It is hypocritical to protest Israel but be silent on Syria and Yemen
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Since the October 7 pogrom by Hamas – the worst atrocity committed against Jews since the Holocaust – the world has witnessed not an outpouring of grief for the 1,200 Israelis killed, but an alarming increase in Jew-hatred.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken place on university campuses across the US, with expressions of support for Hamas seen and heard at some of these. Mob-like behaviour as well as threats against Jews have been tolerated and, in some instances, even encouraged by faculty and administrations.
I have no issue with those who call for peace – even if I believe peace between Israelis and Palestinians is further away than ever before – nor with those who lament the loss of innocent Palestinian lives, which is undoubtedly tragic. Civilians invariably pay a disproportionate price in all armed conflicts, and there were many Israeli civilians, including babies and the elderly, among those killed and kidnapped by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other armed Palestinian groups during their barbaric attack on October 7.
Palestinian civilians have suffered since October 7 – more than 15,000 people have been killed, including more than 6,000 children. But the protests that have erupted since that day are not just about calling for peace or expressing sympathy for the loss of Palestinian lives. These protests display a fury not seen in connection with any other conflict in the recent past, even when the scale of the death and destruction in those conflicts, and the length of time they have lasted, has been far greater than that of the current war in Gaza.
Since the Syrian civil war erupted in March 2011, more than 500,000 people have been killed by the Syrian regime. The vast majority were civilians. As many as 400,000 Yemenis are believed to have died as a direct or indirect result of the war in that country, with 70 percent of those deaths being of children under the age of five. Earlier this year, 10,000 people were killed and millions were displaced as a result of ethnic violence in West Darfur.
Where were the widespread, angry university protests about the loss of innocent lives in these countries? The response to these deaths – where there has been any at all – has been far more muted. For some reason, they do not seem to evoke the same spasms of moral outrage.
I cannot escape the conclusion that this is because Israel is held to a very different standard.
As the White House Middle East envoy from 2017 to 2019, I supported Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as they waged what I believed to be a just war against the Houthis in Yemen. They and their Yemeni allies were faced with a similar choice to that now confronting Israel – kill or be killed.
Nations must be able to protect their populations from attack. It is a tragedy that innocent people are killed in the process. The loss of innocent Palestinian lives is tragic, just as the loss of innocent Syrian lives, Yemeni lives and Darfurian lives is tragic. But we must recognise that it is Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad who brought on this tragedy.
Israel has an obligation to defend itself. Wars have terrible consequences, but just wars must be fought. I can fully support Israel’s war on Hamas, under whose brutal rule Palestinians have suffered for decades, while lamenting the loss of innocent Palestinian lives. I recognise that Israel has been left with no other choice. The only realistic solution for Israel, the Palestinians and indeed the Arab world is to uproot groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. I unequivocally defend Israel’s actions and believe that what it is doing is necessary for its survival and will make the region and the rest of the world safer.
But to those who protest against it on university campuses, I ask: Where were you when Syrians, Yemenis or Darfurians were being killed? What is it that motivates you to protest so furiously now? I think the answer can be found in the fact that anti-Semitic attacks have reached shocking levels in the US. According to the Anti-Defamation League, from October 7 until October 23, anti-Semitic incidents rose by about 400 percent compared to the same period last year. It is hatred of Jews, hatred of Israel and support for Hamas – a group designated a terrorist organisation by the US, the UK and the EU, which has vowed to destroy Israel and to repeat the atrocities of October 7 again and again – that motivates you. It is time to acknowledge and speak this truth.
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Finally! .. I have been bitching about this very thing and was told that I could not live in the past - hard to argue with ignorance like that.....
From Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises:
"How did you go bankrupt?" Bill asked.
"Two ways," Mike said. "Gradually and then suddenly."
We are seeing for the first time the results of what has been taught in the university.
... and it is frightening. In the 80s I had opinionated professors with some odd world views but nothing like what we are seeing today with professors actually verbally attacking and threatening Jewish students.
I am a firm believer in free speech .. but this has tested my resolve - yet I still believe that free speech is what continues to make the United States a great nation above all others .. but..... that said some of this is going too far .. it is teetering on the edge of being hate crimes..
Free speech is one thing, teaching is another.
Agreed Vic .. at some point teaching has become indoctrination rather than an exercise of free speech
And they can't deny it any longer. This incident highlighted what has been going on.
I think many people in this country are wondering where all these pro-Palestinian demonstrators suddenly came from.
Agreed .. yet much of what I am seeing and hearing is more pro Hamas than pro-Palestinian .. it is unnerving.
More than likely, because most of them lean liberal, the anti semitism and racism has always been there, but the Oct 7 incident gave the OK to put it all out in the open.
Fair point, yet there are so many young people that know nothing different .. have no idea what choice is - they do not understand that they could rise up, it is just not an option.
When the ambassador asks why is this happening on the college campus he sounds like this is something new. It isn't, history will tell you that racism/prejudice against Jews has been going on for thousands of years, and it is not a new phenomenon. Is it more up front today than 5 years ago yes it is, it is worse today than it was 50 years ago in the US, no it isn't.
Why do people hate Jews, I cannot explain it but it seems ingrained in a good part of the world.
As far as his question regarding Yemen, Syria and Dufar those countries are not on America's radar, they have probably never met a person from any of those countries or could they find them on a map. The killing is still going on in those countries. Most Americans are familiar with Jews or know Jewish people and are well aware of the Holocaust, and Jewish history plus there are numerous Jews in our political ranks by to my knowledge there are no Yemenis, Syrians, or people from Dufar nor do Americans know the history of the people or the countries.
Is Israel held to a different standard, yes it is. Why? it's the same answer as to why is there hatred of the Jews for thousands of years no one has an answer.
As for Yemen there are somewhere between 200K and 250K Yemeni Jews living in Israel. They came to Israel in the late 1940s and 50s.
The antisemitic / pro Hamas [whatever one wants to call it] rallies on US campuses is rather new. There have been other conflicts between Hamas and Israel and American campuses did not erupt.
I agree that the hate is nothing new - but I think the way that so many Americans are openly showing the hate is .. I think even the supremist groups are a bit shocked.
P.s... I find it hard to believe that especially Syria is not on Americas radar .. far too much has happened since the Arab Spring and Obama's redline over Assad's use of chemicals on citizens of Syria .. there was a mass exodus of Syrians to the EU .. Daesh established a caliphate .. American troops are being targeted there as I type - Americans may choose to ignore it, but they are aware.
Have a nice night...
In that sense you're correct, but there has always been antisemitic feelings on college campuses just as it has manifested itself in other parts of life.
I agree with that and it's been an unexpected gift to Hamas.
Excellent way of putting it .. Hamas, a flipping terrorist group is winning the PR war world wide. Mind boggling
Now the anti-Semitism is being taught along with a lot of other evil filth.
It is, but worse than that, our youth have no context for what led us to this point, so they have no way to evaluate what they are being taught. My sister took social science course as a political science major, but at least our whole generation knew the history. It might have been because we were old enough to be closer to the event, but there you have it.
Now young minds, taking social sciences, have no background.
You got it Perrie. Young students don't seem to be up to questioning their teachers.
The Jewish students don't even feel safe on campus. Why in the world is the government funding these schools?
We have to educate our kids. The question is why are these professors not thrown out?
That I think is the million-dollar question Perrie .. some of these professors seem to have great power in academia.
I recall Thomas Sowell talking about when he was an assistant economics professor at Cornell in the late 60's. He said the universities had already begun a program of keeping out professors and faculty who had an opposing view to the prevailing Marxist views. The government funded them, and it went on for all these decades right under our noses, though many knew it was going on. Today the faculties are now enormous and highly paid. They live in their bubble and the country suffers the consequences.
They didn't fund these professors. They funded the schools. There is a difference. They should have said, if you want money, we want a say in your education policies. That would have made sense.
If the government stops funding the schools, somebody will get the message and hopefully the tenured Marxist professors will be put out to pasture.
That is only a hope. Thus far only one Presidential candidate has promised to do just that.
One of the problems is many of these professors are tenured so it is virtually impossible to get rid of them.
The influence faculty has over students seems almost cult like .. I am struggling to understand why and in what classes is anti-Jewish and pro Hamas being taught? I know several law schools spoke out against Israel .. what part of the law is that? Perhaps I am trying to make sense out of something that makes no sense.
Peace...
Prove that ANTI-SEMITISM is being TAUGHT.
With words from such teaching, not your opinion .
Opposing something Israel does is not necessarily ANTI-SEMITISM.
You have said that American college students are BEING TAUGHT anti-semitism. What is your proof of that ?
Do you think American college students are being taught anti-semitism? Id ask you the same question I asked Vic ? What is the evidence that they are being taught to be anti-semitic?
There are only a small handful of people on this forum that vocally object to your outlandish statements. Thats a shame because everybody should be objecting to them.
Marxist history is based on the oppressors and the oppressed. Somehow the Israelis got portrayed as if they were white Europeans waging wars of conquest and taking lands, while the Palestinians were portrayed as the others who were victimized.
It requires an impressionable young mind & a lot of imagination to buy it.
I know several law schools spoke out against Israel .. what part of the law is that?
Believe it or not, such things as CRT sprung out of Harvard Law School.
Where exactly do you think they are taught "from the river to the sea".
Do you think all of them are taught that at home?
You will have a great chance tomorrow, when I'll be discussing your outlandish statements.
Keep your eye on the ball tonight.
There are many.
Here is exhibit A:
An instructor at Stanford University has been removed from teaching duties as the school investigates reports that during a discussion on the conflict between Israel and Hamas , the instructor downplayed the Holocaust and singled out students “based on their backgrounds and identities.”
“Without prejudging the matter, this report is a cause for serious concern. Academic freedom does not permit the identity-based targeting of students,” Stanford said in a statement Wednesday.
“The instructor in this course is not currently teaching while the university works to ascertain the facts of the situation,” the statement continued.
A Stanford University instructor has been removed from the classroom amid reports they called Jewish students colonizers and downplayed the Holocaust | CNN
So you got one guy. And I do agree that down playing the Holocaust would be anti-semitism.
Most of the Holocaust denial in America over the years comes from the right. Has the political right in America spread anti-semitism through holocaust denial ?
Just opposing Israel vis a vis the palestinians is not necessarily anti-semitism.
That is just reality.
I trust you have more than one example for your sweeping unhinged assertion.
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By the way saying that Jewish people "colonized" some land is not necessarily anti-semitism. Otherwise saying Spain colonized North America would be anti-Spainard. No one makes such an argument.
[deleted]
You dont scare anybody here Vic. Certainly not me. You lose every single argument you get into.
[This comment stands, due to Vic responding to it.]
I have a lot more than one guy. Take the blinders off.
And I do agree that down playing the Holocaust would be anti-semitism.
Oh, I'm glad to hear it.
Most of the Holocaust denial in America over the years comes from the right. Has the political right in America spread anti-semitism through holocaust denial ?
Holocaust denial is idiotic not ideological. The vast amount of anti-Semitism now comes from the left.
Just opposing Israel vis a vis the palestinians is not necessarily anti-semitism.
On the heels of the Hamas atrocity, I have to question that. The pro-Palestinians I have seen over the past few weeks seem to be anti-Israel and anti-America.
That is just reality.
The reality took place in Rockefeller Center a few days ago when pro-Palestinians tried to destroy the Christmas tree. Did you catch any of that John?
I trust you have more than one example for your sweeping unhinged assertion.
I have many as does anyone who reads the news. You asked and I answered.
Holding land after you are attacked is not colonizing. Germany was much diminished after WWII. Danzig, Germany is now Gdansk Poland.
Where did you learn that John?
I dont know if it is even around anymore, but at one point Stormfront had tens of thousands of members. I bet you could have counted the liberals on Stormfront without even having to take your shoes off.
Holocaust denial was a key feature of Stormfront, and they were/are almost all right wingers.
Yes, you've proven that haven't you John? / S
"You have said that American college students are BEING TAUGHT anti-semitism. What is your proof of that ?"
You have a way of denying any type of proof. Some antisemitism is probably learned at home, but the greater amount would have to be in our schools, starting at the elementary level all the way up to university.
The proof is in the actions and words of the antisemites. Liberal lefty and Marxist professors are indoctrinating young people with lies and misinformation about the political history of the Middle East. These institutions also make up false information about systemic racism in the US
John, look at where the anti-Israeli protests are coming from.
One other thing you need to keep at least one eye on:
I'm giving you a heads up.
Seriously, I dont give a fuck what you do.
LMAO....Ok.
At least now we know where democrats got their opinions on minorities.
I think that the Ottoman Empire did become a victim of unchecked immigration. They lost control of their borders [a lesson the US needs to finally learn] and some European Zionists did victimize the Palestinians, Jews and Christians of the Ottoman Empire. I realize that is not modern-day Israel and the Gaza strip - but wounds can run deep.
Critical Race Theory is an interesting concept .. I cannot claim to know much about it other than to say it lacks critical thinking... not everyone is a victim and not everything is systemic, nor colonialism.
It's true.
Some of our most exclusive schools have practised antisemitism in admissions for two centuries.
2.2.28 was responded to by member addressed so it stays, flag dismissed. by charger
Tenure?
Both internationally and on US campuses, they pretend that gang rape, genital mutilation before or after murder, fetuses cut out of their mothers, never happened. That hate the victims and applaud the terrorists. After having done so, they feel proud of their progressiveness.
I watched a video of a city council meeting [think it might have been in Oakland] where individuals stepped up to the mic and said Israel killed their own people as an excuse to kill Palestinians. Once again, I must say it is hard to argue with ignorance like that.
Yeah I saw Newsom in action : )
Oh it is definitely odd. Seems to me the people out protesting don’t really care about what is being done, only who is doing it.
Do these protesters care about Palestinians or have they gotten used to protesting and want an excuse to protest?
Good question .. I do not know why, but I get the impression that it is Hamas that is somehow seen as the victims, not the Palestinian people. Victimhood is making the world turn these days, especially on US campuses.
It is the language of the left.
Says the guy who supports Trump no matter what.
[Vic responded to this, so it stands. Further flagging of comments to which responses have been made may result in suspension of flagging privileges.]
Says the guy who opposes wokeism, all the way.
Wouldn't that have been the normal, rational reaction?
Not nearly as much as for the people who once elected terrorists, sleep with them, pray with them, work with them, shield them, etc.
Also known in academic circles as "the oppressed."
In about 6 hours we'll be hearing from the people.
What in the fuck is wokeism? Making shit up isn’t any sort of retort.
If Trump was part of the article I missed it - I never mind my seeds going off topic as long as a discussion ensues .. but the former president is taboo!
These days one goes to college to become programmed and dumbed down. Diplomas don't mean what they once did.
Well, they are oppressed--by their own leadership. Only way to stop it is to change leadership, something Palestinians have shown great reluctance to do.
That is correct. They could have had that state that is constantly talked about. They said No.
They are viewed as petulant children.
[Deleted]
There is a certain naiveite present .. when the pause in fighting was announced, Palestinian men and women started heading north to see what was left of their homes and to retrieve some things left behind... how could they not know that northern Gaza was rubble?
Haha .. my bad!
Interesting Sandy, this is my seed.. how is it that you decide my comment has no value when obviously I am joking with a fellow commenter on my seed?
I am just curious how this works, I have been gone for a while
[Your comment was an add-on to a personal taunt, which is a violation regardless who posted the seed. The fact that you have not been here for a while, and generally don't engage in taunting behavior, is why it was ticketed as no value, which carries no points toward suspension, instead of the taunt it was, which does carry points.]
[Deleted]
Thank you for the clarification. Since my comment was not in direct comment to an individual that was using the former presidents name, I did not realize it could be seen as taunting - that is something I would not intentionally do.
Sounds like Eeyore talking .. I can hear his voice telling me to 'suck it up and move on.' Perhaps now when I read your comments the voice of Eeyore will be in my head. This is things that nightmares are made of.
Thanks a lot : )
LoL. Don't blame me if it rains.
Haha : ) it is snowing..