Intifada

There continues to be some dispute and debate about the word “intifada” (Arabic: انتفاضة). I thought I would offer some words of clarification.Some activists started using “Globalize the intifada” at rallies. Then a few folks took this to basically be a call for global jihad, and worry about the destruction of Israel increased.

A few things:

“Intifada” means “shaking off,” as a dog does with fleas. It also means “uprising.” The word’s usage came about in the late 1980s when the Palestinians conducted an uprising in the occupied territories (1987-1991). From 2000-03 there was another one—the Second Intifada. The Second Intifada was more violent than the first, but this is bound to happen when you grind a population down like the Israelis have done to the Palestinians.

Therefore, “globalize the intifada” simply means spread support for the Palestinians. Because right now, they have next to none.

So, the word intifada does not mean jihad. Actually, the word jihad doesn’t mean jihad. Jihad is a principle in Islam that means struggle. It can mean inner or outer struggle. It does not mean put all non-Muslims to the sword. And it does not translate neatly as holy war. Our fear and misunderstanding of jihad has more to do with “us” in the West. It’s a reflection of how we view “them” in the East. There is a whole scholarly area called “orientalism” that analyzes this reality. See Edward Said’s masterwork “Orientalism.” It is scholarship of the highest order.

You see, anytime the Palestinians or supporters of Palestine voice dissent about what Israel is doing in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, the reflex is to revile the dissent as anti-Semitic, which changes the subject. The subject is Israel murdering and maiming children ...

 

• the subject is checkpoints
• the subject is home invasion
• the subject is women giving birth in the back of taxi cabs
• the subject is settlements
• the subject is tear gas
• the subject is drinking water
• the subject is raw sewage running in the streets
• the subject is being shot at for trying to fix a city sewage pump
• the subject is being forced to drive on different, inferior roads
• the subject is humiliation of fathers in front of their familiesObjection to any of this is anti-Semitic? And the Arabs just want to destroy Israel?

I suppose if I were using school children for target practice, I would want people to view me as the victim, too.

Israel

Some might incorrectly assume I’m “anti-Israel.” I am not. My views on the subject tend to sync with the views of Israeli intelligence. For many years, Israeli intelligence has concluded that the occupation of the Palestinian territories is bad for Israel; the occupation is bad for both the Israeli state and Israel's culture.

The state of Israel is constantly at war with its neighbors. It bombs Lebanon. It bombs Yemen. It exchanges bombings with Iran. It rains death and destruction on Gaza. It regularly kills Palestinians in the West Bank.

On Wikipedia, there is a page entitled “List of wars involving Israel.” It has a lot to report. There is also a page entitled “List of wars involving Iceland.” The last entry was for the Cod Wars, which ended in 1976. Before that, the UK occupied Iceland in 1940. And before that, the entry is for 1809. Its page, needless to say, has less to report.

So, Israel does not have to live as it does. Many people love to say “Israel lives in a bad neighborhood.” So clever. So droll. So inaccurate.

Israeli soldiers are all over the place in Israel. One walks around West Jerusalem and sees a soldier every three minutes. It is Israel’s way of life. They live by the sword. And it comes at a cost.

There are documentaries and research projects in Israel that look into the effect this violence has had on Israeli soldiers. Whether it is the daily pressures of conducting an occupation or outright warfare, one can see former soldiers recounting what they did and saw while lording over the Palestinians. They recall how they despised the Arabs; how when they were young, they were eager to visit humiliation and suffering on the Palestinians. Years later, they recall these memories in tears. There is remorse.

This is what Israel is doing to its youth. It turns them into savages—psychotically racist ones—who carry an automatic weapon and answer to no one. Years later, they are sick with grief and remorse. This is abuse—and the state of Israel and its leadership know it.

So, when I criticize the occupation, I am merely aligned with Israel’s intelligence community. The occupation is bad for Israel; it is the cause of Israel’s security concerns, and it is bad for the people of Israel. Living by the sword has warped Israeli society. One can see this plainly in the opinion polls conducted in Israel. Their sense of humanity has been damaged. And I’m pretty sure the leadership is aware of this, too.

So, for those of you who fancy yourself “pro-Israel” and justify the murder and maiming of children in Gaza, just remember you are actually anti-Israel. To not condemn Israel’s conduct is anti-Israel. To condemn its conduct and speak up for Palestinian human rights is precisely pro-Israel.

Unless of course the intelligence agents at Shabak who have dedicated their professional lives to Israel’s security are just a bunch of anti-Israeli, self-hating Jews. Then never mind.

Gaza

Thank God the incident is under review. Also, the Israeli military “… regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible.”

How do you minimize harm while flattening a territory where 2.2 million people live? Must be challenging. Also, I thought most Israelis felt there weren’t any “uninvolved individuals.”

About a hundred a day. This is happening every day.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/10/middleeast/israeli-strike-gaza-medical-center-intl

Celebrities and Israel

I know they’re unimportant. I know they represent nothing. But they’re visible and their voices get heard. Moreover, it’s morally difficult to hear people who are frequently wealthy and privileged either support a state that murders and maims children and/or change the subject to anti-Semitism and Jewish identity. These people I have listed below are moral failures, and in a perfect world one would never hear from them—ever.

The ordure list: Bono, Madonna, Thom Yorke, Natalie Portman, Gal Gadot, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jerry Seinfeld, and Amy Shumer.

As I say (and many have said), trust the art, not the artist. These artists are disgusting human beings. When we consider their art, we should never forget that. I am not suggesting these people should be cancelled—which they have been in my tiny world; I’m merely shining a light where I think light is needed.

The honor roll: musicians Annie Lennox and Roger Waters, producer Brian Eno, actors Viggo Mortensen, Danny Glover, Mark Ruffalo, Miriam Margolyes, and Emma Watson, street artist Banksy, activist Bianca Jagger, and model Bella Hadid.

I apologize if I have missed some, which I’m certain I have.

These entertainers have demonstrated courage and moral integrity. When one voices opinions that run counter to the US State Department and the Pentagon, one is quickly labeled negative things. For example, one is labeled an anti-Semite when one takes issue with children losing limbs and being shot like dogs.

“What about October 7??,” they cry. Clearly you do not understand October 6 or what the people of Gaza—all 2.2 million of them—have been suffering for decades. People protective of Israel talk about the Arabs wanting to destroy Israel—which isn’t true—but Israel is right now trying to destroy Palestine. Right now. Israel just killed 50,000 Gazans. Does that count? For many Israelis and Israel’s supporters, it doesn’t. The topic should be them, not what Israel is doing right now. Not kids in wheelchairs because they have lost their legs.

Yes, we should instead talk about your “people,” Amy. You were quick to speak up about that, not the regular bombardment of an occupied territory and the torment of millions of people. Pathetic.

Here, Amy, learn something. The low moral intelligence might be what it is, but maybe this will help a little:

https://www.amazon.com/Palestine-Israel-Conflict-Basic-Introduction/dp/0745399266

When you’re done, give your copy to Jerry. You two have much in common; it will make for a nice gesture.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cRkJs8w6UMU

Neturei Karta

Now ain't that somethin'. He must be an anti-Semite.

Gaza

Views on Gaza among Americans are tepid. Most do not support what Israel is doing, most support a diplomatic settlement. That’s about it. In Israel, the public opinion polls are abhorrent: most (by a lot) support ethnic cleansing—that is, relocating the population in Gaza elsewhere—and most (by a lot) take the view that there are no innocents in Gaza.

I am not comparing them, but when the Nazi Holocaust was happening, few cared. It was only in the 1980s that people developed deep feelings on the subject. We started filing into movie theaters, conducting anguished, fervent conversations afterward about “How did it come to that?” So sincere, so spirited, so profound.

What has been happening in Gaza is still happening every day. People (hungry ones) being shot like dogs while lining up for food aid. Children shot by snipers. We aren’t supposed to be concerned. Criticizing this is anti-Semitic? So, if I take issue with school children being shot by snipers, or school children becoming amputees, it reflects my feelings toward Jews? 

There was recent talk about me visiting a university in Chicago (I won’t say which one), and the people on the committee or whatever began wringing their hands. Needless to say, I will not be giving a lecture on Gaza at that university. My speaking would constitute activism. And expressing concern for Palestinians has been deemed not in the interest of US foreign policy—deemed as such by the White House. (I thought universities were hotbeds of leftist thought.)

The university campus demonstrations last year were quickly condemned as anti-Semitic and violent (which they were not), so some guy in a wheelchair talking about children now in wheelchairs due to Israeli savagery? Can’t have that. Too sensitive. Best to keep quiet. The potential controversy!

Like I said, I’m not comparing them, but this destruction in Gaza will one day be viewed as one of those failures of humanity like the Holocaust. Israel leveled a territory it occupies. Then terrorized the population on a daily basis for years afterward. There will be documentaries. And while it won’t receive the attention of the Holocaust, there will be conversations—y’know, profound ones—about how this all happened. It’s quite simple really. It happened with American apathy and Israeli approval, that’s how.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving prime minister, has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. But his population seems no different than him in attitude. He is representative of what Israel has become. 

Meanwhile, the doddering former US president gave Netanyahu green light after green light. Biden not only let this happen, he authorized it; no Israeli prime minister can commence operations on such a scale without authorization from the boss. But Joe Biden represented his population, too. Even the people chanting “F*** Joe Biden” at sporting events are guilty of complacence. It’s okay to dislike Joe Biden (I sure do), but the FJB crowd never seemed to find the right reasons to do so. Now 3-4,000 children are amputees in Gaza—probably more. So, right chant, wrong reason. Yes, Joe Biden, represents the American population. He represents indifference.

Just like the sentiment “All Lives Matter,” some still cling to what Hamas did on Oct. 7, 2023. The former dismisses racist police violence, the latter dismisses the situation in Gaza on Oct. 6. Yes, what Hamas did was truly ruthless. But, have you ever noticed why Denmark is not ruled by a resistance movement? Or Sweden? Hamas exists because of the situation in Gaza. I have been there and have seen it for myself. But I do not get the sense many of my fellow Americans understand what those people were living with on a daily basis. They sure aren’t informed on the matter by CNN or Fox.

Groups like Hamas emerge in a certain context. And Israeli intelligence understands that context. Many former heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence service, have said (repeatedly) that Israel’s security concerns are due to the occupation. They’re due to the wretchedness and despair of the Palestinian people.

I have said it many times before, but I have heard numerous men (it’s always men) bellyache about where their tax money is going. It’s draining. “My tax money is paying for that??” However, I have never once heard someone complain about Gazan children becoming amputees. And yet, your tax money is going toward just that. 

So, there are two possibilities: either (1) the tax-complainer approves of the murder and maiming of children, or (2) he’s unaware that it is happening. In the first instance, I think the discussion of psychopathology would be appropriate. And in the second, what might we say about someone who is indifferent to learning about what is going on in the world—especially when it involves the murder and maiming of children? What word might we use? I know what word(s) I would use. What do you think would be the appropriate judgment?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/01/gaza-israel-iran-war-idf

Episode 13

Mauvaise foi! 

“I think she’s pretty!” “Quiet, bud!!”