No one can deny that there have been tremendous tragedies in this war, but anyone who places the blame on Israel when Hamas has been planning this war for a decade is either foolish or antisemitic.
Regarding Gaza: there is no casino in Israel. You put 3 casinos in Gaza, 10 hotels, good security and services for visitors, and you get flooded with Israeli and international tourists in no time, for a fraction of the price of all those tunnels. But Hamas is not interested at all in prosperity. They are animated by blood-thirsty lust for destruction of Israel. And make no mistakes, many - probably a sizeable majority - of people in Gaza think the same. Hamas didn't appeared suddenly in a void. Some double agents, in Qatar and elsewhere, propagate anti-israeli sentiments in the West. Their narrative is simple: strong evil Israel opresses poor weak Palestinians. In a mix of Christian values were the weak is always right, and historical bad conscience regarding colonization, they have a villain served on a silver tray: Israel. In a West devoid of grand causes to fight for, these poor souls found finally one: fight Israel. So seducing, their intellectual prowess can nothing against it. Same when highly gifted guys go batshit crazy for super hot but super toxic women, it happens at a level their intellect can't reach.
It is a really dangerous combination. Young ambitious people are always looking for a cause that they can attach themselves to so they can make a name for themselves. Young ambitious American men have been told that they are and always will be oppressors, so they have no means of making a name for themselves today, UNLESS, they become antizionists. By punching down on Zionists, they are given all of their cultural capital back and are even allowed to participate in activities formally banned to them, like culturally approprating Keffiyehs and chanting slogans in a language they don't understand.
I find myself needing to say something and I’m sure this is one venue where I can feel secure voicing this criticism of Bibi. His words to Congress and the world had two mistakes in one sentence. #1: The protesters outside were not ‘useful idiots’ … they are in fact ‘dangerous idiots’. #2: They weren’t all outside.
Only a fool? On a friggon planet of fools, what else should be expected?
If you don’t know any reasons why Israel is the ONLY REASON you are still enjoying that Western-style life of being STILL free to do whateverinfuck you WANT to do because, well, you’re USED TO the comforts you don’t even begin to know about, ya might wanna take a brief gander back in history.
To reduce the chore of having to friggon actually study something/ANYTHING, let’s only go back to 1948.
You fucking Westerners, and specifically Americans, piss me off to no end.
Signed,
Dave, an American citizen, US military veteran, and (hate this one) former Democrat voter. In defense of my previous idiocy in voting for Carter, I was in college.
Do not place us in the same bowl; there are many who Jewish seed has taken root. Am Yisroel Chai (I carry the blood of Israel and Hutka Bailen and will always stand with them after death and throughout eternity. ) I believe in Israel and am proud of the accomplishments AND moral compass; both lacking in Israel's neighbors.
Ted Goldstein, like Isreal, forget their covenant with the Lord - and the Lord's Wrath against them grows. There is no moral goodness in perpetuating these wars, atrocities, and horror, and to claim to be fighting for good, means having a necessity to act in good ways. Ted Goldstein, I am not anti-semitic or anti-zionist. In fact a great deal of my ancestry is Jewish; I am a servant of the Lord, the Creator, and the messenger of the Lord.
Make no mistake in assuming I support HAMAS either - they are an organization of terrorists. However, in writing propaganda in support for evil, you are acting in morally wrong ways, my friend. In supporting nation-states which perpetuate evil, war, and atrocities, one become that which we must destroy. As a species, our survival depends on looking past these systems which no longer serve us well, and my friend, you, your ways, the ways of nation-states, and of terrorist organizations, are all part of the old which do not serve the Creator or humanity any longer. Are you going to adapt and become better, or continue to cause further harm to fellow humans and beings?
Thank you so much I love all of my fans!!! I’m so sorry that you think I forgot my covenant with the lord. I just got back from davening maariv, and I recited the shema and all of its blessings, and I wrapped tefillin this morning and reaffirmed to follow G-d and all of His commandments. I didn’t wear tzitzit today though… so thank you for calling me out on my lax mitzvah observance I can work on that. What else can I do to adapt and become better? If you are a messenger of the Lord, surely He told you what other changes I need to make in my life, which apparently seems to be the cause of all world-evil.
My friend, I appreciate your response and I hope you forgive me, for I do not mean to cause any offense - nor do I wish to make any specific comments regarding your personal faith and relationship with the Lord. However, when we are called to act in a morally good fashion, that does consist of not only fighting those who commit evils, but in ensuring our actions do not lead to further suffering or evils. HAMAS is very guily in this war, but so is anyone who fights and causes suffering needlessly. We are all fellow conscious human beings, and when we put our other labels above recognizing the humanity of our fellow neighbors, is when evil becomes birthed into our world.
I think it very clearly was your intention to cause offense, and I think this is a very bad faith apology. You literally insulted me, the Jewish People, The Jewish Covenant, and the Jewish state, and then you want to retreat to some fictions moral high ground you’ve created for yourself. Read your comment out loud — it is nothing other than a personal attack on me based on an assumption that you as some kind of Jewish apostate are somehow better qualified to determine a Jewish person’s relationship with G-d than we are. It is fine to attack a Jewish writer in the comments section and say all kinds of crazy stuff about how much better you think you are than us — but don’t try to pass it off as though it was not your intention to offend. Either make an honest apology for what was clearly your intention or don’t, but don’t waste my time by calling me “my friend” and thinking that’s going to fool me into misperceiving what is such a bold-faced ad hominem attack.
Why should it have been shocking that your "Progressive" i.e. Marxist "friends" support hamas and hate Israel? That is the very nature of that ideology. What's also stupid is for Jews to continue to align themselves with this malicious movement whose very ideology is to oppose western civilization and Judeo/Christian values. Everything they believe in is flat out wrong and evil. What's stupid is to continue to be a "progressive" and then be "shocked" that they support evil. What did you expect? "Progressivism" is marxism.
Laura, I’m a former progressive. I also love the Jewish people. I hate to see anyone in America (or anywhere else) go without food, medical care and other necessities. That’s what made me a progressive.
But after 10/7/2023 there was no way I could support the progressive movement. And I was pretty active prior to that. I’ve never been crazy about Islam, to say the least. My point is, some of us out here are not as knowledgeable as we should have been. I can say that about myself. I’m a former Catholic.
I think many of us, even if we intellectually saw the issues with progressivism to begin with, were not prepared for that movement to take such a violent turn. There is a kind of liberal progressivism that genuinely wants to improve the conditions of the world that does not look at everything through the reductive lens of "oppression," but that kind of thought is not really tolerated in the progressive movement anymore. I think many of us were surprised to find that cultural marxism had basically slipped through under our nose.
Thank you Mr. Goldstein, very much. The global violence directed at the Jewish community since 10/7, especially in western democracies, has obviously been planned, maybe for far longer than we know.
We saw how the American flag was burned and replaced with the Palestinian flag just this last week.
How "innocent" are they since they support hamas to this day in overwhelming numbers. You say the "palestinian" people don't deserve hamas, yes, they do but Israel doesn't deserve to be adjacent to a hamas terror state nor does Israel deserve to have genocidal maniacs for neighbors. Expel them to Arab nations where they belong.
I watched the whole thing and thought Bibi was an excellent orator. Now I’m not naive enough to believe he is without faults. But I cried through most of it. Those beautiful and brave Israelis. The former hostages looked so painfully thin.
Thank you for sharing that quote. The bribery that has become rampant in America is despicable and disheartening. But I am optimistic that soon all of this will be exposed, and the voice of truth will soon have its day again. The most telling thing about antizionism is that it seems to have no leader, and it certainly has no one who is willing to engage in a public DEBATE about these issues. They love to stand behind their bullhorns and do their chants and make their speeches, but they would never, ever, face someone else in a debate.
In June USAID was going to give 404 million to Gaza in addition to fund already allotted. They receive more funding that other established nations. We should just write check to Hamas.
The international community has sent billions of dollars in aid to the Gaza Strip to provide relief to the more than 2 million Palestinians living there. From 2014 to 2020, U.N. agencies spent nearly $4.5 billion in Gaza, including $600 million in 2020 alone.
Why is it never discussed that Hamas leadership living in Qatar are billionaires how does one become a billionaire in Gaza? Is thus misappropriation of aide funds coming from all over the world.
How can such a tiny place receive billion in aide and conditions do not improve. The prosperity of Gaza and Palestinian state is dependent on Israel. Seems like Hamas leadership has sufficient funds to start to build an Abu Dhabi in Gaza. What is the delay?
I am gonna go with this is really not about building a nation!
It is truly heartbreaking to think about how much money has been spent in the pursuit of violence and destruction that could have been spent building schools and playgrounds. And yet still people still blame Israel for everything.
Unfortunately, malice and stupidity are not mutually exclusive and there is ample evidence that they co-exist and actively manifest themselves across all intellectual levels of society. Even a surprising fraction of Jews, who should know better, are susceptible to this devastating combination of inconsistent, counter-intuitive and corrupt rationalization. The nazi party in pre-war Germany was initially supported by medical doctors and engineers so we shouldn't be surprised that history repeats itself.
I agree their intentions are malicious. I have no idea why! I think they are utterly stupid, what ever qualifications they have. The supporters are ignorant and are caught up in a tsunami of hysteria. No one seems to have the courage to stamp it out. They all speak blatant lies and demonise all that speak out against them. However the day of reckoning will come and they will realise their sins.
How could any decent human being support Islamic terrorism. The day I see mass numbers of Muslims in the streets protesting AGAINST Hamas, I’ll have some hope for them.
Regarding Gaza: there is no casino in Israel. You put 3 casinos in Gaza, 10 hotels, good security and services for visitors, and you get flooded with Israeli and international tourists in no time, for a fraction of the price of all those tunnels. But Hamas is not interested at all in prosperity. They are animated by blood-thirsty lust for destruction of Israel. And make no mistakes, many - probably a sizeable majority - of people in Gaza think the same. Hamas didn't appeared suddenly in a void. Some double agents, in Qatar and elsewhere, propagate anti-israeli sentiments in the West. Their narrative is simple: strong evil Israel opresses poor weak Palestinians. In a mix of Christian values were the weak is always right, and historical bad conscience regarding colonization, they have a villain served on a silver tray: Israel. In a West devoid of grand causes to fight for, these poor souls found finally one: fight Israel. So seducing, their intellectual prowess can nothing against it. Same when highly gifted guys go batshit crazy for super hot but super toxic women, it happens at a level their intellect can't reach.
It is a really dangerous combination. Young ambitious people are always looking for a cause that they can attach themselves to so they can make a name for themselves. Young ambitious American men have been told that they are and always will be oppressors, so they have no means of making a name for themselves today, UNLESS, they become antizionists. By punching down on Zionists, they are given all of their cultural capital back and are even allowed to participate in activities formally banned to them, like culturally approprating Keffiyehs and chanting slogans in a language they don't understand.
I find myself needing to say something and I’m sure this is one venue where I can feel secure voicing this criticism of Bibi. His words to Congress and the world had two mistakes in one sentence. #1: The protesters outside were not ‘useful idiots’ … they are in fact ‘dangerous idiots’. #2: They weren’t all outside.
Yes but they were all idiots! Even the smart ones. The smart ones are always the biggest idiots.
Oh Heavens, the most dangerous and most evil. Rashida Tlaib fell off the deep end long ago.
Unfortunately, the world is full of fools.
Only a fool? On a friggon planet of fools, what else should be expected?
If you don’t know any reasons why Israel is the ONLY REASON you are still enjoying that Western-style life of being STILL free to do whateverinfuck you WANT to do because, well, you’re USED TO the comforts you don’t even begin to know about, ya might wanna take a brief gander back in history.
To reduce the chore of having to friggon actually study something/ANYTHING, let’s only go back to 1948.
You fucking Westerners, and specifically Americans, piss me off to no end.
Signed,
Dave, an American citizen, US military veteran, and (hate this one) former Democrat voter. In defense of my previous idiocy in voting for Carter, I was in college.
Do not place us in the same bowl; there are many who Jewish seed has taken root. Am Yisroel Chai (I carry the blood of Israel and Hutka Bailen and will always stand with them after death and throughout eternity. ) I believe in Israel and am proud of the accomplishments AND moral compass; both lacking in Israel's neighbors.
Ted Goldstein, like Isreal, forget their covenant with the Lord - and the Lord's Wrath against them grows. There is no moral goodness in perpetuating these wars, atrocities, and horror, and to claim to be fighting for good, means having a necessity to act in good ways. Ted Goldstein, I am not anti-semitic or anti-zionist. In fact a great deal of my ancestry is Jewish; I am a servant of the Lord, the Creator, and the messenger of the Lord.
Make no mistake in assuming I support HAMAS either - they are an organization of terrorists. However, in writing propaganda in support for evil, you are acting in morally wrong ways, my friend. In supporting nation-states which perpetuate evil, war, and atrocities, one become that which we must destroy. As a species, our survival depends on looking past these systems which no longer serve us well, and my friend, you, your ways, the ways of nation-states, and of terrorist organizations, are all part of the old which do not serve the Creator or humanity any longer. Are you going to adapt and become better, or continue to cause further harm to fellow humans and beings?
Thank you so much I love all of my fans!!! I’m so sorry that you think I forgot my covenant with the lord. I just got back from davening maariv, and I recited the shema and all of its blessings, and I wrapped tefillin this morning and reaffirmed to follow G-d and all of His commandments. I didn’t wear tzitzit today though… so thank you for calling me out on my lax mitzvah observance I can work on that. What else can I do to adapt and become better? If you are a messenger of the Lord, surely He told you what other changes I need to make in my life, which apparently seems to be the cause of all world-evil.
My friend, I appreciate your response and I hope you forgive me, for I do not mean to cause any offense - nor do I wish to make any specific comments regarding your personal faith and relationship with the Lord. However, when we are called to act in a morally good fashion, that does consist of not only fighting those who commit evils, but in ensuring our actions do not lead to further suffering or evils. HAMAS is very guily in this war, but so is anyone who fights and causes suffering needlessly. We are all fellow conscious human beings, and when we put our other labels above recognizing the humanity of our fellow neighbors, is when evil becomes birthed into our world.
I think it very clearly was your intention to cause offense, and I think this is a very bad faith apology. You literally insulted me, the Jewish People, The Jewish Covenant, and the Jewish state, and then you want to retreat to some fictions moral high ground you’ve created for yourself. Read your comment out loud — it is nothing other than a personal attack on me based on an assumption that you as some kind of Jewish apostate are somehow better qualified to determine a Jewish person’s relationship with G-d than we are. It is fine to attack a Jewish writer in the comments section and say all kinds of crazy stuff about how much better you think you are than us — but don’t try to pass it off as though it was not your intention to offend. Either make an honest apology for what was clearly your intention or don’t, but don’t waste my time by calling me “my friend” and thinking that’s going to fool me into misperceiving what is such a bold-faced ad hominem attack.
this right here
Actually: Both, as anti-semitism itself is extremely foolish all by itself!
The writer has said it all, and all I can say is bravo. I hope this is sent to all media outlets!!! Am Yisrael Chai!
Thank you so much Judith!
Why should it have been shocking that your "Progressive" i.e. Marxist "friends" support hamas and hate Israel? That is the very nature of that ideology. What's also stupid is for Jews to continue to align themselves with this malicious movement whose very ideology is to oppose western civilization and Judeo/Christian values. Everything they believe in is flat out wrong and evil. What's stupid is to continue to be a "progressive" and then be "shocked" that they support evil. What did you expect? "Progressivism" is marxism.
Laura, I’m a former progressive. I also love the Jewish people. I hate to see anyone in America (or anywhere else) go without food, medical care and other necessities. That’s what made me a progressive.
But after 10/7/2023 there was no way I could support the progressive movement. And I was pretty active prior to that. I’ve never been crazy about Islam, to say the least. My point is, some of us out here are not as knowledgeable as we should have been. I can say that about myself. I’m a former Catholic.
I think many of us, even if we intellectually saw the issues with progressivism to begin with, were not prepared for that movement to take such a violent turn. There is a kind of liberal progressivism that genuinely wants to improve the conditions of the world that does not look at everything through the reductive lens of "oppression," but that kind of thought is not really tolerated in the progressive movement anymore. I think many of us were surprised to find that cultural marxism had basically slipped through under our nose.
Thank you Mr. Goldstein, very much. The global violence directed at the Jewish community since 10/7, especially in western democracies, has obviously been planned, maybe for far longer than we know.
We saw how the American flag was burned and replaced with the Palestinian flag just this last week.
How "innocent" are they since they support hamas to this day in overwhelming numbers. You say the "palestinian" people don't deserve hamas, yes, they do but Israel doesn't deserve to be adjacent to a hamas terror state nor does Israel deserve to have genocidal maniacs for neighbors. Expel them to Arab nations where they belong.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
"they have turned innocent Palestinian people into politically expendable propaganda pieces".
I watched the whole thing and thought Bibi was an excellent orator. Now I’m not naive enough to believe he is without faults. But I cried through most of it. Those beautiful and brave Israelis. The former hostages looked so painfully thin.
Ted - thank you for the props.
Now that we’re pen pals, I have to say your excellent article overlooks one thing when it wonders what happened to academic integrity.
As with all things, our Jewish ancestors answered it first - whether my father:
“Der mit de mayah, hut de dayah” -
the guy with the bucks calls the shots…
Or the Torah (yes Ted, thanks to you I fell down a Rabbi hole):
“…the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and make just words crooked.”(Deuteronomy 16:19-20) …
Or as they say on every street corner in the States:
“Money talks. BS walks.”
( I wish that stood for Bernie Sanders,
but same difference.)
The money in question is decades of multi- billions in educational endowments to the
Ivy Leagues from Qatar and China. Who needs missiles when “A mind is a thing to lay to terrible waste.”
MFritz
Very well said
Thank you for sharing that quote. The bribery that has become rampant in America is despicable and disheartening. But I am optimistic that soon all of this will be exposed, and the voice of truth will soon have its day again. The most telling thing about antizionism is that it seems to have no leader, and it certainly has no one who is willing to engage in a public DEBATE about these issues. They love to stand behind their bullhorns and do their chants and make their speeches, but they would never, ever, face someone else in a debate.
In June USAID was going to give 404 million to Gaza in addition to fund already allotted. They receive more funding that other established nations. We should just write check to Hamas.
The international community has sent billions of dollars in aid to the Gaza Strip to provide relief to the more than 2 million Palestinians living there. From 2014 to 2020, U.N. agencies spent nearly $4.5 billion in Gaza, including $600 million in 2020 alone.
Why is it never discussed that Hamas leadership living in Qatar are billionaires how does one become a billionaire in Gaza? Is thus misappropriation of aide funds coming from all over the world.
How can such a tiny place receive billion in aide and conditions do not improve. The prosperity of Gaza and Palestinian state is dependent on Israel. Seems like Hamas leadership has sufficient funds to start to build an Abu Dhabi in Gaza. What is the delay?
I am gonna go with this is really not about building a nation!
It is truly heartbreaking to think about how much money has been spent in the pursuit of violence and destruction that could have been spent building schools and playgrounds. And yet still people still blame Israel for everything.
All the aid and funds Israel has given as well. It is so heartbreaking but I am an optimist we must have hope, sharing and euducating!
Unfortunately, malice and stupidity are not mutually exclusive and there is ample evidence that they co-exist and actively manifest themselves across all intellectual levels of society. Even a surprising fraction of Jews, who should know better, are susceptible to this devastating combination of inconsistent, counter-intuitive and corrupt rationalization. The nazi party in pre-war Germany was initially supported by medical doctors and engineers so we shouldn't be surprised that history repeats itself.
I agree their intentions are malicious. I have no idea why! I think they are utterly stupid, what ever qualifications they have. The supporters are ignorant and are caught up in a tsunami of hysteria. No one seems to have the courage to stamp it out. They all speak blatant lies and demonise all that speak out against them. However the day of reckoning will come and they will realise their sins.
Psalm 11:5 … and many others … “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves Hamas His soul hates.”
How could any decent human being support Islamic terrorism. The day I see mass numbers of Muslims in the streets protesting AGAINST Hamas, I’ll have some hope for them.