Biden was careful to distinguish between Hamas and the Palestinians. “Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination,” Biden said. “Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people…. Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price.”
…
The president’s speech was not without notice to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed fierce retribution against all the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for the actions of Hamas. Biden said that in a recent phone call the two had discussed “how democracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law. Terrorists…purposefully target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war,” Biden said, laws that prohibit deliberate targeting of civilians and require proportionate responses. “It matters. There’s a difference.”
Monica Alba, Carol E. Lee, and Peter Nicholas of NBC News reported the conversation was stronger than Biden’s speech indicated, with Biden warning Netanyahu that the U.S. will be watching closely for blowback to excessive force, especially if such force kills civilians.
“His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
You're welcome, Bill. The UK caused huge troubles with the way they dismembered the Ottoman Empire, which still plague us today. I suspect that they did not understand how the Ottoman Empire worked; it was different from any country today. Alternatively, they assumed that their method of governance was superior to all others. Confucius held that a rational, peaceful country was possible if its underlying principles were agreed to by all the people, so he set out to find the oldest culture of China of which enough remained to develop a set of laws and customs, which he judged was the Chou Dynasty. Likewise the only successful method of governing the parts of the Ottoman Empire is in my opinion the way the Ottomans did it, and in countries derived from the UK, the English common law. ---Alan
I think we rushed into giving Israel a homeland out of the guilt we felt when being forced to look at the results of the holocaust, after ignoring all the info we actually had. Liberating the Jews of Europe from the camps was pretty damn sobering.
Something else happened while I was in China. We were supporters when I left in 1979, that had reversed when I returned in 1982. Anyone know? It was very visceral for me, and scary.
You'd think that a people who had been tossed out of lands again and again and finally given a Homeland would have a bit more compassion for a people still seeking a Homeland...especially when the people given the Homeland got it given them from land the other folks once had.
Alan, Israel. Not saying it was mindless support, but a consistent attempt to understand Israel's reasoning. That was pretty much gone, and critical views of every Israeli action the name of every day, all around.
My own view in this lifetime has been most influenced by Europe and the Jews, by Malcolm Hay. Circa 1960. Burn the fingers of your soul, it will. It did. Still does.
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That doesn't look so comfortable. Sure it's safe?
ReplyDeletepuddle~~
Very! It’s made of steel and has already held the boat safely through 41 winters. It could actually hold a much larger boat.
Delete^ {listener}
Delete{listener}
ReplyDeleteFrom Heather Cox Richardson’s daily letter:
Biden was careful to distinguish between Hamas and the Palestinians. “Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination,” Biden said. “Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people…. Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price.”
…
The president’s speech was not without notice to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed fierce retribution against all the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for the actions of Hamas. Biden said that in a recent phone call the two had discussed “how democracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law. Terrorists…purposefully target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war,” Biden said, laws that prohibit deliberate targeting of civilians and require proportionate responses. “It matters. There’s a difference.”
Monica Alba, Carol E. Lee, and Peter Nicholas of NBC News reported the conversation was stronger than Biden’s speech indicated, with Biden warning Netanyahu that the U.S. will be watching closely for blowback to excessive force, especially if such force kills civilians.
This is a worthy read…one of HCR’s very best!
Impressive that she penned this while traveling on her new book tour.
Wikipedia: Balfour Declaration [Click]
ReplyDelete“His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
—Alan
Thanks, Alan.
DeleteYou're welcome, Bill. The UK caused huge troubles with the way they dismembered the Ottoman Empire, which still plague us today. I suspect that they did not understand how the Ottoman Empire worked; it was different from any country today. Alternatively, they assumed that their method of governance was superior to all others. Confucius held that a rational, peaceful country was possible if its underlying principles were agreed to by all the people, so he set out to find the oldest culture of China of which enough remained to develop a set of laws and customs, which he judged was the Chou Dynasty. Likewise the only successful method of governing the parts of the Ottoman Empire is in my opinion the way the Ottomans did it, and in countries derived from the UK, the English common law.
Delete---Alan
I think we rushed into giving Israel a homeland out of the guilt we felt when being forced to look at the results of the holocaust, after ignoring all the info we actually had. Liberating the Jews of Europe from the camps was pretty damn sobering.
ReplyDeleteSomething else happened while I was in China. We were supporters when I left in 1979, that had reversed when I returned in 1982. Anyone know? It was very visceral for me, and scary.
puddle~~
You'd think that a people who had been tossed out of lands again and again and finally given a Homeland would have a bit more compassion for a people still seeking a Homeland...especially when the people given the Homeland got it given them from land the other folks once had.
Deletepuddle^
Delete^ I'm the second Anony-mouse above.
DeleteYou'd think so. Guess it's the "I've got mine, screw you" mentality.
Deletepuddle-- whom or what did we support and then not while you were in China?
Delete-----Alan
Alan, Israel. Not saying it was mindless support, but a consistent attempt to understand Israel's reasoning. That was pretty much gone, and critical views of every Israeli action the name of every day, all around.
DeleteMy own view in this lifetime has been most influenced by Europe and the Jews, by Malcolm Hay. Circa 1960. Burn the fingers of your soul, it will. It did. Still does.
puddle~~
Thanks for the clarification, puddle.
Delete---Alan
Egypt warned Israel days before Hamas struck, US committee chairman says
ReplyDeleteI guess this really is just like our 9/11, eh?
DeleteInitial US intelligence suggests Iran was surprised by the Hamas attack on Israel
ReplyDelete