Reviving Hope in Palestine

With Official Washington huffily rejecting peaceful protests against Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians such as boycotts and recognition of a Palestinian state the situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories has turned back to violence and death, as John V. Whitbeck explains.

By John V. Whitbeck

Since the current upsurge of violence in Israel and occupied Palestine began, numerous foreign leaders, as well as the UN Security Council, have cited the urgent need to restore “calm.” It is not calm, a euphemism for Palestinian submission, that is urgently needed but, rather, genuine and credible hope for freedom and some measure of justice.

The Israeli government will not provide hope, and the Palestinian Authority cannot provide it.

A section of the barrier -- erected by Israeli officials to prevent the passage of Palestinians -- with graffiti using President John F. Kennedy's famous quote when facing the Berlin Wall, "Ich bin ein Berliner." (Photo credit: Marc Venezia)

A section of the barrier — erected by Israeli officials to prevent the passage of Palestinians — with graffiti using President John F. Kennedy’s famous quote when facing the Berlin Wall, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” (Photo credit: Marc Venezia)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged during his reelection campaign that there would never be an independent Palestinian state on his watch, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, after promising that he would drop a “bombshell” in his speech to the UN General Assembly last month, dropped a damp squib instead.

Those whose entire lives have been characterized by a “peace process” intended to maintain the status quo, a metastasizing settlement program that devours their land and a full range of daily humiliations have ample cause for despair.

While numerous obstacles to Israeli-Palestinian “peace” can be cited, the most fundamental obstacle to ending the occupation, now in its 49th year, is simple human nature. People rarely support a significant change in their lives unless they believe that the change will produce a significant improvement in the quality of their lives.

How can Jewish Israelis be brought to perceive ending the occupation as likely to improve the quality of their lives?

In recent years, Jewish Israelis have, understandably and rationally, viewed the status quo as the best of all possible worlds. They have been enjoying peace, prosperity, unwavering Western economic and military support and unconditional American diplomatic protection, while Palestinians, out of sight and out of mind, have been suffering occupation, oppression, impoverishment and frequent, often lethal violence at the hands of the Israeli military and Israeli settlers.

This comfortable situation for Jewish Israelis, with the occupation being essentially free of costs and even inconvenience, must change. It could change either through nonviolent economic and political pressure sustained by the Western world or through violent insecurity sustained by the occupied Palestinian people.

European states could apply meaningful and intensifying economic sanctions to Israel until it complies with international law and relevant UN resolutions and withdraws fully from occupied Palestine. Simultaneously, European states could apply strict visa regulations to all Israelis, requiring those seeking to visit Europe to provide clear documentary evidence that they neither live nor work in occupied Palestine.

In light of the years that the European Union has spent agonizing over even properly labeling the produce of illegal settlements sold in Europe, there can be scant optimism that European politicians will soon see it as in their personal interests to play such a principled and constructive nonviolent role.

Unfortunately, that leaves only violent insecurity. While one cannot advocate violence against civilians, one can nevertheless hope that such violence as does occur is limited in nature and produces constructive results. The current low-tech, knives-and-screwdrivers violence, producing a great deal of fear and anxiety but relatively few Jewish Israeli fatalities, may be the most effective and lowest-cost form of violence capable of producing the essential change in Jewish Israeli perceptions of their own interests.

If seemingly random and unpredictable attacks on Jewish Israelis were to continue for a significant period of time, they just might cause a critical mass of Jewish Israelis to conclude that perpetual occupation and oppression are not, in fact, the best of all possible worlds for them and that the quality of their lives would be enhanced by ending the occupation and permitting the Palestinian people to enjoy the same freedom and human dignity whether in two states or in one that Jewish Israelis demand for themselves.

It is a sad reality that, unless Jewish lives are lost, Jewish Israelis and the Western world tend to feel that the occupation is not a problem. Now that Jewish lives and many more Palestinian lives have been lost, with every likelihood that more will be lost in the weeks ahead, it is essential to take advantage of the world’s attention and promote new perceptions of future possibilities so that all these lives are not lost in vain.

If the current violence continues long enough to qualify as an “intifada,” it might appropriately be called the “Children’s Intifada.” Despairing of ever having meaningful lives, young people and even children are choosing, on their own initiative, to seek what they perceive as a meaningful death. This tragic despair can only be assuaged by hope.

When the violence ends, it must not be because the Palestinian people have been returned to their cage and forced to resume a fraudulent “peace process” leading nowhere. It must be because young Palestinians finally have good reason to feel a genuine and credible hope that their freedom and some measure of justice are achievable.

John V. Whitbeck is an international lawyer who has advised the Palestinian negotiating team in negotiations with Israel.

33 comments for “Reviving Hope in Palestine

  1. Abe
    October 20, 2015 at 16:32

    Israel has little but stopgap measures to defend against the protests. Its intelligence agencies cannot predict the lone wolf, its guns cannot deter the knife, its military might cannot subdue the craving for justice and dignity.

    Strangely, in the face of all this, there are signs of a parallel breakdown of order and leadership on the Israeli side.

    Lynch mobs of Jews patrol Jerusalem and Israeli cities, calling out “Death to the Arabs!” A jittery soldier causes pandemonium by firing his rifle in a train carriage after a bogus terror alert. An Israeli Jew stabs another because he looks “Arab”.

    Meanwhile, politicians and police commanders stoke the fear. They call for citizens to take the law into their own hands. Palestinian workers are banned from Jewish towns. Israeli supermarkets remove knives from shelves, while 8,000 Israelis queue up for guns in the first 24 hours after permit rules are eased.

    Some of this reflects a hysteria, a heightened sense of victimhood among Israelis, fuelled by the knife attack videos. But the mood dates to before the current upheavals.

    It is also a sign of the gradual leaching of the settler’s lawlessness into the mainstream.

    Jerusalem chaos is a warning of things to come
    By Jonathan Cook
    http://www.jonathan-cook.net/2015-10-19/jerusalem-chaos-is-a-warning-of-things-to-come/

    • Zachary Smith
      October 21, 2015 at 20:10

      At some point there is going to be an ethnic cleansing of the territories – but only because not even the US would tolerate mass murder of the Palestinians. Naturally I’ve no idea if all the present agitation in the crappy little nation of Israel is a build-up to that or not. But I’d give long odds that the contingency plans for the next death march are being constantly updated.

  2. Vesuvius
    October 20, 2015 at 06:05

    Zachary Smith, and Abe: Your comments here are very good confirmations to a fact that, as far as I Believe, few American Citizens are aware of — that Israel is not only extracting billions of U.S. taxpayers’ Money to keep their show going, but also commanding Uncle Sam, to take part of their Dirty business in the ME. I suppose most people have seen the familiar Indian Picture of the Tourist elephant, big and strong, commanded by a Little tiny boy sitting on the elephant’s neck. A perfect Picture of U.S.A. and Israel.

    I recommend a site http://www.ifamericansknew.org, and Alison Weir’s book “Against Our Better Judgment” (2014).

    • Rikhard Ravindra Tanskanen
      October 20, 2015 at 19:11

      Israel does NOT control the United States. Unless you are using that as a metaphor, it shows your anti-Semitism.

      • Vesuvius
        October 21, 2015 at 12:06

        Well, one could of course also say that the United States willingly follows the tune played in Israel, thanks to the strong Israel Lobby in the States — a modern kind of fifth-column. Also, the present PM in Israel has often boasted over how easy it is (for him) to make Uncle Sam do what Bibi wants.

        However, your love of the outdated mantra “anti-Semitism” reveals that you are part of the Israeli Hasbara.

      • Greg
        October 22, 2015 at 12:56

        Right out of the Zionist playbook: attributing ANY criticism of Israel or its leaders as criticism of Judaism. Completely false and a testament to how desperate you Zionist fucks are becoming to maintain the status quo. One can criticize Israel and Bibi and the Occupation and not be against Jews in general. They are not one and the same. Just as one can love America, but still criticize its leaders or its foreign policy.

        How pathetic you Zionist scum are. Stop wheeling out the tired old “anti-Semitism” BS every time someone posits a viewpoint that paints your precious little apartheid state as anything other than the perfect little holy chosen mecca you imagine it to be.

  3. Abe
    October 19, 2015 at 14:26

    Typically, Israel’s critics point to America and the pro-Israel lobby in Washington or the influence of right wing Christian fundamentalists to explain the lack of international pressure to resolve the conflict. In Western Europe, we assume it’s guilt over the Holocaust that inhibits criticism by our governments.

    But in many of Israel’s key, and emerging, trading relationships none of this applies. There’s no Jewish lobby in India or China, nor is Christian fundamentalist Zionism a political force in Thailand or Colombia. And what explains Saudi Arabia’s willingness to do business with Israel despite its long-standing criticism of the Jewish State?

    “It seemed to me there was an elephant in the room that we’re not seeing. And, casting around, I think that it’s the military security connection.”

    Halper calls it ‘Security Politics’, which is different from normal everyday politics.

    “You can’t explain why Israel would be close to Saudi Arabia. They’re very close, in all kinds of ways; politically, and militarily; and they co-operate. It seems counter-intuitive if you take normal international relations. There’s nothing in common, and they’d be enemies if you talk about the Arab/Israeli conflict.”

    Over the last couple of decades, Israel has become a leading exporter of security, surveillance and military equipment. It’s one of the top ten arms exporters in a global market worth $2.5 trillion a year. Israel’s share of that in 2012 was $7 billion. And Israel, according to Halper’s analysis, has an advantage over some of its commercial rivals – its own real time military laboratory, a testing ground with real life targets.

    “You’ve got 4.5 million Palestinians that you can test these weapons and security devices on. And that’s what’s given Israel this cutting edge in the market. So that if you insert that, the whole world looks different. All of a sudden, countries that seemed to be your enemies are your friends. There’s all kinds of interests that come out.”

    For Halper, Israel has succeeded in ‘globalising Palestine’ but in a very different way than the Palestinians had hoped for. And Israel doesn’t mind who it trades with.

    “Israel is very amoral. So they’re willing to deal with anybody, sell anything to anybody; they don’t care about the context. Israel’s very involved in Southern Sudan, in the civil war. In Equatorial Guinea, Israel will help you pacify your own people. So it works from the biggest hegemons to the littlest ones. It’s become the go-to place for that kind of control.”

    Israel gets away with it because it is a global arms supplier — Halper
    By Robert Cohen
    http://mondoweiss.net/2015/10/because-global-supplier

    • Zachary Smith
      October 19, 2015 at 14:45

      Israel gets away with it because it is a global arms supplier — Halper
      By Robert Cohen

      Israel also gets away with it because of the support of the Neocon-In-Chief – a fellow named Obama. He has been a steadfast supporter for everything it does, and appoints the dual-citizenship swine to transplant Israeli methods to the US of A.

      A case in point is the vile Rahm Emanual. From 2008:

      More sinister than Karl Rove and potentially deadlier than Dick “Darth Vader” Cheney, his name is Rahm Emanuel, and he was recently appointed chief of staff in the president-elect’s White House. This first official act should send waves of alarm through people because Barack Obama promised change, but what we’re getting is the exact same cabal that brought us 9-11 and endless war in the Middle East.

      Initial media reports described Emanuel as a vulgar, Chicago-based enforcer who had an aggressive, in-your- face, pit-bull style. Others painted him as a partisan Washington insider with strong ties to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).Although these labels seem harsh, the reality is far worse.

      Rahm Emanuel, nicknamed “Rahmbo,” is a pro- Israel Orthodox Jew who was educated in a Talmudic yeshiva and served as a volunteer in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). He is a dual citizen of Israel, which his office refused to deny when AFP inquired. Israel is the only nation where Americans can apply for and obtain citizenship without automatically renouncing U.S. citizenship.

      Chicago seems to be making a test-run of the hyper-lawlessness of Israel.

      Homan Square revealed: how Chicago police ‘disappeared’ 7,000 people

      The article tells how most of this happened after Rahm Emanuel took over as Chicago mayor. They torture prisoners in Israel, and so do the Police in Chicago.

      http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/19/homan-square-chicago-police-disappeared-thousands

      R. Emanual, H. Clinton, V. Nuland – they’re just a sample of the nasty neocons BHO has unleashed on us.

      I have the utmost sympathy for the Palestinians, but I’m even more alarmed at how their mistreatment is migrating to the US.

      Especially the prospect of Hillary Clinton or the even worse Joe Biden becoming president. IMO they’re not a speck better than the horrible Republicans so far as MY personal freedoms are concerned.

      And you can bet none of them will be any good for the Palestinians either.

      • N Dalton
        October 19, 2015 at 18:24

        Your > Israel also gets away with it because of the support of the Neocon-In-Chief – a fellow named Obama . . cannot be agreed with and is rather misleading.

        What should be said,however,is that ` your Neocon-In-Chief – a fellow named Obama` had been `surrounded by every kind of NeoCon and Israel – first supporter by design` quite obviously from the outset as President and commander in chief.

        Needless to say,Pres Obama deserves every credit imaginable for the job he has done,considering the immense pressure he had to face by those `Israel Firsters `.

        (There is no need here to describe who the Israel Firsters are. They are those people (of whatever ethnic background) who invariably support Israel’s policies over those of the United States.)

        It is plain despicable and downright insulting the way the AIPAC pro Israel’s lobby – as well as any and all of those `Jewish controlled MSM`s`have treated this President
        with disrespect to his objections regarding Israel`s brutal Treatment of Palestinians.

        http://www.alternet.org/world/3-ways-america-enables-slaughter-gaza

        • Rikhard Ravindra Tanskanen
          October 20, 2015 at 19:06

          Obama has had tensions with Netanyahu over him being responsible for the failed peace talks in 2010, but he is pro-Israel.

          I remember on CBC News in 2008, in his election campaign, he said when asked “Do you think that Israel will be here 50 or 100 or even 150 years from now?”, he said “Yes, I think it will.”, and I read in a speech he made after Jeremiah Wright’s criticism of Israel and the United States he criticized those who blame the conflict in the Middle East not on terrorist organisations like al-Qaeda “But on stalwart allies like Israel” is wrong.

          That being said, the way the pro-Israel lobby treats him is unfair.

          But your anti-Semitism – “Jewish controlled MSMs” – is despicable. It is also hypocritical, since Hitler hated Arabs, and I would think that white supremacists today hate Arabs too. The fact that you pretend to care about the Palestinians therefore is disgusting.

      • Rikhard Ravindra Tanskanen
        October 20, 2015 at 18:56

        The idea that the U.S has adopted Israeli policies is ridiculous. I remember reading on Wikipedia that torture was going on at Guantanamo Bay during the Cold War. Also, the U.S intervened in an unnecessary war in Korea in 1950 (I don’t think U.S foreign policy is malicious, but simply incompetence, and I think the same for Israeli foreign policy), like it is involved in an unnecessary conflict in Afghanistan and against the Islamic State. Also, police brutality has existed in the United States for a long time.

  4. Zachary Smith
    October 19, 2015 at 12:41

    Another reason not to have much hope regarding the situation in Occupied Palestine is the attitude of both the police and the citizens of the Occupiers. Consider this recent story:

    Ha’aretz reports that this morning, more than 12 hours after they should have done so, Israel Police decided to investigate the yesterday’s attack on an innocent Eritrean man Haftom Zarhum in Beersheba’s central bus station.

    Like dozens of other people, Zarhum was fleeing a terrorist who stabbed an IDF soldier, stole the soldier’s rifle, and began shooting random people.

    But unlike the other people he was fleeing with, Zarhum had dark skin. And that, combined with being a few seconds behind the others, caused a security guard to shoot him multiple times – including shooting him when he was already downed and clearly not posing a threat – even an broadly construed one.

    Once lying on the cold floor of the bus station and bleeding profusely, posing absolutely no threat to anyone, Zarhum was savagely kicked and beaten by Jews. The Jews who did this clearly intended to kill him, and Zarhum died from his wounds later in a Beersheba hospital.

    Running away (while black!) from a shooting got the man shot several times. Then Good Jewish citizens finished the job by stomping the guy to the point where death was inevitable.

    hxxp://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2015/10/cops-belatedly-agree-to-investigate-killing-of-eritrean-man-after-terror-attack-234.html

    Few Americans have yet figured out that attitudes and events in Holy Israel are related to the current spree of Police Violence in the US of A.

    During the Bush administration, Israeli-American dual citizen and Director of Homeland Security Chertoff mandated that American police forces be trained by Israeli groups in crowd control, counter-terrorism and intelligence gathering.

    Since that time, shootings of unarmed civilians has gone up 500%, attacks on legal political protests by police have become a scandal and huge stockpiles of ammunition and military heavy weaponry have been distributed to law enforcement groups in every region of America, both local and federally controlled.

    http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/09/27/press-tv-tragedy-of-us-police-training-by-israeli-companies/

    The end result is that all Americans – but especially those with black skins – are increasingly being treated as Palestinians. Remember this the next time US Police execute somebody who they say threatened them with a comb. And the next time Jeb! brags about his brother.

  5. Vesuvius
    October 19, 2015 at 12:12

    In 1947, U.N. gave the Zionist movement half of Palestine for free. UNSC were unanimous. British politician Lord Balfour, who sanctioned this when Britain at the time was responsible for The Palestine Mandate, had one condition: Rights and property of the indigenuous Arab people in the area was not to be injured.

    Ever since the State of Israel was declared, in 1948, every provision to the benefit of the Arab population has been “thrown under the bus”. Long ago, Israel has forfeited its rights to live in Palestine. Now, the Zionists have brutally stolen much more of the Palestinian land. Since it was the U.N. who gave Zionists access to Palestine, it is the task for the U.N. to extract Israel from the Middle East. May Zionists find some other Place on Earth to build a New Israel, a Place where Zionists would be welcome and not make trouble for present inhabitants.

    Until this happens, there will be no Peace in the ME..

    • Rikhard Ravindra Tanskanen
      October 20, 2015 at 18:51

      Your comment is idiotic. Expel the Jews from the Middle East? And, hypocritically, send them to another country, which belongs to somebody else. You want to do to someone else what you don’t want the Israelis to do to the Palestinians. That is hypocrisy.

      Also, judging by your comment (Since it was the U.N. who gave Zionists access to Palestine, it is the task for the U.N. to extract Israel from the Middle East. May Zionists find some other Place on Earth to build a New Israel, a Place where Zionists would be welcome and not make trouble for present inhabitants.

      Until this happens, there will be no Peace in the ME..) shows vulgarity, and I cannot tolerate vulgarity.

      • Vesuvius
        October 21, 2015 at 11:51

        U.N. did something that was very silly, and very wrong; therefore, U.N. must correct it’s wrongful decision. There was no reason whatsoever making the people of Palestine pay for the wrongful U.N. decision by loss of their homeland. As Israel never was intent to live in Peace with the Palestinian people, relocation of Israel from the ME is the very precondition for achieving Peace there. It’s as simple as that!

  6. John P
    October 18, 2015 at 22:56

    The Palestinians have tried peaceful protests and get no coverage in the MSM, they have offered several fair peace fair (upheld by international law and with concessions) only to be rejected. Unfortunately money buys influence in the news business and in politics. And the real scum, Saudi leadership, and the Israeli right have cash in buckets. I resent a portion of my taxes going to help Israeli settlements and parks on confiscated Palestinian land, or to help in the purchase of weapons. And as so often happens Israel gets the weapons free because the debt is often quietly forgiven.
    Absent in the papers are the behaviour of orthodox Jews burning Palestinian crops, shooting at farmers, defacing and burning Mosques and Palestinian Christian churches. If western politicians think this type of people will help them regionally in the future, forget it.
    International law is a laugh. And look at how the west has accepted the overthrow of an elected Egyptian government by the army. How dense are our politicians if they tout their aim for democracy. It’s not democracy sad to say, it’s money that runs governments.

  7. Zachary Smith
    October 18, 2015 at 14:49

    When the violence ends, it must not be because the Palestinian people have been returned to their cage and forced to resume a fraudulent “peace process” leading nowhere.

    That’s a good thing to wish for, but like with putting the word “hope” in the title of this essay, it’s a pipe dream.

    I went looking for opinion poll information on Google, and finally had to give up and go to another search engine. Using the same search terms, the first page there had some relevant information. Google seems to do everything within its considerable power to muddy the water when a person is looking for information about Israel.

    Poll says Jewish Israelis oppose ending the occupation, 53% to 39% – See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2013/08/poll-says-jewish-israelis-oppose-ending-the-occupation-53-to-39#sthash.uAcR1j0D.dpuf

    hxxp://mondoweiss.net/2013/08/poll-says-jewish-israelis-oppose-ending-the-occupation-53-to-39

    That’s from 2013. It’s my belief opinions in the shitty little apartheid state have hardened since then. Notice that a majority of the Jewish citizens oppose giving back a single square inch of the land they have stolen.

    Israel hiding killers who burned Palestinian family alive, minister reveals

    The scum who pose as a “government” in Holy Israel know the murderers, but won’t prosecute them in order to “protect the identity of their sources”.

    https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israel-hiding-killers-who-burned-palestinian-family-alive-minister-reveals

    Israel is no longer bothering to even pretend. Witness the published plan to grab Southern Lebanon when they’re ready:

    hxxp://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/IDF-source-Wed-evacuate-a-million-Lebanese-if-war-breaks-out-with-Hezbollah-404999

    To start off, the Lebanese will be bombarded with warnings they’ll be murdered if they don’t run for their lives. After a 24 hour interval, Holy Israel would start its murder-bombing of everything. Those who wouldn’t or couldn’t leave would be killed, and you can bet your last dollar Hillary, Obama, and Kerry would cheer the Israelis for their “restraint”. Finally, they’d move in with the army to take over.

    It’s going to take a lot more than wishful thinking to curb the barbaric murders and thefts of Israel.

    • Rikhard Ravindra Tanskanen
      October 20, 2015 at 19:31

      I hope your comment “Google seems to do everything within its considerable power to muddy the water when a person is looking for information about Israel.” is a joke. I cannot tolerate conspiracy theories.

    • Rikhard Ravindra Tanskanen
      October 20, 2015 at 19:36

      Oh, I should have said that while I haven’t read the article in question, the war plan will be put into place IF war breaks out between Hezbollah and Israel, not “when they’re ready”.

      This is clearly why it was published – because it would NOT be unprovoked. And do you really think they would get way with an unprovoked war?

      The fact that you say “when they’re ready” shows emotion, and I cannot tolerate emotion.

    • Peter Loeb
      October 21, 2015 at 07:07

      JABOTINSKY’S VISION BECOMES ISREALI REALITY

      Like Z, Smith above, I see little cause for “hope” and in fact
      nearly no cause at all at present.

      Israel today has morphed into Vladimir Jabotinsky’s vision of
      a colony—not a state. A thorough reading of Lenni Brenner’s
      THE IRON WALL… documents not only early revisionists but
      also the beginnings of Zionism. (It must, of course, be
      updated.)

      Lenni Brenner summarizes (p.52):

      “…When [Jabotinsky’s] present-day followers tell us that that he was a Zionist
      hero, a nation-builder required to use the powers that be for his
      purpose, all they are doing , in actuality, is giving us advance warning
      that they, like him, are prepared to betray humanity for the sake of
      their Zionist state (Jabotinsky:preferred the designation “colony” in place of “state”).”

      Jabotinsky himself in “The Iron Wall” declares:

      “All this does not mean that any kind of agreement is impossible, only
      a voluntary agreement is impossible. . As long as there is a spark of
      hope, they can get rid of us…the only path to such is the iron wall,
      that is to say one against which Arabs will fight. In other words,
      for us, the only path to an agreement in the future is an absolute
      refusal of any attempts at an agreement now…”

      Following Brenner’s narrative will take us through the formation of
      Zionism and its internal differences, One can only say conclusively
      that Zionism/Israel has today become what Jabotinsky envisioned.
      (The roles regarding superpowers remains an accomodation with
      Herzl’s and Chaim Weizman’s approach.)

      It should be pointed out that the military heirarchy, militarism, emphasis
      on purity of blood are inherited from the ideology of Germany in the
      19th century. Theodor Herzl was, in fact, originally an adherent of
      pan-Germanism.

      —-Peter Loeb, Boston, MA USA

    • Zachary Smith
      October 21, 2015 at 20:04

      I’d invite people to review this Consortium News thread from earlier this year.

      https://consortiumnews.com/2015/01/11/a-possible-israeli-turning-point/

      The murderous and thieving little apartheid nation-state has always been on the lookout for more land to grab. When it’s time to do that, be assured that “something” will happen to facilitate the theft. Sneaking in some commandos to launch something at Holy Israel is no problem at all. That’s assuming some local Quislings wouldn’t do the job for them.

      For the time being the presence of the Russians is probably a problem for the Zionists. In the future Hezbollah is bound to increase the usefulness of their missiles – likely within a few years tack-driving-accurate warheads will replace the old unguided ones. Also, it’s also just a matter of time before Israel comes to understand that the laughable “Iron Dome” isn’t much good against ‘cruise’ missiles.

    • Ron Kopman
      October 22, 2015 at 05:16

      Zachary.Have you considered therapy for your sickness? Drugs? Hypnosis? Suicide? I personally would prefer the last option for you. You hate Israel. You hate Jews. Simple. Obvious. Let me state my obvious. Israel wants to live in peace. The Arab countries that surround them want war that will lead to the eradication of Israel. Nothing has changed that elemental truth. Remember 1948, 1967, 1973. Here’s another truth for your demented, diseased mind. Israel may well, one day be faced with a massive military attack from all sides. If and when that happens, I regret to inform you that any precipitated adventure will be met with a response that will virtually wipe every invading enemy off the face of this earth. So carry on with your savage, slanted, contemptible narratives. Depraved minds can twist any truth to try and justify any position, however untruthful and unjustifiable. You cannot simply create a black and white scenario. There is plenty of blame to place on both sides.But one thing is very clear to me. The Palestinians and the Arab countries will one day learn to recognize and respect the right of Israel to exist and live in peace or they and not Israel will cease to exist. If that were to happen, perhaps you will also disappear along with many of your friends whose comments are inscribed in this pathetic rag. .

      • Peter Loeb
        October 22, 2015 at 05:38

        DEAR RON KOPMAN,

        I think (excluding your personal remarks about Z Smith whose
        views I largely share) you have got it!

        When a group (Zionists) invades another, conquers them,
        murders them, destroys their homes, murders their families,
        steals their lands, resources (eg water), threatens them…
        I don’t think you can rely on being loved in return.

        I have no ability to rid Palestine of all Israelis and all Zionists
        of course. If I did have such an ability it would indeed
        be a marvelous thing.

        Perhaps after I have gone, the Zionists will be too.

        (Be it noted that the Chassidim—ultra religious Jews—
        lived in harmony with their Palestinian neighbors. The
        Zionists murdered most of them. While I do not agree
        with their religious views, evidently they were not
        colonizers.)

        —Peter Loeb, Bkoston, MA, USA

      • Zachary Smith
        October 22, 2015 at 13:39

        When a group (Zionists) invades another, conquers them,
        murders them, destroys their homes, murders their families,
        steals their lands, resources (eg water), threatens them…
        I don’t think you can rely on being loved in return.

        Well said, Peter Loeb.

        The arrogance of the present-day Zionists mirrors that of the British at the height of their empire. The words of Hilaire Belloc were representative:

        Whatever happens, we have got
        The Maxim gun, and they have not.

        Formatted into 2015 this becomes:

        Whatever happens, we have got
        The Atom Bomb, and they have not.

        This makes them feel ten feet tall and invincible.

        Unfortunately the Zionists own is the heart of the devout and ignorant Protestant Fundamentalists in the US. The only news about Israel they pay any attention to is what their preacher tells them at the Church. God’s Favorite People and all that. Now THAT one is really invaluable.

        Finally, a graphic.

        Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic . . . It’s anti-racist

        I’d include a link to Head Dingleberry Netanyahu’s claim that Hitler didn’t really want to murder Jews – it was a Palestinian idea from the git-go – except two links seems to guarantee “moderation” on this site.

        As Bugs Bunny used to say – “What a maroon!”

  8. Marc
    October 18, 2015 at 14:38

    I cannot believe that this author is serious, but I see no sign that this is a satire. A violent response by the Palestinians to their terrible treatment will not succeed; rather it will lead to increased repression and privation. The second intifada with its terrorist bombings led directly to the construction of the wall and provides the best “justification” for continued oppression and segregation. The intifada was a disaster for the Palestinians. Although I am not knowledgeable enough to suggest a specific plan for the Palestinians, I am confident that the way to ending the occupation is through non-violence — following the hallowed lead of Ghandi and MLK.

    • John
      October 18, 2015 at 22:57

      Any working solution would probably need to go several degrees of profoundness beyond simply calling for non-violence. Violence should never be encouraged, but past a certain point it must be recognized as a perfectly human response to rigid double-standards.

    • N Dalton
      October 19, 2015 at 05:17

      Nonsense and bordering on delusion and in obvious need for some reality check.

      Needless to say,and history has repeatedly shown,that `appeasement does never work`.
      It`s just mind boggling and insane to `propose and suggest ` compliance to this organized
      mass killings of innocent human beings,only comparable to that of the Nazis in the 40`s !

      What needs to be said and done is to call > Israel a `Nazi terror state` which needs to be – by all means necessary / military actions – confronted like Nazi Germany was back then.

      • Rikhard Ravindra Tanskanen
        October 20, 2015 at 19:29

        The fact that you advocate military action against Israel is completely idiotic. Comparing the killings of Palestinians are comparable to that of the Nazis is inaccurate and offensive. Israel is not run by Nazis, and does not sponsor terrorism. Godwin’s Law comes into effect here – “You compare an opponent to Nazis, you lose the argument”. Also, your tone is vulgar.

        • N Dalton
          October 21, 2015 at 04:57

          If anything ` is completely idiotic ` it is your regurgitating,retarded nonsense and
          that expected silly,moronic defense of your Zionist Supremacist Arrogance.

          Contrary to your arrogant defense – YES and the whole world knows it . . . . YOU said it . . . .
          Israel is run by Nazis, and does sponsor terrorism !

          • Ron Kopman
            October 22, 2015 at 04:18

            I find it hard to believe that people like you are allowed to have their views actually published, It is people like you whose vile rants prevent any possibility of finding a solution to the insanity that exists in the middle east and elsewhere in this muddled, sadistic world. It is the reason that Israel respond in the manner they do. If Israel supports and sponsors terrorism, it is clearly deserved and well intended in response to the ignorant and racist presence of demented bigots like yourself. Long live Israel. My hope and prayer is that one day soon, they will rid the world of your ilk and help to restore decency, tolerance and humanity to the human race of which, you sadly do not belong. Should a hell exist, you will no doubt have an opportunity to spew your hateful views with other misfits and scum.

  9. dahoit
    October 18, 2015 at 11:34

    Yes,the Israeli impunity from violence and international condemnation of obvious war crimes does insulate them,and yes its possible this revolt will make them more amenable to a long last solution to this cancer on the world,but previous uprisings and now this are portrayed in the Zionist MSM as Palestinian provocations and attacks on Jews and their shrines,despite the death count,in their usual lying way.
    They are the real problem,the media.Until they are called to account(boycott?)this crap will never end,the same with the terrible war of terror.

    • Rikhard Ravindra Tanskanen
      October 20, 2015 at 19:10

      The fact you talk about a Zionist conspiracy is proof of your anti-Semitism. What makes it worse is that Hitler hated Arabs, and I presume white racists today do too. Therefore, you shouldn’t pretend that you care about Palestine, since you are a hypocrite. By the way, I am pro-Palestine.

      • N Dalton
        October 21, 2015 at 05:32

        The same old,same old ` ridiculous nonsense ` > proof of your anti-Semitism.

        One does not to be lectured about this `presume white racists today` – Idiocy and that pretentious pompous show of your Zionist Supremacist Arrogance to impress others.

        And judging by all of your other reply`s, the obvious conclusion one is left with is >

        Nothing in the world is more dangerous than bland ignorance and stupidity.

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