Pro-Palestinian ‘Peace’ Presses for Increased Violence to Israel

No, 2024 is not remotely analogous to 1968.

Screams for intifada, of extreme violence to Jews and Israel with the dissolution of the state of Israel are not remotely related to America’s political violence of 1968 and, frankly, I’m tired of this mindless, counterproductive analogy.

The turmoil of 1968 was driven by the Cold War and the over emphasized ‘domino theory’ of communist domination combined with America’s own politics of war in southeast Asia with consideration to China. Nixon’s overt criminality and Kissinger’s subsequent war crimes then propped up and extended the degree of protests well beyond 1968 rather than inferring it was a single year’s events.

These protests started and sustained due to what very many considered an illegal and irrelevant American war in Vietnam which was initiated to prop up a desperately corrupt, if ‘anti-communist,’ Vietnamese government using the unnecessary sacrifice of so many young American lives. It was also a war over which America had direct and full control largely from its start years earlier.

This is the opposite of the current reality between Israel and Hamas.

In 2024, however, what we see are entitled young mostly American — and American Palestinian — fanboys of Hamas dressed up in keffiyehs screaming for the destruction of and/or the continuation of extreme violence towards Israel. This while propping up and defending Hamas and October 7 even as Hamas is a self-identified genocidal terrorist organization solely intent on the destruction of Israel.

This is the opposite of seeking peace and that which is in any way productive for either Palestinian or Israeli citizens. ‘Peace’ would be a blend of those more thoughtful who are both pro-Palestinian and pro Israel without making the later presumptively pro Netanyahu – because it is not.

‘Peace’ would be a combination of Palestinian and Israeli flags with support for the suffering Palestinian citizens as well as the very many tens of thousands of Israelis demanding Netanyahu’s resignation.

‘Pro Palestinian’ encampments with entitled kids wrapped in keffiyehs, screaming anti-Israeli pro Hamas slogans and demanding intifada is the opposite of Peace.

This is the same Hamas who not only brutally slaughtered 1200+ Israeli men, women, children, and babies on 10/7 to include extreme sexual violence and the dragging of hundreds of Israelis back to Gaza, an action they want to repeat, but had killed many thousands of Israelis over the previous 20 years. Remember Sbarro?

And Hamas has not been much kinder or humane to its own over this period of time.

Hamas has brutally occupied Gaza since 2007 (Hamas, not Israel, is the only occupation force in Gaza) murdering, extorting from and brutalizing its own. Hamas has routinely tortured and killed LGBTQ Gazan citizens. They have tortured and killed members of Fatah (the PA) and those they’ve so identified as Israeli ‘collaborators’.

This, as Hamas simultaneously and unconditionally set Gazan up citizens up to shield and cover for them after they attacked Israel on10/7. This, also as Hamas set up Gazan women and children to be international photo ops towards which most of the international media has been most compliant and willing accomplices.

Where are all the Gazan men, anyway?

Why does the Gaza (Hamas Propaganda) and Health Ministry only seem able to immediately report on deaths among women and children? Nobody has asked. Are a majority of men fighting for Hamas; either voluntarily or involuntarily? I haven’t heard this question, either. And it won’t be asked of Hamas since to do so would be extremely dangerous if even possible.

It is only Israel who has made military spokespeople and its politicians available for more open ended challenges and questions. While many may not always like the answers given — to include myself — Israel has regularly offered this access.

How many of these women and children have been unnecessarily exposed by Hamas to shield them and become international photo ops? How many should and could have instead been brought into Hamas’ heavily protected and underground ‘metro’ to better protect them if they were remotely a concern to Hamas? Who among the ‘pro Palestinian’ protest movements, or international media, have asked any of these questions? That, unfortunately, is easy to answer. About and absolutely nobody…

Has anybody seen even one open ended Hamas ‘press conference?’ Instead, the only thing shared are Hamas propoganda statements and unprovable numbers (all deliberately propped up by regional anti-Israel Arab media, journalists, and operatives) all of which are most often dutifully transcribed by so many in the international media being presented as ongoing (documented) ‘facts’….whether they have clear veracity or not.

Now, before I receive a collection of outrage, I have no doubt the numbers of dead in Gaza by way of Netanyahu’s mis-prosecution of this war are horribly high and likely in the tens of thousands. The physical destruction I see sickens me every single time. I have no doubt that a disproportionate number of dead and injured include women and children. But there has also been no distinction of how many of the dead in Gaza represent Hamas fighters and those who are direct Hamas operatives. No doubt this number is also large but is never even attempted to be represented.

There is no such thing as a ‘peaceful protest’ whose primary goal is to seek the destruction of a second nation or to “kill all Zionists” as had been stated by a primary organizer at Columbia. There is no such thing as a ‘peaceful protesters’ who think they can contact their campus food service to have food delivered to them after they violently and destructively occupy a campus building.

I don’t remember any of this being part of protest movements in 1968. I mean, are these young, mostly white, ‘protestors’ entitled much?

No doubt there will be a large number of the parents of these ‘protestors’ who are going to be most unimpressed after spending $70,000+ per year just on their child’s college tuition alone to now have them arrested and expelled — and all towards absolutely no viable purpose or point but that so many have allowed themselves to be propagandized. This should be the opposite of higher education and, especially, the critical thinking which should be taught as part of the education at top higher end universities (and at all colleges and universities).

1968, agree or not agree with what was happening, did come with a very specific set of purposes as most should recall to include the absurd, self aggrandizing journalists now running thoughtless comparisons between 2024 and 1968. These repeated analogies to 1968 must end as they serve no purpose and represent limited, at best, understanding.

Back to 2024, what we have are the opposite of ‘pro Palestinian’ protests but those which are directly and violently anti-Israel and (mostly) deeply antisemitic. These ‘pro Palestinian peace protests’ are also and decidedly NOT acting in the interest of Palestinian Rights, Independence, or the suffering Palestinian citizens anymore than Hamas is a Palestinian Rights or independence organization. Palestinian Independence is directly antithetic to Hamas’ own and very clearly offered mission statements.

Again, and to further make an important point, the current protests are no more ‘pro Palestinian rights’ than is Hamas who will kill every Gazan; every Palestinian to maintain their intent to engage total ethnic cleansing against all Israeli Jews and dissolve the sovereign, independent, State of Israel.

And this is exactly what Hamas is doing without even so much as a question or challenge being posed by either these ‘peace protestors’ or world bodies to particularly include the UN who still refuses to fully recognize Hamas’ documented extreme sexual violence of 10/7. And Hamas’ systematic use of extreme, brutal sexual violence to both Israeli women and girls is in no way a ‘conspiracy theory.’ It was real and it has been well documented.

I have also yet to hear one of these entitled keffiyeh wearing American boys or girls — or, again, to include Palestinian Americans who do have every right to be angry and fearful — make any reference whatsoever to Hamas or 10/7 but to offer Hamas their full support while daring to continue defending 10/7.

This is the opposite of showing any support whatsoever for Palestinian rights and independence – of which I am also a long time supporter – but, in fact, is creating a directly opposite dynamic among many outside of their own rather small, if loud, community

For the record and as I have repeatedly written, I detest Netanyahu; his violent and extremist coalition to very much include how they have prosecuted their war against Hamas. How they have armed and allowed Jewish West Bank terrorists to attack, brutalize, kill, and displace local Palestinians along with entire Palestinian West Bank villages. This is often as local and nearby IDF units remain passive and disengaged.

I am also horrified that Israel’s Jewish Supremacist finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich has continued to aggressively fund more and more illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank while being able to stay under the radar in doing so. And Smotrich is more easily getting away with this, at least in part, due to the irresponsible and monumentally distracting false ‘pro Palestinian peace’ protests across the US and the West.

Want to push for an area of the Israeli government to fully defund? Start with Smotrich’s Finance Ministry.

Frankly, I’ve now come to resent being put into a position due to the extreme and violently anti-Israel nature of the US’ false ‘pro Palestinian peace protests’ to sometimes seem as if I am even remotely defending Netanyahu. I am not, do not, and will not — ever. Netanyahu must resign immediately and be held to full account by Israel. That is a first necessary strategy towards bringing specific purpose and process with far less ‘over the top’ brutality against Hamas, and Gaza, into play.

But understand that I also very much support the war on Hamas who must be taken apart and NEVER allowed to come anything close to repeating the slaughter of 10/7. Sadly, this outcome has little chance in reality so long as Netanyahu and his Jewish extremist coalition remains in place with the intent to extend the war and violence for as long as they can towards additional actions which are unacceptable.

And these actions and objectives by Israel’s hard Right are closely intertwined with America’s Christian Zionist movements who have heavily sponsored the Jewish Israeli Right and hard Right government, violent settler movements, selected Haredi cults and Netanyahu. But we will have to come back to more detail here later. My last diary started my writing to this broader dynamic.

Netanyahu’s strategy has far more been about his own survival, and the survival of his terrorist coalition, than that of Israel by continuing the war in all of its excessive and extreme brutality. I also do not support an outright assault on Rafah by Netanyahu and Israel. There are definitive and clear alternatives…and it is this for which America and the West must now absolutely demand to include the conditioning of Israel’s continued access to the delivery of more offensive weapons.

I never thought I would ever support or come to such a position of ‘conditioned aid’ to Israel. But I now do more than ever. And that Netanyahu must go must be made clearly by Biden once again no matter the irregularity of such a demand.

But calls for more extreme violence, for ‘intifada’ against Israel and that Israel must be dissolved contradicts every claim made and unconditionally delegitimizes all aspects of about any of these myriad of supposed American and American university ‘pro Palestinian peace protests’ which also hurt and compromise Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.