Rob Rogers for October 11, 2023

First I want to state with unequivocable clarity that no amount of prior oppression justifies lowering oneself to the same level of human rights violations and murdering, kidnapping and hostage-taking of innocent civilians BY THOSE ON EITHER SIDE.

That said, when you place the boot of oppression on the neck of the victim for decades, with no recourse, you can’t be surprised when they finally say, “Enough is enough” and take drastic action — however inappropriate, however much they debase their own cause — you cannot claim that it suddenly came out of nowhere.

Much of the commentary about this attack — this terrorist attack — centers around how it was possible for Israel’s vaunted intelligence operations to miss so many signals for such a large-scale operations.

Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu has been trying for years to drum up an excuse to wage an all-out war of total destruction against the Palestinians, especially those in the tiny Gaza Strip, where 2.3 MILLION people are crammed into a tiny 17 square miles (basically two miles by almost eight miles), overcrowded and in poverty.

I am not suggesting at all that there was any direct complicity in this horrific act of terrorism. But did Netanyahu and his intelligence sources have clues that they ignored the way Dubya Bush ignored specific warnings about the attacks before 9/11? Just look the other way? Turn a blind eye?

After Netanyahu’s attempts to remake the Israeli Supreme Court resulted in massive public opposition and his popularity was at new lows, he was desperate to rebuild public support. Now, after the terrorist attacks and his hard line response, he is all of a sudden popular again. Coincidence?

Netanyahu’s long-held open secret desire to have an excuse to pummel the Gaza Strip into oblivion has gained too much for the above to be ignored. No actual accusation or allegation should be made without evidence, but this is a perspective that must absolutely be looked into.

The middle east is mired in the idea that “justice” means “get them back, just like they did to you, but more”. This has been going on there since, as far as I can tell, they lost most of their body hair and started to have language. This is aka “toxic tribalism” and it’s actually not an entirely horrible way to deal with social troubles… as long as the most dangerous weapons are stone-age. Much of the rest of the world has learned to accept a more… enlightened… justice and more to the point, learned how to just let some of your personal anger fade away. That is simply not possible in this part of the world. Not even conceivable to the great majority.

So: Do I blame Hamas (and the folks who supply them)? Absolutely. Do I blame Israel (and the folks who supply them)? Absolutely. Do I blame the troops on the ground? Yeah, but it’s totally understandable how they got there. And do I see a way to get out of the circle of hate? Nope. Not until they and all their families on EVERY side are all dead. Or migrated individually into a saner culture.

Nothing comes from nothing.

“Imagine there’s no countries

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace"

(John Lennon)

Web Oct 10, 2023 · At 139 square miles, the Gaza Strip is approximately equal in size to the city of Philadelphia. But the Gaza Strip has about one-third more people than Philadelphia. That’s slightly more than twice the size of Washington, D.C. Its border with Israel is about 36 miles and its border with Egypt is about eight miles.

Sadly, a lot of truth in just a few words.

I find it strange that Israel have the same Idolatry wanting extra land that is known in Germany as the Lebensraum theory in Hitlerism. Just on a smaller scale. For decades Palestinians have had their land forcably taken from them.

If Hamas had any credibility, it’s gone.

that’s it in a nutshell. what goes around come around…

Having avowed enemies on all sides calling for your total destruction and the finishing of what Hitler started might just make a nation nervous about its security.

Palestine had their own country. Then decide to attack Israel. Big mistake.

Israel doesn’t occupy Gaza. Egypt continues to do block off Gaza. Hamas brutalizes and oppreses the Gazans far more than anyone else.

There has never been a Palestine nation. Both prior to and under Ottoman rule the area was fragmented into several administrative territories/enclaves each reflecting the ethnic & religious group in the particular region. Indeed, identification as “Palestinians” did not occur until after WWI lumped together some districts into what became the British Mandate of Palestine.

Out of nowhere?.. Really? This nightmare has been brewing for a long time.

Can’t stand Netanyahu, but nothing Israel has done justifies taking babies hostage, ok? That’s a completely evil act, that can’t be blamed on the other bad guy.

Disgusting. Time to unfollow you.

Exactly

Just another brain dead right winger.

Netanyahu’s policies brought this about.

Gaza has 2.3 million people and out of that around 15,000 Hamas terrorists. Chicago has 2.7 million people and out of that 150,000 gang members. Who would ever suggest bombing the city of Chicago into dust to get rid of the gangs?

If Hamas had a problem with Israeli’s leadership, why take it out on innocent Israeli civilians? Especially in such a barbaric manner? Did they honestly think they were going to win over the world’s hearts and minds via decapitations?

Make no mistake, Hamas bears 100% responsibility for instigating this war. But when an entire nation are treated like animals for 75 years, why is anyone surprised when they start acting like animals?

It’s not strange to expect violence to result from that sort of situation. Expecting sainthood from people is a mug’s game.

I thought Don Jr. took care of all that mess.

Amazing how two pieces of land: one, “The Gaza Strip is 41 km (25 mi) long, from 6 to 12 km (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, and has a total area of 365 km2 (141 sq mi). It has a 51 km (32 mi) border with Israel, and an 11 km (7 mi) border with Egypt, near the city of Rafah.” and the second, smaller than Vermont, can create such death and destruction.

Finally, someone draws it like it is.

Except people from Apartheid South Africa have pointed out that there is nothing apartheid here. They have equal rights as long as they are not criminals that blow up civillians with missiles.