Hello everyone
We all know what is happening in Gaza so there’s no need for me to labour the point. However, this article here below is an excellent summary of the situation. Yes, it is by a Guardian writer, but nevertheless it is academic in its approach and, I think, sound. So rather than summarising the article – here it is to read at your leisure. (You can register to read it but you can click ‘I will do it later’ – this is not a paywall.)
Another article I read was saying, basically, stay angry. Yes, how easily we become inured to the ghastliness of these wars. Take Ukraine – this is a long war, or will be if Biden gets in, but if Trump is voted in, what next for Europe?
So, stay alert people, stay engaged at the waste of young men in all these wars, and in Gaza’s case, I will stay angry and will not avert my eyes from the numbers of women and children who are dead and dying. Neither have I forgotten the hostages. My point being, that I am not angry at the soldiers, some of whom know no better, it is the situation that has been going on for decades that I am angry about and the faint-hearted, weak politicians who have enabled the situation to be what it is. Yes, it is complicated, of course it is, but really? Is it beyond a solution? As for the supply of weapons by the West to Israel, faint-hearted politicians seem to be unable to say anything other than mealy-mouthed sentences of nothing.
Take note the West is being seen. I heard somewhere that the majority of Hamas soldiers are orphans (think it was the podcast The Rest is Politics or Leading). Well, do you not think the recruitment drive for Hamas is going well?
At the moment, we in the West are reaping what we do not sow – peace and a long-lasting peace at that. Read the above article, do.
Penny Kocher, 10th April 2024
P.S. I wonder if any of you still think this is shocking and antisemitic to criticise Israel’s action? This is not in any way a criticism of the Jewish peoples around the world, it is, as ever, important to critique and analyse the actions of all nations. And that is my stance.
Further reading:
Shada Islam, Europe’s Gaza betrayal has broken the trust of millions of people in the global south. The Guardian, 10 April 2024 (Ditto re: register but click ‘I will do this later’ – this is not a paywall)
Also for an unforgettable watch, the BBC documentary Ukraine: Enemy in the Woods. (You can get to this documentary directly)
