After yesterday’s delicious propofol nap (colonoscopy: one polyp, sent for testing, not worried) I waded back into the social media waters to express my sadness about posters of Israeli victims from the Hamas massacre being ripped down.
I said “I believe,” because that’s what I sincerely believe. Anyone who believes the opposite is equally guilty of a pro-Palestinian bias according to your logic, which I don’t actually disagree with. But to MIB’s original point, I hope we’re all pro-peace in the region and pro-compassion for all human suffering.
And I wasn’t comparing the Arab-Israeli conflict to WW2 on a historical or moral level, just pointing out that they both contain unavoidable urban warfare. Which sadly ensures the loss of innocent life and the destruction of buildings. Battles are rarely fought on battlefields anymore. War has always been hell. But it has gotten worse from our Civil War-present day and obviously should be avoided whenever possible.
I was at a concert recently where the band (fronted by a Palestinian-American woman) had the names of Palestinian children, aged 1-5, who have died since 7 October written on a banner behind them. It was in direct response to President Biden's statement doubting the casualty figures coming out of Gaza.
I can't imagine how upset I would have been if someone had ripped that banner down. And I can't express the heartbreak I had when I heard about these posters being ripped down.
Thank you for continuing to be decent. I honestly think it's all many of us can do in this moment.
"Israelis deserve to live free and secure lives. Palestinians also deserve to live free and secure lives. Both deserve a nation. Both deserve peace."
Decency and compassion - here I, too, stand. Respect and blessings, you are a good, good man. We are lucky to have your voice, your words, quietly rising above the din that engulfs us in this devastating tragedy.
Love what you wrote Michael. Truthful and fair. We need to think of the people, no matter who they are. We need to think of the children caught up in both sides of this horror. We need leaders to find a way out of anymore bloodshed. We are in the 21st century yet we have not evolved, war and killing is still the solution.
I agree with all of this wholeheartedly. I just was horrified by how fast people on social media jumped to hatefulness and vindictiveness. I just had to close my laptop and walk away. I don’t know how you are putting up with everything that I’m seeing in your comments on Twitter. But know that I agree with you that compassion has to be the way through and forward. And know that the people who are hateful are not the majority. There are people who are confused and sad and feeling helpless, and they are in the majority. They need to hear about compassion and you are doing that. Thank you.
“It’s the fear for a world that seemingly slipped into madness around 2016 and has yet to find its way back.”
Feeling this hard. For any fans of the show Community, it’s like we have slipped into the “darkest timeline” and don’t know how to find our way back to the better ones
Unfortunately no, people cannot hold two ideas in their heads anymore and the last few weeks are proof. For this reason I’m trying to week myself off of social media and spend more time on substack. I like that you’re here. Since the State, I have always enjoyed your humor and your writing. Saw you at the University of Kentucky a couple decades ago. Keep writing and rocking.
The world is binary! ....but if we can walk the tightrope between the 2 we can survive and thrive!
My favorite thing about the Jewish people (and I love all ppl) is their use of humor to keep going, But in that same breath I love to read about your serious side.
My mother and her parents survived the Holocaust. I am glad they are not here today to witness the hate being directed at Jews. I don’t have the answers. But it breaks my heart to read about young Jewish people needing to go around in pairs out of fear, in this country, today. Seeing antisemitism expressed so casually, or worse, gleefully, in the media, on campuses, by politicians. I am paraphrasing someone else but it’s as if this is viewed as the permission they were waiting for to say the vile shit they were holding back before.
After 9/11, they had permission to go after the muslim community/anyone vaguely resembling them. When Obama was elected, time to go after the Black community. I am just waiting for the spray paint on the house.
“Bibi” is making this worse because he hopes it will help him become a forever PM/ dictator. If the Israelis kick him to the curb and elect a saner government, maybe things will improve. Not counting on him to make it better.
I’ve been following along and reading some of the responses you’ve gotten on Twitter. (I will never call it ‘X’ because Elon Musk is an ass. But I digress.) I had to stop reading them because I felt like my brain was going to implode. You’ve handled them with far more patience and civility than I ever could (and significantly fewer curse words) and I commend you for that.
Nuance, deep thoughts and considering the larger implications are impossible for some people. It’s all just binary thinking and knee jerk reactions and anyone who disagrees can only be the enemy. They don’t want to see both sides of any situation because that requires too much effort and hating someone else makes them feel brave and superior. In reality they simply show the rest of us just how mean and small minded they really are. Then they go out and vote for the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ron DeSantis and Mike Johnson. And of course, Cinnamon Hitler.
I know that you will keep fighting the good fight. Just don’t forget to take a nap once in awhile. And eat some chocolate. It helped Harry against the Dementors, so it’s bound to work on trolls. 🤷🏻♀️
You know I love you, Michael, and you make many good points in here. I agree with roughly 80% of everything you wrote. But you got one thing objectively wrong, and I need correct you in an effort to help spread facts rather than misinformation. A nation's military cannot commit the crime of terrorism. Israel may be guilty of war crimes (even that is uncertain), but they are definitely not guilty of terrorism in Gaza. Dresden was a war crime. It was not terrorism. One could argue the right wing Orthodox extremist Jews who murdered some innocent Palestinian civilians in the aftermath of 10/7 are guilty of terrorism. But more likely, even they are guilty of hate crimes, right? Words like "terrorism" and "genocide" (a word I was relieved you didn't use) should not be thrown around lightly. Neither should "colonial" or "apartheid" (also words I am glad you didn't use).
I believe that the vast majority of the anti-Israel sentiment that immediately followed 10/7, well in advance of Israel's invasion of Gaza, is rooted in the belief that Jews in Israel are "settler-colonialists" (objectively and demonstrably false) and that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians (again, objectively and demonstrably false). Trump's greatest crime by far was convincing Americans that each side is entitled to their own set of facts. My only goal here is to keep people honest, to help educate, and to not let the well-intentioned (which includes both of us) fall into Trump's trap.
There may be legal definitions of the word "terrorism," but we disagree that a nation cannot commit it. If a government uses its military to terrify a civilian population, regardless of ancillary goals, in my mind that's enough to call it terrorism. I think Israel is doing this and so I call it terrorism whether or not it meets the strict legal definition.
I figured that was your thinking on it. But why isn't "war crime" a strong enough accusation? Why use the wrong word? Almost all modern warfare (WW2 to the present) terrorizes civilian populations. Any bombing campaign in an urban area (which again, is an awful feature of almost all modern warfare I can think of) causes "collateral damage" (a truly terrible euphemism for civilian casualties) and has the effect, intended or not, of terrorizing the non-combatants. Terrorism does not mean "causing terror" as you know. The combatants in this case, Hamas, live among civilians. That's not Israel's fault. It's Israel's problem. What are they supposed to do under the circumstances?
Like you, I'm sick about the whole conflict. The 60% of Jews in Israel who are of Middle Eastern descent are almost exactly the same as the Palestinian Arabs ethnically. They are both Semites. Why can't these people make peace with each other. The answer: bad leadership on both sides. Hamas must be eradicated. Including the billionaire who lives in a 30,000 square foot mansion in Qatar. And then Netanyahu must be removed from power and tried for all of his Trump-y crimes (and war crimes if they can be proven). Then maybe there can be peace through a two state solution.
Depriving civilians of basic human needs like food, medicine, and electricity constitute war crimes. So does de-housing them and razing the structures left over. While the acts might instill terror in the victims, which in that way would be terrorism, the doing of them are war crimes. Both sides are committed to destroying the other side, regardless of international law or basic human rights and neither side will stop as long as there is either emotion or support. Hamas is a terrorist organization that took control after losing elections and Israel is led by a weak, but very powerful leader dealing with his own criminal charges.
Over 140 aid trucks have been allowed in to date. Israel does not want to give Hamas medicine/food/etc, and there are as many as 20,000 Hamas militants among the population. Very tricky. Also, you don’t think civilians all over Europe were deprived of all these things during WW2? That is the nature of modern warfare. They say War is Hell for a reason. Killing innocent civilians, dehousing them, etc are only war crimes if they are deliberate. I do not believe Israel is deliberately doing these things. I believe it is unavoidable in urban warfare.
Israel will defeat Hamas. But I agree that “no one will win this” until there is a two state solution. I wonder if the Palestinians could have seen 75 years into the future, if they would have accepted the state they were offered under the UN partition plan in 1948, which was bigger and better than what the Jewish people were offered after the Holocaust? Incredible how much human suffering could have been avoided.
"I do not believe Israel is deliberately doing these things. I believe it is unavoidable in urban warfare," sounds very much like pro-Israel spin. Israel told the Palestinians in the north of Gaza to leave their homes and move south so they could then bomb the structures and anyone left. If that is not "deliberate" and intentional dehousing, the spin doctor is working. And comparing the Arab-Israeli conflict with World War II is a stretch, a long stretch.
I used “terrorism” instead “war crime” to draw the parallel between what the two sides are doing. Anyway, they’re legalistic words and it isn’t meant to be a legalistic post.
I said “I believe,” because that’s what I sincerely believe. Anyone who believes the opposite is equally guilty of a pro-Palestinian bias according to your logic, which I don’t actually disagree with. But to MIB’s original point, I hope we’re all pro-peace in the region and pro-compassion for all human suffering.
And I wasn’t comparing the Arab-Israeli conflict to WW2 on a historical or moral level, just pointing out that they both contain unavoidable urban warfare. Which sadly ensures the loss of innocent life and the destruction of buildings. Battles are rarely fought on battlefields anymore. War has always been hell. But it has gotten worse from our Civil War-present day and obviously should be avoided whenever possible.
Thank you for putting into eloquent words what I have been struggling to put down myself.
I was at a concert recently where the band (fronted by a Palestinian-American woman) had the names of Palestinian children, aged 1-5, who have died since 7 October written on a banner behind them. It was in direct response to President Biden's statement doubting the casualty figures coming out of Gaza.
I can't imagine how upset I would have been if someone had ripped that banner down. And I can't express the heartbreak I had when I heard about these posters being ripped down.
Thank you for continuing to be decent. I honestly think it's all many of us can do in this moment.
You are a good dude, Michael. Thank you.
"Israelis deserve to live free and secure lives. Palestinians also deserve to live free and secure lives. Both deserve a nation. Both deserve peace."
Decency and compassion - here I, too, stand. Respect and blessings, you are a good, good man. We are lucky to have your voice, your words, quietly rising above the din that engulfs us in this devastating tragedy.
Thank you.
Thank you for being decent. We need more of that!
Love what you wrote Michael. Truthful and fair. We need to think of the people, no matter who they are. We need to think of the children caught up in both sides of this horror. We need leaders to find a way out of anymore bloodshed. We are in the 21st century yet we have not evolved, war and killing is still the solution.
I agree with all of this wholeheartedly. I just was horrified by how fast people on social media jumped to hatefulness and vindictiveness. I just had to close my laptop and walk away. I don’t know how you are putting up with everything that I’m seeing in your comments on Twitter. But know that I agree with you that compassion has to be the way through and forward. And know that the people who are hateful are not the majority. There are people who are confused and sad and feeling helpless, and they are in the majority. They need to hear about compassion and you are doing that. Thank you.
“It’s the fear for a world that seemingly slipped into madness around 2016 and has yet to find its way back.”
Feeling this hard. For any fans of the show Community, it’s like we have slipped into the “darkest timeline” and don’t know how to find our way back to the better ones
You are a good and decent man, Mike. I agree.
Unfortunately no, people cannot hold two ideas in their heads anymore and the last few weeks are proof. For this reason I’m trying to week myself off of social media and spend more time on substack. I like that you’re here. Since the State, I have always enjoyed your humor and your writing. Saw you at the University of Kentucky a couple decades ago. Keep writing and rocking.
You’re a good man, MIB. The more I read your writings the more I’m reminded of who I want to be. Thank you.
The world is binary! ....but if we can walk the tightrope between the 2 we can survive and thrive!
My favorite thing about the Jewish people (and I love all ppl) is their use of humor to keep going, But in that same breath I love to read about your serious side.
Thank you again ☺️
My mother and her parents survived the Holocaust. I am glad they are not here today to witness the hate being directed at Jews. I don’t have the answers. But it breaks my heart to read about young Jewish people needing to go around in pairs out of fear, in this country, today. Seeing antisemitism expressed so casually, or worse, gleefully, in the media, on campuses, by politicians. I am paraphrasing someone else but it’s as if this is viewed as the permission they were waiting for to say the vile shit they were holding back before.
After 9/11, they had permission to go after the muslim community/anyone vaguely resembling them. When Obama was elected, time to go after the Black community. I am just waiting for the spray paint on the house.
“Bibi” is making this worse because he hopes it will help him become a forever PM/ dictator. If the Israelis kick him to the curb and elect a saner government, maybe things will improve. Not counting on him to make it better.
I’ve been following along and reading some of the responses you’ve gotten on Twitter. (I will never call it ‘X’ because Elon Musk is an ass. But I digress.) I had to stop reading them because I felt like my brain was going to implode. You’ve handled them with far more patience and civility than I ever could (and significantly fewer curse words) and I commend you for that.
Nuance, deep thoughts and considering the larger implications are impossible for some people. It’s all just binary thinking and knee jerk reactions and anyone who disagrees can only be the enemy. They don’t want to see both sides of any situation because that requires too much effort and hating someone else makes them feel brave and superior. In reality they simply show the rest of us just how mean and small minded they really are. Then they go out and vote for the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ron DeSantis and Mike Johnson. And of course, Cinnamon Hitler.
I know that you will keep fighting the good fight. Just don’t forget to take a nap once in awhile. And eat some chocolate. It helped Harry against the Dementors, so it’s bound to work on trolls. 🤷🏻♀️
You know I love you, Michael, and you make many good points in here. I agree with roughly 80% of everything you wrote. But you got one thing objectively wrong, and I need correct you in an effort to help spread facts rather than misinformation. A nation's military cannot commit the crime of terrorism. Israel may be guilty of war crimes (even that is uncertain), but they are definitely not guilty of terrorism in Gaza. Dresden was a war crime. It was not terrorism. One could argue the right wing Orthodox extremist Jews who murdered some innocent Palestinian civilians in the aftermath of 10/7 are guilty of terrorism. But more likely, even they are guilty of hate crimes, right? Words like "terrorism" and "genocide" (a word I was relieved you didn't use) should not be thrown around lightly. Neither should "colonial" or "apartheid" (also words I am glad you didn't use).
I believe that the vast majority of the anti-Israel sentiment that immediately followed 10/7, well in advance of Israel's invasion of Gaza, is rooted in the belief that Jews in Israel are "settler-colonialists" (objectively and demonstrably false) and that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians (again, objectively and demonstrably false). Trump's greatest crime by far was convincing Americans that each side is entitled to their own set of facts. My only goal here is to keep people honest, to help educate, and to not let the well-intentioned (which includes both of us) fall into Trump's trap.
There may be legal definitions of the word "terrorism," but we disagree that a nation cannot commit it. If a government uses its military to terrify a civilian population, regardless of ancillary goals, in my mind that's enough to call it terrorism. I think Israel is doing this and so I call it terrorism whether or not it meets the strict legal definition.
This is over semantics. Trying to call this anything but terrorism is just playing games with words. Look at the end results. That’s all you need.
I figured that was your thinking on it. But why isn't "war crime" a strong enough accusation? Why use the wrong word? Almost all modern warfare (WW2 to the present) terrorizes civilian populations. Any bombing campaign in an urban area (which again, is an awful feature of almost all modern warfare I can think of) causes "collateral damage" (a truly terrible euphemism for civilian casualties) and has the effect, intended or not, of terrorizing the non-combatants. Terrorism does not mean "causing terror" as you know. The combatants in this case, Hamas, live among civilians. That's not Israel's fault. It's Israel's problem. What are they supposed to do under the circumstances?
Like you, I'm sick about the whole conflict. The 60% of Jews in Israel who are of Middle Eastern descent are almost exactly the same as the Palestinian Arabs ethnically. They are both Semites. Why can't these people make peace with each other. The answer: bad leadership on both sides. Hamas must be eradicated. Including the billionaire who lives in a 30,000 square foot mansion in Qatar. And then Netanyahu must be removed from power and tried for all of his Trump-y crimes (and war crimes if they can be proven). Then maybe there can be peace through a two state solution.
Depriving civilians of basic human needs like food, medicine, and electricity constitute war crimes. So does de-housing them and razing the structures left over. While the acts might instill terror in the victims, which in that way would be terrorism, the doing of them are war crimes. Both sides are committed to destroying the other side, regardless of international law or basic human rights and neither side will stop as long as there is either emotion or support. Hamas is a terrorist organization that took control after losing elections and Israel is led by a weak, but very powerful leader dealing with his own criminal charges.
Nobody will win this. Nobody. Ever.
Over 140 aid trucks have been allowed in to date. Israel does not want to give Hamas medicine/food/etc, and there are as many as 20,000 Hamas militants among the population. Very tricky. Also, you don’t think civilians all over Europe were deprived of all these things during WW2? That is the nature of modern warfare. They say War is Hell for a reason. Killing innocent civilians, dehousing them, etc are only war crimes if they are deliberate. I do not believe Israel is deliberately doing these things. I believe it is unavoidable in urban warfare.
Israel will defeat Hamas. But I agree that “no one will win this” until there is a two state solution. I wonder if the Palestinians could have seen 75 years into the future, if they would have accepted the state they were offered under the UN partition plan in 1948, which was bigger and better than what the Jewish people were offered after the Holocaust? Incredible how much human suffering could have been avoided.
"I do not believe Israel is deliberately doing these things. I believe it is unavoidable in urban warfare," sounds very much like pro-Israel spin. Israel told the Palestinians in the north of Gaza to leave their homes and move south so they could then bomb the structures and anyone left. If that is not "deliberate" and intentional dehousing, the spin doctor is working. And comparing the Arab-Israeli conflict with World War II is a stretch, a long stretch.
I used “terrorism” instead “war crime” to draw the parallel between what the two sides are doing. Anyway, they’re legalistic words and it isn’t meant to be a legalistic post.
I’m a lawyer and I fully understood your usage.