naraburns nihil supernum
2yr ago
(text post)
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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.
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
I deny this claim outright. The only real relevance to our reality is if it manifests in the fevered imagination of some alt-history author.
If, Zionism hadn't succeeded in clawing back their Holy Land, maybe a sizeable portion of the far larger Jewish diaspora would advocate for terrorism. Doesn't matter in the least, didn't happen, and the primary parties involved, namely the militia who might have taken up arms, are now octogenarians or dead. There are plenty of movements that, while nominally advocating for violent resistance in their homeland, have few people willing to do more than shout slogans. The Khalistani chap potentially offed by Modi recently is a good example, the Sikhs back in India are respected and integrated, which they wouldn't be if they had kept up their war.
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.
There are few liberation movements, successful or not, that haven't shed civilian blood somewhere down the line.
If Hamas wishes to hit purely military targets, they're eminently capable, since I've seen footage of Israeli FOBs with dead soldiers nude but for hastily thrown on body armor.
Or shoot the people in the checkpoints or other side of the fence.
No, they have made a considered decision that their aims are to be manifested by killing easier targets when they can. They certainly think that it's better to save the life of their own from a decidedly uphill battle against the Israeli military, by shooting at things that won't shoot back. Regretfully, that just pushes the slope a little back, makes it steeper, and it now has an angry Apache waiting on top.
Most Western nations have far more appetite for trading their soldiers for the lives of innocent civilians, or less Afghanistan would have seen more MOABs. A mistake, in my eyes, but they would have seen tangible results from doing so, whereas the Palestinians have no hope from even maximal aggression, as I hope the Israelis are showing them.
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Notes -
I deny this claim outright. The only real relevance to our reality is if it manifests in the fevered imagination of some alt-history author.
If, Zionism hadn't succeeded in clawing back their Holy Land, maybe a sizeable portion of the far larger Jewish diaspora would advocate for terrorism. Doesn't matter in the least, didn't happen, and the primary parties involved, namely the militia who might have taken up arms, are now octogenarians or dead. There are plenty of movements that, while nominally advocating for violent resistance in their homeland, have few people willing to do more than shout slogans. The Khalistani chap potentially offed by Modi recently is a good example, the Sikhs back in India are respected and integrated, which they wouldn't be if they had kept up their war.
There are few liberation movements, successful or not, that haven't shed civilian blood somewhere down the line.
If Hamas wishes to hit purely military targets, they're eminently capable, since I've seen footage of Israeli FOBs with dead soldiers nude but for hastily thrown on body armor.
Or shoot the people in the checkpoints or other side of the fence.
No, they have made a considered decision that their aims are to be manifested by killing easier targets when they can. They certainly think that it's better to save the life of their own from a decidedly uphill battle against the Israeli military, by shooting at things that won't shoot back. Regretfully, that just pushes the slope a little back, makes it steeper, and it now has an angry Apache waiting on top.
Most Western nations have far more appetite for trading their soldiers for the lives of innocent civilians, or less Afghanistan would have seen more MOABs. A mistake, in my eyes, but they would have seen tangible results from doing so, whereas the Palestinians have no hope from even maximal aggression, as I hope the Israelis are showing them.
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