This is just F'n great.. FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday the war between Israel and Hamas has led to a spike

[TeamProg]

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday the war between Israel and Hamas has led to a spike in threats against the United States, warning that "we are in a dangerous period" as various terrorist groups look to leverage the conflict for their own causes.

( snip )
Israel-Gaza conflict is being used in extremist propaganda

Christine Abizaid, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told lawmakers that the Israel-Hamas war has featured in messaging and propaganda since Oct. 7.

"We've seen it from al-Qaida affiliates, almost every single one of them," she told lawmakers, referring to terrorist groups in the Mideast and Africa with ties to al-Qaida. "We've also seen it from ISIS, which isn't ideologically aligned with a group like Hamas but is still leveraging this current conflict to try to sow the kind of violence, bring adherence to its cause in a kind of exploitative way."

On the home front, Wray said the biggest concern for the FBI is that violent extremists — including people inspired by foreign terrorist groups but also domestic violent extremists — will draw inspiration from the ongoing conflict to carry out attacks against Americans.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, Netanyahu's slaughter of approx. 20,000 Palestinian civilians in his attempt to destroy Hamas has raised the terror threat here in the U.S..

Thanks a WHOLE FUCKING BUNCH, A-HOLE.

[AloeVera]

1. Shocker.

Who could have seen THIS coming?

[TeamProg]

3. I sense a bit of sarcasm.. We ALL would have seen this if we knew the extent to which Netanyahu had lost his mind to

hate, vengeance, political paranoia and his own leadership screw-ups.

[EndlessWire]

8. Let's not forget

that Israel suffered a terrible blow, and that they have a right to defend themselves. Despite the unpleasantness of Netanyahu and his now questionable motives and attitudes, this is all on Hamas. They own it.

When hasn't the United States been blamed for everything that has gone wrong or will go wrong in the world? Hamas wanted a regional war, but would probably settle for others engaging the US. They are cowards. And if they killed every last Jew on the planet, they would start on somebody else. That's the way it works with bullies.

[TeamProg]

10. So, no blame on invading settlers and the occupation of defined Palestinian land?

Slogans are just words, actually taking over someone’s land is another thing all together, correct?

[EX500rider]

29. Who were the "invading settlers" in Gaza exactly?

[Mosby]

54. There isn't a single Jew in Gaza.

And there is no defined Palestinian land, which is why Israel has no defined western border.

Israel is allowed in the West Bank per the Oslo Accords, which were signed off by Yasser Arafat.

[marybourg]

56. The settlers are in the West Bank. There are no settlers in Gaza.

It’s always preferable to know what and whom one is agitating against.

[TeamProg]

64. Yes, and encroaching on Palestinian land. Exactly. No settlers would want to move to an often referred as "open air

prison" that is Gaza.

So, there ya go.

[gratuitous]

17. Did someone say Israel doesn't have the right to defend itself?

I keep hearing that idea floated to justify everything Israel has done going back to time immemorial. Who's* saying Israel has no right to defend itself?

*And by "who" I'm not talking about some anonymous internet rando, but an actual person of some authority.

[sarisataka]

21. The UN Human Rights Council for one,

Francesca P. Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories is another...

They seem to be more than internet randos. There are many more that have made the same claim that Israel is not allowed to defend itself against terrorism.

[gratuitous]

27. And what's the context of that assertion?

From what I can find (and for some reason, I can't find the text of any UN Human Rights Council statement that Israel has no right to defend itself anytime, anywhere or against anyone), any number of folks (including Albanese) have placed the activities of the IDF in the context of the wholesale slaughter of civilians in Gaza, and said that that does not constitute self defense. Blasting civilians to smithereens who can't fight back and can't get away isn't defending Israel against terrorism, because the victims aren't terrorists. That's a far cry from the bald assertion that Israel has no right to defend itself.

[sarisataka]

44. Hmm, I was sure the goalposts were over there a moment ago

Let's try another shot that the claim is Israel has no right of self-defense against Hamas, not the strawman "anyone"

You may have missed it since the UNHRC is from April, prior to the current conflict,

UN human rights official says Israel ‘can’t claim’ self-defense after deadly terror

A lawyer heading the UN Human Rights Council’s open-ended investigation into Israel’s treatment of Palestinians said Saturday that Israel does not have the right to self-defense against Palestinians, after two deadly terror attacks and volleys of rocket fire against Israel.
***
“Israel has a right to defend itself, but can’t claim it when it comes to the people it oppresses/whose lands it colonizes,” Albanese said on Twitter. Albanese regularly refers to Israel as a colonial enterprise that subjugates Palestinians, and rejects the conflict paradigm, assigning Israel sole responsibility for all disputes.
***
The Twitter accounts for the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN Human Rights MENA, and UN Geneva have all shared anti-Israel content in the past week, but none has mentioned violence against Israel.
***
Israel’s envoy to the Human Rights Council said last week that the body had passed its 100th resolution condemning Israel, representing around one-third of all condemnatory resolutions since its creation in 2006.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-human-rights-official-says-israel-cant-claim-self-defense-after-deadly-terror/

More recently and explicitly Hamas is untouchable in the UN eyes

Outrage over UN official's claim that Israel doesn't have right to self-defence against Hamas

On Tuesday, during an address to the National Press Club of Australis, Francesca Albanese, U.N. special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territory claimed that Israel does not have the right to self-defend against Hamas.

She added that Israel's right to self-defence is “non-existent” under international law as it is not under threat from another state.

"Israel cannot claim the right of self-defence against a threat that emanates from a territory it occupies, from a territory that is under belligerent occupation," said Francesca in the event held in Canberra, Australia.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/outrage-over-un-officials-claim-that-israel-doesnt-have-right-to-self-defence-against-hamas-101700210595261.html

[Cha]

61. Wow.. I missed this.. TY!

UN human rights official says Israel ‘can’t claim’ self-defense after deadly terror

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/outrage-over-un-officials-claim-that-israel-doesnt-have-right-to-self-defence-against-hamas-101700210595261.html

[Mosby]

55. Francesca P. Albanese is an antisemite.

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-739603

https://www.ngo-monitor.org/francesca-albanese-special-rapporteur-to-demonize-israel/

[Attilatheblond]

16. Netanyahu is a glaring illustration of the evil 'leaders' can do when trying to avoid legal consequences

for what illegal things they have already done. It is nature's way of telling us NOT to put Trump back in power in this country.

[LeftInTX]

2. Extremely predictable.

[Hekate]

4. Add to them all the useful idiots who've popped up. Kick. Rec. Bookmark.

[TeamProg]

5. Huh?

[SunSeeker]

6. The college students chanting "from the river to the sea Palestine shall be free."

Too many people repeating Hamas' genocidal chant, some not even realizing what they're saying.

Bill Maher did a really good rant about it:

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-maher-delivers-stunning-8-minute-new-rule-on-israel-and-palestine-you-all-die-and-disappear/?dicbo=v4-Mj24SKd-1088236730

[elleng]

7. An our friend Israel is not inclined to be diplomatic with Lebanon.

[EX500rider]

30. Most countries frown on neighboring countries firing missile across the border etc

[JI7]

9. Why blame Netanyahu for that ? Wasn't there some huge attack here about 22 years ago ?

in addition to others ?

[TeamProg]

11. Netanyahu responded just as Trump would have. Netanyahu failed to keep his people safe

from attack.

Most occupied peoples do fight back.

[Sympthsical]

13. So October 7th was just oppressed people fighting back?

I've noticed as more time elapses past October 7th, people are being a little more honest of their views of it. Bit by bit.

I appreciate this honesty, because it advertises ideological views that are often cloaked out of a desire to avoid social disapproval.

I like it when people say exactly what they mean to say.

[sarisataka]

14. There seems to be a new mantra

that 'Rape is Resistance.'

[Sympthsical]

18. I'm still watching in awe of "Did you know the Jews killed Christ?"

How people - many people, some of them prominent - decided that engaging a two millennia long motivation for Jewish genocide is a good idea is one of the most disassociating experiences I've had watching this. It feels out of body, like is this real life? You really dipped into 12th Century Europe as your inspiration?

And the people who keep waving their virtue like they're road flares in a snowstorm can't say a single word about literal medieval genocidal rhetoric being thrown at the Jews.

Not even a mumble out of the side of their mouths.

This isn't about the Palestinians. This is about how people see themselves and the roles they like to believe they play. And they can't figure out when the heel turn came in their own stories.

[TeamProg]

31. Ridiculous. This is purely about politics and national borders, land, territory, so keep RELIGION OUT OF IT.

"Oh me oh my, that bully beat me up because he's a racist."

Your response is like someone who wasn't qualified for a skilled job and didn't get hired saying "I didn't get hired because they didn't like my perfume."

[Sympthsical]

38. Yes, the Middle East is famously not about religion at all

On this topic, it increasingly feels like every time I walk into a conversation assuming there is some baseline knowledge involved, the bottom falls out.

And I'm always surprised when it does. Feels like that one's on me.

[Hekate]

52. I can relate

[Torchlight]

41. Avoid discussion of religion while discussing a war partially predicated on religious differences?

[TeamProg]

43. See, you're blaming the war on religious differences as cover for each party's aggressive behavior. The real war

is over land, occupied and otherwise.

Right????

[Torchlight]

46. Like the 100 Years War, the one does not deny the other

Let's try to avoid the rather linear and orthodox thought process which ignores any inconvenient causes to a spin. Land, greed, power, religion, nationalism, resources, all righteously cry out equally for the top spot in the blame for violence.

Right??? Part II.

[OilemFirchen]

59. Surprisingly, you're partly correct.

One side of this war is secular and defending its internationally recognized borders.

The other side is sectarian and attempting to "reclaim" land defined by their scripture as "theirs". That side is also using their scripture in an ill-fated crusade to eradicate non-believers.

[AloeVera]

68. Not quite.

I had to read this a few times.

That Israel is a truly secular state is arguable now. That it has not been invaded by another nation's army and hence forced to defend its borders is not. Israel is "defending" itself against a people it occupies, which is not the same thing as defending its borders.

"Attempting to "reclaim" land defined by their scripture as "theirs"? I am certain you meant to say this on behalf of "secular" Israel. If not, I'm at a loss here.

I mean on the one hand you have a people who actually lived on the land for the last millennia at least, who were expelled from it 75 years ago. They do not have to rely on scripture to claim it as theirs

On the other hand you have another people who actually haven't lived there for a millennia or more (except in minority status) who actually do have to rely on scripture to lay claim to or "reclaim" the land, as in Eretz Israel.

Both sides use their scripture to justify killing the other. To wit, "Remember Amalek".

[Hekate]

51. This is about history, and what always works to gin people up to go out and kill more people

Even if all you do is take a deep atheistic dive into the history of Europe and avert your eyes at all the religion stuff — look at the propaganda and the manipulation.

[AkFemDem]

58. This is beyond naive

Religion has *everything* to do with *everything* in the Middle East, most especially in Israel and Gaza. When you have an official state religion, you can not separate actions from the state from rhetoric of the religion.

[betsuni]

45. Waving their virtue like road flares, "This isn't about the Palestinians. This is about how people see

themselves and the roles they like to believe they play." Exactly.

[sarisataka]

49. Old tropes have resurfaced in all their "splendor"

Along with quotes from 30s-40s propaganda.

You are correct, it is not about the Palestinians. They are also a pawn used to focus that which has always been there.

[Hekate]

50. This is before coffee in my time zone, so I am not quite coherent yet. But I've been waiting to see if/when...

…that particular phrase would come back around. I expected it to surface in the US several years ago, frankly, because of the other tropes that came up thanks to Trump’s permission and encouragement. And now you’ve seen it or read it or heard it reported — as a documentary, as a news segment? Is it something I can go look up or just what’s in the air?

Love your first paragraph. It’s how I felt about the Dobbs decision when I found that Justice Alito quoted not just a 16th century British Jurist who used to judge witches — but also some holy man from the 12th century.

Yeah, this is where we are.

[betsuni]

57. First I heard of it was here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/100218555739

Hadn't heard what comment #5 links to:

[Hekate]

63. It's worth reading. One salient paragraph about AOC's statement...

Drawing parallels between Jesus’ persecutors and present-day Israel, Ocasio-Cortez wrote in an Instagram story on Sunday that Jesus was born in “modern-day Palestine” under a government carrying out “a massacre of innocents.”
According to the New Testament, Jesus was a Jew who lived within the modern borders of Israel and was killed by the Roman forces ruling the territory at the time.

It’s important because that very charge, “The Jews killed Jesus” led to pogroms and other savagery, and finally to the Holocaust. In fact at the time Jesus and his disciples lived, Israel was occupied by the Romans, crucifixion was a Roman method of execution, and iirc the charge was sedition, a political act, because the Roman Empire was weary of this one population that would not submit to the idea that in a polytheistic world, their Caesar was a god. Instead the Jews had this eccentric notion that there was only one god, and theirs was it.

Because of the great power of the Christian mythology to shape the European (and hence American) mindset and history — for good and for ill — it behooves politicians to be mindful of how that works and has worked. It’s easy, very easy, for the malevolent to grab bits of this and that and throw it out there for the stupid to gobble up. It’s harder for the intelligent and thoughtful to be heard. AOC is a politician, not a mythologist, and she’s got a lot going for her: intelligence, passion, beauty. Because she is a politician and a very public person, I think there are times she needs to choose her words very carefully. Calling Israel Goliath and not David with the slingshot is one thing — bringing Christ into it has echoes of something quite different.

Israel, that little plot of real estate, is the nexus of not two but three religions: the Abrahamic religions that all trace their origins to the prophet Abraham. Each has a stake in the notion that one God has given them alone the deed to this real estate. To deny the power of religion to bollix things up on all sides is a fool’s errand, just as denying the ability of the malevolent to use religion to cause chaos is as well.

I need more coffee.

[TeamProg]

15. "We should get out of VietNam" or "The War On Iraq

is illegal” or “The Tulsa Massacre was wrong” or the “Mountain Meadow Massacre was wrong” and “the interning of Japanese Americans was wrong.”
So, just chanting those ideas is due to racism?

“Hey, we were attacked by Japan, of course we’re going to round them up to root out their spies!”.
- That is more what it sounds like you are saying.

Get it now?

[OilemFirchen]

19. Racism?

Weird.

[TeamProg]

34. "Hey, we were attacked by Japan, of course we're going to round them up to root out their spies!".

See the parallel here?

No? Look again.

[OilemFirchen]

40. To racism? No.

I've looked enough, thank you. Still weird.

[Sympthsical]

20. I literally cannot decipher the point in that

[yardwork]

23. What.

[Hekate]

24. I think you missed the point. Bigly. That is not what was being said.

[EllieBC]

66. If you think what Hamas did was justifiable

then why aren’t you saying that plainly?

[AloeVera]

67. Yes they do.

It's the occupation, stupid, to borrow a phrase from Bill Clinton I believe.

Not a long road from enduring the longest occupation in recent history with all its evils, to turning to terrorism when you have not much else to fight back with.

There actually are root causes of terrorism, among them oppression and a sense of injustice and hopelessness.

Fighting terrorism with bombs and more killing of innocents is the road to perdition, not security - as we begin to see now with more coming I fear.

[bluesbassman]

12. A "spike" doesn't occur in a vacuum.

Hamas is undeniably evil, but the have masters too. I'm sure Iran and others knew there would be secondary benefits related to the assault. Additional terrorism against the US being prominent in the overall scheme.

[tenderfoot]

48. If only Netanyahu took intelligence that knew the attack was being planned more seriously

At least he got his war. Now he can indiscriminately mow them down and anyone that has a problem with it can be tagged as Jew haters and pro-hamas. Double happiness.

[sarisataka]

22. So Israel's fault...

Would there be no terrorism if there was no "Israel"?

[yardwork]

25. "There would be no terrorism if there were no Israel"

That does seem to be the message.

If there were no Israel, the reasoning seems to be...

- The kind, generous peoples of the Middle East would live in peace and harmony, sharing goods and services in a collaborative utopia.

- There would be no sexism, racism, homophobia, or other mean things...

- Israel made all the bad things happen. Including 9/11, the massacre of Kurds, bad things that happened in Syria, the Iranian Revolution, etc.

[EX500rider]

26. "Netanyahu's slaughter of approx. 20,000 Palestinian civilians "

Wow, so 100% civilians, IDF hasn't been able to kill any Hamas?
Seems unlikely as does trusting numbers by lying terrorists groups who already publicly admitted they list Hamas dead as civilians

[TeamProg]

32. Okay, you're right, IDF soldiers DID KILL three HOSTAGES that were waving white flags.. 'excuse me. nt

[EX500rider]

35. Which they quickly admitted

Hamas claims they only killed IDF personnel on 10/7....I wonder who I find more believable?

[TeamProg]

39. More believable? I don't know man, there are a LOT of Americans who believe that Trump has told

no lies, that he only speaks the truth.. So.. there ya go.

[Turbineguy]

28. Trump can sick Meal Team 6 and their ilk on them.

[NoRethugFriends]

33. I see you forgot to mention Hamas in your blaming

[TeamProg]

36. I see you forgot to mention the decades long occupation of int'l recognized Palestinian lands. nt

[Elessar Zappa]

37. What does that have to do with Hamas terrorists?

They started this. Israel has a right to exist and they think otherwise, of course Israel will respond.

[madaboutharry]

42. The numbers cited in the OP are wrong.

The approximately 8,000 Hamas terrorist killed in Gaza and the approximately 1,000 Hamas terrorists killed on Oct. 7th were not civilians, even if Hamas wants to count them as such.

It is tragic that innocent civilians have died. Netanyahu has not slaughtered them. They have died because Hamas started a war and then choose to intentionally hide among the population.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Facts are something very different.

[sarisataka]

53. To Hamas and their supporters

every Palestinian is a civilian. Everyone in Israel is a military target.

“You are a slow learner, Winston."
"How can I help it? How can I help but see what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four."
"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.”

[LexVegas]

47. These terrorists have found lots of useful idiots across the political spectrum to spread their propaganda. nt

[MOMFUDSKI]

60. Things are just warming up. I expect '24 to

be a huge escalation by many countries for many reasons. Things aren’t good on our beautiful, blue planet.🌎

[LudwigPastorius]

62. That is to be expected when we are supplying the arms that are causing so much "collateral damage".

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/27/gaza-war-puts-us-extensive-weapons-stockpile-in-israel-under-scrutiny#:~:text=Israel%20now%20appears%20to%20be,about%20transfers%20from%20the%20arsenal.

[elocs]

65. How many Jews or Israelis were killed or kidnapped by Gaza Palestinians, those innocent women & children, babies Oct. 7?

So why are so many thousands of them being killed by Israel? How is that justified? How does doing this somehow make Israel the avenging hero in this conflict? Israel has lost the high ground in this conflict and history will confirm this.
Also, why is Netanyahu not on trial for treason since long ago he had to have been warned of this attack and dismissed it? He seems to bear responsibility for what happened on Oct. 7 and now he gets to play the mighty and unforgiving avenger. Does Israel win point by claiming they are not as bad as Hamas? This has turned into a conflict where you cannot morally root for either side.