Since you asked readers to point out “gaps in your growing base of knowledge” I suggest you listen to/read analysis by Israeli and Jewish scholars/thinkers/journalists who are familiar with the facts on the ground, as well as Israeli propaganda:
Ilan Pape
Raz Segal
Norman Finkelstein
Miko Peled
Tom Segev
Avi Shlaim
Daniel Levy
Naom Chomsky
Max Blumenthal
There is much corruption amongst the Palestinians. Your piece, however reads like Israeli propaganda. Actually, come to think of it, I don’t know how you even got into my inbox? I didn’t subscribe or even know who you are.
Or maybe you’ve just been influenced by Douglas Murray and the like. I was initially fooled too, until I did more digging and realized there’s a dangerous agenda by these intellectually dishonest individuals and those who pay them.
To highlight the Palestinian wrongdoings while acting like Israel is the victim in this long standing conflict makes you look like a propagandist too.
Hi! I can’t arrive in your inbox unless you subscribe, but maybe you saw a past Substack and subscribed accidentally? Substack makes it very easy to subscribe.
I have long assumed the Nakba was the start of internationally supported oppression of the Palestinian People, by the West and their Israeli allies, for various purposes. I’ve subliminally absorbed the Western Narrative, and because I rarely read intentionally, I received that narrative unimpeded by off-narrative content. During my exploration of nonviolent communication, I learned of various projects bring Israeli and Palestinian children together, fostering friendships and reducing bigoted views and assumptions. Still, I basically did none of my own research.
Since October 7th, an entirely new level of transparency exists with a concerted effort by:
Hamas,
Palestinians,
Israeli citizens (of myriad religious faiths and Arabic voices as well as Jewish),
Arab Influencers from other countries
Other Terrorist Groups (Houthis, Hezbollah)
Pro-Palestinian Activists who live and organize in Western Countries,
University professors,
Politicians and more.
Because so many diverse voices and perspectives have been self-elevated by choice, we see them as they wish to express themselves, and it is entirely appropriate to accept a person or entity’s self-expression & hold them accountable for it.
If you checked my linked references, in Part One, you already know I am sourcing widely in order to minimize unintentional bias. This is what I found over a couple days as I began drafting Part One. And, I have spent 1-3 hours a day observing, receiving, hearing, reading and witnessing the events of and following October 7th.
It is my previously Palestinian Sympathy being challenged, altered, nuanced, amended & my previously poor opinion of Zionism and Israelis being similarly shifted that led (only now) to this Substack series.
Frankly, the current “activists” and other “holders of power” in the “Pro-Palestinian Camp,” who are being most vocal, most active, most inciting, most assertive, and most engaging in the public discourse — are not leaving a good impression of themselves. They have shown zero regret for the horrific attack on October 7th, they actively painted Gazans as one part monsters & one part innocent victims of “out of the blue” Israeli aggression. They were caught on video sending men out into the streets, carrying dolls and pretending to cry over dead children, they either celebrated torture and inhumane abuse of innocent children and hostages, or they dismissed it as justified. They rallied ignorant, young college kids, fomenting grotesque antisemitic attacks on college campuses, as if remote, removed young people of Jewish heritage are at all responsible for the global powers involved in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. And, as the vast terrorist infrastructure (the Gazan’s war machine pointed at and deployed against their neighboring country) is revealed — I have only heard a handful of people (in Gaza) who decry the misuse of resources, leaving Gazans destitute. Influencers throughout the West, simply ignore ALL the wrong choices and terrible deeds committed by Gazans under Hamas Leadership — which tells us a lot about where they are at mentally, emotionally, morally, and maturity-wise.
Between October 7th and today, people who are paying attention and are willing to learn — will have altered opinions.
I’m sharing mine, because new knowledge and shifted views are a hallmark of humility. It’s a good day, when I change my mind, because it means I have encountered information sufficiently credible that I accept it as worthy of consideration.
The one good thing to come out of October 7th? A lot of people and organizations showed their hand…
Since you asked readers to point out “gaps in your growing base of knowledge” I suggest you listen to/read analysis by Israeli and Jewish scholars/thinkers/journalists who are familiar with the facts on the ground, as well as Israeli propaganda:
Ilan Pape
Raz Segal
Norman Finkelstein
Miko Peled
Tom Segev
Avi Shlaim
Daniel Levy
Naom Chomsky
Max Blumenthal
There is much corruption amongst the Palestinians. Your piece, however reads like Israeli propaganda. Actually, come to think of it, I don’t know how you even got into my inbox? I didn’t subscribe or even know who you are.
Or maybe you’ve just been influenced by Douglas Murray and the like. I was initially fooled too, until I did more digging and realized there’s a dangerous agenda by these intellectually dishonest individuals and those who pay them.
To highlight the Palestinian wrongdoings while acting like Israel is the victim in this long standing conflict makes you look like a propagandist too.
Hi! I can’t arrive in your inbox unless you subscribe, but maybe you saw a past Substack and subscribed accidentally? Substack makes it very easy to subscribe.
I have long assumed the Nakba was the start of internationally supported oppression of the Palestinian People, by the West and their Israeli allies, for various purposes. I’ve subliminally absorbed the Western Narrative, and because I rarely read intentionally, I received that narrative unimpeded by off-narrative content. During my exploration of nonviolent communication, I learned of various projects bring Israeli and Palestinian children together, fostering friendships and reducing bigoted views and assumptions. Still, I basically did none of my own research.
Since October 7th, an entirely new level of transparency exists with a concerted effort by:
Hamas,
Palestinians,
Israeli citizens (of myriad religious faiths and Arabic voices as well as Jewish),
Arab Influencers from other countries
Other Terrorist Groups (Houthis, Hezbollah)
Pro-Palestinian Activists who live and organize in Western Countries,
University professors,
Politicians and more.
Because so many diverse voices and perspectives have been self-elevated by choice, we see them as they wish to express themselves, and it is entirely appropriate to accept a person or entity’s self-expression & hold them accountable for it.
If you checked my linked references, in Part One, you already know I am sourcing widely in order to minimize unintentional bias. This is what I found over a couple days as I began drafting Part One. And, I have spent 1-3 hours a day observing, receiving, hearing, reading and witnessing the events of and following October 7th.
It is my previously Palestinian Sympathy being challenged, altered, nuanced, amended & my previously poor opinion of Zionism and Israelis being similarly shifted that led (only now) to this Substack series.
Frankly, the current “activists” and other “holders of power” in the “Pro-Palestinian Camp,” who are being most vocal, most active, most inciting, most assertive, and most engaging in the public discourse — are not leaving a good impression of themselves. They have shown zero regret for the horrific attack on October 7th, they actively painted Gazans as one part monsters & one part innocent victims of “out of the blue” Israeli aggression. They were caught on video sending men out into the streets, carrying dolls and pretending to cry over dead children, they either celebrated torture and inhumane abuse of innocent children and hostages, or they dismissed it as justified. They rallied ignorant, young college kids, fomenting grotesque antisemitic attacks on college campuses, as if remote, removed young people of Jewish heritage are at all responsible for the global powers involved in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. And, as the vast terrorist infrastructure (the Gazan’s war machine pointed at and deployed against their neighboring country) is revealed — I have only heard a handful of people (in Gaza) who decry the misuse of resources, leaving Gazans destitute. Influencers throughout the West, simply ignore ALL the wrong choices and terrible deeds committed by Gazans under Hamas Leadership — which tells us a lot about where they are at mentally, emotionally, morally, and maturity-wise.
Between October 7th and today, people who are paying attention and are willing to learn — will have altered opinions.
I’m sharing mine, because new knowledge and shifted views are a hallmark of humility. It’s a good day, when I change my mind, because it means I have encountered information sufficiently credible that I accept it as worthy of consideration.
The one good thing to come out of October 7th? A lot of people and organizations showed their hand…