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Israel-Gaza Megathread #1

This is a megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.

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How would Zionists behave if they were in the Palestinian position?

This is a key question for determining the moral severity of the terrorist attacks we saw this weekend. A common criticism of Hamas is that they engage in terrorism against civilians whereas their morally enlightened (ostensibly) Israeli cousins only attack military targets. But I think this ignores the fact that Israel has the luxury of successfully hitting military targets. Israel can kill just as many civilians as Hamas by targeting military sites, while also killing relevant military leaders and defending against unwanted criticism. Yet at the end of the day, the same if not more civilians are killed, and the same terror is instilled in the enemy’s civilian population. Regarding an Israeli missile attack in May which killed ten civilians, Amnesty writes:

They were launched into densely populated urban areas at 2am when families were sleeping at home, which suggests that those who planned and authorized the attacks anticipated – and likely disregarded – the disproportionate harm to civilians. Intentionally launching disproportionate attacks, a pattern Amnesty International has documented in previous Israeli operations, is a war crime.

The idea that it is morally acceptable to kill civilians when you also kill military targets at the same time is often brought up when American bombings in Japan during WWII are discussed. However, I’m not convinced that there is a clear moral difference between Hamas actions and, say, the firebombing of Tokyo, where as many as 100k were killed, the vast majority being civilians.

Back to the question at hand, we know that Zionists had no issue bombing embassies and killing non-combatants in order to colonize the land of what is now called Israel. In the 40s, they notably bombed a British embassy, and in the 50s the Israeli government pressured Britain and Italy not to investigate the bombing. Recently, an Israeli historian has claimed that Zionists were responsible for the bombings targeting the Jews of Baghdad in order to pressure Jews to migrate and settle Israel. So, back when Israel’s position was more similar to Palestine, they did in fact engage in terrorist activity. If Israeli militants would behave as Hamas militants were they in that position, then the immorality of Hamas conduct is greatly diminished in severity.

If either side was in each others position they would be extreme ultranationalists/hardcore identitarian tribalists as they are now. I think the Zionists would be more competent at dealing with another invading group had they been equally smart in that scenario. If the zionists were in palestinian position and were invaded by a group called the Yews that behaved just like the Jews did historically, they would hate their guts with an intense fanaticism that is rarely seen. And yes they would of course utilize terorrism like they did historically, and they wouldn't stop had it been the advantageous method for them to utilize in the circumstances. Generally Jews would really, really, really hate a group that behaved against the Jews like Jews behave towards non Jews.

If Israeli militants would behave as Hamas militants were they in that position, then the immorality of Hamas conduct is greatly diminished in severity.

Yes, relatively to Israel that is. Neither Hamas nor the Israelis and their fans are reasonable groups of people, from the perspective of seeking compromise, avoiding bloodshed, acting morally and ethically, with a mind to proportionality, caring consistently about the golden rule, respecting others rights, etc, etc. Including the same people in the west and in the middle east, they are all a bunch of crybullies, quite possible for them to be victimized based on circumstances, but whenever they get the opportunity they will mistreat others for their benefit and cry about being the victims besides.

So I am not a fan of either sides, or even the behavior of their diaspora but I would prefer if they behaved better but alas you can't change them just cause you wish it to be so. Although due to greater power, I find Israel has the greater responsibility to stop illegal settlements.

Anyhow, contemporary Israel bad behavior and war crimes and unhinged genocidal rhetoric we see among Zionists is already bad enough and worse than what the Palestinians do, although one could argue that had they had the power they would be just as bad or worse.

Anyhow, contemporary Israel bad behavior and war crimes and unhinged genocidal rhetoric we see among Zionists is already bad enough and worse than what the Palestinians do,

No, it isn’t. Israel should stop settlerism in the West Bank, yes, but it’s not the equivalent of what Hamas is doing in southern Israel right now. Israel should probably show a bit more concern for civilian casualties, but it’s not taking preemptive strikes against a music festival.

Israel has killed far more Palestinians than otherwise. Even just recently. Also Hamas =/ the totality of Palestinian faction even if key to it.

Israel should probably show a bit more concern for civilian casualties, but it’s not taking preemptive strikes against a music festival.

The way you are framing it is downplayment to the extreme.

Enough with the apologia for Israeli warcrimes. I don't think it is an accident that the spaces that promote this including IDW has rhetoric that is upvoted about how Jews are superior. Which we see here as well people write this nonsense and promote the argument of Jews being superior to non Jews.

Israel unmoored from the threat of backlash, would probably have done ever worse, just like so many zionists advocate. And like they have done in the past. There is a real threat of mass murderous ethnic cleansing lying over the Palestinians right now. There is also a lot of rhetoric and an atmosphere created that makes attrocities all that more likely because of the complicity of gatekeepers of discourse.

Lest we forget that Hamas has not existed always in this conflict and the start of it is Jewish murderous conquest and ethnic cleansing of which terrorism played a key role.

This conflict isn't really all that debatable in all its facets. It is a fact that both Hamas and Israel (and those willing to support it unconditional) are fanatical extreme regimes. Also, part of their badness has to do with their global badness. Their fanaticism isn't only a problem for the location of palestine, but their ideology is vile, predatory, and disrespectful of others rights with a more global reach.

One under the banner of Islam, and with elements of anti western (and anti other non muslim, including Christians but other groups too), and the other with the symbol of star of david, with also anti western, obviously anti-christian but also anti Muslim element. And both quite capable of being anti-X other groups in favor of the domination of their own tribe.

Yes, this will probably end with mass civilian casualties among the Palestinians of Gaza. Hamas maybe shouldn’t have started a genocidal war they were guaranteed to lose.

Israel is not a saint, but there’s not exactly a moral equivalence here. Israel isn’t dragging off Palestinian civilian hostages to rape and parade through the streets. Israel didn’t open hostilities by killed 250 people at a concert. Israel isn’t breaking into apartments to kill civilians and drag their carcasses through Tel Aviv to be spat on.

Really?

https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1711026961257267208?cursor=QAAAAPAxHBlmnoDS3ayE574v8oewjZyY1L8vjIG5pd-16r4v9MTencL6-74v_IWzqYiV5b4vwMS5gam_1r8vJQISFQQAAA#r

Even in recent events propaganda rages. While the fog of war exists for me too, there are plenty of Israel warcrimes that have been reported over the years.

https://twitter.com/KeithWoodsYT/status/1711364819863888227#m

There is also deliberate bombing of civilians. Israel has murdered far more than just 250 civilians.

There is no moral equivalence if you are a racist who excuses Jewish warcrimes because you believe Jews are superior and non Jews are inferior.

In reality, Americans are incredibly propagandized by Jewish supremacists to become themselves Jewish supremacists. Although some Americans quite more than others. And some deliberately pretend that Israel hasn't done its very fair share of warcrimes.

Yes, this will probably end with mass civilian casualties among the Palestinians of Gaza. Hamas maybe shouldn’t have started a genocidal war they were guaranteed to lose.

Love the passive voice. So you don't even oppose the genocidal war but support it because Hamas started it. Like Hamas started the occupation, after all.

So you support genocidal war by only blaming Hamas for it and not Israel and people like yourself with your bloodthirst, racist bias you support the murder of countless of inoccents in war.

Incidentally, aren't the people of Hamas using your logic to murder Jews? How are you any better than them, when you justify genocidal war and excuse the perpetrators?

Unlike the Palestinians, or even Hamas, your call for revenge doesn't even have the excuse of your country being occupied.

It isn't a mystery that aggressively calling for restraint and trying to keep the zionist genocidal fanatics and warmongers who even want to escalate things to war with Iran down, is the prudent course. Having lived through the mass propaganda of the Iraq war, the current situation smells exactly like that. A bunch of dangerous propagandists out for blood putting civilization in course for destruction.

So no, you are fully 100% at fault for your own rhetoric, and Israel for their own actions. They always had the opportunity to act in a far more restrained manner than they have done. From the very beginning of this conflict that has been a Jewish supremacist imperialist grab.

Simultaneously, it would be a good idea to keep down annoying muslim fanatics too with their own global imperialist nuttery and disrespect towards others. And of course the antiwestern fanatics with their colonizing visions under the pretense of decolonization.

Of which, Jewish supremacists dreaming of ethnically cleansing Palestinians to send them to europe are part of. It is in fact imperative that Israeli reprisals show restraint and avoid the mass murder of civilians. And simultaneously Israel should finally abadon its vile illegal settlements. Maybe the creation of a palestinian state in those areas with nobody of Hamas allowed inside and the preresequite for peace being Hamas to be gone in general. Of course the Jewish supremacist fanatics which includes non Jews have no interest in that and of course Hamas has no interest in itself to be gone.

The main group of non Jewish, Jewish supremacists are mainly from western countries. And these people not only become racist supremacists of extreme proportions but also betray their own countries and nation by aligning with an ultranationalist agenda that is incredibly intolerant and hostile to western civilization in the broadest sense and its component nations and sees it as an antisemitic oppressor to be exploited or destroyed. Or pretends cynically it is an antisemitic oppressor to justify their racist agenda for its destruction. In either case, Jewish tribalism is incredibly racist against the main countries outside of Israel that tend to support it and despises the native people of said countries. Unlike in Israel, the Jews support mass migration and oppose any rights of national identity for their non Jewish victims. For the same reason they support colonization of Palestinian land by Jews, and oppose Palestinian human rights and nationhood. Because they are racist imperialists of extreme proportions who do not respect the rights of others. And fundamentally same as the non Jewish, Jewish supremacists. Including the aware proponent who have ideologically adopted an insane treasonous ideology, and the useful idiot component who ends up helping those who despise them.

Really?

Can you provide better source than this troll account?

I recognize this one from unironically claiming that Russia has not invaded Ukraine and about biolabs and how Poland is preparing to invade Ukraine. They repeatedly posted lies, misleading claims, bizarre misinterpretations and various propaganda.

Yes, this will probably end with mass civilian casualties among the Palestinians of Gaza. Hamas maybe shouldn’t have started a genocidal war they were guaranteed to lose.

Love the passive voice.

Personal pet peeve: there is no passive voice in that sentence (guaranteed is clearly an adjective).

Is this whole line of moral questioning useful? I consider it a given that the civilness is based on security, safety, abundance, lawfulness, peace and so on. Teasing out religious and cultural differences is a little interesting, though I think misses the point. It's fairly universal that stripping away these civilization cornernstones make people more savage.

The more interesting question is, is it ever possible for a 21st century civilization to collide with a 14th century one and for the 14th century one to be warmly embraced and adapted? And I say 14th century because I consider the currently problematic Islamic cultures of the world to be basically the Spanish inquisition with the sign flipped from Christian to Islam.

For a more extreme example, my mind immediately goes to European settlers meeting the already-here indigenous peoples of America. Despite the billions of words written about how harmoniously they must have existed in connection with the Earth and one another, I'm sure they were probably even more insane to deal with than the currently situated Hamas.

(Of course the native Americans didn't have adversaries of the European settlers hooking them up with modern assault weapons)

(Of course the native Americans didn't have adversaries of the European settlers hooking them up with modern assault weapons)

Just nitpicking, but didn’t the British arm the natives during the American War of Independence?

Not with AK-47s and RPGs

If 21st century is supposed to mean moving beyond fanaticism, neither civilization is part of 21st century and neither are even American non Jews who throw themselves extreme rhetoric about destroying Gaza.

It is immoral to side with the more prosperous fanatical racists when they could and should be behaving much better and respecting others human rights.

Someone could ironically use your way of thinking to justyfing Nazi conquest of more backward eastern europeans. That you use this kind of rhetoric in defense of Israel acting without any judgement is telling where you are coming from.

Of course many Jewish communists also thoght themselves superior intellectuals with the right to lead and abuse inferior reactionary gentile ethnic groups with tragic consequences.

Is this whole line of moral questioning useful? I consider it a given that the civilness is based on security, safety, abundance, lawfulness, peace and so on. Teasing out religious and cultural differences is a little interesting, though I think misses the point. It's fairly universal that stripping away these civilization cornernstones make people more savage.

Israel does not respect the security, safety, lawfulness and peace of the Palestinians.

It also doesn't respect it for various other countries they bomb.

And they don't respect it for western countries that their lobby promotes policies against them. And against freedom of speech and also the native people having any rights. It is important to note that Israelis have had key influence in Facebook enforcing racist jewish supremacist propaganda as the allowed speech.

The person who banned Trump from twitter was part of Israel's goverment. And Likudists in west including aligned neocons not only promoted mass migration in western countries but also have at times advocated Palestinians moving to europe as the means of solving Israel's problem.

Being too racist against others in the way that actually doesn't allow said nations to exist and prosper goes against others civilization. This mentality does not promote civilization for it is predatory and parasitical. While it is immoral for anyone to support it, especially any non Jew has no reason to support Jewish racism which will turn against them and has them on their crosshair too.

What I find ironic about the whole Jewish issue is the whole whining about racism against Jews by who, Jews of all people who are so pervasively racist as a group.

Now, lest we forget, the Jews aren't the only fanatics in the region. Same in the past, it is an inaccurate vision that sees Jews as center of all evil and any non Jewish group or ideology as center of good. Although the opposite vision which has been more common in 20th and 21st century is even more stupid and dangerous. But they definitely are bullies whenever they can get away with it. If you are a Jew and you try to be a good person you should have a problem with how your ethnic community tends to behave like and how other Jews tend to behave like.

And part of their ultranationalist mentality and racist mentality of both them and non Jewish, Jewish supremacists, is this asinine vision of Jews who never didn't do nothing and how you are insane to think otherwise. Which as we see when you employ your kind of more nazi like arguement, is disingenuous. And I absolutely do see the Jewish supremacist faction which includes non Jews too promote might is right supremacist rhetoric and also rhetoric about how the Jews are just so fucking superior to other groups and they just have the right to behave as they please.

The projection of this faction using rhetoric about racism tends to obscure that the correct response to the bad behavior of Jewish supremacists is to outright condemn them for their racism.

BTW if you are curious where I am coming from I actually think you can support your own group's prosperity while also respecting the rights of others.The homeland system where we have countries that ought to respect each others rights beeing a key part of international justice. Ideally we have something like international justice when this happens. And we don't when ethnic groups are getting, genocided, colonized by others, they lose their land and their rights of self determination and even self respect and right to a historical education of their own ethnic group (that is they are victims of cultural genocide which the nazis like many modern Jews in western countries and far leftists in general, are proponents of) are destroyed under the boot of foreign conquerors or those locals who align with said agenda.

Warmongering imperialists who destroy millions, especially relevant today the modern neocons are the kind of people who we need to keep down. Those who give platforms to those promoting the dangerous rhetoric we have seen these days advocating for warcrimes are culpable for what happens and have the blood of inoccents also on their hands. And those who cultivated an atmosphere where any ethnic group can do no wrong, in this case the Jews, are obviously racist supremacists in favor of said group or groups, but also culpable for whatever happens next in Gaza.

Regarding the Jews acting as racist bullies, it has to do with the dominance of ultranationalist ideology among Jews relating both to religion and even secular Jewish ultranationalism and even combo of Jewish ultranationalism with progressive extremism. This ideology is just classic ridiculous one sided racist propaganda that in clown world stage we are, is increasingly imposed. That Jews never did nothing wrong, that anything otherwise is racist conspiracy theory and insane (and the ridiculous term used by racists, the term antisemite), and that Jews both historically and presently have been oppressed and have the right to destroy and thriump over their oppressors (liek Egypt which enslaved Jews according to religious myth but not necessarilly according to fact). In combo with the same faction promoting the idea of Jews as just superior.

Classic ultranationalist propaganda 101 and non Jews who also perpetuate it are racist supremacists in favor of a foreign ethnic group. So the solution isn't the same predatory mentality against inoccents and against Jews, but not to tolerate the Jewish or other groups ultranationalist bullshit, and to impose a mentality to them that they ought to be less cruel, disrespectful of other groups rights and compromise and avoid having demands were they encroach on the rights of others.

Which Jewish community does in Palestine, stealing land, and doing plenty of warcrimes, plus what they have gotten away with getting already the moral path is a two state solution with 1967 borders. And they do, with control over powerful institutions in the west, and enforcing authoritarian racist supremacist propaganda, promoting mass migration, criminalizing and not tolerating healthy moderate nationalism to their outgroup while encouraging a progressive supremacist alliance of Jewish supremacist, black supremacists and others against western civilization.

This stopping is necessary part of an ideology in favor of the only international justice that ever made sense and ever worked. It is important not to confuse disregarding the fake moralism of principleless trying to manipulate you into allowing you to victimize you with abandoning morality altogether.

Anyway, Jews in current circumstances are not the victimized party but the victimizing party that should make amends towards others. I am not suggesting they become complete pushovers though towards say Hamas. There is a sweet spot and Jews are consistently on the wrong side of it.

*Obviously, when saying Jews here =/ all Jews, I don't think it needs saying but part of the nasty rhetorical tricks of misinterpretation. It does mean Jews as a pattern, average Jew, etc, etc.

If either side was in each others position they would be extreme ultranationalists/hardcore identitarian tribalists as they are now.

You are making this up.

One of the most annoying things about Jewish extremism is not only they are extreme nationalists but they are utterly unwilling to admit it and will gaslight you. Crybullying 101. Yes, Israel is an extreme nationalist country, that is occupying even more land on top of their previous murderous ethnic cleansing, and take various racist policies in the open prison they have palestinians in. Plus their army engages in warcrimes.

Of course Israel is just one example of the issue which is that Jews even outside Israel and not just in Israel are really hardcore racists and support discriminating against the non Jewish ethnic groups of the area and don't respect their national rights. Rights which they assert for themselves.

So the problem that Jews are massive racists is very much real, and those who deny it are making things up and promoting a very false vision of reality.

I don't know about you, but I prefer if ethnic groups weren't massive racists and respected each others rights instead of operating with a mentality that what is yours is mine and what is mine is mine and then lying to your victims.

The pervasive choice that Jews engaging in waging the culture war like you do is to be as racist as possible and deny wrongdoing instead of accept rightfully and justly the error that their peoples have done over the years against other ethnic groups.

Hasn’t the entire Middle East been governed in this way with perhaps the lone exception being current Iraq. Every country has had to brutally repress at times to keep the peace.

Lebanon at one point was different but hasn’t been for decades.