Comment
The app for independent voices
Zionism/Israel has been an immoral, illegal, racist white supremacy and since 1947, murderous/genocidal enterprise, the current genocidal magnitude of which requires its end.
William H. Slavick, Portland, ME
I partially disagree, Mr Slavick. In my opinion, the Jews needed a safe home, particularly after WWII. A number of places were considered, and part of Palestine was chosen (by the world community, under heavy lobbying by Theodor Hertzl). This was complicated, because Palestine was not barren, and there were many Palestinians, possibly most of them nomads, there. One million of them were displaced to carve out Israel for the Jews. If Zionism means a safe home country for a group that had been vi…
Although I don't deny the trauma that the Jewish people have been through, I push back on the notion for the need of a "safe home", more specifically, their own ethnostate. Jews have fled from European antisemitism for centuries and found safe homes (without separatist agendas). China, Africa, Latin America, and let us not forget, Palestine. And I am not talking about early to middle 20th century. The Ottoman empire, that ruled over Palestine during the Spanish inquisition, helped around 400,00…
SAM, my apologies. I was unaware of the times and areas of protection you list. Regarding the Ottoman Empire, it's quite true that the Muslims were good to the Jews until they felt invaded, and the Jews weren't good to them.
I meant Zionism in the latter sense you cite.
Ceasefire is up to Biden. Or it was, until Israel stockpiled enough weapons. All Biden had to do was cut them off.
I absolutely agree with that.
I think states and nationalism are more often problematic than helpful. especially when they are based on identity. and i think that's where a lot of people misunderstand the one state solution. the one state solution isn't to massacre the people of israel. but it is certainly to remove the government structure that has served to divide the Palestinians and the Jews. not to mention all the neighbors. an actually democractic country that treats Jews well and also tre…
Israeli Jews and Palestinians only had to be divided because the Israeli Jews were unrestrained in their wish for the whole thing, and their unsupported rage at Palestinians. Palestinians needed protection, and that protection would/should have come from their own state(s). Israeli Jews needed protection, too, but they got that from having Israel. Even Hamas leaders will tell you they have nothing against Jews or Israelis. Their complaint is against people who mistreat them and take their land.
Reparations are certainly, in theory due, but what kind and to whom? There's nothing Israelis or Biden can do to bring back to life the 40K (estimated as high as 186K) Palestinians the Israelis have annihilated, plus the aid workers, and the journalists, and the Palestinians who are being starved and deprived of health care, and will die. Certainly, all of their destroyed buildings and infrastructure should be rebuilt for them, settlements removed NOW, and they should be left alone and treated better. The Israelis clearly aren't motivated to do anything for the Palestinians, so who's going to make them?
Yes, I'm a citizen of the US. If you're talking about reparations here, to African Americans, I don't favor them. First, there's not enough money in the world we could give them to compensate them for what they and especially their forebears were put through. Second, if you're familiar with people like lottery winners and professional athletes, then you know that people who do not have a system for handling sudden large amounts of money generally lose it and wind up bankrupt, through lack of perspective, careless generosity to the wrong people, and "investments" in businesses they can't manage or which are scams. The best thing to do is make sure we're well educated about the problem, and stop mistreating them, which we haven't done.