(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



I am informed by the Israeli and Palestinian balance of power [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-10-20  

I am sickened by the vicious Hamas surprise attack into Israel, and like so many others, abhors the violence that ensued. However, my view on this conflict is also informed by the Palestinian condition in Gaza and the fact that Israel has the political, economic and military power to constrain and to totally isolate the Palestinians — cut off food, water, medical, and electricity — and to attack these areas at will.

I am disheartened by the fact that America has been at the intersection of so many consequential acts of violence over our short history. Whether through the decimation of the indigenous populations of North America; the ugly and horrific institution of slavery in this country and the University of Arkansas’ contribution to the Nazi “final solution” for European Jews in the 1930s and 1940s which was based on our post slavery legal framework for dealing with former slaves; the CIA sponsored political killings in Africa and Asia in the 1950s and 1960s; or our “Jim Crow” era laws that continue to constrain this country’s poor and non-white population; our past is prologue.

I am disappointed that Israel chooses to use the deplorable tactics that European Jews and other “undesirables” suffered under during WW II. I am saddened by the fact that given the Jews history of persecution that the Israelis are no more capable of recognizing and modeling a moral standard consistent with their religious beliefs than were the Americans and the Germans. Make no mistake about it, Gaza is a reservation and is on par with the Warsaw ghetto and other WW II ghettos, and the early American Indian Reservations.

I fear that the many decades of intransigence and violence by all parties has brought the matter of Palestinian autonomy to a head, and will finally play out in months rather than over years. Unfortunately, the final conflicts will more likely than not involve weapons of mass destruction, weapons that will be used against the largely innocent populations of all sides, and embroil the entire region in yet another TV war. What then?

Sadly, these events will be tragic and heart breaking, but they will not have a particularly profound effect on the American media consumer; because, though we are always there in the beginning, we are rarely there at the end.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/20/2200612/-I-am-informed-by-the-Israeli-and-Palestinian-balance-of-power?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/