The Israelis Can't Win.Bob Lefsetz <bob@lefsetz.comMon, Oct 16, 2023 at 4:31 PM
The Israelis can't win. I'm sick and tired of the bothsidesism employed by every celebrity with a pulpit. I'm looking at you John Oliver, never mind the silent musicians fearful of alienating just one fan. Of course innocent people in Palestine will die. And I can't find a single person who wants them to. I certainly don't. But that didn't stop the U.S. when it invaded Iraq. Relative to population, tens more people died in Israel than in 9/11. Did we hear people rising up in the wake of that tragedy telling us to learn our lesson, that we were the oppressors, and we should just ponder the destruction and take no action? No, we had a government that decided to enter Iraq under false premises, never mind what happened in Afghanistan, and nearly the entire country was behind the U.S. actions. But when it comes to Israel, with a history of terrorist attacks upon its soil and against its people? They should just eat it, they should stand down. Because innocent civilians will be killed in Gaza. What kind of bizarre world do we live in where that plays? Let me see... Someone keeps breaching your property line, do you just take it? But everybody hates the Jews. Oh, don't argue with me. Coded antisemitism is rampant, and the only people who care are the Jews themselves, who've been subject to it. I certainly have, throughout my life. Right now there is antisemitic b.s. in my inbox. All about the eradication of kikes. But I live in a civil society so I should just endure it, because after all, there are good people on both sides. One of the best e-mails I got about the Roger Waters controversy asked how come it took the people in those documentaries so long to stand up. I was taught from a young age that you immediately respond to antisemitism, and I have, and believe me, it's been uncomfortable. And I've lost opportunities as a result. But some things are more important than money, like your identity and dignity. If you're a Jew and you're not standing up to antisemitism, you're complicit. If you hear anybody make a joke, make a comment, you need to say something, immediately. But that's the society we live in. Where money, your job, triumphs. Tell me how that works for you when you're rounded-up and put in a ghetto. Don't tell me it can't happen, history has taught us that it has happened on a regular basis. And just because you lived through the enlightened sixties and seventies doesn't mean society keeps progressing. Just look at the political landscape. You could get an abortion in the seventies, easily. Good luck today. Talk about religious persecution. So, all you celebrities. STFU. Or speak English. Otherwise you're just like Trump and Charlottesville. Thank god there was a lawsuit there, which the Jews won, because if you don't fight back, not only antisemitism creeps in, but authoritarianism too. We enabled Trump again and again. And it's our fault. So what we've got here is a terrorist organization, Hamas. Does every Palestinian in Gaza support Hamas? OF COURSE NOT! But did we poll every Iraqi to find out whether they supported Saddam before we went into that country? It's been driving me nuts, all this talk about Hamas not being representative of the Palestinian people... Both Trump and Bush became President after losing the popular vote, but did anybody doubt they represented America, led the country? OF COURSE NOT! Let's not even bother to recite history. Bottom line is Hamas controls Gaza, and it uses civilians as human shields. And historically Hamas is willing to sacrifice lives in a way that the Israelis are not. But it's the Israelis who are the targets of hate, who are told they're warmongers and need to step back, take a breath and then lay down their arms. Believe me, if it weren't for the hostages, Israel would be a lot more aggressive. Israel has a long history of trading for hostages, usually at a rate insanely higher than one to one. But let's not remember that, let's not remember Munich or '73 or... Yes, today's crisis exists in a vacuum. The Middle East was a land of peace and harmony and then one group made an incursion into Israel, it was an anomaly. WRONG! They've been throwing bombs at Israel since its inception. But let's throw the baby out with the bathwater. The Israelis need to stand down because some Palestinian civilians might be killed. No one, including the Israeli government, is saying they want to kill Palestinian citizens willy-nilly. Come on, what country in war warns the civilians of their opponent, telling them to get out of harm's way? Don't tell me these people have nowhere to go. Why don't you start attacking Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, never mind the rest of the Arab countries who are not rising up in support of this humanitarian crisis. Yes, I believe this is antisemitism. Because if any other country, and I mean any other country, suffered a proportional loss and invaded its attacker there'd be crickets. You know, those loud-mouthed Jews. Running the world. They need to be taken down a peg. George Soros. He's putting his money where his mouth is. Having survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary, Soros wants it never to happen again. Where is Bezos? Playing on his yacht with the woman he stole from his supposed best friend. Ditto Elon... Who is doing the opposite, stirring hate on X. And Bill Gates, who pledges to give away his money. He caused Covid, don't you know? Why is it those trying to do something good are excoriated? This causes too many to sit on the sidelines, where nothing gets done. And if you can't stand the slings and arrows, you're a wimp. Take a stand. Certainly the pro-Palestinian cohort is. But even Jews, mostly youngsters, are taking the Palestinian side. Furthermore, not being a Jew, many don't know that the goal has been assimilation, keeping your head down, so it won't be chopped off. For all the hatred of Jews, the goal of many is just to try to be invisible, to cause no trouble, they're pessimists, in an optimistic nation. And the truth is Jews are going to fade away anyway, at least in America, because of intermarriage. I could quote the statistics, but numbers no longer mean anything, everybody runs on emotions. Give credit to Rowan and the rest of the donors clamping down on Penn and Harvard. This is the rule of life, you take my money and you're beholden to me. So now there's a call by Rowan, et al, not to give another dollar until these administrations wake up. That seems to be the only way you can fight antisemitism, with money. And you complain about Soros? So if you're sitting at home whining about the imminent death of Palestinian civilians, you're part of the problem. You're punting. You're employing bothsidesism. You're taking the easy road out. You say you're on the side of humanity. So let me get this straight, whenever a nation is attacked the victim should just stand down forevermore? As for doing its best not to kill innocent civilians... Israel has already said it will do this. But you know there will be collateral damage, and innocent people will be killed. Hell, Hamas told Gazans not to move, even though Israelis told them to. That'd be like your teacher telling you to stay in the classroom after the fire alarm went off and you could see the flames. Explain that one to me, makes no sense. But once a single Palestinian is shot or blown up, loses his life, expect an international uproar, pictures on the front page of the paper. Yes, the news media is afraid of taking a stand too. And don't tell me the media doesn't take a stand, just tune in Fox or MSNBC. But they're fearful of alienating a viewer, losing an advertiser, they've got no soul. If you think AI is the number one enemy of the people you've got it wrong, it's the people themselves! The one good thing is Israel doesn't give a f*ck. In that it's not going to be cowered to act against its own interests. Yes, all you people out there afraid of taking a stand, or the wuss musicians and celebrities lamenting the death of innocent people on both sides... Anybody who works in the public eye knows that you cannot please all of the people all of the time. If I listened to my audience I would never write again. People find fault with everything I write. And I could excise all the edgy elements, but you know what happens then? Nothing. You're overlooked, you don't matter. It's all about having a backbone. Standing up for what is right. And you Jews doing your best to assimilate, trying not to live up to a perception of being noisy and dirty and...you make me puke. Everybody knows you're Jewish, doesn't matter what they say, when they start rounding up Jews you're going to be sent away, no matter how much you've integrated with the goyim. There's a line, and you're on the wrong side of it. Know that, acknowledge it, and stand up for your Jewishness. You're entitled. And the more of us regular people who stand up, the more we'll counteract the crazy Orthodox who have become the image of the Jews. So everybody needs to start looking at themselves, asking themselves hard questions. What exactly do you want the Israelis to do here? Even better, what would you do here? Nothing? Human history tells us this is never the case. And everybody knows if you don't stand up to bullies they come at you more frequently, and harder. Yes, it's a thorny situation. But all the Israelis want to do is live in peace. And don't tell me that the Palestinians want the same thing, otherwise they'd stop shooting rockets, being terrorists. Yes, show me all the data where the Jews are the aggressors. Do I think Israel is perfect? Far from it. Am I an Israeli or an American first? I'm an American, hands down. But at the core I'm a Jew. Not because I think I am, but because you think I am. And if there's no Jewish homeland, where are we supposed to go? There are still clubs we cannot join, and then there are those with a token Jew. If you think antisemitism is absent from America, you probably think racism has been eradicated too. Get off your high horse. Get down into the pit. Get educated, take a stand. Don't just condemn the terrorism, that's no risk at all. Go deeper. Like I said, what do you want the Israelis to do? Think about it.
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