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Daniel Melgar's avatar

Powerful because it is true. No more Israelis should sacrifice their lives to appease the antisemites in the world. These haters will never be our friends.

America dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. The terms of this war are no different. America chose not to sacrifice American soldiers. Israel must do the same.

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Chana M.'s avatar

You nailed it.

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Rachel's avatar

You're absolutely right.

It's madness. Gazans have to be forced to solve their own problems and take the consequences of their own actions.

If I were the mother of a dead Israeli soldier I'd be burning with rage.

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Author John G. Dyer's avatar

Most of us are astonished by Israel's restraint.

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Yonatan Daon-Stern's avatar

I think calling it “restraint” is an understatement. It’s an active policy of a state that is consistently sacrificing its own people for its enemy. It’s evil!

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Author John G. Dyer's avatar

Counterproductive, at the least.

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Chana M.'s avatar

Bibi made himself beholden to Biden, who imposed limits on Israel’s ability to execute the war it deserved to wage in the first place. Then Trump started calling the shots and Bibi came to the White House repeatedly to kiss his ass, flatter and cajole him. Perhaps Bibi thought he nailed it until Trump flew home with a shiny, big airplane bribe from his Middle East terror hosts, having thrown Israel under the bus. Never mind. Trump had the bunker busters. But he didn’t bother assisting Israel until Bibi was getting all the credit- oh NO! - so Trump sent in the bombers to grasp the spotlight for himself because that’s what narcissists do. So now, this. Endless war, no concessions, just feed the beasts’ insatiable appetite and strengthen them to starve hostages to death and continue killing Israel’s sons and daughters. Hamas is embraced, legitimized with statehood. Israel is demonized and can do no right. Israel lost the war of public opinion long ago. Like you, I wish they’d finish up the one that matters. Those of us in the Diaspora are choking out here: Enough already! Stop the madness because we outside Israel are also paying a heavy price!

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Yonatan Daon-Stern's avatar

I agree. This suicidal way of waging war is the legacy of Netanyahu

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Mark Shupe's avatar

"But to be good sometimes means to be hated." Yes! That is the epiphany that must be experienced, internalized and eventually a source of pride in order to defeat the scurrying rats.

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Dana's avatar

Trying to be more “moral” than your opponent assures your defeat.

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Mark Shupe's avatar

Well done - a horribly misunderstood phenomenon that sanctions the worst of cultures - and moral suicide. I spent time last week with someone far more well-traveled that me and he had interesting take on the rottenness of "Palestinians" and why they are rejected by the rest of the Arab world. Of course, in a broad sense it is tribalism - and these people are mix of Roma and other ethnicities that cannot be rehabilitated. Is that accurate?

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Yonatan Daon-Stern's avatar

Thanks Mark, I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “cannot be rehabilitating”. Can you elaborate?

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Mark Shupe's avatar

It was "rehabilitated," and I think the best explanation was given by Tal in his OCON talk. Dagny did not understand that her ideas and her example were not going to convince her destroyers. On an individual basis, Palestinian people can change and reject long-held beliefs, but we have no duty to make it happen except with ourselves.

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Stephen Schecter's avatar

I did enjoy this piece. It's still time for Israel to lay down the law, now more than ever. See my piece Game over in Gaza on my substack at schecter.substack.com

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Alex Sanchez's avatar

We don't starve our enemy because we don't want to starve our enemy. The guiding light is to live in peace. Holding that torch, regardless of what the world says, is worthy in and of itself. Losing our humanity and changing what we believe, just to win a war quickly, changes who we are. I choose life. Feed them. Not so the world loves us, but so we remain who we are in spite of the what the world thinks.

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Yonatan Daon-Stern's avatar

It's inhumane to send our children to die in order to feed our enemy. There's nothing moral about that, it's actualy evil.

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