A Jewish friend of ours posted this. [It just seems to me that there is yet no civilised solution.]
Richard Curtis 15 August at 14:48
"Some of you are aware I have an opinion on the dreadful situation in Gaza that is not shared by the BBC or the Times. This fellow, French journo Brice Couturier, (now found out he may have just translated it and Emmanuel Ruimy wrote it) has set it out far better then I ever could, and coldly explains the absolute and utter horror of Gaza and its future. It's chilling reading. Israel cannot win this war, because it was not designed to be won.
"Not because it is militarily outmatched, but because it is caught in an equation deliberately made insoluble. On October 7th, by massacring civilians and abducting hundreds of hostages, Hamas triggered a war with no bearable outcome. Israel was not only surprised. It was trapped.
"It is important to understand: Hamas is not seeking victory, it seeks the destruction of Israel. They do not care if Gaza burns, as long as Israel bleeds. This is an eschatological strategy: lose everything, as long as the other falls with you. And their strategy relies on entanglement, on emotion, on manipulating Western consciences. Their strength is not military, it is dramaturgical. And perhaps the most chilling thing is this: they have understood the West better than many Israeli strategists. Their real front is Western public opinion, not the IDF.
"By taking hostages, they forbid peace. By hiding among civilians in the most densely populated territory in the world, they forbid war. Hamas has invented a geometry of the trap: Israel is locked in a war where every victory is a loss. In this asymmetrical, post-modern war, it is not reality that counts—it is the image of reality.
"This trap could not work without the involuntary cooperation of Western democracies. By reversing the pressure—not on the hostage-takers, but on those trying to rescue them—they legitimize blackmail. By recognizing a Palestinian state unconditionally, they turn a terrorist strategy into political capital.
"Let’s be clear: a ceasefire accompanied by the release of all hostages is a mirage—an illusion of Western projection. Hamas especially does not want an end: it wants the conflict to fester, for the hostages to rot underground, for the agony to last. The hostages are trophies, levers, spotlights trained on Gaza to keep the war going. They will not all be returned: that is precisely why they were taken.
"So only a terrible alternative remains:
"Either Israel persists—perhaps for years—occupies Gaza down to the last tunnel, at the cost of countless deaths, diplomatic disaster, and with no certainty of success.
"Or it withdraws, quietly accepting that another October 7th is already in gestation.
"It is no longer about winning, but about choosing the form of one’s defeat (or of a half-victory, say the optimists). Some claim, in Clausewitzian logic, that a war once begun must be carried through to the end, otherwise it will return—worse. Others believe that an incomplete victory is better than a total disaster.
"I repeat: the most tragic part is that Hamas’s strategy has worked. And it works because we let it work. Hamas has understood: in a world governed by images, terrorism pays—provided it is well staged."
What if the government of Israel had, long ago, appealed to the Palestinian people, granting them a homeland as long as Hamas was never again in power? It's too late now, because the government of Israel has lost all credibility and decency. Netanyahu is as much a criminal as DT. Plus, his writings promote hatred and elimination of Palestine. Instead of having leaders who hate and seek elimination of "the other," the people, like the Women in Black, need to be the ones with the power. They are the ones who have the will and wherewithal to find a way forward as peoples living in peace beside one another. An eye for an eye used to sound cruel to me. These days it would be a vast improvement. As Khalil Gibran, Gandhi and MLK, Jr would say, "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." Well, there is a lot of blindness in the Middle East. How about a hand in a hand, instead? How about caring more about humanity and life than land? The Jewish people lived too long without their homeland! And I believe the Israeli people truly want peace. It disgusts me that the Israeli government, knowing the history and immense sorrow, refuses a homeland to others. I do not expect to see peace in my lifetime.
The bit where you said "the Israeli people truly want peace." The speaker in the video pretty thoroughly refuted that view, unfortunately. I found what he said distressing, but he is an expert on the subject.
Trump’s D.C. takeover is a desperate distraction from Epstein files L.Z. Granderson Syndicated columnist Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to appoint an “emergency police commissioner” in Washington, D.C., is just the latest attempt to change an increasingly uncomfortable subject for the White House. Last month, President Donald Trump told the American people he was never briefed on the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein, who in 2019 was charged with sex trafficking minors. We now know that Bondi told the president in May that his name appeared multiple times in those files, which traced Epstein’s operation back to the mid-1990s. So — either you believe a city experiencing a 30-year low in crime is suddenly in need of an emergency police commissioner or you agree with Joe Rogan’s assessment: This administration is gaslighting the public regarding those files. -- nordy
Peace is first.
ReplyDeleteCruelty is last.
BBC witnesses Israeli settlers' attack on Palestinian farm in West Bank
A Jewish friend of ours posted this.
ReplyDelete[It just seems to me that there is yet no civilised solution.]
Richard Curtis
15 August at 14:48
"Some of you are aware I have an opinion on the dreadful situation in Gaza that is not shared by the BBC or the Times. This fellow, French journo Brice Couturier, (now found out he may have just translated it and Emmanuel Ruimy wrote it) has set it out far better then I ever could, and coldly explains the absolute and utter horror of Gaza and its future. It's chilling reading.
Israel cannot win this war, because it was not designed to be won.
"Not because it is militarily outmatched, but because it is caught in an equation deliberately made insoluble. On October 7th, by massacring civilians and abducting hundreds of hostages, Hamas triggered a war with no bearable outcome. Israel was not only surprised. It was trapped.
"It is important to understand: Hamas is not seeking victory, it seeks the destruction of Israel. They do not care if Gaza burns, as long as Israel bleeds. This is an eschatological strategy: lose everything, as long as the other falls with you. And their strategy relies on entanglement, on emotion, on manipulating Western consciences. Their strength is not military, it is dramaturgical. And perhaps the most chilling thing is this: they have understood the West better than many Israeli strategists. Their real front is Western public opinion, not the IDF.
"By taking hostages, they forbid peace. By hiding among civilians in the most densely populated territory in the world, they forbid war. Hamas has invented a geometry of the trap: Israel is locked in a war where every victory is a loss. In this asymmetrical, post-modern war, it is not reality that counts—it is the image of reality.
"This trap could not work without the involuntary cooperation of Western democracies. By reversing the pressure—not on the hostage-takers, but on those trying to rescue them—they legitimize blackmail. By recognizing a Palestinian state unconditionally, they turn a terrorist strategy into political capital.
"Let’s be clear: a ceasefire accompanied by the release of all hostages is a mirage—an illusion of Western projection. Hamas especially does not want an end: it wants the conflict to fester, for the hostages to rot underground, for the agony to last. The hostages are trophies, levers, spotlights trained on Gaza to keep the war going. They will not all be returned: that is precisely why they were taken.
"So only a terrible alternative remains:
"Either Israel persists—perhaps for years—occupies Gaza down to the last tunnel, at the cost of countless deaths, diplomatic disaster, and with no certainty of success.
"Or it withdraws, quietly accepting that another October 7th is already in gestation.
"It is no longer about winning, but about choosing the form of one’s defeat (or of a half-victory, say the optimists). Some claim, in Clausewitzian logic, that a war once begun must be carried through to the end, otherwise it will return—worse. Others believe that an incomplete victory is better than a total disaster.
"I repeat: the most tragic part is that Hamas’s strategy has worked. And it works because we let it work. Hamas has understood: in a world governed by images, terrorism pays—provided it is well staged."
What if the government of Israel had, long ago, appealed to the Palestinian people, granting them a homeland as long as Hamas was never again in power? It's too late now, because the government of Israel has lost all credibility and decency. Netanyahu is as much a criminal as DT. Plus, his writings promote hatred and elimination of Palestine. Instead of having leaders who hate and seek elimination of "the other," the people, like the Women in Black, need to be the ones with the power. They are the ones who have the will and wherewithal to find a way forward as peoples living in peace beside one another. An eye for an eye used to sound cruel to me. These days it would be a vast improvement. As Khalil Gibran, Gandhi and MLK, Jr would say, "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." Well, there is a lot of blindness in the Middle East. How about a hand in a hand, instead? How about caring more about humanity and life than land? The Jewish people lived too long without their homeland! And I believe the Israeli people truly want peace. It disgusts me that the Israeli government, knowing the history and immense sorrow, refuses a homeland to others. I do not expect to see peace in my lifetime.
DeleteListener, you may want to reconsider that view.
DeleteVideo: Growing number of Israeli troops taking their own lives - Click
I listened to him, but don't understand what part of my view is at odds with what he expressed...?
DeleteThe bit where you said "the Israeli people truly want peace." The speaker in the video pretty thoroughly refuted that view, unfortunately. I found what he said distressing, but he is an expert on the subject.
DeleteTrump’s D.C. takeover is a desperate distraction from Epstein files
ReplyDeleteL.Z. Granderson
Syndicated columnist
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to appoint an “emergency police commissioner” in Washington, D.C., is just the latest attempt to change an increasingly uncomfortable subject for the White House. Last month, President Donald Trump told the American people he was never briefed on the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein, who in 2019 was charged with sex trafficking minors. We now know that Bondi told the president in May that his name appeared multiple times in those files, which traced Epstein’s operation back to the mid-1990s.
So — either you believe a city experiencing a 30-year low in crime is suddenly in need of an emergency police commissioner or you agree with Joe Rogan’s assessment: This administration is gaslighting the public regarding those files. -- nordy
It pains me to agree with Joe Rogan on anything.
DeleteDemocratic Maine oyster farmer to challenge Susan Collins
ReplyDeleteWell, that's good news. I'm pretty tired of Susan Collin's "I'm concerned" shtick and than voting "for" whatever concerned her. Susan
DeleteThe title is a misnomer. This video actually discusses the insidiousness of Russian propaganda.
ReplyDeleteVideo: This is why so many Americans are moving to Russia - Click