Terror In Israel

Decades-long tensions erupt once again; should we care?

I have been holding off discussing the horrific events unfolding in Israel, because I know my opinion about the violence occurring is difficult to accurately encapsulate into a small space. But to ignore and procrastinate, at this point, is worse than speaking out and possibly being misunderstood.

Banner combining elements from the Israeli and Palestinian flags [Photo: יורם שורק, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

Before we go any further, let us get the boilerplate stuff out of the way. In no way whatsoever do I condone the barbaric actions of Hamas in this situation. The cowardly choosing of soft-targets (I mean, really, a music festival?), and the rapturous parading of captured and killed victims, is sickening beyond measure. These are sub-human animals, and if you celebrate their actions you are no better than they.

Actually you are worse, because - unlike the Palestinians who were programmed to behave this way since birth - you should know better.

Now, if Hamas had focused on military objectives or government installations, and did so under a battlefield code-of-honor instead of resorting to terrorism? I suspect more than a few would have reacted differently to what has transpired, and - to be blunt - I would have been one of them.

But they chose the bestial path, the path of cravenness, because… well, ‘sub-human.’

With that noted…

The Israeli nation - as a government entity - is not remotely stainless. While Hamas has killed hundreds with these recent attacks, since 2008 alone Israel has killed thousands… and their targets have not always been ‘terrorists.’ Mainstream media [MSM] oft ignores these facts (I’ll let you ascertain why), but facts are still facts, whether the MSM reports them or not.

Here are two charts, from UN-OCHA, which show the disparity; as mentioned above, these statistics are from 2008 forward, and do not include the attacks from the last week…

To be fair, I am aware that many of these deaths were the results of retaliation for (self-defense from?) alleged terror attacks; I will also point out - once again - that this does not justify the manner of Hamas’ recent savagery. Still… 6,407 verses 308?

Oh, and speaking again of the methods Hamas used this week? Historically, Israel is no stranger to such tactics. In Alison Weir’s eye-opening book, “Against Our Better Judgement,” she details (with copious sources and notes) similar actions taken by Jewish forces in Palestine during the early days of the founding of modern Israel.

Whole Christian and Muslim communities (yes - believe it or not - these two entities once got along with each other) were mercilessly attacked by the freshly-minted Israelis, with women and children being amongst the victims. The brutality which was employed during these attacks nearly rivals anything seen from modern Palestinians, and yet history books seldom-to-never even mention it.

Again, draw your own conclusions as to ‘why.’

Per a level playing-field, if we are going to hold today’s Germans accountable for what happened in the 30s and 40s - as Jewish activists and scholars demand we do - should Israel not be given the same treatment for their ancestor’s actions in the 40s and 50s?

Oh, and let us not forget the 1967 ‘incident’ with the USS Liberty. If you are not familiar with that obscure piece of history, I recommend giving it a moment’s research; after so doing, you may begin to wonder if Israel really is - or has ever been - the ‘ally’ they claim to be.

Still - and again - none of this justifies what we have seen over the last few days. Brutality answered with brutality-of-greater-cruelty only fosters more of the same, and those who suffer are always the ‘commoners.’ Those orchestrating the vile strategies from behind-the-curtain (and in these most recent attacks, there are several suspicious strategies in play) seldom suffer for what occurs on the live stage.

Page from the Talmud, a sacred Jewish text [Photo: Chajm Guski, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

But we can go even further, by discussing points found in allegedly-sacred Jewish texts, especially (but not exclusively) those within the Talmudic scriptures. Stories of ‘taking’ (code-word for ‘raping’) the women of adversaries, and the killing of their children, plus other vile actions, permeate many of the revered books… and these actions were oft done (as the writers claim) at the command of ‘God.’

None of this lets Islam off the hook, of course; we have all bore witness to the corrupted mindset which the Koran and Hadith can foster amongst Muslims, so both paths have violent underpinnings. To further that point, each has designations for those who are ‘other’ (Gentile, Kafir), and both contain directives to manipulate, coerce, and attack said ‘others,’ by a variety of nefarious means.

We are not supposed to talk about that, however.

So while one side openly shouts ‘Death to America,’ the current Prime Minister for the other once bragged about how easy it is to ‘move’ (i.e. ‘manipulate’) Americans. They either violently attack us or surreptitiously use us, but at their cores they both hate of us… so yeah, forgive me if my trust in either side is threadbare thin.

An example of the security gates built along the Israeli-Palestinian borders [Photo: Justin McIntosh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

With all of this considered, how exactly am I supposed to ‘pick a side’ - especially when each side fundamentally deplores me, and everything I hold dear? As mentioned above, one side uses covert subversion as their tactic of conquest, while the other deploys terroristic violence to achieve its murderous ends. They both want my way-of-life - and my very existence - eradicated, so again… which side should I choose?

It is in moments like this when I rely upon a favored technique: When complexity arises, boil the facts down to their base elements, then keep it simple.

After so doing? It is very easy to decide.

I choose the third, unmentioned option: Liberty. That means supporting the commoners like myself, Israeli and Palestinian alike, who are the true victims of this twisted, decades-long power-play. It means elevating Natural Rights above tribal brutality, for the latter always tramples the former during such conflicts. And it means putting America first, in all of its glorious incarnations, because that is where I am… it is who I am.

And finally, it means revering Natural Law over every manufactured doctrine which fails to treat it with respect. It is the only path which is universal, and - if honored - truly serves each of us well, justifying itself in every moment of every day.

It is no more complicated than that.

As for the bloody drama unfolding in the Middle East? Let them sort out their own problems, without our involvement… and let us, finally, focus on and address our own.

---

Stand up to the social media censorship! Like, share, and become a subscriber of The Stone Age, that we are never dependent upon Big-Tech and its Agenda.

Written in 2006, this quasi-viral poem of mine still has punch… 17 years later