Firstly, I appreciate your civility and believe that is entirely possible to have different viewpoints but still have a rational and productive exchange.
No, ideally, a news source should be as objective as possible but since such is rarely the case, I try to read a wide variety of sources that present both sides of an argument.
Western MSM is infamous for its egregious bias in favor of Israel's Right Wing extremists.
I also rely not only on my own experiences in the Levant but those of friends and family members who work closely with high ranking IDF policy makers, served in Iraq and Afghanistan and also serve as diplomatic liaison officers to the Iranians.
Since I was in Southern Lebanon during and after the '73 War, I got to hear and see the abject misery of the homeless Palestinian refugees whose only crime was already living on land taken by Zionist terrorist gangs who were more ruthless than Hamas.
Rarely reported in pro Israel Western MSM is the fact that most atrocity claims against Hamas were either grossly exaggerated or completely false (i.e. "beheading babies etc (1)
Also missing in pro Israel MSM is there any mention of hostages killed either by promiscuous Israeli tank fire, helicopter gunship fire(2) and even the killing of 3 half naked hostages waving white flags.
I am intimately familiar with the rigors of combat and cannot imagine ever firing on half naked, white flag waving individuals attempting to surrender.
IDF has been condemned by both Israeli (3) and non Israeli sources(4) for indiscriminately murdering civilians even before the tragic events of 7 October.
I wholeheartedly condemn what Hamas did on 7 October but see it as an inevitable retaliation for decades of of a murderous and internationally condemned occupation and "Settler" expansionism
If Netanyahu's genocidal foray into Gaza were about Israel defending itself, it would have stopped when they had killed 1,200 people or inflicted a proportionate attack on Hamas.
What Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant (5) and similar Right Wing henchmen want is to inflict as much death among Gaza's population as possible and then "annex" Gaza as part of their "Greater Israel".
Ethical Jews are among the many decent people around the world that are condemning Netanyahu's genocide. (5), (6)
You mentioned that: "
Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Muslims in China, etc etc." do not receive as much media attention for war crimes as Israel does.
If Israel is held to a higher standard it is because of its relentless claim to victim status (i.e. Holocaust exploitation) and the fact that it is the only rogue nuclear power on the planet to commit genocide and repeatedly violate International Law while receiving $ Trillions in aid and the unconditional support of the US Government.
First, condemning Netanyahu's genocidal agenda is not the same as being "anti Israel" since so many Israelis and Jews around the world condemn the deliberate slaughter of so many civilians most of whom are children.
For example, I fully support the security of peaceful Israelis to prosper within legal and clearly defined borders.
For the same reason, I could not support the murderous and destructive expansionism of Israeli "Settlers" against West Bank Palestinians (7) who had nothing to do with 7 October's tragedy.
Finally, I do not believe that Netanyahu can murder and steal his way to Israel's security because there are about 2.7 Billion Muslims in the world. Even IDF did eliminate Hamas, there are millions of other Muslims eager to fight Israel for generations to come.
If anything, the way that the Netanyahu regime is conducting the Gaza genocide is making Israel less secure as we will see in the months to come.
As an American Veteran whose first loyalty remains to the US, I strongly oppose the US Government's aiding and abetting Zionist genocide and "Greater Israel" expansionism.
I've spent enough time around burned, mutilated, traumatized and dismembered young G.I.s sent by AIPAC to fight for Israel's brand of security to support Netanyahu's murderous expansionism.
“QUIETLY LOBBYING CONGRESS TO APPROVE THE USE OF FORCE IN IRAQ WAS ONE OF AIPAC’S SUCCESSES OVER THE PAST YEAR.”
AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr; N.Y. Sun, Jan. 2003
I have attempted to respond to your questions and statements and hope you can see that one can be supportive of Israel without supporting Netanyahu's provocative, myopic and genocidal Land Grab.
Thanks,
(1). “Scandal-stained Israeli ‘rescue’ group fuels October 7 fabrications”
Founded by a serial rapist known as the "Haredi Jeffrey Epstein," Israeli ultra-Orthodox rescue group ZAKA is responsible for some of the most obscene post-October 7 atrocity fabrications, from beheaded babies to "mass rape" to a fetus cut from its mother. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and...
thegrayzone.com
EXCERPT “Though Israeli officials played a central role in Tel Aviv’s misinformation campaign surrounding the events of October 7— falsely claiming, for instance, that the bodies of dead Jewish babies were
found dangling from a laundry line in one kibbutz—the most inflammatory allegations have emerged from a collection of ultra-Orthodox volunteer organizations such as ZAKA. Though ZAKA specializes “in body collection and disposal,” the group has no coronary credentials and is staffed by droves of poorly trained volunteers.
From “confirming” the fraudulent story of beheaded babies found in a kibbutz to blatantly inventing others about Hamas fighters cutting fetuses out of pregnant women’s bodies, severing a little girl’s arm, and baking a baby in an oven, ZAKA and rival groups have demonstrated a remarkable gift for seeding the media with depraved tales of alleged Hamas brutality. “ CONTINUED
(2). “Haaretz confirms Grayzone reporting it dismissed as ‘conspiracy’ showing Israel killed own festivalgoers”
Haaretz has yet to admit it jumped the gun when it dismissed The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal as a ‘conspiracy theorist’ for documenting crucial evidence that Israeli forces killed Israelis on October 7. But new reports by the same outlet show we were right all along. Israeli outlet Haaretz has...
thegrayzone.com
EXCERPT “Israeli outlet Haaretz has acknowledged a police report confirmed partygoers at a festival three miles from the Gaza border were killed by the Israeli military on October 7, just two weeks after the publication accused Grayzone editor-in-chief Max Blumenthal of spreading “conspiracy theories” for reporting on the story.
In an
article published November 19, Haaretz reporter Josh Breiner wrote that an official investigation into the deaths of Nova festival attendees “revealed that an IDF combat helicopter that arrived at the scene from the Ramat David base fired at the terrorists and apparently also hit some of the revelers who were there,” citing “a police source.” “ CONTINUED
(3). "The Israel Massacre Forces"
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-the-israel-massacre-forces-1.5962852
EXCERPT "The shooting on the Gaza border shows once again that the killing of Palestinians is accepted in Israel more lightly than the killing of mosquitoes"CONTINUED
(4). " 'Fire at every person': Israeli soldiers reveal they were ordered to shoot to kill in Gaza combat zones – even if targets may have been civilians"
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/fire-at-every-person-you-see-israeli-soldiers-reveal-they-were-ordered-to-shoot-to-kill-in-gaza-even-10223427.html
EXCERPT "The Israeli military deliberately pounded civilian areas in the Gaza Strip with incessant fire of inaccurate ordinance during
last year’s war against Hamas and was at best indifferent about casualties among the Palestinian population."CONTINUED
(5). “A Textbook Case of Genocide”
“Israel has been explicit about what it’s carrying out in Gaza. Why isn’t the world listening?”
Israel has been explicit about what it’s carrying out in Gaza. Why isn’t the world listening?
jewishcurrents.org
EXCERPT "I have written about settler colonialism and
Jewish supremacy in Israel, the distortion of the Holocaust to boost the
Israeli arms industry, the
weaponization of antisemitism accusations to justify Israeli violence against Palestinians, and the racist regime of Israeli
apartheid. “
“Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant
declared it in no uncertain terms on October 9th: “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we will act accordingly.”
Indeed, Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza is quite explicit, open, and unashamed. Perpetrators of genocide usually do not express their intentions so clearly,
Israel’s goal is to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza. And those of us watching around the world are derelict in our responsibility to prevent them from doing so.” CONTINUED
(6). “Jews Against Genocide statement and action”
www.ijan.org
EXCERPT “We, Jews Against Genocide, came to Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial of the genocide committed against Jews, to honor the Palestinian children who are dying in a genocide committed by Jews.
We brought dolls to symbolise the children of Gaza, and tried to bring a glimpse of the horror that Gazan’s face, to Israel’s doorstep. We hope to show Israel, and the world, the absurd reality of using the memory of one genocide to justify another.” CONTINUED
(7). "Israel Must Loudly Arrest the Murderous West Bank Settlers"
Or risk losing any moral authority in this war.
slate.com
EXCERPT "Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack,
settlers there have killed more than 120 Palestinians and injured at least 2,000. They have forcibly expelled more than 800 Palestinians from their homes, blown up their generators and solar panels, and burned down tents of Bedouin herders.
Again: This has been going on not in Gaza but in the West Bank—which is governed by the Palestinian Authority, not by Hamas." CONTINUED
