They aren’t about territory, resources, or politics. They’re about faith, civilization, and moral frameworks that much of the world doesn’t understand.
Joshua, you have eloquently and powerfully put into words what most of us intuitively know.
How can we get this to a wider audience - outside our echo chamber of Israel- and Jewish-friendly Substacks - an audience of open-minded people in positions of influence, and in positions of power, who can chip away at the “progressive” view so many have wrong about this conflict and all others where Muslim societies are involved?
Craig, the wider world first has to WANT to listen; otherwise, it’s like talking to the wall. Joshua’s explanation is not new, but like any important truth, needs reminding. He, as always, did an excellent job explaining and educating. I am slowly starting to accept that there will always be this philosophical chasm, and that all that matters is what I hold as my moral truth. I can’t convince those unwilling to listen and think. So I don’t try.
I agree, Bobby, which is why I (intentionally) included the word “open-minded.”
Those with closed minds - who won’t listen (which, unfortunately and frighteningly, include the “Free Palestine Hamas lovers on our college campuses - our future leaders) - aren’t worth wasting time and energy on. The only way they’ll ever come around is if the winds around them shift - sufficiently - such that their current noxious cause-du-jour ceases to be fashionable, and the voices of reason begin to prevail. It’s those voices I’m recommending we work to reach.
I do my own small part by simply pasting links to groups of articles and YouTube videos I’ve curated and categorized (“apartheid”, “genocide,” “stolen land ,” etc) into my responses to vitriolic posts by clearly uninformed people. Will it change the minds of those posters? Probably not. Will it get some of the other uninformed or misinformed readers of the dialogue to open their minds? I think so.
An excellent piece. Which explains why Israel must absolutely and definitively crush the Palestinian national movement and destroy the enemy that seeks to destroy it. Which means conquering Gaza, Judea and Samaria, dismantling Hamas and the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, asserting Jewish sovereignty over all these areas and flooding them with Jews who will settle them. The Muslims who do not wish to leave will be locked down, their mosques closed, their children educated in Hebrew; they shall have no voting rights, extremely limited participation in municipal administration, with no public disturbances allowed and those that occur draconically punished. Their status would resemble somewhat that of guest workers in Qatar or Saudi Arabia. Eventually it would be best if they would leave, as they did in Kuwait after Kuwait made their lives so difficult after the Palestinians there celebrated Saddam Hussein's invasion of that country. One can certainly understand the Torah's injunctions about dealing with enemy cities within Israel's neighbourhood in light of your essay. And your essay certainly makes clear why one should NOT approach the conflict between Israel and its Muslim neighbours who wish to destroy it in terms of modern conceptions of warfare, human rights, and the rest of the way the West talks about it with all the attendant moral and political garbage that colors its antisemitism.
Joshua... brilliant. You express the issue perfectly. But even though many world leaders know it is Islam versus all "infidels," (not just Jews) they will continue to spread the lies, because--Jews.
Excellent essay. When I read essays such as this latest gem, I used to think these essays and ideas needed wider distribution, assuming people of good will would understand the problems faced by Israel in fighting this war, and the problems Jews in the diaspora face by the mere fact that to be Jewish means to be an outsider, a minority, and a much besieged minority. But after bringing such points to Israel skeptics I realize these cogent and moral arguments often fall on deaf and unreceptive ears. Those who get it, seem to get it on their own. There may be a few whose eyes get opened by such essays, but in my experience, for the most part, they fall on deaf ears. There is a Jew hating mind worm, devil inspired, not rational or logical, and I pray Hashem keeps Israel strong, Jews in the diaspora resolute, and decides to one day restore the mind and heart of those infected by this mind worm.
I learned early about the unique history that Israel had in the Middle East from the Bible and with Iran as I worked for Bell Helicopter International in Teheran where I heard directly from from Iranian’s on the street in 1979 chanting death to America. When you say the west doesn’t know I have directly contacted President Trump with this
Israel doesn’t have to defeat Islam. It has to make jihadists capitulate. It almost worked with Hamas with the attack in Doha, but Trump is in bed with Qatar. Still, it must end the financial backing of Sunni and Shiite terrorism funded by Iran, and any chance of a massive future ballistic missile attack from Iran. All roads lead to Iran.
I echo the kudos on this very informative and incisive analysis. Indeed the radical Islamist view that cannot countenance the existence of a Jewish state of any size or shape in Israel was representative of most Arab countries and leaders in 1947, hence their embargo of the 1947 UN conference on partition, and their invasion of the newly established Israel.
However, the situation today is quite different, as Israel has diplomatic relations with a number of Arab countries. The challenge Israel and world Jewry face now is to strengthen the moderate Arabs while diminishing and eventually eliminating the fanatics who are not open to any type of peace agreement.
Do you think these religious or civilizational movements will ever evolve out of their world views, and what might precipitate such a change? I have, maybe naively, thought for awhile that these societies will not shed their nihilistic world views until the women in them are emancipated, but given the backlash against such efforts (e.g., Iran) that may be more of a consequence than a cause.
"moral inversion" For Christmas numerous reports on The Arabic speaking Christians....worshipping in Gaza , " tiny minority struggling to survive" From the Jews . Bethlehem....worshipping after two years "of war." And Nazereth....I could swear that Fox 's Trey Yingst pronounced this as "the West Bank." When it's within the "intl recognized Israel borders." The "800 Israeli checkpoints on the "West Bank" according to PBS Newhour at the conclusion of its report to underline Israel's malevolent oppression of the peaceful, longing for sovereignty people of the "territories." If only Israel would abide by human rights. Israel...Jewish civilization...as fundamental to Western civilization....entirely lost and dismissed. The birth of the savior...who lived "asajew" in Jewish land occupied by an oppressive Roman Empire...that is missing. The new war waged by Europe against the Jews. The moral inversion of the "asajews." That the Arabs, the Muslims will always come ahead of their own people. The bizarre and racist thousands of celebrities who make common cause with everything they claim to be against. And tie on the Pal table cloth as proof of virtue. Add to this the newly energized "white supremacist" white nationalism of various and sundry characters for whom Israel is "insignificant." Jews as agents of "white European replacement." I agree entirely with your post.
Joshua, I agree with many of the posted comments. Well done and an important read. I always challenge those who don't understand this to name what most countries call their armed forces. And then point out that there is only one (or two) who's official name has the word *Defense* in its title: IDF.
Joshua, you absolutely blew me away with this perfectly explained piece that makes a very important point that more people need to wake up to. I personally believe a mass awakening to this point will happen in the next five years across the West. The Bondi Beach Shooting will be remembered as a turning point in western history, mark my words! The West needs to get something through its thick head, you folks in the West see human nature one way, that human beings are driven by their own well-being and needs and just want to survive. A rational desire right? But Jihadists have a totally different point of view on human nature. They are not driven nor motivated by the things most of us are. They are NOT rational actors! They are furthermore, motivated not by Palestinian self-determination, protecting their people and country, getting humanitarian supplies to feed and clothe innocent men, women and children, or preventing further destruction of the Gaza Strip.
Not at all, these people are motivated by religious fanaticism and antisemitism. These people are motivated by a fanatical devotion to the cause of building a global caliphate, bringing the holy land back under Arab control and putting the Jews back in their rightful place as dhimmis and killing the infidels wherever they find them. They are carrying on the work their Assassin forefathers started back in the Middle Ages. For those of you who don’t know, The Order of Assassins was a secret society founded in 1090 by Hasan-i Sabbah. They were a small, splinter sect of hardliners within the Islamic faith. They felt they practiced Islam in its purest and most correct form. They played no favorites, attacking and killing both the Christian Crusaders and other Muslims who didn’t agree with them.
The members of the Order were fanatical true believers who were willing to sacrifice themselves and die for the cause whenever they were ordered to without hesitation and believed martyrdom to be a great honor. They actually kept a list of their honor martyrs and the people they killed and it was a source of great pride for them. Over the course of 300 years, they successfully killed two caliphs and countless viziers, sultans and Crusader leaders. They used asymmetrical and psychological warfare and did surgical strikes to draw their opponents into submission. In other words, they used terrorism.
Does any of what I wrote above sound familiar to you? If it does it because Israel’s enemies, the Islamic Republic of Iran and their proxies, are their modern day descendants essentially. To them, the Jewish people returning to their ancient homeland and rebuilding it and on land they consider Dar El-Islam or Islamic land, is unacceptable to them. Furthermore, Jews and other non-Muslims are dhimmis who are supposed to know their place and stay in it. In the eyes of Islamists, Jews are lower caste men and as good only to be subservient to their Arab Muslim masters.
Much as white Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries saw black people as nothing more than perpetual “hewers of wood and drawers of water.” By the same token, that’s how I think Arab Muslims see Jews and the other indigenous peoples of the Middle East such as the Kurds, Africans, Copts, Druze, Samaritans, Maronites, Mandeans, Berbers, and Bedouins. Arabs and the Islamic religion are the masters of the region. The Middle East as they see it is their and Islam’s domain. How dare those dirty Jews disrupt their perfect world by stepping out of their place, returning home and building a thriving nation-state! Don’t they know their now allowed to do that?
I have a message for Islamists. My Jewish friends, colleagues and writers on this platform I admire such as Joshua, Sherri Oz, Jill the Liberal Jew, Liza Libes, Mallory Mosner, Daniel Clarke-Serret, Nacham Kaplan, Francisco J. Bernal, Lucy Tabrizi, and many others, are NOT your dhimmis! They aren’t your slaves to do whatever you wish with nor are they without any human worth! They are men and women who were made by the same God who made you and me. Allah created and loves them too. They are your equals and you will treat them as such! If the Prophet Muhammad and Ibn Kaldun were alive today they’d be horrified by the monstrous and unspeakable things you people have done.
If Allah himself came down to Earth, he’d walk among the people of Israel and bless and embrace the Jewish people and stand with them against the demons in human form in Hamas and their fellow Islamists. The Jews are a proud and resilient people and Israel is a great nation. You will never break them or destroy it! I’m a Christian, I’m not Jewish but I will stand in defense of my Jewish brothers and sisters. By the way, they’re your brothers and sisters too. We all come from the same father, the Patriarch Abraham. The West needs to get with the program! You know why Israel fought all the wars in their history? Not for land, resources, wealth, or empire building but to preserve their country, protect their people and faith from annihilation and to keep alive the great civilization and heritage that was started and so nobly advanced by great men and women like Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Moses, Joshua, Jacob, Joseph with his coat of many colors, King David, King Solomon, Jesus of Nazareth, Moses Mendelssohn, Theodor Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion, Vladimir Jabontinsky, Menachem Begin, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yoni Netanyahu.
Not to mention the brave Jewish partisans who fought in World War II and those who served in the Allied Armies and the six million souls who perished in the Holocaust. No one here denies the humanity of the Palestinian people or that they too have a right to a state. I have great compassion for their suffering. I pray for the people of Gaza that God will watch over and protect them. May God bless the Gazan people! But wiping Israel off the map won’t free them. That’s what these radical leftists and Jihadist Brownshirts and their celebrity cheerleaders don’t understand. Nor do they get that to Jihadists peaceful negotiations, humanitarian aid and land concessions for peace is all laughed at and seen as weakness. Israel has always fought not for the typical reasons countries go to war, but for survival and literally to preserve a people and culture that have more than once faced annihilation.
If there were an "outstanding" button to press, I would press it
Joshua, you have eloquently and powerfully put into words what most of us intuitively know.
How can we get this to a wider audience - outside our echo chamber of Israel- and Jewish-friendly Substacks - an audience of open-minded people in positions of influence, and in positions of power, who can chip away at the “progressive” view so many have wrong about this conflict and all others where Muslim societies are involved?
Craig, the wider world first has to WANT to listen; otherwise, it’s like talking to the wall. Joshua’s explanation is not new, but like any important truth, needs reminding. He, as always, did an excellent job explaining and educating. I am slowly starting to accept that there will always be this philosophical chasm, and that all that matters is what I hold as my moral truth. I can’t convince those unwilling to listen and think. So I don’t try.
I agree, Bobby, which is why I (intentionally) included the word “open-minded.”
Those with closed minds - who won’t listen (which, unfortunately and frighteningly, include the “Free Palestine Hamas lovers on our college campuses - our future leaders) - aren’t worth wasting time and energy on. The only way they’ll ever come around is if the winds around them shift - sufficiently - such that their current noxious cause-du-jour ceases to be fashionable, and the voices of reason begin to prevail. It’s those voices I’m recommending we work to reach.
I do my own small part by simply pasting links to groups of articles and YouTube videos I’ve curated and categorized (“apartheid”, “genocide,” “stolen land ,” etc) into my responses to vitriolic posts by clearly uninformed people. Will it change the minds of those posters? Probably not. Will it get some of the other uninformed or misinformed readers of the dialogue to open their minds? I think so.
An excellent piece. Which explains why Israel must absolutely and definitively crush the Palestinian national movement and destroy the enemy that seeks to destroy it. Which means conquering Gaza, Judea and Samaria, dismantling Hamas and the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, asserting Jewish sovereignty over all these areas and flooding them with Jews who will settle them. The Muslims who do not wish to leave will be locked down, their mosques closed, their children educated in Hebrew; they shall have no voting rights, extremely limited participation in municipal administration, with no public disturbances allowed and those that occur draconically punished. Their status would resemble somewhat that of guest workers in Qatar or Saudi Arabia. Eventually it would be best if they would leave, as they did in Kuwait after Kuwait made their lives so difficult after the Palestinians there celebrated Saddam Hussein's invasion of that country. One can certainly understand the Torah's injunctions about dealing with enemy cities within Israel's neighbourhood in light of your essay. And your essay certainly makes clear why one should NOT approach the conflict between Israel and its Muslim neighbours who wish to destroy it in terms of modern conceptions of warfare, human rights, and the rest of the way the West talks about it with all the attendant moral and political garbage that colors its antisemitism.
Joshua... brilliant. You express the issue perfectly. But even though many world leaders know it is Islam versus all "infidels," (not just Jews) they will continue to spread the lies, because--Jews.
Excellent essay. When I read essays such as this latest gem, I used to think these essays and ideas needed wider distribution, assuming people of good will would understand the problems faced by Israel in fighting this war, and the problems Jews in the diaspora face by the mere fact that to be Jewish means to be an outsider, a minority, and a much besieged minority. But after bringing such points to Israel skeptics I realize these cogent and moral arguments often fall on deaf and unreceptive ears. Those who get it, seem to get it on their own. There may be a few whose eyes get opened by such essays, but in my experience, for the most part, they fall on deaf ears. There is a Jew hating mind worm, devil inspired, not rational or logical, and I pray Hashem keeps Israel strong, Jews in the diaspora resolute, and decides to one day restore the mind and heart of those infected by this mind worm.
I learned early about the unique history that Israel had in the Middle East from the Bible and with Iran as I worked for Bell Helicopter International in Teheran where I heard directly from from Iranian’s on the street in 1979 chanting death to America. When you say the west doesn’t know I have directly contacted President Trump with this
Information.
A helpful explanation. Now onto how Israel and those of us who support Israel defeat Islam and its combatants. HOW?
Israel doesn’t have to defeat Islam. It has to make jihadists capitulate. It almost worked with Hamas with the attack in Doha, but Trump is in bed with Qatar. Still, it must end the financial backing of Sunni and Shiite terrorism funded by Iran, and any chance of a massive future ballistic missile attack from Iran. All roads lead to Iran.
I echo the kudos on this very informative and incisive analysis. Indeed the radical Islamist view that cannot countenance the existence of a Jewish state of any size or shape in Israel was representative of most Arab countries and leaders in 1947, hence their embargo of the 1947 UN conference on partition, and their invasion of the newly established Israel.
However, the situation today is quite different, as Israel has diplomatic relations with a number of Arab countries. The challenge Israel and world Jewry face now is to strengthen the moderate Arabs while diminishing and eventually eliminating the fanatics who are not open to any type of peace agreement.
GOD BLESS ISRAEL AND ITS PEOPLE
The West does not see Israel’s identity,
because it is blind to an identity that was not chosen,
to a morality that was not negotiated,
and to a history that is not over.
Therefore it misinterprets Israel again and again—
not out of malice, but because its memory lacks this landmark.
Our intellect and courage is our shield
women and children is theirs
Do you think these religious or civilizational movements will ever evolve out of their world views, and what might precipitate such a change? I have, maybe naively, thought for awhile that these societies will not shed their nihilistic world views until the women in them are emancipated, but given the backlash against such efforts (e.g., Iran) that may be more of a consequence than a cause.
I agree Suzy, women are part of the solution.
"moral inversion" For Christmas numerous reports on The Arabic speaking Christians....worshipping in Gaza , " tiny minority struggling to survive" From the Jews . Bethlehem....worshipping after two years "of war." And Nazereth....I could swear that Fox 's Trey Yingst pronounced this as "the West Bank." When it's within the "intl recognized Israel borders." The "800 Israeli checkpoints on the "West Bank" according to PBS Newhour at the conclusion of its report to underline Israel's malevolent oppression of the peaceful, longing for sovereignty people of the "territories." If only Israel would abide by human rights. Israel...Jewish civilization...as fundamental to Western civilization....entirely lost and dismissed. The birth of the savior...who lived "asajew" in Jewish land occupied by an oppressive Roman Empire...that is missing. The new war waged by Europe against the Jews. The moral inversion of the "asajews." That the Arabs, the Muslims will always come ahead of their own people. The bizarre and racist thousands of celebrities who make common cause with everything they claim to be against. And tie on the Pal table cloth as proof of virtue. Add to this the newly energized "white supremacist" white nationalism of various and sundry characters for whom Israel is "insignificant." Jews as agents of "white European replacement." I agree entirely with your post.
You can't wage 7th C wars with 21st C laws.
Joshua, I agree with many of the posted comments. Well done and an important read. I always challenge those who don't understand this to name what most countries call their armed forces. And then point out that there is only one (or two) who's official name has the word *Defense* in its title: IDF.
Joshua, you absolutely blew me away with this perfectly explained piece that makes a very important point that more people need to wake up to. I personally believe a mass awakening to this point will happen in the next five years across the West. The Bondi Beach Shooting will be remembered as a turning point in western history, mark my words! The West needs to get something through its thick head, you folks in the West see human nature one way, that human beings are driven by their own well-being and needs and just want to survive. A rational desire right? But Jihadists have a totally different point of view on human nature. They are not driven nor motivated by the things most of us are. They are NOT rational actors! They are furthermore, motivated not by Palestinian self-determination, protecting their people and country, getting humanitarian supplies to feed and clothe innocent men, women and children, or preventing further destruction of the Gaza Strip.
Not at all, these people are motivated by religious fanaticism and antisemitism. These people are motivated by a fanatical devotion to the cause of building a global caliphate, bringing the holy land back under Arab control and putting the Jews back in their rightful place as dhimmis and killing the infidels wherever they find them. They are carrying on the work their Assassin forefathers started back in the Middle Ages. For those of you who don’t know, The Order of Assassins was a secret society founded in 1090 by Hasan-i Sabbah. They were a small, splinter sect of hardliners within the Islamic faith. They felt they practiced Islam in its purest and most correct form. They played no favorites, attacking and killing both the Christian Crusaders and other Muslims who didn’t agree with them.
The members of the Order were fanatical true believers who were willing to sacrifice themselves and die for the cause whenever they were ordered to without hesitation and believed martyrdom to be a great honor. They actually kept a list of their honor martyrs and the people they killed and it was a source of great pride for them. Over the course of 300 years, they successfully killed two caliphs and countless viziers, sultans and Crusader leaders. They used asymmetrical and psychological warfare and did surgical strikes to draw their opponents into submission. In other words, they used terrorism.
Does any of what I wrote above sound familiar to you? If it does it because Israel’s enemies, the Islamic Republic of Iran and their proxies, are their modern day descendants essentially. To them, the Jewish people returning to their ancient homeland and rebuilding it and on land they consider Dar El-Islam or Islamic land, is unacceptable to them. Furthermore, Jews and other non-Muslims are dhimmis who are supposed to know their place and stay in it. In the eyes of Islamists, Jews are lower caste men and as good only to be subservient to their Arab Muslim masters.
Much as white Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries saw black people as nothing more than perpetual “hewers of wood and drawers of water.” By the same token, that’s how I think Arab Muslims see Jews and the other indigenous peoples of the Middle East such as the Kurds, Africans, Copts, Druze, Samaritans, Maronites, Mandeans, Berbers, and Bedouins. Arabs and the Islamic religion are the masters of the region. The Middle East as they see it is their and Islam’s domain. How dare those dirty Jews disrupt their perfect world by stepping out of their place, returning home and building a thriving nation-state! Don’t they know their now allowed to do that?
I have a message for Islamists. My Jewish friends, colleagues and writers on this platform I admire such as Joshua, Sherri Oz, Jill the Liberal Jew, Liza Libes, Mallory Mosner, Daniel Clarke-Serret, Nacham Kaplan, Francisco J. Bernal, Lucy Tabrizi, and many others, are NOT your dhimmis! They aren’t your slaves to do whatever you wish with nor are they without any human worth! They are men and women who were made by the same God who made you and me. Allah created and loves them too. They are your equals and you will treat them as such! If the Prophet Muhammad and Ibn Kaldun were alive today they’d be horrified by the monstrous and unspeakable things you people have done.
If Allah himself came down to Earth, he’d walk among the people of Israel and bless and embrace the Jewish people and stand with them against the demons in human form in Hamas and their fellow Islamists. The Jews are a proud and resilient people and Israel is a great nation. You will never break them or destroy it! I’m a Christian, I’m not Jewish but I will stand in defense of my Jewish brothers and sisters. By the way, they’re your brothers and sisters too. We all come from the same father, the Patriarch Abraham. The West needs to get with the program! You know why Israel fought all the wars in their history? Not for land, resources, wealth, or empire building but to preserve their country, protect their people and faith from annihilation and to keep alive the great civilization and heritage that was started and so nobly advanced by great men and women like Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Moses, Joshua, Jacob, Joseph with his coat of many colors, King David, King Solomon, Jesus of Nazareth, Moses Mendelssohn, Theodor Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion, Vladimir Jabontinsky, Menachem Begin, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yoni Netanyahu.
Not to mention the brave Jewish partisans who fought in World War II and those who served in the Allied Armies and the six million souls who perished in the Holocaust. No one here denies the humanity of the Palestinian people or that they too have a right to a state. I have great compassion for their suffering. I pray for the people of Gaza that God will watch over and protect them. May God bless the Gazan people! But wiping Israel off the map won’t free them. That’s what these radical leftists and Jihadist Brownshirts and their celebrity cheerleaders don’t understand. Nor do they get that to Jihadists peaceful negotiations, humanitarian aid and land concessions for peace is all laughed at and seen as weakness. Israel has always fought not for the typical reasons countries go to war, but for survival and literally to preserve a people and culture that have more than once faced annihilation.
If they celebrate death , give them more than they can handle