It’s actually quite simple to ascertain in this particular conflict which side represents the good guys. Ask yourself one question: what would happen should each of the adversaries somehow lose all their military capabilities? If Iran and their proxies laid down their weapons, there would be no more war. If Israel laid down its weapons, there would be no more Israel.
The inability of so many to distinguish between aggressors and defenders is one of the great moral failings of our age.
The day Hamas disarms, surrenders and releases all hostages is the day the war ends, as everyone knows but refuses to acknowledge. This is as true today as it was on Oct 8. All subsequent needless suffering and civilian deaths are wholly the fault of Hamas and their terror enablers in the international community.
This ties into the archetypal Antisemitic trope that Jews are somehow, at the same time, both "subhuman" and "weak", but also superhumanly powerful and competent. In reality there was gross incompetence at all levels, Netanyahu included, which was one of the reasons Hamas was not prevented from carrying out the October 7th attack. There is a reason Bibi and his followers strongly object to an independent investigative commission after all...
Nothing intentional. Just negligence, incompetence, and a government distracted from its job by internal politics.
But an incompetent Israeli prime minister simply failing in his job in a particularly horrible way is unimaginable to Antisemites, who believe we are demonically superpowered and always acting according to some imaginary infernal plan.
We control the banks, the weather, the food supply, all military weaponry, and the media, but somehow couldn't use our space lasers to prevent terrorists from attacking Israel on Oct 7th. Womp womp :(
10/7 occurred because of terrible negligence and incompetence in the part of the IDF. The threat was well known and it was successfully carried out by no more than a modestly armed group of irregulars rather than a highly trained military.
The Mossad Shin Bet and IDF all were wrong and suppressed any information as to Hamss planning a war Bibi was no different than FDR in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor
As I noted, this was a multi-level failure due to multi-level gross negligence. An independent investigative commission is thus necessary once we end this war. Bibi's supporters oppose this, as he will probably be found negligent as well.
But my main point stands regardless - Antisemites refuse to accept the fact that Jews can simply be incompetent. This flies in the face of their fantasies about Jews.
Bibi opposes an investigative commission chaired by a former Supreme Court justice for good reason. The Supreme Court has been consistently anti Bibi and more importantly the Supreme Court has meddled in security affairs and that needs to be investigated as well. No one is against a real independent commission. But an investigation by a former supreme court justice will be anything but.
There is a way of looking at this where it's unbelievable that this massive plan got through. There is another way of looking at this where it's terrible that this massive plan got through, and to also think about how many other plans were stopped.
Not to excuse the security establishment, but it's a cliché that successes are private and failures are public. I do think the black sabbath needs to be put into context, and the true scope and cause of the failure will take years and years to uncover (though I'm pissed at this government for scuttling a commission).
What I want to know is where is the evidence that Bibi has prolonged the war in Gaza for his own benefit. That is a blood libel and I hope he sues the NYT.
Personally I blame Biden and Blinken for the extended war. They tied Israel's hands when they wanted to go into Rafah and they refused to send the armaments Israel needed to fight in Gaza. They set the war back by months maybe a year because of the democrats needed to mollify the antiIsrael wing of the democratic party during a presidential election. Didn't get Kamala elected though and now the DNC is such a big tent it includes those who support "globalize the intifada."
The question of how such an advanced nation could be caught by surprise on Oct7, is an ongoing investigation. Much like the US was caught unaware on 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. And unless you (in the general sense not you personally) are a military expert you really have no idea what happened, why and how it could have been prevented. All you have is "feels." Israel will investigate what happened. She will make sure it doesn't happen again.
I also dont care to present my bondafides whether I like Bibi or Trump. Dont give crap whether you do either. Your opinion is valid because this is your opinion. Whether i agree with you or not is something else. It has always annoyed me that when a Jew speaks about Israel for some specter to listen we have to preface it by saying "I dont believe in the settlements or I dont support Bibi." The same with Trump. I dont have to preface whether I like Trump or not if I talk about the US, constitutional law and how this country is being run. Feh on that crap.
How, exactly, do you propose that he end the war? What simple steps is he failing to take that would eliminate the threat of further attacks from Gaza?
The problem with the NYT article is to say they have "evidence," they need to present it. They do not. That's why its a blood libel. Agree, that is between him and God for what is truly in his heart.
Personally, I think Bibi is trying to go down as the savior of Israel. I don't think he would do anything that he feels would jeopardize that legacy. I am sure he felt he needed to rehabilitate his image after October 7 and his horrible misjudgment of Hamas, but I truly believe that his main goal is destroying Hamas and ending Iran's nuclear program (something he was been talking about for decades). That getting rid of the axis of resistance around Israel turned out to be the unforeseen benefit only helps him.
Israel is not going to stop at this point no matter what it means for Bibi anyway. They do not have the hostages back, and Hamas just rejected the latest Qatari pushed deal. So what is the answer? I wish I knew.
Thank you! The New York Times headline with Netanyahu the other day drove me up a wall. I appreciate you articulating why it bothered me so much. Note also that unless I missed it, the NYT has not reported at all about the Dinah project report.
I have no opinion on Netanyahu other than he is Israel’s leader and no matter who Israel’s leader is, I want them to succeed and protect Israel. I concede he is problematic, at least. However, I have no idea how any Israeli leader could quickly win or finish a war started by terrorists in which they are STILL holding dozens of hostages, alive and dead; and which the enemy hides within civilians and behind human shields.
I think there are two big reasons Netanyahu draws this vitriol: (1) He looks stereotypically Jewish. This triggers a latent antisemitic reflex in a lot of people, who are inclined to dislike him for being a right winger. They’d deny it, and maybe are fully unaware of it, but I’ve seen the disproportionate disgust for this guy (without any acknowledgement of his responsibility to defend half of the world’s Jews in a 7-front battle for survival). (2) This same latent antisemitism causes them to lean into historic drivel that the Jew allowed or wanted the atrocities against his own people, for his own personal gain, which is absurd and not even a charge that should be made against even the worst of our lot (Finkelstein, Beinart, Gessen, etc.). Those sickening, ignorant, but very on brand for the NYT readership, comments, bear that out. And why i gladly cancelled my subscription after 7 years. Fuck the New York Times.
Your column again nails it. The explanation that makes the most sense to me is Netanyahu and his leadership catastrophically fucked up on October 7. Israel for all its incredible successes is jerryrigged in many ways as it clings by its nails to survive. The hubris of these leaders led them to disregard the warnings of the women in their military, and they were caught flatfooted and incompetent at the worst possible time, against genocidal Palestinian savages and brutes. That so many accuse the right wing Jews of wanting this to happen says much more about their need to believe antisemitic conspiracies than it does about anyone in the Israeli government.
I think much of the vitriol towards Bibi and his merry band of sycophants is completely valid. Much of it comes from other Israelis. I view the fact that he looks stereotypically Jewish as an additional strike against him, because now every time he acts like an ass, he's *really* representing us poorly.
I have not read this story yet. I understand it was cowritten by at least one Israeli journalist (who doesn't write for Ha'Aretz). I also understand it contains information that was not previously publicly available. If Netanyahu made decisions for purely personal political reasons that cost (Israeli) lives, that is a big story (in Israel). I'm not talking about choices where it could go either way, and he went with the best for him politically, I mean choices where he clearly should have gone the other way, except for those considerations.
I don't believe that he did so, but like I said, I haven't yet read the article. I do agree that it is very weird that this is appearing in the NYT as opposed to an Israeli paper, in Hebrew.
Love this and congratulations! I share every post of yours. I’m so tired of prefacing anything I say with “I don’t agree with everything who ever does” that I won’t do it anymore. I don’t agree with you all the time and I’d definitely vote for you for President! I do suggest that people try two things to broaden their perspective. One is watch Tablet’s Israel 🇮🇱 Update. Gadi Taub and Mike Doran have a very good analysis even if you don’t agree with everything they say and Gadi has two beautiful cats who crash the show on a regular basis! Also listen to Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress on July 24 of last year if anyone has not. I’m not suggesting that anyone marry the guy - Sarah has that covered - but watch how he describes the situation. I don’t think he has a cat though. If anyone knows please inform us.
"I don't agree with everything Israel does, but I think Israel should still exist." Why the hell should anyone have to say something like that to prove their virtue? Yet I hear some variation of that phrase all the time.
So many important truths here. The most important one highlighting just how little people question anything they read, or why they’re having one topic constantly thrust in their faces over another. Or why for every person online who presents a balanced and honest view, there are a thousand who will jump on them to call them genocide deniers.
Gotta love that classic logical fallacy "appeal to authority." NYT says it, so it must be true. I wait for the day when someone in a high position of authority says, "The Liberal Jew" says it, so it must be true. =P
The NYT has a terrible history of whitewashing the rise and effects of Communism Nazism the uniquely Jewish aspects of the Holocaust opposition to anything Israel does to defend itself snd traditional Jewish values
I agree that people use Netanyahu as the modern-day archetype of the Jew depicted in 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion', to the point that he has even be the subject of antisemitic cartoons.
I would respectfully differ about whether he has deliberately prolonged the war in Gaza for political gain. I do not claim any expertise in domestic Israeli politics. My understanding is that he faces multiple charges of bribery and corruption, and that his plans to curtail the powers of Israel's Supreme Court proved disastrous.
Surely we must take into consideration the eleven months of bombardment from Hezbollah in the north, so long forborne. Netanyahu had to switch gears in late 2024 to push Hezbollah back. This lengthened the war in Gaza. Then came the airstrikes on Iran last year, as well as exchange of fire with the Houthis. This year, more airstrikes on Iran. All of this has been crucial to strengthening Israel's military position, including pressure on Hamas in Gaza.
I would suggest that the biggest factor prolonging the war in Gaza has been the craven and morally bankrupt attempts to hamper Israel's right to self-defence and victory over Hamas terrorists. For this, it is not Netanyahu who must bear the blame, but the complicit international community which poured billions into the Gaza terror network, perhaps far more than the admittedly disgraceful bribes that Israel paid to Hamas prior to this war.
I was never anywhere near a fan of Bibi but these people’s attitudes are making me reconsider. Their hatred of Israel is so rabid, mythical and singularly obsessive - unlike attitudes towards anyone else, including genocidal tyrants with millions of victims - it’s bordering on supernatural
Thanks again for an excellent commentary. I know we shouldn’t HAVE TO defend Israel with anti-Netanyahu qualifications. BUT, in my experience it moves conversation to the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. Now, many have to come out as anti-Zionists (in many cases they end up showing their antisemitism) or defenders of Hamas. This will end the conversation for me so I’m not wasting my time. With other people it can lead to an interesting conversation about what strategy will eliminate the Hamas threat and secure the Israeli state in the long-term.
I dont know. Qatar obtains Aircraft from the US, Syria obtains Tanks from the EU…it has happened yet, but isnt that what Ahmed al-Sharaa is playing at? Or are they Israeli Tanks to use against Turkey, Iran, KSA, Lebanon(wipe out the Maronite Presidency) at first? Problem is then keeping Al-Qaeda from Joining The Muslim Brotherhood/ISIS from using those tanks against Israel.
You know, I love your articles, and I respect your bottom line.
I too have repeatedly heard people ardently defend Jews and Israel while they feel compelled to add that they don’t like Netanyahu. Hundreds of times, in conversation and in print.
That’s where I differ. And I’ve never done it. Period.
That said, Israeli politics are especially challenging to me. I just don’t know how to weigh in knowledgeably.
But especially in this regard I do weigh: in the opinion of floated that Netanyahu prolonged (prolongs) the war because of his own political motives, whether to continue his leadership or to avoid prosecution, or both. I don’t feel capable to judge the execution of the war, the design of strategy, the movements of the IDF, and so forth. I do believe that he, and his advisors are far more capable. Perfect? Again, I can’t know but I doubt it. Still, I also believe that any PM who would’ve successfully led this war would’ve pursued a nearly identical path.
Simultaneously, I can’t wrap my head around the idea that his motivations are so selfish that for personal reasons he is manipulating the Israelis, the Knesset, his cabinet, the world only for himself. It’s totally foreign to me. Call me naive.
Btw, I also agree that if Netanyahu of any other Israeli PM hadn’t largely taken Trump’s interventions seriously, Trump would surely have thrown him under the bus. At the same time, I can’t imagine any other American leader besides Trump would have seriously considered, much less carried out, such tangible support of Israel. He’s not a sure bet by any stretch, but he acted when it was needed. (And is he pure enough to call out and stop the menacing and manipulating Qataris? I wish but I highly doubt it.)
I’m writing this to you just to stir the pot a bit!!
So you think by ending the war would be good why? Our lovely Arab cousins hate us, and want all of us dead. Sure we would love peace and have tried for thousands of years. Every time we get kicked in the face.
It’s actually quite simple to ascertain in this particular conflict which side represents the good guys. Ask yourself one question: what would happen should each of the adversaries somehow lose all their military capabilities? If Iran and their proxies laid down their weapons, there would be no more war. If Israel laid down its weapons, there would be no more Israel.
The inability of so many to distinguish between aggressors and defenders is one of the great moral failings of our age.
The day Hamas disarms, surrenders and releases all hostages is the day the war ends, as everyone knows but refuses to acknowledge. This is as true today as it was on Oct 8. All subsequent needless suffering and civilian deaths are wholly the fault of Hamas and their terror enablers in the international community.
“If Iran and their proxies laid down their weapons, there would be no more war. If Israel laid down its weapons, there would be no more Israel.”
This, exactly.
Unfortunately it is true.
This ties into the archetypal Antisemitic trope that Jews are somehow, at the same time, both "subhuman" and "weak", but also superhumanly powerful and competent. In reality there was gross incompetence at all levels, Netanyahu included, which was one of the reasons Hamas was not prevented from carrying out the October 7th attack. There is a reason Bibi and his followers strongly object to an independent investigative commission after all...
Nothing intentional. Just negligence, incompetence, and a government distracted from its job by internal politics.
But an incompetent Israeli prime minister simply failing in his job in a particularly horrible way is unimaginable to Antisemites, who believe we are demonically superpowered and always acting according to some imaginary infernal plan.
We control the banks, the weather, the food supply, all military weaponry, and the media, but somehow couldn't use our space lasers to prevent terrorists from attacking Israel on Oct 7th. Womp womp :(
10/7 occurred because of terrible negligence and incompetence in the part of the IDF. The threat was well known and it was successfully carried out by no more than a modestly armed group of irregulars rather than a highly trained military.
The Mossad Shin Bet and IDF all were wrong and suppressed any information as to Hamss planning a war Bibi was no different than FDR in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor
As I noted, this was a multi-level failure due to multi-level gross negligence. An independent investigative commission is thus necessary once we end this war. Bibi's supporters oppose this, as he will probably be found negligent as well.
But my main point stands regardless - Antisemites refuse to accept the fact that Jews can simply be incompetent. This flies in the face of their fantasies about Jews.
Why not do such an investigation now? Why wait until the end of the war?
Bibi opposes an investigative commission chaired by a former Supreme Court justice for good reason. The Supreme Court has been consistently anti Bibi and more importantly the Supreme Court has meddled in security affairs and that needs to be investigated as well. No one is against a real independent commission. But an investigation by a former supreme court justice will be anything but.
There is a way of looking at this where it's unbelievable that this massive plan got through. There is another way of looking at this where it's terrible that this massive plan got through, and to also think about how many other plans were stopped.
Not to excuse the security establishment, but it's a cliché that successes are private and failures are public. I do think the black sabbath needs to be put into context, and the true scope and cause of the failure will take years and years to uncover (though I'm pissed at this government for scuttling a commission).
What I want to know is where is the evidence that Bibi has prolonged the war in Gaza for his own benefit. That is a blood libel and I hope he sues the NYT.
Personally I blame Biden and Blinken for the extended war. They tied Israel's hands when they wanted to go into Rafah and they refused to send the armaments Israel needed to fight in Gaza. They set the war back by months maybe a year because of the democrats needed to mollify the antiIsrael wing of the democratic party during a presidential election. Didn't get Kamala elected though and now the DNC is such a big tent it includes those who support "globalize the intifada."
The question of how such an advanced nation could be caught by surprise on Oct7, is an ongoing investigation. Much like the US was caught unaware on 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. And unless you (in the general sense not you personally) are a military expert you really have no idea what happened, why and how it could have been prevented. All you have is "feels." Israel will investigate what happened. She will make sure it doesn't happen again.
I also dont care to present my bondafides whether I like Bibi or Trump. Dont give crap whether you do either. Your opinion is valid because this is your opinion. Whether i agree with you or not is something else. It has always annoyed me that when a Jew speaks about Israel for some specter to listen we have to preface it by saying "I dont believe in the settlements or I dont support Bibi." The same with Trump. I dont have to preface whether I like Trump or not if I talk about the US, constitutional law and how this country is being run. Feh on that crap.
Well, the NYT article here claims to have the "evidence" of that. To me, it's something that's already so obvious, the article seems superfluous.
Of course none of us can know what's in Bibi heart and mind, though. That's between him and God.
There is no evidence. It’s all allegations speculations and rumors.
How, exactly, do you propose that he end the war? What simple steps is he failing to take that would eliminate the threat of further attacks from Gaza?
The problem with the NYT article is to say they have "evidence," they need to present it. They do not. That's why its a blood libel. Agree, that is between him and God for what is truly in his heart.
Personally, I think Bibi is trying to go down as the savior of Israel. I don't think he would do anything that he feels would jeopardize that legacy. I am sure he felt he needed to rehabilitate his image after October 7 and his horrible misjudgment of Hamas, but I truly believe that his main goal is destroying Hamas and ending Iran's nuclear program (something he was been talking about for decades). That getting rid of the axis of resistance around Israel turned out to be the unforeseen benefit only helps him.
Israel is not going to stop at this point no matter what it means for Bibi anyway. They do not have the hostages back, and Hamas just rejected the latest Qatari pushed deal. So what is the answer? I wish I knew.
Thank you! The New York Times headline with Netanyahu the other day drove me up a wall. I appreciate you articulating why it bothered me so much. Note also that unless I missed it, the NYT has not reported at all about the Dinah project report.
You're right, they have not. At least not yet. Fucked up.
I have no opinion on Netanyahu other than he is Israel’s leader and no matter who Israel’s leader is, I want them to succeed and protect Israel. I concede he is problematic, at least. However, I have no idea how any Israeli leader could quickly win or finish a war started by terrorists in which they are STILL holding dozens of hostages, alive and dead; and which the enemy hides within civilians and behind human shields.
I think there are two big reasons Netanyahu draws this vitriol: (1) He looks stereotypically Jewish. This triggers a latent antisemitic reflex in a lot of people, who are inclined to dislike him for being a right winger. They’d deny it, and maybe are fully unaware of it, but I’ve seen the disproportionate disgust for this guy (without any acknowledgement of his responsibility to defend half of the world’s Jews in a 7-front battle for survival). (2) This same latent antisemitism causes them to lean into historic drivel that the Jew allowed or wanted the atrocities against his own people, for his own personal gain, which is absurd and not even a charge that should be made against even the worst of our lot (Finkelstein, Beinart, Gessen, etc.). Those sickening, ignorant, but very on brand for the NYT readership, comments, bear that out. And why i gladly cancelled my subscription after 7 years. Fuck the New York Times.
Your column again nails it. The explanation that makes the most sense to me is Netanyahu and his leadership catastrophically fucked up on October 7. Israel for all its incredible successes is jerryrigged in many ways as it clings by its nails to survive. The hubris of these leaders led them to disregard the warnings of the women in their military, and they were caught flatfooted and incompetent at the worst possible time, against genocidal Palestinian savages and brutes. That so many accuse the right wing Jews of wanting this to happen says much more about their need to believe antisemitic conspiracies than it does about anyone in the Israeli government.
I think much of the vitriol towards Bibi and his merry band of sycophants is completely valid. Much of it comes from other Israelis. I view the fact that he looks stereotypically Jewish as an additional strike against him, because now every time he acts like an ass, he's *really* representing us poorly.
I have not read this story yet. I understand it was cowritten by at least one Israeli journalist (who doesn't write for Ha'Aretz). I also understand it contains information that was not previously publicly available. If Netanyahu made decisions for purely personal political reasons that cost (Israeli) lives, that is a big story (in Israel). I'm not talking about choices where it could go either way, and he went with the best for him politically, I mean choices where he clearly should have gone the other way, except for those considerations.
I don't believe that he did so, but like I said, I haven't yet read the article. I do agree that it is very weird that this is appearing in the NYT as opposed to an Israeli paper, in Hebrew.
Love this and congratulations! I share every post of yours. I’m so tired of prefacing anything I say with “I don’t agree with everything who ever does” that I won’t do it anymore. I don’t agree with you all the time and I’d definitely vote for you for President! I do suggest that people try two things to broaden their perspective. One is watch Tablet’s Israel 🇮🇱 Update. Gadi Taub and Mike Doran have a very good analysis even if you don’t agree with everything they say and Gadi has two beautiful cats who crash the show on a regular basis! Also listen to Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress on July 24 of last year if anyone has not. I’m not suggesting that anyone marry the guy - Sarah has that covered - but watch how he describes the situation. I don’t think he has a cat though. If anyone knows please inform us.
"I don't agree with everything Israel does, but I think Israel should still exist." Why the hell should anyone have to say something like that to prove their virtue? Yet I hear some variation of that phrase all the time.
I know. It’s nuts.
So many important truths here. The most important one highlighting just how little people question anything they read, or why they’re having one topic constantly thrust in their faces over another. Or why for every person online who presents a balanced and honest view, there are a thousand who will jump on them to call them genocide deniers.
Gotta love that classic logical fallacy "appeal to authority." NYT says it, so it must be true. I wait for the day when someone in a high position of authority says, "The Liberal Jew" says it, so it must be true. =P
lol I look forward to it too!
The NYT is truly Pravda on the Hudson all narrative and no facts
The NYT has a terrible history of whitewashing the rise and effects of Communism Nazism the uniquely Jewish aspects of the Holocaust opposition to anything Israel does to defend itself snd traditional Jewish values
https://www.commentary.org/articles/jonathan-foreman/how-israel-failed-on-october-7
This article sets forth why Israel faced a near catastrophe on 10/7
I agree that people use Netanyahu as the modern-day archetype of the Jew depicted in 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion', to the point that he has even be the subject of antisemitic cartoons.
I would respectfully differ about whether he has deliberately prolonged the war in Gaza for political gain. I do not claim any expertise in domestic Israeli politics. My understanding is that he faces multiple charges of bribery and corruption, and that his plans to curtail the powers of Israel's Supreme Court proved disastrous.
Surely we must take into consideration the eleven months of bombardment from Hezbollah in the north, so long forborne. Netanyahu had to switch gears in late 2024 to push Hezbollah back. This lengthened the war in Gaza. Then came the airstrikes on Iran last year, as well as exchange of fire with the Houthis. This year, more airstrikes on Iran. All of this has been crucial to strengthening Israel's military position, including pressure on Hamas in Gaza.
I would suggest that the biggest factor prolonging the war in Gaza has been the craven and morally bankrupt attempts to hamper Israel's right to self-defence and victory over Hamas terrorists. For this, it is not Netanyahu who must bear the blame, but the complicit international community which poured billions into the Gaza terror network, perhaps far more than the admittedly disgraceful bribes that Israel paid to Hamas prior to this war.
I was never anywhere near a fan of Bibi but these people’s attitudes are making me reconsider. Their hatred of Israel is so rabid, mythical and singularly obsessive - unlike attitudes towards anyone else, including genocidal tyrants with millions of victims - it’s bordering on supernatural
Thanks again for an excellent commentary. I know we shouldn’t HAVE TO defend Israel with anti-Netanyahu qualifications. BUT, in my experience it moves conversation to the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. Now, many have to come out as anti-Zionists (in many cases they end up showing their antisemitism) or defenders of Hamas. This will end the conversation for me so I’m not wasting my time. With other people it can lead to an interesting conversation about what strategy will eliminate the Hamas threat and secure the Israeli state in the long-term.
I dont know. Qatar obtains Aircraft from the US, Syria obtains Tanks from the EU…it has happened yet, but isnt that what Ahmed al-Sharaa is playing at? Or are they Israeli Tanks to use against Turkey, Iran, KSA, Lebanon(wipe out the Maronite Presidency) at first? Problem is then keeping Al-Qaeda from Joining The Muslim Brotherhood/ISIS from using those tanks against Israel.
Netanyahu's diplomacy stirs my mind…
https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-and-israeli-officials-expected-to-meet-in-azerbaijan-during-sharaas-visit/amp/
https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/european-neighbourhood-policy/countries-region/azerbaijan_en
You know, I love your articles, and I respect your bottom line.
I too have repeatedly heard people ardently defend Jews and Israel while they feel compelled to add that they don’t like Netanyahu. Hundreds of times, in conversation and in print.
That’s where I differ. And I’ve never done it. Period.
That said, Israeli politics are especially challenging to me. I just don’t know how to weigh in knowledgeably.
But especially in this regard I do weigh: in the opinion of floated that Netanyahu prolonged (prolongs) the war because of his own political motives, whether to continue his leadership or to avoid prosecution, or both. I don’t feel capable to judge the execution of the war, the design of strategy, the movements of the IDF, and so forth. I do believe that he, and his advisors are far more capable. Perfect? Again, I can’t know but I doubt it. Still, I also believe that any PM who would’ve successfully led this war would’ve pursued a nearly identical path.
Simultaneously, I can’t wrap my head around the idea that his motivations are so selfish that for personal reasons he is manipulating the Israelis, the Knesset, his cabinet, the world only for himself. It’s totally foreign to me. Call me naive.
Btw, I also agree that if Netanyahu of any other Israeli PM hadn’t largely taken Trump’s interventions seriously, Trump would surely have thrown him under the bus. At the same time, I can’t imagine any other American leader besides Trump would have seriously considered, much less carried out, such tangible support of Israel. He’s not a sure bet by any stretch, but he acted when it was needed. (And is he pure enough to call out and stop the menacing and manipulating Qataris? I wish but I highly doubt it.)
I’m writing this to you just to stir the pot a bit!!
So you think by ending the war would be good why? Our lovely Arab cousins hate us, and want all of us dead. Sure we would love peace and have tried for thousands of years. Every time we get kicked in the face.