I am perplexed at your analysis. It seems to come down to saying 'those are horrible Netanyahu-and Trump- loving Jews in Israel who think they are defending themselves but are engaging in barbarisms against other barbarians and have forfeited the right to say they are fighting against anti-Semitism because of the way they are defending themselves; but don't let that get in the way of you taking the higher moral ground of fighting against anti-Semitism in the west'.
It reminds me of those who say 'I am not an anti-Semite I am an anti-Zionist'. Instead you are saying I am not an anti-Semite, I just don't like the way that these Jews are defending themselves against those who want to destroy them.
You even manage to throw in a charge of genocide against them. You and the UN both.
The existential threat Israel faces is not that of Netanyahu's leadership it is the hatred and avowed commitment to destroy Israel by the enemies all around: Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah, Houthis, Iran, Syria just to name a few.
Israel just found that their greatest enemy Hezbollah had three times the weapons that Israel thought it had. What they thought it had would have destroyed Israel. Most of it hidden in people's homes. Civilians?
Then there were the tunnels.
As for the disproportionateness of their response, and their destruction of infrastructure and killing of civilians, it just does not look at the facts of Israel's response. The west is too much influenced by the propaganda of Israel's enemies to form an objective analysis.
The next time you take your children to the Holocaust museum, ask them if they think it would have been wrong for them to have fought the Nazis in those death camps if they had the wherewithal - even if Netahyahu or Trump was leading them.
I worked in a military headquarters, I know the Laws of Armed Conflict, and the IDF is violating them in the way that they are prosecuting their campaign in Gaza. But that does not justify anti-Semitic actions against Jewish people in the West. That's my point. Disagree if you like!
I know you don't have much time, but I recommend a video interview of a Colonel (retired) Conricus, once an IDF spokesperson, but now a senior fellow at a Democracy think tank in the US. He claims to speak without filters. It is very long, but if you click on to about 17mins in for about 5 mins you will get a good idea of what happened and to what lengths Israel went to avoid civilian deaths and who was really responsible for them.
Many military as well as legal experts -both in the US and in the UK- believe that the IDF is going through unbelievable lengths to ensure their operations are targeted, proportional, and lawful. The ratio of civilian-to- militant killed is close to 1:1, which is unheard of in modern conflicts.
On the other hand, the ones accusing Israel of genocide are suspectly close to Iran and in some cases clearly colluding with Hamas (UNRWA is a good example).
Given that so much is unknown about what's going on in Gaza, and even the numbers and the photos we're getting are coming from Hamas-approved sources, it is a long shot for anyone to say that they know for certain that Israel is violating the laws of armed conflict.
Having said that, I fully appreciate your overall point that one can disagree with much of what the Israeli government does without the need to be antisemitic. I think you're right, and I hope more people will speak up against Jew-hatred. The line is very fine though, and at the end of the day if Israel isn't allowed to defend themselves (and to win) there will only be more and more suffering in the future.
Excellent principled analysis! I think it's helpful also to dive deeper into the "why" of anti-semitism. That it is actually spiritual, and related to God's biblical choice of Israel in His redemption story, which evil spiritual forces hate.
I am perplexed at your analysis. It seems to come down to saying 'those are horrible Netanyahu-and Trump- loving Jews in Israel who think they are defending themselves but are engaging in barbarisms against other barbarians and have forfeited the right to say they are fighting against anti-Semitism because of the way they are defending themselves; but don't let that get in the way of you taking the higher moral ground of fighting against anti-Semitism in the west'.
It reminds me of those who say 'I am not an anti-Semite I am an anti-Zionist'. Instead you are saying I am not an anti-Semite, I just don't like the way that these Jews are defending themselves against those who want to destroy them.
You even manage to throw in a charge of genocide against them. You and the UN both.
The existential threat Israel faces is not that of Netanyahu's leadership it is the hatred and avowed commitment to destroy Israel by the enemies all around: Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah, Houthis, Iran, Syria just to name a few.
Israel just found that their greatest enemy Hezbollah had three times the weapons that Israel thought it had. What they thought it had would have destroyed Israel. Most of it hidden in people's homes. Civilians?
Then there were the tunnels.
As for the disproportionateness of their response, and their destruction of infrastructure and killing of civilians, it just does not look at the facts of Israel's response. The west is too much influenced by the propaganda of Israel's enemies to form an objective analysis.
The next time you take your children to the Holocaust museum, ask them if they think it would have been wrong for them to have fought the Nazis in those death camps if they had the wherewithal - even if Netahyahu or Trump was leading them.
I worked in a military headquarters, I know the Laws of Armed Conflict, and the IDF is violating them in the way that they are prosecuting their campaign in Gaza. But that does not justify anti-Semitic actions against Jewish people in the West. That's my point. Disagree if you like!
I know you don't have much time, but I recommend a video interview of a Colonel (retired) Conricus, once an IDF spokesperson, but now a senior fellow at a Democracy think tank in the US. He claims to speak without filters. It is very long, but if you click on to about 17mins in for about 5 mins you will get a good idea of what happened and to what lengths Israel went to avoid civilian deaths and who was really responsible for them.
https://www.prageru.com/video/are-israels-actions-in-gaza-justified
One thing for certain, Israel was not fighting a medieval-minded enemy with medieval methods.
Many military as well as legal experts -both in the US and in the UK- believe that the IDF is going through unbelievable lengths to ensure their operations are targeted, proportional, and lawful. The ratio of civilian-to- militant killed is close to 1:1, which is unheard of in modern conflicts.
On the other hand, the ones accusing Israel of genocide are suspectly close to Iran and in some cases clearly colluding with Hamas (UNRWA is a good example).
Given that so much is unknown about what's going on in Gaza, and even the numbers and the photos we're getting are coming from Hamas-approved sources, it is a long shot for anyone to say that they know for certain that Israel is violating the laws of armed conflict.
Having said that, I fully appreciate your overall point that one can disagree with much of what the Israeli government does without the need to be antisemitic. I think you're right, and I hope more people will speak up against Jew-hatred. The line is very fine though, and at the end of the day if Israel isn't allowed to defend themselves (and to win) there will only be more and more suffering in the future.
Excellent principled analysis! I think it's helpful also to dive deeper into the "why" of anti-semitism. That it is actually spiritual, and related to God's biblical choice of Israel in His redemption story, which evil spiritual forces hate.