"I would go so far as to say the blood of the innocent people who died on October 7th and who are now suffering in this conflict are actually on the hands of these useful Western idiots." Dalia Ziada
Lots of useful idiots in Portlandia, they have a feckless mayor his name is Ted Wheeler and he will be replaced by another Marxist at the end of his miserable term. In defense of Oregonians there are 33 or 36 counties and only 6 of them vote lemocrat but that makes Oregon just like Cali and Washington state. It’s sucks!
My parents lived just outside of Bend. It was beautiful. So sad. I think most people are sensible. I'm beginning to think education is a killer of reason.
Education no longer contains logic and critical thinking skills which have been replaced by brainwashing: narratives and propaganda, continuing the steady dumbing down of America.
Another superb article. Incidentally, the invention of "Palestine" was initiated by the USSR who used Chairman Arafat (an Egyptian) to try and establish Soviet/Marxist hegemony in the Middle East. I recall the 1974 ignominy of Arafat standing in front of an admiring UN audience, a revolver in his belt (AT THE F...ING UN!), lecturing all the useful idiots about the glory of his PLO and the coming victory of the "Balestinian beoble"
Yep, I mentioned that UN drama in another essay but can't think which one off the top of my head. I want to get into the Soviet connection at some point.
It would be an exaggeration to say the Soviets were behind ALL the evil of the 20th century but with the exception of the 1933 - 1945 Nazi period of hell, it's pretty much USSR all the way. Mao was a far worse criminal than Stalin/Lenin but the Soviets were the chief exporters of murderous Communism
I've been interested to read about Arafat's visit to the USSR and how the 6 Day War unfolded, very much influenced by the Soviets. Especially interesting to me since I witnessed the build-up to the war in Cairo just days before it started.
we "chews" are blamed fully fer Communism but the truth is the quite eye-openin' how the Brits framed the choos for that too... then again (sigh) we're blamed fer everything wrong in the world... (ingrown toenails, all genocides, an' of course everything goes wrong in the US which is--they tell us--run by "evil" Israel--oy)
Because of the growing success of the propoganda machine on the hate Israeli front it is becoming increasingly difficult to speak out publicly in support of Israeli. The same is true in terms of speaking out in support of Trump, on any matter, or now criticizing Harris, who together with Biden has left the US border wide open. Yet, Trump, who wants to close the border is the evil one. No one, it would seem is looking across the pond to see how Britain has descended into chaos as native Britains fight against mass immigration, legal and illegal that has made Britains feel like they are living in a foreign land. The western world is in deep trouble and thanks to useful idiots like the woman of whom you speak, there is little chance of saving it.
I think it’s revealing that the woman in line in the market has a husband who works for an Israeli, but they choose just to badmouth Jews and Israel behind his back rather than engaging in any meaningful discussion. Low quality persons. And yes, she should give her land back to whoever she stole it from. Hypocrite.
Thank you, Karen. As a Jew, I’m grateful to have such a fierce and intelligent warrior on our side.
I would only add, for your readers who are unaware of the history, that a great deal of Israeli land was *purchased* before WWI from the Ottoman Turks who were the absentee landlords at the time, at highly inflated prices. Other territory was won in war—something no one seems to question when it comes to any war other than one involving the Jews.
“And I know, I know, we’ve done the same,” she continued. “I understand that. We’re colonizers. We stole this land from Native Americans and it’s a tragedy.”
Not only are they useful idiots because they provide cover to the jihadists to kill our Jewish brothers and sisters. But the USA and the West as a whole are next. The Leftist theorists, like Frank Fanon, whose ideas they regurgitate like dogma, have robbed the elite class of the will to resist the murder of our own citizens, and ultimately, of our civilization itself.
Honestly Karen, I think people have lost their minds, but I also think there’s been a concerted effort behind it. I was discussing this with an older Nephew in the UK (a younger Nephew is on remand until 27 August for attending a protest). I asked him what he thought about the outbreak of antisemitism because prior to leaving the UK for Australia it wasn’t something I even encountered. He told me that one of his friends had become quite radicalised watching actual (not just conservative) far right material on the dark web. I think this slipped past us all…
I've actually written quite a bit about it. When I was around 12, my social studies teacher warned us that it wouldn't be communism that would destroy the West, it would fascism. At that time, in the 1970s communism was the boogie man. But somehow, what he said made a huge impression on me and I never forgot it. Perhaps because I walked through Dachau at the age of ten and other experiences in my childhood travels.
One of my friend’s was at Sbarro Pizza place just an hour before the suicide bombing. I was at Mahane Yehuda market just a day before two nail bombs went off in 1997. We both got lucky and it’s stayed with us ever since. I have witnessed how unapologetic these radical Jihadists are first hand when I filmed an Israeli mother desperately trying to reach out to the Palestinian mother of a young suicide attacker who had killed the Israeli mother’s daughter. The Palestinian mother wouldn’t budge - Allah’s will, martyr, Allah’s will, martyr… The Israeli mother got hung out dry. The two daughters dead, for nothing but an insane radical religion, and no softening of the Palestinian side whatsoever. It was painful and a huge lesson.
Yes, and people will call this a "narrative" as I mention in answer to a comment above. Everyone has a "narrative" and there is no right or wrong--except of course when it comes to Israel's right to exist, then it has no right. I witnessed this attitude of "Allah's will" as well. It is a scary thing because there is nothing you can do to get through to these people as you said. They are completely without remorse, completely brainwashed. And sadly, as I hear many who have left Islam say, moderate Muslims are living in a fantasy land, they are not willing to see the reality of this religion. They will not speak up against this radicalism because they fear reprisal, yet this does not wake them up to the fact that maybe, just maybe this is not a religion they should follow, even from the sidelines.
I’ve heard it said that to be a good Christian you have to be a good Jew. Your writings fits the narrative. That’s for the research you have done for this piece. 🥂🐸 to you KHM
"It is being said that 100,000 pro Hamas protestors are about to descend on Chicago for the DNC..." I'm guessing there is no way the city or the media will let any of that impact the convention. '68 was a real mess, and they don't want anything like that happening now.
The deep tragedy of this situation - and this has been true even before the State of Israel's existence - is that it is really very easy to construct a narrative whereby support for either 'side' of this conflict can earn you the name of 'useful idiot'. You, Karen, are no less vulnerable to this than any other self-styled commentator on this ongoing human catastrophe. Political Zionism is as much a tragedy for the Jews as the Nakba was for the Palestinians. I notice you steer well clear of Christian Zionism and AIPAC.. And the awkward fact that radical Islam was deliberately weaponised by The West. Relatively simplistic side-taking is always easily criticised, as you have elegantly shown. But the current visceral support for the plight of the Palestinians is just a stage of awakening for the majority of people in the US, UK, Europe and indeed all around the world on their way to understanding just how deeply manipulative and destructive the systems of financial and political control of their elites truly are. We are approaching an inflection point at which these systems will either break and change for the better or they will trap humanity in a biosecurity neo-feudal technocracy. To imagine that the state of Israel is NOT playing a critical role in the attempt to establish the latter is just DELUDED.
Sorry but this whole obsession with "Zionism" is a way to justify hatred of Jews. It is an example of one of those words that I talk about in my essay here, that people now repeat over and over because they have been conditioned to do so. Regular Jews who are willing to submit to being eliminated are okay, Jews who dare to fight for their existence are Zionists. I am a Zionist. Yes, a Christian Zionist, if you will. Although I do not like labels, but I guess this is what I will now be labeled. You will be more polite than to say I support genocide, but calling someone a Christian Zionist is just a polite way of labeling them as monsters, in the same pot as Jewish Zionists. I stand by Israel's right to exist and to fight for its existence against enemies who want to eliminate every Jew.
This is not a "narrative", nor does it have anything to do with corrupt governments. That is another topic all together and one I have dealt with multiple times in other essays. All governments are corrupt, so this is a nonargument. If you want to make such an argument, then please start with the corruption of your own government before you move on to condemn other nations.
And no, this defense of Palestinian isn't an "awakening". It is just another tool used to manipulate people. That is why Hamas calls those who fall for it "useless idiots". I am not sure why people don't find that a problem and think maybe they should reevaluate their position. If anti-Israel protestors really care, truly care about Palestinians they will listen to the words of Hamza Howedy, who tells them that they are hurting Gazans and helping Hamas. But they aren't interested in the truth, as I write about here and in other essays. Nor are they really committed to any cause. It is just the next thing on the list because they have no deep convictions of their own and they are easily swayed by every new fad. It is no different from Black Lives Matter, it is the same MO. The only thing is that the hatred is escalating. And it is manifesting itself in hatred against Jews.
Everything is now reduced to a "narrative". This is very convenient because it means there is no truth, everyone has their own truth, built upon narratives and one truth is as good as another--except when it comes to Israel, then there is only the truth that Zionists are evil. Unlike any other nation in the world, Israel has no right to exist. Every wrong its government has ever committed is used to justify its destruction.
Interesting how no one answers my question of why they do not protest in their own country about stolen land, and the arrogant hypocrisy of judging another country that they have no ties to, nor any understanding of what it means to live there. It is a mystery why they don't protest much worse atrocities, such as what has happened and is still happening to the Kurds. Why this obsession with Israel.
As for the difference between Jews and Muslims or Christianity and Islam, it is not a narrative to say that Islam is built upon the notion of killing all Jews. It is not a narrative to say that the religion is so extreme that Muslims are killed if they dare to leave Islam. I heard this with my own ears from men in Luxor. It was not a big deal to them. It was an accepted fact. It is not a narrative when people are tortured and killed for being gay in Muslim countries. These are not "narratives" to the people who experience it. October 7th was not a narrative. No. But narratives are being created to justify what happened.
I really get frustrated by this whole narrative thing. I can tell you; it is not a narrative when I say as a woman, I would be very happy living in Israel (I visited friends there, both Arab and Jewish), but I would never live again in a Muslim country. I say this through personal experience.
We can make choices, and one choice can better than another. One choice can be for freedom and the other choice for slavery. One choice can be right, and the other choice can be wrong. Not a narrative. We can stand up for freedom in America, despite its corruption, because we still have the ability to do so, unlike any Islamic country in the Middle East. Of course, nothing is completely free, no nation is without corruption. But really, there is no comparison between the United States and Israel and a country like Saudi Arabia or Egypt.
As somebody married to a Jew for 30 years who I have learnt so much from and who is in complete agreement with me, I find this reply of yours concerning Zionism extremely dismissive and offensive. Just as I find your dismissal of Max Blumenthal offensive. Why don't you just go ahead and include Sands, and Peled, and Mate and countless other Jews, academics, writers, historians, educators etc all of whose views on the nature of Zionism are similar? You will NOT get away with conflating all Judaism with this terrestrial materialist acquisitive racist brutal Zionism. And I have lived around Israelis for a long time - albeit not in Israel. I also say what I say through deep personal experience too.
I will not change my opinion just because of your doctrinaire and extremely distorted attack on Islam. Built on killing Jews, eh?
By 'imminent scholar' you probably mean eminent scholar. Any commentary or testament that Christopher Hitchens might have praised about Islam is not something to which I would even give the time of day. That creep sold his soul when he backed the Iraq war. He sold out to US militarism and rabid self-interest and narcissistic arrogance. Exactly what might have induced that shift in him we can only speculate about now......
You really think that it's only certain Islamic texts that can be found that talk about the slaughter of other faiths? Throughout their histories all three peoples of the Book have had 'teachers', leaders and 'commentators' preaching violence and bloodshed - mostly out of thirst for power and riches.
I don't care that you get frustrated by 'the whole narrative thing..' You peddle them just as much as anybody else. Don't fool yourself.
I did NOT equate defense of the Palestinian cause with awakening, I said for some it is a stage in an awakening process. Not for everybody. But actually it is, it has been for some..
There is a lot more manipulation of people going on the other side of this debate. A lot more. And a lot more lying. A lot more brutal racism and inhumanity. And a great deal more mindless rabid killing.
Inevitably in your shtick, Oct 7 crops up...how could it not? Well we know a lot more about that now, don't we?
Maybe that’s the most important sentence of all your critique - “I have lived around Israelis for a long time, albeit not in Israel.”
Plus I hear so many people comment on how their partner is Jewish and how that somehow elevates them into level of experts into anything, whilst living as a Jew in the Diaspora has been a profoundly different experience than actually living in Israel and the Middle East - with all that it entails. It is as such not quite as deep an experience as you make it out to be. It also a clean way to sanitize away any potential antisemitism accusations… (and I am not saying this is the problem with your critique, it’s a general observation). Equally it is astounding how dismissive people against those who have actually lived the experience of a life under total oppression in Gaza, Iran or elsewhere. Whilst I agree it cannot be used to sanitize Israel as the ‘the ultimate good guy’, you also cannot argue with these accounts by saying “oh but I have so many Arab friends here in NYC and it’s all totally different than what you say!”
You say “terrestrial materialist acquisitive racist brutal Zionism” - but the Chinese have been silently taking over Africa for years with its all its rich resources and their largest religious group are practicing Buddhists. Any words of wisdom on that?
Your sentence “terrestrial materialist acquisitive racist brutal …” - insert here Ottomans, insert here Arabs as colonizer, insert British Empire, insert Indonesia… .
THAT is part of Karen’s point - yours and others innate obsession of making “Zionists” the ultimate bad guys, hyperventilating at every turn and every corner, fueling the flames of Jew bashing for people to exorcise their own demons over the Jewish back by externalising rather than looking at their own individual and collective shadow. This isn’t about “awakening”, it’s shadow projection. But awakening is of course a much cleaner, nicer word and entails less (or no) internal work than shadow work. And the Jews have been the world’s favorite shadow projection field for millennia.
I have lived in the Middle East for several years and Karen’s statement resonates with me deeply - “I would live in Israel any time, but not again in a Muslim country.” This is because it’s impossible to live in a Muslim country as an unmarried woman. This is also why almost all of my Palestinian female friends have fled to the UAE or Dubai or the USA - because they wanted a half normal life as a non married Arab-Muslim, Arab-Christian woman. And I say that by knowing that Israel can be deeply racist, is deeply flawed, and people are extremely desensitized through years of warfare to the extreme. It’s not an easy country to live in.
But I also know the many beautiful souls there who have busted their ass to create different outcomes for everyone and who cherish life and freedom, who are way past living by the Old Testament accounts of Never-ending warfare to ‘preserve their faith and role of the chosen people’.
So when you talk about “Shtick of Oct 7”, are you referring to the lovely theories such as ‘Israel allowed it to happen’, ‘Israel knew…’, ‘Israel killed all of its own people’, and so on and so forth? Coz if that’s the case you have completely outed yourself in terms of having blinders on and going down the ‘Israel always lies’ route and that’s the equivalent of ‘all Jews lie everywhere all the time’… I know more than one case of a family who had family members kidnapped, killed by Hamas AND killed in “friendly” fire by the IDF in a botched rescue attempt out of a house. It is a matter of this AND that and not this OR that.
Victims can be perpetrators, perpetrators can be victims. Yes you could even argue that Hamas are victims - of their own religion and doctrines… that doesn’t make them less accountable. If does not make Israel less accountable either.
People make this about geopolitics. It isn’t. It’s about the cosmopolitical level having arrived full force in our planetary existence and how our ‘belief systems’, regardless what names they carry, are quite literally ‘coming to light’, and what can and what can’t be brought forward into the future. There cannot be freedom in human existence for as along as any culture anywhere holds on to beliefs that you must kill another because.. And this is why the Middle East conflict is not a territorial conflict, but a spiritual one. It always has been.
Your post makes all kinds of interpretations of my statements and claims of my meaning that are completely unfounded.
“I have lived around Israelis for a long time, albeit not in Israel.” No it isn't the most important statement I made at all, but it's the one you choose to highlight for the benefit of your argument.
'Plus I hear so many people comment on how their partner is Jewish and how that somehow elevates them into level of experts into anything,'
I do not call myself an expert on anything. I simply cite my experience - especially when told my argument is nothing but Jew-hatred masquerading as sociopolitical commentary. That IS offensive.
The Chinese taking over Africa? You're insane and stuffed full of Western propaganda.
My statement about Oct 7 does not make the preposterous claims you accuse me of - it merely points out the difference between the reality of what happened and the distortions and fear porn relentlessly promulgated by Israel to justify their disproportionate response.
Read my first post before leveling all this criticism at me. It's a tragedy for both sides. I make this very clear.
This ME conflict a spiritual conflict? Perhaps for one side - the other is entirely secular, masquerading as spiritual.. Is there a spiritual battle going on within Israelis ? Within some.. Yes.. I believe so.. But they have no voice... Within the rest there seems nothing other than mass psychosis. And that IS a tragedy.
Yes the Chinese have their fingers in many resource pies in Africa… though that’s a whole different story and the point I was making was re ‘materialistic’.
And no, I am not stuffed of Western propaganda, not after years of living in Africa and Middle East, but thanks so much for the insult by calling me “insane”. Guess you ran out of arguments here.
In case you didn’t notice I did not tell you YOUR argument is nothing but Jew-hatred masquerading as sociopolitical commentary. I said it was the case for some. Read again.
By the way the ‘disproportionate’ response was entirely predictable and you cannot argue that Hamas wouldn’t have known about it in advance…?:
No, you didn't accuse me of Jew-hatred.. But the author of this article did.
I do think to imagine that China is 'taking over Africa' borders on insanity. It's wild hyperbole if nothing else.. but many people actually believe it - even my friends and relatives born and bred in southern Africa...It's weird, to say the least to see and hear how gullible they are, how quick they are to parrot the stereotypes which are little more than projection by the usual suspects...
Yes, I accept your argument about Hamas' motives and predictions.. There are very troubling aspects to this.. But could anybody have clearly foreseen just how awful the response, just how complicit the Western leaders have been, just how keen to arm these atrocities? How impotent the international community?
"everything she repeated about “Palestine” was a lie,
I know very little about the conflict and what I know depends on what news source I consulted over the past few decades. You, in contrast, seem to be very sure about knowing all the facts. I was just wondering to which privileged "truly true" set of information you had access that makes you think you know more than this woman?
So, the Zionists never drove Palastines of the land? This is all lies and propaganda?
Not going to try any harder to convince you then the many essays I've written.
I lived in Egypt and had to escape the country. My family also.escaped out of Egypt, through Lebanon and Syria right before the 6 Day War. But I have written about all of these experiences.
Is Israel blameless? Certainly not. But I would ask what is your obsession with the wrongs of Israel? Have you displayed the same level of outrage with other much more horrific atrocities, those committed against the Kurds for example? And you ignore the premise of my essay. Are you willing to do what you expect Israelis to do? Give back your land to its original owners. Does your connection to your land go back 3,000 years as the Jews do?
FYI, this is not "my truth". You are doing exactly what I talk about. Refusing to listen to the many many courageous people who are being tortured and killed for speaking out. You make a mockery of their courage.
You are also.refusing to listen to Hamas itself and countless Imams etc who convey this message of the Caliphate.
Actually, after Israel declared itself the nation, the Arab armies told the Muslims in the area to leave their homes, the Jews would be attacked and overcome and they could return again. That isn't what happened though. In another essay, I have put the interviews with those who were told to leave by the surrounding Arab nations whom were going to attack.
I haven’t read much of you at all - not even sure why I am subscribed. It sounds like you and your family went through some serious hardship and I am sorry to hear that. No one deserves that.
It also answers my initial question - where does your knowledge and certainty comes from - it appears a lot comes from negative and harmful personal experience which can be very powerful and emotional and shapes strongly how people feel and think about things what they consider the truth. And, no doubt, it is their lived truth.
But it doesn’t mean it is the absolute truth about a matter - not that I think an absolute truth even exists. There are countless terrible stories on all sides from many people on this very difficult and complex topic. Each of the parties telling their own truth. And it is no surprise they won’t match.
This is such a tragic story imo. Despite your accusations and assumptions on how I think or feel about it or what I believe about it, I consciously do not take sides or have a strong opinion about it because I know that I don’t know anything about it.
But I do occassionally challenge people that have a strong position on either side of that tragic conflict who feel they are “right” and the others are “wrong”. I believe it is these strong opinions about right and wrong, first stirred up by people that want this conflict to go on - on both sides. And then it is amplified by people that fall for the propaganda - on both sides - and keep the conflict going.
Well, maybe I’m not the best writer for you to subscribe to. I try to engage with my readers as much as possible. I write on a variety of topics. FYI, I’ve written my fair share of essays about corrupt governments, Israel’s included.
What you are saying goes to my point that it is very easy to theorize about these things. However, when war comes to your doorstep, all the theories go out the window. You fight for your existence.
I do not write because of terrible experiences from my past. Actually, I look back at it all as great adventures and I realize that it gives me authority to speak now. Despite my experiences in childhood, I loved Luxor and never forgot it. I returned to Egypt in 2019 with a completely open mind wanting to understand and embrace Islam. I found out the truth, not of what happened to me, but what was happening to other people.
But if even personal experiences of people who have lived in the region holds no weight, as well as historical facts, then I don’t know what else there is to say.
Sometimes, we do need to take a side. Sometimes there is right and wrong. I can assure you, if bombs were falling on your head daily you would take a side against the people sending the bombs. And I can also assure you, if you were a Gazan who hadn’t been brainwashed by Hamas but still had your free mind, you would curse Hamas, not Israel. As Hamza Howedy does and others like him. Please read his message to Western protestors and take it to heart. https://www.newsweek.com/message-gazan-campus-protesters-youre-hurting-palestinian-cause-opinion-1894313
It actually wasn’t Israel who told landed Arabs to leave when the state was declared. The local mufti ordered the evacuation. Some ignored the orders and they are now Arab Israeli citizens with access to secular education, healthcare, sanitation etc.
there’s a ton of documentation on this. It’s available in any university library.
100% there were loud radio broadcasts an' flyers left! They were told ta leave b/c "all the joos would kill 'em" an' that they could return in a couple days-- true!
One snipet of thousands of snipets - when and where did it all start? How far back do you want to go? Immeasurable harm has been done on all sides. People go against each other because they are too stupid to see the bigger picture - there is only a few powerful nasty people that have very selfish interests in this dispute to go on indefinetily. Divide and conquer - same old game. It used to be nations doing it to other nations, ethical groups to others. What all you people don’t get is, that now (for some time, actually) it is the powerful ones dividing the people and put the people against each other. Think about that. The average Israeli and average Palistine family person have no beef which each other. Should have no beef. They all just want to live and be happy. It is divisive, unjust abusive policies and actions that divide them. And who is behind those?
This is the third return to Jerusalem. We will be rebuilding the temple for the third time. The Hamas is bad but nothing as bad as the romans. Jews have such long memories. We celebrate when 1330 years before Jesus when the laws were given and accepted. We eat cheesecake ( or blintzes). We remember the destruction of the temple (twice). We celebrate our slave revolt every year with the reminder that in every generation they will rise up against us and next year in Jerusalem.
Even the custom of putting a little earth from Israel in the coffin when we die.
Walk along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and see what it’s like to be alive in the center of the world.
Yes! I'd fergotten 'bout the little bit of earh. Most of kids did tree plantin' too--for Israel. So folks try ta tell us that Israel means "nuthin'" to us chews--it's just a piece of valuable real estate an' that "Greater Israel" is a plan to...wait fer it... TAKE OVER THE WORLD! (yes the acquisitive joos are gonna take over the world vs just wantin' a small piece of land the size of NewJoisey). egads 'an oy But they don't understand--we grew up with every prayer "Here oh Israel" an' always "Next Year in Jerusalem" an' both our history an' religion (however religious we may or many not be) is infused with meanin' for Israel. So I ain't easily insulted but I do hate when folks tell us it's just real estate for "us" greedy chews... Few folks outside the faith seem to know (or wanna know) the religion, the history--an' I'm the first one ta criticize the Israeli gubbaming! (That's a national pastime for all chews there too lol)
I have no respect for Max Blumenthal. If your response to everything I have said, and all well documented, is, "Israel lies all the time as well" then there is no intelligent conversation to be had. Every government lies. This is no big revelation.
When the Palestine cult uses the term “hasbara” as if they have any idea what they’re taking about, they’re unwittingly admitting exactly what they are, and what they know they are.
Like so many other words, it has suddenly become a part of people's vocabulary without any understanding of what it means, its history, not any thought into why the word has suddenly appeared everywhere.
Hasbarah is a waste of time. All it does is undermine Israel’s legitimacy. Because real countries don’t have to argue they are legitimate, Hasbarah’s one function is to deny Israel is a real country with real problems that need dealing with. . . . Next week, when we justly celebrate Israel completing its 71st year of existence, let’s do it the real justice it deserves and stop trying to justify it."
But, of course, other real countries do not have still other real countries, let alone millions of private individuals all over the world, insisting that they are illegitimate. The war for public opinion is as real as any war Israel has had to fight on the battlefield, and not one that it would be well-advised to run away from. As long as hasbarah relies on argument and reason, as it traditionally has done, rather than on threat and imprecation, it has its rightful place.
Thank you for writing this piece. The Free Press has also interviewed a Muslim who is speaking in defense of Israel as is the son of a former Hamas leader.
Lots of useful idiots in Portlandia, they have a feckless mayor his name is Ted Wheeler and he will be replaced by another Marxist at the end of his miserable term. In defense of Oregonians there are 33 or 36 counties and only 6 of them vote lemocrat but that makes Oregon just like Cali and Washington state. It’s sucks!
My parents lived just outside of Bend. It was beautiful. So sad. I think most people are sensible. I'm beginning to think education is a killer of reason.
Education no longer contains logic and critical thinking skills which have been replaced by brainwashing: narratives and propaganda, continuing the steady dumbing down of America.
Another superb article. Incidentally, the invention of "Palestine" was initiated by the USSR who used Chairman Arafat (an Egyptian) to try and establish Soviet/Marxist hegemony in the Middle East. I recall the 1974 ignominy of Arafat standing in front of an admiring UN audience, a revolver in his belt (AT THE F...ING UN!), lecturing all the useful idiots about the glory of his PLO and the coming victory of the "Balestinian beoble"
Thanks, George.
Yep, I mentioned that UN drama in another essay but can't think which one off the top of my head. I want to get into the Soviet connection at some point.
It would be an exaggeration to say the Soviets were behind ALL the evil of the 20th century but with the exception of the 1933 - 1945 Nazi period of hell, it's pretty much USSR all the way. Mao was a far worse criminal than Stalin/Lenin but the Soviets were the chief exporters of murderous Communism
I've been interested to read about Arafat's visit to the USSR and how the 6 Day War unfolded, very much influenced by the Soviets. Especially interesting to me since I witnessed the build-up to the war in Cairo just days before it started.
we "chews" are blamed fully fer Communism but the truth is the quite eye-openin' how the Brits framed the choos for that too... then again (sigh) we're blamed fer everything wrong in the world... (ingrown toenails, all genocides, an' of course everything goes wrong in the US which is--they tell us--run by "evil" Israel--oy)
THIS is a GREAT interview:
https://courtenayturner.com/ep-424-how-the-british-invented-communism-and-blamed-it-on-the-jews-w-richard-poe-courtenay-turner/
Because of the growing success of the propoganda machine on the hate Israeli front it is becoming increasingly difficult to speak out publicly in support of Israeli. The same is true in terms of speaking out in support of Trump, on any matter, or now criticizing Harris, who together with Biden has left the US border wide open. Yet, Trump, who wants to close the border is the evil one. No one, it would seem is looking across the pond to see how Britain has descended into chaos as native Britains fight against mass immigration, legal and illegal that has made Britains feel like they are living in a foreign land. The western world is in deep trouble and thanks to useful idiots like the woman of whom you speak, there is little chance of saving it.
I think it’s revealing that the woman in line in the market has a husband who works for an Israeli, but they choose just to badmouth Jews and Israel behind his back rather than engaging in any meaningful discussion. Low quality persons. And yes, she should give her land back to whoever she stole it from. Hypocrite.
Thank you, Karen. As a Jew, I’m grateful to have such a fierce and intelligent warrior on our side.
I would only add, for your readers who are unaware of the history, that a great deal of Israeli land was *purchased* before WWI from the Ottoman Turks who were the absentee landlords at the time, at highly inflated prices. Other territory was won in war—something no one seems to question when it comes to any war other than one involving the Jews.
Yes, that's another good point, thank you.
Well said!
And I fully agree, Karen is such a badass, brilliant, truth telling warrior!! I feel so honored to have people of such caliber standing up for us 🥹
Thank you.
Just give a screamer a sign, and a catchy slogan to scream out loud, and maybe they’ll receive their fifteen seconds of fame.
And perhaps a nice check payment from one of the SOROS type lunatic ‘useful idiots.’
“And I know, I know, we’ve done the same,” she continued. “I understand that. We’re colonizers. We stole this land from Native Americans and it’s a tragedy.”
Not only are they useful idiots because they provide cover to the jihadists to kill our Jewish brothers and sisters. But the USA and the West as a whole are next. The Leftist theorists, like Frank Fanon, whose ideas they regurgitate like dogma, have robbed the elite class of the will to resist the murder of our own citizens, and ultimately, of our civilization itself.
Honestly Karen, I think people have lost their minds, but I also think there’s been a concerted effort behind it. I was discussing this with an older Nephew in the UK (a younger Nephew is on remand until 27 August for attending a protest). I asked him what he thought about the outbreak of antisemitism because prior to leaving the UK for Australia it wasn’t something I even encountered. He told me that one of his friends had become quite radicalised watching actual (not just conservative) far right material on the dark web. I think this slipped past us all…
It's horrible.
I've actually written quite a bit about it. When I was around 12, my social studies teacher warned us that it wouldn't be communism that would destroy the West, it would fascism. At that time, in the 1970s communism was the boogie man. But somehow, what he said made a huge impression on me and I never forgot it. Perhaps because I walked through Dachau at the age of ten and other experiences in my childhood travels.
In 2022, I wrote The United States of Schizophrenia. https://khmezek.substack.com/p/the-united-states-of-schizophrenia
One of my friend’s was at Sbarro Pizza place just an hour before the suicide bombing. I was at Mahane Yehuda market just a day before two nail bombs went off in 1997. We both got lucky and it’s stayed with us ever since. I have witnessed how unapologetic these radical Jihadists are first hand when I filmed an Israeli mother desperately trying to reach out to the Palestinian mother of a young suicide attacker who had killed the Israeli mother’s daughter. The Palestinian mother wouldn’t budge - Allah’s will, martyr, Allah’s will, martyr… The Israeli mother got hung out dry. The two daughters dead, for nothing but an insane radical religion, and no softening of the Palestinian side whatsoever. It was painful and a huge lesson.
Yes, and people will call this a "narrative" as I mention in answer to a comment above. Everyone has a "narrative" and there is no right or wrong--except of course when it comes to Israel's right to exist, then it has no right. I witnessed this attitude of "Allah's will" as well. It is a scary thing because there is nothing you can do to get through to these people as you said. They are completely without remorse, completely brainwashed. And sadly, as I hear many who have left Islam say, moderate Muslims are living in a fantasy land, they are not willing to see the reality of this religion. They will not speak up against this radicalism because they fear reprisal, yet this does not wake them up to the fact that maybe, just maybe this is not a religion they should follow, even from the sidelines.
I’ve heard it said that to be a good Christian you have to be a good Jew. Your writings fits the narrative. That’s for the research you have done for this piece. 🥂🐸 to you KHM
Good morning, Karen. Happy Sunday.
"It is being said that 100,000 pro Hamas protestors are about to descend on Chicago for the DNC..." I'm guessing there is no way the city or the media will let any of that impact the convention. '68 was a real mess, and they don't want anything like that happening now.
Everything is so wild now, I am not sure what to expect, quite honestly. But we shall see.
The deep tragedy of this situation - and this has been true even before the State of Israel's existence - is that it is really very easy to construct a narrative whereby support for either 'side' of this conflict can earn you the name of 'useful idiot'. You, Karen, are no less vulnerable to this than any other self-styled commentator on this ongoing human catastrophe. Political Zionism is as much a tragedy for the Jews as the Nakba was for the Palestinians. I notice you steer well clear of Christian Zionism and AIPAC.. And the awkward fact that radical Islam was deliberately weaponised by The West. Relatively simplistic side-taking is always easily criticised, as you have elegantly shown. But the current visceral support for the plight of the Palestinians is just a stage of awakening for the majority of people in the US, UK, Europe and indeed all around the world on their way to understanding just how deeply manipulative and destructive the systems of financial and political control of their elites truly are. We are approaching an inflection point at which these systems will either break and change for the better or they will trap humanity in a biosecurity neo-feudal technocracy. To imagine that the state of Israel is NOT playing a critical role in the attempt to establish the latter is just DELUDED.
Sorry but this whole obsession with "Zionism" is a way to justify hatred of Jews. It is an example of one of those words that I talk about in my essay here, that people now repeat over and over because they have been conditioned to do so. Regular Jews who are willing to submit to being eliminated are okay, Jews who dare to fight for their existence are Zionists. I am a Zionist. Yes, a Christian Zionist, if you will. Although I do not like labels, but I guess this is what I will now be labeled. You will be more polite than to say I support genocide, but calling someone a Christian Zionist is just a polite way of labeling them as monsters, in the same pot as Jewish Zionists. I stand by Israel's right to exist and to fight for its existence against enemies who want to eliminate every Jew.
This is not a "narrative", nor does it have anything to do with corrupt governments. That is another topic all together and one I have dealt with multiple times in other essays. All governments are corrupt, so this is a nonargument. If you want to make such an argument, then please start with the corruption of your own government before you move on to condemn other nations.
And no, this defense of Palestinian isn't an "awakening". It is just another tool used to manipulate people. That is why Hamas calls those who fall for it "useless idiots". I am not sure why people don't find that a problem and think maybe they should reevaluate their position. If anti-Israel protestors really care, truly care about Palestinians they will listen to the words of Hamza Howedy, who tells them that they are hurting Gazans and helping Hamas. But they aren't interested in the truth, as I write about here and in other essays. Nor are they really committed to any cause. It is just the next thing on the list because they have no deep convictions of their own and they are easily swayed by every new fad. It is no different from Black Lives Matter, it is the same MO. The only thing is that the hatred is escalating. And it is manifesting itself in hatred against Jews.
Everything is now reduced to a "narrative". This is very convenient because it means there is no truth, everyone has their own truth, built upon narratives and one truth is as good as another--except when it comes to Israel, then there is only the truth that Zionists are evil. Unlike any other nation in the world, Israel has no right to exist. Every wrong its government has ever committed is used to justify its destruction.
Interesting how no one answers my question of why they do not protest in their own country about stolen land, and the arrogant hypocrisy of judging another country that they have no ties to, nor any understanding of what it means to live there. It is a mystery why they don't protest much worse atrocities, such as what has happened and is still happening to the Kurds. Why this obsession with Israel.
As for the difference between Jews and Muslims or Christianity and Islam, it is not a narrative to say that Islam is built upon the notion of killing all Jews. It is not a narrative to say that the religion is so extreme that Muslims are killed if they dare to leave Islam. I heard this with my own ears from men in Luxor. It was not a big deal to them. It was an accepted fact. It is not a narrative when people are tortured and killed for being gay in Muslim countries. These are not "narratives" to the people who experience it. October 7th was not a narrative. No. But narratives are being created to justify what happened.
I really get frustrated by this whole narrative thing. I can tell you; it is not a narrative when I say as a woman, I would be very happy living in Israel (I visited friends there, both Arab and Jewish), but I would never live again in a Muslim country. I say this through personal experience.
We can make choices, and one choice can better than another. One choice can be for freedom and the other choice for slavery. One choice can be right, and the other choice can be wrong. Not a narrative. We can stand up for freedom in America, despite its corruption, because we still have the ability to do so, unlike any Islamic country in the Middle East. Of course, nothing is completely free, no nation is without corruption. But really, there is no comparison between the United States and Israel and a country like Saudi Arabia or Egypt.
Please watch this imminent scholar if you doubt me, who will tell you the truth. https://youtu.be/psHAiQyAeIw?si=l4ME9h5Rwt3eU2D7
You can watch this video of one of my dad's talks on Israel. As a Christian, this is Biblical. https://youtu.be/cNuEm_rO0aQ?si=VExXh6W3x2kY_lCN
As somebody married to a Jew for 30 years who I have learnt so much from and who is in complete agreement with me, I find this reply of yours concerning Zionism extremely dismissive and offensive. Just as I find your dismissal of Max Blumenthal offensive. Why don't you just go ahead and include Sands, and Peled, and Mate and countless other Jews, academics, writers, historians, educators etc all of whose views on the nature of Zionism are similar? You will NOT get away with conflating all Judaism with this terrestrial materialist acquisitive racist brutal Zionism. And I have lived around Israelis for a long time - albeit not in Israel. I also say what I say through deep personal experience too.
I will not change my opinion just because of your doctrinaire and extremely distorted attack on Islam. Built on killing Jews, eh?
By 'imminent scholar' you probably mean eminent scholar. Any commentary or testament that Christopher Hitchens might have praised about Islam is not something to which I would even give the time of day. That creep sold his soul when he backed the Iraq war. He sold out to US militarism and rabid self-interest and narcissistic arrogance. Exactly what might have induced that shift in him we can only speculate about now......
You really think that it's only certain Islamic texts that can be found that talk about the slaughter of other faiths? Throughout their histories all three peoples of the Book have had 'teachers', leaders and 'commentators' preaching violence and bloodshed - mostly out of thirst for power and riches.
I don't care that you get frustrated by 'the whole narrative thing..' You peddle them just as much as anybody else. Don't fool yourself.
I did NOT equate defense of the Palestinian cause with awakening, I said for some it is a stage in an awakening process. Not for everybody. But actually it is, it has been for some..
There is a lot more manipulation of people going on the other side of this debate. A lot more. And a lot more lying. A lot more brutal racism and inhumanity. And a great deal more mindless rabid killing.
Inevitably in your shtick, Oct 7 crops up...how could it not? Well we know a lot more about that now, don't we?
Maybe that’s the most important sentence of all your critique - “I have lived around Israelis for a long time, albeit not in Israel.”
Plus I hear so many people comment on how their partner is Jewish and how that somehow elevates them into level of experts into anything, whilst living as a Jew in the Diaspora has been a profoundly different experience than actually living in Israel and the Middle East - with all that it entails. It is as such not quite as deep an experience as you make it out to be. It also a clean way to sanitize away any potential antisemitism accusations… (and I am not saying this is the problem with your critique, it’s a general observation). Equally it is astounding how dismissive people against those who have actually lived the experience of a life under total oppression in Gaza, Iran or elsewhere. Whilst I agree it cannot be used to sanitize Israel as the ‘the ultimate good guy’, you also cannot argue with these accounts by saying “oh but I have so many Arab friends here in NYC and it’s all totally different than what you say!”
You say “terrestrial materialist acquisitive racist brutal Zionism” - but the Chinese have been silently taking over Africa for years with its all its rich resources and their largest religious group are practicing Buddhists. Any words of wisdom on that?
Your sentence “terrestrial materialist acquisitive racist brutal …” - insert here Ottomans, insert here Arabs as colonizer, insert British Empire, insert Indonesia… .
THAT is part of Karen’s point - yours and others innate obsession of making “Zionists” the ultimate bad guys, hyperventilating at every turn and every corner, fueling the flames of Jew bashing for people to exorcise their own demons over the Jewish back by externalising rather than looking at their own individual and collective shadow. This isn’t about “awakening”, it’s shadow projection. But awakening is of course a much cleaner, nicer word and entails less (or no) internal work than shadow work. And the Jews have been the world’s favorite shadow projection field for millennia.
I have lived in the Middle East for several years and Karen’s statement resonates with me deeply - “I would live in Israel any time, but not again in a Muslim country.” This is because it’s impossible to live in a Muslim country as an unmarried woman. This is also why almost all of my Palestinian female friends have fled to the UAE or Dubai or the USA - because they wanted a half normal life as a non married Arab-Muslim, Arab-Christian woman. And I say that by knowing that Israel can be deeply racist, is deeply flawed, and people are extremely desensitized through years of warfare to the extreme. It’s not an easy country to live in.
But I also know the many beautiful souls there who have busted their ass to create different outcomes for everyone and who cherish life and freedom, who are way past living by the Old Testament accounts of Never-ending warfare to ‘preserve their faith and role of the chosen people’.
So when you talk about “Shtick of Oct 7”, are you referring to the lovely theories such as ‘Israel allowed it to happen’, ‘Israel knew…’, ‘Israel killed all of its own people’, and so on and so forth? Coz if that’s the case you have completely outed yourself in terms of having blinders on and going down the ‘Israel always lies’ route and that’s the equivalent of ‘all Jews lie everywhere all the time’… I know more than one case of a family who had family members kidnapped, killed by Hamas AND killed in “friendly” fire by the IDF in a botched rescue attempt out of a house. It is a matter of this AND that and not this OR that.
Victims can be perpetrators, perpetrators can be victims. Yes you could even argue that Hamas are victims - of their own religion and doctrines… that doesn’t make them less accountable. If does not make Israel less accountable either.
People make this about geopolitics. It isn’t. It’s about the cosmopolitical level having arrived full force in our planetary existence and how our ‘belief systems’, regardless what names they carry, are quite literally ‘coming to light’, and what can and what can’t be brought forward into the future. There cannot be freedom in human existence for as along as any culture anywhere holds on to beliefs that you must kill another because.. And this is why the Middle East conflict is not a territorial conflict, but a spiritual one. It always has been.
Your post makes all kinds of interpretations of my statements and claims of my meaning that are completely unfounded.
“I have lived around Israelis for a long time, albeit not in Israel.” No it isn't the most important statement I made at all, but it's the one you choose to highlight for the benefit of your argument.
'Plus I hear so many people comment on how their partner is Jewish and how that somehow elevates them into level of experts into anything,'
I do not call myself an expert on anything. I simply cite my experience - especially when told my argument is nothing but Jew-hatred masquerading as sociopolitical commentary. That IS offensive.
The Chinese taking over Africa? You're insane and stuffed full of Western propaganda.
My statement about Oct 7 does not make the preposterous claims you accuse me of - it merely points out the difference between the reality of what happened and the distortions and fear porn relentlessly promulgated by Israel to justify their disproportionate response.
Read my first post before leveling all this criticism at me. It's a tragedy for both sides. I make this very clear.
This ME conflict a spiritual conflict? Perhaps for one side - the other is entirely secular, masquerading as spiritual.. Is there a spiritual battle going on within Israelis ? Within some.. Yes.. I believe so.. But they have no voice... Within the rest there seems nothing other than mass psychosis. And that IS a tragedy.
Yes the Chinese have their fingers in many resource pies in Africa… though that’s a whole different story and the point I was making was re ‘materialistic’.
And no, I am not stuffed of Western propaganda, not after years of living in Africa and Middle East, but thanks so much for the insult by calling me “insane”. Guess you ran out of arguments here.
In case you didn’t notice I did not tell you YOUR argument is nothing but Jew-hatred masquerading as sociopolitical commentary. I said it was the case for some. Read again.
By the way the ‘disproportionate’ response was entirely predictable and you cannot argue that Hamas wouldn’t have known about it in advance…?:
https://newrepublic.com/article/176512/palestinian-people-enraged-israel-hamas
No, you didn't accuse me of Jew-hatred.. But the author of this article did.
I do think to imagine that China is 'taking over Africa' borders on insanity. It's wild hyperbole if nothing else.. but many people actually believe it - even my friends and relatives born and bred in southern Africa...It's weird, to say the least to see and hear how gullible they are, how quick they are to parrot the stereotypes which are little more than projection by the usual suspects...
Yes, I accept your argument about Hamas' motives and predictions.. There are very troubling aspects to this.. But could anybody have clearly foreseen just how awful the response, just how complicit the Western leaders have been, just how keen to arm these atrocities? How impotent the international community?
There are very dark forces at play...
"everything she repeated about “Palestine” was a lie,
I know very little about the conflict and what I know depends on what news source I consulted over the past few decades. You, in contrast, seem to be very sure about knowing all the facts. I was just wondering to which privileged "truly true" set of information you had access that makes you think you know more than this woman?
So, the Zionists never drove Palastines of the land? This is all lies and propaganda?
Not going to try any harder to convince you then the many essays I've written.
I lived in Egypt and had to escape the country. My family also.escaped out of Egypt, through Lebanon and Syria right before the 6 Day War. But I have written about all of these experiences.
Is Israel blameless? Certainly not. But I would ask what is your obsession with the wrongs of Israel? Have you displayed the same level of outrage with other much more horrific atrocities, those committed against the Kurds for example? And you ignore the premise of my essay. Are you willing to do what you expect Israelis to do? Give back your land to its original owners. Does your connection to your land go back 3,000 years as the Jews do?
FYI, this is not "my truth". You are doing exactly what I talk about. Refusing to listen to the many many courageous people who are being tortured and killed for speaking out. You make a mockery of their courage.
You are also.refusing to listen to Hamas itself and countless Imams etc who convey this message of the Caliphate.
Actually, after Israel declared itself the nation, the Arab armies told the Muslims in the area to leave their homes, the Jews would be attacked and overcome and they could return again. That isn't what happened though. In another essay, I have put the interviews with those who were told to leave by the surrounding Arab nations whom were going to attack.
You can read Hard Facts: From the River to the Sea https://khmezek.substack.com/p/hard-facts-from-the-river-to-the
The Coming Caliphate https://khmezek.substack.com/p/the-coming-caliphate
The Truth about UNRWA https://khmezek.substack.com/p/the-truth-about-unrwa
Please read my essays in The Egypt Files, such as Tales of Eclipse: The Lost (Foreign) Women of Luxor https://khmezek.substack.com/p/tales-of-eclipse-the-lost-foreign. I tell my own experiences.
I haven’t read much of you at all - not even sure why I am subscribed. It sounds like you and your family went through some serious hardship and I am sorry to hear that. No one deserves that.
It also answers my initial question - where does your knowledge and certainty comes from - it appears a lot comes from negative and harmful personal experience which can be very powerful and emotional and shapes strongly how people feel and think about things what they consider the truth. And, no doubt, it is their lived truth.
But it doesn’t mean it is the absolute truth about a matter - not that I think an absolute truth even exists. There are countless terrible stories on all sides from many people on this very difficult and complex topic. Each of the parties telling their own truth. And it is no surprise they won’t match.
This is such a tragic story imo. Despite your accusations and assumptions on how I think or feel about it or what I believe about it, I consciously do not take sides or have a strong opinion about it because I know that I don’t know anything about it.
But I do occassionally challenge people that have a strong position on either side of that tragic conflict who feel they are “right” and the others are “wrong”. I believe it is these strong opinions about right and wrong, first stirred up by people that want this conflict to go on - on both sides. And then it is amplified by people that fall for the propaganda - on both sides - and keep the conflict going.
Well, maybe I’m not the best writer for you to subscribe to. I try to engage with my readers as much as possible. I write on a variety of topics. FYI, I’ve written my fair share of essays about corrupt governments, Israel’s included.
What you are saying goes to my point that it is very easy to theorize about these things. However, when war comes to your doorstep, all the theories go out the window. You fight for your existence.
I do not write because of terrible experiences from my past. Actually, I look back at it all as great adventures and I realize that it gives me authority to speak now. Despite my experiences in childhood, I loved Luxor and never forgot it. I returned to Egypt in 2019 with a completely open mind wanting to understand and embrace Islam. I found out the truth, not of what happened to me, but what was happening to other people.
But if even personal experiences of people who have lived in the region holds no weight, as well as historical facts, then I don’t know what else there is to say.
Sometimes, we do need to take a side. Sometimes there is right and wrong. I can assure you, if bombs were falling on your head daily you would take a side against the people sending the bombs. And I can also assure you, if you were a Gazan who hadn’t been brainwashed by Hamas but still had your free mind, you would curse Hamas, not Israel. As Hamza Howedy does and others like him. Please read his message to Western protestors and take it to heart. https://www.newsweek.com/message-gazan-campus-protesters-youre-hurting-palestinian-cause-opinion-1894313
It actually wasn’t Israel who told landed Arabs to leave when the state was declared. The local mufti ordered the evacuation. Some ignored the orders and they are now Arab Israeli citizens with access to secular education, healthcare, sanitation etc.
there’s a ton of documentation on this. It’s available in any university library.
Thank you.
100% there were loud radio broadcasts an' flyers left! They were told ta leave b/c "all the joos would kill 'em" an' that they could return in a couple days-- true!
One snipet of thousands of snipets - when and where did it all start? How far back do you want to go? Immeasurable harm has been done on all sides. People go against each other because they are too stupid to see the bigger picture - there is only a few powerful nasty people that have very selfish interests in this dispute to go on indefinetily. Divide and conquer - same old game. It used to be nations doing it to other nations, ethical groups to others. What all you people don’t get is, that now (for some time, actually) it is the powerful ones dividing the people and put the people against each other. Think about that. The average Israeli and average Palistine family person have no beef which each other. Should have no beef. They all just want to live and be happy. It is divisive, unjust abusive policies and actions that divide them. And who is behind those?
It is a clear and obvious fact that the elites divide the people against one another, thereby keeping the people weak and the elites strong.
THE BIG PICTURE: How Anthrax & the War on Terror Brought Us to the Brink of WWIII
https://khmezek.substack.com/p/the-big-picture-how-anthrax-and-the?utm_source=publication-search
Utopian Madness
https://khmezek.substack.com/p/utopian-madness?utm_source=publication-search
This is the third return to Jerusalem. We will be rebuilding the temple for the third time. The Hamas is bad but nothing as bad as the romans. Jews have such long memories. We celebrate when 1330 years before Jesus when the laws were given and accepted. We eat cheesecake ( or blintzes). We remember the destruction of the temple (twice). We celebrate our slave revolt every year with the reminder that in every generation they will rise up against us and next year in Jerusalem.
Even the custom of putting a little earth from Israel in the coffin when we die.
Walk along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and see what it’s like to be alive in the center of the world.
Beautifully said.
Yes! I'd fergotten 'bout the little bit of earh. Most of kids did tree plantin' too--for Israel. So folks try ta tell us that Israel means "nuthin'" to us chews--it's just a piece of valuable real estate an' that "Greater Israel" is a plan to...wait fer it... TAKE OVER THE WORLD! (yes the acquisitive joos are gonna take over the world vs just wantin' a small piece of land the size of NewJoisey). egads 'an oy But they don't understand--we grew up with every prayer "Here oh Israel" an' always "Next Year in Jerusalem" an' both our history an' religion (however religious we may or many not be) is infused with meanin' for Israel. So I ain't easily insulted but I do hate when folks tell us it's just real estate for "us" greedy chews... Few folks outside the faith seem to know (or wanna know) the religion, the history--an' I'm the first one ta criticize the Israeli gubbaming! (That's a national pastime for all chews there too lol)
And Israel lies all the time as well. They have perfected hasbara (explain that word to your readers). Just read Max Blumenthal’s Goliath. Wake Up.
I have no respect for Max Blumenthal. If your response to everything I have said, and all well documented, is, "Israel lies all the time as well" then there is no intelligent conversation to be had. Every government lies. This is no big revelation.
When the Palestine cult uses the term “hasbara” as if they have any idea what they’re taking about, they’re unwittingly admitting exactly what they are, and what they know they are.
Another useful idiot of Hamas. Sad.
Like so many other words, it has suddenly become a part of people's vocabulary without any understanding of what it means, its history, not any thought into why the word has suddenly appeared everywhere.
Columnist Anshel Pfeffer wrote in Haaretz:
Hasbarah is a waste of time. All it does is undermine Israel’s legitimacy. Because real countries don’t have to argue they are legitimate, Hasbarah’s one function is to deny Israel is a real country with real problems that need dealing with. . . . Next week, when we justly celebrate Israel completing its 71st year of existence, let’s do it the real justice it deserves and stop trying to justify it."
But, of course, other real countries do not have still other real countries, let alone millions of private individuals all over the world, insisting that they are illegitimate. The war for public opinion is as real as any war Israel has had to fight on the battlefield, and not one that it would be well-advised to run away from. As long as hasbarah relies on argument and reason, as it traditionally has done, rather than on threat and imprecation, it has its rightful place.
https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/israel-zionism/2019/05/the-real-meaning-of-hasbarah-and-hasbarah/
Well. I lernt sumthin’ new today. Hasbera. I’m still not clear on how Hamas uses it. But they lie every time they open their mouths.
Max comprehensively documents Israel’s lies, and deserves everyone’s respect.
Sure he does. All SJWs, since the 1960s, have the correct views.
Read then. No body is forcing you not to read it. Form an informed opinion not just parrot some propaganda 😂
Thank you for writing this piece. The Free Press has also interviewed a Muslim who is speaking in defense of Israel as is the son of a former Hamas leader.
If I ever have enough material (and motivation), my phrase will be “Buy Me a Pepsi”. Inspired by your phrase.