Israel - Palestine Discussion | Post Respectfully | Discuss more, tweet less

2cents

Historiographer, and obtainer of rare antiquities
Scout
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
16,279
why did Gantz and the other guys, who were running against him, negotiate to form a government with him?
Gantz couldn’t form a government as two of his own MKs refused to consider forming a government backed by the Arab parties, which was Gantz’s only path. And Gantz apparently couldn’t stomach a fourth round of elections in the midst of the current crisis, so calculated his only remaining means of participating in the next government was unity with Likud. Which split his party. Which may have been Netanyahu’s plan in stringing Gantz along. Fourth elections now look more promising for Netanyahu than the proposed unity government, especially as Israel appears to be handling Covid-19 quite well.

In short, Gantz is a mediocre dunce whose political career will likely wind down now, while Netanyahu remains the absolute master.
 

PedroMendez

Acolyte
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
9,466
Location
the other Santa Teresa
@2cents
cheers. I don't understand how Netanyahu can still cling to power. I don't really know much about the situation but from my superficial perspective, Gantz must be one of the most inept politicians out there (in terms of organizing an effective opposition/getting elected; its unrelated to any program). Thats the only explanation that makes sense to me. It should be easy to win in the center against this version of Bibi.
 

2cents

Historiographer, and obtainer of rare antiquities
Scout
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
16,279
Gantz must be one of the most inept politicians out there
I’ve seen this exact thing said by a number of Israelis who I’d tend to trust on such matters.

It should be easy to win in the center against this version of Bibi.
The right remains fiercely loyal to him. And he’s managed to retain a unique control over his own party, where other men would have been ousted by now.

As for the rest, even among the large section of Israelis who are thoroughly sick of him by now, you’ll find many still willing to admit their admiration for him and the job he’s done for the last decade. For these, Gantz is/was a default option rather than an inspiring alternative.
 

2cents

Historiographer, and obtainer of rare antiquities
Scout
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
16,279
This looks like it could be a great read:

Intoxicating Zion
A Social History of Hashish in Mandatory Palestine and Israel

https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id...WhqF7AvkhtdVfOVpPmtAi6OIEgaMMv8ORGDnunDYt66us

When European powers carved political borders across the Middle East following World War I, a curious event in the international drug trade occurred: Palestine became the most important hashish waystation in the region and a thriving market for consumption. British and French colonial authorities utterly failed to control the illicit trade, raising questions about the legitimacy of their mandatory regimes. The creation of the Israeli state, too, had little effect to curb illicit trade. By the 1960s, drug trade had become a major point of contention in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and drug use widespread.

Intoxicating Zion is the first book to tell the story of hashish in Palestine/Israel. Trafficking, use, and regulation; race, gender, and class; colonialism and nation-building all weave together in Haggai Ram's social history of the drug from the 1920s to the aftermath of the 1967 War. The hashish trade encompassed smugglers, international gangs, residents, law enforcers, and political actors, and Ram traces these flows through the interconnected realms of cross-border politics, economics, and culture. Hashish use was and is a marker of belonging and difference, and its history offers readers a unique glimpse into how the modern Middle East was made.
 

berbatrick

Renaissance Man
Scout
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
21,653
From the NYT today, in an article arguing against annexation

Sixth, annexation would be likely to make more Palestinians eligible to become citizens of Israel. That would be a profound mistake, since its Arab citizens constitute what I believe is the ultimate enemy of Israel’s status as a Jewish state, the one that will still be standing after the threats posed by Iran and Gaza have been dealt with. Citizens of Israel, unlike external enemies, cannot be defeated. Their allegiance must be won over, and the larger their number, the harder that becomes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/opinion/contributors/annexing-west-bank-israel-palestinians.html

Itmay not help anything, but at least it is helpful when people talk honestly.
 

africanspur

Full Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
9,148
Supports
Tottenham Hotspur
Not sure if this has been posted before but I quite like this youtube channel:

Asking Palestinians & Israelis what they think

Its run by a Canadian Jew who now lives in Israel and the questions are often sent in by viewers (and can of course be biased) but I've always found it an interesting insight into how some on all the sides there may think and why.
 

2cents

Historiographer, and obtainer of rare antiquities
Scout
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
16,279
Not sure if this has been posted before but I quite like this youtube channel:

Asking Palestinians & Israelis what they think

Its run by a Canadian Jew who now lives in Israel and the questions are often sent in by viewers (and can of course be biased) but I've always found it an interesting insight into how some on all the sides there may think and why.
I’ve posted a good few videos from that channel on here over the years, it’s excellent. He used a question I sent to him years ago but I can’t seem to find the video now.
 

MoskvaRed

Full Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2013
Messages
5,230
Location
Not Moskva
Anyone read Khalidi’s book “The Hundred Years War on Palestine”? I found it a very good read (of course written from the Palestinian perspective) but I’d be interested to hear the views of others with more direct experience or at least deeper knowledge of the situation than me.
 

africanspur

Full Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
9,148
Supports
Tottenham Hotspur
I’ve posted a good few videos from that channel on here over the years, it’s excellent. He used a question I sent to him years ago but I can’t seem to find the video now.
Out of interest, what was the question?

I imagine yours was far more scholarly than some of the more inflammatory questions others send in? :D
 

africanspur

Full Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
9,148
Supports
Tottenham Hotspur

I don't know if others have seen this either (or would even be interested) but a very very interesting documentary on the Jews of Egypt and their horrible history in the second half of the 20th century.

Its a little biased for me, in the sense that most of the people interviewed seem to have been from relatively upper strata of the society and as far as I can remember, he didn't interview any who went to Israel. Regardless, its an incredibly interesting and sobering watch.

I don't know how long it will stay up on youtube so would watch it while you still can if you're interested.

@2cents especially.
 

Drifter

American
Joined
Jan 27, 2004
Messages
68,349
As Israel prepares its latest land grab, solidarity activists in the UK are hitting back

The Israeli state is threatening another massive land theft in the West Bank. With the approval of US president Donald Trump, the Israeli government is planning to make its theft of the Jordan Valley official, and to annex Israel’s illegal colonies in the West Bank.

Decolonise our universities
Meanwhile, supporters of Palestinians in the UK have been campaigning with renewed urgency. And now they say some of that hard work has paid off.

The Apartheid Off Campus campaign has been calling on British universities to cut ties with the Hebrew university in East Jerusalem. Several British universities have connections with the Hebrew University, including exchange programmes where UK students are put up in halls of residence in Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus in East Jerusalem.
https://www.thecanary.co/global/wor...idarity-activists-in-the-uk-are-hitting-back/
 

2cents

Historiographer, and obtainer of rare antiquities
Scout
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
16,279
Is this significant? @2cents

Israel and UAE strike historic deal to normalise relations https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-53770859
Sure it is, though probably not so much in terms of a resolution to this conflict. Netanyahu agrees not to annex parts of the West Bank (something I think he never really wanted to do anyway), but beyond that the Palestinians are pretty irrelevant in this. Israel has never been less isolated in its history, and it would not be too surprising to see the likes of Morocco and Oman follow the UAE soon enough. Meanwhile peace with the Palestinians has not looked so far away in decades. So it’s something of a vindication for Netanyahu’s double policy of proactive diplomacy and ignoring the peace process. And since one of the promises of the “peace process” was that it would facilitate Israel’s integration into the wider region, it’s the kind of development which may bolster the case of those on the Israeli side of the equation who claim that engaging in the peace process is pointless.
 

Foxbatt

New Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
14,297
The ruling Arabs in the gulf never cared a feck about the Palestinians anyway.
 

Foxbatt

New Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
14,297
Take the US military out of Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi and they will most probably overthrow the ruling regimes in these countries. The Iranians do not have to get involved. Trump says jump and how high is what they say. They do not care a feck about the Palestinians. If the Gulf Arabs had wanted a solution they could have sorted it out ages ago.
 

Foxbatt

New Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
14,297
This is massive, absolutely massive. Most won't care, or understand (more likely won't care) but this will be huge for the next generation. And not just in that region:

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/...-al-aqsa-mosque-analysts-200913185257276.html
Yes this is huge. Now I wonder if there would be riots in Bahrain. When there was protests in the Arab spring in Bahrain clamouring for democracy, the Saudis sent in their army. Not one in the west stood with them. They shot and killed protesters. Not much difference to what happened in Ukraine or happening now in Belarus.
The Arabs rulers always are a selfish bunch only interested in themselves and have found a great partner in Trump. Just exactly like them.
 

Dumbstar

We got another woman hater here.
Joined
Jul 18, 2002
Messages
21,251
Location
Viva Karius!
Supports
Liverpool
Yes this is huge. Now I wonder if there would be riots in Bahrain. When there was protests in the Arab spring in Bahrain clamouring for democracy, the Saudis sent in their army. Not one in the west stood with them. They shot and killed protesters. Not much difference to what happened in Ukraine or happening now in Belarus.
The Arabs rulers always are a selfish bunch only interested in themselves and have found a great partner in Trump. Just exactly like them.
Spot on. Trump is just the face of the clever men behind the puppet(s).
 

Foxbatt

New Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
14,297
All Muslim majority countries are willing to recognize Israel now if the borders are before the 67 War. I also don't think they would have a problem with israel as a jewish state under those circumstances.
Do these countries also recognize the occupied territories as israeli territory now?
 

2cents

Historiographer, and obtainer of rare antiquities
Scout
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
16,279
“The combined citizen populations of the UAE and Bahrain probably don’t come to two million, less than that of greater Tel Aviv. The Jewish population of Israel is three times the Arab populations of the UAE and Bahrain combined. Likewise, there are as many Arab citizens of Israel proper as there are of the UAE and Bahrain. The Arabs of these two countries form only half a percent of the 400 million Arabs in the world.”

https://martinkramer.org/2020/09/18/israels-vulnerable-new-friends/
 

2cents

Historiographer, and obtainer of rare antiquities
Scout
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
16,279
Neither were the Jordanians and Egyptians obliged to IIRC. There's no motivation for peace, that's why they throw in caveats to any deal which they know will be rejected.
The logic is that there is no “right of return” issue with Egypt, Jordan, the UAE or Bahrain. The insistence that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state is designed to counter the Palestinian insistence on the right of return (which btw most Israelis consider to be a “caveat to any deal they know will be rejected”).