I would also point out that there are similarities to how the Europeans colonized North America and other locations, and how Canada continues to deal with the legacy of genocide with the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend to write out a formal paper on the subject. Certainly, the universal and maybe typical position about the OCT 7, 2023 attacks carried out by Hamas against the people of Israel is condemnation. In the following weeks of the attack, I took the view that the Israeli GOV was entitled to defend itself from attack.
However, by DEC 2023, after an effort to inform myself of the context of this conflict, and after mounting casualties from Israeli military attacks, I regretfully report that I was Ignorant of the context of this recent round of violence.
I will include some links that I found helpful.
Dr Gabor Mate points out very eloquently what the active concerns are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHDBw-wx6w0
Highlights from Mate’s remarks are that there are thousands of Palestinian people who are in Israeli jails that are subject to abuse and professional torture. Mate lists out a few books and materials to continue learning about the region, and he lists out some social media accounts that also give treatment to this region.
Of note is that some of the prisoners referred to by Dr Mate are detainees who may not have received the benefit of Due Process. These prisoners may have been kept in jail by the Israeli GOV based on its allegations, and did not have the benefit of pre-trial release. They may not have had fair trials. These prisoners may have been children.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/palestinian-prisoners-advocate-1.7042697
There are other social media accounts that have also attempted to shed light on the region, and provide “slice of life” anecdotes of what life may look like locally. One example is Nomadic Wes with his “Inside Palestine’s Walled City” series:
Another account that provides a sense of how the ISARS are administered is from Mondoweiss’ “Inside Israeli Apartheid”
There is also a documentary, “Tantura”, that gives treatment to the founding of Israel, and perhaps gives better context into a term often raised in the media as “Al Nakba”.
As suggested above, Canada should resist, mitigate, and counter any attempts of foreign influence on the topic of the Israeli GOV/Palestinian Conflict.
https://breachmedia.ca/israeli-consulate-backed-aurora-strategies-poll-gaza/
“[Israeli GOV] have deliberately destroyed many so-called “power targets” amongst the civilian infrastructure of Gaza. These are places that don’t hold any military value but instead are important to the functioning of any society: universities, highrise infrastructure, power generators and hospitals. These strikes have been largely successful, with nearly 80 per cent of Gaza’s population displaced.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2023/12/08/Health-Care-Workers-Gaza-Remember-Them/
Canada needs to respect and commend its communities and leaders who stand against toxic tribalism.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/menorah-lighting-mayor-gondek-not-attend-1.7051684
As of DEC 2023, US GOV reports concern that the Israeli GOV will face a “strategic defeat”.
According to Josh Paul, over a 2 month duration there have been 3 times more children killed in the Israeli GOV/Palestinian conflict as compared to a 2 year duration from the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
Paul goes on to list out the casualties:
6000 Children
50 Journalists
100 UN Aid Workers
200 Medical Professionals
Noura Erakat discusses how the Israeli GOV/Palestinian conflict is an exercise of colonial power in live time based in racism against Palestinians.
She also gives treatment to the definition of genocide and some of the challenges surrounding such a charge. Importantly the video highlights that the Israeli GOV has stated clearly its intent for genocide.
Vice sheds light on how the Israeli GOV has been taken by ultra-right wing nationalists who dehumanize Palestinians.
Rashid Khalidi sheds light on some history on the origin of modern Israel.
Khalidi discusses how the Biden Administration's support of Israel and Duty Free Military Hardware may be stepping too far away from voters.
A real concern emerges that Trump may benefit and ultimately win a future election.
Referred to by Erakat above in post 16 and here for reference: UN Panel of Experts raised the alarm for the increased risk of genocide in Gaza.
Over 800 Legal Scholars also warning of the heightened risk of genocide in Gaza
https://twailr.com/public-statement-scholars-warn-of-potential-genocide-in-gaza/
“‘Generally speaking, the bomb is used to blind the anti-air system of the other side because the fume that it generates covers the attackers,’ Hassan-Yari said. ‘But the consequence if the bomb is used against the humans, many believe is a war crime. So it's not very clear cut ... and there is a need for clarity by UN agencies to confirm whether this bomb should ... be identified as a chemical weapon.’”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-white-phosphorous-gaza-lebanon-1.6994539
”Two weeks later, after collecting the testimonies of MSF staff present that day in the convoy, MSF considers that all elements point to the responsibility of the Israeli army for this attack.”
Israeli GOV allegedly detaining doctors in Gaza. International community is uncertain whether these Healthcare Workers are receiving proper due process.
"doctors have faced extensive Israeli military interrogation during its occupation of Al Shifa. The army arrested the head of the hospital, Muhammad Abu Salmiya, along with other doctors, claiming that by managing Al Shifa, he presided over a Hamas command center. “
Winter weather is setting in: “‘Every other patient in the clinic has a respiratory tract infection due to prolonged exposure to cold and rain,’”
“He said of 36 hospitals in Gaza, only 14 are operating, and those are only partially functioning. Out of the 3,500 beds the hospitals used to provide, only 1,400 are now available, and they are all full, Tedros said.”
“‘Fatou Bensouda, then the ICC’s prosecutor, spent five years conducting a ‘painstaking preliminary examination’ and concluded she was ‘satisfied that war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.’ But no arrests were made, and Bensouda left office in 2021.’”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/17/middleeast/israel-gaza-war-crimes-icc-referral/index.html
Scenes of War and Casualties
UN General Assembly President reaffirms his commitment to end the bloodshed and psychological torture of the people in Gaza.
“Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions in an October attack in southern Lebanon that injured at least nine civilians in what a rights group says should be investigated as a war crime, according to a Washington Post analysis of shell fragments found in a small village.”
“Lot production codes found on the shells match the nomenclature used by the U.S. military to categorize domestically produced munitions…”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/12/11/israel-us-white-phosphorus-lebanon/
The IDF operates a Telegram channel called "72 Virgins – Uncensored" that posts sadistic images of Israelis murdering Palestinians & mutilating their bodies: “Burning their mothers…exterminating the cockroaches”
Videos show Israelis rampaging through a hospital hunting for more Palestinians to kill https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2023-12-12/ty-article/.premium/graphic-videos-and-incitement-how-the-idf-is-misleading-israelis-on-telegram/0000018c-5ab5-df2f-adac-febd01c30000
More allegations of Healthcare Workers in Gaza being detained with unknown Due Process:
“More than 70 medical staff were “arrested and taken to an unknown area,” according to Abu-Safia, including hospital director, Dr. Ahmed Al-Kahlot. His claim was echoed in a statement by Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/13/middleeast/gaza-kamal-adwan-hospital-doctors-idf-intl/index.html
Also from the CNN link on post 32: “‘“In just 66 days the health system has gone from 36 functional hospitals to 11 partially functional hospitals - so, one in the north and 10 in the south…’”
"Several hospitals in northern Gaza have ceased operations in recent weeks, saying they received orders from the Israeli military to evacuate. The Israeli military disputes issuing such an order.”
"The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR OPT) has warned that the alleged assault on Tuesday on homes in Gaza City could constitute a war crime.”
The International Community may consider drafting a “Warning Line" on the Israeli GOV/Palestine conflict. Countries should consider sanctions against the Israeli GOV at a ratio of at least 1:1 for each dollar of military support from the US GOV. Any monies collected in this fashion should be set aside for humanitarian assistance and rebuilding of Gaza and the West Bank.
It's not just about War, and it's not just about how a War is fought. It's also about how the International Community will win this War in the end. There must be a future that's visible to everyone. A path out of this senseless conflict.
@runsm0oth The problem is, there might not actually be a way out.
A whole lot of people seem to be assuming a solution that might not actually exist.
Sometimes a problem doesn't actually have a solution.
@volkris My only initial reaction to this line of thinking is that human beings deserve to achieve a basic standard of life: Shelter, Community, Saftey. These are fundamental, and I trust that each of us should take this as an objective.
Even if a situation is dire and abject, a collective effort should at minimum Incentivize for Basic Human Rights.
@runsm0oth but again, some problems don't have solutions no matter how much we want them to.
It's one thing to assert that humans deserve those things. Yes! Sounds great! However no assertion can turn and unsolvable problem into a solvable one.
So where do we go after we declare that somebody deserves something that reality simply doesn't allow for? What good is the declaration? And in fact, it might end up even undermining such declarations as people get frustrated in seeing grand proposals not really working out.
I think we are saying that pretty clearly over the last decade with climate change declarations, just to put one finger on it.
It kind of delegitimizes the entire international order when people see impossible objectives and unrealistic promises not being achieved.
@volkris I take your point that lofty objectives made collectively, and that are missed, can lead to an alienation or estrangement of sorts. Yet, the tasks or issues remain if not for us, then for the future.
If collectively we permit an area of the planet to become damaged and ruined by racism and violence, this will inevitably lead to an evacuation of that area. As a collective, humanity can't escape the consequences and should take steps to maintain a standard of behaviour.
@volkris If we collectively miss the mark on climate change - which observers have warned for not just for the last decade, but probably decades, individual countries can still adapt. We can and should expect that climate change will happen. Perhaps collectively we fail and the planet warms by 2C. It’s only sensible to adopt tactics and strategies for climate defense to mitigate devastating storms and floods.
@volkris But if the objective is not to protect basic human needs or rights, but to seek validation of some kind, I suppose your problem is elsewhere. If the goal is to identify some kind of easy metric to say if you do this, then you get legitimacy I'm not sure I'm having the same conversation.
@runsm0oth You're misunderstanding my point, though, actually getting it exactly backwards.
To put it a different way, you keep talking about objectives when my entire point is that the focus on objectives should not distract us from the reality on the ground that regardless of objective there are often cases where there is no solution.
The identification of specific solution, or lack thereof! is critical since the objective is purely academic without a solution to get us to the objective.
Maybe I can put it yet another way by saying that I can have the objective of providing clean, unlimited power to every city and town through hooking up perpetual motion machines to generators. And I can talk about that objective all day long, I can celebrate it, and we can all stand together and cheer about how positive that objective is.
The problem is, there is no perpetual motion machine. There is no solution that actually gets to that objective.
We can't let focus on high profile objectives eclipse the need for real, practical solutions to achieve them.
Without solutions we are better off not even having those objectives in the first place.
@runsm0oth but like I said, this has big implications for the broader world, as goals that involve unsolvable problems weaken the public support for goals involving problems that are actually solvable.
They aren't independent.
And that's not even getting into other issues of society wasting resources on goals that are unachievable when those resources could be better spent on the ones that can be achieved.
So this is a major issue!
We really need to have as much or more focus on solutions then on goals.
Society is harmed every day by processes that don't keep that in mind.
@volkris I'd only wish you the best of luck then. I'd only point out that efforts to define problems and efforts to define solutions are hand in hand. If you feel that there's an option in that process to give up, I respect your thought. I hope for something better than that.