire in Gaza war, rights expert says - “Rarely have we seen – and this is what bothers me - extensive patterns of unlawful, discriminatory and disproportionate restriction by States and private actors on freedom of expression,” said Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur mandated to promote and protect this right globally.
Ms. Khan briefed journalists at UN Headquarters on her latest report, which she had presented to the UN General Assembly the previous day.
It documents severe restrictions of violations of freedom of expression arising from the conflict, including the killing of journalists in Gaza, the crushing of protests worldwide, and the silencing of artists and scholars.
404: This Is Exactly How an Elon Musk-Funded PAC Is Microtargeting Muslims and Jews With Opposing Messages
I'm not a subscriber so I can't see the rest of the report - not sure if Russia is involved. I'm sure that would be validating to some.
Discontent Deepens Among Guardian Staff Over Palestine ‘Double Standard’
Six Guardian journalists who spoke to Novara Media said they understood why Viner had resisted Abulhawa’s use of the term “holocaust”; doing so would have kicked off a media storm. What they don’t understand is why Viner seems happy to repeatedly weather such storms for advocates of Israel. This, they suggest, points to a pattern of deference towards the paper’s pro-Israel critics, one that has shifted only slightly as Israel’s assault on Gaza has intensified.
“Is the Guardian more worried about the reaction to what is said about Israel than Palestine? Absolutely,” said one long-serving staff member.
(...) After 7 October, staff say that the Guardian’s editor-in-chief has maintained a vice-like grip over the paper’s output on Israel and Palestine – or at least one side of it. Some desks say that in the initial weeks and months following the Hamas attack, every piece on the subject was sent to Viner for approval, delaying and sometimes halting publication.
“Everything is scrutinised,” said one senior staff member. “You’re under such an amount of suffocating control, it’s like throwing sand in the gears [to] deliberately… frustrate the smooth running [of the paper].”
In two cases, Viner overruled section editors to withdraw pieces by Palestinian contributors, Abulhawa and Dylan Saba. Both were commissioned by the Guardian US, whose distance from the paper’s London headquarters has emboldened it to push left on certain issues where the UK edition tends right (notably gender, though also Palestine).
(...) One senior staffer pointed out that Viner’s control is not exercised consistently, however – “only if you’re publishing something critical of Israel.”
I resigned from Canada’s largest broadcasting corporation over its complicity in Israel’s genocide -
I resigned from CBC after voicing my concerns over their coverage of Palestine. I have since seen how the CBC's policy on impartiality helped manufacture consent for genocide.
+972: The ‘pact of silence’ between Israelis and their media -
Israel’s long-subservient media has spent the past year imbuing the public with a sense of righteousness over the Gaza war. Reversing this indoctrination, says media observer Oren Persico, could take decades.
I don't doubt they're subservient - I've been tracking the papers a bit too. But if that is so then what the hell can I call the Western media then?
Back in Palestine: Israel stops processing key commercial food imports to Gaza, sources say
Israel has stopped processing requests from traders to import food to Gaza, according to 12 people involved in the trade, choking off a track that for the past six months supplied more than half of the besieged Palestinian territory's provisions.
Since Oct. 11, Gaza-based traders who were importing food from Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank have lost access to a system introduced in spring by Cogat, the Israeli government body that oversees aid and commercial shipments, and have received no reply to attempts to contact the agency, the sources said.
The shift has driven the flow of goods arriving in Gaza to its lowest level since the start of the war, a Reuters analysis of official Israeli data shows. The details of the halt in commercial goods into Gaza have not been previously reported.
‘I hate the night’: life in Gaza amid the incessant sounds of war - visual story
Oxfam condemns killing of water engineers in Gaza
posted by cendawanita at 10:12 PM on October 19 [14 favorites]
Days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Pentagon quietly dispatched several dozen commandos to Israel to help advise on hostage recovery efforts, U.S. officials said
because of course it did. After all, sending military advisers to counter a local insurgency on the basis of an ideological misread has been a move that's historically worked out so well for the US.
posted by flabdablet at 10:57 PM on October 19 [8 favorites]
because of course it did. After all, sending military advisers to counter a local insurgency on the basis of an ideological misread has been a move that's historically worked out so well for the US.
posted by flabdablet at 10:57 PM on October 19 [8 favorites]
"Barak Ravid is an Israeli spy – or at least he was until recently. Ravid is a former analyst with Israeli spying agency Unit 8200" (via wikileaks twitter)
posted by jeffburdges at 12:51 PM on October 20 [2 favorites]
posted by jeffburdges at 12:51 PM on October 20 [2 favorites]
(MintPress are pro-Russia and -Iran conspiracy theorists)
posted by BungaDunga at 4:56 PM on October 20 [1 favorite]
posted by BungaDunga at 4:56 PM on October 20 [1 favorite]
(MintPress are pro-Russia and -Iran conspiracy theorists)
And? Mainstream Western media are generally highly unreliable and grossly biased on issues relating to Israel; Zionists and Israeli partisans are widely represented at most major news institutions, from the New York Times to the Washington Post to CNN, ABC, etc., so by your metric their information is also ipso facto unreliable. Ravid's service in Unit 8200 is a matter of record (see for instance here and here). Do you have anything to contribute that isn't attacking the messenger?
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:36 PM on October 20 [5 favorites]
And? Mainstream Western media are generally highly unreliable and grossly biased on issues relating to Israel; Zionists and Israeli partisans are widely represented at most major news institutions, from the New York Times to the Washington Post to CNN, ABC, etc., so by your metric their information is also ipso facto unreliable. Ravid's service in Unit 8200 is a matter of record (see for instance here and here). Do you have anything to contribute that isn't attacking the messenger?
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 5:36 PM on October 20 [5 favorites]
A 22 year old woman who survived the Hamas attack on October 7 took her own life on her birthday. Her family blames the government for not providing support for her PTSD - Eyal said that when he noticed her withdrawing from people and asked her to seek help, she replied that she had not received any help from the state, and that any assistance she had received had come from the grassroots Tribe of Nova Community association, founded by fellow survivors and relatives of victims following the attack.
Israeli hostage families demand an end to the war and a hostage deal ungated - In a joint statement outside the defense ministry and ahead of the protests, the families said that "the goal of the war – creating conditions for the return of hostages – has been achieved; now we must secure a deal to bring everyone home."
"After a year of Netanyahu ruthlessly obstructing the return of hostages, it's time to present a new Israeli initiative for their release and to end the war. We see signs that he wants to prolong the conflict, while his allies are focused on establishing settlements in Gaza instead of leveraging the gains to return our loved ones through a deal," they added.
posted by toastyk at 5:57 PM on October 20 [8 favorites]
Israeli hostage families demand an end to the war and a hostage deal ungated - In a joint statement outside the defense ministry and ahead of the protests, the families said that "the goal of the war – creating conditions for the return of hostages – has been achieved; now we must secure a deal to bring everyone home."
"After a year of Netanyahu ruthlessly obstructing the return of hostages, it's time to present a new Israeli initiative for their release and to end the war. We see signs that he wants to prolong the conflict, while his allies are focused on establishing settlements in Gaza instead of leveraging the gains to return our loved ones through a deal," they added.
posted by toastyk at 5:57 PM on October 20 [8 favorites]
FT: Harvard donations drop sharply in wake of criticism over Israel protests
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 8:28 AM on October 21 [1 favorite]
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 8:28 AM on October 21 [1 favorite]
> FT: Harvard donations drop sharply in wake of criticism over Israel protests
past the paywall.
It's not clear to me from the article why the donations fell. Is it people mad that there are pro-Palestine protests, or people mad that protest is being squashed in an authoritarian way. Or do they even really know the answer? Equity markets struggled last year a lot, so rich people in general were tightening their belts.
posted by dis_integration at 9:54 AM on October 21 [2 favorites]
past the paywall.
Overall gifts to the western world’s wealthiest university dropped to $896mn from $1.05bn a year ago, as outrage over campus protests led to the resignation of president Claudine Gay.I'm playing a very tiny violin about this.
It's not clear to me from the article why the donations fell. Is it people mad that there are pro-Palestine protests, or people mad that protest is being squashed in an authoritarian way. Or do they even really know the answer? Equity markets struggled last year a lot, so rich people in general were tightening their belts.
posted by dis_integration at 9:54 AM on October 21 [2 favorites]
Is it people mad that there are pro-Palestine protests
It's crybully Zionist assholes like Bill Ackman withholding donations because they claim students protesting genocide are antisemites.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 9:56 AM on October 21 [3 favorites]
It's crybully Zionist assholes like Bill Ackman withholding donations because they claim students protesting genocide are antisemites.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 9:56 AM on October 21 [3 favorites]
CNN has an article on the trauma and PTSD from IDF soldiers returning home: The former soldier has spoken publicly about the psychological trauma endured by Israeli troops in Gaza. In a testimony to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in June, Zaken said that on many occasions, soldiers had to “run over terrorists, dead and alive, in the hundreds.”
“Everything squirts out,” he added.
Zaken says he can no longer eat meat, as it reminds him of the gruesome scenes he witnessed from his bulldozer in Gaza, and struggles to sleep at night, the sound of explosions ringing in his head.
Also helpful from CNN - a list of where Israel gets its weapons: The United States is overwhelmingly the biggest supplier of arms to Israel. In 2023 69% of Israel’s arm imports came from the US, according to a report into international arms transfers by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Germany was the second largest, providing 30%, followed by Italy with 0.9%. The UK, France and Spain were among other minor contributors.
From the Al-Jazeera live-blog - Israel rejects UN’s request to access Jabalia and apologizes for a strike that killed 3 Lebanese soldiers, saying they were targeting Hezbollah.
Israel gave the White House its demands for ending the war in Lebanon (ungated) - which includes control over Lebanese airspace, and "active enforcement" from IDF in South Lebanon to ensure Hezbollah doesn't rebuild.
posted by toastyk at 10:43 AM on October 21 [8 favorites]
“Everything squirts out,” he added.
Zaken says he can no longer eat meat, as it reminds him of the gruesome scenes he witnessed from his bulldozer in Gaza, and struggles to sleep at night, the sound of explosions ringing in his head.
Also helpful from CNN - a list of where Israel gets its weapons: The United States is overwhelmingly the biggest supplier of arms to Israel. In 2023 69% of Israel’s arm imports came from the US, according to a report into international arms transfers by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Germany was the second largest, providing 30%, followed by Italy with 0.9%. The UK, France and Spain were among other minor contributors.
From the Al-Jazeera live-blog - Israel rejects UN’s request to access Jabalia and apologizes for a strike that killed 3 Lebanese soldiers, saying they were targeting Hezbollah.
Israel gave the White House its demands for ending the war in Lebanon (ungated) - which includes control over Lebanese airspace, and "active enforcement" from IDF in South Lebanon to ensure Hezbollah doesn't rebuild.
posted by toastyk at 10:43 AM on October 21 [8 favorites]
Zaken says he can no longer eat meat, as it reminds him of the gruesome scenes he witnessed from his bulldozer in Gaza
IDF bulldozer driver who literally squashed people to death with his vehicle? Hope he has traumatic nightmares for the rest of his life, sorry.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:05 AM on October 21 [7 favorites]
IDF bulldozer driver who literally squashed people to death with his vehicle? Hope he has traumatic nightmares for the rest of his life, sorry.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 11:05 AM on October 21 [7 favorites]
I am in no hurry to rush to judgment on this sort of thing, I wonder how it is to be a young person in Israel.. is it possible to opt out of service entirely? I thought service in the IDF or some IDF-supporting entity was mandatory for all but the ultra orthodox in Israel, though I'm not sure.
You are born where you're born, it's hard to imagine what I'd do if I was born into that world. But yeah, that is a hell on earth happening over there and it's creating hell for the people creating the hell, and on and on. We are all changed by this, it's a fucking wound in the world. "The world doesn't care" I can get that, I just feel like we need to live our lives as if the world cares, and even try to believe it cares.
I cannot find a sharable clip of a CTV (Canadian news media) interview with a Palestinian man, on the one year anniversary of Oct. 07th. Credit to them, they did not devote the entire coverage to how this was horrific for Israel. The man's quiet but visible anger, just the totally inadequate questions--any questions, if they're coming from a Canadian news person sitting in Toronto somewhere--the way this horror can be ignored by so many.
Anyhow, mostly I come here to find information and I'm grateful for what others are sharing, but it's a kind of hell
posted by ginger.beef at 11:51 AM on October 21 [1 favorite]
You are born where you're born, it's hard to imagine what I'd do if I was born into that world. But yeah, that is a hell on earth happening over there and it's creating hell for the people creating the hell, and on and on. We are all changed by this, it's a fucking wound in the world. "The world doesn't care" I can get that, I just feel like we need to live our lives as if the world cares, and even try to believe it cares.
I cannot find a sharable clip of a CTV (Canadian news media) interview with a Palestinian man, on the one year anniversary of Oct. 07th. Credit to them, they did not devote the entire coverage to how this was horrific for Israel. The man's quiet but visible anger, just the totally inadequate questions--any questions, if they're coming from a Canadian news person sitting in Toronto somewhere--the way this horror can be ignored by so many.
Anyhow, mostly I come here to find information and I'm grateful for what others are sharing, but it's a kind of hell
posted by ginger.beef at 11:51 AM on October 21 [1 favorite]
I am in no hurry to rush to judgment on this sort of thing, I wonder how it is to be a young person in Israel.. is it possible to opt out of service entirely? I thought service in the IDF or some IDF-supporting entity was mandatory for all but the ultra orthodox in Israel, though I'm not sure.
Military service was mandatory in Nazi Germany, too, and some Waffen-SS were conscripts. I don't have sympathy for them, either, and I don't view IDF soldiers participating in atrocities any differently; "I was just following orders" is not a reasonable defence to participation in genocide.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:17 PM on October 21 [5 favorites]
Military service was mandatory in Nazi Germany, too, and some Waffen-SS were conscripts. I don't have sympathy for them, either, and I don't view IDF soldiers participating in atrocities any differently; "I was just following orders" is not a reasonable defence to participation in genocide.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 12:17 PM on October 21 [5 favorites]
Although IDF service is mandatory, people can still refuse - they just have to be ok with the consequences, which can include being in prison. Very famously, one Taylor Swift Twitter fan account went silent - and when she returned, confirmed that she had spent 2 months in an Israeli military prison.
After Oct 7, a few Israeli teenagers refused to serve in the military, citing their objections to war and apartheid.
More recently, 130 Israeli soldiers are refusing to serve until the government makes a hostage deal to bring them home.
posted by toastyk at 12:20 PM on October 21 [10 favorites]
After Oct 7, a few Israeli teenagers refused to serve in the military, citing their objections to war and apartheid.
More recently, 130 Israeli soldiers are refusing to serve until the government makes a hostage deal to bring them home.
posted by toastyk at 12:20 PM on October 21 [10 favorites]
A couple conversations I've listened to lately with Ta-Nehisi Coates:
Ta-Nehisi Coates had a long discussion with Trevor Noah and Christiana Mbakwe-Medina and it is very good. It is not only about this conflict but discussions of identity formation and state building are related.
TNC was also on Jewish Currents Live. This one obviously focuses more on Israel/Palestine. I found the short section about what we lose because Palestinian voices are so thoroughly ignored or outright repressed in US public discourse. The overall discussion is very much, for lack of a better word, humanizing. TNC in every interview I've seen has been unwilling to budge that human life is sacred.
I drop these here and not the TNC thread because of the discussions of how we need more people who aren't maintaining the usual lines to be heard, even if it is soldiers who have done awful things and feel horrible from it. Better that then yet more awful statements from the powerful that we've heard before. I too find it hard to find sympathy but I still try to find a little because every life is sacred and all of us in the right circumstances are capable of horror.
posted by R343L at 12:32 PM on October 21 [6 favorites]
Ta-Nehisi Coates had a long discussion with Trevor Noah and Christiana Mbakwe-Medina and it is very good. It is not only about this conflict but discussions of identity formation and state building are related.
TNC was also on Jewish Currents Live. This one obviously focuses more on Israel/Palestine. I found the short section about what we lose because Palestinian voices are so thoroughly ignored or outright repressed in US public discourse. The overall discussion is very much, for lack of a better word, humanizing. TNC in every interview I've seen has been unwilling to budge that human life is sacred.
I drop these here and not the TNC thread because of the discussions of how we need more people who aren't maintaining the usual lines to be heard, even if it is soldiers who have done awful things and feel horrible from it. Better that then yet more awful statements from the powerful that we've heard before. I too find it hard to find sympathy but I still try to find a little because every life is sacred and all of us in the right circumstances are capable of horror.
posted by R343L at 12:32 PM on October 21 [6 favorites]
Military service was mandatory in Nazi Germany, too, and some Waffen-SS were conscripts. I don't have sympathy for them, either, and I don't view IDF soldiers participating in atrocities any differently; "I was just following orders" is not a reasonable defence to participation in genocide.
The world isn't neatly divided in to victims and victimizers. Having done something horrible doesn't annihilate someone's moral worth or their capacity to be better or to live a life of value and meaning. A person in pain is a person in pain, no matter what they have done. right now, the focus of the world should be on the people suffering genocide and doing whatever it takes to stop it. But there are going to be a lot of broken people in the aftermath of this, psychologically and spiritually, I don't think declaring some of them deserve it and leaving them to lives of despair is the right thing to do.
posted by pattern juggler at 12:37 PM on October 21 [6 favorites]
The world isn't neatly divided in to victims and victimizers. Having done something horrible doesn't annihilate someone's moral worth or their capacity to be better or to live a life of value and meaning. A person in pain is a person in pain, no matter what they have done. right now, the focus of the world should be on the people suffering genocide and doing whatever it takes to stop it. But there are going to be a lot of broken people in the aftermath of this, psychologically and spiritually, I don't think declaring some of them deserve it and leaving them to lives of despair is the right thing to do.
posted by pattern juggler at 12:37 PM on October 21 [6 favorites]
But there are going to be a lot of broken people in the aftermath of this, psychologically and spiritually, I don't think declaring some of them deserve it and leaving them to lives of despair is the right thing to do.
i agree with this on paper but there are a lot of confounding factors, and CNN reporting on the trauma of IDF personnel while the IDF haven't even stopped genociding smells a bit like groundwork for the impending mass campaign of infuriating double standards and bad excuses to help us all acquiesce to what's likely to happen when it's over, which is: no accountability whatsoever for a bunch of war criminals.
posted by busted_crayons at 1:30 PM on October 21 [8 favorites]
i agree with this on paper but there are a lot of confounding factors, and CNN reporting on the trauma of IDF personnel while the IDF haven't even stopped genociding smells a bit like groundwork for the impending mass campaign of infuriating double standards and bad excuses to help us all acquiesce to what's likely to happen when it's over, which is: no accountability whatsoever for a bunch of war criminals.
posted by busted_crayons at 1:30 PM on October 21 [8 favorites]
I think the actual answer is: moral injury is real, but you need to take accountability for what you've done in order to heal from it first, and reporting on the trauma without calling it moral injury is not just irresponsible it's also bad reporting.
posted by corb at 2:26 PM on October 21 [11 favorites]
posted by corb at 2:26 PM on October 21 [11 favorites]
The quote that stood out from me from that piece was: "For many, the transition from the battlefield back to civilian life can be overwhelming, especially after urban warfare that involves the deaths of women and children, Bregman said. “How can you put your children to bed when, you know, you saw children killed in Gaza?” "
Seeing children killed without anyone doing the killing, apparently.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:52 PM on October 21 [8 favorites]
Seeing children killed without anyone doing the killing, apparently.
posted by BungaDunga at 2:52 PM on October 21 [8 favorites]
Seeing children killed without anyone doing the killing, apparently.
Always the passive voice, where Israel is concerned.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 2:59 PM on October 21 [5 favorites]
Always the passive voice, where Israel is concerned.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 2:59 PM on October 21 [5 favorites]
I think the timing may be related, because Sina Toossi had a whole thread summarizing this Ha-Makom article in Hebrew about the sad soldiers traumatized over their actions. I am habituated to feel sympathy though - after all I grew up on such great movies like Rambo, Born on the Fourth of July, and Zero Dark Thirty.
A very important piece: an Israeli outlet reports severe morale loss and exhaustion among soldiers, with many now refusing to serve.
Based on interviews with soldiers and families across units, it's described as a "suppressed but growing phenomenon."
Other bits:
- In September, the Nahal Brigade began its 11th round of combat in Gaza, but out of a platoon of 30 soldiers, only 6 showed up—the rest claimed medical exemptions.
- "They keep going back to the same buildings they’ve already cleared, only to find them booby-trapped again. In the Zaytoun neighborhood alone, they've been there three times. They understand it’s pointless."
- One IDF soldier explains that the growing shortage of manpower means missions are "done halfway."
He adds, "The platoons are empty; those who aren’t dead or physically wounded are mentally broken. Very few come back to fight, and even they aren’t fully okay."
- "I don't know with what army they think they'll enter Lebanon, because there is no army. I'm not going back to the battalion."
- The article states that this a suppressed but growing phenomenon of soldiers refusing to fight. The unity and sense of mission that once drove them has faded. "They fought until their last ounce of strength, but reached a point where they just couldn’t continue."
- "When they had to return to places we’d already been, like Jabalia, Zeitoun, and Shuja'iyya, it broke them," one parent explained.
- The article states that most of these soldiers refusing to serve (under medical exemptions) aren’t being sent to jail, and the whole situation is being kept quiet.
- One Israeli soldier says: At a certain point, we were all exhausted & couldn’t see the purpose in going back to places we’d already been...Eventually, I stopped feeling anything. I lost faith in the system & no longer believed in what we were doing.
- One father says, "The only way to stop this downward spiral or get some rest is to say, 'I refuse,' and then you're instantly treated like the most humiliated person on earth...It doesn’t matter what you’ve sacrificed, what you’ve been through, or what you’ve done."
- A similar situation is unfolding with soldiers entering Lebanon. Exhausted, hundreds of paratroopers recently united to fight for "their rights", expressing anger, frustration, and distress over the lack of understanding about their urgent need for rest at home. Stunningly, these paratroopers entering Lebanon are being threatened with fines for military equipment lost or destroyed on October 7 or during the fighting and are denied new equipment until they sign that they are responsible for the loss.
Never fear. Fresh American labour is here.
Re: that CNN article - Editor’s note: This story contains details of suicide and violence that some readers may find upsetting.
"violence" is such a great catch-all that I wonder why the suicide needs special mention.
The editor’s note on this story has been updated.
Oh. Lol.
posted by cendawanita at 3:59 PM on October 21 [8 favorites]
A very important piece: an Israeli outlet reports severe morale loss and exhaustion among soldiers, with many now refusing to serve.
Based on interviews with soldiers and families across units, it's described as a "suppressed but growing phenomenon."
Other bits:
- In September, the Nahal Brigade began its 11th round of combat in Gaza, but out of a platoon of 30 soldiers, only 6 showed up—the rest claimed medical exemptions.
- "They keep going back to the same buildings they’ve already cleared, only to find them booby-trapped again. In the Zaytoun neighborhood alone, they've been there three times. They understand it’s pointless."
- One IDF soldier explains that the growing shortage of manpower means missions are "done halfway."
He adds, "The platoons are empty; those who aren’t dead or physically wounded are mentally broken. Very few come back to fight, and even they aren’t fully okay."
- "I don't know with what army they think they'll enter Lebanon, because there is no army. I'm not going back to the battalion."
- The article states that this a suppressed but growing phenomenon of soldiers refusing to fight. The unity and sense of mission that once drove them has faded. "They fought until their last ounce of strength, but reached a point where they just couldn’t continue."
- "When they had to return to places we’d already been, like Jabalia, Zeitoun, and Shuja'iyya, it broke them," one parent explained.
- The article states that most of these soldiers refusing to serve (under medical exemptions) aren’t being sent to jail, and the whole situation is being kept quiet.
- One Israeli soldier says: At a certain point, we were all exhausted & couldn’t see the purpose in going back to places we’d already been...Eventually, I stopped feeling anything. I lost faith in the system & no longer believed in what we were doing.
- One father says, "The only way to stop this downward spiral or get some rest is to say, 'I refuse,' and then you're instantly treated like the most humiliated person on earth...It doesn’t matter what you’ve sacrificed, what you’ve been through, or what you’ve done."
- A similar situation is unfolding with soldiers entering Lebanon. Exhausted, hundreds of paratroopers recently united to fight for "their rights", expressing anger, frustration, and distress over the lack of understanding about their urgent need for rest at home. Stunningly, these paratroopers entering Lebanon are being threatened with fines for military equipment lost or destroyed on October 7 or during the fighting and are denied new equipment until they sign that they are responsible for the loss.
Never fear. Fresh American labour is here.
Re: that CNN article - Editor’s note: This story contains details of suicide and violence that some readers may find upsetting.
"violence" is such a great catch-all that I wonder why the suicide needs special mention.
The editor’s note on this story has been updated.
Oh. Lol.
posted by cendawanita at 3:59 PM on October 21 [8 favorites]
war always traumatizes the invaders even in victory , who bring their trauma home and repeat the horrors in different ways long after the war.
war: it’s bad for everyone, don’t do it
posted by dis_integration at 4:07 PM on October 21 [3 favorites]
war: it’s bad for everyone, don’t do it
posted by dis_integration at 4:07 PM on October 21 [3 favorites]
Reminded of the first articles reporting on the IDF's use of human shields which also details complaints from lower-level soldiers being ordered to use them, and presumably becoming unhappy with it to the point of talking to the journalists:
Many soldiers felt uncomfortable about this, demanded answers and even shouted, said a person who was near one of the Gazans. "Most of them realized there was a problematic incident here, and it was hard for them to process," he said.posted by BungaDunga at 4:17 PM on October 21 [5 favorites]
He added: "One of the commanders turned to one of the combat soldiers who tried to receive answers and told him: 'You don't agree that the lives of your friends are much more important than their lives? And isn't it better that our friends will live and not be blown up by an explosive device, and that they get blown up by an explosive device?"
This soldier said that the commander's comment was made with such aggressiveness that it was clear that there was little room for the troops to express doubts...
many soldiers still have harsh feelings. "You keep quiet and try to convince yourself, 'Yalla, okay, let's use them.' They tried to explain it rationally, but in the end a 16-year-old kid is sitting there handcuffed inside the house with his eyes covered," a person who was there said.
I was checking the QTs and apparently Ynet (Hebrew) is reporting something similar for the Lebanon deployment. Which makes me conclude that these are also cowardly on balance (rather like rallying against Bibi but being for the wars and occupation and apartheid) because if it's impacting logistics to such an extent, it might explain the usage of bombs and air strikes (maximum kill; minimum effort). Something to consider in the wake of news of the IDF bombing Hezb banks (of course; god forbid someone bomb a similar network of American financial institutions because it was started and run by Christian supremacists) or the continued bombings of Palestine.
IDGI but I happen to see Palestinians as also people: Israel releases footage of its military rounding up Palestinians in Gaza
Phew, via BM: "His uncle Muhammad told us what they did to him: the soldiers forced him to lie on his stomach on the bathroom floor in his house and injected sugar, hot pepper and sage into his anus"
I barely saw anything about it here, but three nights ago the IDF went on a brutal nightly terror campaign in al-Fawwar refugee camp, near Hebron.
Gideon Levy wrote about it on Ha'aretz (in Hebrew only unfortunately)
That's so sad, I think I just found someone in the mirror image who can't do veganism ever.
Yeehaw, another front: Statement in Response to Attack from Jordan on Israeli Forces
... New year, new you, same mistakes tho #wewilldanceagain: Settler families celebrate Jewish holiday on the border of Gaza
Ewww, "settler Glastonbury".
Axios scoop I guess: U.S. probing alleged human rights violations by Israeli unit at prison camp
Behind the scenes: Two senior Israeli officials tell Axios that last week the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem contacted the Israeli Foreign Ministry and delivered a list of questions regarding several incidents of alleged human right violations by members of "Force 100."
- The U.S. embassy made clear the questions are part of a review under the Leahy Law, the officials said.
- A second U.S. official tells Axios another set of questions was sent to the Israelis about the unit several months ago.
"It is part of a consultation process we started with the Israelis about this unit as part of our Leahey Law agreement," the U.S. official said.
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem did not respond to questions on the issue.
Spoilers I think: "Blinken determined last April that the battalion had committed gross human rights violations, but found that the IDF had taken action to address the U.S. concerns."
posted by cendawanita at 4:26 PM on October 21 [8 favorites]
IDGI but I happen to see Palestinians as also people: Israel releases footage of its military rounding up Palestinians in Gaza
Phew, via BM: "His uncle Muhammad told us what they did to him: the soldiers forced him to lie on his stomach on the bathroom floor in his house and injected sugar, hot pepper and sage into his anus"
I barely saw anything about it here, but three nights ago the IDF went on a brutal nightly terror campaign in al-Fawwar refugee camp, near Hebron.
Gideon Levy wrote about it on Ha'aretz (in Hebrew only unfortunately)
That's so sad, I think I just found someone in the mirror image who can't do veganism ever.
Yeehaw, another front: Statement in Response to Attack from Jordan on Israeli Forces
... New year, new you, same mistakes tho #wewilldanceagain: Settler families celebrate Jewish holiday on the border of Gaza
Ewww, "settler Glastonbury".
Axios scoop I guess: U.S. probing alleged human rights violations by Israeli unit at prison camp
Behind the scenes: Two senior Israeli officials tell Axios that last week the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem contacted the Israeli Foreign Ministry and delivered a list of questions regarding several incidents of alleged human right violations by members of "Force 100."
- The U.S. embassy made clear the questions are part of a review under the Leahy Law, the officials said.
- A second U.S. official tells Axios another set of questions was sent to the Israelis about the unit several months ago.
"It is part of a consultation process we started with the Israelis about this unit as part of our Leahey Law agreement," the U.S. official said.
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem did not respond to questions on the issue.
Spoilers I think: "Blinken determined last April that the battalion had committed gross human rights violations, but found that the IDF had taken action to address the U.S. concerns."
posted by cendawanita at 4:26 PM on October 21 [8 favorites]
Oh about the soldier who committed suicide, with video, Mohammad Alsaafin:
The mass killer whose suicide CNN thinks might be upsetting to its readers, was on Israeli TV with his co-driver a few months ago bragging about destroying 5,000 Palestinian homes by themselves
posted by cendawanita at 4:44 PM on October 21 [11 favorites]
The mass killer whose suicide CNN thinks might be upsetting to its readers, was on Israeli TV with his co-driver a few months ago bragging about destroying 5,000 Palestinian homes by themselves
posted by cendawanita at 4:44 PM on October 21 [11 favorites]
Some US-centric news:
DropHillel is a Jewish-led movement for universities to divest/cut ties with Hillel - Jewish students and our friends must be able to observe shabbat, celebrate holidays, form cultural communities, and engage with our Judaism on our own terms. We can no longer be forced to choose between a false dichotomy of being involved with robust, well-resourced Jewish life and staying true to our liberatory values and solidarity with movements of all oppressed peoples, including Palestinians. In creating parallel community structures along these lines, we can weaken Hillel’s grip on Jewish campus life, building liberation as we dismantle oppression. (Also, reminder, there's DroptheADL.)
DOJ lawyers press Merrick Garland to investigate Israel's killing of American citizens - although given Garland's track record on Trump, I don't honestly see much happening. Is this going to do anything?
UCLA students set up a Gaza Solidarity Sukkot Encampment today - DailyBruin has a liveblog. Anyway, remember the last time, when UCLA students got attacked by counter-protesters? There have now been charges filed against 4 of the counter-protesters - After six months, per the report, two individuals have been arrested on felony charges and their primary hearings have been set. Two other individuals have arrest warrants that are being processed through the District Attorney’s office. Of the two, one arrest warrant is for a felony count and the second, which was originally a felony warrant, has been lowered to a misdemeanor charge.
Rep Jim McGovern leads 64 House Democrats in calling for unimpeded media access to Gaza for US and international journalists - great, but again, is this going to actually do anything?
Meta's Israel policy chief tried to suppress pro-Palestinian Instagram posts - In an interview with the paper, she explained, “My job is to represent Facebook to Israel, and represent Israel to Facebook.” In a follow-up interview for the Post’s YouTube channel, Cutler added that “inside the company, part of my job is to be a representative for the people of Israeli, [a] voice of the government for their concerns inside of our company.” Asked “Do they listen?” by the show’s host, Cutler replied, “Of course they do, and I think that’s one of the most exciting parts about my job, that I have an opportunity to really influence the way that we look at policy and explain things on the ground.”
Al-Jazeera also has a short documentary on Meta's censorship of Palestinian content.
posted by toastyk at 9:17 PM on October 21 [10 favorites]
DropHillel is a Jewish-led movement for universities to divest/cut ties with Hillel - Jewish students and our friends must be able to observe shabbat, celebrate holidays, form cultural communities, and engage with our Judaism on our own terms. We can no longer be forced to choose between a false dichotomy of being involved with robust, well-resourced Jewish life and staying true to our liberatory values and solidarity with movements of all oppressed peoples, including Palestinians. In creating parallel community structures along these lines, we can weaken Hillel’s grip on Jewish campus life, building liberation as we dismantle oppression. (Also, reminder, there's DroptheADL.)
DOJ lawyers press Merrick Garland to investigate Israel's killing of American citizens - although given Garland's track record on Trump, I don't honestly see much happening. Is this going to do anything?
UCLA students set up a Gaza Solidarity Sukkot Encampment today - DailyBruin has a liveblog. Anyway, remember the last time, when UCLA students got attacked by counter-protesters? There have now been charges filed against 4 of the counter-protesters - After six months, per the report, two individuals have been arrested on felony charges and their primary hearings have been set. Two other individuals have arrest warrants that are being processed through the District Attorney’s office. Of the two, one arrest warrant is for a felony count and the second, which was originally a felony warrant, has been lowered to a misdemeanor charge.
Rep Jim McGovern leads 64 House Democrats in calling for unimpeded media access to Gaza for US and international journalists - great, but again, is this going to actually do anything?
Meta's Israel policy chief tried to suppress pro-Palestinian Instagram posts - In an interview with the paper, she explained, “My job is to represent Facebook to Israel, and represent Israel to Facebook.” In a follow-up interview for the Post’s YouTube channel, Cutler added that “inside the company, part of my job is to be a representative for the people of Israeli, [a] voice of the government for their concerns inside of our company.” Asked “Do they listen?” by the show’s host, Cutler replied, “Of course they do, and I think that’s one of the most exciting parts about my job, that I have an opportunity to really influence the way that we look at policy and explain things on the ground.”
Al-Jazeera also has a short documentary on Meta's censorship of Palestinian content.
posted by toastyk at 9:17 PM on October 21 [10 favorites]
Death of soldier reopens debate about citizenship for non-Jewish Hebrew Israelites -
Elishai Young, 19, who fell in Gaza, had not yet completed the 18 months of active duty needed for him, his mother, and his special needs brother to obtain Israeli citizenship
God forbid if Palestinians want to apply or even convert into Judaism tho.
Anyway: State of emergency in Israel’s Tel Aviv as Hezbollah claims attacks
posted by cendawanita at 2:08 AM on October 22 [7 favorites]
Elishai Young, 19, who fell in Gaza, had not yet completed the 18 months of active duty needed for him, his mother, and his special needs brother to obtain Israeli citizenship
God forbid if Palestinians want to apply or even convert into Judaism tho.
Anyway: State of emergency in Israel’s Tel Aviv as Hezbollah claims attacks
posted by cendawanita at 2:08 AM on October 22 [7 favorites]
Self-defence going gud: 'This is our land, we deserve it': Dozens of Israelis planning to cross border and settle in Gaza - When asked what should happen to the Palestinians currently living in the territory, one Israeli woman replied: "We should kill them. Every last one of them."
Israeli Settlers Recruit Reservists to Guard West Bank Outposts and Help Form New Ones -
Settlers are posting help-wanted ads on WhatsApp, where they make clear that they're the ones who'll be giving the orders to the soldiers. The army declined to say how many troops had been allocated to such tasks (ungated)
I can see why the impunity though: Britain not reviewing Israel's conduct in Lebanon for arms export decisions -
Arms control experts say the UK appears to have 'exempted itself from international law'
In the meantime: Australia to review all 66 military export permits to Israel approved before Gaza conflict
Don’t Believe the U.S.–Israel Fantasy for Lebanon -
Israel and the United States are already speaking about a Lebanon post-Hezbollah. They’re getting way ahead of themselves.
I love euphemisms: The Israeli-American Businessman Pitching a $200 Million Plan to Deploy Mercenaries to Gaza -
Moti Kahana says he's talking to the Israeli government about creating a pilot program for "gated communities" controlled by private U.S. security forces.
The Israeli government is actively considering a plan to deploy operatives from private U.S. logistics and security companies in the Gaza Strip under the auspices of delivering humanitarian aid, according to Israeli media reports. Israel’s security cabinet convened Sunday evening to discuss the proposal and is expected to approve a “pilot” program and begin conducting test runs in the next two months, according to Israeli media reports. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “agreed to examine” the plan last week, according to Haaretz.
The media reports portray the plan as the brainchild of Israeli-American businessman Mordechai “Moti” Kahana, the CEO of Global Delivery Company (GDC), who describes his for-profit business as “Uber for War Zones.” Kahana, a passionate supporter of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, has spent the past year aggressively trying to find a role for his company in Israel’s war on Gaza.
And: US authorizes CIA mercenaries to run biometric concentration camps in Gaza Strip -
A private intelligence corporation billed as "Uber for war zones" is preparing to create what Israel hopes will be the model for supplanting Hamas rule in Gaza.
The plan, approved by White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, calls for the Israeli military to clear out pockets of Palestinian resistance, which it has failed to achieve, demonstrated by the recent killing of Israeli Colonel Ehasn Daksa, the highest ranking officer to lose his life in the year long war.
48 hours after stamping out resistance, they plan to erect separation walls around the neighborhood, forcing its residents, and no one else, to enter and exit using biometric identification under the CIA contractors’ control. Those who do not accept the biometric regime would be refused humanitarian aid.
This plan, first reported by Israeli journalist Shlomi Eldar, allocates $90 million for the residents to rebuild their homes, and calls to appoint a “local sheikh” to the position of "head of the council.”
The plan is a 21st century reboot of Washington’s infamous, failed Strategic Hamlet Program during its war in Vietnam in the 1960s, updated with a modern biometric program the US military-industrial complex has incorporated into its operations since, in particular, the beginning of the so-called “War or Terror.” (The U.S. has even created a little known agency called the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency to advance this).
It's just so normal to think of middle easterners as subjects who can't decide for themselves beyond dinner. And maybe not even then.
Oh, ok: Israel still preventing humanitarian missions to north Gaza, UNRWA says
Probably related to all those intelligence assets being put into service: Revealed: UK military has flown 200 spy missions over Gaza in support of Israel -
British spy planes have recorded up to 1,000 hours of footage over Gaza, including from the day Israel assassinated three UK aid workers.
Does the Biden admin really want to end the war? - A response to Philippe Lemoine's essay.
However, I think that Lemoine misunderstands the Biden administration’s own view of U.S. interests, and the degree to which it’s not just motivated by domestic political pressure. He writes that the idea of President Joe Biden supporting Israel’s current “rampage” is just not, "plausible though, because Israel’s policy has few if any benefits for Washington, whereas it exposes the US a high risk of being dragged into a very costly regional war and will cause massive reputational damage to the US even if that doesn’t happen, not to mention that it has already cost the US billions of dollars in direct and indirect assistance to Israel. Protests by US officials are also consistent with standard US policy and doctrine about Israel, so to assume that in fact they fully back Israel’s rampage in Gaza and Lebanon, one would have to assume that a complete doctrinal reversal has taken place in Washington after October and that’s just not plausible."
Lemoine and I would agree on this view of U.S. interests, but that doesn’t mean the current U.S. leadership does. There is quite strong evidence that the Biden administration — and, of course, the American elite writ large — see Israel crushing its enemies as an end in itself rather than a means to some greater end. They are willing to pay steep costs to accomplish this goal in the same way they would be willing to pay steep costs to defend the territorial integrity of the United States, because they believe that this situation is what having resources is for.
President Joe Biden himself identifies with Israel on a personal, emotional level, and he has repeatedly said so. He thinks that prosecuting this war is a sort of higher moral duty for Americans, and Biden is not the only one to feel that way. (I just got out of a speech in which Trump spokesman turned Biden surrogate Anthony Scaramucci said basically that; he kept bringing World War II, the Holocaust, and his own personal tours of Israel into it.) Meanwhile, figures like White House adviser Brett McGurk have long been attracted to ambitious schemes for reshaping the Middle East as a path to personal glory.
The idea that Washington has undergone more than one “complete doctrinal reversal” over the past few months is not so far fetched. The October 7 attacks had a deep emotional impact on the Biden administration. And in the beginning of the war, U.S. officials were mostly focused on protecting Israel from itself, preventing it from biting off more than it can chew. As they grew more and more confident that Israel’s enemies were on the back foot, they came to embrace more ambitious war goals.
These shifts also point to Lemoine overestimating how much of a coherent, unitary actor “Washington” is. By Politico’s account, which I have no reason to disbelieve, McGurk and U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein quietly, privately encouraged Israel to pursue war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, against the opposition of those in “the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community who believed Israel’s move against the Iran-backed militia could drag American forces into yet another Middle East conflict.”
In other words, U.S. policy emerged from a factional competition in the administration, unrelated to the kind of domestic politics where the Israel Lobby plays a role. Within a Democratic administration, there were hawks more confident that Israel could get away with aggressive military action and doves who were more wary. None of them disagreed fundamentally that Israel’s wars are America’s wars and Israel’s enemies are America’s enemies, because once Israel inflicted started inflicting damage on Hezbollah without taking damage in return, doves lined up behind the hawkish strategy.
(...) None of this is to deny that the Israel Lobby is a real and significant actor. I have written about how well-funded pro-Israel organizations help reproduce elite foreign policy ideology and police the boundaries of the debate. And on the margins, the incentive structure that Lemoine describes does shape the political calculus around this issue. However, the idea that the Biden administration is unwillingly being dragged into Israeli wars is wrong. Whether it’s because of an emotional attachment or delusions of grandeur, a lot of people near the top want this.
posted by cendawanita at 5:31 AM on October 22 [12 favorites]
Israeli Settlers Recruit Reservists to Guard West Bank Outposts and Help Form New Ones -
Settlers are posting help-wanted ads on WhatsApp, where they make clear that they're the ones who'll be giving the orders to the soldiers. The army declined to say how many troops had been allocated to such tasks (ungated)
I can see why the impunity though: Britain not reviewing Israel's conduct in Lebanon for arms export decisions -
Arms control experts say the UK appears to have 'exempted itself from international law'
In the meantime: Australia to review all 66 military export permits to Israel approved before Gaza conflict
Don’t Believe the U.S.–Israel Fantasy for Lebanon -
Israel and the United States are already speaking about a Lebanon post-Hezbollah. They’re getting way ahead of themselves.
I love euphemisms: The Israeli-American Businessman Pitching a $200 Million Plan to Deploy Mercenaries to Gaza -
Moti Kahana says he's talking to the Israeli government about creating a pilot program for "gated communities" controlled by private U.S. security forces.
The Israeli government is actively considering a plan to deploy operatives from private U.S. logistics and security companies in the Gaza Strip under the auspices of delivering humanitarian aid, according to Israeli media reports. Israel’s security cabinet convened Sunday evening to discuss the proposal and is expected to approve a “pilot” program and begin conducting test runs in the next two months, according to Israeli media reports. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “agreed to examine” the plan last week, according to Haaretz.
The media reports portray the plan as the brainchild of Israeli-American businessman Mordechai “Moti” Kahana, the CEO of Global Delivery Company (GDC), who describes his for-profit business as “Uber for War Zones.” Kahana, a passionate supporter of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, has spent the past year aggressively trying to find a role for his company in Israel’s war on Gaza.
And: US authorizes CIA mercenaries to run biometric concentration camps in Gaza Strip -
A private intelligence corporation billed as "Uber for war zones" is preparing to create what Israel hopes will be the model for supplanting Hamas rule in Gaza.
The plan, approved by White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, calls for the Israeli military to clear out pockets of Palestinian resistance, which it has failed to achieve, demonstrated by the recent killing of Israeli Colonel Ehasn Daksa, the highest ranking officer to lose his life in the year long war.
48 hours after stamping out resistance, they plan to erect separation walls around the neighborhood, forcing its residents, and no one else, to enter and exit using biometric identification under the CIA contractors’ control. Those who do not accept the biometric regime would be refused humanitarian aid.
This plan, first reported by Israeli journalist Shlomi Eldar, allocates $90 million for the residents to rebuild their homes, and calls to appoint a “local sheikh” to the position of "head of the council.”
The plan is a 21st century reboot of Washington’s infamous, failed Strategic Hamlet Program during its war in Vietnam in the 1960s, updated with a modern biometric program the US military-industrial complex has incorporated into its operations since, in particular, the beginning of the so-called “War or Terror.” (The U.S. has even created a little known agency called the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency to advance this).
It's just so normal to think of middle easterners as subjects who can't decide for themselves beyond dinner. And maybe not even then.
Oh, ok: Israel still preventing humanitarian missions to north Gaza, UNRWA says
Probably related to all those intelligence assets being put into service: Revealed: UK military has flown 200 spy missions over Gaza in support of Israel -
British spy planes have recorded up to 1,000 hours of footage over Gaza, including from the day Israel assassinated three UK aid workers.
Does the Biden admin really want to end the war? - A response to Philippe Lemoine's essay.
However, I think that Lemoine misunderstands the Biden administration’s own view of U.S. interests, and the degree to which it’s not just motivated by domestic political pressure. He writes that the idea of President Joe Biden supporting Israel’s current “rampage” is just not, "plausible though, because Israel’s policy has few if any benefits for Washington, whereas it exposes the US a high risk of being dragged into a very costly regional war and will cause massive reputational damage to the US even if that doesn’t happen, not to mention that it has already cost the US billions of dollars in direct and indirect assistance to Israel. Protests by US officials are also consistent with standard US policy and doctrine about Israel, so to assume that in fact they fully back Israel’s rampage in Gaza and Lebanon, one would have to assume that a complete doctrinal reversal has taken place in Washington after October and that’s just not plausible."
Lemoine and I would agree on this view of U.S. interests, but that doesn’t mean the current U.S. leadership does. There is quite strong evidence that the Biden administration — and, of course, the American elite writ large — see Israel crushing its enemies as an end in itself rather than a means to some greater end. They are willing to pay steep costs to accomplish this goal in the same way they would be willing to pay steep costs to defend the territorial integrity of the United States, because they believe that this situation is what having resources is for.
President Joe Biden himself identifies with Israel on a personal, emotional level, and he has repeatedly said so. He thinks that prosecuting this war is a sort of higher moral duty for Americans, and Biden is not the only one to feel that way. (I just got out of a speech in which Trump spokesman turned Biden surrogate Anthony Scaramucci said basically that; he kept bringing World War II, the Holocaust, and his own personal tours of Israel into it.) Meanwhile, figures like White House adviser Brett McGurk have long been attracted to ambitious schemes for reshaping the Middle East as a path to personal glory.
The idea that Washington has undergone more than one “complete doctrinal reversal” over the past few months is not so far fetched. The October 7 attacks had a deep emotional impact on the Biden administration. And in the beginning of the war, U.S. officials were mostly focused on protecting Israel from itself, preventing it from biting off more than it can chew. As they grew more and more confident that Israel’s enemies were on the back foot, they came to embrace more ambitious war goals.
These shifts also point to Lemoine overestimating how much of a coherent, unitary actor “Washington” is. By Politico’s account, which I have no reason to disbelieve, McGurk and U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein quietly, privately encouraged Israel to pursue war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, against the opposition of those in “the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community who believed Israel’s move against the Iran-backed militia could drag American forces into yet another Middle East conflict.”
In other words, U.S. policy emerged from a factional competition in the administration, unrelated to the kind of domestic politics where the Israel Lobby plays a role. Within a Democratic administration, there were hawks more confident that Israel could get away with aggressive military action and doves who were more wary. None of them disagreed fundamentally that Israel’s wars are America’s wars and Israel’s enemies are America’s enemies, because once Israel inflicted started inflicting damage on Hezbollah without taking damage in return, doves lined up behind the hawkish strategy.
(...) None of this is to deny that the Israel Lobby is a real and significant actor. I have written about how well-funded pro-Israel organizations help reproduce elite foreign policy ideology and police the boundaries of the debate. And on the margins, the incentive structure that Lemoine describes does shape the political calculus around this issue. However, the idea that the Biden administration is unwillingly being dragged into Israeli wars is wrong. Whether it’s because of an emotional attachment or delusions of grandeur, a lot of people near the top want this.
posted by cendawanita at 5:31 AM on October 22 [12 favorites]
48 hours after stamping out resistance, they plan to erect separation walls around the neighborhood, forcing its residents, and no one else, to enter and exit using biometric identification under the CIA contractors’ control. Those who do not accept the biometric regime would be refused humanitarian aid.
For people who won't stop talking about tunnels, they've got an awfully optimistic view of above-ground walls.
posted by mittens at 6:14 AM on October 22 [5 favorites]
For people who won't stop talking about tunnels, they've got an awfully optimistic view of above-ground walls.
posted by mittens at 6:14 AM on October 22 [5 favorites]
Some Jews leaning towards Trump.
2 weeks ago, Democrats fear Muslim voters breaking away from them.
Harris and Trump are now in a dead heat across 7 battleground states.
If only something could be done.
posted by toastyk at 7:20 AM on October 22 [6 favorites]
2 weeks ago, Democrats fear Muslim voters breaking away from them.
Harris and Trump are now in a dead heat across 7 battleground states.
If only something could be done.
posted by toastyk at 7:20 AM on October 22 [6 favorites]
Mod note: Comment removed. It's absolutely ok to express dislike of the Israeli government, but please avoid hateful language equating them or the state to Nazi's.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 7:59 AM on October 22
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 7:59 AM on October 22
Bullshit. Albert Einstein and Hannah Arendt told us in the New York Fucking Times that Irgun/Likud were the Israeli inheritors of Nazi policies, it is absolutely valid criticism.
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 8:04 AM on October 22 [17 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 8:04 AM on October 22 [17 favorites]
They're ethno-supremacists engaging in genocide of a population they've dehumanised for decades. They've earned the comparison to Nazis.
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 8:04 AM on October 22 [14 favorites]
posted by Pseudonymous Cognomen at 8:04 AM on October 22 [14 favorites]
I think they would invite fewer comparisons to Nazi Germany if they weren't engaged in genocide and ethnic cleansing as part of a war if territorial expansion.
posted by pattern juggler at 8:07 AM on October 22 [17 favorites]
posted by pattern juggler at 8:07 AM on October 22 [17 favorites]
If only something could be done.
of course the issue for Harris electorally is that the Jews in the first link like Trump because of his full-throated endorsement of Israel (the voter they interview "worries that Harris will appease Iran and pander to the party’s left wing."), and the Muslims in the second link are mad at Harris because of her endorsement of Israel.
Hard to imagine a campaign message that will help with both...
posted by BungaDunga at 8:07 AM on October 22 [1 favorite]
of course the issue for Harris electorally is that the Jews in the first link like Trump because of his full-throated endorsement of Israel (the voter they interview "worries that Harris will appease Iran and pander to the party’s left wing."), and the Muslims in the second link are mad at Harris because of her endorsement of Israel.
Hard to imagine a campaign message that will help with both...
posted by BungaDunga at 8:07 AM on October 22 [1 favorite]
Reminder that Jewish community organizations have far more conservative and bigoted politics than most American Jews.
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 8:09 AM on October 22 [9 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 8:09 AM on October 22 [9 favorites]
As in, you could probably condition aid to Israel and ask for a ceasefire and complete withdrawal from Palestinian territory and still get 70%+ of the Jewish vote.
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 8:14 AM on October 22 [6 favorites]
posted by Glegrinof the Pig-Man at 8:14 AM on October 22 [6 favorites]
An investigation into 749 Combat Engineering Battalion’s mission to destroy “the symbols of Gaza’s future.” - At the time of writing, the 749 Battalion is operating in northern Gaza and Jabalia, where, even following Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s killing in southern Gaza, Israel’s campaign has intensified to the point of executions and depopulation. There, the battalion is seemingly racing to destroy as many buildings as possible. As one soldier put it, “We will leave them nothing!”
The images in this investigation come primarily from the group’s own social media page, which Drop Site News gained access to, as well as the personal accounts of dozens of soldiers from various companies within the battalion. By stitching together the information shared within the battalion, we were able to clearly map out the unit’s organizational structure and identify over a hundred of its members.
How Israelis are lured into spying for Iran (ungated) - On Monday, it was revealed that another seven Israelis, from Haifa and northern Israel, are suspected of aiding the enemy during wartime, after allegedly gathering sensitive intelligence for Iran.
The seven, who emigrated from Azerbaijan, are believed to have conducted between 600 and 700 intelligence-gathering missions over the past two years under the guidance of two Iranian intelligence agents, known as "Elkhan" and "Orkhan."
They are also suspected of tracking a senior Israeli official and his son, with the aim of carrying out an assassination.
The arrests reveal that many of those recruited by Iran share a common thread – a desire for easy money, often driven by financial difficulties and marginalization within Israeli society.
Israel confirms death of heir apparent to slain Hezbollah leader, and also Antony Blinken is there to "encourage" a ceasefire.
posted by toastyk at 2:13 PM on October 22 [8 favorites]
The images in this investigation come primarily from the group’s own social media page, which Drop Site News gained access to, as well as the personal accounts of dozens of soldiers from various companies within the battalion. By stitching together the information shared within the battalion, we were able to clearly map out the unit’s organizational structure and identify over a hundred of its members.
How Israelis are lured into spying for Iran (ungated) - On Monday, it was revealed that another seven Israelis, from Haifa and northern Israel, are suspected of aiding the enemy during wartime, after allegedly gathering sensitive intelligence for Iran.
The seven, who emigrated from Azerbaijan, are believed to have conducted between 600 and 700 intelligence-gathering missions over the past two years under the guidance of two Iranian intelligence agents, known as "Elkhan" and "Orkhan."
They are also suspected of tracking a senior Israeli official and his son, with the aim of carrying out an assassination.
The arrests reveal that many of those recruited by Iran share a common thread – a desire for easy money, often driven by financial difficulties and marginalization within Israeli society.
Israel confirms death of heir apparent to slain Hezbollah leader, and also Antony Blinken is there to "encourage" a ceasefire.
posted by toastyk at 2:13 PM on October 22 [8 favorites]
Honestly, it’s fucking horrifying, a number of us got universities to commit to accepting Palestinians from Gaza as students with full scholarships and are now having to ask the horrifying “but how the fuck do we get them out past Israel alive”.
posted by corb at 2:18 PM on October 22 [8 favorites]
posted by corb at 2:18 PM on October 22 [8 favorites]
corb, I'm really sorry you're in that position. I hope you guys are able to figure something out. Let us know if there's maybe something we can possibly do to help.
The IDF is now claiming that 6 Al-Jazeera journalists in Gaza are terrorists.
Jewish Currents provides testimony from 4 Palestinians who left Gaza - Back in Manchester, I still feel a sense of disorientation. I am a jumpy person anyway, but when I hear a chair dragged across the floor, it takes me back to explosions going off. I keep remembering the children from my extended family; I used to take them to the rooftop for some English language practice to try and distract them from the bombings nearby. The look of extreme panic on their faces is one of the most difficult memories I have of being in Gaza. I also feel an extreme sense of cognitive dissonance. I always understood the injustices perpetrated by Israel, but the extent to which its Western backers have enabled what Israel is doing has completely alienated me from institutions of Western power and democracy. I do feel that most of my network has held and understood me, but I also feel like I have become much less accepting of anybody who isn’t vocally supportive of Palestine, or even neutral.
The official page of the 749 Battalion has been deleted after Dropsite News' investigation.
posted by toastyk at 9:35 AM on October 23 [9 favorites]
The IDF is now claiming that 6 Al-Jazeera journalists in Gaza are terrorists.
Jewish Currents provides testimony from 4 Palestinians who left Gaza - Back in Manchester, I still feel a sense of disorientation. I am a jumpy person anyway, but when I hear a chair dragged across the floor, it takes me back to explosions going off. I keep remembering the children from my extended family; I used to take them to the rooftop for some English language practice to try and distract them from the bombings nearby. The look of extreme panic on their faces is one of the most difficult memories I have of being in Gaza. I also feel an extreme sense of cognitive dissonance. I always understood the injustices perpetrated by Israel, but the extent to which its Western backers have enabled what Israel is doing has completely alienated me from institutions of Western power and democracy. I do feel that most of my network has held and understood me, but I also feel like I have become much less accepting of anybody who isn’t vocally supportive of Palestine, or even neutral.
The official page of the 749 Battalion has been deleted after Dropsite News' investigation.
posted by toastyk at 9:35 AM on October 23 [9 favorites]
Gonna see more of this, thanks: West slams China on rights abuses at UN, Beijing fires back with Gaza ‘living hell’ accusation
Great: Banned from France, Israeli defense companies welcomed warmly in DC
I'm still nervous because of the fascist turn the society in general is taking, how with fewer soldiers what happens next tends to be more automated solutions like current air strikes or gas chambers (and they have more resources for this unlike say, the Serbs who escalated still with just plain manual violence): More soldiers sign letter saying they will not serve without a hostage deal -
An additional 15 soldiers warn that they will stop reporting for duty without advancement on a hostage deal
Anyway, 15.
Ok, I have to editorialize because the video does show it but all the BBC writeup here is still carrying water for the IDF justification: BBC tours hospital Israel says sits above millions in Hezbollah gold - no, they didn't find anything. But lord, what the fuck is this: Doctors denied the allegation and took the BBC through the building, including to the first and second level below ground. They insisted there is nothing underneath.
On Monday night the hospital had to evacuate around 50 staff and 15 patients - none of them critical - when Israel made its claim.
Hospital officials have insisted that Al Sahel has no connection with any organisation, or group, or faction.
Journalists aren't just stenographers! Use your senses and report. But you can't. Civilized cowards resorting to "oh they said it," without necessarily agreeing or not one way or another. That's not bothsideism, that's professional capitulation. If hell exists...
Speaking of western journos, Alex Crawford providing context for another incident: IDF spokesman had earlier encouraged journalists to go to the building and even gave directions for entry
The incident: #Hezbollah spox was due to give a press conference at 2pm. 10 mins before the @IDF issued a strike alert for #Beirut buildings >300m away from where scores of journalists were gathering. Hezb spox was rushed away on a bike, media orgs frantically trying to warn colleagues to leave the area.
That was as reported by Leila Molana-Allen from PBS, who is just highlighted in this piece by ABC (Australia) about reporting from Lebanon (video story).
Poor Blinken, can't even secure a PR win: Blinken presses Israel’s Netanyahu on dire conditions in northern Gaza -
Blinken questioned the Israeli leader about a plan backed by some officials to gain control of the north by starving out or killing Palestinians currently there. (ungated)
Blinken and his top aides questioned Netanyahu on Tuesday about a controversial plan backed by some Israeli officials to gain full control of northern Gaza by starving out or killing Palestinians currently there, a proposal known as the “General’s Plan,” a senior State Department official said.
U.S. officials told Netanyahu there is a “perception” that Israel is pursuing a strategy of “isolating the north, telling people that if they don’t leave they’re effectively targets and denying food to go in,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks.
Netanyahu and his top aide Ron Dermer responded that this “was absolutely not our policy” and that the fact that this “perception exists” has been “deeply damaging to us.” U.S. officials then insisted that Netanyahu should “go to greater length” to “say that publicly,” the official said, adding that the Israelis declined to make such a commitment.
This article contextualizes this with the letter sent out earlier, the one, as shared in the current Kamala thread, has been reassured by Richie Torres to voters, to be nothing more than political theatre.
Read that with this Haaretz report: Israel Denies Intentional Displacement of Palestinians in Northern Gaza Amid Western Concerns -
Several Western governments have requested to know whether Israel is attempting the removal of the civilian population in north Gaza. Israel has insisted it's not, but the slow trickle of aid, an extremist army general and lack of reliable information on the ground has left many with serious doubt(ungated)
Which is definitely something to think about, when this one is just straightforward war crimes: Israel launched a dozen attacks on UN troops in Lebanon, says leaked report -
Confidential document says 15 peacekeepers injured by white phosphorus (ungated)
Israel’s military forcibly entered a clearly marked UN base and is suspected of using the incendiary chemical white phosphorus close enough to injure 15 peacekeepers, according to a confidential report outlining a dozen recent incidents in which the IDF attacked international troops in Lebanon.
The report — prepared by a country that contributes troops, and seen by the Financial Times — underscores how Israeli troops have targeted Unifil, the UN-mandated force deployed along the de facto border between the countries, on multiple occasions. They have damaged several facilities and caused injuries to troops stationed at border posts in southern Lebanon.
Notable for the fact that unlike previous reports, this has photos of the infra and personnel damage/injury.
In the meantime: Israel bombs historic Lebanese port city in latest round of attacks -
Civilians flee large swathes of Unesco-listed Tyre as Israeli strikes target residential areas
(I just came back from visiting the ecumenical church for Greek Orthodox Christianity which displayed as one of its relics, a bit from the post where Jesus is said to have been whipped. The other two pieces are in Jerusalem. Random aside, other than it felt like I was somehow on a clock.)
Ireland is now proposing legal provisions to: Today the Government decided that, in light of the Advisory Opinion and the advice of the Attorney General, the [Occupied Territories] Bill will be reviewed and amendments will be prepared in order to bring it into line with the Constitution and EU law [towards trade restrictions].
Now Guardian is reporting it too: Palestinians describe being used as ‘human shields’ by Israeli troops in Gaza -
Detainees say they were sent into unexplored houses and tunnels before soldiers, in violation of Geneva conventions
Kind of craze-inducing to think that this may be what the West Bank and East Jerusalem Palestinians might have to look forward to as well: Gaza parents’ heartbreak as children’s clothes, shoes fall to pieces -
Children are underdressed and exposed to the elements a year into Israel’s war on Gaza.
posted by cendawanita at 10:40 AM on October 23 [11 favorites]
Great: Banned from France, Israeli defense companies welcomed warmly in DC
I'm still nervous because of the fascist turn the society in general is taking, how with fewer soldiers what happens next tends to be more automated solutions like current air strikes or gas chambers (and they have more resources for this unlike say, the Serbs who escalated still with just plain manual violence): More soldiers sign letter saying they will not serve without a hostage deal -
An additional 15 soldiers warn that they will stop reporting for duty without advancement on a hostage deal
Anyway, 15.
Ok, I have to editorialize because the video does show it but all the BBC writeup here is still carrying water for the IDF justification: BBC tours hospital Israel says sits above millions in Hezbollah gold - no, they didn't find anything. But lord, what the fuck is this: Doctors denied the allegation and took the BBC through the building, including to the first and second level below ground. They insisted there is nothing underneath.
On Monday night the hospital had to evacuate around 50 staff and 15 patients - none of them critical - when Israel made its claim.
Hospital officials have insisted that Al Sahel has no connection with any organisation, or group, or faction.
Journalists aren't just stenographers! Use your senses and report. But you can't. Civilized cowards resorting to "oh they said it," without necessarily agreeing or not one way or another. That's not bothsideism, that's professional capitulation. If hell exists...
Speaking of western journos, Alex Crawford providing context for another incident: IDF spokesman had earlier encouraged journalists to go to the building and even gave directions for entry
The incident: #Hezbollah spox was due to give a press conference at 2pm. 10 mins before the @IDF issued a strike alert for #Beirut buildings >300m away from where scores of journalists were gathering. Hezb spox was rushed away on a bike, media orgs frantically trying to warn colleagues to leave the area.
That was as reported by Leila Molana-Allen from PBS, who is just highlighted in this piece by ABC (Australia) about reporting from Lebanon (video story).
Poor Blinken, can't even secure a PR win: Blinken presses Israel’s Netanyahu on dire conditions in northern Gaza -
Blinken questioned the Israeli leader about a plan backed by some officials to gain control of the north by starving out or killing Palestinians currently there. (ungated)
Blinken and his top aides questioned Netanyahu on Tuesday about a controversial plan backed by some Israeli officials to gain full control of northern Gaza by starving out or killing Palestinians currently there, a proposal known as the “General’s Plan,” a senior State Department official said.
U.S. officials told Netanyahu there is a “perception” that Israel is pursuing a strategy of “isolating the north, telling people that if they don’t leave they’re effectively targets and denying food to go in,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks.
Netanyahu and his top aide Ron Dermer responded that this “was absolutely not our policy” and that the fact that this “perception exists” has been “deeply damaging to us.” U.S. officials then insisted that Netanyahu should “go to greater length” to “say that publicly,” the official said, adding that the Israelis declined to make such a commitment.
This article contextualizes this with the letter sent out earlier, the one, as shared in the current Kamala thread, has been reassured by Richie Torres to voters, to be nothing more than political theatre.
Read that with this Haaretz report: Israel Denies Intentional Displacement of Palestinians in Northern Gaza Amid Western Concerns -
Several Western governments have requested to know whether Israel is attempting the removal of the civilian population in north Gaza. Israel has insisted it's not, but the slow trickle of aid, an extremist army general and lack of reliable information on the ground has left many with serious doubt(ungated)
Which is definitely something to think about, when this one is just straightforward war crimes: Israel launched a dozen attacks on UN troops in Lebanon, says leaked report -
Confidential document says 15 peacekeepers injured by white phosphorus (ungated)
Israel’s military forcibly entered a clearly marked UN base and is suspected of using the incendiary chemical white phosphorus close enough to injure 15 peacekeepers, according to a confidential report outlining a dozen recent incidents in which the IDF attacked international troops in Lebanon.
The report — prepared by a country that contributes troops, and seen by the Financial Times — underscores how Israeli troops have targeted Unifil, the UN-mandated force deployed along the de facto border between the countries, on multiple occasions. They have damaged several facilities and caused injuries to troops stationed at border posts in southern Lebanon.
Notable for the fact that unlike previous reports, this has photos of the infra and personnel damage/injury.
In the meantime: Israel bombs historic Lebanese port city in latest round of attacks -
Civilians flee large swathes of Unesco-listed Tyre as Israeli strikes target residential areas
(I just came back from visiting the ecumenical church for Greek Orthodox Christianity which displayed as one of its relics, a bit from the post where Jesus is said to have been whipped. The other two pieces are in Jerusalem. Random aside, other than it felt like I was somehow on a clock.)
Ireland is now proposing legal provisions to: Today the Government decided that, in light of the Advisory Opinion and the advice of the Attorney General, the [Occupied Territories] Bill will be reviewed and amendments will be prepared in order to bring it into line with the Constitution and EU law [towards trade restrictions].
Now Guardian is reporting it too: Palestinians describe being used as ‘human shields’ by Israeli troops in Gaza -
Detainees say they were sent into unexplored houses and tunnels before soldiers, in violation of Geneva conventions
Kind of craze-inducing to think that this may be what the West Bank and East Jerusalem Palestinians might have to look forward to as well: Gaza parents’ heartbreak as children’s clothes, shoes fall to pieces -
Children are underdressed and exposed to the elements a year into Israel’s war on Gaza.
posted by cendawanita at 10:40 AM on October 23 [11 favorites]
I should add the ABC video story is from the Media Watch programme, which is of a similar nature to AJ's The Listening Post, where its coverage is about the media. Interesting to note that the central point of that piece is what I had said before about the difference with Israel invading Lebanon will continue to be the fact it's a regional hub/base for Western/foreign news correspondents. They couldn't deny permits because it's not their country, and they couldn't racistly delegitimize the reporting because these aren't Palestinians (though considering the recent spate of Israeli Jews apparently being caught for being spies for Iran, maybe it won't be long before Westerners in professional jobs where Israeli reps would give time to, is being labelled as Hamas or Hezb in this case).
posted by cendawanita at 10:58 AM on October 23 [3 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 10:58 AM on October 23 [3 favorites]
The official page of the 749 Battalion has been deleted after Dropsite News' investigation.
Goddamn i hope someone got archives somewhere. It's a really bad time for Wayback to be down.
posted by adrienneleigh at 1:03 PM on October 23 [3 favorites]
Goddamn i hope someone got archives somewhere. It's a really bad time for Wayback to be down.
posted by adrienneleigh at 1:03 PM on October 23 [3 favorites]
A quote from that piece about the UNIFIL report that stands out: "Even if clashes occurred in the area, those tanks “can withstand fire better than our position can. So if they were sheltering, it wasn’t for physical shelter,” said a Unifil source."
ie, the only reason to move into a UN compound that's a soft target is to use the peacekeepers as human shields
posted by BungaDunga at 1:15 PM on October 23 [8 favorites]
ie, the only reason to move into a UN compound that's a soft target is to use the peacekeepers as human shields
posted by BungaDunga at 1:15 PM on October 23 [8 favorites]
On the topic of Israeli mass killings, comparisons to Nazi Germany, gas chambers, see Jake Romm on the podcast Politics, Theory, Other talking about Zionism as a form of anti-semitism:
Jake Romm: We aren't in the 1940s anymore. That kind of industrial slaughter since the end of the war is anathema. The Western powers, despite their continued— especially after the wars, the colonial genocides, and the colonial wars— despite the mass death they caused, it didn't look like the Nazi holocaust. It didn't look like the Nazi holocaust because they wanted to keep killing but they knew that killing in that specific way they could not do after putting it down so forcefully. They turned largely, in say, Vietnam, to bombing. It is a more abstract form of killing where you aren't face-to-face with the victim. Not only for the soldiers tasked with the killing but for the home front, for the people on whose behalf you are doing the killing, this makes it much more palatable.
Personal domination, such as mass executions, speaks to people on the level of crime, on the level of murder that they can conceptualize and think about, especially in the United States. This is part of why October 7 triggered something so insane in the American psyche, is because it had a redolence of a home invasion where you had people breaking into houses and directly shooting, directly killing. The home invasion fear and fantasy is extremely present in American culture.
But a bombing— you don't see the victim nor do you really see the perpetrator. What you see is machines acting on architecture. You see machines blowing up buildings, which looks like a demolition and not a murder. Once the buildings collapse, you very rarely see the bodies therein and you certainly don't see the cancerous and poisonous dust that's been released. You don't see the long-term effects of the mutilations that occur for the people that are not killed or the long-term effects of what shelterlessness or deprivation of food does to a people.
This logic of a direct domination via technological means is both a way of insulating yourself from these horrible images that may otherwise appear and the horrible resonances they have for our domestic population or a Western population.
Also, it's just easier. It's much easier. One of the things about the Shoah and the concentration camp and death camp system is that it was a massive logistical undertaking. It was the application of an instrumental reason by bureaucrats who were extremely gifted at doing it. It took a lot of resources, planning, and manpower to really make it work. And also crucially, a lot of room. They spread these camps out mostly in the east because they had so much land to work with. That's part of why they did it in the first place, because they had all these new populations under their control and they needed to empty the land for settlement and deportation became unfeasable. In the present genocide, that land doesn't exist. You can't really create these direct death camps because— where are you going to put them?
posted by ftrtts at 5:49 AM on October 24 [13 favorites]
Jake Romm: We aren't in the 1940s anymore. That kind of industrial slaughter since the end of the war is anathema. The Western powers, despite their continued— especially after the wars, the colonial genocides, and the colonial wars— despite the mass death they caused, it didn't look like the Nazi holocaust. It didn't look like the Nazi holocaust because they wanted to keep killing but they knew that killing in that specific way they could not do after putting it down so forcefully. They turned largely, in say, Vietnam, to bombing. It is a more abstract form of killing where you aren't face-to-face with the victim. Not only for the soldiers tasked with the killing but for the home front, for the people on whose behalf you are doing the killing, this makes it much more palatable.
Personal domination, such as mass executions, speaks to people on the level of crime, on the level of murder that they can conceptualize and think about, especially in the United States. This is part of why October 7 triggered something so insane in the American psyche, is because it had a redolence of a home invasion where you had people breaking into houses and directly shooting, directly killing. The home invasion fear and fantasy is extremely present in American culture.
But a bombing— you don't see the victim nor do you really see the perpetrator. What you see is machines acting on architecture. You see machines blowing up buildings, which looks like a demolition and not a murder. Once the buildings collapse, you very rarely see the bodies therein and you certainly don't see the cancerous and poisonous dust that's been released. You don't see the long-term effects of the mutilations that occur for the people that are not killed or the long-term effects of what shelterlessness or deprivation of food does to a people.
This logic of a direct domination via technological means is both a way of insulating yourself from these horrible images that may otherwise appear and the horrible resonances they have for our domestic population or a Western population.
Also, it's just easier. It's much easier. One of the things about the Shoah and the concentration camp and death camp system is that it was a massive logistical undertaking. It was the application of an instrumental reason by bureaucrats who were extremely gifted at doing it. It took a lot of resources, planning, and manpower to really make it work. And also crucially, a lot of room. They spread these camps out mostly in the east because they had so much land to work with. That's part of why they did it in the first place, because they had all these new populations under their control and they needed to empty the land for settlement and deportation became unfeasable. In the present genocide, that land doesn't exist. You can't really create these direct death camps because— where are you going to put them?
posted by ftrtts at 5:49 AM on October 24 [13 favorites]
Israel is ‘putting numbers on men’ in northern Gaza
They’re putting numbers on men. They’re putting numbers on people and interrogating them.
Israel has also been digging holes and putting people inside those holes and grouping them into 10.
posted by cendawanita at 10:23 AM on October 24 [11 favorites]
They’re putting numbers on men. They’re putting numbers on people and interrogating them.
Israel has also been digging holes and putting people inside those holes and grouping them into 10.
posted by cendawanita at 10:23 AM on October 24 [11 favorites]
Norway: The Norwegian Government is updating its advice to Norwegian companies not to engage in business cooperation or trade that serves to perpetuate Israel's illegal presence in Palestine – i.e. in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
Ireland: Ireland's government is seeking to introduce a bill restricting trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories after it said a UN court decision freed Dublin to make trade decisions independently of the European Union.
Spain: On Tuesday, Pablo Bustinduy, Spain’s social rights minister, sent a letter to Robles on behalf of five ministers from the Sumar political group, demanding the suspension of any ongoing arms contracts with Israeli companies. According to Público, Bustinduy pointed to “some contracts” that remain active despite Spain not authorizing any new arms operations since October 7. He emphasized that Sumar’s proposal was based on a thorough review to enforce a total arms embargo on Israel beyond the mere suspension of new licenses.
France: France pledged to provide a 100-million euro ($108-million) package to support Lebanon at an international conference Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron said “massive aid” is needed to support the country where war between the Hezbollah terror group and Israel has displaced a million people and deepened an economic crisis.
Australia: Australia is carrying out a review of all 66 defence-related export permits for Israel that were approved prior to the Gaza conflict.
Guardian Australia understands the review is being done in a similar manner to the UK government’s recent reassessment of arms licences to Israel, with the outcome to be announced “in coming months”.
Meanwhile, in the US:
Harvard faculty participating in a silent reading protest, have been banned from Widener Library for 2 weeks.
The University of Michigan allegedly bypassed local prosecutors to deal with student protesters: Frustrated by local prosecutors’ unwillingness to crack down on most of the students arrested at the height of the pro-Palestinian encampments last spring, the regents executed a highly unusual move in recruiting the Michigan attorney general, Dana Nessel, because she was more likely to file charges, three people with direct knowledge of the decision tell the Guardian.
The revelations raise new questions about potential conflicts of interest. Six of eight regents contributed more than $33,000 combined to Nessel’s campaigns, her office hired a regent’s law firm to handle major state cases, the same regent co-chaired her 2018 campaign, and she has personal relationships with some regents.
Dr. Ahmed Ghanim wants an explanation for why he was kicked out of a Detroit election event to which he was invited.
Apparently there's going to be another round of ceasefire talks in Doha.
posted by toastyk at 2:30 PM on October 24 [11 favorites]
Ireland: Ireland's government is seeking to introduce a bill restricting trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories after it said a UN court decision freed Dublin to make trade decisions independently of the European Union.
Spain: On Tuesday, Pablo Bustinduy, Spain’s social rights minister, sent a letter to Robles on behalf of five ministers from the Sumar political group, demanding the suspension of any ongoing arms contracts with Israeli companies. According to Público, Bustinduy pointed to “some contracts” that remain active despite Spain not authorizing any new arms operations since October 7. He emphasized that Sumar’s proposal was based on a thorough review to enforce a total arms embargo on Israel beyond the mere suspension of new licenses.
France: France pledged to provide a 100-million euro ($108-million) package to support Lebanon at an international conference Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron said “massive aid” is needed to support the country where war between the Hezbollah terror group and Israel has displaced a million people and deepened an economic crisis.
Australia: Australia is carrying out a review of all 66 defence-related export permits for Israel that were approved prior to the Gaza conflict.
Guardian Australia understands the review is being done in a similar manner to the UK government’s recent reassessment of arms licences to Israel, with the outcome to be announced “in coming months”.
Meanwhile, in the US:
Harvard faculty participating in a silent reading protest, have been banned from Widener Library for 2 weeks.
The University of Michigan allegedly bypassed local prosecutors to deal with student protesters: Frustrated by local prosecutors’ unwillingness to crack down on most of the students arrested at the height of the pro-Palestinian encampments last spring, the regents executed a highly unusual move in recruiting the Michigan attorney general, Dana Nessel, because she was more likely to file charges, three people with direct knowledge of the decision tell the Guardian.
The revelations raise new questions about potential conflicts of interest. Six of eight regents contributed more than $33,000 combined to Nessel’s campaigns, her office hired a regent’s law firm to handle major state cases, the same regent co-chaired her 2018 campaign, and she has personal relationships with some regents.
Dr. Ahmed Ghanim wants an explanation for why he was kicked out of a Detroit election event to which he was invited.
Apparently there's going to be another round of ceasefire talks in Doha.
posted by toastyk at 2:30 PM on October 24 [11 favorites]
“Our job is to flatten Gaza,” the soldiers of the official D9 company of the battalion wrote on their Instagram page. They added, accurately: “No one will stop us.”
I wonder if anyone is going to show up at the start of the next thread to explain to us all that Israel is planning for Gaza's peaceful occupation and reconstruction.
posted by pattern juggler at 5:28 PM on October 24 [11 favorites]
I wonder if anyone is going to show up at the start of the next thread to explain to us all that Israel is planning for Gaza's peaceful occupation and reconstruction.
posted by pattern juggler at 5:28 PM on October 24 [11 favorites]
Everything is fucking stupid; I would call this an October surprise except everyone who knew anything about the Middle East called it months ago and right now US people appear to be more concerned with the Donald Trump/Joe Rogan interview (don't bother - it's 3 hrs long) and various newspaper editorial decisions by their billionaire owners:
Israel says it has completed strikes on Iran; Tehran says strikes are limited.
Meanwhile, Israel raided north Gaza hospital as UN warns "darkest moment" is unfolding in the strip.
Israel is set to pass laws to restrict UNRWA in the West Bank on Monday.
Meanwhile, in the US:
Microsoft fired employees who organized a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza - Another fired worker, Hossam Nasr, said the purpose of the vigil was both “to honor the victims of the Palestinian genocide in Gaza and to call attention to Microsoft’s complicity in the genocide” because of the use of its technology by the Israeli military.
Nasr said his firing was disclosed on social media by the watchdog group Stop Antisemitism more than an hour before he received the call from Microsoft. The group didn’t immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on how it learned about the firing.
What Bay Area volunteers witnessed in the West Bank: “I never imagined seeing so many dead children in front of me,” Subeh said. “Mothers, family members screaming, crying. There was so much that I was seeing that I was not used to. I wasn’t prepared to see.”
The Harvard library protests continue - 60 students banned from the HLS library, and then dozens more did it again.
posted by toastyk at 7:08 AM on October 26 [9 favorites]
Israel says it has completed strikes on Iran; Tehran says strikes are limited.
Meanwhile, Israel raided north Gaza hospital as UN warns "darkest moment" is unfolding in the strip.
Israel is set to pass laws to restrict UNRWA in the West Bank on Monday.
Meanwhile, in the US:
Microsoft fired employees who organized a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza - Another fired worker, Hossam Nasr, said the purpose of the vigil was both “to honor the victims of the Palestinian genocide in Gaza and to call attention to Microsoft’s complicity in the genocide” because of the use of its technology by the Israeli military.
Nasr said his firing was disclosed on social media by the watchdog group Stop Antisemitism more than an hour before he received the call from Microsoft. The group didn’t immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on how it learned about the firing.
What Bay Area volunteers witnessed in the West Bank: “I never imagined seeing so many dead children in front of me,” Subeh said. “Mothers, family members screaming, crying. There was so much that I was seeing that I was not used to. I wasn’t prepared to see.”
The Harvard library protests continue - 60 students banned from the HLS library, and then dozens more did it again.
posted by toastyk at 7:08 AM on October 26 [9 favorites]
Forgot to add, Chris Hayes had on Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, who says he's lost contact with his sister 10 days ago, and who is in north Gaza right now.
posted by toastyk at 7:12 AM on October 26 [7 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 7:12 AM on October 26 [7 favorites]
Netflix faces backlash over removal of Palestinian movie collection
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 4:43 PM on October 26 [7 favorites]
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 4:43 PM on October 26 [7 favorites]
How American Media Incited Genocide opinion piece by Greg Shupak. He specifically quotes The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Before October 7th, Shupak writes on Israel's "crisis of democracy":
Before October 7th, Shupak writes on Israel's "crisis of democracy":
By writing about a “crisis” in Israel’s “democracy,” without foregrounding or most often even mentioning the fact that Israel completely disenfranchises some 5 million Palestinians, coverage in the Times, Post, and Journal whitewashes the apartheid that fundamentally disqualifies Israel as a democracy.posted by rubatan at 7:36 PM on October 27 [5 favorites]
Microsoft fired employees who organized a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza - Another fired worker, Hossam Nasr, said the purpose of the vigil was both “to honor the victims of the Palestinian genocide in Gaza and to call attention to Microsoft’s complicity in the genocide” because of the use of its technology by the Israeli military.
As a note, this is even more punitive than it appears, because i gather that a whole lot of the fired workers are in the US on H1B visas, meaning that if they don't get new jobs within 60 days, they get insta-deported.
posted by adrienneleigh at 8:23 PM on October 27 [12 favorites]
As a note, this is even more punitive than it appears, because i gather that a whole lot of the fired workers are in the US on H1B visas, meaning that if they don't get new jobs within 60 days, they get insta-deported.
posted by adrienneleigh at 8:23 PM on October 27 [12 favorites]
A number of experts have changed their minds on whether what is happening in Gaza should be considered genocide, a year later - A major tipping point for Verdeja and many other human rights experts was Israel’s ground offensive in Rafah in May. The Israeli military had been pushing civilians increasingly into the southern city, which connects Gaza and Egypt, telling them it was a safe zone while it pursued Hamas to the north. But by August, an estimated 44 percent of all buildings in Rafah had been damaged or destroyed in heavy bombing. Israeli forces took over and shut down the Rafah border crossing, limiting the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. They killed civilians camping in tents in a humanitarian zone. When the ICJ ordered Israel to stop its offensive in Rafah, Israeli officials condemned the ruling and said it was open to interpretation, despite the fact that many human rights lawyers argued it was unambiguous. The assault on Rafah continued.
“I wouldn’t say [Rafah was] necessarily the defining moment, but I think it’s indicative of a broader pattern where we see a genocidal campaign really crystallizing,” Verdeja said.
Meanwhile, in the US Presidential campaign, the Trump campaign got a few Muslim leaders in Michigan to stand with and endorse him as the Harris campaign loses Arab voters to Trump and Jill Stein (ungated).
Hundreds of authors pledge to boycott "cultural Israeli cultural institutions that are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians" - We have a role to play. We cannot in good conscience engage with Israeli institutions without interrogating their relationship to apartheid and displacement. This was the position taken by countless authors against South Africa; it was their contribution to the struggle against apartheid there.
Therefore: we will not work with Israeli cultural institutions that are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians. We will not cooperate with Israeli institutions including publishers, festivals, literary agencies and publications that:
A) Are complicit in violating Palestinian rights, including through discriminatory policies and practices or by whitewashing and justifying Israel’s occupation, apartheid or genocide, or
B) Have never publicly recognized the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in international law.
posted by toastyk at 8:40 AM on October 28 [8 favorites]
“I wouldn’t say [Rafah was] necessarily the defining moment, but I think it’s indicative of a broader pattern where we see a genocidal campaign really crystallizing,” Verdeja said.
Meanwhile, in the US Presidential campaign, the Trump campaign got a few Muslim leaders in Michigan to stand with and endorse him as the Harris campaign loses Arab voters to Trump and Jill Stein (ungated).
Hundreds of authors pledge to boycott "cultural Israeli cultural institutions that are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians" - We have a role to play. We cannot in good conscience engage with Israeli institutions without interrogating their relationship to apartheid and displacement. This was the position taken by countless authors against South Africa; it was their contribution to the struggle against apartheid there.
Therefore: we will not work with Israeli cultural institutions that are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of Palestinians. We will not cooperate with Israeli institutions including publishers, festivals, literary agencies and publications that:
A) Are complicit in violating Palestinian rights, including through discriminatory policies and practices or by whitewashing and justifying Israel’s occupation, apartheid or genocide, or
B) Have never publicly recognized the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in international law.
posted by toastyk at 8:40 AM on October 28 [8 favorites]
I don't exactly want to be a media scold but that Vox article's headline and sub -- often the only part many folks will read as they scroll through social media -- make the most important take away from the piece unclear. Someone who doesn't want to believe that it's happening could easily read "Is Israel committing genocide? Reexamining the question, a year later. [newline] We spoke to a number of experts a year ago. Several have changed their minds." and interpreted through motivated reason assume it means they found fewer experts willing to call it genocide.
This is one of those things that is super frustrating because people in the United States genuinely are under- and misinformed on the topic. I had a discussion with a close relative recently -- we'd gotten in the topic of politics and the importance of focusing one's personal energy and not beating oneself up about not doing all the things. I mentioned spending energy regularly calling and writing my members of congress (which I believe matters). They clearly were kind of unclear why I'd care so much and I started giving bare facts even with caveats about estimates etc and then detailing some of the history. They were genuinely shocked and had no idea about some of it. They were already opposed to the US continuing to send arms but also didn't know how bad it is. This is a person who largely consumes center to left "mainstream" media but doesn't necessarily read every article they see to the end. Equivocation in headlines and ledes that omit the most relevant takeaways means people literally don't get accurate information, even if the overall article is otherwise completely fair and correct. Given how the "attention economy" works it's pretty unreasonable for the media standard (seemingly) to be "it's okay for people to come to wrong conclusions if they won't read the entire article".
Anyway I've started listening to the Makdisi Street podcast (recommended I think in a Jewish Currents podcast?) and the episode I'm listening to has a former UNRWA spokesperson on and he brings up how focus on media criticism does the work of the powerful in Israel who want to deny Palestinians freedom regardless of the cost because it focuses discussion on the media and not the horrors committed by the Israeli state. But of course many of the decision makers in media are complicit and some even well aware they are doing it. It's absolutely absurd that a Palestinian journalist who even talks to or knows even middle level Hamas members is seen as too biased but at the same time literal former members of the IDF or people with close family in the IDF or current Israeli government are not seen as problematically biased.
Anyway all that said, I better call again today. And the Vox article is, seemingly, not bad or misleading once you get past the headline and several paragraphs to realize that almost all of the experts they've talked to call it genocide.
posted by R343L at 9:17 AM on October 28 [9 favorites]
This is one of those things that is super frustrating because people in the United States genuinely are under- and misinformed on the topic. I had a discussion with a close relative recently -- we'd gotten in the topic of politics and the importance of focusing one's personal energy and not beating oneself up about not doing all the things. I mentioned spending energy regularly calling and writing my members of congress (which I believe matters). They clearly were kind of unclear why I'd care so much and I started giving bare facts even with caveats about estimates etc and then detailing some of the history. They were genuinely shocked and had no idea about some of it. They were already opposed to the US continuing to send arms but also didn't know how bad it is. This is a person who largely consumes center to left "mainstream" media but doesn't necessarily read every article they see to the end. Equivocation in headlines and ledes that omit the most relevant takeaways means people literally don't get accurate information, even if the overall article is otherwise completely fair and correct. Given how the "attention economy" works it's pretty unreasonable for the media standard (seemingly) to be "it's okay for people to come to wrong conclusions if they won't read the entire article".
Anyway I've started listening to the Makdisi Street podcast (recommended I think in a Jewish Currents podcast?) and the episode I'm listening to has a former UNRWA spokesperson on and he brings up how focus on media criticism does the work of the powerful in Israel who want to deny Palestinians freedom regardless of the cost because it focuses discussion on the media and not the horrors committed by the Israeli state. But of course many of the decision makers in media are complicit and some even well aware they are doing it. It's absolutely absurd that a Palestinian journalist who even talks to or knows even middle level Hamas members is seen as too biased but at the same time literal former members of the IDF or people with close family in the IDF or current Israeli government are not seen as problematically biased.
Anyway all that said, I better call again today. And the Vox article is, seemingly, not bad or misleading once you get past the headline and several paragraphs to realize that almost all of the experts they've talked to call it genocide.
posted by R343L at 9:17 AM on October 28 [9 favorites]
BTW also want to mention that although daughter of billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, Nika Soon-Shiong, said that the family prevented LATimes from endorsing a presidential candidate due to Gaza, this has been denied by a spokesperson for the Mr. Soon-Shiong. (Personally, I think it's more that he likes Trump and also can deduct the losses from his companies to avoid taxes.) Additionally, LATimes management took their reporters off of Gaza coverage last year and have not walked it back since.
posted by toastyk at 9:42 AM on October 28 [7 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 9:42 AM on October 28 [7 favorites]
The Knesset has officially passed the law banning UNRWA from operating anywhere between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, including in East Jerusalem.
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:18 PM on October 28 [5 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 9:18 PM on October 28 [5 favorites]
In just one year, the U.S. has spent at least $22.76 billion on military aid to Israel and related U.S. operations in the region (through September 30).
Original Report (PDF), via The Intercept
posted by ftrtts at 11:19 PM on October 28 [6 favorites]
Original Report (PDF), via The Intercept
posted by ftrtts at 11:19 PM on October 28 [6 favorites]
banning UNRWA from operating anywhere between the Jordan and the Mediterranean
very legitimate behaviour by the very legitimate parliament of a very legitimate state.
anyway i propose reopening the swear jar for when dracula blows smoke up everyone's arse.
posted by busted_crayons at 1:32 AM on October 29 [5 favorites]
very legitimate behaviour by the very legitimate parliament of a very legitimate state.
anyway i propose reopening the swear jar for when dracula blows smoke up everyone's arse.
posted by busted_crayons at 1:32 AM on October 29 [5 favorites]
The White House Press Office is a Bunch of Draclias (and They're All Playing Flute)
posted by flabdablet at 2:50 AM on October 29 [2 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 2:50 AM on October 29 [2 favorites]
My apologies for linking to the hell site formerly known as Twitter, but it hasn't made it to YouTube yet.
Here is UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy denying the label of genocide
posted by Kitten as a cat at 7:19 AM on October 29 [3 favorites]
Here is UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy denying the label of genocide
posted by Kitten as a cat at 7:19 AM on October 29 [3 favorites]
Israeli historian Amos Goldberg, a specialist of the Holocaust, begs to differ: What is happening in Gaza is a genocide because Gaza does not exist anymore (ungated - partial).
posted by toastyk at 7:33 AM on October 29 [11 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 7:33 AM on October 29 [11 favorites]
man fuck david lammy and fuck pretty much everyone else in keir "bribe-able at specsavers" starmer's morally and politically flailing sick farce of a government.
posted by busted_crayons at 9:51 AM on October 29 [5 favorites]
posted by busted_crayons at 9:51 AM on October 29 [5 favorites]
Labour really learned their lesson well, re: antisemitism.
boy did we dodge a bullet with Corbyn
posted by ginger.beef at 12:21 PM on October 29 [5 favorites]
boy did we dodge a bullet with Corbyn
posted by ginger.beef at 12:21 PM on October 29 [5 favorites]
Israeli airstrike kills dozens of people in north Gaza as parliament bans UNRWA.
Israel continues strikes in Lebanon, which kills at least 15 people.
Lebanon's health ministry says at least 48 people killed on Monday in Israeli raids on several areas in Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa Valley controlled by militant group Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, in the US - CNN banned conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky (honestly no idea who this guy is) for saying to Mehdi Hasan "I hope your beeper doesn't go off".
Speaking of Hasan, from Zeteo: Project Esther - the right-wing group going after pro-Palestine activism.
posted by toastyk at 4:43 PM on October 29 [7 favorites]
Israel continues strikes in Lebanon, which kills at least 15 people.
Lebanon's health ministry says at least 48 people killed on Monday in Israeli raids on several areas in Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa Valley controlled by militant group Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, in the US - CNN banned conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky (honestly no idea who this guy is) for saying to Mehdi Hasan "I hope your beeper doesn't go off".
Speaking of Hasan, from Zeteo: Project Esther - the right-wing group going after pro-Palestine activism.
posted by toastyk at 4:43 PM on October 29 [7 favorites]
CNN banned conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky (honestly no idea who this guy is)
Among other things, he's Richard Spencer's former speechwriter.
posted by adrienneleigh at 6:37 PM on October 29 [5 favorites]
Among other things, he's Richard Spencer's former speechwriter.
posted by adrienneleigh at 6:37 PM on October 29 [5 favorites]
For US voters who haven't cast their ballots yet, I found using Vote for Peace, which pulls a lot of its endorsements from CAIR, useful. (Note - they do partner with the Abandon Harris people, so you can take their individual endorsements as they are or leave it. Using their search, I did find a candidate locally who had a history of voting on legislation to support Palestinians and that was immensely useful to me.)
posted by toastyk at 7:21 AM on October 30 [4 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 7:21 AM on October 30 [4 favorites]
In other news:
The Knesset passes a law banning establishment of US consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Lebanon’s Baalbek and Bekka after Israel ordered an evacuation.
Brett McGurk, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, and Amos Hochstein, a U.S. special envoy with a focus on Lebanon are traveling to Israel to focus on ending the fighting in Lebanon.
Satellite images show damage at Iran military sites after Israel attack.
posted by toastyk at 7:54 AM on October 30 [6 favorites]
The Knesset passes a law banning establishment of US consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Lebanon’s Baalbek and Bekka after Israel ordered an evacuation.
Brett McGurk, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, and Amos Hochstein, a U.S. special envoy with a focus on Lebanon are traveling to Israel to focus on ending the fighting in Lebanon.
Satellite images show damage at Iran military sites after Israel attack.
posted by toastyk at 7:54 AM on October 30 [6 favorites]
Pager bombs, airstrikes on schools and hospitals, attacking UN peacekeepers and aid workers - I would roll my eyes if this was the script of a 1980's action movie villain. How does Israel keep getting away with it? How can the headlines include "Israel kills (x number, more than 10) every morning of every day over the past year, and yet they still have any political support? I am outrage exhausted. This war is proof, if ever there was, that no caring god exists.
posted by Popular Ethics at 3:26 PM on October 30 [9 favorites]
posted by Popular Ethics at 3:26 PM on October 30 [9 favorites]
This war is proof, if ever there was, that no caring god exists.
"There are currently 56 conflicts, the most since World War II. They have become more international with 92 countries involved in conflicts outside their borders, the most since the GPI’s inception."
Not to be teleological but Here's The Thing.
"Iceland remains the most peaceful country"
posted by clavdivs at 4:30 PM on October 30
"There are currently 56 conflicts, the most since World War II. They have become more international with 92 countries involved in conflicts outside their borders, the most since the GPI’s inception."
Not to be teleological but Here's The Thing.
"Iceland remains the most peaceful country"
posted by clavdivs at 4:30 PM on October 30
Number of conflicts is a remarkably useless metric
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 4:38 PM on October 30 [4 favorites]
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 4:38 PM on October 30 [4 favorites]
for the teleological argument for the existence of God or for the sheer rate of destruction
posted by clavdivs at 6:30 PM on October 30 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 6:30 PM on October 30 [1 favorite]
"spry and animated". the guardian is low-key infatuated with these "bouyant" settlers. yes, no "mainstream support", but check out all the "momentum" being gained. if this article is what "criticism from abroad" looks like, little wonder these lebensraumers are "undeterred".
posted by busted_crayons at 8:56 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
posted by busted_crayons at 8:56 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
I am horrified by your use of that antisemitic German allusion, so much so that I refuse to consider for a second that you might have a point and will instead now launch a massive derail and organized flagging campaign demanding that you retract it.
posted by flabdablet at 9:33 AM on October 31 [5 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 9:33 AM on October 31 [5 favorites]
I am so tired.
The Harris campaign thought it was a brilliant idea to send Bill Clinton to Michigan last night: "I understand why young Palestinian and Arab Americans in Michigan think too many people have died — I get that, but…"
"Hamas makes sure that they're shielded by civilians, they'll force you to kill civilians, if you want to defend yourself."
Mehdi Hasan responds to the racist attack by Girdusky.
Judge grants Palestinian Solidarity Committee standing to sue UT for free speech violations - U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman found that the plaintiffs have "sufficiently pled injury" regarding university policies that comply with Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order in March limiting antisemitic speech and with university leaders' actions limiting pro-Palestinian speech.
"The Court finds that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim ... that the GA-44-compliant university policies impose impermissible viewpoint discrimination that chills speech in violation of the First Amendment," Pitman said in an order Monday, referring to Abbott's executive order charging public colleges to enforce free speech policies against pro-Palestinian student organizations and adopt a definition of antisemitism, which the judge said limits legal anti-Israel speech.
Haaretz editorial board says "If it looks like ethnic cleansing, it probably is" ungated - As soon as the war began, they began calling for "erasing Gaza" and for perpetrating a "second Nakba." But many Israelis made light of such statements, and the law enforcement system, headed by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, refrained from dealing with this incitement to commit crimes.
Now, we can see the results: Israel is sliding into ethnic cleansing; its soldiers are carrying out the criminal policies of the messianic, Kahanist right; and even the opposition on the center and center-left isn't making a peep. This consensus behind ethnic cleansing is shameful, and every public leader who doesn't demand an end to the de facto expulsion is supporting this crime and has become a party to it.
posted by toastyk at 9:42 AM on October 31 [13 favorites]
The Harris campaign thought it was a brilliant idea to send Bill Clinton to Michigan last night: "I understand why young Palestinian and Arab Americans in Michigan think too many people have died — I get that, but…"
"Hamas makes sure that they're shielded by civilians, they'll force you to kill civilians, if you want to defend yourself."
Mehdi Hasan responds to the racist attack by Girdusky.
Judge grants Palestinian Solidarity Committee standing to sue UT for free speech violations - U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman found that the plaintiffs have "sufficiently pled injury" regarding university policies that comply with Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order in March limiting antisemitic speech and with university leaders' actions limiting pro-Palestinian speech.
"The Court finds that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim ... that the GA-44-compliant university policies impose impermissible viewpoint discrimination that chills speech in violation of the First Amendment," Pitman said in an order Monday, referring to Abbott's executive order charging public colleges to enforce free speech policies against pro-Palestinian student organizations and adopt a definition of antisemitism, which the judge said limits legal anti-Israel speech.
Haaretz editorial board says "If it looks like ethnic cleansing, it probably is" ungated - As soon as the war began, they began calling for "erasing Gaza" and for perpetrating a "second Nakba." But many Israelis made light of such statements, and the law enforcement system, headed by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, refrained from dealing with this incitement to commit crimes.
Now, we can see the results: Israel is sliding into ethnic cleansing; its soldiers are carrying out the criminal policies of the messianic, Kahanist right; and even the opposition on the center and center-left isn't making a peep. This consensus behind ethnic cleansing is shameful, and every public leader who doesn't demand an end to the de facto expulsion is supporting this crime and has become a party to it.
posted by toastyk at 9:42 AM on October 31 [13 favorites]
VIDEO: World experiencing highest number of conflicts since WWII
International Relations expert Paul Poast believes there are some global systemic issues that may point to the increased incidence in conflicts that the world is witnessing.
posted by flabdablet at 9:48 AM on October 31 [3 favorites]
International Relations expert Paul Poast believes there are some global systemic issues that may point to the increased incidence in conflicts that the world is witnessing.
posted by flabdablet at 9:48 AM on October 31 [3 favorites]
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, meets the press (UN Human Rights Council, YouTube, 56m54s)
posted by flabdablet at 9:57 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 9:57 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
The Harris campaign thought it was a brilliant idea to send Bill Clinton to Michigan last night:
That corrupt old rapist having any role in the modern Democratic party undercuts any claims to moral superiority over the Republicans faqning over Trump.
That he goes to repeat Israeli propaganda to Arab voters about why their families have to be killed for the greater good undercuts amy claim this campaign is remotely empathetic or in touch with why they are losing these votes.
posted by pattern juggler at 10:15 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
That corrupt old rapist having any role in the modern Democratic party undercuts any claims to moral superiority over the Republicans faqning over Trump.
That he goes to repeat Israeli propaganda to Arab voters about why their families have to be killed for the greater good undercuts amy claim this campaign is remotely empathetic or in touch with why they are losing these votes.
posted by pattern juggler at 10:15 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
Killing your families is just business, y'all. Try not to take it personally.
posted by flabdablet at 10:29 AM on October 31 [8 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 10:29 AM on October 31 [8 favorites]
> Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, meets the press (UN Human Rights Council, YouTube, 56m54s)
This press conference was genuinely transfixing. Albanese is an incredibly courageous and effective speaker.
posted by dis_integration at 11:31 AM on October 31 [6 favorites]
This press conference was genuinely transfixing. Albanese is an incredibly courageous and effective speaker.
posted by dis_integration at 11:31 AM on October 31 [6 favorites]
Punish Democrats or stop Trump - some Arab Americans are agonizing over their vote - (not trying to start a fight, but this is a good look at how Arab American voters are thinking about the US election).
The tragedy of Palestinian journalist Wael al-Dahdouh - After the strike that killed his wife and children, Dahdouh remained in Gaza City, while he sent his four daughters and his son Yahya to relative safety in the centre of the Gaza Strip. Working in a team of four – made up of his nephew Hamdan plus a driver and an editor – Dahdouh continued to report from the field. What viewers didn’t see was that, whenever Dahdouh was on air, behind the camera was a large crowd, packed tight, craning to hear what he was saying. “Whenever people would see him, they would run, pushing each other, to come and listen to him, to hear the news and get updates on their areas,” Hamdan said. There was “no internet or electricity, and local radio stations were destroyed early in the war,” and so, alongside his role as an international correspondent, Dahdouh became a roving one-man local news station.
Israel brands Palestinian detainees in West Bank with numbers on their foreheads.
Bay Area local news media is publicizing an instance in which a local Jewish man claims he was kicked out of a Palestinian-owned cafe for wearing his cap with a Star of David symbol. What has not made it to the local news articles is that the man in question harassed other people in the area, unrelated to the incident; additionally, it sparked some debate on X on whether the Star of David should now be considered a hate symbol like the swastika, given how some Israelis have used it against Palestinians. A frequent anti-Zionist Jewish customer of the place presents his side of it.
posted by toastyk at 8:28 AM on November 1 [8 favorites]
The tragedy of Palestinian journalist Wael al-Dahdouh - After the strike that killed his wife and children, Dahdouh remained in Gaza City, while he sent his four daughters and his son Yahya to relative safety in the centre of the Gaza Strip. Working in a team of four – made up of his nephew Hamdan plus a driver and an editor – Dahdouh continued to report from the field. What viewers didn’t see was that, whenever Dahdouh was on air, behind the camera was a large crowd, packed tight, craning to hear what he was saying. “Whenever people would see him, they would run, pushing each other, to come and listen to him, to hear the news and get updates on their areas,” Hamdan said. There was “no internet or electricity, and local radio stations were destroyed early in the war,” and so, alongside his role as an international correspondent, Dahdouh became a roving one-man local news station.
Israel brands Palestinian detainees in West Bank with numbers on their foreheads.
Bay Area local news media is publicizing an instance in which a local Jewish man claims he was kicked out of a Palestinian-owned cafe for wearing his cap with a Star of David symbol. What has not made it to the local news articles is that the man in question harassed other people in the area, unrelated to the incident; additionally, it sparked some debate on X on whether the Star of David should now be considered a hate symbol like the swastika, given how some Israelis have used it against Palestinians. A frequent anti-Zionist Jewish customer of the place presents his side of it.
posted by toastyk at 8:28 AM on November 1 [8 favorites]
A couple very local to Seattle news items which I think are a good reminder that this conflict isn't equally remote/abstract even for those who are not directly affected.
For Palestinians in Seattle, war in Gaza brings lasting mental health toll
OPINION | Open Letter to Seattle Public Schools: Reinstate Teacher Ian Golash Immediately
posted by R343L at 9:11 AM on November 1 [9 favorites]
For Palestinians in Seattle, war in Gaza brings lasting mental health toll
OPINION | Open Letter to Seattle Public Schools: Reinstate Teacher Ian Golash Immediately
posted by R343L at 9:11 AM on November 1 [9 favorites]
Ta-Nehisi Coates: Gaza genocide, witnessing Israel’s apartheid & the US elections | Real Talk (Middle East Eye, YouTube, 59m35s)
I’m a black writer. I’m the descendant of this, and you tell me I got to look away from segregation?posted by flabdablet at 9:29 AM on November 1 [9 favorites]
> What has not made it to the local news articles
Here's one small article on it with more context although still labeling him the victim
Viral antisemitism victim has a history of loud public fights
posted by gingerbeer at 10:58 AM on November 1 [3 favorites]
Here's one small article on it with more context although still labeling him the victim
Viral antisemitism victim has a history of loud public fights
posted by gingerbeer at 10:58 AM on November 1 [3 favorites]
Told you, dude. Sea lions.
posted by flabdablet at 11:16 AM on November 1 [2 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 11:16 AM on November 1 [2 favorites]
> What has not made it to the local news articles
Here's one small article on it with more context although still labeling him the victim
Viral antisemitism victim has a history of loud public fights
posted by gingerbeer 35 minutes ago [+] [⚑]
Man, that guy sucks. He's out there with his kids just harassing strangers.
posted by dis_integration at 11:50 AM on November 1 [5 favorites]
Here's one small article on it with more context although still labeling him the victim
Viral antisemitism victim has a history of loud public fights
posted by gingerbeer 35 minutes ago [+] [⚑]
Man, that guy sucks. He's out there with his kids just harassing strangers.
posted by dis_integration at 11:50 AM on November 1 [5 favorites]
Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Cori Bush (Mo.) pressed President Joe Biden in a letter on Friday to explain what involvement his administration may have had in Israel’s military activities in the Middle East, suggesting any such involvement is unauthorized and therefore unconstitutional. The two members, who helped lead the “Ceasefire Now” resolution introduced last year, are joined by fellow progressive members of Congress André Carson (Ind.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Summer Lee (Pa.)
Israel's Interior Ministry cuts ties with Haaretz over owner's "Nakba" comments - “As part of a conference held in London, the publisher of the newspaper Haaretz, Mr. Amos Schocken, said serious things in English, in which he called Palestinian terrorists ‘freedom fighters,'” the letter states.
“In addition, he called for sanctions to be imposed on the Land of Israel and its leaders and claimed that the IDF is carrying out a second Nakba and imposing apartheid rule in Judea, Samaria and Gaza,” it continues.
Schocken’s words “arouse disgust and indicate a severe disconnect from fundamental values, especially at a time when the State of Israel is waging a war that could not be more just, which began as a result of the murderous terrorist attack of the organization Hamas on Oct. 7,” wrote Peretz.
Over 100 BBC staff accuse broadcaster of Israel bias in its Gaza coverage.
Hezbollah rocket attack kills seven in northern Israel in "deadliest day of such strikes in months".
Strike on Gaza hospital destroys UN supplies, Palestinian officials say. ungated - Israeli forces struck one of the last functioning hospitals in besieged northern Gaza on Thursday, destroying a stockpile of medical supplies that had been delivered to the facility days ago by the World Health Organization, according to Palestinian officials and a spokeswoman for the U.N. agency.
The Israeli military said it was “unaware of a strike” on the facility, Kamal Adwan Hospital, but said it was reviewing the reports. Israeli troops withdrew from the hospital on Monday after a three-day raid during which they arrested most of the medical staff and two children died, Gazan health officials said.
posted by toastyk at 1:22 PM on November 1 [11 favorites]
Israel's Interior Ministry cuts ties with Haaretz over owner's "Nakba" comments - “As part of a conference held in London, the publisher of the newspaper Haaretz, Mr. Amos Schocken, said serious things in English, in which he called Palestinian terrorists ‘freedom fighters,'” the letter states.
“In addition, he called for sanctions to be imposed on the Land of Israel and its leaders and claimed that the IDF is carrying out a second Nakba and imposing apartheid rule in Judea, Samaria and Gaza,” it continues.
Schocken’s words “arouse disgust and indicate a severe disconnect from fundamental values, especially at a time when the State of Israel is waging a war that could not be more just, which began as a result of the murderous terrorist attack of the organization Hamas on Oct. 7,” wrote Peretz.
Over 100 BBC staff accuse broadcaster of Israel bias in its Gaza coverage.
Hezbollah rocket attack kills seven in northern Israel in "deadliest day of such strikes in months".
Strike on Gaza hospital destroys UN supplies, Palestinian officials say. ungated - Israeli forces struck one of the last functioning hospitals in besieged northern Gaza on Thursday, destroying a stockpile of medical supplies that had been delivered to the facility days ago by the World Health Organization, according to Palestinian officials and a spokeswoman for the U.N. agency.
The Israeli military said it was “unaware of a strike” on the facility, Kamal Adwan Hospital, but said it was reviewing the reports. Israeli troops withdrew from the hospital on Monday after a three-day raid during which they arrested most of the medical staff and two children died, Gazan health officials said.
posted by toastyk at 1:22 PM on November 1 [11 favorites]
Harris vows at Michigan rally to ‘do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza’
Kamala Harris pledged to “do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza” in her final rally in Michigan on Sunday, as she attempted to appeal to the state’s large Arab American and Muslim American population two days out from the election.
Michigan is home to about 240,000 registered Muslim voters, a majority of whom voted for Biden in 2020, helping him to a narrow victory over Donald Trump. But Arab Americans and Muslim Americans in the state have expressed dissatisfaction over the vice-president’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza, and polling suggests that these voters are gravitating towards Jill Stein, the Green party candidate.
With Harris and the former president essentially tied in Michigan, a drop in voting numbers for either could be critical, and Harris made a clear appeal at the beginning of her speech.
“We are joined today by leaders of the Arab American community, which has deep and proud roots here in Michigan, and I want to say this year has been difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon,” Harris said.
“It is devastating, and as president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, to bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, security and self-determination.”
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 12:12 AM on November 4 [5 favorites]
Kamala Harris pledged to “do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza” in her final rally in Michigan on Sunday, as she attempted to appeal to the state’s large Arab American and Muslim American population two days out from the election.
Michigan is home to about 240,000 registered Muslim voters, a majority of whom voted for Biden in 2020, helping him to a narrow victory over Donald Trump. But Arab Americans and Muslim Americans in the state have expressed dissatisfaction over the vice-president’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza, and polling suggests that these voters are gravitating towards Jill Stein, the Green party candidate.
With Harris and the former president essentially tied in Michigan, a drop in voting numbers for either could be critical, and Harris made a clear appeal at the beginning of her speech.
“We are joined today by leaders of the Arab American community, which has deep and proud roots here in Michigan, and I want to say this year has been difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon,” Harris said.
“It is devastating, and as president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, to bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, security and self-determination.”
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 12:12 AM on November 4 [5 favorites]
John Oliver's final episode before the election plea to voters wrestling with Gaza - cites Georgia Congresswoman Ruwa Romman, who is Palestinian American - This has been the most difficult election cycle of my entire life, and I’ve been doing this for 10 years easily. I have agonized over what to do this cycle, genuinely and sincerely, like I’ve asked anybody who knows me, knows it is the only thing I’ve been talking about, of what should I do? How should I do this? What is the best path forward? And I’ve prayed on it. I’ve talked to mentors, and I’ve talked to people, and I’ve talked to friends and neighbors and family.
I need people to understand that it is soul-crushing. I have never, ever experienced anything like this before — and that we are here. The election is here, and as much as I wish it were different, as much as I wish, for example, the Harris campaign would have approached this election very differently, as much as I wish that people could give me the things that I want and need to turn voters out, I can’t control anybody else but myself. And that’s why I ultimately decided to vote for Harris on Sunday. But in exchange, I swapped my vote. [Editor’s note: Agreeing to vote for a party candidate in a swing state if another person in a non-swing state will cast a protest or third-party vote, also know as vote pairing.] (MeFi post about vote-swapping here.)
AP documents how Israel continues to attack hospitals in north Gaza - Survivors and hospital administrators recounted at least four occasions when Israeli drones or snipers killed or badly wounded Palestinians trying to enter. Two women about to give birth were shot and bled to death in the street, staff said. Salha, the administrator, watched gunfire kill his cousin, Souma, and her 6-year-old son as she brought the boy for treatment of wounds.
Israel informs UN of end to relations with UNRWA - Israel has officially notified the United Nations that it was cancelling the agreement that regulated its relations with the main U.N. relief organization for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) since 1967, the country's foreign ministry said on Monday.
Last month, the Israeli parliament passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and stopping Israeli authorities from cooperating with the organization, which provides aid and education services to millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
New Israel bill seeks to bar Palestinian Knesset candidates, curb judicial oversight - The bill, introduced by Likud Member of the Knesset (MK) Ofir Katz, would amend Section 7a of the 'Basic Law: The Knesset' and introduce a new clause titled "Expansion of Grounds for Preventing Election Participation."
The clause expands the ability of the Knesset to disqualify candidates, or parliamentary lists, from running for election, largely by widening what can be considered support for armed struggle against Israel.
posted by toastyk at 9:02 AM on November 4 [9 favorites]
I need people to understand that it is soul-crushing. I have never, ever experienced anything like this before — and that we are here. The election is here, and as much as I wish it were different, as much as I wish, for example, the Harris campaign would have approached this election very differently, as much as I wish that people could give me the things that I want and need to turn voters out, I can’t control anybody else but myself. And that’s why I ultimately decided to vote for Harris on Sunday. But in exchange, I swapped my vote. [Editor’s note: Agreeing to vote for a party candidate in a swing state if another person in a non-swing state will cast a protest or third-party vote, also know as vote pairing.] (MeFi post about vote-swapping here.)
AP documents how Israel continues to attack hospitals in north Gaza - Survivors and hospital administrators recounted at least four occasions when Israeli drones or snipers killed or badly wounded Palestinians trying to enter. Two women about to give birth were shot and bled to death in the street, staff said. Salha, the administrator, watched gunfire kill his cousin, Souma, and her 6-year-old son as she brought the boy for treatment of wounds.
Israel informs UN of end to relations with UNRWA - Israel has officially notified the United Nations that it was cancelling the agreement that regulated its relations with the main U.N. relief organization for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) since 1967, the country's foreign ministry said on Monday.
Last month, the Israeli parliament passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and stopping Israeli authorities from cooperating with the organization, which provides aid and education services to millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
New Israel bill seeks to bar Palestinian Knesset candidates, curb judicial oversight - The bill, introduced by Likud Member of the Knesset (MK) Ofir Katz, would amend Section 7a of the 'Basic Law: The Knesset' and introduce a new clause titled "Expansion of Grounds for Preventing Election Participation."
The clause expands the ability of the Knesset to disqualify candidates, or parliamentary lists, from running for election, largely by widening what can be considered support for armed struggle against Israel.
posted by toastyk at 9:02 AM on November 4 [9 favorites]
Let's hope Arab American voters are willing to be merciful. They sure as hell don't owe us a damned thing.
posted by pattern juggler at 9:13 AM on November 4 [8 favorites]
posted by pattern juggler at 9:13 AM on November 4 [8 favorites]
Vote-swapping is I think the most generous path forward, and I think the one that people in non swing states should be offering. And no, it doesn’t count if you’re an anarchist who has voted third party for the last fifteen years, you were never voting Dem anyway. (I say this ruefully, as someone in a non swing state whose biggest domestic political dispute was “do we vote for the biggest third party to get them to five percent or do we vote for the best socialist”, so like, it me.)
posted by corb at 9:21 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
posted by corb at 9:21 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
Dissent: What Was I Doing While Israel Was Killing Civilians in Gaza?
"Israelis have seemingly grown accustomed to the atrocities of the Gaza war while continuing their day-to-day lives."
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 10:14 AM on November 4 [5 favorites]
"Israelis have seemingly grown accustomed to the atrocities of the Gaza war while continuing their day-to-day lives."
posted by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 10:14 AM on November 4 [5 favorites]
By "two-state solution", Harris means what American politicians have always meant, which is "Bantustan". She absolutely and emphatically does not mean "an actual state with the right to defend itself, make its own treaties, set its own policy, and secure its own borders".
posted by adrienneleigh at 12:21 PM on November 4 [9 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 12:21 PM on November 4 [9 favorites]
By "two-state solution", Harris means I'm sure I have not addressed this issue because it's an issue that I'm not very well educated upon. I understand the fundamentals but adrienneleigh or someone would toss me some good links like a primer, argument for and against I ask because the water infrastructure in Gaza, the desalination plants, interdependence with Israel for water works. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but I'm not seeing any real new information. President says the two State solution is the only course but isn't there something about this issue, water, sewage etc almost beg to have a one-state solution if Palestine is going to become a state it needs its own water infrastructure with little to no reliance upon Israel. I've seen many countries in the middle East and around the world who want to contribute to fixing this problem starting with desalination plants.
I don't know it's just like The rime of the ancient Mariner is groundhog day.
posted by clavdivs at 1:18 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]
I don't know it's just like The rime of the ancient Mariner is groundhog day.
posted by clavdivs at 1:18 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]
man the optimal strategy for michigan voters (like me) is indeed obviously to vote for harris, and in itself that's not really much of anything. but fuck (the US of) america. hashtag not all americans, not even most americans, but really properly fuck america, not fuck (all of the) americans, but rather the institutions and the bullshit pretend ideals that mean the optimum strategy is to prioritise forestalling a probable-but-hypothetical disaster over a real one that even most "concerned" americans are basically ignoring.
it's always been like this but somehow it feels like when harris (ideally) wins, a very brutal rubicon will have been crossed. the sanest move for an american voter hands a mandate to people who give no credible indication that they'll do anything other than continue to help murder a whole nation and lie to our faces about it and crush or marginalise or slander anyone who tries to complain.
the mathematically compulsory move is also the thing that means the luckiest people are the ones watching matt miller slowly abandon even the pretence of respect for objective reality by spinning basically trumpian bullshit about what we're all helping to do; the unluckiest people are the ones having it done to them, the ones bearing most brutal witness to the apparent conservation law that says that you can't negate objective reality, you can just make it very unevenly distributed.
tick the little D bubble but at least can everyone in (the US of) america who laboured under some sort of delusion that doing america, the activity, meant doing anything significant beyond The Incomprehensibly Bad Thing please admit that that delusion is fully untenable; the purpose of a system is what it does; the purpose of america is (despite your intentions or even some disempowered majority's maybe basically benevolent preferences or the occasional nice exception) to do That Thing. and maybe admit that the mask is fully off and no american politician anyone's been parasocialising with online is going to toss the proverbial stick at the murder drone on behalf of disempowered; they are the murder drone and the only winning move is apparently to pick your murder drone. this is, empirically, who we collectively are (plus some rounding error). yeah ok fuck israel but that's not even really the point. fuck america, probably even the parts you like. this is how it is and what we are and no ostensibly hopeful thing anyone's been able to say is actually realistically hopeful. and then, yeah, go do your bit in the damage control, because that's the best possible move in the hell-context. but fuck. it's now hopefully really clear that we're most probably stuck sitting around finding out one by one that even the luckier ones have all only even been Temporarily Exempted Gazans.
because the best move is to let them (the american ruling class) get away with what they've done even though it's especially brutal and bald-faced this time, because the only people with the power to impose any sort of accountability (the rest of the american ruling class) are even worse. in which case: what'll they feel emboldened to do next?
posted by busted_crayons at 1:46 PM on November 4 [20 favorites]
it's always been like this but somehow it feels like when harris (ideally) wins, a very brutal rubicon will have been crossed. the sanest move for an american voter hands a mandate to people who give no credible indication that they'll do anything other than continue to help murder a whole nation and lie to our faces about it and crush or marginalise or slander anyone who tries to complain.
the mathematically compulsory move is also the thing that means the luckiest people are the ones watching matt miller slowly abandon even the pretence of respect for objective reality by spinning basically trumpian bullshit about what we're all helping to do; the unluckiest people are the ones having it done to them, the ones bearing most brutal witness to the apparent conservation law that says that you can't negate objective reality, you can just make it very unevenly distributed.
tick the little D bubble but at least can everyone in (the US of) america who laboured under some sort of delusion that doing america, the activity, meant doing anything significant beyond The Incomprehensibly Bad Thing please admit that that delusion is fully untenable; the purpose of a system is what it does; the purpose of america is (despite your intentions or even some disempowered majority's maybe basically benevolent preferences or the occasional nice exception) to do That Thing. and maybe admit that the mask is fully off and no american politician anyone's been parasocialising with online is going to toss the proverbial stick at the murder drone on behalf of disempowered; they are the murder drone and the only winning move is apparently to pick your murder drone. this is, empirically, who we collectively are (plus some rounding error). yeah ok fuck israel but that's not even really the point. fuck america, probably even the parts you like. this is how it is and what we are and no ostensibly hopeful thing anyone's been able to say is actually realistically hopeful. and then, yeah, go do your bit in the damage control, because that's the best possible move in the hell-context. but fuck. it's now hopefully really clear that we're most probably stuck sitting around finding out one by one that even the luckier ones have all only even been Temporarily Exempted Gazans.
because the best move is to let them (the american ruling class) get away with what they've done even though it's especially brutal and bald-faced this time, because the only people with the power to impose any sort of accountability (the rest of the american ruling class) are even worse. in which case: what'll they feel emboldened to do next?
posted by busted_crayons at 1:46 PM on November 4 [20 favorites]
US expected to increase pressure on Israel to end Gaza war after election (ungated) - In the letter, the administration also warned Israel against impeding the efforts of the UNRWA refugee agency. UNRWA plays a key role in distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza, but last week the Knesset passed two bills that may slow its operations there.
Senior Israeli officials believe that this legislation would force the Biden administration to declare that Israel is still impeding aid delivery to civilians in Gaza, forcing the administration to take measures in response.
Due to U.S. pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered more aid trucks to be allowed into the Strip in recent weeks, especially the north. Still, three Western diplomats told Haaretz that despite that order, not enough aid is getting through.
"The Americans demanded that Israel bring in over 400 trucks every day. Israel is nowhere near this number," one of the three diplomats said, adding: "Israel's explanations are unconvincing. There is growing suspicion that Israel is attempting a mass expulsion of the Palestinian population from the northern Gaza Strip."
Israel accuses Turkey of "malice" over UN arms embargo call: Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday accused Turkey of "malice," after Ankara submitted a letter signed by 52 countries calling for a halt in arms deliveries to Israel over the war in Gaza.
"What else can be expected from a country whose actions are driven by malice in an attempt to create conflicts with the support of the 'Axis of Evil' countries," said Ambassador Danny Danon, using a pejorative term to describe the Arab countries who signed the letter.
Turkey's foreign ministry said Sunday it had submitted the letter to the United Nations, with the signatories including the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
A reminder that Chuck Schumer pledges to pass the anti-semitism bill in the Senate's lame duck session, if you need something to focus your anger on in the US: The bill would be Congress' most forceful response to the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country this spring, which sometimes led to the harassment of Jewish students.
posted by toastyk at 4:34 PM on November 4 [8 favorites]
Senior Israeli officials believe that this legislation would force the Biden administration to declare that Israel is still impeding aid delivery to civilians in Gaza, forcing the administration to take measures in response.
Due to U.S. pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered more aid trucks to be allowed into the Strip in recent weeks, especially the north. Still, three Western diplomats told Haaretz that despite that order, not enough aid is getting through.
"The Americans demanded that Israel bring in over 400 trucks every day. Israel is nowhere near this number," one of the three diplomats said, adding: "Israel's explanations are unconvincing. There is growing suspicion that Israel is attempting a mass expulsion of the Palestinian population from the northern Gaza Strip."
Israel accuses Turkey of "malice" over UN arms embargo call: Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday accused Turkey of "malice," after Ankara submitted a letter signed by 52 countries calling for a halt in arms deliveries to Israel over the war in Gaza.
"What else can be expected from a country whose actions are driven by malice in an attempt to create conflicts with the support of the 'Axis of Evil' countries," said Ambassador Danny Danon, using a pejorative term to describe the Arab countries who signed the letter.
Turkey's foreign ministry said Sunday it had submitted the letter to the United Nations, with the signatories including the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
A reminder that Chuck Schumer pledges to pass the anti-semitism bill in the Senate's lame duck session, if you need something to focus your anger on in the US: The bill would be Congress' most forceful response to the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country this spring, which sometimes led to the harassment of Jewish students.
posted by toastyk at 4:34 PM on November 4 [8 favorites]
Palestine will be decolonized. That's a fact.
Whenever I feel depressed as hell about what is going on I watch an Ilan Pappé interview. Somehow he always makes me feel a bit better and gives me energy to keep on taking action.
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 5:41 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]
Whenever I feel depressed as hell about what is going on I watch an Ilan Pappé interview. Somehow he always makes me feel a bit better and gives me energy to keep on taking action.
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 5:41 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]
busted_crayons, you said it
I feel like months of bullshit on vibes and votescolding just got the summary I've been grasping at
Thank you
posted by ginger.beef at 5:47 PM on November 4 [6 favorites]
I feel like months of bullshit on vibes and votescolding just got the summary I've been grasping at
Thank you
posted by ginger.beef at 5:47 PM on November 4 [6 favorites]
busted_crayons, you said it
I feel like months of bullshit on vibes and votescolding just got the summary I've been grasping at
Thank you
Seconded.
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 5:49 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]
I feel like months of bullshit on vibes and votescolding just got the summary I've been grasping at
Thank you
Seconded.
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 5:49 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]
Thirded, and flagged as fantastic comment if for no better reason than the gutfelt rhythm of the thing.
posted by flabdablet at 11:55 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 11:55 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]
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posted by cendawanita at 7:55 AM on October 5 [21 favorites]