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Wednesday 18 October 2023
Israel's Genocidal War on Gaza
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As always, do consider supporting Alex's work. The PTO Patreon is here.
9 comments:
Define "genocide". Last I heard, calling people up and advising them to move before you bomb their homes, wasn't first on the 'to do' list for the world's long list of genocidal warriors. It certainly wasn't at the front of the minds of Hamas.
Polemics rarely win arguments. Try using facts.
So it's Gazans fault they didn't move in time, and it's just an innocent coincidence that various Israeli officials are at the same time calling for "flattening Gaza" ?
Is this factual enough - https://countingthekids.org/ ?
Given Smotrichs' previous comments about how he thinks "the village of Hawara needs to be wiped out" and given he's advocated before for disproportionate retribution for Palestinian terror, it's entirely understandable to be concerned the Israeli state could comit a genocide in Gaza. Smotrich is part of the current Israeli government after all.
Still not genocide. Personally, I do not agree with the Israeli tactics or in general with Israeli policy, however, all that is a long, long way from actual 'genocide' which is a very specific and emotive word.
If you want genocide (apart from its most obvious example) then the Arab wars against the Israelis, where they sought to literally remove Israel and the Israelis, is closer.
Israel is the Left's 'bete noir', presumably because it is an easier target than America (tougher to boycott everything that comes from there, like this blogging platform for example) and is largely unapologetic about its actions. However Israeli society is far more liberal and progressive than any of its neighbours (Syria or Iran? Really?) and even in war less awful say than the Russians (or, historically, almost everyone). So why does the Left hate it so much?
An element of Orientalism, whereby Arabs are held to lower standards than 'Western' Jews. Anti-imperialism, albeit the history of the Israeli state, comparatively speaking, has a greater right to exist, including in international law, than almost any other. And as I was saying, projection. Otherwise, what about the poor bloody Kurds?
I agree. It's a disproportionate response, but still not a genocide.
"If you want genocide (apart from its most obvious example) then the Arab wars against the Israelis, where they sought to literally remove Israel and the Israelis, is closer"
The problem with the above statement is that it omits context, which implies Arabs are just irrational and violent, an orientalist stereotype. Regarding context, there can't be a discussion about the war of 1948 without mentioning that Zionist militias had already ethnically cleasened about 300,000 Palestinians from their communities, and taken over the majority of territories assigned to the Jewish state per the 1947 partition plan, or how the 67 war was a continuation of what was begun in 1956, when Israel invaded Egypt with the help of Britain and France.
"Israel is the Left's 'bete noir', presumably because it is an easier target than America (tougher to boycott everything that comes from there, like this blogging platform for example) and is largely unapologetic about its actions. However Israeli society is far more liberal and progressive than any of its neighbours (Syria or Iran? Really?) and even in war less awful say than the Russians (or, historically, almost everyone). So why does the Left hate it so much?"
Israel is seen as being a US/Western outpost in the region, which has contributed towards Palestinian dispossession.
"An element of Orientalism, whereby Arabs are held to lower standards than 'Western' Jews"
The Israeli state has tried to portray the idf as the most moral army in the world, so when people question or challenge their actions, it's because the Israeli state are holding themselves to a higher standard. A central aspect of the claims to the idf's morality is the concept of the “purity of arms” or "tohar haneshek".
"Anti-imperialism, albeit the history of the Israeli state, comparatively speaking, has a greater right to exist, including in international law, than almost any other"
Palestinians also have a right to exist.
Anon 1502
I'll only address para 3, I don't believe it is orientalist, as clearly the Arabs had 'history' (although Arabs and Jews had a long history of mutual enmity only a wiki away) but their intention was definitely genocidal. Genocide - for example against the Armenians - need not be irrational in the German sense.
OK, well we'll just have to take your one sided word for it.
Yosef Weitz, Director of Land Settlement in the Jewish National Fund stated that "The only solution is Eretz Israel, at least the west part of Eretz Israel without Arabs ... and there is no other way but to transfer the Arabs from here to the neighboring countries, transfer all of them, not one village or tribe should remain, and the transfer must aim at Iraq, Syria, and even Transjordan ... There is no other alternative" but according to anon 21:21 only Arabs were genocidal. Ben-Gurions diaries are also replete with similar sentiments, but sure, it's all the Arabs fault.
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