Category: Anti-war

Way Past Time to Halt Netanyahu’s War

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OPINION:

Way Past Time To Halt Netanyahu’s War

What is going on in Gaza is heartbreaking and it must stop.

OPINION: 

Way Past Time To Halt Netanyahu’s War

By D.S. Mitchell

 

Both Sides Of Their Mouths

With all the anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Latino, and anti-POC rhetoric coming from the 2024 Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, I was amazed to see the recent uproar from the Republicans over Chuck Schumer’s frontal attack on Benjamin Netanyahu.  Seriously, I mean seriously? I wonder how anyone from the right wing MAGA  crowd dares to even open their mouths.

Raise Up

Who are these hypocrites that now raise up on their hind legs and call Schumer an ‘Israel hater’ and even a ‘Jew hater’? Chuck Schumer is the highest elected person of the Jewish faith in this country and has given unrestrained support for the country of Israel for decades. But since Schumer’s anti-Netanyahu speech on the Senate floor ex-president Trump has been peppering his rally tirades and imbecilic tweets with attacks against Schumer as an ‘Israel hater’. Trump has said that any American Jew that votes for a Democrat should be ashamed.’ Remember, Trump  is the same guy who identified the Charlottesville Neo-Nazi Jew haters who rallied with torches, screaming “Jews will not replace  us,”  as “really fine people.”

Voices 

The labeling of an individual as “anti-Semitic” because they have the courage to question the correctness of supporting a government that denies human rights every day to Palestinians within their borders is wrong. We need to get past the idea that Israel is above criticism and condemnation for its actions. There is no reason for confusion. It is easy to separate the country of Israel from the religious philosophy of Judaism.  Israel is a government, no better or worse than any other. Well, maybe worse than many, would be a better description. At some point we must separate Judaism the religion from the political state of Israel. When Israel takes action, it takes action as a country, not as a religion.  The decisions it’s leaders  makes are not agreed upon by every citizen anymore than the citizens of America are consulted on important issues.  Currently, Israel is experiencing sharp divisions between left and the right political factions, just like in the United States. That division has allowed Netanyahu to cobble together a government of radical right wing extremists; and its these folks who are directing the war.

State of Confusion

Confused persons are attacking the most powerful elected Jew in the United States, Chuck Schumer, because he challenged Netanyahu’s war plan. The state of Israel is a fair target for criticism. Period, dot. Netanyahu’s government is pursuing  inhumane policies, and needs to be called out by everyone that sees this abomination. But criticism of him does not equate to anti-Semitism. But the winds are blowing against Netanyahu. Most Americans are outraged and disgusted at the suffering they are witnessing everyday on their TV, whether the observer be Jew or Gentile. I know I am, and so is every single person I have spoken to about the issue. Joe Biden is a good man. He needs to break with Netanyahu for no other reason than his own moral compass demands he do so.

An Apartheid State

Israel under “Bibi” Netanyahu is no place for the non-Jew. So, upfront the United States has been supporting an oppressive regime dehumanizing and disenfranchising the Palestinians on the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza for years. The Netanyahu Israel is, as far as Palestinians are concerned, an apartheid state, no different than the segregated south of the United States or South Africa of the 1900s.

Billion Dollar Support

The United States has supported the state of Israel since its inception in 1948.  The United States provides billions of dollars in aide to Israel every year. In fact, I would say the United States is and has been the spine of Israel for decades. It is the unwavering support of the United States, that has allowed Israel to wear big-boy pants and swagger around the Middle East waving U.S. made weapons in all directions.

Spoils of War

In 1967 Israel won a decisive victory in the Six Day War against an Arab coalition force led by Egypt.  In that conflict Israel took control of the Sinai Peninsula (which was returned to Egypt per the Camp David Accords in 1978), the West bank of the Jordan River, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Despite fifty plus years of war and negotiation, Israel has refused to return to its pre-1967 borders.

Expansion Extremists

Israeli expansionists have opposed the return of the captured lands and have aggressively built Jewish settlements, in defiance of international law. In fact, last week; while U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, was in Israel the Netanyahu government insulted Blinken and the United States by announcing the biggest land seizure in the West Bank since 1993. It can only be described as an illegal land grab; “from river to the sea,” Netanyahu recently declared. Interestingly when the matter was brought up to Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, he said that, “soon Israel will be able to clear away all the rubble and develop miles of water front property.” Like I said earlier, this is one of the biggest land grabs in history, at an unimaginable cost of human life.

Believe Your Eyes

My question is; why shouldn’t we challenge the relationship of our government and that of Netanyahu? Since when is any foreign policy topic too sensitive to have a conversation about? My God, since 10/7, close to 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, more than 12,000 are believed to be children. Nearly every building has been demolished. There are no schools, there are no apartment buildings, there are no mosques. There is little doubt that Israel’s war against Hamas is a convenient excuse for genocide. Harsh words, but what else can a shocked world believe. It looks like the Palestinian’s are facing a 21st century  Holocaust.

Conclusion

The situation was untenable-unstable-and unsatisfactory long before the Israel-Hamas war. Until Palestinians gain equity in their own state taken from the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem there will be no real security for either side. Without a Palestinian state there will continue to be flareups between the parties. Joe Biden has said it multiple times. The answer is obvious, there needs to be a two state solution, nothing else makes sense.

 

Bad Boy, “Bibi” Netanyahu

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Bad Boy, “Bibi” Netanyahu

Bibi Netanyahu much like Donald Trump is facing multiple corruption charges

Bad Boy, “Bibi” Netanyahu

By D.S. Mitchell

History Books

Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu still has dreams of going down in the history books as a brilliant, charismatic, and heroic leader, shaped by a lifetime of war and domestic conflict. But the abject failure of the Israeli government’s response to  the Hamas attack on 10/7/23, that killed an estimated 1200 Israelis citizens, endangers Netanyahu’s dream.

Arrogance and Corruption

Sadly, like so many other men of prominence, Benjamin Netanyahu has succumbed to the familiar human failings of arrogance, greed, and corruption.  A sad result for a man who has dominated the Israeli military-political sphere for the last four decades. Throughout this time, Netanyahu has portrayed himself as the single person who is smart enough, and strong enough, to keep Israel safe.

The Truth Comes Out

Ironically, he for years, was insuring “quiet” by sending suitcases of money through Qatar to the leaders of Hamas. What a sad revelation. Other information coming out about the initial Israeli response to the attack leaves a great deal of questions for the Netanyahu government to answer. We don’t need to wait until after the conflict to start an investigation into how the intel detailing the Hamas plan, known about for at least a year was ignored. There was no real surprise here; rather a “failure of imagination,” similar to the U.S. 9/11 response.

Threats of Indictment

In the United States. Donald Trump is facing multiple federal criminal indictments. Many pundits believe that it is Trump’s legal exposure that has him running for the presidency, again. It is presumed if he is re-elected he will be able to make his legal woes disappear.  Similarly, Benjamin Netanyahu is facing possible indictment for money laundering, fraud, bribery, and breach of trust in three separate ongoing criminal cases. This is only the most recent of several attempts to indict Netanyahu for political corruption. The first threats at indictment and trial occurred way back in 1993 and again in 1997 without action. With all these legal problems hanging over his head “Bibi” has no incentive to end the conflict in Gaza. In fact, the war benefits Netanyahu’s goal to stay in power and out of jail. Amazing similarities between the two men.

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Sam The Sham And The Pharoahs “Wooly Bully”

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Sam the Sham And The Pharoahs

“Wooly Bully”

By D. S. Mitchell

Watching The Mailbox

My husband and I were married in 1965. My husband and I waited nervously every day expecting to find a draft notice in the mailbox at any time. He was in his junior year in college and did not want to disrupt his education. In those days there was a military draft and young men all over the country were being drafted. My husband and I were mentally preparing ourselves for that day we knew would come, and he would be sent to Vietnam. The United States had “advisors” in the country for at least a decade by that time. The Vietnam War was escalating in SE Asia, and the Cold War was growing hotter by the day.

Deployment

The rhetoric of the politicians described Vietnam as a domino piece and if it fell so would the rest of Asia. LBJ was president and he had been increasing the American presence in SE Asia dramatically. By the end of 1966 we had a young son, and my husband had finished his bachelor’s degree. After many long and tortured conversations he volunteered for the Air Force and deployed to the huge air base at Da Nang, South Vietnam. The year that he went to Vietnam “Wooly Bully” was screaming from every radio in America, and the American soldier took it to South Vietnam.

Protests Increase

There were major protests across the United States by 1968. LBJ sensing the country had turned against his conduct of the war announced he would not seek re-election. Richard Nixon said he had a plan to end the war. As Americans would see that was all a lie. And the anti-war protests grew. Seeing the people fill the streets outside the White House brought back those days vividly. Americans protest when American politics do not meet the needs and desires of the American people. When Trevor K. McNeil suggested “Wooly Bully” as the Calamity Politic’s Jukebox choice of the day, I said, “hell, yeah”. Here it comes, ready or not, Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, in the long version of “Wooly Bully”.

“Wooly Bully” by novelty rock ‘n’ roll band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs came out in 1965. “Wooly Bully” was written by the band’s frontman, Domingo “Sam” Samudio.” It’s all about the beat.