Israel declares War - Destruction of Gaza / Growing conflict in Middle East

By contrast, Zionists had, from the onset of settlement, intentionally alienated Palestinians from the labor force and replaced them with Jewish settlers.

Also, there's differences between SA and Palestine as well when it comes to their liberation movements and struggles.
Exploited Black workers were able to play a major role in making the SA ungovernable through labor strikes because of white South Africans’ substantial economic dependence on their labor.


Looks like Israeli society is dependent on labor offered by non-Israelis. Prior to the war, up to 150k Palestinians worked in Israel.
You won't tell me that prior to the last few years, this reliance on Palestinian labor, coupled with a legislative presence in the Israeli government (Arab Israeli parties) that did not exist for Black South Africans (the ANC was banned as a political party) could not have been the genesis of a non-violent movement.
There is no blueprint for implementing decolonisation projects successfully. There is no single authoritative strategy on offer for those involved in struggles for justice.
My comment didn't say anything about blueprints or strategy. All it said was that when it becomes too costly to stay in a place where you're not welcome, you pack up your stuff and leave. How you make someone feel the cost is up to you. However, when 80 years of armed struggle gets you less real allies, less territory, and more incertitude, and when your new friends care more about their own proxy battles than your cause, would you not revisit the strategy?

Israel will lead to its own demise as well, and the U.S. can only keep giving excuses to support and drive this settler colonial project because the above will economically drain them and continue to make Israel an eventual pariah state.

From what I see, the only thing that can threaten Israel right now and in the near future is their neighbors being more powerful than them. For the time being, this is faaaar from happening with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan favoring a calmer relationship. As the world becomes more reliant on microelectronic devices, Israel has positioned themselves very well to benefit from it (they have the kind of human capital that attracts chip making companies), their MIC is based on tech, and they don't care who they sell that tech to.

The last few days have shown that Israel, despite what you want to believe about them being a US colonial project, marches to their own beat. They can confidently project power in the busiest trade transit area of the world, and that makes them an attractive ally for any country that vies for the title of superpower. Therefore, I have a hard time seeing the Russians and the Chinese refusing to trade their veto power for the safety of their cargo ships in the region and access to Israeli technologies/know-how if the US were to take a harder stance on Israel.

Palestinians had not achieved the same political gains by the time they arrived at the negotiation table as SA's apartheid resistance

Pro-Palestinian parties have had representation in the Knesset. The ANC lost its legal status shortly after being created, and didn't regain it until after the end of Apartheid. If anything, Palestinians have had a much bigger political muscle to flex than the ANC, internally and internationally (with the UN: members of the ICJ, special refugee status, support from most UN members).
Black South Africans not only fought the Apartheid regime from overseas, but they had to bring to their side European populations and institutions that were brought up to believe that Africans needed European chaperones because they couldn't handle the responsibilities of self-determination.

and the PLO’s long exile had made Palestinian political and armed resistance heavily dependent on regional forces that were increasingly colluding with Israel and imperialist forces.
Will you ever mention that this exile wasn't quiet, and that the PLO brought trouble to those countries? Will you mention what made those former allies prioritize their own internal stability over Palestinian self-determination? Can you imagine if South Africans in exile in Zimbabwe decided to use violence to coopt the foreign policy direction of their host country?

When you say that nobody can tell a people how to fight their struggle, you also have to realize that you can't run away from the consequences of the actions you choose to take.
 

Looks like Israeli society is dependent on labor offered by non-Israelis. Prior to the war, up to 150k Palestinians worked in Israel.
You won't tell me that prior to the last few years, this reliance on Palestinian labor, coupled with a legislative presence in the Israeli government (Arab Israeli parties) that did not exist for Black South Africans (the ANC was banned as a political party) could not have been the genesis of a non-violent movement.
I was comparing the struggles and why South African's labor movement had more success with the international solidarity against apartheid with the boycott and sanctions compared to Palestinians in the first Intifada. ANC was banned, but they eventually resorted to violence well into the 80s, and were backed by the Soviets.

Also, it wasn't until nonviolent protests were met with severe repression that Palestinian guerrilla movements began. Palestinians uses non-violence every day and it is part of the Palestinian liberation movement. The use of violence and non-violence are rarely mutually exclusive in resistance and liberation struggles. In the case of Israel and Palestine, non-violent expressions of resistance (civil disobedience, the building of barricades and roadblocks, boycotting or non-cooperating with administrative or military officials, labour strikes etc.) dominated at least until the end of the First Intifada and never disappeared even in Gaza governed by Hamas. But, we all know how Israel treats Palestinian non-resistance.

So let's not make Palestinian non-violence invisible, which distorts the complexity of the Palestinian resistance and reduces it to the violent strategies of resistance and guerilla groups.

My comment didn't say anything about blueprints or strategy. All it said was that when it becomes too costly to stay in a place where you're not welcome, you pack up your stuff and leave. How you make someone feel the cost is up to you. However, when 80 years of armed struggle gets you less real allies, less territory, and more incertitude, and when your new friends care more about their own proxy battles than your cause, would you not revisit the strategy?

From what I see, the only thing that can threaten Israel right now and in the near future is their neighbors being more powerful than them. For the time being, this is faaaar from happening with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan favoring a calmer relationship. As the world becomes more reliant on microelectronic devices, Israel has positioned themselves very well to benefit from it (they have the kind of human capital that attracts chip making companies), their MIC is based on tech, and they don't care who they sell that tech to.

The last few days have shown that Israel, despite what you want to believe about them being a US colonial project, marches to their own beat. They can confidently project power in the busiest trade transit area of the world, and that makes them an attractive ally for any country that vies for the title of superpower. Therefore, I have a hard time seeing the Russians and the Chinese refusing to trade their veto power for the safety of their cargo ships in the region and access to Israeli technologies/know-how if the US were to take a harder stance on Israel.

I get what you're saying, but the regional power has shifted with Israel waning its power where Iran and its proxies and allies have strengthened in last decade.

So, why would it not logically work for Hamas and other groups to play on the blind and weak spots in Israel and its Western alliance, and push through? Many believe different and see Israel as a military and colonial outpost puppeteered by the West/U.S. If U.S. and allies were to stop supplying and supporting Israel, it wouldn't survive.

I think we can all see the U.S. hegemon and Western alliance and their shroud of Empire is cracking and falling.

Pro-Palestinian parties have had representation in the Knesset. The ANC lost its legal status shortly after being created, and didn't regain it until after the end of Apartheid. If anything, Palestinians have had a much bigger political muscle to flex than the ANC, internally and internationally (with the UN: members of the ICJ, special refugee status, support from most UN members).
Black South Africans not only fought the Apartheid regime from overseas, but they had to bring to their side European populations and institutions that were brought up to believe that Africans needed European chaperones because they couldn't handle the responsibilities of self-determination.

While you are pinning it on the Palestinian side, I am sure you can see Israel's strategy is doomed to fail for two reasons: because it is violating international law and because it is ineffective. Israel’s strategy of overwhelming airpower, total decimation of civilian infrastructure and indiscriminate civilian killing, is failing.

I can get into it further, but I want to avoid writing textbook essays here, but it is clear Israel's actions are a sign of desperation from a flailing government.

Will you ever mention that this exile wasn't quiet, and that the PLO brought trouble to those countries? Will you mention what made those former allies prioritize their own internal stability over Palestinian self-determination? Can you imagine if South Africans in exile in Zimbabwe decided to use violence to coopt the foreign policy direction of their host country?

When you say that nobody can tell a people how to fight their struggle, you also have to realize that you can't run away from the consequences of the actions you choose to take.

When you speak about the PLO, funny enough, they took a playbook from Jewish Zionist groups before them, who are known as the fathers of modern day terrorism and operated from outside, which actually succeeded to kick out the Brits and establish Israel.

The PLO’s institutions were designed for a national liberation movement and were deliberately constructed to limit broad-based representation until victory was achieved. Although the situation of the Palestinians and the PLO has changed dramatically since 1968, the organization’s institutional structures and governing by-laws have effectively remained the same. No doubt the PLO has failed Palestinians. So, if Palestinians want a revitalized national movement that is unified and representative, they will need to build it themselves from scratch. Many Palestinians see the PLO/Palestinian Authority as a bunch of sell-outs that accepted defeat to the settler colonialist Apartheid state as only represented themselves and must now go.

The West has always dehumanized Palestinians are inherently violent to justify their occupation and genocide. If we, the Palestinians, do nothing, we are killed, our houses are demolished or taken, and the world looks away, refuses to see or care. If we resist, fight back, then it starts talking about the “two sides”. Does the world expect us to offer ourselves for murder without objection?

And to those who ask how resolution and peace can ever be reached without “dialogue,” the answer is simple: Peace begins when occupation ends.

Also, what I mean by your Western mindset is sometimes you argue as if Israel is not an inherent violent apartheid settler colonial state. You will latch on to the scripts of hyper morality the U.S./Western government and media place on Palestinians. There is no “right” way for Palestinians to act that would stop the bloodshed. Even the 20% of the Israeli population that are Arab and Israeli citizens in so-called "democratic" Israel face legal and de jure segregation because of their ethnicity and are second-class citizens.

 
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anyone else hard right now?



those red dots are sirens for air defense not hits

iran isn’t a genocidal nation like israel so targets will be military installments
 
Was coming here to post this.. but good lord that dude, literally asking “why does Palestinian and Muslim countries have a right to exist” and eventually essentially endorsing Jim Crow

But contrast that, with



That's because Jon Stewart is a class act.... he is smart dude who can empathize.
 
As long as Israel can get away with this while standing behind their religion/God, it’s very hard to actually believe in those texts, teachings, truths, etc.

*not to demonize anyone’s beliefs, but it is what it is at this point, after doing this for so long with no end in sight.
Just like Christian nationalists in America, they have not read the torah/hebrew bible (old testament) or Bible (old and new testament).

The greatest Jewish man ever or as some MAGAs believe, the greatest American ever, Jesus Christ, only lived in an occupied Israel.


Old Testament
Amos 6:14 : "For the Lord God Almighty declares, ‘I will stir up a nation against you, Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the Valley of the Arabah.’"

Isaiah 1:4 : "Alas, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him."

Psalm 78:57: "But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes."

New Testament
Matthew 23:37-39: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is Him who comes in the name of the Lord."


Jesus dealt with both Israel's own rulers and their occupiers.
He was also disliked because he was not a Netanyahu. He didn't come to liberate them physically.
Below, a few of Jesus' interactions with Israel Occupiers (Romans) and Non-Jews in Gaza.

Matthew 8:5-13: "When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Shall I come and heal him?’ The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.’ ... When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.’”

John 4:7-10: "When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’

Luke 17:11-19: "While Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’ ... One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
 
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ANC was banned, but they eventually resorted to violence well into the 80s, and were backed by the Soviets

My main argument against supporting groups like Hamas and in favor of rejecting the comparison with them and the South African struggle is that there never was pragmatism in the actions of M.E. liberation groups: the main goal - mostly driven by religion - was always to drive Israelis out, which is why anytime a resistance group moderated their stance on the existence of Israel, a new one promising to uphold the original goal (reconquest of all Mandatory Palestine) would spring up.

By pragmatism, this is what I mean:

Operating through a cell structure, MK planned to carry out acts of sabotage that would exert maximum pressure on the government with minimum casualties; they sought to bomb military installations, power plants, telephone lines, and transport links at night, when civilians were not present. Mandela stated that they chose sabotage because it was the least harmful action, did not involve killing, and offered the best hope for racial reconciliation afterwards

Most importantly, read how they handled those who targeted people outside the group's intended targets:

1985: Amanzimtoti bombing​

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In the 1985 the Amanzimtoti bombing on the Natal South Coast, five civilians were killed and 40 were injured when uMkhonto weSizwe cadre Andrew Sibusiso Zondo detonated an explosive in a rubbish bin at a shopping centre shortly before Christmas. In a submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the ANC stated that Zondo's act, though "understandable" as a response to a recent South African Defence Force raid in Lesotho, was not in line with ANC policy. Zondo was executed in 1986.[76]

1986: Durban beach-front bombing​

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In the 1986 Durban beach-front bombing, a bomb was detonated in a bar, killing three civilians and injuring 69. Robert McBride received the death penalty for this bombing, which became known as the "Magoo's Bar bombing".[77] McBride received amnesty and became a senior police officer.[78]

So, why would it not logically work for Hamas and other groups to play on the blind and weak spots in Israel and its Western alliance, and push through? Many believe different and see Israel as a military and colonial outpost puppeteered by the West/U.S. If U.S. and allies were to stop supplying and supporting Israel, it wouldn't survive.
Logic demands that if Israel acted as a vassal of the "US empire," they would not carry out actions that threaten the soft power of the US on the global stage. A vassal doesn't make decisions that negatively impact the status of the country they're supposed to obey.

This doesn't mean that when it comes to Iran and its proxies, weakening them isn't a shared goal of the US and Israel. Now, I do have an issue with the way the US is not pressuring Israel to stop opening fronts because I can see the blowback extending to us (and it already has, as US bases in the M.E. have recently been attacked). We're not exempt from the rule of action/reaction.
While you are pinning it on the Palestinian side,
I'm only pinning on Palestinian leaders whatever can be justifiably pinned on them. I'm addressing their decision making process; I'm addressing the achievability of their stated goals.

I am sure you can see Israel's strategy is doomed to fail for two reasons: because it is violating international law and because it is ineffective.
Countries that are less capable care about international law because stronger countries can enforce it on them. If you have veto power (or one of your allies is willing to cover any of your actions with veto power), the only thing that can realistically stop you from acting up is military might or economic isolation. The UN isn't going to enforce international law because they do not have the exclusive right to use force; the US benefits from the current situation, so they won't appeal to international law.

As far as the effectivity of their strategy is concerned, it's best to let the dust settle. Israel has demonstrated that they are not rational enough to avoid escalation, but from their perspective, they see themselves as the mad dog of the neighborhood nobody wants to mess with. Only time will tell if their neighbors will be emboldened or not. Time will tell if other permanent members of the SC will treat them with the pariah status the majority of nations wants to impose on them. For the US, time will tell whether weakening Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah was worth threatening the belief in a "rules-based order" the US spent most of the post-WWII era convincing the world to adopt. As far as short-term gains go, the conclusion is pretty much in favor of Israel/US.

Also, what I mean by your Western mindset is sometimes you argue as if Israel is not an inherent violent apartheid settler colonial state. You will latch on to the scripts of hyper morality the U.S./Western government and media place on Palestinians. There is no “right” way for Palestinians to act that would stop the bloodshed.
This is a ridiculous characterization of my posts.

I recognize that Israel won their right to exist where they are right now. They fought for the territory they ended up in, and they were able to keep it. If the Kurds ever rise against Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, and are able to create a Kurdish nation-state, I will maintain the same view. If Ukraine fails to take back the Eastern part of their country, guess what? Maps will be redrawn to refer to the Russian Donbas.

Here's why I don't think they should extend their territory past the agreed upon 1968 borders: it would make it more difficult to guarantee their long-term existence in the region. No nation can flourish in a perpetual state of war. That means, I think a full withdrawal from the West Bank to allow a Palestinian state to be governed in land that is actually governable is a realistic and achievable demand Israel has not right to object to.

What I think of the Palestinian resistance movements is that multigenerational wars are quixotic, especially when decade after decade, all they have to show for the effort is exile, loss of people, and loss of land. It's presumptuous for Palestinians to believe that they are the only people on this planet with territorial claims; it's even more presumptuous for them to believe that the only way to get redress is through war. But if that's the way you feel you have to go, suit yourselves. Africans, Asians, Eastern Europeans will tell you that if they had to act on all the grudges they had with neighboring ethnicities, they would be in the same perpetual state of war.

Y'all need to start over. The rest of the world is tired your BS and is wondering when Israelis and Palestinians will learn a lesson the rest of humanity has learnt a long time ago.
 
gry60 gry60 :

There are points you made which we have differences in perspective, but we'll continue to go back and forth in circles. As you are aware, Israelis and Palestinians warring over land is far from unique. There's been disputes between peoples and violence that lasted much longer than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Yet, there's also deep rooted issues such as Palestinians still subjugated to occupation, apartheid and violent brutalization with lack of human rights and self determination in their homeland. As I had mentioned, the attempts in diplomacy and peace talks have only offered a quasi-state, which still does not allow them to independently rule over themselves. Palestinians don't think they're some special group and have incessantly given up a lot. Yet Israhell and its allies don't want Palestinians to achieve statehood and self determination, and 2-state solution was just a sham.

I have already laid out my aspirations for a one state solution. We call it Palestine, they call it Israel, whatever the name, this land has to absolutely have equal rights for all. I really don’t care how that comes about. I don’t care within which context that outcome takes place. I’m not a nationalist or attached to a nation-state.

But for me, the most important thing is that if somebody from Brooklyn can come and claim to be a citizen, then someone who is Palestinian and who actually lived there, and Has family and history from there, should be able to come and claim full rights as a citizen. If someone has property, property rights should be respected, as should human rights, civil rights, and religious rights.

There needs to be a modification of the status quo inside Israel, such that everybody is treated as an equal. Ultimately, Palestinians who want to return to their homeland can do so as do Jews who want to come to Israel, and even if they have no ties or history in Israel, can do so. This is possible, but quite unlikely in the short term, but change can happen much more quickly than we sometimes think.

Also, that's not the Palestinians' fault that European Zionists came to enforce settler colonialism on a land that was already inhabited and settled, in the era of post WWII and decolonization. Also for the fact this European colonial baby neighbors Arab Muslim majority populations and states. European Jewish supremacist ethnostate established via a European settler colonial project was doomed from the start as it was never going to succeed without violence and bloodshed that will last decades/centuries in this region/part of the world.

Just as you claimed that Israel won wars and borders change and get realigned, so there persists reactions and resistance to occupation and oppression. Israel hasn't even officially declared its borders to this day.
 
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