Tag Archives: Palestine

Don’t Believe Ridiculous Ideas

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“Did you get your coffee at the espresso cafe next door?” I asked my hair stylist. Seemed like an innocent question, but she leaned down and whispered that she got her drink at Starbucks. “Is that a bad thing?” I asked? “Well, you know, Israel,” she replied. 

Now I was confused. What did Starbucks have to do with Israel? Do they have cafes in Israel? I know they have cafes in Saudi Arabia, and I suspect they have cafes in other Arab countries, though perhaps not Yemen. Perhaps they source something from Israel, though what would that be? 

Well, in any event, my hairdresser fits in well in Olympia. “Free Palestine” signs are everywhere. Every other woke cause is represented as well. I could switch hairdressers, but how far would I have to drive to find one who’d be even neutral on Israel? Maybe if the price of gas comes down? 

So mostly I keep my mouth shut unless there’s a chance of a real conversation, which usually there isn’t. But I do search for opportunities for genuine conversation. Which led me to our Senior Center. It’s just two blocks away and has a conversation group once a week. The group’s leader has a set routine: first, the word of the day, its history, its evolution; then, what’s happened on this date in history; and then current issues. 

Most of the current issues lately are Trump-related, and there’s a lot of grumbling. Today, we talked about the recent chemical spill at a Longview pulp and paper mill in which 11 people died. One member of our group had worked there during summers when he was in college. As bad as the incident was, it was an implosion of a tank instead of an explosion, which could have been much worse. It’s horrible to say that an event in which eleven people died could have been worse, but the environmental impact could have been much worse. In any event, no one had anything cheerful to say about that bit of news.

Discussion then turned to the war in Iran, which led to Hezbollah, which led to Israel. Turns out there’s another weekly event at the Senior Center, a history class that some attend. I haven’t attended that because it’s hard for me to do one regular activity a week, much less two. In any event, I won’t be going to the history class because in the discussion of Iran, Hezbollah, and Israel, people who do attend the history class claimed that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is analogous to American history with Indians. Israelis are settler-colonialists, they starve the Palestinians, they bomb hospitals, and yes, if the New York Times says that Israelis train dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners, then it must be true. Genocide? True. Apartheid? True. Even Jews say all the bad things are true. So, it must all be true?

Jews are free to disagree with each other. Are Palestinians free to disagree with each other? No. They will get killed for saying things comparable to what Israelis say about their country. So the fact that some Jews say one thing and some say another proves nothing to me. Listen to all sides, please, before you take up arms.

Sorry, (not sorry) but I’m finished with that group. One new person said she taught Middle-East history at Baylor, so she knows what she’s talking about. Yeah, and every woke professor knows the truth about everything. So, no, I really don’t need to hear any more from these folks about Israel. 

If you have any room in your head for another point of view, consider reading this recent article from Quillette (Quillette has saved my sanity since it’s first appearance online with thoughtful journalism.) You can subscribe for free, but pay for a subscription if you can.

Anti-Zionism as Redemptive Racism by Shalom Lappin

Three Cheers for Two States

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Hoopla abounds regarding declarations from France, England, and Canada about their intents to recognize a Palestinian state “soon.” 

Each country has some qualifications embedded in their statements. Those qualifications differ, but their desire for a two state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is clear. I share a desire for a two state solution, but I would not award the status of statehood to Palestinians anytime “soon.” And I doubt that any Palestinian leader would accept the offers that are on the table. Why would they turn down this opportunity? The countries behind the hoopla assume the continued existence of Israel, and that is simply unacceptable to the most vocal Palestinians. 

Palestinian statehood is not being offered in lieu of Israeli statehood. European countries that recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state do not have the intent of terminating the Israeli state. Had any past leaders of Palestinians been willing to accept the continued existence of the state of Israel, they could have had a state long ago, imperfect though it might have been in their eyes. 

Israel did not begin with their conception of perfection. From the time of the 1917 Balfour Declaration on, Jews have known that they would not get as much land as they wanted, nor would they get to choose lands most important to them. Rather, they knew that they would get what others offered them. Meanwhile, Palestinians opposed every proposal that included land for a Jewish state.

Over the past 40 years, many people, myself included, have considered the Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be a major obstacle to achieving a two state solution. “Just Say No” to those settlements, and peace will ensue. I’ve read or listened to legal explanations of why the settlements are legal. I’ve offered links to those arguments for those curious enough to wade through history. But I’ve also thought that it doesn’t matter if the settlements are legal, they still might not be wise. Legal and wise are not synonymous.

This year, stories of “settler violence,” I.e. settler attacks on Palestinians, have been in the news. In one story, settlers even attacked IDF soldiers who were returning from dismantling a bomb making factory in a Palestinian town in the West Bank. That was shocking, not just to me, but to many in Israel. Other incidents of settler violence have appeared in western media. But I don’t trust accounts in most western media regarding anything happening in the middle east. 

Then today, I stumbled across a podcast called “Unpacking Israeli History” that focuses specifically on the issue of settlements and recent stories of settler violence. I’ve listened to other episodes of “Unpacking…” but this is an especially good one. I can’t construct an adequate summary of the whole West Bank settler issue, so I’m suggesting that you find time to listen to it yourself. Especially listen to it if you, like me, have long felt that the settlements are an ongoing impediment to a two state solution. 

The protracted war in Gaza is horrible. But releasing Israeli hostages might go a long way to ending the war, and it’s frustrating to hear all of the Hamas slogans – “From the river to the sea,” “Globalize the Intifada” – etc. and not “Free the hostages!” How did this get so one-sided? And how is it that the press that promotes the Hamas version of events can continue to neglect to mention that the goal of Hamas is the extinction of Israel. Is that detail not important? 

I would like to see peace between Israel and the Palestinians before I die. As I am now in my 80s, and nothing resembling peace is on the horizon, I’m not optimistic. Since October 7, 2023, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to this part of the world. One thing I’ve noticed is that Jews, both  Israelis and those in the diaspora, are open about their disagreements about Israel, whereas Palestinians seem only to speak the party line. It makes a difference if you believe that you put your life in danger by disagreeing with that party line. Jews, on the other hand, are raised to argue over everything. This stark cultural difference is a big factor in my support of information about the war that comes from Israeli sources. I’m confident that if it is not accurate, a truer version will be out shortly. It is shocking to me that so many colleges are scenes of students and faculty uncritically spouting Hamas’ propaganda. Is thinking not allowed on campus anymore?

Well, this rhetoric about a Palestinian state is unlikely to bear fruit, IMHO. But life is full of surprises, though I’m not holding my breath. Meanwhile, here’s a link to the podcast and transcript.

Settler Violence: Hard Truths with Haviv Rettig Gur

ChatGPT is Dumber Than I Thought

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Artificial Intelligence is biased. This has been true for as long as AI has been around. AI is programmed by biased humans, relies on biased sources, and has no independent, skeptical brain with which to judge the mass of data it accesses.

Lord knows, we want to believe artificial intelligence. It would be so much easier to ask one source that has scoured the web for information than to do the scouring ourselves. But I’ll describe one query I made today and you can judge the credibility of ChatGPT for yourself. 

Over the weekend, there were reports about Israeli soldiers firing into crowds at an aid distribution site and killing 31 civilians who had come to get food. That’s a horrific claim. If you are already anti-Israeli based on pictures of dead children in Gaza, you’ll likely believe this claim. But I find it hard to believe without a LOT of evidence simply because the IDF has no incentive to kill Gazan civilians. Israel’s PR problems could not be worse as it is; an incident such as this could only reinforce the anti-Israel voices around the world. 

So, this morning I began searching for information about this report. I was disappointed to find that ChatGPT considered the Hamas Health Ministry a credible source. (Remember that report that Israel fired on a hospital in Gaza and killed 500 people? Turned out to be a rocket fired by a jihadi group within Gaza that misfired and landed in a hospital parking lot killing no one. That report was from the Gaza Health Ministry.) My AI friend also considered UNRWA a credible source, and the UN in general, both of which are 100% biased against Israel. 

Israeli sources say that the IDF is investigating, and I’m confident that it is. An incident such as this, if it were true, would be a terrible setback for Israel’s efforts to find a way to distribute aid that bypasses Hamas. And bypassing Hamas is critical to finding a way out of this war.

I am worried. We have tools that could be immensely helpful to people who are trying to learn the truth about various reports that appear in the news or on the web. But the simple fact is that these new tools are simply expert at gathering and sharing biased reports that do not lead us to the truth. Where is the judgement that is essential in any search for truth? That judgement resides in us!

Remember the famine that occurred in Ukraine in the 1930s? The New York Times opted to believe a compromised reporter who accepted whatever the Kremlin said and did not report the story. Meanwhile, an independent journalist risked his life to find out the truth about Stalin’s cruelty. Decades later, serious scholars have unearthed the truth. Watch the movie, Mr. Jones, or read books by Anne Applebaum (Red Famine) or Timothy Snyder (Bloodlines) for more information.

We cannot wait decades for people to accept the truth about Hamas. It is not a credible source for information about Gaza. It is a terrorist organization that seeks the destruction of Israel.

Hope and Fears as I Cast My Ballot

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I’ll be voting a split ticket today, some Rs, some Ds. Historically, I’ve voted straight tickets, but this year I just can’t. I’ll be voting for Harris/Walz on the national scene, but for Dave Reichert for governor of WA and probably for the Republican for attorney general. Reichert is the most normal, reasonable Republican to make it to the general election ballot in years, and I am anxious for a change in Olympia. 

My concerns at the state level are with a too-soft approach to crime and a too-woke approach to education. Not to worry, lefty friends, there is no chance that Reichert will win. I’ll continue to be a lonely centrist in a far left state come January.

The national election is too close to call as of today, October 22, 2024. I am anxious about it. My curious streak wants to see what would happen if Trump were to win. Would our fears be realized? Would the world as we know it vanish before our eyes? I’m not willing to risk it, so I’ll be voting for Harris, but I’m anxious about the future even if she wins. 

I have a wild set of hopes and fears if Harris takes the oath in January. Yes, I’d love to see a capable woman become president! And Harris is good enough for me. The long row of white men who have preceded her in the office have not necessarily been the best men in the country at their time. They’ve succeeded in winning for a variety of reasons. Most of them grew in competence while in office. (I can’t imagine that anyone is ready to assume the job of leader of the free world on Day 1.) Harris will be a fast learner, and her values and goals are fine with me…

…With a couple of concerns: Just how woke is she? Can she support the rights of trans adults while accepting the need to temper the demands of the most extreme trans activists with regard to children? Can she temper the enthusiasm of public schools to denigrate both our history and the legitimate accomplishments of western culture? Can she address concerns about the criminal justice system the way she did in her book, “Smart on Crime,” rather than follow the radicals who ruled in 2020? 

On the international scene, I have hopes that Harris will be more supportive of Ukraine than Biden has been, and by that I mean I hope she will support the goal of winning in Ukraine, not just fighting until everyone is exhausted.Trump would just give the Donbas and Crimea to Putin and wash his hands of it all. At least, if she wins, we won’t be pulling the rug out from under Ukraine immediately. 

As for Israel, I don’t have confidence in either Trump or Harris. No one knows what Trump would do. He has insisted that October 7 would not have happened if he’d been in office, Ukraine would not have been invaded, no bad things at all. BS, in my mind. I don’t think his craziness, which he now cultivates as an asset, will prevent all bad things. So what would he actually do for the Middle East? I’m confident that even he has no idea.

What about Harris? More restraints on Israel? Fewer restraints? Could she find moderate Muslim partners to rebuild Gaza? Two States for Two Peoples! Yada, yada, yada. Create a Palestinian state without a complete change of heart by Palestinian leaders willing to accept Israel vocally, in public, risking assassination by doing so – that would mean two states armed sufficiently to maintain order, but also armed for self defense. Personally, I think it will take at least a generation of calm, perhaps longer, before Israel would again consider two equal states. But a Palestinian “starter state?” We should at least talk about it.

People can change. I’ve seen it. My father’s family was just fine with Jim Crow. Separate drinking fountains? Fine with them. Separate schools, of course. Separate public accommodations, sure. And then? They let it go. They didn’t all accept the equality of black and white, but they let go of Jim Crow, and many black Americans have taken advantage of opportunities afforded to them. Remember, though, that we were not rushing to bomb shelters, within our homes, when rockets were fired at us by the victims of Jim Crow. No one had armed them hoping to obliterate us. Rather, we had a leader who spoke courageously of judging people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

Palestinians who might have had the potential to become voices for peaceful coexistence have been systematically “taken out” by Hamas and others. Will any surface from the rubble of Gaza? I trust Harris much more than Trump to find them if they are there and work with them. 

Hopes and fears. I have some hopes and many fears as I cast my ballot this year. How about you?