All Muslims are TRRRSTS!
It looks like Israel has won the emotional war against Muslims. I would NEVER have believed any sane mind could have come to such an asinine and Islamophobic conclusion as this story shows.
If wearing the Shehada as a headband can cause so much distress to Jews that is becomes a criminal offense, then surely wearing a Star of David would also be a criminal offense because of the trauma it would cause to millions of Palestinians!!!??
Below is a link to the story as reported by the British Daily Mail. Of course, one of the illustrations they chose to show is of an armed Palestinian in GAZA, wearing the Shehada headband. Talk about subliminal messaging!
They could have shown the eBay items showing the Shehada headband for sale, or the Etsy site showing a Shehada headband but no, obviously, a gunman in GAZA was more appropriate!
In a demonstration against the Gaza genocide, a (non-White of course!) man wore a headband that had the Islamic Affirmation (Shehada) on it; “la ilaha Il Allah Mohammed Rasul Allah” (There is no god but one God and Mohammed is his prophet”). He was promptly ARRESTED by the Police as showing support for the “TRRRST organization “HAMAS!”.
Unbelievably, the judge found him guilty of intimidating Jews and supporting Hamas!
The Judge said, “Hamas is the most notable Palestinian group associated with the colour green…” (REALLY???) and…
“I am satisfied so I am sure that the defendant wore an item of clothing, a green headband in such circumstances to arouse reasonable suspicion that he was a supporter of a proscribed terrorist organisation, namely Hamas” and..
“‘…I do find that the harm is serious and I have to agree that the nature of the offence when it happened, soon after the incident of 7 October, would have made significant distress to those who were observing the demonstration”
What kind of manipulatable, servile, idiotic and unthinking people does Britain have a Judges???
How can anyone twist a holy symbol into a representation of something bad (It’s bad enough that “HAMAS!” is deemed a “TRRRST organization by so many of the oh-so civilized nations in the West)?
Einstein is reported as having said, “The difference between Stupidity and Genius is that Genius has limits”.
Muslims had better walk careful; don’t wear green, don’t wear a T-shirt with a watermelon on it and don’t say, “Palestine” except with “Kill them all!” afterwards. Otherwise, you are supporting terrorists and causing great grief to Jews. If you are non-White, don’t “look like a Muzlem“.
You could lose your job, you could lose your education, you could even go to Prison!!
…Or some super-patriotic buffoon could kill you!
ACTION: Helping the Genocide Forward?
Israel and its blind supporters are determined to slaughter or starve to death, the last Palestinian in Gaza…and the West Bank will be next!
First countries and now companies are following Israel’s directive to help complete the genocide. Israelis have been pressing to destroy UNWRA, The United Nations Relief & Works Agency for Palestinian refugees in the Near East. Israel has accused UNWRA employees of Participating in the October 7 attack on Israelis that took 1,200 Jewish lives…WITHOUT PRESENTING ANY EVIDENCE. Yet the simple fact that ISRAEL made the accusation got SIXTEEN countries to jump to please Israel: Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, the United States, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Australia1; all 16 of them stopped funding UNWRA and to Hell with the Palestinians dying of Western-caused Famine (Israel: “What Famine? there is no Famine!“). Of these 16 bloody-minded and blind supporters of Israel, only Canada and Sweden have resumed funding, presumably after they were embarrassed at acting in such a rash and heartless manner.
In a show of generosity, the US partnered with w couple of countries and airdropped 100 tons of food supplies in Gaza…killing five Palestinians with the pallets. That amounts to less than 285 grams (10 ounces) PER PERSON. Simultaneously, the US delivered several planeloads of bombs and shells to Israel so they can kill thousands of Palestinians. To date, the total is approaching 34,000 dead of which, about 40% (13,600) were children, about 9,000 were women and 11,400 men; according to Israelis, all the men were “TRRRSTS!”. This does not take into account the uncountable Palestinians who remain buried under the rubble of buildings bombed at random by Israel and the well over 100,000 maimed of all ages.
Now companies are moving to join the blockade of funds to UNWRA, Fidelity Charitable quietly dropped UNWRA from its list of charities for donation. This company’s Board has now opened to door for other charities who may also be under pressure by the pro-Israeli groups, to boycott UNWRA and thus, help the genocide of Palestinians.
The only way such a murderous rush to kill Palestinians can be stopped if is people put pressure on big companies that may be donating to Fidelity Charitable. For example, if companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Facebook etc., make a decision to drop funding of such “charity” companies, if they stop funding UNWRA.
The only way THAT can happen is if the employees of those companies help their company take such a stand.
Otherwise, we can just wring our hands as we watch the last Palestinian child, starve slowly to death.
Stoning, Taliban and Islam
I guess if we want to see how utterly depraved, stupid, merciless and controlling people can get, The Taliban are happy to provide an example.
Stoning for adultery is the worst interpretation of something that does not even exist in Islam, yet here we are. I fear it may not take long before Pakistan decides to show just how devout its people are an codify stoning into law…it is already in practice along the border tribes of Pakistan. All it takes to “punish” a woman is an accusation.
Origins of Stoning in brief:
A Muslim man and a Jewish woman accused of adultery were brought to the prophet for sentencing. He ordered that the man be punished according to the laws of Islam (whipping) and the woman be returned to her tribe for their punishment (stoning).
Today’s idiots have taken that as a sanction favoring stoning when he was really saying, “They to their laws and us to ours”.
The Quran, being the final word on Islamic law, clearly outlines the process (An-Nur-The Light 24:6-9) of establishing guilt and the punishment for adultery and even after that, it allows for the woman to avoid punishment if she swears, she is innocent of the accusation. At the same time, it deals harshly with anyone who bears false witness against the woman, such liars are to be whipped and never to be trusted at their word again (24:4). To the best of my information, none of this process has ever been implemented anywhere where the so-called, “Sharia Law” of stoning has been implemented. Even the establishment of the so-called “Sharia Courts” is arbitrary and capricious, designed to impose violence under cover of faith rather than actually follow the commands of the Quran.
Sadly, it is very clear, but the fanatics seem to have printed their own version of the Quran, Finley Peter Dunne-Chicago Tribune said it very appropriately, “A fanatic is someone who does what he thinks the Lord would do, if He knew the facts of the case“.
Is there a Path to Peace in Israel/Palestine?
How can a One State of Israel/Palestine work?
Why not a Two-State or a Confederation?
There is no “solution” to work on until there are leadership changes on both sides and new leaders come in who are more interested in seeing the “Other” as humans rather than as people with whom the choice is to kill or be killed; leaders who are more interested in a greater nation than they are in their own greatness and ability to be seen as leaders. Leaders who are willing to see the pain the “Other” feels and are willing to work to heal the pain, not just in their own people, but among the other people as well.
Each “side”; Jews and Christian/Muslim Palestinians have experienced great pain and remains deeply suspicious of the other side, knowing full well that if given half a chance “They” will slaughter “us”. We must realize that the pain is measured, not in piles of bodies, but in the depths of the minds; that it is the Mind that maintains the fear, the suspicion and the hate, it is the Mind that makes coexistence impossible. We may not agree with how a side refers to its foundation of Fear, whether it is the endless string of Pogroms leading to the Shoah of the Jews, or the endless attacks and dispossessions leading to the current Shoah of the Palestinians, but what we must agree on is that a lasting Peace can only come from a change in the perception of the “Other”.
This is where leadership comes in because when leaders decide to change the perception, people feel safe in going with the change no matter how horrible the past may have been. The leaderships have to show that identities are not based on religion but on the humanity of each other because only after the divisiveness of religious identities are set aside, can the people see each other as equal humans and fellow brethren.
Foreign interference also needs to change. Currently Israel is being plied with unquestioned and endless money and war material by Western countries. All this does is feed the Jewish existential fear of annihilation; in effect, feeding the very fears that make peace impossible. The money and the weapons may make Israelis feel “safe” (how safe is a nation whose people constantly carry guns and has to occupy and kill people?), but it also creates an incentive to keep the minds shut and not look for peace. Peace, in a situation where one has taken over the lands and properties of the “Other”, means that the injustices have to be accounted for and that in turn, means “giving up” what one has. Peace means that absolute power and absolute impunity can no longer exist, that power and rights must be shared equally. Difficult as it may appear, Western nations must make their support and aid conditional to to definite, measurable, changes in attitudes of Israeli leadership. At the same time, similar pressure must be applied to Palestinian leadership that currently exists to maintain itself in utter disregard for the Palestinian people.
It is a most difficult but not an impossible obstacle to overcome but it must be overcome if people and their children in Israel/Palestine are to live as the brothers and sisters that they really are.
But Peace is not a shadow that cannot be caught. History has proven again and again, that yes, Fear and Hate are easy to ignite and can be maintained very easily with catastrophic results, but Peace can also be achieved if a leadership is willing.
For hundreds of years, Britain, France, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal have been at each other’s throats, waging wars that cost millions of lives and uncountable amounts of money, yet today, they are allies and neighbors so friendly that they barely recognize each other as different nations.
Germany fought two major wars with European countries that devastated Europe, yet today, they are all part of a single unit (except for Britain which marches to a different beat altogether). The Germans committed genocide of the Jews, slaughtering millions of them as if they were less than insects. Yet today, Germany is the staunchest supporter of Jews.
The United States fought genocidal war in South East Asia in which millions of Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians were butchered, yet today, the US has a close relationship with all those countries.
Japan carried out genocide in China and Korea and was responsible for millions of lives lost during WWII but today, Japan has good relations with all of its former adversaries.
Pakistan fought a brutal, genocidal civil war which resulted in the independence of Bangladesh (East Pakistan), yet today, the peoples of the two countries are close in their mutual relationships.
Being from Pakistan myself, I remember when Bangladesh was liberated, the leaders of West Pakistan declared the Bangladeshis to be traitors, deserving death and that Pakistan would never recognize them. Then there was a terrible hurricane and massive flooding that took thousands of lives in Bangladesh. Bhutto, Pakistan’s leader at the time, declared that he had already sent some ships loaded with food and supplies to aid the devastated people of Bangladesh and that the Bengalis were our brothers and it was Pakistan’s duty to help. Almost immediately, people in Pakistan started to agree that they were indeed our brothers (and sisters) and the hostility disappeared. The people of Bangladesh opened their hearts to the people of Pakistan in spite of the devastating genocide.
One major objection raised by many Jews in Israel as well as outside is that Israel must remain a Jewish nation with its Jewish character and that a nation with equality for Palestinians and Jews would destroy its Jewish character; it would be tantamount to the annihilation of the Jewish state.
Setting aside the fact that the very premise of such an objection is racist, one has to deal with the genuine fears it raises. Perhaps the best way is to illiterate again, examples from history.
The American civil war was a war for the way of life for the Southern states…a way of life that included the slavery of an entire people based on their race. After the war, slavery was abolished and today, the South still exists, the evil “way of life” is no longer and people of all races live well together.
South Africa was based on White supremacy and here too, the African people were suppressed and exploited and the country had a “White Character” for several hundred years. After the overthrow of the White rule, Blacks got parity with the Whites, there was no “annihilation” of the Whites. Today, South Africa is a much admired leader of African states.
Yes, there are still some animosities among people from the different countries but they have been relegated more to family “traditional” rather than communal or national frictions.
In spite of the disparate positions of Israeli Jews and Israeli Palestinians, they do work together and cooperate with each other. About a quarter of all the doctors and healthcare workers in Israeli hospitals are Palestinians. They and their Jewish colleagues routinely work together to care for Patients who may be Jews, Christians or Muslim. This is a situation of major trust, literally a matter of life and death and their cooperation shows how a path to peace is within reach.
Leadership can be achieved because there are plenty of people on both sides who want peace and who wish to live together as equal brothers and sisters; people who desperately want their future generations to experience what it is like to live in an environment of friendship and love, rather than in the climate of hate and slaughter. Such people will rise to lead as soon as the foreign support for the hate-mongers is replaced by support for the peaceniks.
Utopian? Unrealistic? Perhaps, but so far the “realistic” and the “pragmatic” paths have shown nothing but misery, insecurity and death, what is there to lose?
Israel’s “Gaza Plan”
If you wish to learn about what Israel is doing before it is censored or sanitized by Western media, check out Richard Silverstein’s blog Tikun Olam. His latest post on his blog gives details of Netanyahu’s “Plan” on Gaza, the Day After. Richard is a no holds barred person who stands for Truth and Justice no matter whose sacred cow is gored. He seems to have the insider information on matters relating to Israel that others sometimes do not dare to publish.
Gaza “Plan” in a nutshell. Israelis (Netanyahu) are saying that they reserve the right to kill as many “terrorists” as they wish; they will continue this “WAR!” as long as there are any Palestinians left alive, who can be called “TRRRSTS” (which is ALL of them)…their military will continue to occupy Gaza until there is no Palestinian left or, until they are all brainwashed into having the opinions of a cabbage. Netanyahu wants “Arab nations” to come and “de-radicalize” the Palestinians for Israelis.
Further, Israelis will control all the food and resources (destroy UNWRA) so they may strangle any area or groups within Gaza at will; control of food and necessities. Reconstruction will happen only by Israeli permission and will be done using Israel to do it…post war profits to go to Israelis. Israel wants Arab nations to “contribute tens of billions of dollars” to rebuild Gaza into a M-E Singapore.
Israelis will establish a Judenrat (a select group of Palestinians) that will govern and control…people to blame when things go awry. They will remain under Israeli control. Nobody will have a say in how a “Final” Agreement” on Palestine is made; Israelis will “negotiate directly with Palestinians” (at the point of a gun) in such a way that Israelis get everything, and Palestinians get nothing.
What’s there to complain about? I am sure the servile US and Europe will agree! The US will do whatever it takes to please the Blind supporters of Israel. Remember when Biden said there is no way the US will accept the ethnic cleansing of Gaza? Well, NOW the US has arm-twisted a number of states into accepting the possibility of what Israelis call a “Voluntary Relocation” to “temporary” sites for their own safety. Egypt is getting tens of BILLIONS of dollars from the US, Europe, IMF and World Bank, to build a large, walled concentration camp in the Sinai where the Gaza “volunteers” will be housed. Israelis are also in talks with other nations such as Congo who are willing to take in Palestinians … for a price paid by US of course!
As for getting Arab states to agree and support; All their heads of state are tyrants who depend upon the US to stay in power and since the US does what Israel wants, the Arab states WILL cooperate regardless of what their people might wish.
In the meantime, the US says, “Let the bombing continue but please, will you take care to avoid hurting too many innocent people?”
Five Months…
Wasn’t it wonderful to hear Biden’s State of the Union speech?
So righteous, so strong (America loves “Strong”) and SUCH a (“lifelong”) supporter of Holy Israel!
He informed us that the “WAR!” in Gaza (invasion) was “gut-wrenching”, but obviously not enough to make Israel stop the bombing for which HE provides the money and the means. He has no such “gut wrenching” reaction about people being slaughtered by the tens of thousands; they are Palestinians!
Israel “has a right to go after Hamas.”, he said, Hamas had taken “hostages” (captives) and must release them, and he said the only path to peace is the dead-on-arrival, Two-State “Solution”.
“Give Hate no safe harbor”…except when it is from Israel against Arabs and Palestinians. Words coming from all ranks of Israeli Jews, genocidal words such as “Amelek”, “It is an entire nation who are responsible. This rhetoric about civilians supposedly not being involved is absolutely untrue”, “We will turn Gaza into an island of ruins”, “Gaza to be smashed and razed to the ground without mercy”, and many more, appear to have a perfectly safe harbor with Genocide Joe.
UN Office on Genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect
There was no mention of the fact that the US has offered Egypt massive IMF support of Egypt accepts Palestinians terrorized and slaughtered out by Israel. With US help, Egypt is building its own concentration camp with concrete walls, for Palestinians who, in the words of Israeli leadership, will “voluntarily transfer” out of Gaza.
Genocide Joe is also by now, keenly aware that people whose support he has to count on, are starting to shift, they are ready to vote for Trump or just not vote at all, rather than vote for a geriatric, heartless leader; a man who has proven that he does not care if well over 13,000 children and 10,000 women are slaughtered among a number totaling over 30,000. He does not care that the well over 100,000 victims of HIS bombing are being treated…their limbs being amputated…without anesthetics. He doesn’t care of the people of Gaza are literally starved to death as is happening under Israel’s plan to starve them until Hamas surrenders. Hamas will not surrender but the people WILL starve to death in a genocide financed largely by the US and Germany (the second largest provider of weapons to Israel).
Images below are of a dead child in Gaza and children in a Nazi death camp
But Biden wants people to know that he actually does care! He dropped a planeload of pallets of supplies in Gaza…killing five people (two children) with the pallets in the process.
FIVE MONTHS after the October attack Genocide Joe ordered a few pallets of food to be dropped in Gaza…FIVE MONTHS after Israel had blocked all food, all water, electricity, medical aid…everything from reaching the people of Gaza.
FIVE MONTHS after the October attack Genocide Joe said the US would be building a temporary port to deliver supplies by sea to the people of Gaza…in the next SEVERAL WEEKS. At 1,500 dead Palestinians a week, Biden’s feeble P-R posturing is certain to take another 10,000-20,000 more lives before any effects of starvation can be staved off. In the meantime, the endless supplies of bombs will continue to be delivered to and used by, Israel.
It is as if Biden wants Palestinians to remain alive long enough so they may be slaughtered by Israelis.
It took exactly THREE DAYS for the first plane loads of bombs and weapons to be delivered to Israel after October 7 (Day One: Order. Day Two: Load. Day Three: Deliver).
Muslims I know or have heard from are adamant about not supporting Joe Biden. Muslims and many people of good will, understand that the only way a strong and lasting message will register with ALL politicians is when they realize that they can no longer be assured of the Default Vote where people may hold their noses but still vote for their party. The stench of rotting Palestinian bodies is too great even for noses that are held shut.
Killing Palestinians; Rapes and Tortures
Some interesting articles in Counter Punch and in CNN today. One talks about the “untalkable”: that Israeli forces do indeed, rape, torture and loot…NO! Not the “most moral army in the world”!
The second shows that Israel is counting every man they slaughter, as a “TRRRST” and how that inflates the “Righteous Kill” count while the Blind Supporters of Israel (Jews AND Christians) applaud the genocidal slaughter. Unfortunately, this article has a paywall but enough of it is reproduced here to give us an idea.
It will not be a shocking surprise when we also see that Western nations don’t give a damn as long as the victims are the “Unwashed Palestinians”; they are not human enough to be treated with rules of Humanity and Democracy.
UN experts demand investigation into claims Israeli forces killed, raped and sexually assaulted Palestinian women and girls.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/20/middleeast/israel-hamas-un-investigation-sexual-abuse-intl/index.html
CNN — United Nations experts have called for an investigation into what they described as “credible allegations of egregious human rights violations” against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank by Israeli forces.
The allegations include extrajudicial killing, arbitrary detention, degrading treatment, rape and sexual violence, according to a statement by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released on Monday. It did not detail how they did their fact-finding, but they referred to photos of female detainees in degrading circumstances reportedly taken by Israeli troops and uploaded online.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the accusations and said it adheres to international law. “Without precise details or proof of individual cases it is not possible for us to examine them in depth,” the IDF said in a statement to CNN.
Israel Counting All Men Killed in Gaza as Militants
Last month, The Wall Street Journal published an article on the disparities between estimates by the Israeli military of the number of Palestinian militants killed in Gaza and estimates by US intelligence agencies of the same. Although the article focuses on the Israeli military’s over-estimations, it also shares two revealing figures:
1. According to the Health Ministry of Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants, at least 8,000 Palestinian men were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza;
2. According to the Israeli military, its forces killed 9,000 militants in Gaza.
The only possible way to square those two numbers is for the Israeli military to count every single Palestinian man it has killed in Gaza as a militant, and then add some. As absurd as that sounds, that appears to be precisely what the Israeli military has been doing for months — and the United States and United Kingdom have done the same in their wars in the Middle East too.
What about the Two-State Solution?
This is Part One of a two-part series. In this first part, I try to look at what a “Two-State solution” might look like and how it might fail or succeed. In the second part, I will look at how a One State Solution may be the only viable way for Jews, Christians and Muslims of the area, to live as equals and in peace with each other.
It looks as if everybody is calling for a “Two-State Solution”. “Back to the 1967 borders”, they say although the Western nations waffle at this; they would rather call for a Two-State Solution that does not remove the post-1967 settlements or the properties Israeli Jews (Israel’s population includes Muslims and Christians) appropriated, since 1967, in the Occupied Territories.
How would a Two-State Solution work out? The last “agreement” between Israel and Palestinians was under Oslo II, it was completed with a lot of arm-twisting of the Palestinians and quite possibly, incentives were promised to the leaders because it created a Bantustan in which there was absolutely no possibility for a state, independent or otherwise. Under Oslo II, “Palestine” was broken up into Areas A, B and C (see map).
Area A. Palestinians were allowed to control civil authority and Security.
Area B. Palestinians controlled the civil authority but the Security was under Israeli control.
Area C. Entirely Israel civil authority and Security
The Rest. This was entirely an Israeli Closed Military Zone; no Palestinians allowed.
If the proposed land of “Palestine were in the middle of an ocean, this is how it would look.
Gaza remained a “Palestinian Autonomous Area” under Israeli control, essentially it became the world’s largest open air Prison; nothing was allowed in or out, without Israeli permission and that was not to be had. All four sides of Gaza are controlled by Israeli forces.
Today, Gaza is a collection of piles of rubble where cities and towns used to be. All the water and electricity used to come from Israel, that has been stopped entirely. Aid agencies’ estimates are that at least 100 trucks of food are required to just keep the Gazans alive. So far, Israel is not even allowing two dozen trucks a day to pass through into Gaza and the ones that do get through, are often targeted by Israeli forces; NO medical supplies are getting through
The Golan. How would the Golan Heights which were captured from Syria in 1973, be resolved? Will that land remain a part of Israel and occupied by Israeli Jews, creating another festering sore?
Lebanon. Israel occupies about 10% of Lebanese territory. If a two-state solution is meant to create a permanent peace, will Israel give up the Southern Lebanon it occupies? One look at the Israeli occupied Lebanon and one can see why that land is occupied; There are potentially, large gas fields off the shores of the Israeli-Occupied Lebanon.
Obviously, this could not constitute a Two-State Solution where both states are independent. In the past, Israel has suggested a land trade where Israel gets to keep areas of Jewish population (Settlements etc.,) and would in exchange, offer lands of equivalent area. Regardless of how good or bad this land exchange would be, it would still break any future Palestinian state into Bantustan-like enclaves.
All Western calls for a Two-State Solution that I am familiar with, also call for “security for Israel”, I have yet to hear of any calls that also include security for Palestinians along with security for Israel. People who support this so-called “solution, never touch the details of what that might mean, they are generally heard to say, let the two sides come to agreement on their own details. I have tried to see how a two-state solution might take shape and some of the bigger issues it involves.
Sovereignty. Israel has maintained that any Two-State Solution has to mean a de-militarized Palestine. In the past, Israel has also reserved the right of the Israeli military to enter a Palestinian state “for security reasons”. In the first three month after the October 7 attack, Israeli soldiers shot and killed over 300 Palestinians including children…”for security reasons”. One can only imagine the mayhem Israeli forces can cause in areas of the “independent Palestine” that they would control.
Water. Over 90%% of the water Israel draws today, is sourced from or via the West Bank (Israel’s own aquifers have long since gone saline). Currently, Israel even draws water from the Occupied Territories that was traditionally drawn by the local Palestinians. Villages are not permitted to dig new wells or to deepen their existing wells but Israeli trucks are free to fill up with Palestinian water and turn around and sell it to the villages from which they have drawn the water in the first place. Even the Jordan River would lie on the other side of the sovereign state of Palestine. How will the water resource be divided peacefully and equitably between a sovereign Palestinian state and Israel?
Compensation. How will compensation be calculated for the Palestinians who have been expelled, whose lands have been expropriated or whose families have been butchered by Israelis since the Nakba (Catastrophe) began? There are many who have said, “Let us not count the past and move to the future”. Today, (mostly) Israeli Jews have been drawing compensation into the second generation of the Holocaust victims and survivors for lives and properties lost; if that is good enough for Jews, why should it not also be good for Palestinians?
The next inevitable question would be, “Where will the money come from?” Well, Western countries have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into Israel for the purpose of slaughtering Palestinians, why can they not pour a part of that money to compensating Palestinians for crimes that Western nations have been funding for so long?
It is inevitable that a Two State Solution will only postpone hostilities for a very short time, until Israel feels the need to take over more land or water resources and Palestinians will again, become stateless “Terrorists”.
Empty Words from our Congress
I recently wrote a letter to my Representative Susan DelBene (D-WA), asking her to please make her voice heard and help stop the invasion of Gaza, help stop the genocide of the Palestinians. Her response seemed like while she was responding to me, she was actually addressing her Blindly pro-Israel supporters. The letter which I am sure one of her staffers wrote with more enthusiasm for Israel, than grip on facts; it was like watching DelBene put linguistic hickies on the butts of the Blind Supporters of Israel.
My response to her letter is below, followed by the letter I received from her (highlights are by me, pictures are added for this post), that prompted my response.
Our politicians need to hear from us again and again and at every opportunity, othertwise, they only hear the deafening chorus of the Nazi-wannabes among the Israel suporters.
Dear Rep. DelBene,
I am trying very hard to maintain my composure after reading your letter. The letter appears to be a stock answer designed to please all sides of this so-called “WAR!” and it contains fallacies as well as misdirection by omission.
“targeting and murder of civilians is wrong“. What do you think is happening on a continuing basis on the people of Gaza?
“Taking innocent families and children as hostages is wrong“. Do you have any thoughts about the few thousand men, women AND children Israel has arbitrarily kept as “hostages” in its prisons, without trials of charges?
Are you aware that the Palestinians who HAVE been charged and tried, have been tried under special military and other laws dating back to the Ottoman period?
“Committing acts of hate against anyone, including our fellow Jewish, Muslim, and Palestinian neighbors is wrong“. Have you been listening to the genocidal speeches regarding the people of Gaza, by Israeli political leaders from the Prime Minister and President on down?
“We must all speak with a decisive voice in condemning violence and hate“. Where is YOUR “decisive voice” in the current situation?
“It is undeniable that Hamas slaughtered thousands of innocent people“. The Hamas attack took 1200 Jewish lives of which, about 350 were soldiers, Police or other security personnel, not “Thousands of people”.
“I grieve with those families and with our Jewish community“. We Muslims and Arabs would love to see ANY expressions of grief from you, about the nearly THIRTY THOUSAND Palestinians slaughtered by Israel so far.
“right to defend itself against terrorism“. Please look up “Terrorism” and then see if might also apply to what Israeli Jews has been doing to Palestinians for about 100 years.
Please also help me understand how slaughtering almost 30,000 Palestinians including 12,000 children and over 6,000 women can be considered “Defense” by ANY measure.
“This means dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities and working to free hostages“. Does this mean you approve of what Israel is doing? because “dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities” in the way Israel is going about it, will mean ALL Palestinians in Gaza have to die.
By “Hostages” we assume you mean Jews held captive by Palestinians AS WELL AS Palestinians held captive by Israel?
“President Biden continues to push Israel to take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians“. Do you seriously believe that Israelis have any incentive to listen to Biden as long as he is giving them unlimited weapons and money to continue the slaughter?
The “humanitarian aid” that is being allowed in, is being held back by Israel. So far, not even 10% of the urgent survival supplies have been delivered because of Israel’s blocking them and bombing the supply trucks.
“I grieve with our Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities“. We and the people of Gaza don’t need expressions of grief from people who have the power to change things, we would like to see you speak out against the genocide and call for an immediate, permanent, ceasefire.
“President Biden has taken decisive action to assist Israel“. It is heartbreaking to see how completely you support the genocide under the pretext of “fighting terrorism”.
Sadly, you leave us Muslims and Arabs to face the very difficult decision as to who we should consider voting for or, to even voting in the next elections.
Jafar “Jeff” Siddiqui, American Muslims of Puget Sound 206.228.5732
| REP. SUZAN K. DELBENE 1st District, Washington 2330 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-6311 450 Central Way Suite 3100 Kirkland, WA 98033 (425) 485-0085 www.delbene.house.gov |
| February 9, 2024 |
| Ms. Jafar Siddiqui 3107 206th Pl SW Lynnwood, WA 98036-7826 Dear Ms. Siddiqui, |
| Thank you for contacting my office regarding the conflict in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. I appreciate hearing from you. I have heard from many members of our community who are mourning family members and loved ones they have lost to this war and to the broader generational conflict. At least 30 Americans have been killed since the initial attacks, including a graduate of the University of Washington. My heart breaks for the millions of innocent civilians who have been caught up in this horrific violence through no fault of their own. This violence has inflicted long-term consequences on innocent Israeli and Palestinian citizens, including the youngest generations. First, I want to underscore my appreciation for writing to your elected representative on this difficult subject. While we ultimately may not agree on everything, I pledge to listen to and learn from the perspectives of all my constituents. As this conflict progresses, I will continue to take your views into account as best I can to serve Washington’s diverse communities in Congress. Second, I want to make unequivocally clear that the targeting and murder of civilians is wrong. Taking innocent families and children as hostages is wrong. Committing acts of hate against anyone, including our fellow Jewish, Muslim, and Palestinian neighbors is wrong. We must all speak with a decisive voice in condemning violence and hate and hold those who perpetrate these horrific acts accountable. It is undeniable that Hamas slaughtered thousands of innocent people and continues to hold over one hundred hostages, including Americans. I grieve with those families and with our Jewish community who are struggling in response to this brutality. Israel, like the United States and all other sovereign nations, has the right to defend itself against terrorism, ensure the safety of its people, and hold its attackers accountable. This means dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities and working to free hostages. At the same time, Israel has a responsibility to adhere to the rules of war and do everything in its power to protect civilians. President Biden continues to push Israel to take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians, and is currently pushing all leaders in the region to come to the negotiating table to agree to a longer-term ceasefire. This would build on President Biden’s earlier efforts in November 2023 to successfully negotiate a temporary ceasefire agreement with Israel and Hamas that led to the cessation of violence for over a week, the release of over one hundred hostages, and increased access for humanitarian aid. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed or injured in Gaza, and many more are in desperate need of food, water, medicine, shelter safe from war, and other humanitarian assistance. Palestinian civilians living in the West Bank have also been the victims of attacks by Israeli settlers. I grieve with our Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities who have lost loved ones and who are struggling due to the violence. In the face of these challenges, President Biden has taken decisive action to assist Israel in its defense against terrorism while prioritizing the safety of innocent people. In addition to President Biden’s efforts to protect civilians, the administration is continuing to work nonstop to secure the freedom of the remaining hostages, especially American hostages, and deter additional adversaries from joining this fight. President Biden has also committed more than $100 million in life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank and has requested additional funding from Congress to support anti-terrorism activities and provide more humanitarian assistance to Palestinian and Israeli civilians. He also imposed sanctions against Hamas officials as well as settlers who have attacked Palestinian civilians living in the West Bank and demanded accountability from the Israeli government for these acts of violence. The enormity of these challenges can be daunting. The history of this broader conflict is complex and there are significant differences that must be resolved to achieve a lasting peace that is agreed to by both sides. It is my sincere hope that, in time, Israelis and Palestinians can come together to construct a more durable peace. I strongly support a two-state solution and agree with President Biden that a “concentrated effort” by world leaders is needed to move towards that goal. |
Whither Pakistan?
Pakistan’s elections. Things are happening fast so this news may already be Old News.
The latest news is that Imran Khan (IK) is winning even though he is in jail and his party candidates cannot say they belong to his party.
The military brass is monitoring the elections, they have special branches to monitor different areas of elections. they have an Army Election Management Cell under the Commander of Air Defense, Military Operations Directorate….plus, I am sure the ISI has its shadowy hands in the soup.
Reportedly they are very concerned about the fact the IK is landsliding (my own verbicide) the elections. and the top brass are in a huddle at the Army House with the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of the General Staff, Directors (all Generals) of the ISI, Military Intelligence, Inter-Services Public Relations and the Commander of the 10th Corps… among others, I am sure!
Apparently two battalions from the 19th Division have been deployed somewhere around the capital Islamabad.
These elections will determine Pakistan’s path for the foreseeable future. If IK takes office the military’s grip on Pakistan is finished; civilian rule may be chaotic, but it is infinitely better than the unbroken run of military tyranny that has ruled Pakistan since 1958. The military has been so involved in running Pakistan that it has been deeply corrupted and has lost its military edge. It needs to get back to being a military that is dedicated to protecting Pakistan from external threats and not run brutal operations against Pakistanis as it has been doing in Baluchistan Province.
At this point it is useful to look behind the curtain to see who is actually the puppet-master; who has kept the military well supplied with money and weapons?
The US of course!
Much as I would love to be able to say otherwise, the US is like Darth Vader’s Death Star that destroys all who are even perceived to be not in line with its goal of controlling the Earth.
It was the US that allowed General Ayub Khan to mount the first coup and take over control of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. ZA Bhutto briefly ran the country and actually controlled Pakistan but he was so obsessed with power that he ordered the genocidal attack of East Pakistan so he could overthrow the legitimate winner of the 1971 elections. Bhutto was overthrown and was followed by an unbroken line of generals ruling behind the scenes while obedient civil “leaders” became the face of the governments.
All the time, it was really the US that was calling the shots of how Pakistan would be run. Towards that goal, the US not only gave endless weapons and money to Pakistan, it also allowed senior military officers to steal huge amounts of money from the Public Treasure and deposit it in US banks for personal “investment”. European nations were also in collusion with the US, they too, allowed huge amounts of ill-gotten monies to be “invested” by military officers and political leaders of Pakistan; no questions asked.
Today, these ex-officers and ex-politicians live own mansions and major real estate properties worth tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars, in the US, Canada and Europe, answerable to nobody.
The US does not want IK to win because IK does not open himself to American control and because he will more than likely, destroy Pakistan Army’s ability to control Pakistan. To the end, the US has openly been seeking to ensure elections run the way it wants them to go (it does not seem to be working out well for them) while behind the scenes, it would be safe to bet that they are encouraging Pakistan’s military to void the elections somehow and continue to remain in power; Pakistan’s corrupt politicians are scurrying to comply and cooperate with the military just so they can be the face of the government and continue to steal money from the public treasury.
The next week will show which direction Pakistan‘s fate is destined but one thing is pretty certain; If IK is not allowed to take over, the country will sink into a civil revolt in which the military will likely butcher more people than I dare predict.
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