Good writing. My frustration is seeing a story about a malnourished child and then seeing that the photo used is actually from Syria five years ago [or someplace similar]. The level of lying is through the roof. It is hard to tell the truth, over here in the States.
There has been a real attempt by AntiSemitic elements in European Six to attack Israel to reverse play the idea of ‘Forever War’ in what is the violent Middle East. America and the President quite rightly don’t want to become involved in an actual ‘shooting war’ without a clear exit. But Shia Islamism sees terrorism as an Eternal fight until the whole planet is converted to Islam by The Sword. This is the meaning of Islamism. It is the modern Ideology of Religious War. Judaism is precisely Not this, because Jews are expressly not proselytising. We only want to survive, in a region which actually has been in conflict for the whole of the last Millennium. Nazism was the same; War as humankind’s natural state even amongst ourselves as Hitler’s idea of the Herrnvolk kill everyone off. This is expressed as such in Mein Kampf. The Nazis have actually said that only 40 million people are fit to live; Only they are Human. Again, Judaism is expressly NOT this. We just want to survive. Forever War is certainly NOT of our choosing.
I'm old enough to remember Golda Meir's published statment "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us." The problem with the Islamic world is their clerics are unaccountable for endlessly pushing war and martyrdom. What always get this American is that they see nothing wrong with rape, pillage, and plunder against Israel or anyone else. Hamas is using food as a weapon against the Gazaniacs.
During WWII, after D-day in 1944 the Allies, the US and Britain, refused to drop food supplies into Holland, an ally, because the Nazis were still in control and would steal the food for themselves. This resulted in the starvation and death of many Dutch citizens, women and children. Anyone who thinks that war can be fought with kid gloves is a fool.
On the other hand, we could recall the words of William T. Sherman to the citizens of Atlanta before he burned it to the ground. To quote, "You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace." There is no such thing as a "nice war". The nattering class of arm chair warriors who vilify Israel only wish to maintain Hamas in power to the detriment of the Gazan population and Israel. Their continuing goal of the destruction of Israel has never been more clear. The present war is just a roadblock which will one day be removed and then it is back to the business of erasing Israel.
Siege warfare and making life difficult to the point of being possible to live under warfare has been a primary tactic of war since ancient times and was used as recently as the American Civil War where Lincoln ordered a naval blockade of the South Grant besieged Lee Sherman destroyed the industrial base and railroads of the South snd Sheridan destroyed its agricultural breadbasket and WW2 where Germany and Japan were both subjected to aerial bombardment around the clock and the U.S. engaged in unrestricted submarine warfare against Japan
Thank you for expressing your point of view so clearly and eloquently. Your point is well taken that food has historically been used as a weapon of war going back millennia. It was used as a weapon of war during the Roman war against the Jews of Jerusalem 2000 years ago and in the Arab war against the Jews of Jerusalem in 1947-1948. What the Israelis are doing in Gaza is no worse and in many cases better than what the rest of the world has done and continues to do. And that’s the problem.
As a religious Jew I believe we are held to a higher standard, not by the world but by God. The Torah tells us we are supposed to be an Am Kadosh (a separate/better nation) and and Or L’amim (a light to the nations). We should be setting the example of how to treat civilians in a time of war not saying “they do it to”. Being an Am Kadosh does not stop when times get tough. In fact it’s imperative that we are an Am Kadosh when faced with a moral dilemma like this.
For the feeding of enemy civilians to become the Biden doctrine has it backwards. It should have been the Jewish doctrine. The Israeli government had the opportunity to sanctify God’s name and failed.
Believing the Israeli government has failed in delivering food and aid to civilians is to buy into the propaganda and the lies. We've seen images of hundreds upon hundreds of trucks bringing food and aid to Gaza, most to be hoarded and used by hamas for their own purposes and funding. Food was withheld by hamas, not by Israel. Now with the GHF delivering food and aid, hamas resorts to killing Gazans who take this food, and to blowing up warehouses not contolled by them, where food and aid are stored. Being Am Kadosh does not extend to accepting blame when the fault lies elsewhere.
I am well aware of the trucks of aid and that Hamas has stolen it. I am glad that Israel finally wised up and took at least part of aid delivery into their own hands. As the author pointed out there is and has never been starvation in Gaza. But that’s not the point.
The truth Is the Israel has weaponzed food in this war. Members of the government have grandstanded on not allowing aid in. Aid convoys have been blocked by protesters. The government dragged its feet before allowing aid in at all and then cut it off for months before starting this new program.
I get that every other country has done the same, most a lot worse. But that’s besides the point. We are supposed to be BETTER than that. We are supposed to be Kadosh and we weren’t.
The two are not contradictory. They can’t be as they are both in the Torah. It is equally commanded to fight Hamas as it is to protect civilians. In fact that is the “purity of arms ethos of the IDF.
But Jews should not be withholding food from civilians as a method of war even though every other nation does. We should be feeding them despite the fact that they are on the side of the enemy because they too are human beings created in the image of God.
Thanks for the response Boris. I would hardly say that the Israeli response to Hamas and the others who want to kill us has been to lie down. You can turn over the tables and feed the masses with loaves and fishes at the same time.
Boris, I honestly do not care what they say in Gaza or what the world says. This about what God wants from the Jewish nation.
He has commanded us to be a Kadosh nation. While Kadosh is usually translated as holy that is an inaccurate translation. It means separate as in different / better. We are meant to set an example for the world. That’s what it means to be an Or La’amim…a light into the nations. It’s not easy to do because we are human and will fall back on our worse angels and then will rationalize our behavior. I just wish Israel had been the one to set the “New Rule” not Biden, because that is our mission.
Boris, I agree with you. I don’t believe the Palestinians want peace with Israel or that Islamic fundamentalists like Iran can ever accept Israel as it goes against their theology. To be frank that’s also why many Christian nations like Ireland and Spain are so anti- Israel as our existence not to mention thriving challenges their theology. But that has nothing to do with the subject at hand. As I said this is about how the Jewish nation is supposed to behave and we failed this test.
Honestly, I don't give a shit whether they are starving. I hope that the Gazans are beaten down and too weak to wage war. Life is hard for gazans? Too bad. They should not have started a war. Life is hard for Israelis and no one gives a shit. And the Israelis didn't ask for any of it, they didn't start this war. Israel and supporters of Israel need to stop these futile attempts to explain their actions. Most of the world has already long made up their minds that the Israelis are the bad guys and will never be confused by the facts.
Not only does Russia indiscriminately bomb civilians but its war is one of imperialist aggression, not of self-defense. The double standard is beyond outrageous. I'm disgusted with it.
Very confusing the way paragraph 2 is written in the article you linked to. I think the writer means that Egypt borders Gaza, while Jordan borders the West Bank.
Good writing. My frustration is seeing a story about a malnourished child and then seeing that the photo used is actually from Syria five years ago [or someplace similar]. The level of lying is through the roof. It is hard to tell the truth, over here in the States.
There has been a real attempt by AntiSemitic elements in European Six to attack Israel to reverse play the idea of ‘Forever War’ in what is the violent Middle East. America and the President quite rightly don’t want to become involved in an actual ‘shooting war’ without a clear exit. But Shia Islamism sees terrorism as an Eternal fight until the whole planet is converted to Islam by The Sword. This is the meaning of Islamism. It is the modern Ideology of Religious War. Judaism is precisely Not this, because Jews are expressly not proselytising. We only want to survive, in a region which actually has been in conflict for the whole of the last Millennium. Nazism was the same; War as humankind’s natural state even amongst ourselves as Hitler’s idea of the Herrnvolk kill everyone off. This is expressed as such in Mein Kampf. The Nazis have actually said that only 40 million people are fit to live; Only they are Human. Again, Judaism is expressly NOT this. We just want to survive. Forever War is certainly NOT of our choosing.
Great article !!!
I'm old enough to remember Golda Meir's published statment "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us." The problem with the Islamic world is their clerics are unaccountable for endlessly pushing war and martyrdom. What always get this American is that they see nothing wrong with rape, pillage, and plunder against Israel or anyone else. Hamas is using food as a weapon against the Gazaniacs.
During WWII, after D-day in 1944 the Allies, the US and Britain, refused to drop food supplies into Holland, an ally, because the Nazis were still in control and would steal the food for themselves. This resulted in the starvation and death of many Dutch citizens, women and children. Anyone who thinks that war can be fought with kid gloves is a fool.
A ceasefire is not a white flag or unconditional surrender, it's a tactic for regrouping!
During Vietnam every bombing pause or ceasefire was used by the NVA/VC to regroup and refit themselves. These tactics are nothing new. Great point.
On the other hand, we could recall the words of William T. Sherman to the citizens of Atlanta before he burned it to the ground. To quote, "You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace." There is no such thing as a "nice war". The nattering class of arm chair warriors who vilify Israel only wish to maintain Hamas in power to the detriment of the Gazan population and Israel. Their continuing goal of the destruction of Israel has never been more clear. The present war is just a roadblock which will one day be removed and then it is back to the business of erasing Israel.
Siege warfare and making life difficult to the point of being possible to live under warfare has been a primary tactic of war since ancient times and was used as recently as the American Civil War where Lincoln ordered a naval blockade of the South Grant besieged Lee Sherman destroyed the industrial base and railroads of the South snd Sheridan destroyed its agricultural breadbasket and WW2 where Germany and Japan were both subjected to aerial bombardment around the clock and the U.S. engaged in unrestricted submarine warfare against Japan
Thank you for expressing your point of view so clearly and eloquently. Your point is well taken that food has historically been used as a weapon of war going back millennia. It was used as a weapon of war during the Roman war against the Jews of Jerusalem 2000 years ago and in the Arab war against the Jews of Jerusalem in 1947-1948. What the Israelis are doing in Gaza is no worse and in many cases better than what the rest of the world has done and continues to do. And that’s the problem.
As a religious Jew I believe we are held to a higher standard, not by the world but by God. The Torah tells us we are supposed to be an Am Kadosh (a separate/better nation) and and Or L’amim (a light to the nations). We should be setting the example of how to treat civilians in a time of war not saying “they do it to”. Being an Am Kadosh does not stop when times get tough. In fact it’s imperative that we are an Am Kadosh when faced with a moral dilemma like this.
For the feeding of enemy civilians to become the Biden doctrine has it backwards. It should have been the Jewish doctrine. The Israeli government had the opportunity to sanctify God’s name and failed.
Believing the Israeli government has failed in delivering food and aid to civilians is to buy into the propaganda and the lies. We've seen images of hundreds upon hundreds of trucks bringing food and aid to Gaza, most to be hoarded and used by hamas for their own purposes and funding. Food was withheld by hamas, not by Israel. Now with the GHF delivering food and aid, hamas resorts to killing Gazans who take this food, and to blowing up warehouses not contolled by them, where food and aid are stored. Being Am Kadosh does not extend to accepting blame when the fault lies elsewhere.
Steve, thanks for the comment.
I am well aware of the trucks of aid and that Hamas has stolen it. I am glad that Israel finally wised up and took at least part of aid delivery into their own hands. As the author pointed out there is and has never been starvation in Gaza. But that’s not the point.
The truth Is the Israel has weaponzed food in this war. Members of the government have grandstanded on not allowing aid in. Aid convoys have been blocked by protesters. The government dragged its feet before allowing aid in at all and then cut it off for months before starting this new program.
I get that every other country has done the same, most a lot worse. But that’s besides the point. We are supposed to be BETTER than that. We are supposed to be Kadosh and we weren’t.
Being better is good - as long as it doesn't lead to defeat or necessarily prolong the war. Being "better" should not be a suicide pact.
If someone comes to kill you, you kill him first.
Thank you for your response.
The two are not contradictory. They can’t be as they are both in the Torah. It is equally commanded to fight Hamas as it is to protect civilians. In fact that is the “purity of arms ethos of the IDF.
But Jews should not be withholding food from civilians as a method of war even though every other nation does. We should be feeding them despite the fact that they are on the side of the enemy because they too are human beings created in the image of God.
Sanhedrin 72b
Lying down before someone who has sworn to kill you and your entire family is foolish.
Even Our Lord Jesus took a whip and overturned tables when people angered him.
Thanks for the response Boris. I would hardly say that the Israeli response to Hamas and the others who want to kill us has been to lie down. You can turn over the tables and feed the masses with loaves and fishes at the same time.
Yes.
My point is you need to get tough sometimes.
Even if Israel gave the Gazans all they needed, they'd still say "Israel is starving us"
Boris, I honestly do not care what they say in Gaza or what the world says. This about what God wants from the Jewish nation.
He has commanded us to be a Kadosh nation. While Kadosh is usually translated as holy that is an inaccurate translation. It means separate as in different / better. We are meant to set an example for the world. That’s what it means to be an Or La’amim…a light into the nations. It’s not easy to do because we are human and will fall back on our worse angels and then will rationalize our behavior. I just wish Israel had been the one to set the “New Rule” not Biden, because that is our mission.
Making peace means with sides are willing.
Islam has made it completely clear there will never get peace.
Their "holy book" has nothing but death and destruction for all who are not Muslim.
I believe in peace but Islam has been kicking the shit out if all if us since the 6th century.
Boris, I agree with you. I don’t believe the Palestinians want peace with Israel or that Islamic fundamentalists like Iran can ever accept Israel as it goes against their theology. To be frank that’s also why many Christian nations like Ireland and Spain are so anti- Israel as our existence not to mention thriving challenges their theology. But that has nothing to do with the subject at hand. As I said this is about how the Jewish nation is supposed to behave and we failed this test.
… and pay them and arm them. That’s all for now.
Honestly, I don't give a shit whether they are starving. I hope that the Gazans are beaten down and too weak to wage war. Life is hard for gazans? Too bad. They should not have started a war. Life is hard for Israelis and no one gives a shit. And the Israelis didn't ask for any of it, they didn't start this war. Israel and supporters of Israel need to stop these futile attempts to explain their actions. Most of the world has already long made up their minds that the Israelis are the bad guys and will never be confused by the facts.
Not only does Russia indiscriminately bomb civilians but its war is one of imperialist aggression, not of self-defense. The double standard is beyond outrageous. I'm disgusted with it.
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"After Russia reduced Mariupol to ashes in early 2022, killing perhaps 60,000 in a month (and never issuing warnings before bombings)",
The truth is they didn’t do anything useful before. They lived on aid which is what Muslims love to do rather than work.
Easy to solve, release the hostages.
Get Hamas to surrender.
I cant understand why people haven't condemned Jordan or Egyot.
Both have borders with Gaza.
Jordan does not have a border w Gaza if I understand the map I’m looking at correctly. However, your point is valid.
I suppose fairer to say the area called Palestine.
Maybe I ought to edit my original comment.
According to this left wing rag, it does.
I'll check to be sure.
https://apnews.com/article/palestinian-jordan-egypt-israel-refugee-502c06d004767d4b64848d878b66bd3d
Very confusing the way paragraph 2 is written in the article you linked to. I think the writer means that Egypt borders Gaza, while Jordan borders the West Bank.