Talking about "human shields," are they? The HQ of the Israeli military is the Matcal Tower (the name is an acronym for the Joint Chiefs of Staff equivalent), in Tel Aviv, on Kaplan St. in the Kiriya neighborhood. I know the area, i spent my first 11 years (1947-58) in Tel Aviv, had an uncle who with his family lived on that street, before the neighborhood was bulldozed to make space for the Tower. Right by the Tower are the Tel Aviv Art Museum, Tel Aviv's largest hospital, Ichilov, the 8 lanes Ayalon Freeway, Israel's most densely trafficked stretch of road, Israel's main north-south rail line, which runs down the middle of the Freeway (with a major station in that area), and the Aziereli Center, with Israel's 2nd and 3rd tallest towers and a major entertainment complex (like Madison Square Garden).
A "failure of imagination." Yes, reminds me of "I don't think anyone could have predicted people would hijack planes and crash them into buildings" when military exercises had imagined and practiced those exact scenarios.
Excellent article, Craig. I started to read this yesterday, then got distracted because I went to your FB page to try to find your post and Perry's "we're done" sub-thread, so I just now finished the rest.
Craig, as I have come to expect, your article is right on the mark. I feel much the same as you about this situation in Palestine. I can only add to what you have said here and there for what it is worth. In my opinion the language being used to describe this situation is itself an extreme manipulation of the facts on the ground. For instance calling this a "war" is a lie. A big fat stinking lie. Wars are between parties that are roughly equal in their capabilities where each side in the war has at least a chance of defeating the other side. This is NOT a "war" between the Israeli's and the Palestinians it is a slaughter being carried out by a super power against a virtually defenseless people. Palestinians have no air force, no navy, no tanks, no attack helicopters, no smart bombs, no precision missiles, no artillery, no submarines, and no satellites to look down upon their attackers from space. Most importantly though the Palestinians do not have a super power like the USA backing them up with advanced weapons and billions upon billions of dollars. The Palestinians, many of which do not support Hamas, have a few small arms and sticks and stones. Almost a quarter of Palestinians are Christians, a fact which most "Christian" supporters of Israel seem to forget. The ratio of Palestinians to Israeli's killed over the years has remained steady at about 23 to 1. That is 23 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. That is NOT a war that is a massacre. To even call it a "war" is a lie. Saying the Palestinians are responsible for what Hamas does is like saying Americans are responsible for what ANTIFA does. I am an American and I do not support in any way shape or form what ANTIFA does but according to the Israeli's I should be bombed into the stone age every time some ANTIFA scumbags set fire to a city.
Thanks, Adam. I agree completely that it's not a war. The Israel/Palestine "conflict" (also a word that is being used wrongly) is one of the most extreme perversions of human rights on the planet.
I appreciate the civility of the response, Mike, given your disagreement with my position. I'll just offer this comment about your characterization of the situation: Israel has no valid claim to the land. They lobbied politically for decades and they were given the land by the British. And since then, they've continued to build Jewish settlements on land that is supposed to Palestinian territory. I would also question your description of "blood-soaked land." Palestine was relatively peaceful before 1947, at least in terms of how Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together. The conflict came when Israel was created and the Palestinians were disenfranchised. The majority of the blood spilled has been Palestinian blood.
Talking about "human shields," are they? The HQ of the Israeli military is the Matcal Tower (the name is an acronym for the Joint Chiefs of Staff equivalent), in Tel Aviv, on Kaplan St. in the Kiriya neighborhood. I know the area, i spent my first 11 years (1947-58) in Tel Aviv, had an uncle who with his family lived on that street, before the neighborhood was bulldozed to make space for the Tower. Right by the Tower are the Tel Aviv Art Museum, Tel Aviv's largest hospital, Ichilov, the 8 lanes Ayalon Freeway, Israel's most densely trafficked stretch of road, Israel's main north-south rail line, which runs down the middle of the Freeway (with a major station in that area), and the Aziereli Center, with Israel's 2nd and 3rd tallest towers and a major entertainment complex (like Madison Square Garden).
A "failure of imagination." Yes, reminds me of "I don't think anyone could have predicted people would hijack planes and crash them into buildings" when military exercises had imagined and practiced those exact scenarios.
Excellent article, Craig. I started to read this yesterday, then got distracted because I went to your FB page to try to find your post and Perry's "we're done" sub-thread, so I just now finished the rest.
And the more we find out about this "attack," the more we see how it must have at least been allowed to happen.
I know who this "Perry" is, I saw his post. It was very terse.
Things got a lot terser in private messages.
Well said Craig!
Thanks, Peter!
Craig, as I have come to expect, your article is right on the mark. I feel much the same as you about this situation in Palestine. I can only add to what you have said here and there for what it is worth. In my opinion the language being used to describe this situation is itself an extreme manipulation of the facts on the ground. For instance calling this a "war" is a lie. A big fat stinking lie. Wars are between parties that are roughly equal in their capabilities where each side in the war has at least a chance of defeating the other side. This is NOT a "war" between the Israeli's and the Palestinians it is a slaughter being carried out by a super power against a virtually defenseless people. Palestinians have no air force, no navy, no tanks, no attack helicopters, no smart bombs, no precision missiles, no artillery, no submarines, and no satellites to look down upon their attackers from space. Most importantly though the Palestinians do not have a super power like the USA backing them up with advanced weapons and billions upon billions of dollars. The Palestinians, many of which do not support Hamas, have a few small arms and sticks and stones. Almost a quarter of Palestinians are Christians, a fact which most "Christian" supporters of Israel seem to forget. The ratio of Palestinians to Israeli's killed over the years has remained steady at about 23 to 1. That is 23 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. That is NOT a war that is a massacre. To even call it a "war" is a lie. Saying the Palestinians are responsible for what Hamas does is like saying Americans are responsible for what ANTIFA does. I am an American and I do not support in any way shape or form what ANTIFA does but according to the Israeli's I should be bombed into the stone age every time some ANTIFA scumbags set fire to a city.
Thanks, Adam. I agree completely that it's not a war. The Israel/Palestine "conflict" (also a word that is being used wrongly) is one of the most extreme perversions of human rights on the planet.
Good essay, Craig, although our perspectives couldn't be farther apart.
FWIW, my perspective on two diametrically opposed populations with claims to the same sliver of blood-soaked land is better represented by one of my favorite writers (https://www.eugyppius.com/p/on-israel-the-palestinian-territories/comment/41732474), as well as the historian mentioned in that substack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv8F4NLr4E0).
I appreciate the civility of the response, Mike, given your disagreement with my position. I'll just offer this comment about your characterization of the situation: Israel has no valid claim to the land. They lobbied politically for decades and they were given the land by the British. And since then, they've continued to build Jewish settlements on land that is supposed to Palestinian territory. I would also question your description of "blood-soaked land." Palestine was relatively peaceful before 1947, at least in terms of how Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together. The conflict came when Israel was created and the Palestinians were disenfranchised. The majority of the blood spilled has been Palestinian blood.