Hamas must pay but I don’t know if it will, not to mention what is the cost in Israeli lives if they do. I can’t resolve whether it’s worth the sacrifice on top of an already unfathomable sacrifice. I’ve been around almost as long as Israel and nothing is causing me as much anguish as this event: the reaction of many Americans (are we welcome here anymore), the fear that of the continued existence of Israel and the temptation always to assume that the Israelis are the bad guys; David Frum recently tweeted about the last one. The last few days have been stressful but I thank Biden for making the trip today.
I think revenge is a dish best served cold.An Israeli invasion is what Hamas is looking for set the world on fire. As what happened after the murder of the Olympians there was a studied killings over time of those responsible. Many of those responsible enjoy foreign impunity far away from Gaza. This must be paired with political support for a new relationship between Palestinians and Israelis starting with the West Bank.It will be an enormous and bloody disaster for Israel to fight months or years long war against Hamas under terms developed by Hamas. We should all take a breath and think strategically.
Also, our high schools would do well to teach the indifference with which the world treated Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors in the late ‘40s, from the haughty British to the smug Americans to the vengeful Poles. That the Jews had to fight so furiously and desperately for a homeland is a disgrace for which the world is still paying in blood and treasure. And if Harry Truman had not had a Jewish business partner back in Missouri and not signed off on the State of Israel in ‘48, things would be worse still. The US cannot learn from history if we do not teach it better on a mass scale.
Five days in, and Israel has yet to invade. And is letting some aid come in (maybe) to southern Gaza. Could the sudden weakness of Netanyahu’s government cause them to listen to Biden, Blinken and Sullivan (a Boston law firm if if I ever heard one!)? If so, that would be an important first step; get the hostages back (those that are left, alas), then hunt down the Hamas leadership. I am old enough to remember the horrors of the Munich Olympics , which Israel handled as well as it could, really. It seems the hospital missile was launched by Islamic Jihad; there is a chance for the world to see the evil that propels Islamic fanaticism. Amid the heartbreak 💔 a major shift in consciousness is within reach.
Hamas must pay but I don’t know if it will, not to mention what is the cost in Israeli lives if they do. I can’t resolve whether it’s worth the sacrifice on top of an already unfathomable sacrifice. I’ve been around almost as long as Israel and nothing is causing me as much anguish as this event: the reaction of many Americans (are we welcome here anymore), the fear that of the continued existence of Israel and the temptation always to assume that the Israelis are the bad guys; David Frum recently tweeted about the last one. The last few days have been stressful but I thank Biden for making the trip today.
I think revenge is a dish best served cold.An Israeli invasion is what Hamas is looking for set the world on fire. As what happened after the murder of the Olympians there was a studied killings over time of those responsible. Many of those responsible enjoy foreign impunity far away from Gaza. This must be paired with political support for a new relationship between Palestinians and Israelis starting with the West Bank.It will be an enormous and bloody disaster for Israel to fight months or years long war against Hamas under terms developed by Hamas. We should all take a breath and think strategically.
Also, our high schools would do well to teach the indifference with which the world treated Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors in the late ‘40s, from the haughty British to the smug Americans to the vengeful Poles. That the Jews had to fight so furiously and desperately for a homeland is a disgrace for which the world is still paying in blood and treasure. And if Harry Truman had not had a Jewish business partner back in Missouri and not signed off on the State of Israel in ‘48, things would be worse still. The US cannot learn from history if we do not teach it better on a mass scale.
All true, Curtis. You’re a gem.
Thanks, Joe. Must say, I am a bit surprised by the extent to which the Sanity Clause has helped keep myself sane.
Five days in, and Israel has yet to invade. And is letting some aid come in (maybe) to southern Gaza. Could the sudden weakness of Netanyahu’s government cause them to listen to Biden, Blinken and Sullivan (a Boston law firm if if I ever heard one!)? If so, that would be an important first step; get the hostages back (those that are left, alas), then hunt down the Hamas leadership. I am old enough to remember the horrors of the Munich Olympics , which Israel handled as well as it could, really. It seems the hospital missile was launched by Islamic Jihad; there is a chance for the world to see the evil that propels Islamic fanaticism. Amid the heartbreak 💔 a major shift in consciousness is within reach.