Palestine's Resistance shows adaptability

     The everlasting war between Palestine and Israel reached a high point during the summer, then it simmered back down for several months. It's hit a small spike the last couple of weeks, with several deaths in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where violence has been considerably lower than in Gaza in the last decade.

     I've noticed a trend over this year in the way Palestinians are fighting their cruel occupiers. Whenever Israel finds a way to negate the way they fight, they simply adapt and maneuver. They find a new way to fight back, ways that are creative and totally unrelated to the way they previously thought, so the Israelis have a harder time predicating how to combat the resistance. They think outside the box. 

     The first way the Palestinians fought this year was with rockets. They did this because this was one of the few long range weapons they have. Unlike the Israelis, they do not have artillery and jet fighters to kill their enemies from miles away. They have whatever small arms they can smuggle into Gaza or whatever they can make at home. These rockets were not particularly effective, as they are impossible to aim at the distances the Palestinians had to fire them at, but, at least they were a weapon. 

    The Israelis found a way to counter these rockets and bring down causalities from them almost 99%. Basically they hardly killed anyone with rockets during the 2014 summer war. The Israeli Iron Dome shot down the rockets before they could hit their targets. 

     But the Palestinians adapted. They switched from shooting rockets to doing raids from tunnels. They would dig under Gaza, through the border, and up into Israel, where they would launch sneak attacks against Israeli military targets. Contrary to Israeli propaganda, Hamas did not use a single tunnel to launch attacks against Israeli civilians, they only targeted military units. This is contrasted with Israel, whose killings were 75%-90% civilians. Hamas killed 66 Israeli soldiers during the war, and a big chunk of those deaths were from tunnel raids. The other deaths came from classic guerrilla warfare operations in Gaza as Israeli ground troops rolled in.  

     These tunnels caught the Israelis by surprise. They didn't anticipate that Hamas had built as many tunnels as they did. They couldn't negate them with their superior airpower. Jet fighters can do nothing against tunnels that are as deep as the Hamas tunnels were. So, they had to send in ground troops and bulldozers into Gaza to destroy the tunnels. This is how Israel negated the tunnel method of fighting. Although this cost them some ground troops, Israel succeeded in destroying the Hamas tunnels.  

     By the fall of 2014, after the war had ended, the Palestinians had to come up with a new way to fight. They are not allowed to possess firearms in the West Bank, apparently, Palestinians are not humans, therefore, they are not supposed to enjoy the universal human right of self defense. Jews, however, are allowed to own any firearm that they want. So, Palestinians find an ingenious way to fight with what they've got: cars.
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11211675/Israel-on-brink-of-third-intifada-after-new-car-attack.html

      It's an interesting tactic, something that you could never predict judging by their past tactic, which was tunnels. The two bear no resemblance. And unlike guns, Israel cannot ban Palestinians from driving cars, otherwise, they'd be just like Saudi Arabia in that regard, who bans women from driving. It's politically and economically not viable, which makes it a good tactic.
     Same thing with this last tactic that Palestinians are using at the same time as the cars: knives. Yep, regular pocket and kitchen knives. Nothing super high tech here. But Israel can't do anything about it before an attack happens. You can't ban knives.
     It will be interesting to see if this resistance fizzes out and dies down like many other times, or if it will actually culminate into another Intifada. It's simply too early to tell. Anyone who tells you it's a third Intifada doesn't know what the hell they're talking about. But there is one guarantee: Palestinian resistance will never die. You cannot kill an idea, and you cannot take away peoples' basic human rights and them just sit there and not do anything about it.  
 

     

     

  

Every person has the right to life and self-defense

     It's really sad that I have to write this post in the 21st century. You think that mankind would evolve and figure out that just because a person belongs to a certain ethnic group/ religious group, that doesn't mean that they, automatically and without question, deserve to die. But no, that would be asking WAY too much for humanity.
     The logic is really quite simple. If a person doesn't have the right to self-defense, then that invites anyone to just go up and kill them, and they can't fight back at all. They just have to sit there and take it, and die in the process. Even the Nazis had the right to self-defense. If the American soldiers are attacking them, I'm not going to cry and call the Nazis terrorists when they start fighting back, (they're terrorists for other reasons). Because fighting back is a natural and logical response, it is psychologically engraved in animals and in us as well. Just because a person is your enemy, does not mean they are not human, and therefore, should not enjoy human rights.  
     These are the reasons why every person, regardless of race or religion, (or any other group identity for that matter), have the right to life.
     1. A person is not responsible for the actions done by other people of his/her same religion or ethnicity. Every day, dozens of white people murder innocents in America and Europe, steal from people, kill people in car crashes, commit vandalism, rape people, etc, etc. Just pick up any local newspaper and you'll see examples. Now, imagine how absurd it would be if all the minorities in America and Europe demanded that all white people apologize every single time a white person did any of those things. That's right, you'd be thinking "Hey, I didn't do this crime xyz, why should I apologize for it?"
      You can substitute white people for any other ethnicity and the scenario would be the same. People dehumanize groups they hate, thinking they are all one monotonous group. But of course, they never apply the same logic to the groups they are apart of. A person is only responsible for the actions done by himself/herself, AND THAT'S FUCKING IT. In the Central African Republic, for example, when a group of radical Christians kill Muslim civilians on purpose, it is not "getting back at them" if Muslims go and kill random Christians in a retaliatory attack. Why? Because those aren't the Christians who killed the civilians. DUH!! All the Muslims have done is the exact same thing back to the Christians. They've both committed terrorism now.
     2. If a human being has committed no crime, then they shouldn't be put to death. Again, common sense, which is never common these days. Simply existing is not a crime.
     3. Thinking that because some members of xyz commit a crime, therefore, all members of xyz should die is a double standard, because people never think that about their own race. See this example to illustrate it:
      Racist Jew: A Muslim killed a Jewish civilian today, so all Muslims should die!
      Me (showing the fallacy): A Jew killed a Muslim civilian today, so all Jews should die!
      Racist Jew: What?! You can't take the crimes of one person and apply it to all Jews! I didn't do anything wrong! I shouldn't die!
      See what I mean? They never apply the same logic to the groups they hate and their own group. If they did, then they would think that literally everyone on the Earth should die, because all religions and races have had their share of people who have murdered innocent people throughout history.
      4. All religions and races are equal. Again, so sad that I have still have to write this. For every Asian terrorists I can find a South American terrorist to match, and vice versa. Substitute for any other religion or ethnic group and the statement is still the same. Besides, I'm sure there are more terrorists in one religion than another, for example, more Muslims than Jews, because there are 1.5 billion Muslims and only 15 million Jews. So even if percentage wise they're same, numerically, there will be more Muslim terrorists than Jewish terrorist. Does that mean Islam supports terrorism and Judaism doesn't? Of course not. Since when it is a rule than if your religion has more terrorists than my religion, then that means your religion supports terrorism and mine doesn't?
      Let's just say, for argument's sake, there are 40 million Islamic terrorists, and 34 million Christian terrorists in the world. What moral high ground can Christians have on Muslims? "Ha, you have 40 million terrorists and I only have 34 million! So that means you support terrorism and I don't!" Yeah, it makes no sense.
      5. Self-defense is logical. If you're a Palestinian, just walking through Gaza, minding your own business, and then, your house gets bombed by Israeli warplanes when there are no missiles or militants nearby, killing your family. What is your natural, logical reaction? You go join the group that is fighting Israel. Does that make you a terrorist? No, but unfortunately the only group fighting Israel is a terrorist organization, so technically, yes, you are now in a terrorist organization, and Israel has the right to kill you. But you haven't launched any rockets at civilians. You want to fight Israeli soldiers that killed your family.
     See how real life is more complicated than children stories of "good guys vs evil guys"?

     6. People have the right to self-defense in the best way that they can. If America is attacked, they attack with jet fighters, artillery, marines, etc. If you are attacked in your home by criminals, you attack with a gun. Is your actions automatically terrorism because you aren't a official state military using big expensive equipment? Of course not. But some people act like that's how it is. For example, they think the Free Syrian Army is a terrorist organization because it uses guerrilla warfare, with AK-47's and car bombs, against the Assad dictatorship. But they don't think Assad is, even though he is using jet fighters and artillery against civilians. Why don't they think Assad is a terrorist? Because he is a government, using machines to fight, so therefore, he couldn't possibly be a terrorist. 
      You store your gun in your home, because, that's the legal and rational thing to do, because it is on your property. But if you were a Palestinian in Gaza, Israel would drone strike your house, saying that you're using human shields because you're hiding arms in a civilian building. See how easy it is to twist things to make a normal action look like a terrorist action?  If your best weapon are homemade rockets, then that's what you have to use. If Hamas had jet fighters and cruise ships and artillery, believe me, they'd much rather use those then homemade rockets than cannot be aimed very well. But saying that all methods of warfare except expensive state of the art warfare that only rich countries can afford is "terrorism" is taking away the poor men of the world's fight to self-defense. You'd be condemning millions of people to death just because they can't afford laser guided missiles that your government can conveniently afford.
      In conclusion, this is a quick summary of my post, using again, an example:

• Israel has the right to fight against Palestinian militants, because they are both combatants who are at war with one another. 
• Israel DOES NOT have the right to kill Palestinian civilians, just because they are living in Gaza, or are Arab, or are Muslim etc. There is no excuse. Terrorism is terrorism, no what who the perpetrator.
• Palestine has the right to fight against Israeli military forces, because they are both combatants who are war with one another.    
• Palestine DOES NOT have the right to kill Israeli civilians, just because they are living in Israel, or are Jewish, etc. There is no excuse. Terrorism is terrorism, no what who the perpetrator.

Make people uncomfortable by calling out double standards, that's how you bring change

     The media and the majority of Americans' blatant, disgusting, absolutely ridiculously fucking stupid double standards concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been well documented for decades now. And with the newest story of 3 Israeli teens being kidnapped in the West Bank, the double standard is once glaringly in the open for all the world to see.
      The only way to change someone holding a double standard is to call out quickly and decisively, using logic and reason, not preconceived notions or thinking "that's how I was raised."
      Let's start this post by establishing some truths. One: kidnapping any non-combatants for any advantage in combat or for terrorist purposes, of any race or religion, should be abhorred, not tolerated in our society, punished, and called out for what is truly is: a terrorist activity. This means that:

• Any Palestinian combatant who kidnaps an Israeli non-combatant is a terrorist, as you are using force and the threat of violence against a non-combatant. 
• Any Israeli combatant who kidnaps a Palestinian non-combatant is a terrorist. 

     Simply stating this fair, logical statement will get you branded a Jew-hater, an anti-Semite, a radical Muslim terrorist, and a hater of America. You will get threats of deportation by force, violence, and death simply by stating that it's the action that is wrong; it shouldn't matter the race or religion of the perpetrator or the victim. Don't believe me? Look at my post "Some hate Muslims get on a daily basis," and you'll see what people spew out on the Internet. That shows how fucked up most Americans' views on this issue is. To preach equality and against racism is to be a hating American terrorist. Meanwhile, people who preach inequality and racism are accepted in mainstream American society and politics.
     Now that we've established this truth, let's move onto the double standard. In a nutshell, this story of the 3 kidnapped Israeli teens is gaining a lot of attention in the media and in America. So much significantly more attention than any of the documented thousands of times Israeli soldiers have kidnapped Palestinian children. One must wonder: why? Why are people so much more concerned with Jewish people getting kidnapped, but when Muslim children get kidnapped, significantly less people are concerned about it? The actions are the same; the only thing that has changed are the actors. And this how we can determine that is because of racism that this imbalance has happened. People are judging that, depending on the race of the perpetrator and/or the victims, that determines how they will react to such an action.

     And this is the double standard. It shows that they really aren't against kidnapping children, as long as it's a race and/or religion they don't like, then they're fine with it. They're only pushing this kidnapping of the 3 Israeli teens for political purposes; if they were truly against kidnapping, then they would push Israel every time Israel kidnaps or mistreats a Palestinian child. But they don't.
     But, some might say, Israel doesn't kidnap or mistreat children. What are you talking about, they would ask, you radical anti-Semite? All you have to do is a simple Google search, which takes approximately 0.2 seconds, and you will get literally hundreds and hundreds of reports and cases about Israel kidnapping and mistreating Palestinian children by Israeli, Palestinian, American, European, and international NGOs and organizations. Here are some examples:

• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-government-tortures-children-by-keeping-them-in-cages-human-rights-group-says-9032826.html 
• http://www.redressonline.com/2014/06/remember-israels-abuse-of-palestinian-kids/. "Pointing out that Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children violates international law, the UN report cited terrifying night-time arrests, physical and verbal abuse, painful restraints, denial of access to food, water and toilet facilities, solitary confinement, coerced confessions, lack of access to lawyers and family members, shackling during court appearances and transfer to prisons outside the occupied Palestinian territories." 

     Critics will say that "oh, these Palestinian children were throwing stones at Israelis, so their treatment is justified." I'm sorry, since when that is a rule? Ever heard of innocent until proven guilty? Guess not, its an old American value that most Americans don't believe in anymore. Even if the Israeli military courts convicted these children of throwing stones, as I said above, many confessions were coerced through torture and threats. That means the conviction is no good, because the confession came through a illegitimate way. Give me a hammer and a few nails, and I can coerce anyone in confessing that they hijacked a Martian spaceship and landed in Washington D.C.
      Don't think that these Israeli "arrests" are kidnapping? What else would you call a bunch of masked men breaking down a door to a family's house in the dead of night, grabbing a child from his/her bed, whisking them off away to an undisclosed location, holding them without charges, and not allowing his/her parents, lawyers, etc, from seeing him/her?          

      The media has a blatant double standard about reporting Israeli children deaths and Palestinian children deaths. The evidence is just completely overwhelming: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/net-report.html
     "In the first year of the current uprising, ABC, CBS, and NBC reported Israeli children’s deaths at 13.8, 6.4, and 12.4 times the rate of Palestinian children’s deaths. In 2004 these large differentials were also present, although they decreased in two cases, with deaths of Israeli children covered at rates 9.0, 12.8, and 9.9 times greater than the deaths of Palestinian children by ABC, CBS, and NBC, respectively. Given that in 2004 22 times more Palestinian children were killed than Israeli children, this category holds particular importance. We could find no basis on which to justify this inequality in coverage." 

    Not only that, but the major media outlets repeated coverage of the same Israeli children deaths, to make it look like there were more causalities than were actually were, while, at the same time, omitted reports on Palestinian children's deaths, to make it look like there were less casualties than were actually were. How fucking fucked up is this?! People are using children's deaths for political purposes. Fucking sick!!

    The same thing is happening in the media right now concerning the three kidnapped Israeli teens. All major news outlets have multiple articles about this one kidnapping incident, it's all over the Internet, pundits can't stop talking about it, how it shows that all Palestinians are terrorists and that Israel is the victim, etc, etc. Yet when hundreds of Palestinian children get kidnapped by Israeli terrorists every year? Nothing, maybe a short little blurb here and there, but basically nothing. Not a word of speaking out. Which means they're perfectly fine with it. As long as it's Arab children getting kidnapped, the sick disgusting media outlets are fine with it. 

     One vital piece of information that the media outlets conveniently leaves out when talking about the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds the Palestinian government responsible for the kidnapping: the kidnapping took place in a section of the West Bank that Israeli forces have complete control over and Palestinian forces cannot govern at all. It occurred in Area C of the West Bank, in which Israeli law clearly states that Israeli forces are the security forces of this area, and Palestinian forces, under no circumstances, are allowed to do anything in Area C. How fucked up is that? Stealing someone's territory, and then blaming them for not preventing a kidnapping on that stolen territory that you won't allow their policemen to go onto?  

     In conclusion, this double standard will continue to happen until people like you and me counter it. If you see it in the newspaper, write a letter to the editor calling out this disgusting double standard. If you see it on an online article, write a comment, (if it has a forum), calling it out. If your stupid greedy rich fuck of a senator says something about it in Congress, write a letter to them. If one of your so called friends, (wait, you have friends that support double standards based on religion and race?!), writes about it on any social media forum, counter it, call it out. That is the only way we can bring around change, by showing people, through logic and reason, that they are fundamentally wrong. If you're against kidnapping, then you're against kidnapping no matter the race or religion of the victim and perpetrator. If you make exceptions to your so called morale, then its not a real morale. You can't be against rape, but then think rape is okay against a certain race because you hate them.    

      

  

 

Romney and Obama: Identical Clones When It Comes To Israel

           From his previous actions, it was easy to tell that Mitt Romney is an Israeli lapdog, eager to stoop down and do anything his Zionist masters tell him to, before he made his most recent trip to Israeli yesterday. Even though Romney has told supporters that he would do “exactly the opposite” that Obama has done to Israel, in reality they do/will do the exact same thing. Both have supported giving Israeli billions of dollars to further their human rights abuses and illegal foreign occupation. Both have supported letting Israel attack Iran, even though Iran only wants the exact same technology that the U.S. and Israel already have. In short, both of them have let/will let Israel do whatever it wants to, and support them in any war crimes or terrorist attacks that Israel wants to commit.

          Am I surprised that Romney is in Israel, pandering to Israel, putting on a yamaka and visiting the Wailing Wall even though he clearly isn’t a Jew? No, I already knew that he was like 99.9% of American politicians, eager to please their Zionist masters for money and political support. I’m just letting everyone else know; in case there was any doubt. 

          The Christian Science Monitor reported that Romney wanted to highlight that “the administration has failed to stand behind allies,” (i.e. Israel).

          http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0729/With-Romney-visit-Israelis-worry-about-becoming-a-partisan-issue

          This statement is hilarious, ridiculous, and positively insane. Romney, and many other Republicans, have often criticized Obama for “abandoning Israel,” and “bullying Israel.” These statements do not reflect facts, but rather, pandering to Israel. Romney and Obama are simply playing the common election game “Who loves Israel the most?”

         

          Indeed, one of the things I hate about Obama the most is his constant political, economic, and military support for Israel. During his first term in office, Obama has:

          1. 2009 refused to prosecute Israel for its war crimes, terrorist attacks, and crimes against humanity during its 2008-2009 Gaza massacre.

          2. 2009 gave Israel $2.55 billion in military aid.

         

          3. 2010 refused to prosecute Israel for its crimes and murders against the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish boat that was part of a Gaza bound aid flotilla.

         

          4. 2010 gave Israel $2.75 billion in military aid.

                     

          5. February 2011 Vetoed a U.N. Resolution that called Israeli settlements illegal. By all standards of international law, U.N. resolutions, the Geneva Conventions, and major religions and political philosophies, the settlements are illegal.

           http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1111737/1/.html

          6. 2011 gave Israel $3.00 billion in military aid.

          7. Backed down from demanding that Israel have a settlement freeze. Israeli settlements are against international law, U.N. resolutions, and since they are stealing territory from the Palestinians, they are an act of war.

           http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-22/domestic-politics-produce-three-way-collision-at-united-nations.html#p2

          8. September 2011 Vetoed a U.N. Resolution to have Palestine recognized as a country, therefore oppressing the Palestinians by denying them their basic human rights.

           http://www.albawaba.com/editorchoice/what-ever-happened-palestinian-state-410482    

          9. (Projected for 2012) Plans to give Israel $3.05 billion in military aid.

           So I have no fucking idea why Romney is saying that Obama is “abandoning” Israel. He’s doing quite the opposite: cozying up with Israel to get money and political support.

          Furthermore, Al Jazeera reported that Romney “supported Israel's right to defend itself.”

          http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/07/201272917928694956.html

          This is also complete crap, and only further adds to Romney’s pathetic “I love Israel the most” charade, which is a very long charade. Israel, having ethnically cleansed a huge part of Palestine, and stealing that territory to make it a Jewish majority state, is not entitled to self-defense, because every inch of the territory it owns is stolen. An example to illustrate it would be like if your neighbor invaded your home and kicked out your family onto the street at gunpoint, so you get your guns and fight back, trying to retake your home. The neighbor can’t gasp to the police and say “I’m just defending myself and my home! He’s the home invader, not me!”

          Lastly, Romney displayed an abhorrent level of racism when he said the following BS:

          “As you come here and you see the [Gross Domestic Product] per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality. Culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference,” Romney said, repeating the conclusion he drew from that book, by David Landes. “And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things.”

          http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-faces-palestinian-criticism-for-jerusalem-remarks-as-he-heads-to-poland/2012/07/30/gJQAr5FSKX_story.html

          He is belittlingly and demeaning Palestinian culture, saying that it’s the reason why their GDP and overall economy is lower than Israel’s. That is an insult to the millions of Palestinians who work so hard to provide for themselves, their families, and their communities. That is an insult to the vibrant and extremely strong Palestinian culture, which has survived over 7 decades of almost constant war. If Romney would stop kissing Israel’s ass for 2 seconds and look up the reasons why the Palestinian economy is so weak, he would find the following reasons:

          1. Israel constantly steals land from the West Bank and Gaza.

          2. Israel has repeatedly stolen coastal water territory from Gaza.

          3. Israel constantly builds up roadblocks and checkpoints that choke the West Bank’s economy.

          4. Israel periodically and randomly closes its 5 border crossings with Gaza, preventing workers, equipment and products from crossing.

          5. Israel constantly steals Palestinian economical resources such as water reserves and date groves, hampering the Palestinian economy.

          6. Israel constantly bombs and shells Palestinians civilians in Gaza.

          7. Israel has thousands of Palestinian civilians, including hundreds of Palestinian children, jailed without charges, access to lawyer or healthcare, family visits and trials, (which they abuse and torture as well).

          In conclusion, Romney and Obama are one in the same when it comes to foreign relations to Israel. Their hideous and un-American support for this racist apartheid regime is equal. That is why I support Ron Paul and the Libertarian philosophy, who calls for a complete and utter end to military aid to Israel.

          Useful links:

         

          Washington D.C. based NGO that works to end the Israeli occupation: http://www.endtheoccupation.org/  and their other site: http://endaidtoisrael.org/section.php?id=379

          International Solidarity movement, (ISM): http://palsolidarity.org/

         

          If Americans Knew:  http://ifamericansknew.org/

          Donate to help Palestinians in need:  http://www.irusa.org/countries/palestine/ and http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=86

         (Photo is property of the Christian Science Monitor)