I have signed off on my paid subscription to seek ACTIVE ways to get 86 Trump and his oarsmen from office. But I feel compelled to put my two cents in on this issue with Israel and Gaza. I will share my biases openly.
I am a Jew and proud of it. I lost a lot of my family on one side in the death camps in Poland. I have little genealogical history of my paternal side. I have scholars, rabbis, social workers, physicians, and many tradesmen in my family. I have experienced anti-semitism as a youngster and as a physician. Despite being a negative experience, I sublimated such events and grew as a person because of these occurrences.
I am shocked, upset, and disgusted with the so-called civilized world that has watched one genocide after another. The UN is worthless in my opinion. What Putin has done in Chechnya, Kosovo, Georgia, and Ukraine should have been answered with the free world, including the US, coming together and standing up to Putin and threatening him in any and every way to STOP. What is happening now in Ukraine leaves me wishing to buy a sailboat and head for the open seas. People disappoint. The free world is bullshit. Pontification prevails. Beam me up, Scotty.
What is happening in Gaza is genocide. Shame on you, Netanyahu. I hold you with the same disgust and disdain as I do Putin. All those lives lost. All the children and adults who have been maimed. All the buildings that were razed to rubble. Use your special forces; be surgical in your strikes. Feed and support the Palestinians who have been harmed by collateral damage. Attempt to unite the Palestinian population to fight against Hamas and "evict" them from Gaza. There is no chance of lasting peace vis-à-vis the present approach of utter destruction of human life.
Shame on you, Arab States. You built a steel wall across the Southern border of Gaza. Shame on you, US government, for helping them do so. All the wealth in the Arab countries, and they do nothing to help those in Gaza. As for out despicable POTUS, you are a piece of crap for kissing the asses of those in Qatar, but you can't help yourself because you idolize the uber-rich and the other bullies in positions of power.
This is my take on Gaza. All of these lives, in Israel, in Gaza, in Ukraine- lost! The families torn asunder, the chance of any life to exist, and maybe change our world for the better, is gone.
We humans are a primitive lot. I know beautiful people whose minds and souls light up a room.
"There is a limited amount of intelligence in the world, and the population keeps growing." — Strum
Thank you deeply for your contributions—not just as a paid subscriber, but as a thoughtful and heartfelt participant in this ongoing conversation. Your voice, your experiences, and the passion with which you speak are exactly what makes this community vibrant and essential.
First, let me acknowledge the moral weight and personal history you’ve brought to this conversation. The loss your family suffered, the antisemitism you’ve endured, and your disgust at repeated global failures to act are both profoundly human and deeply justified. You’re right to feel outraged, hurt, and exhausted by a world that too often promises justice yet rarely delivers it.
I also want to clearly validate your moral clarity regarding what’s happening in Gaza. Your critique of Netanyahu and Putin is powerful, justified, and aligns closely with the core of what I was trying to articulate in my piece. I’m grateful you shared these thoughts openly, because they embody exactly the type of moral courage I believe we desperately need.
But I want to gently clarify something else important here: what I’m doing, what we are collectively doing here, is not passive pontification. It’s something more fundamental and urgently necessary—though perhaps not obviously so.
Action is essential. But action requires clarity, coherence, and above all, moral courage. It demands we first have a shared understanding of what we’re acting for and what we’re acting against. Without that shared narrative, without an organizing principle and a vision of the future we are working towards, our actions—even when courageous and well-intentioned—risk dissipating into futility.
What I’m engaged in here, and what you’re a crucial participant in, is precisely this project of clarifying our moral compass and building that coherent narrative. I understand that might feel indirect or abstract at times. But history has shown us repeatedly that meaningful change doesn’t happen without first achieving clarity about what that change must be, and why it matters enough to fight for.
You’re right—humanity often disappoints. But rebellion begins when we reject despair in favor of meaningful resistance, when we insist that a different narrative is possible and worth working towards, when we create the shared vocabulary that allows us to collectively act with purpose.
Your voice in this conversation is not only welcome—it’s vital. This is action. It’s the foundation upon which more concrete action can stand. I’m honored to have your voice as part of it, and I hope you’ll continue sharing your clarity, your passion, and your moral courage. We need it now more than ever.
Don't fear putting down words that show the depth of your humanity.
Nothing here is argumentative unless one chooses only to argue. Nothing here is antisemitic unless one looks at everything as antisemitism. Nothing here is leading with falsehoods unless one digs for something to falsify.
Calm your nerves as quickly as you can. There's enough to be genuinely terrified of and we need to steady ourselves if we're going to get through.
Thank you for your transparency and courage to speak what feels like the closest to truth I’ve encountered on this divisive topic. This feels like clear seeing. You named the fundamental issue beneath the content and demonstrated how to respond differently in this post. Really wonderful. Thank you!
Thank you, Mike, for your reply to my comment. I have let your input sauté for a while before further commenting on my part. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, and being required to serve in the military from 1970 to 1972 during the Vietnam War, has allowed me insights that others younger than I am do not have.
I remain cynical about the American public's ability to expend energy and time on issues that are life-changing, whether it be the health of their family and themselves or the health of a nation. Not to misuse the term Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), I believe we have ADD in the American public vis-à-vis years of diminishing the value of in-depth conversation that relies on fact-based sources. What I am saying is that we have become a country of glitz and superficiality, and that this has a multifaceted etiology (e.g., poorer education, discounting the wisdom of the elders, and too much focus on "cosmetics" rather than what lies beneath the skin). A majority of Americans lead a McLife, an abridged version of what life should be. One time, as I was entering the hospital to make rounds on patients, I passed a colleague who said, "How are you doing?" I answered him with, "I'm dying." His response was "Have a nice day." We do not speak to one another. We are afraid of confrontation. What we do is often a "wham, bang, thank you ma'am" approach to many things that matter in life.
What you present regarding the current state of our government are issues that my son, Adam Mathew Strum, and I wrote about in 2020, before the presidential election. See What We Must Demand For Our Democracy to Survive on Amazon. http://tinyurl.com/2j4b3acd
Mike, I am sure many readers are not aware of current events or do not invest the time and energy required to stay current. Your commentary, at least for Adam and me, is of a more valuable context in a university course on political ideology and reform. Your writing is masterful; it is scholarly in nature. But, and please accept my well-intended critique, it is not palatable to the many who are satisfied with "abridged" information, or what I call McInformation. Hollywood has inhibited the growth of intellectualism in this country. People want sensationalism. Look at how much of the news is given to P. Diddy, indicted for sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Compare this with the death of Mother Teresa or the life and death of Daniel Ellsberg. Our priorities are a mess in this country.
As a nation, we have been shown historically what a megalomaniacal POTUS is capable of doing. Nixon's lies to Americans about Vietnam cost 58,000 Americans and two million Vietnamese their lives, not to speak of the grief and effects on loved ones. As a nation, we are foolish to forget the lessons of our recent history. "I mean what in God's name have we been fighting for in this country for two or three hundred years to have the right to speak and the right to publish, the right to think, against a threat by the government,"- James Goodale in the context of the release of the Pentagon Papers.
Mike, I appreciate your positive statements about my comments, but what I feel would improve this Substack is not to delve so deeply into political science, but to speak clearly about the violations of the Constitution when they occur. Then, with this foundation, relate your ideas about what we can do as individuals or in groups to alter the political nightmare we are in. This is our top priority regarding our life, liberty, and happiness. Of course, by "our" I include all who follow after us. How do we extract Constitutional violators from political office? And, by God, if we are fortunate to accomplish this at our late stage, how do we end all the political absurdities that both parties indulge in so that the people are protected, and not the power of the bureaucracy? How do we fully and fiercely prioritize in government the issues that most affect life, human and planetary? I would like to hear the views of your readers on what they are doing and what they think should be done, because we are now at a stage where "deeds" matter the most. We have passed the stage of normalizing and rationalizing the devious behavior of Trump & his Administration. I do not believe for a minute that we will have legitimate elections in the future with Trump in office. The midterms will either be deferred or it will be "trumped up."
Lastly, the Democratic Party and its representatives in Congress and locally need to emphasize that Trump et al cannot help themselves- they have to confess to what they will do or are doing. They will do that via projection, which involves accusing others or attacking others for actions that they will then initiate. The mainstream media must "grow a pair" and stand up for the constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and other fundamental rights. That should be a mandate among the actual news stations and periodicals.
▶︎ Attention! Projection Detected. Trump says the Democrats will rig the midterms.
Analysis: Trump et al will rig the midterms.
▶︎ Attention! Projection Detected. The Biden Administration attempted to destroy America. Analysis: Trump, Musk, and myrmidons will try to destroy America. DOGE (Destroy Our Great Experiment).
I hope this is received in the spirit in which it is written.
This is beautifully said. I, too, have shied away from talking and writing about this because of the need to acknowledge such moral complexity, so many competing truths, so much hate, disappointment, and fear. Thank you for this piece. It’s beautifully written and thought and felt.
Mike, I absolutely agree with the sentiment expressed here. I've felt the same frustration over Israel and Gaza. I've written with one eye always at my back, trying to figure out which tribe will attack me for a particular stance I take. We are stuck in a cycle of performative outrage over extreme binary positions with little room for nuance or both/and thinking. Two seemingly opposing ideas can both be true. The Netanyahu government is morally bankrupt AND Hamas is morally bankrupt. Neither side can claim the high ground in this issue. It's a major problem and I appreciate your ability to write on it with clarity.
Well said, Mike. Reflecting on human history of colonialism, slavery, etc, I would only emphasize that the terror of expressing moral clarity goes back a very long time. The programming imposed on us (whatever "side" you happen to be born into) is ubiquitous. So much would change if all peoples could truly see the world around them with uninhibited moral clarity.
Hamas deliberately lured Israel into over-retaliating until it is condemned by the entire world. Like all terrorists Hamas is evil, that is, for them, idea (unreal by nature) primes reality (lives, suffering, joy, meaning). Self-sacrifice makes them no better: becoming a willing victim of their own inhumanity only deepens that inhumanity. One of the terrorist’s goals is to goad others into losing their humanity too. In this Hamas can toast its success.
We ourselves must resolutely refuse the false choice of which of two indefensible positions is morally better. Even to enter into the relativity of blame is to abdicate moral clarity.
I was watching a panel discussion on Ukraine with Michel Collon and a French historian who drew attention to what led to the Ukraine invasion. I appreciate Collon’s work and much of what they point out is true. But it nudges us toward a moral relativism that I cannot condone. No matter who did what in the preceding years, it does not and cannot mitigate Putin’s responsibility. The fact is that he, and he alone, sent a million Russian men to their deaths and destroyed Ukraine, and nothing can alter that reality. The jury might sympathize with you for having such annoying neighbors, but if you’ve killed them, you are the murderer!
Your writing is on fire at the moment Mike Brock. Notwithstanding the trembling of your hands, you wield words with ferocious clarity and a steady grip on the heart-compass of love. And I’m both grateful and filled with useful shame at my failure to post with courage and clarity on Gaza and a host of other ‘eggshell’ issues. Aka zones of suffering and brutality which fester the more for the moral collapse that turning a collective blind eye facilitates. Thank you.
Its a tough subject to write on. Hamas clearly crossed the line targeting civilians. If they limited the attack to military targets it could be justified. That said, I cant imagine they thought they were on anything but a suicide mission given Israels $1 billion high tech wall with sensors, cameras, remote control machine guns, drones and nearby military bases.
But they crossed the line and Israel was certainly justified in responding if they were indeed surprised. However, they too have long since crossed the line. Between bombs, missiles, bullets, lack of adequate medical care, disease, starvation almost 10% of the population is dead and Bibi has said he wants the rest gone. There is a word for that.
Its hard for me to understand anyone supporting this.
I did the following post 10 days after 10/7. Its aged well despite my awful writing.
Hamas did not ‘cross the line’, Hamas deliberately lured Israel into over-retaliating until it is condemned by the entire world. Hamas like all terrorists is evil, that is, their behavior is determined by an idea and not by other considerations (such as lives). Terrorists do not ‘overstep’. They only attain their goals with varying degrees of success. Their willingness to sacrifice their own lives make them no better, only worse: not only aren’t they humane toward others, they are inhumane toward themselves too. One of their goals is to goad others into losing their humanity too. In this Hamas succeeded.
Barring some sort of truly dystopian future, I can promise you that the Gaza genocide will be spoken of in the same breath as the Holocaust. You might want to try a little harder here.
The western empire will go to hell for this. Nihilistic to the core.
With the proviso I don’t agree with Olmert’s soft-hearted and (-headed) judgment. Already Israel has lost almost as many again as were lost on 10/7. From doing a ground invasion instead of strictly aerial attacks. That is, they chose to lose more of their own than necessary in order to avoid indiscriminate attacks. Yet everyone blood libels them with this canard anyway. And worse: “the g-word.” At least if people acknowledged that Israel was aiming for a higher standard and had achieved it (1:1 civilian:terrorist ratio of fatalities (as opposed to USA in Iraq (maybe 10:1)) and that Hamas was the one now actually starving its people, then they could ask for greater compassion from Israel. Instead the verbal and political attacks on Israel have lengthened the war by giving Hamas and its Gazans hope that someone from outside would stop the war and they would not feel the consequences of their actions.
I have signed off on my paid subscription to seek ACTIVE ways to get 86 Trump and his oarsmen from office. But I feel compelled to put my two cents in on this issue with Israel and Gaza. I will share my biases openly.
I am a Jew and proud of it. I lost a lot of my family on one side in the death camps in Poland. I have little genealogical history of my paternal side. I have scholars, rabbis, social workers, physicians, and many tradesmen in my family. I have experienced anti-semitism as a youngster and as a physician. Despite being a negative experience, I sublimated such events and grew as a person because of these occurrences.
I am shocked, upset, and disgusted with the so-called civilized world that has watched one genocide after another. The UN is worthless in my opinion. What Putin has done in Chechnya, Kosovo, Georgia, and Ukraine should have been answered with the free world, including the US, coming together and standing up to Putin and threatening him in any and every way to STOP. What is happening now in Ukraine leaves me wishing to buy a sailboat and head for the open seas. People disappoint. The free world is bullshit. Pontification prevails. Beam me up, Scotty.
What is happening in Gaza is genocide. Shame on you, Netanyahu. I hold you with the same disgust and disdain as I do Putin. All those lives lost. All the children and adults who have been maimed. All the buildings that were razed to rubble. Use your special forces; be surgical in your strikes. Feed and support the Palestinians who have been harmed by collateral damage. Attempt to unite the Palestinian population to fight against Hamas and "evict" them from Gaza. There is no chance of lasting peace vis-à-vis the present approach of utter destruction of human life.
Shame on you, Arab States. You built a steel wall across the Southern border of Gaza. Shame on you, US government, for helping them do so. All the wealth in the Arab countries, and they do nothing to help those in Gaza. As for out despicable POTUS, you are a piece of crap for kissing the asses of those in Qatar, but you can't help yourself because you idolize the uber-rich and the other bullies in positions of power.
This is my take on Gaza. All of these lives, in Israel, in Gaza, in Ukraine- lost! The families torn asunder, the chance of any life to exist, and maybe change our world for the better, is gone.
We humans are a primitive lot. I know beautiful people whose minds and souls light up a room.
"There is a limited amount of intelligence in the world, and the population keeps growing." — Strum
Thank you deeply for your contributions—not just as a paid subscriber, but as a thoughtful and heartfelt participant in this ongoing conversation. Your voice, your experiences, and the passion with which you speak are exactly what makes this community vibrant and essential.
First, let me acknowledge the moral weight and personal history you’ve brought to this conversation. The loss your family suffered, the antisemitism you’ve endured, and your disgust at repeated global failures to act are both profoundly human and deeply justified. You’re right to feel outraged, hurt, and exhausted by a world that too often promises justice yet rarely delivers it.
I also want to clearly validate your moral clarity regarding what’s happening in Gaza. Your critique of Netanyahu and Putin is powerful, justified, and aligns closely with the core of what I was trying to articulate in my piece. I’m grateful you shared these thoughts openly, because they embody exactly the type of moral courage I believe we desperately need.
But I want to gently clarify something else important here: what I’m doing, what we are collectively doing here, is not passive pontification. It’s something more fundamental and urgently necessary—though perhaps not obviously so.
Action is essential. But action requires clarity, coherence, and above all, moral courage. It demands we first have a shared understanding of what we’re acting for and what we’re acting against. Without that shared narrative, without an organizing principle and a vision of the future we are working towards, our actions—even when courageous and well-intentioned—risk dissipating into futility.
What I’m engaged in here, and what you’re a crucial participant in, is precisely this project of clarifying our moral compass and building that coherent narrative. I understand that might feel indirect or abstract at times. But history has shown us repeatedly that meaningful change doesn’t happen without first achieving clarity about what that change must be, and why it matters enough to fight for.
You’re right—humanity often disappoints. But rebellion begins when we reject despair in favor of meaningful resistance, when we insist that a different narrative is possible and worth working towards, when we create the shared vocabulary that allows us to collectively act with purpose.
Your voice in this conversation is not only welcome—it’s vital. This is action. It’s the foundation upon which more concrete action can stand. I’m honored to have your voice as part of it, and I hope you’ll continue sharing your clarity, your passion, and your moral courage. We need it now more than ever.
Warmly,
Mike
Thank you for this Dr. Strum ✡️
Don't fear putting down words that show the depth of your humanity.
Nothing here is argumentative unless one chooses only to argue. Nothing here is antisemitic unless one looks at everything as antisemitism. Nothing here is leading with falsehoods unless one digs for something to falsify.
Calm your nerves as quickly as you can. There's enough to be genuinely terrified of and we need to steady ourselves if we're going to get through.
Courageous. Thank you.
Thank you for your transparency and courage to speak what feels like the closest to truth I’ve encountered on this divisive topic. This feels like clear seeing. You named the fundamental issue beneath the content and demonstrated how to respond differently in this post. Really wonderful. Thank you!
From Neils Bohr: Sometimes the opposite of one profound truth is another profound truth.
Thank you, Mike, for your reply to my comment. I have let your input sauté for a while before further commenting on my part. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, and being required to serve in the military from 1970 to 1972 during the Vietnam War, has allowed me insights that others younger than I am do not have.
I remain cynical about the American public's ability to expend energy and time on issues that are life-changing, whether it be the health of their family and themselves or the health of a nation. Not to misuse the term Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), I believe we have ADD in the American public vis-à-vis years of diminishing the value of in-depth conversation that relies on fact-based sources. What I am saying is that we have become a country of glitz and superficiality, and that this has a multifaceted etiology (e.g., poorer education, discounting the wisdom of the elders, and too much focus on "cosmetics" rather than what lies beneath the skin). A majority of Americans lead a McLife, an abridged version of what life should be. One time, as I was entering the hospital to make rounds on patients, I passed a colleague who said, "How are you doing?" I answered him with, "I'm dying." His response was "Have a nice day." We do not speak to one another. We are afraid of confrontation. What we do is often a "wham, bang, thank you ma'am" approach to many things that matter in life.
What you present regarding the current state of our government are issues that my son, Adam Mathew Strum, and I wrote about in 2020, before the presidential election. See What We Must Demand For Our Democracy to Survive on Amazon. http://tinyurl.com/2j4b3acd
Mike, I am sure many readers are not aware of current events or do not invest the time and energy required to stay current. Your commentary, at least for Adam and me, is of a more valuable context in a university course on political ideology and reform. Your writing is masterful; it is scholarly in nature. But, and please accept my well-intended critique, it is not palatable to the many who are satisfied with "abridged" information, or what I call McInformation. Hollywood has inhibited the growth of intellectualism in this country. People want sensationalism. Look at how much of the news is given to P. Diddy, indicted for sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Compare this with the death of Mother Teresa or the life and death of Daniel Ellsberg. Our priorities are a mess in this country.
As a nation, we have been shown historically what a megalomaniacal POTUS is capable of doing. Nixon's lies to Americans about Vietnam cost 58,000 Americans and two million Vietnamese their lives, not to speak of the grief and effects on loved ones. As a nation, we are foolish to forget the lessons of our recent history. "I mean what in God's name have we been fighting for in this country for two or three hundred years to have the right to speak and the right to publish, the right to think, against a threat by the government,"- James Goodale in the context of the release of the Pentagon Papers.
Mike, I appreciate your positive statements about my comments, but what I feel would improve this Substack is not to delve so deeply into political science, but to speak clearly about the violations of the Constitution when they occur. Then, with this foundation, relate your ideas about what we can do as individuals or in groups to alter the political nightmare we are in. This is our top priority regarding our life, liberty, and happiness. Of course, by "our" I include all who follow after us. How do we extract Constitutional violators from political office? And, by God, if we are fortunate to accomplish this at our late stage, how do we end all the political absurdities that both parties indulge in so that the people are protected, and not the power of the bureaucracy? How do we fully and fiercely prioritize in government the issues that most affect life, human and planetary? I would like to hear the views of your readers on what they are doing and what they think should be done, because we are now at a stage where "deeds" matter the most. We have passed the stage of normalizing and rationalizing the devious behavior of Trump & his Administration. I do not believe for a minute that we will have legitimate elections in the future with Trump in office. The midterms will either be deferred or it will be "trumped up."
Lastly, the Democratic Party and its representatives in Congress and locally need to emphasize that Trump et al cannot help themselves- they have to confess to what they will do or are doing. They will do that via projection, which involves accusing others or attacking others for actions that they will then initiate. The mainstream media must "grow a pair" and stand up for the constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and other fundamental rights. That should be a mandate among the actual news stations and periodicals.
▶︎ Attention! Projection Detected. Trump says the Democrats will rig the midterms.
Analysis: Trump et al will rig the midterms.
▶︎ Attention! Projection Detected. The Biden Administration attempted to destroy America. Analysis: Trump, Musk, and myrmidons will try to destroy America. DOGE (Destroy Our Great Experiment).
I hope this is received in the spirit in which it is written.
This is beautifully said. I, too, have shied away from talking and writing about this because of the need to acknowledge such moral complexity, so many competing truths, so much hate, disappointment, and fear. Thank you for this piece. It’s beautifully written and thought and felt.
Mike, I absolutely agree with the sentiment expressed here. I've felt the same frustration over Israel and Gaza. I've written with one eye always at my back, trying to figure out which tribe will attack me for a particular stance I take. We are stuck in a cycle of performative outrage over extreme binary positions with little room for nuance or both/and thinking. Two seemingly opposing ideas can both be true. The Netanyahu government is morally bankrupt AND Hamas is morally bankrupt. Neither side can claim the high ground in this issue. It's a major problem and I appreciate your ability to write on it with clarity.
Sad, honest, and beautifully worded. Thank you for writing this and for your courage!
Well said, Mike. Reflecting on human history of colonialism, slavery, etc, I would only emphasize that the terror of expressing moral clarity goes back a very long time. The programming imposed on us (whatever "side" you happen to be born into) is ubiquitous. So much would change if all peoples could truly see the world around them with uninhibited moral clarity.
Hamas deliberately lured Israel into over-retaliating until it is condemned by the entire world. Like all terrorists Hamas is evil, that is, for them, idea (unreal by nature) primes reality (lives, suffering, joy, meaning). Self-sacrifice makes them no better: becoming a willing victim of their own inhumanity only deepens that inhumanity. One of the terrorist’s goals is to goad others into losing their humanity too. In this Hamas can toast its success.
We ourselves must resolutely refuse the false choice of which of two indefensible positions is morally better. Even to enter into the relativity of blame is to abdicate moral clarity.
I was watching a panel discussion on Ukraine with Michel Collon and a French historian who drew attention to what led to the Ukraine invasion. I appreciate Collon’s work and much of what they point out is true. But it nudges us toward a moral relativism that I cannot condone. No matter who did what in the preceding years, it does not and cannot mitigate Putin’s responsibility. The fact is that he, and he alone, sent a million Russian men to their deaths and destroyed Ukraine, and nothing can alter that reality. The jury might sympathize with you for having such annoying neighbors, but if you’ve killed them, you are the murderer!
Your writing is on fire at the moment Mike Brock. Notwithstanding the trembling of your hands, you wield words with ferocious clarity and a steady grip on the heart-compass of love. And I’m both grateful and filled with useful shame at my failure to post with courage and clarity on Gaza and a host of other ‘eggshell’ issues. Aka zones of suffering and brutality which fester the more for the moral collapse that turning a collective blind eye facilitates. Thank you.
Finally, it has been spoken. Thank you.
Its a tough subject to write on. Hamas clearly crossed the line targeting civilians. If they limited the attack to military targets it could be justified. That said, I cant imagine they thought they were on anything but a suicide mission given Israels $1 billion high tech wall with sensors, cameras, remote control machine guns, drones and nearby military bases.
But they crossed the line and Israel was certainly justified in responding if they were indeed surprised. However, they too have long since crossed the line. Between bombs, missiles, bullets, lack of adequate medical care, disease, starvation almost 10% of the population is dead and Bibi has said he wants the rest gone. There is a word for that.
Its hard for me to understand anyone supporting this.
I did the following post 10 days after 10/7. Its aged well despite my awful writing.
https://pete843.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-israel-hamas-gaza
Hamas did not ‘cross the line’, Hamas deliberately lured Israel into over-retaliating until it is condemned by the entire world. Hamas like all terrorists is evil, that is, their behavior is determined by an idea and not by other considerations (such as lives). Terrorists do not ‘overstep’. They only attain their goals with varying degrees of success. Their willingness to sacrifice their own lives make them no better, only worse: not only aren’t they humane toward others, they are inhumane toward themselves too. One of their goals is to goad others into losing their humanity too. In this Hamas succeeded.
I missed your post at the time... but agree that it has aged well. An excellent contribution.
Barring some sort of truly dystopian future, I can promise you that the Gaza genocide will be spoken of in the same breath as the Holocaust. You might want to try a little harder here.
The western empire will go to hell for this. Nihilistic to the core.
With the proviso I don’t agree with Olmert’s soft-hearted and (-headed) judgment. Already Israel has lost almost as many again as were lost on 10/7. From doing a ground invasion instead of strictly aerial attacks. That is, they chose to lose more of their own than necessary in order to avoid indiscriminate attacks. Yet everyone blood libels them with this canard anyway. And worse: “the g-word.” At least if people acknowledged that Israel was aiming for a higher standard and had achieved it (1:1 civilian:terrorist ratio of fatalities (as opposed to USA in Iraq (maybe 10:1)) and that Hamas was the one now actually starving its people, then they could ask for greater compassion from Israel. Instead the verbal and political attacks on Israel have lengthened the war by giving Hamas and its Gazans hope that someone from outside would stop the war and they would not feel the consequences of their actions.