Netanyahu Goes Full Putin
What military value is there in bombing civilian populations?
Most of my Jewish friends are filled with rage against Hamas, the world, everyone but themselves. Jews of previous generations, who believed it was best to be God loving and fearful, to keep a low profile, to question everything — they’ve died off. I’m not saying today’s Jews are bad. I’m just saying their Harvard degrees don’t preclude them from ignorance. Most of them don’t read the Torah, history (and I mean general history, not that of the Jewish people). Self righteousness doesn’t begin to describe many of their kind. As David Chappelle said, there are two words you don’t say in Hollywood, “The” and “Jews”.
Chappelle understands “The Jews.” His monologue on SNL is on par with any good Rabbi’s analysis of the Jewish condition. Essentially, Chappelle jokes, as a black man, “Hey Jews, there’s a long line of races and people being persecuted, stop jumping the line and making out you’re the only one.”
My father was Jewish. Hundreds of “Rottersmans” died in Poland during the Holocaust. So I feel I have the right to say…they didn’t die for me. And that separates me, and others, from so many other Jews who believe they’re a chosen people who must fight off evil to fulfil their…what (I don’t know)? That they’re owed something. God is up there. We are down here.
My Mother is Scottish-Irish. She converted for the sake of my father’s family. But I’m sure many Jewish people reading this will immediate write me off as a non-Jew.
Anyway, I thank God I have these two voices in my head. I really do. The Jewish voice is rationalizing, explaining everything! Oh the intellectual somersaults. My other side says little, almost nothing. Occasionally it reaches its limit and says, “You are so full of shit, Max”.
The history of the Scottish and Irish is no fairy tale. That’s not important, right?
I have never witnessed a Jew being discriminated against in my lifetime. If anything, they have been pre-judged smarter than the average Joe. Have had advantages. (Yes, I understand the history of the Jewish people. But my experience is my experience).
What I see, among Jews of my generation and later, are the most spoiled group of people imaginable. I understand this is may be deeply offensive to you, if you’re Jewish. But hey, God in the Torah said the same thing once, or twice — many times! He asks, “why don’t you guys see it too?”
My favorite is Book of Jonah.
So here we are again. The Israelites are about to raze a city to the ground. Kill every man, woman and child if they have to. Another Ai, Hazor or Jericho. (Why haven’t the Jews lived in peace since then? Must be lack of tanks and F-35 fighter jets. Who knows? Maybe this time it will work!)
Israel will invade Gaza. Many will be killed on both sides and especially those who take no side at all. I predict that in the not so distant future Israelis will wonder why they didn’t think ahead. Why they sent so many of their young to die for Netanyahu and his evil bedfellows.
If Israel couldn’t effectively occupy and keep the peace in Gaza 30 years ago (though I believe they could have if they made more of an effort to integrate the Palestinians) why are they trying it now? What’s different today? Conditions for peace are even worse.
That’s my takeaway from recent events.
I’ll make another prediction, the more Israel tries to solve this with guns the more Jews will be attacked by outside parties. There will be murders of Jews all over the world. Will most Jews reflect, “maybe we should be less antagonistic?” No. They will say, “See, proof they’re out to get us and all you self-hating Jews don’t get it. Stop blaming the victim. We need to hit them even harder!!!”
Good luck 0.2% of the World population. Seems Jews aren’t as good at math as I prejudicially believed them to be. The bottom line is Israel is a small nation with a larger than usual tech industry. As Bary Gander pointed out in his story, Israel is tragically overconfident in its military.
Netanyahu has burned many bridges with the Democratic Party. He has nothing to offer Republicans except Jerusalem (which the Christian nutjobs expect to get after Jews and Arabs fight their final battle in Gaza, etc.).
Sorry, I’m making it more complex than it needs to be.
The U.S. couldn’t give a rat’s ass about Israel. It has too many internal problems to deal with the Middle East. Don’t confuse what politicians say to curry favor with wealthy Jewish businesspeople (donors).
I have no solutions to this most intractable problem. But I do know that when a nation quashes most criticism and rushes into war people stop to visit, the trains no longer run on time, depression and funerals are everywhere.
I write this with the most heavy of hearts. I feel Jewish. For what it’s worth.