Very thoughtful, well written, and illustrates the stumbling block that bias, applied to either side of the discussion, becomes an anchor holding one to a false sense of moral righteousness, and in the case of those in power, the inability to take ownership of institutional responsibility in perpetuating the human toll and suffering we are seeing played out in Palestine today. While Gabriel’s bias is clear regarding his view of Israel as an occupier and an apartheid state, it also treats Hamas gently for the brutality it has inflicted on Palestinian arabs, Israel, and the world at large. Terrorism that for years has included hijackings, the slaughters in Munich, Rome, and the west, and using Arab children as suicide bombers. Hamas and other terrorist factions are not freedom fighters, but brutal terrorists who prey on their own. Not mentioned is it is not only Israel that blockades Gaza, but Egypt and Jordan, who are complicit along with the collective Arab states in tolerating Hamas’s actions, and keeping citizens in Gaza stateless.
There is an undeniable truth that cannot be ignored; Israel since 1948, even in considering it's mistakes, has been grounded in it’s right to exist. Hamas on the other hand has shown it's willingness to embrace any atrocity and to pay any price to achieve the opposite-- the destruction of the nation of Israel, and the death of every jewish citizen they can kill.
While I hold differing opinions surrounding the historical context that underlies the situation in Palestine and Gaza, (https://donstevens.substack.com/p/palestine-why-history-and-context), I appreciate Mr. Kahane’s writing which clearly exposes the capacity of evil that lies within each of us collectively and individually.
The history of Palestine can be explained differently depending on one's bias, but It cannot be undone. The truth is that there is innocent blood flowing in the Jordan that comes from both sides of the conflict.
It is time to cut the anchor of perceived moral superiority that holds Palestine in conflict. Edward Said was quoted, “The paramount thing is that the struggle for equality in Palestine/Israel should be directed toward a humane goal, that is, coexistence and not further suppression and denial.” He is right.
Superbly written and thank you for recognizing and articulating the constant - if frequently frustrating - nuance in this (and most) power struggles; the wholesale devaluation of which is destroying the ability for virtually any constructive collaboration to thrive or really even exist w/out instant criticism and/or cancellation.
As you point out.
It is of course natural to want to ‘take a side’, particularly for the weak & oppressed, - nothing more old school American than that - but other than the non-controversial position of siding w/murdered innocents - which every human being I know does - this centuries old, heartbreaking inability to coexist seems near impossible to reduce to slogans, -isms and, sadly, solutions. I wish it weren’t so and, as usual, violence seems to never create anything but misery, confusion and more violence.
Very thoughtful, well written, and illustrates the stumbling block that bias, applied to either side of the discussion, becomes an anchor holding one to a false sense of moral righteousness, and in the case of those in power, the inability to take ownership of institutional responsibility in perpetuating the human toll and suffering we are seeing played out in Palestine today. While Gabriel’s bias is clear regarding his view of Israel as an occupier and an apartheid state, it also treats Hamas gently for the brutality it has inflicted on Palestinian arabs, Israel, and the world at large. Terrorism that for years has included hijackings, the slaughters in Munich, Rome, and the west, and using Arab children as suicide bombers. Hamas and other terrorist factions are not freedom fighters, but brutal terrorists who prey on their own. Not mentioned is it is not only Israel that blockades Gaza, but Egypt and Jordan, who are complicit along with the collective Arab states in tolerating Hamas’s actions, and keeping citizens in Gaza stateless.
There is an undeniable truth that cannot be ignored; Israel since 1948, even in considering it's mistakes, has been grounded in it’s right to exist. Hamas on the other hand has shown it's willingness to embrace any atrocity and to pay any price to achieve the opposite-- the destruction of the nation of Israel, and the death of every jewish citizen they can kill.
While I hold differing opinions surrounding the historical context that underlies the situation in Palestine and Gaza, (https://donstevens.substack.com/p/palestine-why-history-and-context), I appreciate Mr. Kahane’s writing which clearly exposes the capacity of evil that lies within each of us collectively and individually.
The history of Palestine can be explained differently depending on one's bias, but It cannot be undone. The truth is that there is innocent blood flowing in the Jordan that comes from both sides of the conflict.
It is time to cut the anchor of perceived moral superiority that holds Palestine in conflict. Edward Said was quoted, “The paramount thing is that the struggle for equality in Palestine/Israel should be directed toward a humane goal, that is, coexistence and not further suppression and denial.” He is right.
Superbly written and thank you for recognizing and articulating the constant - if frequently frustrating - nuance in this (and most) power struggles; the wholesale devaluation of which is destroying the ability for virtually any constructive collaboration to thrive or really even exist w/out instant criticism and/or cancellation.
As you point out.
It is of course natural to want to ‘take a side’, particularly for the weak & oppressed, - nothing more old school American than that - but other than the non-controversial position of siding w/murdered innocents - which every human being I know does - this centuries old, heartbreaking inability to coexist seems near impossible to reduce to slogans, -isms and, sadly, solutions. I wish it weren’t so and, as usual, violence seems to never create anything but misery, confusion and more violence.