I've noticed that people who accuse Israel of "disproportionate" or "indiscriminate" bombing of civilians typically have no military experience, whereas many of those defending Israel against this charge have fought in modern urban combat situations, sometimes against enemies who deploy human shields like Hamas. To the list of people like this that you mention, I would add Col. Richard Kemp, formerly of the British army. Sadly, often the legacy media prefers to talk to people with no military experience or knowledge as long as they will criticise Israel.
I’d add the Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a very decent man and a strong supporter of Israel and the IDF. You can find his videos on YouTube and I have been on event with him in Sydney, Australia.
As for the “people” accusing Israel of genocide I can only call them as Jew haters, even Israelis and other jews whose name is “kapo”.
How can some Israelis think like useful idiots and be suicidally empathic? I present to you, Meretz and the entire staff of Haaretz.. stupidity exists everywhere… yet Israel still has a free press.. Europe will always be Europe.. after all, they’ve hardly bothered us since 1918, right.. my grandmother, after surviving the Holocaust and communism, still had her apartment in Frankfurt after she escaped Poland in 1959. She did also have her apartment in Bnei Brak.. just in case..
Some Israelis, like some people in every Western nation, are more loyal to their struggle for world Socialist revolution than they are to their nations or their respective peoples. Jews, especially, are prone to the delusion that any system works better (or at all) with Jewish input, but they should reflect how that worked out for Jews during and after the Russian Revolution.
'So why did they do that? And how did they know that western academia would instantly be on their side? They knew that the way to mobilize westerners is civilian casualties. And no military, advanced and strong as it may be can mitigate civilian casualties in the urban warfare that was the only kind of warfare in Gaza.'
OK, so if it was Hamas's plan for Israel to respond this way, isn't that an argument for not responding this way?
No. It is an argument for making the case that responding this way is entirely justified as a response to repeated assaults on Israeli civilians (of which Oct. 7 was only one, albeit a grievously heinous one). It's also an argument for pointing out that the street protests in Western cities against Israeli "atrocities" in Gaza began on Oct. 8, long before Israel's military response began.
To be clear, no matter how Israel responds to terror attacks and acts of war, it will be condemned by those Western academics and politicians and activists whose agenda is to delegitimize and disestablish Israel as a first step in delegitimizing and disestablishing the United States and the rest of the West's capitalist-economy democracies. The Western activists are only too happy to make an alliance of convenience with Islamicists toward that end - and the Islamicists are only too happy to have the provisional support of the Western activists in their pursuit of Islamic domination of the globe.
That is true -- the protests began before our response. And I forgot for the moment that it doesn't matter what we do -- the protests always begin only when we respond to having been attacked. "self defence" is not a defence. It's because of "the occupation." These Israelis have no understanding of our neighbourhood nor the mentality of our neighbours.
For the record, on 8th October, Israel had already launched extensive airstrikes in Gaza, so your claim is false.
But that doesn't matter very much. I think very little about western activists; I think a lot about the future prosperity and success of the country I live in, and my concern is whether Israel's actions are conducive to that, not whether they can or cannot be justified on social media.
After every missile attack onto Israel, Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza. This was a more serious attack (not just missiles but also actual invasion and atrocities and abductions) so the airstrikes were more serious. If that was all we did, nobody would have said anything because they’ve seen it before and accept it as “proportional”. It was the ground invasion that was a new more serious response. Should we check with social media before we decide what to do to protect the nation?
One thing that I could never understand about the left in general, and Jewish/Israeli left in particular, is how their ideology (which they erroneously call empathy) blinds them to the first duty of every sentient being: self-preservation. Hamas killed 1200 Jews in the most atrocious way imaginable - and I am saying this as somebody who studied Nazi atrocities. Among its victims were peace activists and Holocaust survivors, not to mention Israeli Arabs and Thais. Is there any question that Hamas would have killed every Israeli if it could? So, how can a potential victim empathize with the person who wants them dead? This is completely beyond me. I can understand people arguing that the war in Gaza has reached the point of diminishing returns. I can sympathize with the need to bring the hostages back, even if it means leaving some Hamas members alive. There is no question that a protracted war is ruinous to a country and that Israel needs to find a way to extricate itself. And of course, the definition of war is that civilians are also killed, and this is regrettable, even if a war is just and necessary. But if you are asking me to feel pity for people who repeatedly and openly state that they want to kill me and my family - the answer is "no". And my question to the Jews who support Hamas is: would you let the killers into your home? Or would you resist with force?
And I used to think the Jews were so gifted with intelligence. I’d count all the Jews who achieved fame and recognition in so many fields. Science, medicine, business, entertainment, art, classical music, literature, media, sports, math, innovation, fashion, technology, chess, inventions, humor, politics, law, military maneuvers, Krav Maga…
Now, when I hear the names of those I was so proud of in the past 4 decades, but for a few, I feel shame and disgust.
I've noticed that people who accuse Israel of "disproportionate" or "indiscriminate" bombing of civilians typically have no military experience, whereas many of those defending Israel against this charge have fought in modern urban combat situations, sometimes against enemies who deploy human shields like Hamas. To the list of people like this that you mention, I would add Col. Richard Kemp, formerly of the British army. Sadly, often the legacy media prefers to talk to people with no military experience or knowledge as long as they will criticise Israel.
Yes. I will add Kemp to the list.
I wish I have read your comment before writing my own.
I’d add the Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a very decent man and a strong supporter of Israel and the IDF. You can find his videos on YouTube and I have been on event with him in Sydney, Australia.
As for the “people” accusing Israel of genocide I can only call them as Jew haters, even Israelis and other jews whose name is “kapo”.
How can some Israelis think like useful idiots and be suicidally empathic? I present to you, Meretz and the entire staff of Haaretz.. stupidity exists everywhere… yet Israel still has a free press.. Europe will always be Europe.. after all, they’ve hardly bothered us since 1918, right.. my grandmother, after surviving the Holocaust and communism, still had her apartment in Frankfurt after she escaped Poland in 1959. She did also have her apartment in Bnei Brak.. just in case..
Some Israelis, like some people in every Western nation, are more loyal to their struggle for world Socialist revolution than they are to their nations or their respective peoples. Jews, especially, are prone to the delusion that any system works better (or at all) with Jewish input, but they should reflect how that worked out for Jews during and after the Russian Revolution.
'So why did they do that? And how did they know that western academia would instantly be on their side? They knew that the way to mobilize westerners is civilian casualties. And no military, advanced and strong as it may be can mitigate civilian casualties in the urban warfare that was the only kind of warfare in Gaza.'
OK, so if it was Hamas's plan for Israel to respond this way, isn't that an argument for not responding this way?
And wait for the next Oct 7th? No thanks.
When do you predict another Oct 7th would have happened?
Apparently you have not been paying attention to what the Arabs themselves say. Here is just one example: https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-official-says-group-aims-to-repeat-oct-7-onslaught-many-times-to-destroy-israel/
When do you predict another Oct 7th would have happened?
Did you not see my response to the same question above?
Yes, I am asking you a simple question. When do you predict another Oct 7th would have happened?
No. It is an argument for making the case that responding this way is entirely justified as a response to repeated assaults on Israeli civilians (of which Oct. 7 was only one, albeit a grievously heinous one). It's also an argument for pointing out that the street protests in Western cities against Israeli "atrocities" in Gaza began on Oct. 8, long before Israel's military response began.
To be clear, no matter how Israel responds to terror attacks and acts of war, it will be condemned by those Western academics and politicians and activists whose agenda is to delegitimize and disestablish Israel as a first step in delegitimizing and disestablishing the United States and the rest of the West's capitalist-economy democracies. The Western activists are only too happy to make an alliance of convenience with Islamicists toward that end - and the Islamicists are only too happy to have the provisional support of the Western activists in their pursuit of Islamic domination of the globe.
That is true -- the protests began before our response. And I forgot for the moment that it doesn't matter what we do -- the protests always begin only when we respond to having been attacked. "self defence" is not a defence. It's because of "the occupation." These Israelis have no understanding of our neighbourhood nor the mentality of our neighbours.
For the record, on 8th October, Israel had already launched extensive airstrikes in Gaza, so your claim is false.
But that doesn't matter very much. I think very little about western activists; I think a lot about the future prosperity and success of the country I live in, and my concern is whether Israel's actions are conducive to that, not whether they can or cannot be justified on social media.
After every missile attack onto Israel, Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza. This was a more serious attack (not just missiles but also actual invasion and atrocities and abductions) so the airstrikes were more serious. If that was all we did, nobody would have said anything because they’ve seen it before and accept it as “proportional”. It was the ground invasion that was a new more serious response. Should we check with social media before we decide what to do to protect the nation?
Of course Hamas knew how Isra’el would respond. But they miscalculated on at least two points:
1) They thought that the hostage issues and internal divisions would bring down the government and impede any seriously threatening military response.
2) They thought that ‘the world’; particularly the Biden Administration, would cause Israel to sign a truce after a ‘face-saving’ response.
In both cases, Hamas underestimated Israeli resolve, and the power of the Jewish people’s ethos.
Yes. That is true. They thought we would have caved in long ago.
Excellent post. Spot on.
Thanks
Would love to know how this individual responded….
He didn't
What a surprise.
Once again, thank you
One thing that I could never understand about the left in general, and Jewish/Israeli left in particular, is how their ideology (which they erroneously call empathy) blinds them to the first duty of every sentient being: self-preservation. Hamas killed 1200 Jews in the most atrocious way imaginable - and I am saying this as somebody who studied Nazi atrocities. Among its victims were peace activists and Holocaust survivors, not to mention Israeli Arabs and Thais. Is there any question that Hamas would have killed every Israeli if it could? So, how can a potential victim empathize with the person who wants them dead? This is completely beyond me. I can understand people arguing that the war in Gaza has reached the point of diminishing returns. I can sympathize with the need to bring the hostages back, even if it means leaving some Hamas members alive. There is no question that a protracted war is ruinous to a country and that Israel needs to find a way to extricate itself. And of course, the definition of war is that civilians are also killed, and this is regrettable, even if a war is just and necessary. But if you are asking me to feel pity for people who repeatedly and openly state that they want to kill me and my family - the answer is "no". And my question to the Jews who support Hamas is: would you let the killers into your home? Or would you resist with force?
And I used to think the Jews were so gifted with intelligence. I’d count all the Jews who achieved fame and recognition in so many fields. Science, medicine, business, entertainment, art, classical music, literature, media, sports, math, innovation, fashion, technology, chess, inventions, humor, politics, law, military maneuvers, Krav Maga…
Now, when I hear the names of those I was so proud of in the past 4 decades, but for a few, I feel shame and disgust.