Dear Critic,

«The Jewish religion is not a religion that treats all people fairly and equally.»

We have just been through this:

Is Judaism a religion?
If so, why?
Does anyone who practices Judaism thereby comes closer to God?
Does it mean that God wants Jews to feel superior?
I beg that not to be the case!

As for "fairly and equally", I only endorse "fairly" - why should it also be "equally"?
One can love both a doggy and a baby scorpion, but only a fool will treat them equally - the doggy one can stroke and play with, but anyone who plays with a scorpion...

«caught between supporting and defending Israel unconditionally while Israel murders women and kids.»

If Israel was to murder women and kids, then the best support Israel could receive was by firmly stopping it from doing so.

While that is not the case, many fundamentalist Christians would quite possibly prefer the murder of women and kids over supporting Israel.

You know what, it is not just Israel which they see as use-and-discard means for their selfish ends, it is Jesus too whom these idiots attempt to manipulate.

«There won't be any peace until the issue of border is settled one way or the other, either 2 state solution or Palestinians ethnically cleansed from the land entirely.»

There may not (and likely won't) be peace even afterwards, yet one has to do what is right regardless.

Yuyutsu

I just find these demonstrations by some Israelis bizarre under the circumstances.

You say that Israelis are united on hostages (fair enough) but I'm a little sceptical about them being in lockstep on Hamas. But, you know more about Israel than I do, and Netanyahu will be treated at the next election as Israelis think he should be. It's no other country's or individuals’ business.

October 7 did seem to reveal a most un-Israeli attention to security, for which Netanyahu is being blamed, naturally. But maybe the real problem is the ability for Gazans to go back and forth for work, and providing Hamas with intelligence - as has been reported. That seems pretty slack to me. Let the Palestinian Authority find employment for them. Transportation of Gazan sick into Israel to be treated, then returned, also seems pretty dumb to me.

IDF soldiers voting in Gaza is not a good look. It sort of belies the claim that Israel is not an occupier.

However, the real villain is Hamas, and Israel must win, no matter what. Just as the US had to do what most people would agree was a dreadful thing to Japan to stop a war that was dragging on and on, Israel must take more drastic action than it currently is or the conflict between it and Islamic terrorism will never end.

Dear Ttbn,

«I just find these demonstrations by some Israelis bizarre under the circumstances.»

Here are some slogans from these demonstrations.
Sorry I cannot translate the nuances, puns and rhymes into English:

"They [male-plural] sway - they [female-plural] are sexually-violated"
"They [male-plural] enjoy - they [female-plural] are being tortured"

"supporting the IDF - changing the government"
"the one who destroyed will not be fixing"
"we have been forsaken"
"[Menachem] Begin resigned - when will you?"
"for loyalty to a leader will Jerusalem be destroyed"
"bring forth the day after him" (the "day after" usually refers to the day after the war)
"when our children fight Hamas - Netanyahu fights us"

«but I'm a little sceptical about them being in lockstep on Hamas.»

Everyone in Israel knows and agrees that so long as Hamas is in control just across the border, it will remain unsafe to live in the towns and villages surrounding Gaza in particular and in Israel in general.
This includes not only the "Left", but even Muslim Israeli Arabs.

«But maybe the real problem is the ability for Gazans to go back and forth for work, and providing Hamas with intelligence - as has been reported.»

This is a remnant of better days, before Hamas came to power.
There was a time after 1967 when Israelis visited Gaza for shopping and Gazans travelled and worked freely in Israel. Maybe, not immediately of course, these days will one day return. Spying goes both ways, so while having to be careful, Gazans employees in Israel also provided valuable intelligence to Israel.

«Transportation of Gazan sick into Israel to be treated, then returned, also seems pretty dumb to me.»

Good deeds are good indeed.

I support such baby steps of building friendship rather than hatred.

[continued...]

[...continued]

«IDF soldiers voting in Gaza is not a good look.»

It was initially considered to send them back on rotation to Israel to vote throughout the week prior to elections, but then it was thought that it would impinge on the fighting and the extra traffic on Gaza's treacherous roads would likely cause more casualties.

«Just as the US had to do what most people would agree was a dreadful thing to Japan to stop a war that was dragging on and on»

Well the IDF is indeed, to the best of my knowledge, the most moral army on earth. I wouldn't like it any other way.

«Israel must take more drastic action than it currently is or the conflict between it and Islamic terrorism will never end.»

It is unlikely to end anyway, just like fires are unlikely to end in Australia or earthquakes in Japan, but wise and moral actions can bring longer patches of cease-fire and relatively improved neighbourly relations.

«Transportation of Gazan sick into Israel to be treated, then returned, also seems pretty dumb to me.»

"Good deeds are good indeed."
- Are they? maybe - but I hear Israel runs a fairly efficient organ harvesting program from the Palestinians - need a new kidney - no problem, the Palestinians will provide!

"I support such baby steps of building friendship rather than hatred."

Yeah I guess, but how do you TRULY expect that to work when you a busting into peoples homes a 2am, executing them in their beds and then bulldozing their homes?
Seems like a 'split-personality' kind-of friendship.

Friendship?
Why is it that the first thing that came to my mind is this?

The Simpsons - You Don't Win Friends With Salad
http://youtu.be/0L2_RvXVMxE
"Yoh Goober - where's the meat?"

- Those good deeds were cancelled out when Israel bombed the hospitals and killed the doctors, nurses, paramedics and other emergency workers, left the babies in the hospital to die, left the kids to face amputations without anesthetic, and are trying to starve the entire populace...

Was Israel trying to build a REAL friendship, or just finding new ways to exploit and subjugate?

Geez it's like the US are trying really hard to make Putin's arguments for him.
- They charge him with war crimes for taking kids in the Donbass away from the battlefield, and then the US is complicit in killing 27,000 women and kids in a couple months, can't send the cargo planes full of munitions fast enough...

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/04/anthony-albanese-flags-recognising-palestinian-state-could-rest-on-it-being-demilitarised

"The US president, Joe Biden, last month said different models of a two-state solution were available and he alluded to the possibility of a demilitarised Palestinian state."

Is he trying to make himself sound like Putin with all this talk of 'demilitarised states'? It would seem a little pointless when Biden n friends went to all that trouble overthrowing the country AND DELIBERATELY MILITARISING IT to get a war going.

Ruled based order... what rules?
'Do as I say, not as I do'