General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: No longer defending Israel [View all]ismnotwasm
(42,378 posts)Its acknowledging that for far to many people, they seem to be unable to criticize Israel without using anti-semitism as the guide to do so.
All war is bullshit. Any action that leads to so much pain and suffering whether its a nation or a terrorist group, is bullshit.
(As an aside, I have a very offensive opinion on why we seem to always continue war, it has to do with testosterone and patriarchy )
Israel is not an exception to this. It is, however, surrounding by nations who want to eradicate Israel. They have terrorist groups dedicated to this goaland those groups use anything to manipulate public opinion, and have been doing so for decades. This action, this brutality is not out of nowhere. It is not out of a genuine desire to commit genocide. It is a fight for the life of a nation, in the eyes of the government of Israel. Historically and geographically I can see why Israel reacts the way they do.
The picture being painted is that of a rich, powerful nation lobbing bombs at a tiny, impoverished innocent area full of people who just want to survive and be free, all because of a pesky theater bombing that barely killed a thousand people, and geez, just a few hostages. Right?
So, then, Is that the entire picture? Polls show that the Palestinian people support Hamas anywhere from 27% up. Not great. Hamas is the elected government of Palestine, which conveniently stopped having elections. . Hamas is a brutal terrorist group, that initially used suicide bombers, whose stated purpose, is the eradication of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state. They are honest about what they want. Believe them.
Over 30, 000 Palestinians killed. Over a third of them children. Again, war is bullshit. I will point out that Hamas is perfectly willing, able and has precedent using innocents to manipulate the situation. They are very, very good at what they do.
There are radical groups and extremists and opportunists who are using this situation. Once this action has ended, what next?