Robert Stark

Oct 20, 2023

Source: @powerfultakes Twitter

A lot of rhetoric from prominent Israeli politicians sounds pre-genocidal. For instance, Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog stated that “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza,” and an Israeli defense official, proclaimed that “Gaza will turn into a tent city. No buildings will remain.” Even more liberal former Israeli PM, Naftali Bennett’s, response about humanitarian concerns was that, “Are you seriously asking me about Palestinian civilians? What is wrong with you? We’re fighting Nazis.” Then Bennett justified targeting civilians by pointing to the firebombing of Dresden. An Israeli military spokesperson warned that the “Residents of Gaza City should leave and not go back until we say so,” despite there being no safe passage out of Gaza. Though there are talks of opening up a passageway for Palestinians into Egypt, primarily due to pressure from the United States. The situation is murky, as Palestinians blamed Israel for an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, killing hundreds, while Israel and the mainstream media claim it was a Hamas rocket misfire. Though there is a case that Israel shutting down energy to hospitals is a violation of UN article 19. Israel turned water back on to parts of Gaza, though there is no energy to pump that water.

Source: @SwannMarcus89 Twitter

However, there are plenty of bad takes from the Pro-Palestinian side, such as Syrian Girl saying that unarmed Israeli ravers were not targeted, and that Hamas are treating the hostages kindly. It is notable that her coverage of the Syrian Civil War was excellent. Other examples are the Harvard letter stating that Israel was entirely to blame and BLM Chicago posting a pro-Hamas meme. Hamas’s brutal attack gave Israel carte blanche to attack Gaza, plus shifted Western opinion and moral capital way towards Israel’s side. Though that might change, depending upon  how brutal Israel’s siege of Gaza is. Regardless, Hamas destroyed a lot of sympathy for the Palestinian cause.

While there is a lot of self-riotous bloodlust on both sides, a distinction must be made between a natural healthy reaction to atrocities, especially among those directly impacted, as opposed to those with zero connection caught up in the news cycles. Much like with the Russia/Ukraine war, people with “both sides” takes end up getting morally shamed and hated by both sides, which is anti-intellectual but reflects the reality that people are tribal rather than ideologically principled.

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