Israel

[BrickHorn 18,424]

5 hours ago, Brian Fantana said:

+1

The evolution of this discussion is pretty fascinating. I basically got called an antisemitic conspiracy theorist for linking this article back in October.

Here’s a shocker: the board’s dumbfuck reactionaries turned out to be dumbfuck reactionaries. I put the worst offenders on ignore back in October and ditched the brainless DT thread entirely, and the conversation has been far more enlightening as a result. 

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

On 4/2/2024 at 4:13 PM, chainsaw said:

Don't jinx us motherfucker.

[Anastasis 23,699]

2 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

Here’s a shocker: the board’s dumbfuck reactionaries turned out to be dumbfuck reactionaries. I put the worst offenders on ignore back in October and ditched the brainless DT thread entirely, and the conversation has been far more enlightening as a result. 

Nobody likes a quitter brick. It's a real hoot over there. You should try it. Not really different here tbh. 

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1,549]

16 hours ago, Satchel said:

The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from

https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/

Palestinian statehood will not happen because the west bank has been consumed by the settlers who are never leaving. Even if Hamas never existed, there would be no state. 

[Brian Fantana 6,856]

Lurch out here being a real piece of shit

[chainsaw 10,243]

25 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

Lurch out here being a real piece of shit

Probably the stroke. That or AIPAC has some very strong kompromat on him

[Brian Fantana 6,856]

I doing it's even anything like kompromat. He's just completely sold out considering how much he gets from Israeli lobby groups. Grifter just like Sinema.

[Brisketexan 106,616]

28 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

Lurch out here being a real piece of shit

Yeah....I'm pretty comfortable with "no genocide, no ethnic cleansing, no killing of fucking internationally recognized aid workers" as conditions for.....well, anything and everything.  I won't loan you my fucking bottle opener if you can't meet those goddamned conditions.

[chainsaw 10,243]

4 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

Grifter just like Sinema.

To be fair to him, he hasn't blocked any major legislation or judge confirmations (yet). The most shitty things he's done have been related to Israel and saying stupid shit about immigration.

[F250 29,172]

18 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Nobody likes a quitter brick. It's a real hoot over there. You should try it. Not really different here tbh. 

I dropped out of both threads early on for being accused of antisemitism because I said Hebrew National hotdogs were inferior to HEB Heritage Brisket hotdogs.

 

[safe sex 11,913]

Where's the lie??

[Satchel 6,982]

From the NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/04/04/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news

Here’s what we know:

President Biden appeared to condition future support on how Israel changes course. Hours later, the White House said the Israeli leader had agreed to open a crossing in northern Gaza to allow in more aid.

• Biden tells Netanyahu that U.S. support hinges on treatment of Gaza civilians.

• The White House says Netanyahu agreed to open another crossing for aid after pressure from Biden.

• A call for early elections by a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet highlights the domestic pressure he is under.

• Israel’s military cancels leave for combat units and jams GPS signals.

• World Central Kitchen demands an independent investigation into Israel’s deadly strike.

• More than 600 lawyers and retired judges call on the U.K. government to end arms sales to Israel.

[Boss Hogg 808]

I thought this was a good description

Hamas is evil. Hamas could end the war it started by surrendering its cadres and releasing its prisoners. Hamas refuses. Hamas would rather sacrifice the civilian population of Gaza on the altar of its genocidal ambition and suicidal desires. Hamas brutalizes children, abuses captives, steals food, fires its rockets indiscriminately, wears no uniforms, and hides behind schools, hospitals, and mosques. Hamas does not just commit war crimes. It is a war crime.

 

[Brisketexan 106,616]

I thought this was a good description
Hamas is evil. Hamas could end the war it started by surrendering its cadres and releasing its prisoners. Hamas refuses. Hamas would rather sacrifice the civilian population of Gaza on the altar of its genocidal ambition and suicidal desires. Hamas brutalizes children, abuses captives, steals food, fires its rockets indiscriminately, wears no uniforms, and hides behind schools, hospitals, and mosques. Hamas does not just commit war crimes. It is a war crime.

 

Pretty much 100% true.

Which still does not justify Israel committing war crimes.

“My opponent is really, really bad…so I should get a free pass to war crime as much as I want” isn’t a thing.

Fight Hamas. It’s hard. But fight them…without pursuing a campaign of genocide/ethnic cleansing.

[Dahobbs 18,185]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Pretty much 100% true.

Which still does not justify Israel committing war crimes.

“My opponent is really, really bad…so I should get a free pass to war crime as much as I want” isn’t a thing.

Fight Hamas. It’s hard. But fight them…without pursuing a campaign of genocide/ethnic cleansing.

Israel has been fucking itself long term. And I'm damn near out of sympathy for it. 

[RomaVicta 30,500]

They're imperialist. I've wondered if Bibi or other imperialist Israelis look to their history of conquests in the ancient world (when everybody was imperialist) and think of David. 

I feel bad for and relate to the Israelis and Jews who hate what is going on in their country. In fact, I know exactly how they feel.

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

48 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

They're imperialist. I've wondered if Bibi or other imperialist Israelis look to their history of conquests in the ancient world (when everybody was imperialist) and think of David. 

I feel bad for and relate to the Israelis and Jews who hate what is going on in their country. In fact, I know exactly how they feel.

They're also far right authoritarians.

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

Honoring our team members & calling for justice Saif. Zomi. Damian. Jacob. John. Jim. James. The seven World Central Kitchen team members killed in the April 1, 2024 attack in Gaza existed at their very core to serve others. They were from different corners of the world, but they were all humanitarians. They were also sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers, partners. We honor their contributions to the world they made brighter and to the mission of WCK to nourish people in their hardest moments.   “These are people I served alongside in Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, The Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, Gaza, and Israel. They were far more than heroes,” said WCK founder and Chief Feeding Officer José Andrés. “Their work was based on the simple belief that food is a universal human right. It is not conditional on being good or bad, rich or poor, left or right. We do not ask what religion you belong to. We just ask how many meals you need.”

[Brisketexan 106,616]

Honoring our team members & calling for justice Saif. Zomi. Damian. Jacob. John. Jim. James. The seven World Central Kitchen team members killed in the April 1, 2024 attack in Gaza existed at their very core to serve others. They were from different corners of the world, but they were all humanitarians. They were also sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers, partners. We honor their contributions to the world they made brighter and to the mission of WCK to nourish people in their hardest moments.   “These are people I served alongside in Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, The Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, Gaza, and Israel. They were far more than heroes,” said WCK founder and Chief Feeding Officer José Andrés. “Their work was based on the simple belief that food is a universal human right. It is not conditional on being good or bad, rich or poor, left or right. We do not ask what religion you belong to. We just ask how many meals you need.”

Israeli counterpoint: fuck those guys. And fuck all Palestinians. Ethnic cleansing rules!*

* Unless you’re cleansing Jews, in which case, ummmm….”never again!” That’s the only circumstance in which that statement applies.

[Anastasis 23,699]

Today is the 76th anniversary of deir yassin. Within a month the mandate expired, Israel declared independence, and the Arab countries and Israel were at war. It’s been a real box of chocolates since.

 

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1,549]

once Hamas release the last of the 130+ hostages, their leadership is as good as dead. Israel will go on a relentless drone attack to find them, killing hundreds of innocents in the process. The world will howl but nothing stops Israel - except a US arms stoppage - which no US President has the guts to do.

At the same time, each and every one of the released Palestinian prisoners will be recaptured and many will have years added to their sentence for superfluous reasons. 

Wait and watch. 

[bolverk 30,228]

John Stewart from last night (roughly 8 minutes):

 

Interview with Amanpour after the above (nearly 15 minutes):

 

[bolverk 30,228]

The West Bank is heating up. While this is "news," it doesn't directly involve what's going on in Gaza, so per Blacklab's wishes, I'll refrain from posting this piece in the DT thread.

Since we're already here, I'll take the opportunity to editorialize. Think about the bolded phrase and consider that the Israeli government calls matters in the West Bank its "internal affairs." To me, this is key to understanding their mindset. To them, the West Bank is already theirs; they've staked their claim.

The only complication is what to do with the Palestinians, and their solution is to keep squeezing them into tighter enclaves until it's unbearable for the Palestinians to continue to exist. Conveniently, incrementally increasing the pressure also ramps up the backlash from Palestinians, who can then be labeled violent extremists and terrorists.

Also, consider what the Israeli government officially calls the West Bank, the Judea and Samaria Area, while the rest of the world recognizes it as Occupied Palestinian Territory. This is the crux of the entire problem, including the Gaza Strip.

The current Israeli government and Right Wingers, including in the US, already consider the West Bank and Gaza, and all the Holy Land, as de facto Israeli territory...from the river to the sea. Meanwhile, the people who have continuously lived there for millennia are, ironically, the interlopers.

And so what do we do with people who don't "belong" somewhere?

 

The death of a 14-year-old could further inflame tensions in the West Bank.

An Israeli teenager whose disappearance had led to riots by Israeli settlers in the West Bank was found dead on Saturday, the Israeli authorities said, threatening to further inflame tensions in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Binyamin Achimair, 14, had left a farming settlement in the West Bank to herd sheep on Friday morning, but never returned, according to the Israeli police. The Israeli forces later found his corpse, and the military said, without providing evidence, that he had been “murdered in a terrorist attack.”

After Binyamin’s disappearance on Friday, armed Israeli settlers stormed a Palestinian village near Ramallah, torching several buildings and cars, according to Palestinian officials and Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group. One Palestinian man — Jihad Abu Aliya — was killed during the clashes and at least 25 others wounded, according to the village mayor, Amin Abu Aliya.

Binyamin’s death and the possibility of further Israeli reprisals could ratchet up violence in the West Bank, where roughly 500,000 Israeli settlers live alongside about 2.7 million Palestinians. Over 400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces across the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 sparked Israel’s campaign in Gaza, according to the United Nations.

There was another violent Israeli riot on Saturday in Al Mughayir, the village attacked on Friday, as well as one in a different Palestinian village, Duma, said an Israeli security official. Israeli settlers, some of them armed, entered the villages, the official added, and there were reports that they had opened fire.

The clashes on Saturday in Al Mughayir left at least three Palestinians wounded, one critically, the Palestinian health ministry said. Israeli troops and the police had largely dispersed the disturbances, the Israeli official said.

“There’s no order, there’s no safety,” said Na’asan Na’asan, 28, a resident of Al Mughayir. “They’re shooting at us — why isn’t there anyone to protect us?”

The Biden administration has said Israel must do more to clamp down on violence by extremist Israeli settlers, and it has imposed sanctions on several whom it said were involved in attacks on Palestinians. Israeli leaders denounced that move as interference in the country’s internal affairs.

As Israeli troops and police officers searched for Binyamin on Friday afternoon, armed Israeli settlers burst into Al Mughayir, setting buildings and cars on fire, said Mr. Abu Aliya. In video circulated by Yesh Din, smoke can be seen billowing from some burning cars and buildings.

In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel decried Binyamin’s “heinous murder” and vowed that Israel would “close accounts” with whomever killed him. He did not explicitly mention the riot, instead telling the Israeli public to “allow the security forces to conduct their work unmolested” as they investigate the killing.

Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s parliamentary opposition, similarly condemned the teenager’s murder. But he also denounced the settler attacks, saying “the violent riots by settlers are a dangerous violation of the law, and they are hampering the forces operating on the ground.”

The Israeli military confirmed that multiple “violent riots” had taken place in the area during the search efforts on Friday. At one point, “rocks were hurled” at Israeli soldiers, leading them to open fire in response, the Israeli military said. The Israeli police and soldiers had also removed Israeli settlers who had entered Al Mughayir, the military said.

Israeli soldiers were in the area “even before the settlers arrived,” both Mr. Abu Aliya and Mr. Na’asan said, but did not block them from entering the village and torching buildings and cars. It was not immediately clear how Jihad Abu Aliya, the village resident, was killed.

Human rights groups have long charged that the Israeli authorities do not do enough to prevent violent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, and that the perpetrators are rarely arrested. An Israeli police spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment as to whether any Israelis had been arrested during the incident.

Last February, an attack by Israeli settlers devastated the Palestinian town of Huwara in the northern West Bank. At least one Palestinian was killed and 390 were wounded in the riot, according to Palestinian officials, in which Israelis burned a number of buildings and cars while terrified Palestinians fled burning homes.

[bolverk 30,228]

While I'm at it, look closely at the timeline of which religious groups have controlled Jerusalem since 2000 BCE. Now, consider who has the "legitimate" claim to the land.

Based on our upbringing within a Judeo-Christian culture, it's natural that we automatically assume that piece of dirt ought to belong to Israel because that's what we read in the Bible and were taught in Sunday school. That's our default. But look at it from the perspective of the Arab, Palestinian, or Muslim. Who has actually occupied the land longer?

 

Now, to be clear, I'm a supporter of Israel's right to exist and its right to defend itself. That opinion is based largely on the fact that Israel already does exist; it's based on the reality that 7 million Jews now inhabit the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. That's just the way it is. But there's also the reality that 7 million Palestinians also live there and have just as deep of roots and just as much of a historical claim to that territory as them.

I, obviously, also understand why the British and, subsequently, the UN decided to give some of the land to the Jews after the Holocaust. What I don't understand, and can only attribute to ethnoreligious bias, fear, and/or hatred, is the mindset of those in the DT thread and the wider world who don't recognize that Palestinians have just as much of a right to some of that land.

[BrickHorn 18,424]

On 4/9/2024 at 4:20 PM, bolverk said:

John Stewart from last night (roughly 8 minutes):

I haven’t checked it in a while, but are the DT thread morons dismissing Jon Stewart as an antisemite yet?

[bolverk 30,228]

9 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

I haven’t checked it in a while, but are the DT thread morons dismissing Jon Stewart as an antisemite yet?

A few DT morons have been actively calling for ethnic cleansing, saying Palestinians should be forced to leave the Gaza Strip. I guess advocating for actual war crimes isn't considered too political for the News section of this site.

[NAVY 6,910]

Sky news reporting Iranian drones in route to Israel.   
 

https://news.sky.com/story/israel-gaza-hamas-iran-latest-sky-news-blog-12978800

[InkaUtexas 26,798]

3 minutes ago, NAVY said:

Sky news reporting Iranian drones in route to Israel.   
 

https://news.sky.com/story/israel-gaza-hamas-iran-latest-sky-news-blog-12978800

Reuters reporting Jordan closed its airspace. Israel announced full mobilization.

Reuters link about Jordan.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/jordan-temporarily-close-airspace-state-media-says-2024-04-13/

Link about full alert.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-calls-off-school-trips-puts-forces-full-alert-amid-iran-threat-2024-04-13/

Edited April 13 by InkaUtexas
Added links.

[tx 3 putt 78,469]

8 minutes ago, NAVY said:

Sky news reporting Iranian drones in route to Israel.   
 

https://news.sky.com/story/israel-gaza-hamas-iran-latest-sky-news-blog-12978800

 

[tx 3 putt 78,469]

Send in drones to drain off sir defenses, then overwhelm said air defenses with the big stuff. I hope IDF has those laser defenses ready to go 

Edited April 13 by tx 3 putt

[InkaUtexas 26,798]

1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

Send in drones to drain off sir defenses, then overwhelm said air defenses. I hope IDF has those laser defenses ready to go 

And at the same time launch from Yemen and Lebanon. Can the IAF handle all three?

[tx 3 putt 78,469]

1 minute ago, InkaUtexas said:

And at the same time launch from Yemen and Lebanon. Can the IAF handle all three?

all hands on deck

[tx 3 putt 78,469]

F35’s should already be on the way. Can’t launch if the sites have already been bombed ….

 

Edited April 13 by tx 3 putt

[InkaUtexas 26,798]

Iraq closed its airspace. I would hate to be on a commercial flight in the area right now. We have three of our team moving around the region. All have halted their movement.

CBS broke the masters coverage to update on this.

[Fastbreak 4,012]

Seems like this is going well…

[bolverk 30,228]

Fuck. I guess this is what all the crazies have wanted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't this be the first time that Iran has directly attacked Israel?

[tx 3 putt 78,469]

2 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Iraq closed its airspace. I would hate to be on a commercial flight in the area right now. We have three of our team moving around the region. All have halted their movement.

CBS broke the masters coverage to update on this.

how stealth are the f35’s ?

does IDF have any B-2’s on ‘loan’ ?

[tx 3 putt 78,469]

Everyone fill up all their vehicles asap 

[Dbeasy 15,526]

So the F-35 has caught a lot of flak for being a mess of a development program, but we saw them fly last week at the San Antonio air show and they are really impressive. 

[bolverk 30,228]

16 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Send in drones to drain off sir defenses, then overwhelm said air defenses with the big stuff. I hope IDF has those laser defenses ready to go 

14 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

And at the same time launch from Yemen and Lebanon. Can the IAF handle all three?

Is this confirmed? I've just started scanning sites and haven't seen this yet.

[InkaUtexas 26,798]

2 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

how stealth are the f35’s ?

does IDF have any B-2’s on ‘loan’ ?

Doubt it. But Flight Tracker 24 showing US air assets (tankers) up over iraq.

[ConferenceRoom 6,210]

2 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

how stealth are the f35’s ?

does IDF have any B-2’s on ‘loan’ ?

F35 cross section makes it pretty damn stealthy. 

[InkaUtexas 26,798]

1 minute ago, bolverk said:

Is this confirmed? I've just started scanning sites and haven't seen this yet.

No, but they have the capability and coordination. It was a thought that came to mind.

[bolverk 30,228]

Jordan has announced that their air defense will help in shooting shit down. I have no idea their capabilities.

[tx 3 putt 78,469]

Just now, Dbeasy said:

So the F-35 has caught a lot of flak for being a mess of a development program, but we saw them fly last week at the San Antonio air show and they are really impressive. 

IDF F-35’s have upgraded next gen electronics package, I believe ?

US F-35’s will soon have the same, I believe.

2 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Doubt it. But Flight Tracker 24 showing US air assets (tankers) up over iraq.

jets are on the way is my guess 

[Fastbreak 4,012]

Jordan has announced that their air defense will help in shooting shit down. I have no idea their capabilities.

For what side?

[bolverk 30,228]

Just now, Fastbreak said:

For what side?

To help Israel

[immamac 44,199]

What does this even look like for Iran? 

[InkaUtexas 26,798]

6 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Jordan has announced that their air defense will help in shooting shit down. I have no idea their capabilities.

Wiki says they have upgraded HAWKS.

[tx 3 putt 78,469]

Just now, immamac said:

What does this even look like for Iran?