It is war. Like all wars many people suffer. That is exactly what Hamas wanted when they murdered innocent people who were just peaceniks living their lives.
I really wish it had the subtitle as the title (The differing principles of Israel and the Palestinians) - it is offending to have “praise” and “Hamas” in the same sentence.
The analysis is spot on that Israel and Hamas/Islamic state have 2 different aims (develop Israel vs eradicate Israel)
I wish his justification for Israel’s existence was a bit more legal/historical (20th century).
On the matter of UNGA resolution 181, the 1947 partition resolution. It had nothing to do with “creating” a state, either Jewish or Arab. The U.N. has no such power under its Charter. The vote was taken in the context of the UK’s declaration that it was surrendering its authority as Mandatory Power the following May. To many nations, that meant the termination of the Mandate for Palestine - therefore, some creative solution needed to be found to avoid hostilities.
The partition resolution (in reality, this was a second partition, the first having resulted in the creation of Jordan whose independence was declared in 1946) was non-binding. In fact, it had to be because Article 80 of the U.N. Charter denied any power to diminish rights given “peoples” under then-existing Mandates of which the Mandate for Palestine was one of several.
So absent an agreement by both sides, and the Arabs unanimously rejected the compromise on offer, the rights of the Jewish people to the Mandate territory remained whole and intact.
Of course, the 1948 Arab invasion of Israel was the first major violation of the U.N. Charter and its prohibition of aggressive war. That flagrant violation was not only never punished but entire sections of the U.N. were eventually weaponized against Israel in an onslaught that continues to this very date and with no end in sight.
The point of my comment is that the international law that should be governing the Arab-Israeli conflict comes, not from 1947-48 but from 1920-22 starting with the San Remo Conference and ending with the League of Nations creation of the Mandate for Palestine. Those international instruments memorialized the rights of the Jewish people to return to their historical homeland and reestablish their sovereignty. In context, once Jordan was separated, the lands West of the Jordan River amounted to some 0.25% of the lands in the Middle East lost by the Ottoman Empire through its defeat in WWI.
You will notice that this foundational legal history is generally ignored in the discussion (including in your otherwise important article). Were it otherwise, the utter fraudulence of the rhetoric of “occupation” and “Palestinian territories” would be self-evident.
In the real world, for a state to be recognized at international law, it must satisfy the elements set out in the Montevideo Convention of 1933. “Palestine” doesn’t come close and political considerations (how many countries recognize it as a “state”) are irrelevant to the analysis.
And, in any event, the Jewish people had to fight to establish and maintain their state, because, in the final analysis, international law is not self-enforcing and has no coercive mechanism. Simply put, had Israel been overrun in 1948, all the rights afforded the Jews by a series of international agreements in the ‘20s would have been cold comfort to any survivors.
Peter--Can you explain how in the world "peerless professionals" managed to kill those 7 kitchen workers? Was that intentional? It's very disturbing to me. I have not taken a position on Rafah because I don't know enough about it, but if there is HAMAS there, then perhaps a more "surgical" kind of strike there would be good rather than an all-out ground war there. It's one thing to take a side, but it's another thing not to acknowledge wrong when our side commits it. No-one and nothing is perfect. You are probably correct about Netanyahu and his war cabinet. That doesn't make me like him any better. It's vital to recognize that the entire world is watching this conflict. To wit, I am half-Ukranian but I would be very disturbed if the Ukrainian WERE responsible for that concert terrorism that occurred in Russia. I don't believe Putin about this, but what if there were truly evidence? There is nothing on earth that could ever command me to such loyalty that I won't see or acknowledge mistakes or wrongdoing on my own side. Stuff happens. It just does. I don't mean to offend you because I really like your contributions on this site, but I feel that you MAY be a tad biased. I could be wrong but that is what I am seeing here. I wish to G-d that this war would end--or at least there were a ceasefire so we could get the hostages all out.
Peter Himmelman is too susceptible to the endless satanic bullshit/falsehoods/lies of the satanic zionazis, as spewed by their corporate PROSTITUTED control of syndicated FauxNewsmedia. His article suggests that there exists some balancing degree of equivalency of legitimacy between the two cultures. Ha! Only a braintrashed fake-ass satanic zionazi "Jew" could accept such pure satanic bullshit as "truth."
An entheogenic journey is the only possible cure of which I'm aware to possibly quickly resolve such susceptibility to the satanic/"God's chosen", ass-lying, thieving, extortionist, parasitic, xenophobic, genocidal, murderously deranged, DEMONICALLY POSSESSED braintrashing and programming of the reptilican ashke-NAZI khaz-ARYAN mafiosi gangster-bankster warmonger world-control-driven FAKE-ASS "Jews"/jewsurists.
AMEN! Call me a Democratic Socialiist who supports a TWO-STATE-SOLUTION! Any group whose basic underlying principle is ridding the world of other people—based on race, nationality, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, etc. —is invalidating its right to exist. That means Nazis, PLO, HAMAS, all religious and political fanatics, etc. Palestinians, I believe in but HAMAS I do not believe in. Jews I believe in. Let us also remember that, after WWII many Jews found out that they could not go home again to the countries that they were wrested from by the Nazis. Jews were not welcome in too many cases. I believe that Israel, the current state, was, in part, established as a response to WWII as well as the historical connection of Jews to that part of the world. Thank you for sharing and stating in no uncertain terms exactly what the stakes are in this war are and exactly how systematic and sophisticated HAMAS is. They borrow from the Hitler playbook.
Got a chance to finish it. It was an excellent commentary with examples to drive home the point. That blood libel is a terrible thing. It goes all the way back to the death of Jesus, a fellow Jew. Thank goodness in my Catechism classes, they always emphasized that it was the ROMANS who were responsible for that. And had I been in that crowd, why wouldn't I prefer a fighter to a supposed miracle worker? IMHO, I think too many people feel threatened because the Jewish people are very resourceful and smart and emphasize education as part of one's religious duty. All I can say is that I wish that they had had so many of the good experiences I have had here in my city. Our mayor is talking now....about the quake....
Thank you so much. I started to read it but then my husband came in and told me we had a small earthquake over here in NYC so I am watching the coverage. Will read the article in full later on. I was thinking about the IDF this morning and how horribly sneaky the HAMAS operatives are. The IDF owned the mistake and has begun to explain what happened. 2 people were fired from the IDF military too. So, the full extent is not yet known, but you are spot on about how there is a double standard! The things the U.S. has done in the past--just Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not to mention napalm in Vietnam....! I appreciate this information very, very much. Shalom. Will write more after I read it--our governor is about to do a press conference on the quake. So very sweet of you Peter.
Thank you, Peter for this spot on article.
Am Yisroel Chai 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱
Thank you Peter. I find myself feeling a mixture of heartbreak, exhaustion, depression and resolute inspiration in reading your thoughtful words.
It is war. Like all wars many people suffer. That is exactly what Hamas wanted when they murdered innocent people who were just peaceniks living their lives.
Well written piece in stark contrast with the sort of hateful drivel written by the “pro Palestinians” left.
I really wish it had the subtitle as the title (The differing principles of Israel and the Palestinians) - it is offending to have “praise” and “Hamas” in the same sentence.
The analysis is spot on that Israel and Hamas/Islamic state have 2 different aims (develop Israel vs eradicate Israel)
I wish his justification for Israel’s existence was a bit more legal/historical (20th century).
Overall a good read once you pass the title!
Peter, you have taken my breath away by this article. It is absolutely phenomenal!!!
On the matter of UNGA resolution 181, the 1947 partition resolution. It had nothing to do with “creating” a state, either Jewish or Arab. The U.N. has no such power under its Charter. The vote was taken in the context of the UK’s declaration that it was surrendering its authority as Mandatory Power the following May. To many nations, that meant the termination of the Mandate for Palestine - therefore, some creative solution needed to be found to avoid hostilities.
The partition resolution (in reality, this was a second partition, the first having resulted in the creation of Jordan whose independence was declared in 1946) was non-binding. In fact, it had to be because Article 80 of the U.N. Charter denied any power to diminish rights given “peoples” under then-existing Mandates of which the Mandate for Palestine was one of several.
So absent an agreement by both sides, and the Arabs unanimously rejected the compromise on offer, the rights of the Jewish people to the Mandate territory remained whole and intact.
Of course, the 1948 Arab invasion of Israel was the first major violation of the U.N. Charter and its prohibition of aggressive war. That flagrant violation was not only never punished but entire sections of the U.N. were eventually weaponized against Israel in an onslaught that continues to this very date and with no end in sight.
The point of my comment is that the international law that should be governing the Arab-Israeli conflict comes, not from 1947-48 but from 1920-22 starting with the San Remo Conference and ending with the League of Nations creation of the Mandate for Palestine. Those international instruments memorialized the rights of the Jewish people to return to their historical homeland and reestablish their sovereignty. In context, once Jordan was separated, the lands West of the Jordan River amounted to some 0.25% of the lands in the Middle East lost by the Ottoman Empire through its defeat in WWI.
You will notice that this foundational legal history is generally ignored in the discussion (including in your otherwise important article). Were it otherwise, the utter fraudulence of the rhetoric of “occupation” and “Palestinian territories” would be self-evident.
In the real world, for a state to be recognized at international law, it must satisfy the elements set out in the Montevideo Convention of 1933. “Palestine” doesn’t come close and political considerations (how many countries recognize it as a “state”) are irrelevant to the analysis.
And, in any event, the Jewish people had to fight to establish and maintain their state, because, in the final analysis, international law is not self-enforcing and has no coercive mechanism. Simply put, had Israel been overrun in 1948, all the rights afforded the Jews by a series of international agreements in the ‘20s would have been cold comfort to any survivors.
Amen.
Peter--Can you explain how in the world "peerless professionals" managed to kill those 7 kitchen workers? Was that intentional? It's very disturbing to me. I have not taken a position on Rafah because I don't know enough about it, but if there is HAMAS there, then perhaps a more "surgical" kind of strike there would be good rather than an all-out ground war there. It's one thing to take a side, but it's another thing not to acknowledge wrong when our side commits it. No-one and nothing is perfect. You are probably correct about Netanyahu and his war cabinet. That doesn't make me like him any better. It's vital to recognize that the entire world is watching this conflict. To wit, I am half-Ukranian but I would be very disturbed if the Ukrainian WERE responsible for that concert terrorism that occurred in Russia. I don't believe Putin about this, but what if there were truly evidence? There is nothing on earth that could ever command me to such loyalty that I won't see or acknowledge mistakes or wrongdoing on my own side. Stuff happens. It just does. I don't mean to offend you because I really like your contributions on this site, but I feel that you MAY be a tad biased. I could be wrong but that is what I am seeing here. I wish to G-d that this war would end--or at least there were a ceasefire so we could get the hostages all out.
Peter Himmelman is too susceptible to the endless satanic bullshit/falsehoods/lies of the satanic zionazis, as spewed by their corporate PROSTITUTED control of syndicated FauxNewsmedia. His article suggests that there exists some balancing degree of equivalency of legitimacy between the two cultures. Ha! Only a braintrashed fake-ass satanic zionazi "Jew" could accept such pure satanic bullshit as "truth."
An entheogenic journey is the only possible cure of which I'm aware to possibly quickly resolve such susceptibility to the satanic/"God's chosen", ass-lying, thieving, extortionist, parasitic, xenophobic, genocidal, murderously deranged, DEMONICALLY POSSESSED braintrashing and programming of the reptilican ashke-NAZI khaz-ARYAN mafiosi gangster-bankster warmonger world-control-driven FAKE-ASS "Jews"/jewsurists.
Thanks, I agree wholeheartedly.
AMEN! Call me a Democratic Socialiist who supports a TWO-STATE-SOLUTION! Any group whose basic underlying principle is ridding the world of other people—based on race, nationality, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, etc. —is invalidating its right to exist. That means Nazis, PLO, HAMAS, all religious and political fanatics, etc. Palestinians, I believe in but HAMAS I do not believe in. Jews I believe in. Let us also remember that, after WWII many Jews found out that they could not go home again to the countries that they were wrested from by the Nazis. Jews were not welcome in too many cases. I believe that Israel, the current state, was, in part, established as a response to WWII as well as the historical connection of Jews to that part of the world. Thank you for sharing and stating in no uncertain terms exactly what the stakes are in this war are and exactly how systematic and sophisticated HAMAS is. They borrow from the Hitler playbook.
Got a chance to finish it. It was an excellent commentary with examples to drive home the point. That blood libel is a terrible thing. It goes all the way back to the death of Jesus, a fellow Jew. Thank goodness in my Catechism classes, they always emphasized that it was the ROMANS who were responsible for that. And had I been in that crowd, why wouldn't I prefer a fighter to a supposed miracle worker? IMHO, I think too many people feel threatened because the Jewish people are very resourceful and smart and emphasize education as part of one's religious duty. All I can say is that I wish that they had had so many of the good experiences I have had here in my city. Our mayor is talking now....about the quake....
Thank you so much. I started to read it but then my husband came in and told me we had a small earthquake over here in NYC so I am watching the coverage. Will read the article in full later on. I was thinking about the IDF this morning and how horribly sneaky the HAMAS operatives are. The IDF owned the mistake and has begun to explain what happened. 2 people were fired from the IDF military too. So, the full extent is not yet known, but you are spot on about how there is a double standard! The things the U.S. has done in the past--just Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not to mention napalm in Vietnam....! I appreciate this information very, very much. Shalom. Will write more after I read it--our governor is about to do a press conference on the quake. So very sweet of you Peter.