Children die of malnutrition as Rafah operation heightens threat of famine in Gaza
Arrival of Israeli troops in the southern border town has choked aid supplies, as hunger deepens in southern Gaza
Read in The Guardian: https://apple.news/AIt2NTXZEQZuMJqmDxm9zVw
Shared from Apple News
Best Wishes and Hugs,Scottie
Scottie's Playtime 
And so it goes on.
In war it is so easy to become the thing you hate.
In war Justification is a flexible commodity.
In war deeds done are not forgotten.
In war….
It can come back on the Victor and with bloody hands demand the price due.
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Hi Roger. Jewish people of all people should abhor the things being done to the Palestinians the most. I know the Israeli government has throttled the information coming out of Gaza so maybe the public is not fully aware, but the truth is they knew for generations the horrible treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and even worse in Gaza. They seem like the whites in the US old south in how they felt about blacks, or how the whites in South Africa during apartheid felt about black people.
I don’t understand what is driving Israel at this point. We now know there have been offers to get the hostages back for months, all Israel had to do is stop the war, stop the killing, agree to a long ceasefire. But Benjamin Netanyahu has refused any deal. Yes Israel was the one that was blocking the return of the hostages so they could keep the slaughter going. The right in the US, the republicans try hard to make Hamas the ultimate powerful bad guy, but Hamas has been offering to return the hostages and to stop fighting. Even on Biden’s new plan that he claims Israel accepted, they have not but Hamas did.
Roger what is really driving the Israeli government do you think. We know it is not the hostages. We know 1,100 casualties have long been avenged. Is it a land grab? A religious thing, such as their god gave them the land? Or is is simply to keep Benjamin Netanyahu out of jail? He has long know once the war is over he is out of office. He is their tRump.
I know I have asked a lot of you. I often feel I abuse your good nature. But when you have a few minutes and want to be a friend, an instructor, or just rant, I would love to hear it. Maybe I could even post it as a stand alone post. Thank you. Best wishes and love to both you and Sheila.
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Hi Scottie.
Just to let you know I’ve read your post….locked into chores at present, will be back to you in due course.👍
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Hi Scottie
Tragically there are so many ways to answer this subject, all of them to do with the flaws that lie within Human Nature.
Recently I have been listening to (as opposed to reading) audible books linked to the subject of ancient History. Tying these up with books there are ones I have read or listened to on more recent history that would be over the past four hundred years.
The loss of Life and the cruelty visited upon folk in terms of being cast out from their homes or turned in slaves is horrendous. No one comes out of it spotless. It is an important factor to remember. Humanity has a nascent amoral side, in which it can justify any acts upon others.
Turning to the State of Israel. I think I might have said this before. Israel as it stand today is in part the creation of of Europe through the persecution of Jews. At its least it is ready to defend itself, and worst it is ready to strike down anyone perceived to be a threat. This is the mindset, built in by centuries. It is a type of horror which surfaces in nations and communities over the centuries, and worse one which is condoned or accepted by others allied, albeit temporarily.
Even leaving out the atrocities which took place in WWII, acts were carried out in the 20th century and into this century by governments or communities in which the death tolls run to 4 or 5 figure numbers.
Another issue which ties Israelis together, is currently all Israelis are seen to be blamed. irrespective of whether they support their government or not, and many do not. It follows a parallel that all Americans were blamed by many in the outside world for Trump being elected president, even though he had a minority vote at the time.
The difference here being that Americans against Trump are a large enough group to make that known and accepted. Israelis against the current government are numerous but rarely make good news copy or are dismissed for some peculiar reason.
The question you asked ‘land grab’, ‘religious thing’ keep Netanyahau out of the jail, the answer is all of those. Then add the political thing which is an intensely complex matter in Israel that cuts across social, political and religious divides and allows extremist minorities to hold far more influence than they are due. And likely at some stage to cause a fracturing of the cohesion of the state. There are seeds there of an internal conflict split several ways.
If folk do want to influence the situation it is essential that they:
1. Make common cause with Jewish groups and activists outside of Israel who are against the war and the current government. Marching up and down will not have any use unless it is seen that these protestors are with The Jews who are against the war.
2. Following from 1. Massive support must be given to those groups within Israel who now face a mammoth struggle to work for peace. It is a pointless gesture saying ‘I will boycott this or that from Israel’ all that does is circle the wagons. To say I will support that group or this group is more productive.
3. If folk truly want this to end to is essential to help break the hold this current government have in Israel. One thing I am convinced of is that the current extreme Right in the USA read from their playbook and took inspiration.
Until the idea still nascent in Israel is that ‘The World is out to get Jews’ is broken and folk particularly in the West admit that they grew up with some low-level suspicion or wariness of Jews (built in over centuries) then the extremists will continue to hold sway and point saying ‘See nothing has changed. We have to get them before they get us,’
It is a hard and thorny matter to grasp Scottie, but there is it.
And we have to ask ourselves:
‘Why did we, the people, not make the same protests and complaints in previous times on the behalf of other peoples. Why did they not get the attention the Palestinians deserved?’
Bitter and dangerous times Scottie. All across the world.
Keep on hoping in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Our best wishes and love to you and Ron.
Roger & Sheila.
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Hi Roger. Again a thoughtful reply with lots to think about. I would like to address the points you make in reverse order.
Sadly the ones who get support are the ones whose stories are broadcast all over the media. There are hundreds of killings every day but only a few get a lot of attention and public out pouring for. It is the same with which war victims, which countries the people in a country rise to support. The old adage about news was … If it bleeds it leads. Right now Gaza / Palestinians are something the people in the US can understand and relate to, where the people in Haiti or the Congo we can’t. Plus in the US most people have no or limited times of leisure and so don’t consume much news or information, instead using that time to entertain, socialize, or watch movies / TV shows.
You say that boycotting Israel companies and businesses wont work in this case. But it did in South Africa to change their system from Apartheid why wouldn’t it work with now?
The last thing I would like to understand is not limited to Israel but starts with the splits in government there you mentioned. Israel has been turning more and more fundamentalist religious and more authoritarian in government. People who have spoken out against the war have been imprisoned and had their careers ruined, same as in Russia. In the US many republican states have turn very authoritarian, and tRump / the cult of tRump party is out right fascist authoritarian dictator style government, while it seems the courts have been infiltrated and stacked with authoritarian judges all determined to end civil rights of the people and turn the country back a century. I read it is happening all across Europe. What is going on? What is driving this mass drive back to the dark ages, back to ignorance and religious domination of public life? I don’t get it, I don’t understand it. I do know big money is behind it, but I don’t understand why? If you want and only if you have time I would love to hear your thoughts on these things.
Hugs. Scottie
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Working in your order Scottie.
I think this is common, at least in the West. What is in today’s news is The Thing. Then once the media perceive that the general public in losing interest they will shift to something else and so will the public’s attention. Eventually with their own concerns pressing they can grow irritated or dismissive about ‘Yesterday’s News’ still being there. The tendency to focus on what is going on in ‘your neighbourhood’ tends to win out in the long run.
This is also the case when the public perceives that the cause shown in the news has settled. So if there is a ceasefire in Palestine / Israel – that will be fine, end of story. Never mind the details of the aftermath.
We lose track of the fact that what happens anywhere in the world is likely to come to our door some day.
There has been a long debate about the effectiveness of boycotts and sanctions, with cases on both sides. Particularly as there is always money to be made from working around them and there will always ben markets for the goods.
My own take in that De Klerk made the moves he did because South Africa was internally in danger of coming apart, not just on White vs Black lines. But Tribal lines; Afrikaans vs English speaking communities and in the middle those of Asian of Lebanese descent. Then since the USSR was falling apart the excuse of supporting the old South Africa as a bulwark against communism (a mirage if ever there was one) was no longer selling in the West. He knew they were backed into a corner
I think the stability factor played a bigger part.
That internal stability and cohesion would be the deciding factor in Israel. The potential internal flaws are there. It can be argued the warnings are in The Old Testament,
Sadly the lessons of WWII learnt by blood and treasure are being forgotten. What is being played out in the USA is similar to what is going on across the world. Right wing, nationalists, fundamentalists, tribal factors, religious conflicts are all being played out.
This is people working on and out their fears and frustrations in a short-sighted way, forgetting that their action brings forth a reaction and so on. Some say it is understandable, I say they want to wake up and ‘read the runes’. There are no simple solutions, and there is no friendly, generous, kindly, understanding Kremlin, Beijing or Tehran.
Money I don’t believe moves these, it just goes there because that’s where profit is.
Some money is very unhappy with instability and will draw out from the zone
The really danger comes from out there with the mobs and their ideas that simple answers will solve everything.
Trump is a classic example, You can’t more simple (stupid) than him.
There are those far more dept that him.
I fear, as you do Scottie there are storm clouds on the horizon and people are not packing umbrellas on thinking about going back in doors.
Take care you guys.
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