Israel's Troubles: Hamas and the Blowback from October 7th and Hamas

There was a time that whenever Israel was attacked, most of the free (ish) world would rally around the beleaguered little country. But now, it seems nearly everybody, especially the youth, are out protesting and chanting "Free Palestine" or "Stop the Genocide" when it was Israel that was the victim. They (illegally) block highways, streets, and prevent free movement of individuals. They disrupt anywhere they can. They engage in vandalism. They also strike out against anyone who disagrees with them

They charge into shops, disrupt business, knock over merchandise, etc.  They make an ass of themselves at graduation services. They've interfered with wedding and church services. They prevent fellow students from attending class. While these individuals like to wave Palestinian flags, wear a Arab Keffiyeh, I have to wonder just how familiar they are with the history of Israel or Palestine?

Do they know, for instance,  that the region had been under control of the British? As a colonial power, Britain acquired control of what was called the "Palestinian Territories" after  the collapse and breakup of the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I ( the breakup was engineered by the British and  French which also acquired a large swath of land along with Germany's colonies).

 It was called the "British Mandate for Palestine", and included the Emirate of Transjordan, They also acquired Arabian Peninsula, including what is now Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the Mandate of Mesopotamia (Iraq).  Egypt had been under British control since 1882.  

In 1917, the British published a statement in support of establishing a Jewish homeland called the "Balfour Declaration".  The declaration favored a dual state, one Jewish and one Palestine. It specifically said that there would be no interference with anyone's religious or civil rights.  In 1939, the British published a "White Paper" or policy statement in response to massive Arab revolts (1936 -- 1939).

The paper was published by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (of the infamous Munich Accords). Its aim was to appease the Arab nations by limiting Jewish immigration into the Holy Land, restricted the sale of land to Jews, and the establishment of a Jewish homeland within ten years---1949 in violation of the Balfour Declaration. Of course during that ten year period there was an event which changed everything. It was called the Holocaust.

The Holocaust officially began in 1941, although anti-Semitism wasn't strictly a "German disease" as it was called. It  had been rampant in most European countries for centuries. The Holocaust didn't end until  Nazi Germany's surrender in 1945. It resulted in the deaths of over six million people plus  thousands more forced to live in starvation conditions in dumps known as "ghettos" (as an aside, percentage wise, more Roma gypsies were murdered by the Nazis than Jews).   

While there had been rumblings of reneging on the promise of a Jewish state, but global sympathy for Jews everywhere practically insured the establishment of a new Jewish homeland.  For politicians,  to do otherwise would have been political suicide. Meanwhile, Jews who had earlier settled in Palestine formed their own terrorist units such as Haganah, Irgun and the Lehi or "Stern Gang" in response to attacks on Jewish farms  by Arabs as well as on British authorities in order to keep the Jewish cause in the news and to push British officials back in London.

On November 29th, 1947, the United Nations adopted a plan, originally submitted by American, British, and French, known as "Resolution 181 (II)". It called for a two state solution, one Jewish and one Palestinian. Palestine would compose 42% of the land  or about 6,900 square miles (the proposal was amended to put the town of Beersheba and a strip of land along the Negev Desert into Palestine). 

The new Israeli state would cover 56% of the territory or the equivalent of  8,761 square miles. Israel would get the coastal region from Ashdod to Akko and would include what was the small port city of Haifa. The Palestinians received the central and western Galilee as well as Be'er Sheva and the Jordan Valley. As an aside, this would be the first Jewish nation since its destruction in 79 AD.

The Romans, tired of Jewish revolts and attacks on Roman soldiers and officials, decided that the Jewish state had to go. Accordingly, the main temple (allegedly built by King Solomon) was leveled as where a number of other institutions throughout Judea. Jews were rounded up and taken as slaves or executed (especially the priests and officials). The rest were scattered to the winds with a warning never to return. Thus began the Jewish Diaspora.

As for the remaining 2% comprising the areas around Bethlehem and Jerusalem, would become international zones to be administered by the UN. The Resolution also called for the gradual withdrawal of the British presence from the region. Authority over the respective territories would gradually  be transferred to Jewish and Palestinians officials to run. The actual partition was based primarily on Jewish and Arab population distribution.

When the vote came on November 29, 1947, just two years after the end of WWII, 33 nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union, voted in favor of the plan. 13 nations voted no, and 10 nations refrained. When the plan was submitted to the Jewish People represented by the World Zionist Organization and the existing Jewish communities (called the "Yishuv") it passed unanimously.

However, things weren't so upbeat on the Arab side. Nearly all of the Arab nations voted unanimously to reject the plan on behalf of Palestine (at this point it should be pointed out that Palestine was never a nation state. It was a territory without a central government. It existed mainly as a geographic area on a map).

So, here was the UN offering not just the Jews a state of their own, they were offering the Palestinians the chance to have their own nation as well, which was rejected by other Arab nations (later were known as the "Arab League"). Instead of putting the issue to a vote by the Palestinian people, the matter of a actual Palestinian state which arrogantly rejected by a group of unaffected autocrats.

Worse, these same Arab states, which consisted of Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia,  along with two mercenary groups, the "Holy War Army" and Al-Najjada, emphatically said  they would snuff out the newborn Jewish state if it declared independence. So, on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel came into being after some 2000 years. The following day, May 15, the five armies of the Arab League invaded. While the Arab nations had a relatively modern military with tanks, heavy artillery, and fighter planes, the Israelis had virtually nothing.

At the outset, Israel's "tank corp" consisted on two WWII era tanks. Their air force was more like a "air farce".  It was made up of mostly WWII era surplus, including some German and British planes. It's army was mostly members of the various paramilitary forces such as Irgun and Haganah, and volunteers from elsewhere. What small arms they possessed either homemade from parts commonly found in hardware stores. Other were WWI and WWII vintage (and one small cannon which dated from the late 1800's!).

Nevertheless, after ten months of bitter fighting, a truce was finally agreed on...and Israel was larger than before. Egypt and Jordan retained control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but Israel's population also more than doubled.  The Arab League, despite its strength on paper, couldn't rid itself of Israel. However, what it did manage to destroy was any hope of there ever being a Palestinian State.

In 1956, the Arabs, under the leadership of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, decided to try it again. The "Suez Crisis" had mixed results. Prior to the war, Egypt had nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been jointly operated by the French and British. As a result of the nationalization, Egypt effectively controlled all traffic into and out of this vital waterway.  The nationalization was seen by the Arab world as slap in the face of France, Great Britain, and the United States for their support of Israel.

While Israel was attacked by Egypt and elements from other Arab nations, they found themselves defeated in a matter of one week and two days. Israel, along with the British and French and support from the U.S., defeated the Egyptian Army in the Sinai and seized control of Sharm al-Sheikh, thus gaining access strategic control of the Straits of Tiran and forced the Suez Canal to reopen.  It's worth noting that while Egypt had lost on the battlefield, it had won on the all important public relations front, especially among the other Arab nations.

President Nasser was viewed as not just an Egyptian hero, but as a Arab hero, creating what could only be called "Pan-Arabism", uniting all the Arab nations under one banner.  Egypt's loss also resulted in the creation of the "Fedayeen Insurgency Movement", which was a multi-national organization of Arab guerrillas. Their aim was to constantly attack and harass Israelis, particularly civilians, which only added to Nasser's fame and reputation as Israel's deadliest foe.

In June of 1967, Israel found itself at war again. This time it was the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq all contributed troops and equipment. By the time it was over six days later (and thus became known as the "Six Day War"), the Arab coalition had again been soundly defeated.

The Arab armies lost more than a war. As a result of their defeat, Israel gained substantial amounts of territory which included both the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the strategic Golan Heights from Syria along with Gaza and the entire Sinai from the Egyptians.  Nevertheless, despite another loss, the Arab League weren't quiet finished yet. Later that same year began the "War of Attrition", which would continue for three more years.

The "War of Attrition" was a pseudo-war conducted by Egypt (with Soviet backing), Jordan, Syria, and a new player to the conflict, the Palestine Liberation Organization, better known as the "PLO"  and led by a civil engineer by the name of Yasser Arafat. The war was an intended to recover lost Egyptian land, yet  once again Egypt found itself on the losing end.

In 1972, a PLO splinter group, "Black September" seized a number of key facilities in the Olympic Village  during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Its goal was the capture and murder of the Israeli Olympic team. The credibility of Germany was at stake too. The 1972 Olympics marked the first time Germany had hosted the games since the 1936 Berlin Olympics under Adolf Hitler and the German Olympic Committee was determined to put Germany in a positive light.

The German police and special units of the German military made several botched rescue attempts (with the help of the media which was broadcasting live every movement of the German rescue attempt). 20 hours later, all 11 Israeli Olympians were dead along with the terrorists in what become known as the Munich Massacre"

In 1973 came the infamous "Yom Kippur War" which nearly resulted in not just defeat for Israeli forces, but the destruction of Israel itself. The war, led by Syria and Egypt and the usual compliment of multi-national Arab volunteers, attacked Israel on its most sacred day---the "Day of Atonement", or Yom Kippur.

After a frantic and bloody 20 days of fighting, Israeli forces were able to recover land taken in the earliest days of the fight and went on to decisively defeat their enemy, coming within miles of the capitals of both Syria and Egypt. While a victory for Israel, it was hard fought and Israel came to the razor's edge of defeat. The result was a complete reorganization of the Israeli government, its army and General Staff, and its intelligence services, the Mossad and Shin Bet.

Since then, Israel has continued to fight numerous wars and conflicts including the 1982 Lebanon War, the terroristic Abu Nidal Organization, two Intifadas, a second and third conflict in Lebanon, which included a new terrorist organization, the Iranian backed Hezbollah, and numerous military engagement in and around Gaza. 

There was some success however. In 1979, Egypt and Israel concluded a peace and trade agreement in exchange for Israel returning the Sinai. Jordan signed a similar agreement in 1994. By 2020, four other Arab nations---United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco, Sudan, and Bahrain agreed to recognize Israel and normalize relations. The "land for peace" policy seemed to be working.  Even the PLO mellowed.

That all changed on October 7, 2023, when some 3000 members of Hamas's paramilitary suddenly attacked and murdered thousands of innocent men, women, and children who were attending a concert. They beat, mutilated, incinerated, and brutally raped almost as many.  Then there's the bloody 252 hostages they took, intending to hide behind them like cowards and to use them as bargain chips. Hamas had previously been lobbing missiles into Israel on a weekly, if not daily, basis.  Who can truly fault Israel for trying to protect its people and rid the world of this plague?

But this is the Middle East, where peace is fleeting and hatred runs deep. It's where the cult of death is valued  more than the love of life. Somehow, it's coming here to our shores. Naive and  idealistic youth, coached by their professional protest organizers, spew  unimaginative slogans demanding a "free" Palestine and an end to Israeli's "genocide" at the top of their lungs while being totally unaware of the past.

Where were the protesters when Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization that even the Palestinian Authority dislikes, murdered, starved, and bullied the people of Gaza for years or when they used schools and hospitals as cover to launch rockets at Israel in the hopes Israel would retaliate so they can use their bodies as propaganda? Where's the outrage now against rape or threat of rape being as a weapon?  Where the anger for the innocent Israels murdered in cold blood or those taken hostage?

They say knowledge is power. I hope the facts presented to you in this article makes you one powerful individual. At least, I hope it opens your eyes. It will, at the very least, enlighten you about how the Arab League, not Israel,  allowed their hatred of the Jews to deny the Palestinians a homeland. How Arab nations repeatedly attacked Israel directly and indirectly.

 

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Partition of the Ottoman Empire

 

White Paper of 1939

British Mandate for Palestine

List of wars involving Israel

Suez Crisis

 

Casualties of the Israeli - Hamas War

Massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games

Hamas

 

Is It More Than London Bridge That's Falling Down?

On June 5th of 2017, the normal British "stiff upper lip" was once more put to the test. The Brits has seen their fair share of challenges, be it economic, military such as the Falkland's , Hitler's Blitz, and joining in with the American Allies in the Middle East; extending a cultural, economic, and military unlike any history. However, this time it was very personal, not just because it was a Brit who aimed their hatred at fellow Brits, but because this was in many way a reflection of Empire, but more on that in a moment. What happened on June 5th, was an act of spite, religious and social hatred, and shear cowardice as suicide attacks often are (I prefer to call them what they are, homicide attack since their sole is mass murder of innocent unaware and unarmed victims, which is also why I refer to them as acts of cowardice, but I suppose that's just semantics on my part). On that Saturday, a stolen van mowed down bystanders walking along the famous bridge way until it crashed into the cast iron railing. At that moment, three Middle Eastern men jumped out and proceeded to attack anyone and everyone they could with knives, especially those either entering or existing nearby restaurants and bars. Witnesses said individuals along the way ran---yelling at others to run too---or they fought back with bottles, trashcans, and even chairs. ISIS immediately took credit for the attacked and praised the murders.

When it was over, the three murders were dead; shot to death by London Transit Authority at the nearby Bourgh Market, which is just a few short blocks away from London Bridge. Meanwhile, reports came in of additional stabbing attacks several blocks away at Vauxhall. They were found to be wearing fake suicide vest; possibly to be used as a ruse should the opportunity to take hostages arose. Metropolitan Police responded that while there were stabbing attacks, they didn't think they were related, at least not directly, with the mayhem on London Bridge. British PM, Theresa May called the incident a "terrible accident". Indeed it was Ms. May, but hardly is a terrorist attack merely an "accident" (ironically, Ms. May cut 20,000 police officer positions during her tenure as Home Secretary). There have already been calls by Labour Party to reexamine the reduction in London's police officers and an immediate restoration of at least 10,000 of those posts in light of recent events. Can anyone say "pen gate closed and pigs already out"?

Two of the mass murders were identified as Rachid Redouance and Khuran Shazad Butt (such an appropriate last name for a terrorist, but I digress). Butt was also known as Adbul Zaitan. Redouance, aka Rachid Elkhdar who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan , was 30 years old. Butt, age 27, was a British citizen of Pakistani birth was a former employee of the Transit Authority and likely had knowledge of security procedures. He was also a customer service assistant trainee for the London Underground (London's famed subway system). Thus far, no information has been made public about the third terrorist. However, it should be noted that 130 Imams---Muslim religious leaders and religious heads of mosques---refused to accept the bodies for burial.

MI5, Britain's famous counter intelligence agency said they were familiar with Butt, as was Interpol most likely. He had recently appeared in a documentary made for the BBC regarding increasing militancy among British Muslims. Ironically, Butt stated in the documentary that an attack using a stolen van followed by an attack of some sort would be an ideal attack. A public warning no one heeded? Butt had previously been asked to leave several local mosques due to his radical tendencies. He was also associated with the notorious radical Muslim terrorist group al-Muhajiroun. For those not familiar with this rabid pact or its leader, Anjem Choudary, they were responsible for the attack and public beheading of an off duty British soldier just outside of his Barracks gate in southeast London in 2013. This is also the same group which attacked and beheaded a older woman in London. Of far more importance is those attacked. 48 individuals were injured; some quite seriously, including a Transit Authority police officer. Sadly, seven individuals lost their lives. Of note, the attack is reminiscent of another similar attack in March when 52 year old British national, Khalid Masood, rammed bystanders walking along Westminster Bridge and then stabbed a police officer to death. A total of five people died in that attack. Meanwhile, 22 people were murdered in a bombing in Manchester England at the concert of the vocally anti-American/pro-"Immigrant" pop singer Ariane Grande in May.

London, which historically has had a very low crime rate and where the "Bobbies" as the local police officers are affectionately called, typically carry no firearms, has seen that all change in recent years as Muslim militancy has dramatically increased along with demands for Sharia or Islamic law, to be implemented everywhere and to supersede British law. There are areas through not just London, but throughout all of England, including Manchester, York, Liverpool, which are for all intents and purposes, Sharia enforced "no go zones" for ordinary citizens, including the police. These areas even have their own roving religious enforcement patrols and courts, where anyone---Muslim or not---who mistakenly walks through, can be detained, arrested, and fined! Women must be "properly" covered and accompanied, and pets are strictly "verboten"! Now there are demands insisting that this be applied throughout all of the country.

Despite the appearance of a laid back police force, London's police force are highly trained and diverse, which gives them an advantage among its extremely ethnically varied population. In addition, London has one of the most intense surveillance systems of any city in the world, with cameras practically everywhere (called "CCTV" or Closed Circuit TV. and an outstanding response time for first responders. With the recent attacks, Londoners are also seeing British soldiers being added to mix as searches and high security concerns continue, especially given the Islam's most sacred week known as Ramadan is underway (one theory for the recent mass murders has been to attack "infidels" seen as ignoring the holidays' religious dietary prohibitions such as drinking, smoking, and of course, the obligatory non-eating of pork).

So, what is London, and indeed England to do about this? The English put great value in the free speech and free expression. Indeed, going to Hyde Park to hear people pontificate about whatever is on their minds while literally standing on their soap boxes, is a form of entertainment for the locals as much as it is for the tourists. However, like in America or other countries which have a democratic tradition, there is a fine line between "free speech" and "freedom of expression" and inciting violence (one of the other key demands of these Islamic extremists is to ban democracy across the board. That's right. Ending freedoms as we know them and greatly restricting any form of non-compliant individuality, and mandatory adoption of Sharia law. That means just what it sounds like---head to toe covering for women. Oh, ladies, no unescorted schlepping around, no education, no working, no voting (or other rights), or driving. No or very limited women participation in sports. No sex outside marriage (that will get you beaten or murdered---"honor killing" and marriages are pre-arranged. No music---rock, rap, country, hip-hop, or pop. Zippo. No gay rights. Gays will be killed on sight. No smoking. No drugs of any sort. No booze or bars at all. No pictures. No flying the US flag, statues of any sort, museum, or sing the National Anthem. No public demonstration of any other religion---or non-religion. Oh yeah, pedophilia is allowed and so will slavery---for girls. Sound fun?). So, at what point does this end without violating rights? Can only the rights of a few be violated, but if so, what about their right to practice their religion as they've done since the 10th Century?

Part of the issue, as I alluded to in the beginning of this article, is the fact that the British Empire once ruled over this area---India, Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine (before 1948), Afghanistan, parts of Africa and Southeast Asia; all which have large Muslim populations among other religions (such as Hinduism and Buddhism). As such, Britain has allowed its former colonies to emigrate to the "Mother Country" (the Indians and rich and well educated Arab nations took to this readily, but of late, so have Muslims from much poorer and largely unskilled countries). In addition, other former empire nations such as France and Holland has as well with similar results. As an aside, 44% of London's population is now comprised of non-ethnic English; mostly black and other ethnic minorities, compared with just 21% in 2001; 38% of England's Muslims live in London (Islam makes up approximately 13% of England's overall population).

What's worse is that the European Union---the EU---which is dominated by Germany and Ms. Merkel---have insisted on a "open door" policy when it comes to immigrants, which is in line with the United Nations immigration mandate. However, this mandate is routinely violated since it puts restrictions on who is an "immigrant" and under what conditions what may leave their home county and how far they can travel (as an aside, Ms. Merkel has lead the way in ignoring these restrictions and demanded that other countries do likewiseThe result has been the predictable decline of European economic stability and the rise in violent crime). London, as well as the rest of England and Europe will continue to see more terrorist attacks, which will become bloodier and more militant outbreaks, including rapes, murders, and harassment amid demands to "conform or else". So, do these otherwise democratic, nations abandon their Western ideals? We know from history that appeasement has never worked. Does Europe want to go from a very advanced and progressive cultural and political system to a theocratic political system stuck in 10th Century? On the other hand, it has to step back to its own version of repressive neo-fascist police state (much like America is now doing).

Visions of "Animal Farm" and "1984" come to mind either way we in the West go (of course, the East, including China, Australia, the Philippines, Latin America, and even Russia are facing or will be shortly facing the same choices). India has had a long feud between Hindus and Buddhists against extremist Islam, as has the Buddhist, Confucianism, Taoist, and "officially" secular Communist China. America too, which is predominately Christian with large pockets of Judaism, Wicca, secularism, and the other religions previously mentioned. When does "accommodation" and "cultural outreach" or "inclusion" cross the line to "required observance" and "mandatory". In fact, we are already seeing this in the US, and often without the parent's permission or even knowledge. But these are not fantasies. In fact, they are daily realities for millions, like in parts Syria, Egypt and Iraq where Coptic Christians, Yazidis, and Kurdish are beaten or murdered by the hundreds and their young girls are forced into sexual slavery; churches are destroyed, girls are doused with acid for going to school.

Aldous Huxley wrote a book back in 1932 that I thoroughly enjoyed, "Brave New World". Well, I'm not so sure about the "brave" part, but it is certainly it's a new world; a very scary new world (perhaps we should reconsider Frank Herbert's "Dune" series). Much of blame can be placed on us; waging wars for "fun and profit", and all over greed for more oil, more gas, more access to strategic ports, and playing a game of geopolitics against past masters; peoples who've been playing this game for thousands of years, all the way back to Samara, Sumner, and Babylon. In doing so, we've lost our democratic republic to a corporate oligarchy; a growing neo-fascist surveillance state. It's time we get off this roller coaster while we can. Otherwise, I'm don't we're going to like the ending very much.


London Bridge attack timeline as it happened and live reaction.

London Bridge attack: 2 of the 3 killers identified

London attack: What we know about the victims.

Seconds from Slaughter: London Bridge attack

London's population by ethnicity