Peloni: Highly recommended article. The catcalls from the combined Leftist-Islamist effort to demonize Israel must be ignored. The instructions of Western leaders, whose own nations are growingly controlled by this Leftist-Islamist monstrosity, must be ignored. Israel must act as if her only path towards survival was to find a way to break the cycle which is the foundation of the old conceptzia, for both her and the Pals who have been weaponized against her. This requires strength and sanguinity to replace the servitude and self doubt which has held the Jewish State in a position of suffering existential threats for decades now. We know what needs doing, so all that is lacking is the will to actually do it.
When it comes to “Palestinians,” suddenly resettlement is forbidden.
Jeff Ballabon
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https://www.jns.org/israel-must-end-the-palestinian-exception/
Let this beautifully written article herald a new era for Jews: proud, self accepting, Bible empowered to be conquerers in their own land.
I agree with much of what Mr, Ballabon writes here. However, he ignores some practical realities that Israel’s leaders cannot ignore without endangering the state and its Jewish inhabitants. In order to survive, Israel must trade with many countries. It must do this even though many of these countries join in the false accusations and libels against Israel, even though that doesn’t lead them to stop trading with us. It also ignores the fact that Israel depends on some foreign countries, chiefly the United States, but also some European countries, for the weapons that it needs to defend itself. Perhaps Israel could increase the number of its weapons that it manufactures itself. But it cannot completely avoid trading with and accepting some aid from countries that regularly libel and defame us.
On the other hand, Israel could certainly defend itself vigorously in the all -important “court of public opinion”–something that it has never done. For years, Martin Sherman pointed out that Israel spent less on public relations in foreign countries than a medium size Israeli candy manufacturer spent on advertising.
In the last few years, there has been a slight increase in the amount Israel spends on counter-propaganda and providing accurate information about Israel to foreign countries. But not much more.
Why does Israel avoid defending itself in the all-important court of world opinion? I suspect it is a throwback to the many centuries when it was dangerous for Jews to defend itself against the blood libels constantly being spread against us in the diaspora. During these long centuries, Christians and Muslims were free to spread any lie, no matter how outrageous, against the Jews, But if Jews sought to defend themselves from these lies, they were routinely accused of sedition and/or blasphemy and imprisoned or even executed. I suspect, even now, some Jews, including Israeli Jews, fear that if Israel defends itself and the Jewish people from these blood libels, “the nations” will impose some dreadful punishment on Israel and all Jews, both in Israel; and the diaspora. This is an irrational fear. But I suspect it is a genuine fear that many Jews, both is Israel and the diaspora, have.
Finish the Job in Gaza
https://open.substack.com/pub/lel817/p/finish-the-job-in-gaza-to-total-victory?r=1q2uiq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Most of Jeff Ballabon’s article is correct about the PR. He is unfair to the difficulties Israeli governments faced and face. Israel is dependent on its foreign trade and has to work far harder for it than the Arabs with oil and petro dollars to burn.
In the circumstances Israel has been quite successful in holding on to its conquests and settling its refugees from Europe, Arab countries and the former USSR, and carving itself a niche in the IT technology of our times so that others come to us.
The decade’s prospects are currently a big increase in aliyah from the West now faced with revived Antisemitism even if it poses as anti-Zionism. You can not expect too many – even in Williamsburg – to read the Amidah prayers for: the ingathering of the exiles, the re-institution of the judges, the restoration of the Monarchy and the rebuilding of the Temple. Another million olim as the petroleum era runs down and the Arabs blow up again with another 1948 and lose as ever for their own destructiveness and lack of constructive vision.
Good article with important questions. I guess Israel needs to stop being better than everyone else and actually do some of the things it is being accused of and hung for over and over. I very much liked the argument that Pakistan deported 2 million Afghans and nobody said a word.