Tag: Gaza

Ukraine, Gaza, and Elsewhere

W.J. Astore

There Will Be Wars and Rumors of Wars

Checking my daily email from Reuters this past Thursday revealed these two stories:

“Diplomacy falters” is one of the sub-headings, which is assuredly the case, assuming diplomacy was even tried.

The BLUF, or bottom-line upfront, to use an Army acronym, is more death, dying, and destruction in Ukraine and Gaza.

Reuters still refers to Israeli ethnic cleaning in Gaza as the “Gaza war,” but only one side has tanks, combat aircraft, 2000-pound bombs, heavy artillery, bulldozers, and even nuclear weapons. It’s not exactly a fair fight, is it? The Israeli government says it’s out to destroy Hamas, but what it’s really after is the destruction of Gaza and the forced relocation of Palestinians there, after which Gaza will be annexed and assimilated into Israel.

What Israel has done and is doing to Gaza

Turning to the Ukraine War, the longer it lasts, the greater the suffering, and the higher the risk of further escalation. Yet the focus is always on deterring Russia and defeating Putin, as if it’s 1938 yet again, with Putin as Hitler and Ukraine as Czechoslovakia. Any diplomatic settlement with Russia will be the equivalent of appeasement, another Munich Agreement, so the war must go on, I guess until one side or the other collapses from the strain. Perhaps 1918 and the chaotic end of World War I is a better year to think about than 1938.

Meanwhile, Reuters tells me there are “challenges” in Africa and that China must be corralled and contained. Poor Africa. European nations (and the United States) are always offering answers to Africa’s “challenges,” but those answers address the interests of the West, not of African peoples. The U.S. has a whole military command, AFRICOM, to address those “challenges,” mainly in the form of U.S. weapons sales and “security assistance.”

Finally, resurrecting the racist “yellow peril” trope with regards to China is only driving that country into closer contact with Russia, which has the added benefit of justifying immense Pentagon spending due to the dual threat of Russia-China. (Democrats tend to stress Russia as the big threat; Republicans prefer China.). Thus we hear of a new Cold War, which of course necessitates colossal military spending, because do you want China and Russia to rule the world?

There will be wars and rumors of wars: And so it goes with U.S. foreign relations, in perpetuity, seemingly.

Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza, Ethics Cleansing by America

W.J. Astore

A Few Thoughts and Questions on Israel, Gaza, and the USA

  • As Israel is ethnically cleansing Gaza, the United States is ethically cleansing Israel. It doesn’t matter what Israel does to the Palestinians in Gaza. War crimes or genocide, it’s all ethically justifiable, according to U.S. government officials.
  • Never conflate the Jewish people with the deeds of the Israeli government. Many Jewish people have bravely spoken out against the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. Holocaust survivors have powerfully said that “Never again!” applies just as much to Palestinians in Gaza (or anyone else for that matter) as it does to Jews.
  • Is any entity harming the Jewish tradition as much as the hardline Israeli government that is destroying Gaza? Is anything more anti-semitic than associating Zionism and Jewish identity with mass murder?
  • A Republican U.S. Congressman essentially said he reaches out to AIPAC to tell him how to vote on any bill related to Israel. How is that representative of the will of the American people?
In Tel Aviv, protesters call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
  • As a college professor, I taught a course on the Holocaust. In my research, I recall finding a two-volume encyclopedia on genocides throughout human history. A two-volume encyclopedia! When will it ever end?
  • It’s always struck me that debate about Israel and its actions is far more intense, diverse, and contentious within Israel than it is within the United States.
  • Israel is, according to the U.S., a wildly successful democracy, a rich country with national health care for all. Why does such a rich and successful country need so many scores of billions in aid from the American taxpayer?
  • Speaking of U.S. aid, it curiously seems to provide the U.S. with absolutely no leverage over the actions of the Israeli government.
  • Whether you support Biden, Trump, or RFK Jr., it doesn’t matter. All three of them are committed to issuing blank checks of support to Israel. As is Congress, which has yet again invited Bibi Netanyahu to address a joint session. What has Bibi done to deserve such an honor?
  • There are many reasons to hate war, and one of the leading ones is how war facilitates, enables, and seemingly justifies the very worst crimes against humanity. Basically, “We’re at war” is a cry being used by Israel to justify genocide in Gaza.
  • If Hamas surrendered en masse today, does anyone think Israel would rebuild Gaza for the Palestinians?
  • When I took a seminar on the Holocaust with Henry Friedlander, he taught me that “You don’t kill the people you hate; you hate the people you kill.” It’s a powerful sentiment that captures something awful about human nature.
  • As a college professor, I taught a course on the Holocaust. In my research, I recall finding a two-volume encyclopedia on genocides throughout human history. A two-volume encyclopedia! When will it ever end?

Four Hostages Freed; 274 Palestinians Killed

W.J. Astore

A Brutal Calculus

If you have to kill 274 people to free four others being held hostage, is that a “successful” military operation? According to the Israeli and U.S. governments, it is.

Israel, apparently with some U.S. help, attacked the Nuseirat Camp in Gaza and freed four hostages seized by Hamas. In doing so, however, Israeli forces killed and wounded hundreds of unarmed men, women, and children.

It’s a brutal calculus that sees Palestinians as being “in the way” and essentially worthless and therefore expendable. Put differently, Israel sees all Palestinians in Gaza as “guilty,” as “terrorists,” therefore there are no innocent Palestinians and Israel can kill as many as they need to, without guilt or remorse, to achieve a desired end.

Coverage by the mainstream media in the West generally has been glowing, praising Israel for rescuing four hostages while downplaying the Palestinian dead as collateral damage that’s hardly worth noticing.

Here’s an example from the BBC:

You see a happy young woman freed by Israeli forces, but you don’t see any images of the more than 200 Palestinians killed by Israel in this “special military operation.” And note how the Palestinian dead are consigned to a sub-heading and a smaller font, using the passive voice (“were killed”), as if it’s unclear who killed them and why.

Yes, it’s good to see four hostages freed. But if hundreds of other innocent people must die or suffer grievous wounds in the process, that’s not a “successful” operation. It’s a massacre.

The Dishonesty of Western Media on Gaza

W.J. Astore

Genocide? What Genocide?

A fascinating interview, well worth watching.

Suella Braverman is a Tory MP in Britain. Here she debates a student about Gaza and the ongoing genocide there.

Watching this interview exposes the playbook of Western politicians and the media. It’s about accusing student protesters of antisemitism; of getting them to denounce Hamas; of asking them about Israel’s “right to exist”; of starting the debate with the Hamas attacks on October 7th. Those are the “facts” that matter to the Western media and politicians like Suella Braverman.

Fiona Lali, the student here, does a superb job of focusing on the facts that matter: the roughly 40,000 Palestinians already killed by Israel, the more than 100,000 wounded, the millions displaced from their homes, together with the Western policy of covering for Israel while sending them more weaponry to kill more Palestinians. Those facts don’t seem to matter to the mainstream media, and politicians are careful to ignore them or to dismiss them as “necessary” since Israel has “a right to defend itself.”

Apparently, Fiona Lali is associated with “the revolutionary communist party” and is a critic of capitalism. Perhaps the British establishment believed that she’d come across as a crazy radical. As you watch the interview, you realize Lali is the rational “conservative” in that she’s trying to conserve the lives of Palestinians while arguing for free speech and a system that doesn’t exploit the many for the benefit of a few.

I hope Lali is correct that the majority of Britons are against sending more weapons to Israel, though I doubt the Tories in Britain care here.

It’s rather incredible that this Tory MP argues there is no evidence of genocide in Gaza and that the real issue is antisemitism and Israel’s right to exist.

Education in America

W.J. Astore

Protesting genocide in Gaza gets you punished as layoffs and job losses loom for teachers

Two stories landed in my email inbox this morning that tell us something about the state of education in America. The first from The Boston Globe shows how students are being punished for protesting against genocide in Gaza:

Suspended MIT and Harvard protesters barred from graduation, evicted from campus housing

Dan Zeno’s suspension from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for participating in an encampment protesting the war in Gaza had a swift impact on his family’s life. The graduate student has not only been barred from classes, he was also evicted from campus housing, along with his wife and 5-year-old daughter, with just one week to find another place to live.

He is among the MIT students who won’t be graduating as planned or have lost income by having their fellowships canceled or have had their research projects halted.

And on Friday, Harvard University began suspending protesters. They were told they can’t sit for exams or participate in commencement or other school activities, and will be evicted from student housing.

That’s the way you handle “rebellious” students: make them homeless and perhaps even degree-less. Want to protest mass murder and famine? Prepare to be evicted and probably suspended, if not prosecuted. And this is happening in the “liberal” state of Massachusetts at “liberal-leftist” Harvard.

Schools like MIT and Harvard, having intimate connections to Israel and the military-industrial complex, as well as huge endowments, are corporations rather than schools of higher learning. And, as we learned from “Rollerball,” you are not to interfere with management decisions. Corporate boards at MIT and Harvard are pro-Israel, and so must you be, else keep your mouth shut and maybe we’ll let you graduate. Open your mouth and we’ll shut it for you.

The second story involves teacher and staff layoffs as federal subsidies related to COVID are set to expire at the end of September. A quick summary from CNN:

Schools across the country are announcing teacher and staff layoffs as districts brace for the end of a pandemic aid package that delivered the largest one-time federal investment in K-12 education. The money must be used by the end of September, creating a sharp funding cliff.

Too bad we don’t have any money after September for those teachers and staff. I guess we sent all the money to Ukraine and Israel. Priorities, people.

For a bit of inspiration, consider this student from the University of Chicago, who explains why stopping mass murder is more important than his career prospects:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XLxSaN2nPx0?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

He gets it right. I wonder how he’ll be punished? “Criminal trespass”? Suspension? Expulsion? Imprisonment?

Someone should compare the funding of police forces, with all their riot gear and weaponry, to the funding of teachers and staff in K-12 schools across America. I’m sure America’s politicians, if pressed to make a choice, will fund the police first and to the max. Teachers? Who needs them. Our students are learning invaluable lessons from the police, who are “teaching” them about Tasers, rubber bullets, tear gas, and other instruments of “higher” learning.

Why Biden Is Consistently Pro-Israel

W.J. Astore

You get what you pay for

This graphic provides clarity as to why Joe Biden and other senior leaders in the U.S. government are consistently pro-Israel:

Of course, the power of AIPAC and similar interest groups isn’t limited to the money they give in campaign “donations.” If you cross them, they will use their power to denounce you as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel while supporting more tractable candidates against you.

You have to hand it to AIPAC and Israel. They basically control much of the U.S. government and for a relatively cheap price.

Of course, I’m not suggesting money and intimidation are the only reasons these men support Israel, but they are compelling ones.

The Palestinians and indeed the Arab and Muslim world simply have no counter to AIPAC and Israel. Unless you count oil and the threat of turning the taps off. Still, the power of the Israeli lobby in America is staggering. Many members of Congress seem more eager and willing to protect Israel at any cost than America itself. Senator Fetterman of Pennsylvania literally draped himself in an Israeli flag to show his support of that country.

Yes, that is U.S. Senator John Fetterman at a pro-Israel rally

To be an ally of a country, you don’t have to be a slavering puppet. Or a groveling puppy.

What is wrong with these people?

Update (5/11): I added this to the comments section and then thought it might be useful here as well: Besides money and fear, especially of being labeled anti-Semitic, here are more reasons why U.S. politicians support Israel so strongly:

1. It’s the path of least resistance.

2. For some, support of Israel is tied up with evangelicalism and other forms of Judeo-Christian faith.

3. They want to cash in after they leave office, and being construed as not entirely pro-Israel may be detrimental to that.

4. Sympathy for Israel (and Jews) as victims of the Holocaust.

5. Discomfort or antipathy toward Muslims, e.g. they seem more “alien” or less Western than Israelis and Jewish people in general.

6. The IDF and its intelligence services are intertwined with the CIA and various other U.S. intelligence agencies. In other words, fear of reprisals, because, let’s face it, most politicians have a lot of skeletons in various closets, and even if they don’t, skeletons can be “found.”

7. The U.S. mainstream media is almost entirely uncritical of Israel. Strong criticism of Israel will lead to negative coverage. Support of Israel produces positive coverage.

8. Being treated as an outcast among your peers. Most politicians relish being part of the club and basking in applause. You’re in the club and applauded when you support Israel. The opposite is true if you don’t.

Any others, readers? (And, of course, money/jobs related to all the U.S. weaponry that flows to Israel.)

It’s Not “Radical” to Oppose Genocide

W.J. Astore

Student Protest and the White Rose Movement in Nazi Germany

Apologists for the Israeli government and its genocidal policies are now warning us about “radicalized” college and university students. Apparently, it’s “radical” to protest genocide, famine, and ceaseless bombing. Contrariwise, it’s apparently “normal” to support mass murder, total destruction, and widespread starvation. Talk about a world turned upside down …

Of course, it’s only “radical” to oppose genocide if you live in a totalitarian state that’s prosecuting that genocide or aiding others in prosecuting it. Anyone with a working conscience and a smidgen of humanity would think it’s normal and sane to oppose mass murder and to protest against it.

Sophie Scholl flanked by her brother, Hans (L) and friend Christoph Probst (R) in 1942

Consider a university student who famously protested against genocide: Sophie Scholl. She, her brother Hans, and the rest of the White Rose movement in Nazi Germany are celebrated as heroes today in Germany because they spoke out at great risk against mass murder, and indeed the Nazis executed them in 1943 after holding show trials.

Again, we don’t dismiss Sophie Scholl as a campus “radical” for standing up for Jews and protesting against the murderous policies of the Third Reich. We see her as a paradigmatic individual, an example of the very best of us, a young woman of great moral courage. Of course, the Nazis thought otherwise, arresting her then executing her, her brother, and other White Rose members as traitors to their “race.”

Perhaps the Scholls were radical after all: radical in their courage and their commitment to human rights and values for all.

If you want to watch a powerful movie about young campus “radicals,” check out “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days,” from 2005. I highly recommend it. Back in 2013, I put together a list of 13 movies about the Holocaust and genocide for a college course I taught. In that course, I used well-known movies and documentaries like “Schindler’s List,” “The Sorrow and the Pity,” and “Night and Fog.” The list below was my attempt to expand on that and to point my students to some movies and documentaries that they may not have seen.

Here’s the original article I posted back in 2013: 

Thirteen Movies About the Holocaust

scholl movie

I’ve seen a lot of movies and documentaries about the Holocaust or with themes related to the Holocaust and totalitarianism.  Of the films I’ve seen, these are the thirteen that stayed with me.  Please note that these movies have adult themes; they may not be suitable for children or teens.

  1. American History X (1998): Searing movie about neo-Nazis and the power of hate.  Violent scenes for mature audiences only.
  2. Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001): Excellent dramatization of Anne Frank’s life, to include the tragic end at Bergen-Belsen.
  3. For My Father (2008): A movie about Palestinians, Israelis, and suicide bombers, but also a movie about the difficulties of confronting and overcoming prejudice.
  4. Hotel Rwanda (2004): The genocide in Rwanda, and how one brave man made a difference.
  5. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961): Powerful indictment of Nazi war criminals after World War II. 
  6. Katyn (2007): A reminder that the Nazis weren’t the only mass murderers in World War II.
  7. The Last Days (1998): Incredibly moving documentary that explores the fate of Hungarian Jews.  Highly recommended.
  8. Life Is Beautiful (1997): It’s hard to believe that a comedy could be made about the Holocaust.  But I think this movie works precisely because the main character is so resourceful and full of life.
  9. The Lives of Others (2006): Astonishing movie about life under a totalitarian regime (East Germany).  A “must see” to understand how people can be controlled and cowed and coerced, but also how some find ways to resist.
  10. Lore (2012): Movie about a German teenager who has to survive in the chaos of 1945 as the Third Reich comes crashing down.  Various small scenes show the hold that Hitler had over the German people, and the reluctance of many Germans to believe that the Holocaust occurred and that Hitler had ordered it.
  11. Sarah’s Key (2010): Heart-wrenching movie about the roundup of Jews in France, which reminds us that the Nazis had plenty of helpers and collaborators.
  12. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005): Inspiring movie about Hans and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose movement in Nazi Germany.  The Scholls were college students who took a courageous stand against the Nazis.  Executed as traitors in 1943, they are now celebrated as heroes in Germany. 
  13. The Wave (2008): Compelling movie about the allure of fascism and “the Fuhrer (leader) principle.”  Highly recommended, especially if you want to know how Hitler got so many young people to follow him.

“Order Must Prevail”

W.J. Astore

Biden denounces violence, destruction, and hate, but only in America

President Biden read a short statement today in which he stated “order must prevail” across America. Sometimes squinting at the teleprompter and occasionally slurring his words, Biden said there’s no place for violence, destruction, and hate in America. Apparently, there is a place for violence, destruction, and hate in Gaza, as his administration continues to send more bullets and bombs to Israel in its war of annihilation there, but no matter.

Follow this link for Biden’s statement.

The best part of Biden’s statement came at the end, when he was asked if student protests had changed his mind at all. “No,” Biden replied.

Who says Joe Biden can’t speak simply, clearly, and honestly?

Biden puts a premium on order in his short statement on campus protests

An important point I was reminded of as I read Helen Benedict at TomDispatch today is how campus protests and coverage of the same in the U.S. is being used to obscure ongoing mass death and suffering in Gaza. The mainstream media here loves a good domestic “law and order” issue featuring controversy and (limited) violence, but forget about honest coverage of massive destruction in Gaza and mass murder of Palestinians.

In sum, Biden has always been a law and order man, with an emphasis on order, boasting of using police and prisons for social control. So his stance today was totally predictable—and totally retrograde and unproductive.

Biden, who in 2018 confessed he had no empathy for youth today and their complaints about tough times, is certainly showing that he indeed has no empathy for them.

Media Bias and Student Protests

W.J. Astore

NPR as National Propaganda Radio

I’d like to highlight this Twitter/X post by Lee Camp and his take on improving NPR’s BS headline:

Lee Camp: Ummm, NPR, I believe you meant to say “Nearly 300 peaceful unarmed people brutally attacked by fascist police for exercising their freedom of speech”

I’d add that students are protesting the Israeli government’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and the U.S. government’s complicity in the same. They are not protesting against “the war in Gaza,” unless you modify that as “Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.” 

It’s funny indeed that NPR has a reputation as being “left” or even “far left.” Anything critical of Joe Biden is “radical left” in America (unless you’re a Trumper, in which case you’re “fascist”). Anyone that questions and challenges the U.S. government’s total subservience to Israel’s current genocidal agenda is dismissed as unrealistic or as Kremlin stooges. Or maybe apologists for China. It’s nonsense, of course, but it seems to work for some people.

Confuse and obscure the issue. Baffle with BS. And don’t forget Tasers, handcuffs, tear gas, rubber bullets, and good old-fashioned truncheons for those who refuse to obey.

I suppose deceptive headlines don’t hurt quite as much as being beaten to the ground and hauled off to jail. But they are even more effective, I think, at quietening dissent.

Update (4/29): At Indiana University, snipers and armored cars showed up as well as circling helicopters for a modest student encampment. The snipers were apparently escorted into rooftop and tower positions by university administrators. Check out this report:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/MSFPOsxVPWw?start=5s&rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

Update 2 (4/29): A good cartoon is sometimes worth 1000 words:

It’s Morning Again in America

W.J. Astore

Mass Arrests and Mainstream Media Headlines Work to Deny a Genocide in Progress

Took a jaunt over to NBC News online for my fair share of abuse, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Here are the top headlines there:

“Biden administration faces pressure to step up its response to antisemitic incidents on college campuses”

“College campus protests over war in Gaza show no sign of ending”

Mention was also made of police breaking up a “pro-Palestinian protest” at Northeastern University.

You’ll note the framing and what’s missing: there’s no mention of genocide in Gaza, no mention of the more than 100,000 Palestinians already killed and wounded in Israel’s violent assault on Gaza and its people.

Students across America are protesting against genocide in Gaza. They want the mass killing to stop. They want America to apply pressure to Israel to halt murderous assaults by the IDF that end in mass graves for Palestinians.

But NBC is not in the business of admitting this. Instead, NBC is most worried about alleged antisemitism on college campuses. Or they frame the protests as anti-war, as if Israel and Gaza are engaged in a declared war between equals. Or they frame the protests as pro-Palestinian, not anti-genocide.

I especially like this subtitle: “The tumult spreading through college campuses is especially tricky for the president as he works to rebuild the voting coalition from his 2020 win.” See, the main concern for Biden is getting reelected, not trying to stop mass murder.

And I liked this lede: “As antisemitic incidents mushroom on college campuses, some Jewish leaders and lawmakers from both parties are accusing President Joe Biden’s administration of taking a lax approach toward enforcement of civil rights laws, exposing Jewish students to continued harassment.”

Harassment! We can’t have that. Arrest all those protesters. By the way, many of those protesters are Jewish. Are Jewish protesters harassing themselves by protesting against genocide in Gaza? Arrest them too.

Green Party candidate for president Jill Stein (center, in dark blazer) was arrested with students at Washington University in St. Louis. We must have order here!

I keep wondering where all these police are coming from. Shouldn’t they be fighting crime on the mean streets of America, taking on hardened criminals and upholding both law and order? Although I do admit that now the police have ample opportunity to don their riot gear (paid for by you the American taxpayer) and put their anti-riot and anti-terrorist training into practice. Fun fact: Did you know that more than a few police officers have learned anti-riot tactics and techniques from the Israeli military and police? Who says Israel doesn’t pay us back for all the scores of billions they get from us?