My first FB comment following the Israeli government's decision to bomb the ship out of the Palestinians, was how I have both family that I love who are Jewish, and Palestinian friends who I love as well. This means that I do not want anyone to die or suffer.
And I have not wanted the Palestinians to suffer or be encroached upon for these decades. My call was for humanitarian aide to both Israel and Palestine, that no family should be put through what Hamas has been putting Israelis through or the Israel military has been putting Palestinians through.
I know how Hamas, the PLO replacement, was duly elected and then deposed by Israel, USA standing with them. My question was, what an Armenian friend would always ask, "What else could have happened?" What did the world think would happen when Palestinians were uprooted for the sake of establishing Israel? What did we think would happen while this process continues through the years? Would there not be some maddened group of terrorists who would strike back? Isn't this the same question asked by people and the media in Israel, "Didn't Benjamin Netanyahu know this would happen or is he really that incompetent?" Haven't the Israel soldiers raiding Israel homes, killing with impunity, uprooting with impunity, imprisoning or "taking hostages" with impunity, haven't they been terrorists in the eyes of the indigenous Palestinians?
A problem occurs when disagreeing with what Israel is doing, is supposed to be anti-Semitic. No no, remember I have Jewish family I love dearly. And centuries ago, not all Jews left Palestine into the diaspora, so Jewish blood runs through the DNA and veins of every Palestinian. Therefore, being for both Jews and Palestinians is very Semitic.
The first time I mentioned how I have Palestinian-American friends, who by the way have family in harm's way, I was asked, "How do you have Palestinian friends?" Such an odd question. I live in Lowell and get around, why wouldn't I?
Frank, you and I are in the poetry community. How about the highly esteemed poet Naomi Shihab Nye? You judged for IBPC, well so did Nathalie Handal. These women also have family in Palestine. Indeed, there are hundreds of Palestinian-Americans in Palestine as. Like my friends, I should think that they are crying for what is happening, that they hate the violence no matter who is dishing it out.
In that last paragraph, I pulled back from mentioning all the American citizens trapped now in Gaza. The media has made it clear about dead Americans in Israel. That's another way to consider that all the violence must end. Americans will die either way.
Frank: To be honest, your increasing senescence and gormless insensitivity with age is not dissimilar to Knut Hamsun embracing the Nazis (and just as tragic). But I'm honestly not surprised that a now hopelessly knee-jerk crank like you would link to an article this asinine, this rambling, this unfocused, and this cliched. Heaven help the poor people massacred at the music festival, but I'm sure that the children who were bombed by the IDF are "lesser" (if not invisible) mortalities in your eyes as well. You're not much different than many who howl to the dog whistles.
I am now convinced, Frank, that you -- like a walking MAGA cult cliche -- are an unreachable sociopath. (I do not support either side, by the way, although I am reading BOTH sides. Because unlike you, I listen to every perspective and I support peace, even though that appears to be impossible.)
Here are some facts: The pro-Israel rhetoric has not altered all that much since Truman. And even when Carter brokered the peace talks with Begin and Sadat at Camp David, every President since has genuflected to Israel. Even when they tried to step in and negotiate a peace. Party line does not matter. The American Establishment, left and right, is 100% Israel. Not only was Obama extremely bullish on Israel support when addressing AIPAC -- arguably Israel's biggest presidential booster -- but even a former PLO man and progressive historian like Rashid Khalidi pointed out in BROKERS OF DECEIT that James Baker (a Republican) was the LAST Secretary of State to understand why peaceful negotiations were pointless unless Israel eased off on settlement building and the Palestinian people were recognized in some way.
Every Israel PM from Begin onward has considered granting statehood to Palestine a non-negotiable. Small wonder that it has escalated into this madness. Both sides won't budge. Both sides are impatient (so impatient that the Oslo Accords were kiboshed by furtive Israel-PLO backroom dealing). And now there is this senseless slaughter and destabilization of a volatile part of the world right now. And by promoting this article, you demonstrate that you are as much of a company man and an egregious conformist as any other two-bit pundit.
Goodbye, Frank. It was nice knowing you when you had a witty, smart, and functioning mind rather than the tapioca pudding that you now seem to be using for basic cognitive function.
My first FB comment following the Israeli government's decision to bomb the ship out of the Palestinians, was how I have both family that I love who are Jewish, and Palestinian friends who I love as well. This means that I do not want anyone to die or suffer.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have not wanted the Palestinians to suffer or be encroached upon for these decades. My call was for humanitarian aide to both Israel and Palestine, that no family should be put through what Hamas has been putting Israelis through or the Israel military has been putting Palestinians through.
I know how Hamas, the PLO replacement, was duly elected and then deposed by Israel, USA standing with them. My question was, what an Armenian friend would always ask, "What else could have happened?" What did the world think would happen when Palestinians were uprooted for the sake of establishing Israel? What did we think would happen while this process continues through the years? Would there not be some maddened group of terrorists who would strike back? Isn't this the same question asked by people and the media in Israel, "Didn't Benjamin Netanyahu know this would happen or is he really that incompetent?" Haven't the Israel soldiers raiding Israel homes, killing with impunity, uprooting with impunity, imprisoning or "taking hostages" with impunity, haven't they been terrorists in the eyes of the indigenous Palestinians?
A problem occurs when disagreeing with what Israel is doing, is supposed to be anti-Semitic. No no, remember I have Jewish family I love dearly. And centuries ago, not all Jews left Palestine into the diaspora, so Jewish blood runs through the DNA and veins of every Palestinian. Therefore, being for both Jews and Palestinians is very Semitic.
The first time I mentioned how I have Palestinian-American friends, who by the way have family in harm's way, I was asked, "How do you have Palestinian friends?" Such an odd question. I live in Lowell and get around, why wouldn't I?
Frank, you and I are in the poetry community. How about the highly esteemed poet Naomi Shihab Nye? You judged for IBPC, well so did Nathalie Handal. These women also have family in Palestine. Indeed, there are hundreds of Palestinian-Americans in Palestine as. Like my friends, I should think that they are crying for what is happening, that they hate the violence no matter who is dishing it out.
In that last paragraph, I pulled back from mentioning all the American citizens trapped now in Gaza. The media has made it clear about dead Americans in Israel. That's another way to consider that all the violence must end. Americans will die either way.
DeleteFrank: To be honest, your increasing senescence and gormless insensitivity with age is not dissimilar to Knut Hamsun embracing the Nazis (and just as tragic). But I'm honestly not surprised that a now hopelessly knee-jerk crank like you would link to an article this asinine, this rambling, this unfocused, and this cliched. Heaven help the poor people massacred at the music festival, but I'm sure that the children who were bombed by the IDF are "lesser" (if not invisible) mortalities in your eyes as well. You're not much different than many who howl to the dog whistles.
ReplyDeleteI am now convinced, Frank, that you -- like a walking MAGA cult cliche -- are an unreachable sociopath. (I do not support either side, by the way, although I am reading BOTH sides. Because unlike you, I listen to every perspective and I support peace, even though that appears to be impossible.)
Here are some facts: The pro-Israel rhetoric has not altered all that much since Truman. And even when Carter brokered the peace talks with Begin and Sadat at Camp David, every President since has genuflected to Israel. Even when they tried to step in and negotiate a peace. Party line does not matter. The American Establishment, left and right, is 100% Israel. Not only was Obama extremely bullish on Israel support when addressing AIPAC -- arguably Israel's biggest presidential booster -- but even a former PLO man and progressive historian like Rashid Khalidi pointed out in BROKERS OF DECEIT that James Baker (a Republican) was the LAST Secretary of State to understand why peaceful negotiations were pointless unless Israel eased off on settlement building and the Palestinian people were recognized in some way.
Every Israel PM from Begin onward has considered granting statehood to Palestine a non-negotiable. Small wonder that it has escalated into this madness. Both sides won't budge. Both sides are impatient (so impatient that the Oslo Accords were kiboshed by furtive Israel-PLO backroom dealing). And now there is this senseless slaughter and destabilization of a volatile part of the world right now. And by promoting this article, you demonstrate that you are as much of a company man and an egregious conformist as any other two-bit pundit.
Goodbye, Frank. It was nice knowing you when you had a witty, smart, and functioning mind rather than the tapioca pudding that you now seem to be using for basic cognitive function.