American Community
Updated 2023-11-21
2023-11-04 The Misguided Stories Americans Tell Themselves About Israel and Palestine There’s an understandable impression that can come from the coverage of the October 7 attack that Israel and Palestine had been at peace, and now suddenly they’re at war. Was the Israeli occupation peaceful for Palestinians prior to October 7? That, perhaps, is the biggest myth. One is the fact that you have a 56-year-old occupation. That is a violent act because even for Palestinians not involved in what we see as violence, meaning shootings and death, it is military control. It is violent in the sense that there’s no one to defend them when there are Israeli military incursions that often are done for security purposes, but sometimes seem to be draconian in a way that is terrifying. In addition to that, you have the Palestinians in prison. It’s estimated that there’s been about a million Palestinians who have been imprisoned throughout the occupation. There are thousands in prison now, including over 1,000 who have not faced charges or trial.
Number two, to the extent that he mobilized the West with a similar message, he clearly created a global polarization on this issue the likes of which we have not seen. We see that the Global South is coalescing, and the Arab and Muslim world is seeing this as a Western assault on their humanity in a way that we haven’t seen in the past.
Number three, it will most likely draw in parties that don’t want to be involved. I think Hezbollah prefers not to get into war. I think that Iran prefers not to get into war. But they could get drawn into it because of the scale. But more importantly, if I’m in Hezbollah’s position, I would be saying to myself, If they decided to do this to Hamas, they’re going to come after me when they’re free of the war with Hamas. Shouldn’t I be starting something sooner?
It isn’t clear to me for what purpose the fighting goes on. I would call for a ceasefire. I would call for release of the hostages. And I would call for serious diplomacy toward a path to end this conflict. As long as the Palestinians don’t have freedom, it is impossible not to fall back into another cycle of major violence. And, of course, not to forget the subtle violence that is constant, that has been there for more than half a century, that comes out of a military occupation that deprives people of basic freedoms. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/shibley-telhami-israel-palestine-gaza-biden-netanyahu-hamas-settlements/
2023-11-04 Republicans Admit Gaza Is A “Concentration Camp” Video footage shows that decades ago Republicans like Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul were acknowleding that Gaza is a “concentration camp.” Today you likely won’t hear elected Republicans saying anything of the kind, but among the larger community, even in the United States, the Israeli narrative depicting themselves as the innocent victims of the horrible terrorists of Hamas is rapidly breaking down. Guest host Craig Jardula and Americans’ Comedian Kurt Metzger speak with columnist George Szamuely about the failures of Israeli propaganda, also known as “hasbara.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caPJdImn6JY
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Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict
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