No question Israel is facing its hardest challenges—and so is the United States, for the same reasons: Fascism. Extremists aligned with a mortal enemy: Russia.
Never forget: Trump, Netanyahu and the Kushner’s violated decades of diplomacy and moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem in order to garner votes from religious extremists. And, no coincidence—Putin simultaneously, formally invades Crimea that same day. He even drove in the convoy. Tit for Tat.
Trump and Netanyahu PROVOKED Hamas with their stupid antic and now we are at the brink of Israel’s destruction and a dire Palestinian crisis.
Anyone voting for Trump is a fool, most especially if they use their vote as a retaliation against Biden.
At last reporting I heard, Bibi is still insisting Israel will assault Rafah in southern Gaza. Considering how crowded that relatively intact area is, with refugees from all over the northern and central areas in Gaza, the loss of civilian lives will no doubt be worse than the 35,000 already killed. I am aware that Bibi feels the need to destroy Hamas, but Hamas is an idea, one that will not go away, but will grow if Bibi and the IDF kill another 25-30,000 Palestinians. This will not come to a good end - for anyone.
I would imagine many of those newly orphaned children might already grow up to look to Hamas even without the slaughter of more civilians. I think Bibi has already succeeded there. Its great that there are protests in Israel - but there also doesnt appear to be wide-spread concern for the Palestinians - just dislike & disagreement with Bibi.
I'm not sure that's true. I've talked to plenty of left-wing Israelis for many years now who have never been happy with the ending of any real efforts to effect a two-state solution.
and that's where a lot of the rage at The Prick Netanyahu (henceforth TPN) comes from.
increasingly, what I read in the NYT is as big a waste of time as these new cable series seasons that play like their scripts came right out of mediocre AI algorithms.
the former president is someone I refer to as TFF (The Fat Fuck). I think of it as sort of a "Queens thing" (my sister used to live two blocks from the T***p home, which is far from the best house on the block; THAT honor is reserved for the owner of a large Mercedes dealership).
Israelis were in the streets protesting their right wing government many weeks before October 7th. The US had warned Netanyahu about the imminence of an attack. Like George W. Bush, Bibi thought there'd be redemption in being a "war time" leader. Biden warned him about an outsized and embroiling response. With these demonstrations in the street comes some cover for Biden to curtail arms to Bibi.
Israel's only chance to live in peace with its neighbors is with the two-state solution. A close federation of Israeli and Palestinian states could coexist and provide a mutually beneficial relationship..... The current path plotted by Bibi will lead eventually to Armageddon - poor results for everyone.....
Anyone and any country that is responsible for suffering of innocents should be stopped cold. Is there something the US military is aware of that justifies continued support?
I'm guessing US reliance on Israel's ME intel and weapons tech may be part of the calculation in addition to US commitment to democracies, consistency in dealing with Israel and Ukraine.
This is from TPM's Editor's Blog and I'm pretty sure it is behind the pay wall so I am going to copy/paste it here for those who don't subscribe. I'm sure it is okay with the landlord there, Josh Marshall. He has been following the situation there and I find his insights invaluable.
(Sorry to take up so much space.)
Things Tumbling in Israel
Keep an eye on the events out of Israel. It seems possible they’re reaching some kind of turning point, though one hesitates to use that phrase about a country which has been in such an extended political paralysis for so long. The key to understand is that whatever crisis or shift may be in the works isn’t driven by the issues animating coverage in the U.S. To the extent it is tied to the Israel-Hamas war it is about the hostages and the widespread belief that the Netanyahu government isn’t that focused on striking a deal to get them home. Hovering around this is the fact that the government has at best tended to ignore and shun the hostages families. The communities along the border with Gaza tend to be made up of left-leaning Kibbutznik types. So they’re not Netanyahu’s people by any stretch of the imagination. That’s been a subtext to much that has happened over the last six months.
You also have the anti-judicial coup coalition which was holding massive weekly protests for almost a year before October 7th going back to the streets. All of that had stopped cold on October 7th. It’s been slowing reassembling since. But the protests this weekend are bigger than any since just before the massacres in southern Israel. They are now a coupled message for the government to resign and to bring the hostages home.
Then there’s the issue of the continuation of the draft exception and public subsidies for the ultra-orthodox community. This is too complex a topic for anything but a thumbnail description. But here goes. Men from the ultra-orthodox community are exempted from the draft and a great proportion of their families live on public assistance, notionally because they spend their days in religious study. This has been a simmering issue for years. But for a complicated set of reasons it came to a head last week when there was a deadline to formalize a new system which would either continue these privileges and benefits, scrap them or do something in between.
The critical context is that over the last three decades the ultra-orthodox parties have become a central pillar of any right-wing government. They supply about a quarter of the seats. The issue is basically irresolvable if you rely on those votes and seats. No them, no majority. That all hit the fan last week. There was no decision Netanyahu could make and hold his government together. So basically he just didn’t. And we’re now seeing how long that lasts. This seems to have both thrown new light on the precariousness of Netanyahu’s government and shown again that the whole country is hostage to the Prime Minister’s need to give them basically anything they demand. In the context of a national emergency the existence of a whole community that refuses to serve in the army and lives off everyone’s taxes is simply too much for many people.
In the current government you basically have the Likud — the right-wing party of government, the parties of the ultra-orthodox and the parties of the settler crazies. Netanyahu will almost certainly lose the next election. And without a Netanyahu, these other parties are basically toast. Toast in the sense that they’re probably not going to see another government with this kind of radical dependence on them for a long time. So they need to get every dollar and every favor out of it they can right now, while the getting is good. So they will keep him in power as long as they can and basically cart out everything that isn’t nailed down. Meanwhile everyone else looks on and sees this is happening, during wartime, and basically all so the prime minister can stay out of jail, or at least squeeze out a few more months or a year in power. It’s a recipe for a highly combustible situation.
Now, on top of all that, in just the last few hours, Netanyahu announced that he’s going in for emergency hernia surgery. Not emergency in the sense of rushed to the hospital but in the sense that they found it during a routine check yesterday and he’s going into surgery today. So not nothing.
Again, no idea how this all plays out but Netanyahu has been juggling nine plates since the war started. Now he’s probably juggling 13. It can only go on so long.
thanks for your cutting and pasting...this is very valuable information.
last month, I posted a link to the cover story by Bernard Avishai in the February "Harper's," which covers a lot of the same information with some very intelligent commentary.
my own feeling is that it's a bad idea to hold your breath until either scumbag sees the inside of a cell. but I agree that it's a hell of a lot more likely over there than HERE...too fucking much pomp and dumb ceremony attached to the office right from the get-go. we need to remember that the office was created for George Washington, who, whatever his flaws, was someone with genuine gravitas. let's remember that George III said that if Washington could win the revolution and voluntarily give up the enormous power he then commanded, he would be "the greatest man in the world." and George III had hardly been a fan.
This is music top my ears, TC. If Israel holds an election now, Netanyahu will either make a hurried escape to Europe (Russia or Hungary, maybe) or face trial for criminal acts committed against Israel and end up in prison, Yay!
By continuing to supply the Israeli government with the means and materiel it is using to continue the herding and massacre of civililians in the Gaza Strip the American government may be exposing itself to charges of aiding and abetting in genocide and crimes against humanity. Such was a similar claim in a February legal challenge in the British courts seeking a Judicial review of UK arms sales to Israel, after their Foreign Office was "unable to conclude if Israeli bombing was lawful" (in compliance with International Humanitarian Law) last year. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/19/foreign-office-lawyers-unable-conclude-israeli-bombing-lawful
That legal challenge has been denied by the UK high Court. It does not, however, preclude the ICJ from holding future hearings on the matter of the culpability of the UK (or the USA), nor any reparations that may be meted.
No question Israel is facing its hardest challenges—and so is the United States, for the same reasons: Fascism. Extremists aligned with a mortal enemy: Russia.
Never forget: Trump, Netanyahu and the Kushner’s violated decades of diplomacy and moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem in order to garner votes from religious extremists. And, no coincidence—Putin simultaneously, formally invades Crimea that same day. He even drove in the convoy. Tit for Tat.
Trump and Netanyahu PROVOKED Hamas with their stupid antic and now we are at the brink of Israel’s destruction and a dire Palestinian crisis.
Anyone voting for Trump is a fool, most especially if they use their vote as a retaliation against Biden.
At last reporting I heard, Bibi is still insisting Israel will assault Rafah in southern Gaza. Considering how crowded that relatively intact area is, with refugees from all over the northern and central areas in Gaza, the loss of civilian lives will no doubt be worse than the 35,000 already killed. I am aware that Bibi feels the need to destroy Hamas, but Hamas is an idea, one that will not go away, but will grow if Bibi and the IDF kill another 25-30,000 Palestinians. This will not come to a good end - for anyone.
I would imagine many of those newly orphaned children might already grow up to look to Hamas even without the slaughter of more civilians. I think Bibi has already succeeded there. Its great that there are protests in Israel - but there also doesnt appear to be wide-spread concern for the Palestinians - just dislike & disagreement with Bibi.
I'm not sure that's true. I've talked to plenty of left-wing Israelis for many years now who have never been happy with the ending of any real efforts to effect a two-state solution.
and that's where a lot of the rage at The Prick Netanyahu (henceforth TPN) comes from.
increasingly, what I read in the NYT is as big a waste of time as these new cable series seasons that play like their scripts came right out of mediocre AI algorithms.
I hope you are right about Israelis wanting a 2 state solution.
TPN & TFFG! A matched set - almost.
the former president is someone I refer to as TFF (The Fat Fuck). I think of it as sort of a "Queens thing" (my sister used to live two blocks from the T***p home, which is far from the best house on the block; THAT honor is reserved for the owner of a large Mercedes dealership).
That works, too. TFFG means (to me) the f***ing former guy! So six of one, 1/2 dozen of the other, right?
I can DEFINITELY live with that.
Israelis were in the streets protesting their right wing government many weeks before October 7th. The US had warned Netanyahu about the imminence of an attack. Like George W. Bush, Bibi thought there'd be redemption in being a "war time" leader. Biden warned him about an outsized and embroiling response. With these demonstrations in the street comes some cover for Biden to curtail arms to Bibi.
If only, Judith - I heard there already is another shipment of arms before long. Cease fire or not.
Wouldn't it be fantastic if these protests got Netanyahu out of office? The man is evil and has no regard for human suffering. Enough is enough.
Israel's only chance to live in peace with its neighbors is with the two-state solution. A close federation of Israeli and Palestinian states could coexist and provide a mutually beneficial relationship..... The current path plotted by Bibi will lead eventually to Armageddon - poor results for everyone.....
And now, it's reported Netan-yo-yo has had surgery for a hernia. One can hope it's more serious.
Anyone and any country that is responsible for suffering of innocents should be stopped cold. Is there something the US military is aware of that justifies continued support?
I'm guessing US reliance on Israel's ME intel and weapons tech may be part of the calculation in addition to US commitment to democracies, consistency in dealing with Israel and Ukraine.
And Bibi is making that consistany very difficult for Biden.
This is from TPM's Editor's Blog and I'm pretty sure it is behind the pay wall so I am going to copy/paste it here for those who don't subscribe. I'm sure it is okay with the landlord there, Josh Marshall. He has been following the situation there and I find his insights invaluable.
(Sorry to take up so much space.)
Things Tumbling in Israel
Keep an eye on the events out of Israel. It seems possible they’re reaching some kind of turning point, though one hesitates to use that phrase about a country which has been in such an extended political paralysis for so long. The key to understand is that whatever crisis or shift may be in the works isn’t driven by the issues animating coverage in the U.S. To the extent it is tied to the Israel-Hamas war it is about the hostages and the widespread belief that the Netanyahu government isn’t that focused on striking a deal to get them home. Hovering around this is the fact that the government has at best tended to ignore and shun the hostages families. The communities along the border with Gaza tend to be made up of left-leaning Kibbutznik types. So they’re not Netanyahu’s people by any stretch of the imagination. That’s been a subtext to much that has happened over the last six months.
You also have the anti-judicial coup coalition which was holding massive weekly protests for almost a year before October 7th going back to the streets. All of that had stopped cold on October 7th. It’s been slowing reassembling since. But the protests this weekend are bigger than any since just before the massacres in southern Israel. They are now a coupled message for the government to resign and to bring the hostages home.
Then there’s the issue of the continuation of the draft exception and public subsidies for the ultra-orthodox community. This is too complex a topic for anything but a thumbnail description. But here goes. Men from the ultra-orthodox community are exempted from the draft and a great proportion of their families live on public assistance, notionally because they spend their days in religious study. This has been a simmering issue for years. But for a complicated set of reasons it came to a head last week when there was a deadline to formalize a new system which would either continue these privileges and benefits, scrap them or do something in between.
The critical context is that over the last three decades the ultra-orthodox parties have become a central pillar of any right-wing government. They supply about a quarter of the seats. The issue is basically irresolvable if you rely on those votes and seats. No them, no majority. That all hit the fan last week. There was no decision Netanyahu could make and hold his government together. So basically he just didn’t. And we’re now seeing how long that lasts. This seems to have both thrown new light on the precariousness of Netanyahu’s government and shown again that the whole country is hostage to the Prime Minister’s need to give them basically anything they demand. In the context of a national emergency the existence of a whole community that refuses to serve in the army and lives off everyone’s taxes is simply too much for many people.
In the current government you basically have the Likud — the right-wing party of government, the parties of the ultra-orthodox and the parties of the settler crazies. Netanyahu will almost certainly lose the next election. And without a Netanyahu, these other parties are basically toast. Toast in the sense that they’re probably not going to see another government with this kind of radical dependence on them for a long time. So they need to get every dollar and every favor out of it they can right now, while the getting is good. So they will keep him in power as long as they can and basically cart out everything that isn’t nailed down. Meanwhile everyone else looks on and sees this is happening, during wartime, and basically all so the prime minister can stay out of jail, or at least squeeze out a few more months or a year in power. It’s a recipe for a highly combustible situation.
Now, on top of all that, in just the last few hours, Netanyahu announced that he’s going in for emergency hernia surgery. Not emergency in the sense of rushed to the hospital but in the sense that they found it during a routine check yesterday and he’s going into surgery today. So not nothing.
Again, no idea how this all plays out but Netanyahu has been juggling nine plates since the war started. Now he’s probably juggling 13. It can only go on so long.
thanks for your cutting and pasting...this is very valuable information.
last month, I posted a link to the cover story by Bernard Avishai in the February "Harper's," which covers a lot of the same information with some very intelligent commentary.
my own feeling is that it's a bad idea to hold your breath until either scumbag sees the inside of a cell. but I agree that it's a hell of a lot more likely over there than HERE...too fucking much pomp and dumb ceremony attached to the office right from the get-go. we need to remember that the office was created for George Washington, who, whatever his flaws, was someone with genuine gravitas. let's remember that George III said that if Washington could win the revolution and voluntarily give up the enormous power he then commanded, he would be "the greatest man in the world." and George III had hardly been a fan.
sic transit gloria mundi, anyone?
This is music top my ears, TC. If Israel holds an election now, Netanyahu will either make a hurried escape to Europe (Russia or Hungary, maybe) or face trial for criminal acts committed against Israel and end up in prison, Yay!
Not to be completely pessimistic, but I wonder if that will be any more successful there than it is here with our TFFG.
I think the Israeli Courts are slightly less squeamish about the social status of the criminal than we are.
Bibi and Trump fear jail time and will destroy their contries to stay free.
Thank you.
By continuing to supply the Israeli government with the means and materiel it is using to continue the herding and massacre of civililians in the Gaza Strip the American government may be exposing itself to charges of aiding and abetting in genocide and crimes against humanity. Such was a similar claim in a February legal challenge in the British courts seeking a Judicial review of UK arms sales to Israel, after their Foreign Office was "unable to conclude if Israeli bombing was lawful" (in compliance with International Humanitarian Law) last year. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/19/foreign-office-lawyers-unable-conclude-israeli-bombing-lawful
That legal challenge has been denied by the UK high Court. It does not, however, preclude the ICJ from holding future hearings on the matter of the culpability of the UK (or the USA), nor any reparations that may be meted.
Get rid of Bibi? OK, but after the euphoria wears off, then what?
Thanks Tom.