SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  The Lounge    Netanyahu: We are at war. Israel attacked by Hamas.
Page 1 ... 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 ... 189
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Netanyahu: We are at war. Israel attacked by Hamas. Login/Join 
Member
posted Hide Post


_________________________
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it."
Mark Twain
 
Posts: 13249 | Registered: January 17, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Rick Lee
posted Hide Post
What does Israel do with captured Hamas prisoners? I doubt they execute them. Putting them in jail isn't a permanent solution. They will not be deprogrammed or rehabilitated. Trading them for Israeli or other western prisoners ensures they will rejoin the fight. Seems to me they need a real "take no prisoners" or "shoot on sight" policy for all Hamas. What else can they do?
 
Posts: 3729 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: October 24, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fighting the good fight
Picture of RogueJSK
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by sdy:
The Ground Invasion of the Gaza Strip has reportedly been Delayed from this Weekend to next Week due to Severe Weather in the Region that will make it increasingly difficult for Aircraft Pilots and Drone Operators to conduct Air Operations in support of Israeli Ground Troops, according to 3 Senior Israeli Officials who spoke to the NYT.

Tens of thousands of Hamas gunmen are thought to have entrenched themselves inside hundreds of miles of underground tunnels and bunkers beneath Gaza City and the surrounding parts of northern Gaza.


With every additional day allowing them to further entrench.

This is going to be a brutal fight, like Fallujah on steroids. Consider that the 2nd Battle of Fallujah consisted of 4k insurgents fighting in ~5 square miles. Whereas northern Gaza represents 10x the enemy combatants in an area over 10x larger.
 
Posts: 33210 | Location: Northwest Arkansas | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
A day late, and
a dollar short
Picture of Warhorse
posted Hide Post
I worry that with all the Jew hating neighbors surrounding Israel, this will become a major war.


____________________________
NRA Life Member, Annual Member GOA, MGO Annual Member
 
Posts: 13727 | Location: Michigan | Registered: July 10, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of TigerDore
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by sdy:

Two Democratic lawmakers who were in Israel at the time of Hamas’s unprecedented attack over the weekend have safely returned to the U.S.


That's a shame.

.
 
Posts: 8959 | Registered: September 26, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Made from a
different mold
Picture of mutedblade
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by tatortodd:
The Global Imam Council, which represents 1,470 Muslim Imams around the world condemned Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel and endorsed a "fatwa" against the terror organization.

The GIC, based in Najaf, Iraq


I'll bet that more than half of the council were present in Tahir Square, Baghdad, Iraq (see page 29) calling for Jewish blood, but suddenly they want us to believe they're not terrorists themselves.


___________________________
No thanks, I've already got a penguin.
 
Posts: 2866 | Location: Lake Anna, VA | Registered: May 07, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
No More
Mr. Nice Guy
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by wrightd:
It looks like crazy uncle joe is currently speaking at a human rights conference. How stupid is that in a time like this.


Biden was speaking at the Human Rights Campaign annual national dinner. It sounds like a big event for that organization.

HRC is very anti-Israel. While their main topic is LGBTQ (the blue equal sign or captain's bars are theirs), they support progressive leftist politicians.

Were the White House staff unaware of this group's politics? Are they ignorant of the implication of POTUS speaking there considering the war in Israel? Are they that incompetent or are they acting with intention?
 
Posts: 9787 | Location: On the mountain off the grid | Registered: February 25, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
Picture of Skins2881
posted Hide Post
I know it would be fraught with challenges, the only thing I could imagine would end the cycle of violence in the region. My idea is a giant land swap combined with huge international support and contributions. Isreal absorbs Gaza and gives a even larger area of land to the West Bank. Isreal bulldozes and rebuilds Gaza and moves the displaced Israelis there or elsewhere in Israel.

The international community builds brand new cities in the newly ceded land in West Bank. This would provide for one larger contiguous Palestinian state and better economic opportunities for the people of gaza who can focus on building a new home/life vs attacking Jews.

The amount of aid pouring into Gaza currently could be redirected the newly enlarged West Bank to build housing, schools, hospital, and other vital infrastructure. So the expenses wouldn't be nearly as large as one might imagine. This would also eliminate the contentious settlements in/near/around the West Bank.

It would take a bold initiative and huge amounts of trust. Isreal would have to relocate massive numbers of people and Gazans would have to give up the place they call home.

If it worked, Isreal would be rid of this sliver of land that causes great security concerns and Gazans would have a new opportunity for a new life with better economic opportunities. The building of new cities in the West Bank would instantly make hundreds of thousands of new jobs. People with good jobs and prospects for a better life are way less likely to take up jihad as a job.

It would be nearly impossible to pull off and filled with doubts on both sides, but continuing down the path they've been on is untenable. Every 12-18 months Gaza does terrorist attacks and Isreal responds with their military, this just sows more hatred and worse economics.

I'm sure it would never happen, but the only way to truly eliminate Hamas is to give them a better life, this will never happen with the status quo.



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 21224 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of TigerDore
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by sdy:

the president of the NYU Law Student Bar Association, Ryna Workman. Workman is 24 years old and non-binary. She wrote:

"This week, I want to express, first and foremost, my unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance...

This pile of defective gray matter didn't come up with these phrases on her own. Some college professor, or professors, programmed her like an AI bot. She was an empty husk, now she is filled with hate.


.
 
Posts: 8959 | Registered: September 26, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
wishing we
were congress
posted Hide Post
water and power in Gaza

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-768005

Energy Minister Israel Katz vowed Thursday that Israel would not allow basic resources or humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas released the people it kidnapped during its surprise weekend onslaught.

Israel contended that if it allowed fuel and power into Gaza, Hamas might divert these resources for use in the conflict against Israel. They also maintained that the lack of electricity in Gaza was because only affluent members of Hamas had access to fuel and generators in their residences and not because of Israel's decision.

According to Dr. Elai Rettig of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University and a researcher at the at the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies, Israel supplies around 50% of Gaza's energy. Still, the electricity supply in Gaza is not suitable during peace times.

Before the Hamas attack, the typical Gaza resident had only access to approximately four hours of uninterrupted electricity daily. This situation could be primarily attributed to the damage that Gaza's electrical infrastructure sustained during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Despite receiving substantial foreign assistance, Hamas did not undertake the necessary repairs to restore the grid.

As a result, Gaza residents found independent solutions: They put small, diesel-powered generators in their houses or installed solar panels on their rooftops, Rettig explained. These solar panels provide about 25% of energy during the day.

"All of this means that the effect of cutting off the energy supply to Gaza is rather limited," Rettig said.

When it comes to diesel, this does come through Israel. The gas is refined in Haifa and brought to Gaza. In addition, sometimes Hamas buys more expensive diesel from Egypt.

Israel said that both diesel trucks from Egypt and Israel would not enter the strip. Therefore, the diesel will eventually run out.

"Hamas claimed that the diesel had already run out in its powerplant. This is unlikely because they should have already had enough diesel to last at least a week or two," Rettig contended. "If there is no diesel, Hamas took it all."

He said the terrorists may have robbed the diesel for use in their underground headquarters and bunkers so that they could continue to operate.

However, he noted that this electricity shortage could have a separate consequence: its impact on the water supply and water sewage treatment.

"Without constant electricity, the water can't flow in the pipelines," Rettig said. "If in a week or two weeks, most of the electricity in Gaza will shut down, the water supply will shut down, creating a major shortage."

Israel has also threatened to cease supplying water to Gaza. Still, Israeli water is not an issue, added Eyal Pinko of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University.

"Israel supplies only 10% of water to Gaza. So, even if we stop our share, they will still have water," he contended.

So, is the simple act of cutting off electricity and water against international law?

While Rettig said that international law during the war was never straightforward, he sensed that "Israel is meeting the basic criteria."

"We are not bombing the power plants, which would be collective punishment," Rettig said. "We are not taking away the option for them to generate electricity. Israel is temporarily cutting off Gaza's share [of electricity] for tactical reasons - and using the time to hinder its enemy's ability to monitor and attack Israeli forces."

He said, "As long as Israel can say, and so far Israel can say, that it is taking action for a limited time frame, then it is not a war crime."

Moreover, the move may be essential for bringing the conflict to a close sooner rather than later and with fewer casualties, according to Pink.

He said there would be two ways to end this war: "choking them with a siege or putting boots on the ground in operation."

Rettig agreed. However, he added that if the blockade continues for more than a week or two and there is no electricity or diesel to operate the Gaza power plant, the situation may be considered differently.
 
Posts: 19759 | Registered: July 21, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of DrDan
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:


The international community builds brand new cities in the newly ceded land in West Bank. This would provide for one larger contiguous Palestinian state and better economic opportunities for the people of gaza who can focus on building a new home/life vs attacking Jews.

.
.
.

People with good jobs and prospects for a better life are way less likely to take up jihad as a job.



This pre-supposes that the people taking up terrorism actually want jobs, and do not want to attack Jews.

Iran has no real reason to hate Israel nor Jews based on economic conditions or competition over territory. Yet, they spend billions of dollars per year to attack Jews and repeatedly make public declarations that their intent is the total destruction of Israel. Given that they back up their words with actions, why would anyone not believe them? It's not about jobs nor living conditions.




This space intentionally left blank.
 
Posts: 5040 | Location: Florida | Registered: August 16, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Coin Sniper
Picture of Rightwire
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by mutedblade:
quote:
Originally posted by tatortodd:
The Global Imam Council, which represents 1,470 Muslim Imams around the world condemned Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel and endorsed a "fatwa" against the terror organization.

The GIC, based in Najaf, Iraq


I'll bet that more than half of the council were present in Tahir Square, Baghdad, Iraq (see page 29) calling for Jewish blood, but suddenly they want us to believe they're not terrorists themselves.


Therein lies the problem.

It is possible that this global council of Imams outside of the middle east see the potential ramifications and quickly seek to distance themselves. Based on how long this took to come out I'll guess it involved a LOT of discussion as likely they will face some backlash in the Muslim world.

The flip side of that is based on my understanding of Islam, the devout believer has no requirement to be honest in any way with any unbelievers. Therefore it is equally possible this is simply a ruse in an effort to further complicate the situation for those employing western thinking.

At this point, only those Imams know...




Pronoun: His Royal Highness and benevolent Majesty of all he surveys

343 - Never Forget

Its better to be Pavlov's dog than Schrodinger's cat

There are three types of mistakes; Those you learn from, those you suffer from, and those you don't survive.
 
Posts: 38344 | Location: Above the snow line in Michigan | Registered: May 21, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
Picture of Skins2881
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by DrDan:
quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:


The international community builds brand new cities in the newly ceded land in West Bank. This would provide for one larger contiguous Palestinian state and better economic opportunities for the people of gaza who can focus on building a new home/life vs attacking Jews.

.
.
.

People with good jobs and prospects for a better life are way less likely to take up jihad as a job.



This pre-supposes that the people taking up terrorism actually want jobs, and do not want to attack Jews.

Iran has no real reason to hate Israel nor Jews based on economic conditions or competition over territory. Yet, they spend billions of dollars per year to attack Jews and repeatedly make public declarations that their intent is the total destruction of Israel. Given that they back up their words with actions, why would anyone not believe them? It's not about jobs nor living conditions.


The other two options, live with status quo or kill them all are not really appealing. It would take a giant leap of faith on both sides and huge amounts of international aid and cooperation. It would be extremely unlikely of happening, at the minimum though it's a discussion worth having.

I agree that deep seeded hatred would still exist, but I think it would be greatly blunted if you could raise your family in peace and more prosperity. I think there are people who want to live in peace and people who want to kill the Jews, but there are many in the middle that can be swayed towards or away from jihad with the right incentive structures.



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 21224 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of lkdr1989
posted Hide Post
Here's your Sunday feel-good story about Harvard:


*Saw this Instapundit comment on the article "18-year-olds go to wars that these 19-year-old Harvard grads will create with their stupidity."

quote:

‘A scary situation’: As Wall Street assails Harvard, students worry about their futures


There's an old joke that goes: The hardest thing about Harvard is getting in. But simply being on campus this week has put that idea to the test.

It started when dozens of student groups issued a statement holding Israel's government "entirely responsible" for the violence that Hamas unleashed in Gaza. That, in turn, prompted billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman to demand that his alma mater disclose the names of students who are members of the signatory groups — even those who didn't know about the statement — so Wall Street firms could avoid hiring them. Adding to the tension, a truck roamed campus displaying the names and photos of students alleged to be involved with the statement.

It was a strange position for Harvard to find itself in. The university has long enjoyed a place of honor among the power elite. It sends more graduates into the bulge bracket banks than any other school. Large law firms also love hiring from Harvard, and Silicon Valley loves to place big bets on the university's graduates. Over the past three years, according to Crunchbase, about one of every 10 dollars invested in early-stage startups went to Harvard alumni.

But Ackman's broadside exposed a deeper rift among conservative industries like Wall Street and Big Law and the campuses they've historically recruited from. As a new generation of graduates has emerged, they have found themselves and the campus culture they're a part of increasingly at odds with the values and expectations of the big banks and white-shoe law firms they've been trained to staff. In the past week, for example, an NYU law student lost a post-grad job offer over their statement blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks. A petition to oust a Yale professor who posted pro-Palestine messages on social media, meanwhile, has garnered 40,000 signatures. And Marc Rowan, the CEO of the private equity giant Apollo, called for leaders at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, to resign for failing to condemn antisemitism to his satisfaction.

Ackman, in his initial tweet about Harvard, said that "a number of CEOs" shared his desire to publicly out the Harvard students who condemned Israel. Other business leaders were quick to echo his calls, winning plaudits on social media. "Members of these Harvard clubs should not get a pass tomorrow for being bad decision makers today," Meyer Davidoff, CEO at Invictus Pharmacy, declared on LinkedIn. "Book smart does not make you life smart."

Pranjit Kalita, founder and CIO of Birkoa Capital Management, likewise cheered on Ackman. "Great job calling these institutions like Penn and Harvard out!" he wrote on LinkedIn. "I think it's important that people understand free speech doesn't mean free from consequences societally or politically or culturally."

Such comments represent a sea change in the cozy relationship between Harvard and the elite institutions where its alumni have traditionally forged their careers. An investor at an asset management firm in Silicon Valley privately told Insider that he recently spoke to a hedge-fund founder who made no bones about how he approaches hiring. When a résumé hits his desk, the founder said, he skips over the sections on experience and education and instead races to the bottom of the page, where applicants list their "activities." Then, if he sees something he doesn't like, he will simply "rip up" the résumé and reject the applicant as a "bad cultural fit."

For Harvard students — especially those in the business and law schools — having prominent leaders in your chosen profession openly declare that they won't hire graduates who hold political views they disagree with is not an academic issue — it's an existential threat. In a visit to Harvard, Insider spoke with a range of students about the backlash to the statement on Israel. Many expressed qualms about the tone of the letter, or the way it was handled. But even some who opposed it felt that the threats against its signatories had gone too far.

One MBA student, who thinks the statement was "too strong," believes it is unfair for companies to demand the names of students who signed it. (Like most students, she spoke on the condition of anonymity, given the potential for reprisals.) Similarly, a Jewish graduate student in Middle Eastern studies said he is "frustrated and angry and sad" to see the truck circling campus branding signatories as antisemitic.

"My take is everyone is free to hire or not hire who they want," he said. "But I don't think anyone's personal information should be made public. I don't think a 19-year-old who feels something right now and decides to put their name on something should have the rest of their lives decided in this moment. We've all done things that we would rather we hadn't."

Several students argued that it is understandable that employers might refuse to hire someone who continued to support the letter's stance on Israel. Eden Mendelsohn, a first-year MBA student who is Jewish, viewed the statement as supporting murder. "If I walked into a job interview and I said, 'Oh, I think all men deserve to be murdered' or 'Oh, I think all people from the Midwest deserve to be murdered,' no one would even think twice about saying, like, that's not a stance," she said. "That's just evil."

That's precisely how many business leaders viewed the student statement. To them, it's a question of sensitivity to others — a value they have come to feel is missing in what they see as the "cancel culture" environment of elite schools like Harvard.

"It's important if you want to be involved in a small, high-performing, high-stress firm, that your brain is formed sufficiently and you're socialized enough that you can actually maturely handle people who don't agree with you," the private-equity investor said. "The real world is not college. And they've been coddled in college, where anyone who has a dissenting point of view is silenced."

It's ironic, of course, to accuse students of silencing dissent when Ackman and other business leaders are seeking to do exactly that. One of the original purposes of a liberal arts education, after all, was to create a space where students and faculty alike could express dissent without fear of reprisal.

But now, some Harvard students fear that the backlash from the business community will have a chilling effect on student speech. Like it or not, they say, students have to think about how expressing their views could affect their financial and professional prospects. That's especially true when Wall Street billionaires are posting on X, formerly Twitter, and professional network LinkedIn has become a home for all kinds of sharing. There's every chance today that what's said on campus won't stay on campus.

A first-year law student told Insider that students would be wise to think through what voicing their opinions could mean for their future employment, especially in a buttoned-down field like law. "The general advice," he said, "is to keep your opinions to yourself for the most part."

A second-year law student, who was appalled by the letter, likewise sympathized with fellow students who were unnerved by having their words provoke such ire beyond the campus. "There is a real employment consequence for people — and that is a scary situation," she said. "We are all here with a lot of student loans, and we need to work."



https://www.businessinsider.co...ional=true&r=US&IR=T




...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV
 
Posts: 4383 | Location: Valley, Oregon | Registered: June 03, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
posted Hide Post
Indeed. Say what you wish, but never believe that there cannot be consequences attached to what you say publicly.

I find it quite amusing that all of a sudden, leftists and Hamas supporters are quite concerned about the integrity of free speech. The entire cancel culture ethos involves punishing people for expressing beliefs and opinions counter to the dogma of the left and yet, when it's applied to them...
 
Posts: 109418 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
Picture of Skins2881
posted Hide Post
quote:
But now, some Harvard students fear that the backlash from the business community will have a chilling effect on student speech.


Maybe that's not a bad thing to make someone think twice about condoning genocide. If you publicly support terrorism maybe you won't be an organizational fit for our company.



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 21224 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of konata88
posted Hide Post
These students are expressing fear -- fuck you. You know what's really scary - that people like these students get jobs and vote.

And they aren't being silenced. Nobody is taking their platform away unlike what the left has done to conservatives and such. They are actually being given a bullhorn so that everyone can know what they are thinking and saying.

It's their thoughts and what they are saying that is the issue, not bullhorn.

These idiots couldn't put 1 and 1 together if it was spelled out for them.

I don't give a flying fuck that they 'need to work' or that they have 'student loans' - why should evil be given a job?




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book
 
Posts: 13139 | Location: In the gilded cage | Registered: December 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by wcb6092:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYLNCcLfIkM

[FLASH_VIDEO]<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FYLNCcLfIkM?si=GJAdtm4Cs2t5Gmn5" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>[/FLASH_VIDEO]


The only sane thing he has said.
 
Posts: 7139 | Location: Treasure Coast,Fl. | Registered: July 04, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
wishing we
were congress
posted Hide Post
perhaps the invasion delay was not because of weather

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/...r-in-israel-n2629863

As Hamas rockets rained down on Israel, U.S. Senators were forced to take shelter during their trip to the Jewish country.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La), Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev..), and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) traveled to Tel Aviv this weekend to show solidarity as the deadly Hamas attacks killed at least 29 Americans and 1, 300 people.

what a useless group of U.S. senators. Maybe Kelly can explain why it was good the Israeli citizens were not armed when Hamas attacked

Meanwhile, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States is "actively trying" to find American hostages who may being held in Gaza.

This comes as the deadline expires for Palestinians to flee Gaza as Israeli troops were slated to storm the country.

Fox News host Shannon Bream asked Kirby if the U.S. would deploy American troops in order to locate missing people being held in Gaza.

Kirby suggested that there are no current plans to put U.S. boots on the ground.

Israel delayed its ground invasion due to new intelligence hostages taken by Hamas in Gaza. [????]

According to Fox News, Former Israeli special operator Aaron Cohen suggested: “that buying time to save hostages is a top priority for Israeli forces, and a phony delay of the invasion may have offered extra time.”

“What we need is what Israel does best. They come together, they're creative. They've got the intestinal fortitude. They've got the experience, and right now thousands of phone calls are being listened to. You're about to see Israel [do] what it does best: rescue good people. So stand by," Cohen said

if listening to phone calls is gathering intel, perhaps former special operators should keep their mouths shut
 
Posts: 19759 | Registered: July 21, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of TigerDore
posted Hide Post
This is a good read:

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-p...nt-tell-you-n1734997



Everything You Need to Know About the Israeli Occupation (That Is, Everything the Left Won’t Tell You)

BY ROBERT SPENCER 6:10 PM ON OCTOBER 13, 2023


There would be peace in the Middle East if Israel just ended its occupation, right?

That’s what the Squad wants you to think, anyway. The statements of the three primary members of this winsome leftist House coalition on the Hamas massacres in Israel had the distinct odor of canned talking points. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Make Mine A Double) issued a statement that said, “I condemn Hamas’ attack in the strongest possible terms.” That was a good start, but she then turned on a dime to blame it all on Israel: “No child and family should ever endure this kind of violence and fear, and this violence will not solve the ongoing oppression and occupation in the region.” Ongoing oppression and occupation, see? If Israel would just ease up on the poor Palestinians, Hamas jihadis would all open restaurants and shops, and peace would dawn upon the region.

Not to be outdone, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Mogadishu) tweeted, “We know occupation and systematic apartheid are a violation of international law and it must end.” The Larry of this illustrious triumvirate (in case you’re wondering, Ilhan is Moe, the mean one, and AOC is Curly, the funny one), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Ramallah), chimed in with this: “I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day. I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity. The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.”

So all three are in agreement: Israel’s occupation is the problem. It’s a shame that we don’t have any real journalists today, because someone should ask the same question to all three of them: “If Israel is occupying Palestinian land, can you please explain the basis in international law for Palestinian ownership of this land?” They all likely assume that there was a previous Palestinian state that the Israelis occupied and destroyed, but in reality, there has never been a Palestinian state of any kind, ever, at any point in history. There has been a region known as “Palestine” since 134AD, when the Romans applied that name to the land that had previously been known as Judea, that is, land of the Jews. But “Palestine” was akin to “Staten Island” — it was only the name of a region, never of a people or a nation.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Ottoman Empire had sovereignty over the territory that is now Israel and the supposedly occupied land as well. The Ottoman Empire was, however, known by this time as “The Sick Man of Europe.” In the early 1920s, just before the empire fell altogether, it conceded control of Palestine and the land that came to be known as Transjordan and now as Jordan to the League of Nations. On July 24, 1922, the League granted administrative control over these territories to Britain with specific instructions to create a “national home for the Jewish people.”

Britain immediately turned over 77% of the Mandate to the Arabs to create Jordan but remained generally committed to establishing a Jewish national home in the remainder. This was known as the Mandate for Palestine. Sometimes Leftists point to it as the Palestinian state that supposedly predated Israel, but this claim relies on the ignorance of the fact that this British territory had been explicitly set aside for Jewish settlement; nine years before the founding of the modern state of Israel, a 1939 flag of “Palestine” sports a star of David.

When the State of Israel was founded in 1948, it immediately had to fight a war for its survival against the surrounding Arab nations that had vowed to destroy it. Then there was finally an occupation — in fact, two: Egypt occupied Gaza and Jordan occupied Judea and Samaria (which it renamed the West Bank). Israel won back those territories in the Six-Day War of 1967, but that was actually ending an occupation, not starting one: the only international law governing sovereignty over those territories stipulated that they were to be part of a national home for the Jewish people.

So from whom was the land stolen? Not from the Ottomans, who had ceded it to the League of Nations. Not from the league, which had granted administrative powers over it to the British. Not from the British, who only had it in order to help create a Jewish state there. And not from the Palestinians, who didn’t even exist until the 1960s, when the KGB and Yasir Arafat bestowed Palestinian nationality upon a group of Levantine Arabs as a rhetorical weapon to use against Israel.

And it has worked beautifully. The idea that Israel is occupying Palestinian land was furthered in the 1990s by the Oslo Accords, to which Israel unwisely acceded, and in which it agreed to work toward the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, which would only become a new base for more jihad attacks against a diminished Jewish state. But a Palestinian state, if it is ever created, would be the first-ever such entity in the history of the world. There is actually no Israeli occupation at all. The Squad, and the left in general, is either ignorant or malicious. Or, of course, both.

.
 
Posts: 8959 | Registered: September 26, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata Page 1 ... 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 ... 189 
 

SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  The Lounge    Netanyahu: We are at war. Israel attacked by Hamas.

© SIGforum 2024