I’m driving from Philly to attend on Thursday if anyone needs a ride. Not sure if you can dm on Substack or what the rules are, but feel free to send me a way contact you if interested.
Chris, I would like to hear your and your readers' views of this below, written by someone I attended grammar school with and had not seen or heard from until he subscribed to my substack the other day. .
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One must wonder how many decades people will cling to the vision of a two-state solution for the Israelis and the Palestinians while the facts on the ground move continually in the other direction. Nor is a one-state solution any more plausible. Time for a new idea.
The fundamental problem for Israel and the Palestinians is that there are 5 million stateless Palestinians and Israel will never accept them as citizens because they are not Jewish. Without a country, the Palestinians will never be free. I see one possible solution: the world should buy a country for the Palestinians.
It would not be cheap. Rebuilding Gaza after Israel destroys it will also not be cheap, but the world will pay for it. Here is my proposal.
Buy a poorly developed part of Sudan bordering Egypt with a size roughly equivalent to Israel. Include an outlet to the Red Sea.
Sudan is located in the same general part of the world as Gaza but far enough away from Israel to make continued hostilities unlikely. The no-longer-stateless Palestinians would not try to launch rockets across Egypt.
An offer sufficiently attractive to Sudan to conclude such a deal would need to be explored.
One possibility: Offer to permanently redirect the aid that the US gives Israel (approximately $4 billion per year) and give it to Sudan instead. Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with a GDP of approximately $34 billion. Permanent aid of $4 billion per year would make a huge difference.
Enlist a coalition of nations to build a new Palestine in the purchased area. The US can contribute the money it would otherwise spend replacing all the buildings and infrastructure in Gaza that Israel has turned into rubble. Israel can rebuild Gaza.
You could do that but since Israelis are the colonialists I suggest they go to the Sudan and leave Palestinians alone. You sound as eager as the Israelis to dispossess the Palestinians of their homeland. WTF? The Israelis need to go.
OR the Israelis could go to Georgia, THEIR ancestral homeland.
Good idea with one modification, the Jewish settlers should be sent to Sudan, not the Palestinians, who are the modern original residents of Palestine! It makes more sense to establish a new Israel in Sudan, than it is to establish a new Palestine in Sudan!
My sentiments also. Then, Islam would control Palestine, the so-called holy land, and hopefully they welcome Christian visitors and their money. I imagine they would. As things now stand, the tourism industry there is dead, and that’s a big hit for that area.
My suggestion is "enlist a coalition of nations" which will demand the granting of the Palestinian statehood and the end of the occupation and blockade of their land. This will be less expensive for the whole world than the continuous support that USA gives to Israel and would be fair to both Israel and Palestine as well as for their diasporas. And let the war criminals to be judged and sentenced.
Israel will have to comply to the demand if the coalition of nations includes powerful ones that will make US politicians to change their support for Israel. The demands are nothing more than to comply with the international law which we also are required to follow. Yes, this is a fantasy like the one proposed by your friend but would be fair to everyone.
If you read my comment, Jon, you know I asked for feedback about what someone else had written, which I included in my comment.
I told the fellow who made the proposal that I felt Israel should move to The Sudan, but if that happened, who would rebuild Gaza? You. Caitlin? Chris Hedges? The UN? Hamas? Hezbollah? ISIS? Iran? Certainly not America or Israel.
To date, I have yet to see Caitlin, or any of her followers, or Chris Hedges, or any of his followers, offer a solution to the Israel-Palestine horror show, other than Israel ceases to exist, which is the stated goal of Hamas’s charter.
I think the odds getting Israel to agree to cease to exist are below zero. So, Jon, perhaps you will suggest a solution that has at least a zero chance of Israel and its Palestine adversaries accepting?
I have proposed here, and at Chris Hedges’s place, that America offer all Israelis sanctuary in America, to atone for not doing that after WWII, and I got no amens. I doubt the Israelis would go for it, and I doubt America would go for it, either.
I keep wondering if you, Jon, and many others who lay all the blame on Israel and America, were so abused when they were children, that they are unable to consider that what’s going on in Gaza punches every last one of their wounded and abused little child buttons, so that they simply cannot see Hamas tricked Israel into doing the very thing Hamas wants Israel to do in Gaza, and in that way, Hamas put every person in Gaza at mortal risk.
If I were America's President, I would do what in some circles is called a culture jam, and in other circles is called a systems jump. I would declassify all U.S. Government’s UFO files, hoping that would so fuck up every stupid war and disagreement going on everywhere, that maybe humanity would come to its senses, or at least stop fucking over other humans beings, and they start trying to save humans from themselves and what they perceive to be the, yes, the sum of all their fears, over which they have zero control, which might be worse fear for them than having zero control over God by whatever name they tried many times to remake in their own image and boss around.
Solutions. Many have including myself. It's an easy problem to solve. Give the Palestinians right of return. One person, one vote and equal rights for all. That isn't hard to understand or implement. People living in peace wow, what a hard concept to understand.
Without u.s. aid israel falls as a functioning gov. See how quickly human rights are restored. Not special rights, equal rights for all. The world is ending israel slowly now not wanting to support Genocide. We could do nothing and nothing changes OR we can do the simple things that change everything.
I agree, but since I live in a part of America controlled by the Christian and conservative right, Alabama, I know they will not stand for a president or Congress that abandons Israel to Islam. So, elsewhere in this thread, including my initial comment, are other suggested solutions, which I imagine would meet Father Abraham and Melchizedek’s approval. In Genesis, Abraham had dealings with a supernatural being that had taken human form, Melchizedek, aka the King of Salem (Peace),
I’ve read the Hamas charter (as translated into English) and it actually calls for two states along ‘67 borders which is in line with the international consensus. Regardless, I don’t see why Israel *should* have the right to exist as an exclusionary ethno-state on land stolen (and continuing to be stolen) from Palestinians.
Before the launch of the Zionist project there was a functioning pluralistic society in Palestine. The land could have been shared, but the Zionists got greedy and to this day refuse to acknowledge the rights Palestinians ought to have in what little land they still have left.
Could the injustice of the occupation and siege have realistically been expected to go on forever? Did anyone really expect the Palestinians to just do the right thing and quietly fade away? Does Palestine not have a right to exist?
He is not my friend, I haven’t seen or spoken with him him since grammar school. He is not Jewish. He is does not care for my view of Hamas. He understand Israel will never leave Palestine voluntarily. That said, I pretty much agree with your assessments and beliefs stated in your comment,, and I wish you would propose a solution, but your don’t, and perhaps that’s because Palestine is way beyond FUBAR and there is no solution. Unless, God, or something, steps in and does something truly biblical that maybe nobody in Palestine likes? So that every one there, and at Chris Hedgs’s and Caitlin Johnstone’s places all want to tell God to fuck himself? Or herself? Or itself?
First, I'm in awe of your response to Jon. I'm grateful for your example of grace and patience.
And I agree that there is no solution. I have my own idea, though: as a student of comedy improv, I think the Israeli side and the Palesitian side should get together. I like the idea of the King David Hotel. (That's where my uncle was born!) There you would have mediators, negotiators, psychologists, comedians (both Jewish and Palestinian--they have truly honed their craft!) and comedy improv teachers. Each Israeli would play the part of a Palestinian, and vice versa. This is how you truly understand someone. I've done it and it's remarkable. (I played a right-winger in the International Space Station.) Laughter is healing, and, yes, a good comedian can make anything funny. It's a great way to connect. Also, have the best Halal food, which is more Kosher than Kosher, and no wine. (Yeah, wine makes people weird. Just use laughter to break the ice. It's also against Islamic rules I believe.) And then just talk. And talk and talk. Maybe a few hundred years or so. I want to be there! At least, while people are talking, they aren't killing each other. There. Solved.
While I think C/hris Hedges has not understood Hamas’s strategy for October 7, I also think Chris is more than well enough known and respected as a war correspondent, who put his own life on the line many times in red hot war zones, and he was friends of Hamas’s founder, and he knows that region and its peoples, and I think he is the ideal person to go there, representing himself and concern for all people, and he tries to sit down with both sides, and speak them as a man who has been through the flames of hell, and nudge and cajole then to give serious thought to setting side their religious and other differences, and embracing they are all children of Father Abraham, and its time to turn their swords into plowshares, because anything else simply is intolerable for all the people in that region.
Palestine is the epicenter of three huge religions. Let them turn it into a peaceful, beautiful holy shrine for all three religions. Let the members those religions come there from all over the world, with their money, to celebrate their religions' history and to worship and to get to know their brothers and sisters descended from Abrahaam, Sarah and Hagar. That would surely please God. I can imagine Chris Hedges being Allah's emissary and mediator for that unfolding. But he has to go in neutral. He has to be ready and willing to be the adult in the room, because both sides have contributed to this horrible mess, and only they can fix it.
You go with Chris, as the court jester, the comedian, the sage fool who knows tears and love like perhaps no other. You and Christ tag team them, help them shriek, writhe, cry and laugh.
I know for a fact that God is real, but that’s not the problem. The problem is Israel and Christendom and Islam, in the main, are deranged in their thinking about God and their relationship with God, and there is nothing that you or I can tell them that will change their minds.
I’m not Jewish, Jon. I used to be a Christian. I think the creation of the state of Israel was a colossal blunder. I wish President Biden had abandoned Israel after he saw what IDF was doing in Gaza. Where you and I never agreed was I put half of It on Hamas, starting with October 7. Because Hamas got Israel to do precisely what Hamas wanted Israel to do. You may care about the Gaza people, but Hamas does not. All Hamas cares about is trying to destroy Israel. That’s why it was created. Its charter said so. Its “revised” charter says so in different language, all glory to Allah, Islam is a peaceful religion. Read it for yourself. Hell, Islam doesn’t even get along with itself.
Your comment sounds so utterly anti-Semitic that it's no wonder Jews are afraid for their lives. Yes, anti-Semitic. Would there even have been an Israel if people hadn't felt guilt about not allowing Jewish refugees from Europe into their countries? They were turned away from the US, and everywhere north and south of this country. They returned by ship to be butchered by Nazis. Where are we guaranteed to be safe? Nowhere except Israel. Murder and death taught us that. It sounds to me like you would like all of us to die. That would solve everything, wouldn't it? You believe that we are all that awful? If there were no Jews, would the Muslims then go after the Christians? Your speech does nothing to help.
"Where are we guaranteed to be safe? Nowhere except Israel." In my opinion, Israel is the only place in the world that compromises the safety of the Jewish diaspora because with its murderous actions the world believes that all Jews are the same and start hating them. Hopefully Israel will stop their genocide of the Palestinians, lift the blockade and the occupation. They should become wiser and learn the lessons of their holocaust.
"A genuine revolution of values means, in the final analysis, that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies." MLK Beyond Vietnam speech 4/4/1967
Chris, I posted this to your Alma Mater of NYT (which they did not allow) “who knew”
The seminal cause of Nikki, nor any candidate, of being able to win — which “These ‘TIMES’ they are a-changing”, must certainly understand, but which the NYT buries the lede on, is the fact that America itself has been distorted into being “The Quiet American” Global Empire — which is inexorably controlled by the arrogantly self-tilted “Masters of the Universe” based totally on the monopoly of Wealth, Inequality, Weapons, Mass Stupidity, and Superior Propaganda.
Naturally, the factors that this duopoly of Empire, and the lack of Education pose, are a contributing element that the ‘TIMES’ is willing to publicly admit also:
Take-over of these dual faux-parties of EMPIRE for decades was made possible by “the enormously powerful appeal to voters who haven’t graduated from college. This dynamic was partly about policy. By 2016, these voters had grown weary of candidates emphasizing cuts to entitlements and taxes on the wealthy while also favoring liberal rates of immigration, free-trade agreements that resulted in manufacturing jobs being shipped abroad, and pious defenses of waging wars in the name of abstractions like “freedom” and the “liberal international order.”
For the past two decades, Hedges gave us every indication that he'd be leading our fight against tyranny when the time came, but exactly the opposite has occurred ... Hedges now desperately clings to the Gaza and Assange stories to divert attention away from the battle here in the U.S. between the working class - his working class and the DS ... an unemployed, divorced mother of 4 never gives a thought to Gaza, Assange or CIA corruption, and Hedges knows it! ... but these are his "bread and butter" issues that protect his place in the independent media food chain ... he has chosen to double down on the ISR-PAL conflict instead ... he has now devoted more words to the plight of the Palestinians than he ever has about those of us who are being crushed by COVID tyranny here in America ... and he now seems hell bent on milking the Gaza genocide for all it's worth ... ya see, it's just too risky to stand with us ... and after urging us to confront tyranny for the past two decades, Hedges deserted us by throwing the working class under the bus with COVID ... he refused to stand with us against the illegal and unconstitutional mandates and passports, and deftly pushed the "safe & effective" narrative just 30 days after the explosive DEC 2, 2021 FDA FOIA release, and then rubbed our faces in it by openly admitting that he "does not trust Moderna or Phizer" ... there ARE things going on in the U.S. that may not be as urgent, but in a big picture sense are much more important to our survival than Gaza ... there are people out there like Hedges' friend Naomi Wolf, Karen Kingston and Dr Peter McCullough who are literally risking their lives to expose the truth while Hedges ignores the problems facing "his" working class here in the U.S. ... Hedges has actually sided with the globalists on the issues of climate change and vax-related bodily autonomy and has also called those of us who question the motives of our elected officials members of the lunatic fringe and conspiracy theorists ... these are not the lessons one learns at Harvard Divinity School ... it seems he actually got a masters degree in CYA at the "Chris Hedges School of Self" ...
Here are a few of his greatest hits that no longer ring true:
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"Let us stand up and resist so future generations will at least say ‘they tried.’ We cannot do this alone ... together we have a chance" ...
But he has refused to comment on THE GREAT RESET, The World Economic Forum and the book THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
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In a 2020 interview, he said he told indigenous pipeline protesters to "park your cars in their path, remove the engines and walk away" ...
But he did not even comment on the Canadian trucker convoy until a March 2022 interview with Jimmy Dore - one month after the protests actually ended ....
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In his otherwise terrific AMERICAN SADISM speech, he made this extremely divisive statement that revealed his disdain for those of us who openly question the motives of elected officials ...
He said the loss of the Elite's credibility "has given rise to spontaneous groups, as well as the lunatic fringe that embraces conspiracy theories" ...
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From his book WAGES OF REBELLION, he said:
“I do not fight fascists because I will win. I fight fascists because they are fascists” ...
If he still believed this, he would have stood with the working class against the illegal and unconstitutional mandates and passports ... I have more, but I'll spare you ...
Chris Hedges changed with the lockdowns ... something made him flip ...
Another unemployed, divorced mother of 4 would beg to differ. No one is perfect and no one can focus on every issue at every level. And I don’t have to agree with Hedges’ every statement or position to support his voice now. Don’t think the genocide in Gaza has nothing to do with us here in America. The same corruption that brought us the Covid disaster and crushing of the unions is currently sponsoring a genocide that could lead us into a world war. You think you have troubles now? Just wait.
Never expected him to be perfect - so please do not exaggerate my position ...
People like you are too quick to forgive persons of influence for betraying our trust, breaking their many implicit promises and brazenly taking sides against our best interests ...
So why don't you just admit it: ... you're not here to be enlightened or empowered ... as a member of his flock, I'm guessing you derive a perverse sense of pleasure and entertainment by hearing this man dish out his weekly dose of darkness ... it is clear this man has given up on humanity, and I for one am repulsed by it!
I follow the work of various writers and speakers but can’t expect to be totally informed and empowered by subscribing to a Substack or being one person’s groupie. And neither should you. Life is too short to waste it trolling.
The narrative out of Gaza has not changed, it's now been three months ... as Bill Gates would say, "nothing really new on that" ... and your assertion that we should cut him slack for not being "perfect" is beyond ridiculous ... I continue to be amazed at how far he has strayed from his publicly stated principles ... I've followed him as closely as anybody this past decade ... he's not the same guy ... but not to worry, I'm the only person in this hemisphere who notices such things ... wish you well, Jody ...
Chris, i tried to sign up yesterday, the 18th, about 2 PM and ticket sales were closed. Where can i see a film of your talk before the Islamic Society of Central Jersey??
I am trying to reschedule my schedule to attend. Hope to be there Inshallah. I'll be coming from the Media, PA area. I don't want men and women like Chris to speak without support.
I will try and go, although its a couple hour drive. Hopefully you will record a video of the talk for us that can't make it.
Many thanks to you for your extraordinary journalism, Chris. Wish I could be there. Hope it is live streamed.
Dear Chris
Will this be live streamed? I am located in New Zealand and would love to listen.
Don't bother to watch it ... he'll just recycle his ISR-Gaza boilerplate ...
Thank you Chris Hedges! 🙏
I’m driving from Philly to attend on Thursday if anyone needs a ride. Not sure if you can dm on Substack or what the rules are, but feel free to send me a way contact you if interested.
You're actions give me hope for Peace in the world. I can not attend however I send a hug to you : )
Please make this available to those of us who can't or don't want to travel to New Jersey.
Im not able to be there, unfortunately. I hope this will be posted on YouTube. Thank you
Chris, I would like to hear your and your readers' views of this below, written by someone I attended grammar school with and had not seen or heard from until he subscribed to my substack the other day. .
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One must wonder how many decades people will cling to the vision of a two-state solution for the Israelis and the Palestinians while the facts on the ground move continually in the other direction. Nor is a one-state solution any more plausible. Time for a new idea.
The fundamental problem for Israel and the Palestinians is that there are 5 million stateless Palestinians and Israel will never accept them as citizens because they are not Jewish. Without a country, the Palestinians will never be free. I see one possible solution: the world should buy a country for the Palestinians.
It would not be cheap. Rebuilding Gaza after Israel destroys it will also not be cheap, but the world will pay for it. Here is my proposal.
Buy a poorly developed part of Sudan bordering Egypt with a size roughly equivalent to Israel. Include an outlet to the Red Sea.
Sudan is located in the same general part of the world as Gaza but far enough away from Israel to make continued hostilities unlikely. The no-longer-stateless Palestinians would not try to launch rockets across Egypt.
An offer sufficiently attractive to Sudan to conclude such a deal would need to be explored.
One possibility: Offer to permanently redirect the aid that the US gives Israel (approximately $4 billion per year) and give it to Sudan instead. Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world with a GDP of approximately $34 billion. Permanent aid of $4 billion per year would make a huge difference.
Enlist a coalition of nations to build a new Palestine in the purchased area. The US can contribute the money it would otherwise spend replacing all the buildings and infrastructure in Gaza that Israel has turned into rubble. Israel can rebuild Gaza.
You could do that but since Israelis are the colonialists I suggest they go to the Sudan and leave Palestinians alone. You sound as eager as the Israelis to dispossess the Palestinians of their homeland. WTF? The Israelis need to go.
OR the Israelis could go to Georgia, THEIR ancestral homeland.
Good idea with one modification, the Jewish settlers should be sent to Sudan, not the Palestinians, who are the modern original residents of Palestine! It makes more sense to establish a new Israel in Sudan, than it is to establish a new Palestine in Sudan!
My sentiments also. Then, Islam would control Palestine, the so-called holy land, and hopefully they welcome Christian visitors and their money. I imagine they would. As things now stand, the tourism industry there is dead, and that’s a big hit for that area.
My suggestion is "enlist a coalition of nations" which will demand the granting of the Palestinian statehood and the end of the occupation and blockade of their land. This will be less expensive for the whole world than the continuous support that USA gives to Israel and would be fair to both Israel and Palestine as well as for their diasporas. And let the war criminals to be judged and sentenced.
Demand? Israel will just roll over? I doubt it.
Israel will have to comply to the demand if the coalition of nations includes powerful ones that will make US politicians to change their support for Israel. The demands are nothing more than to comply with the international law which we also are required to follow. Yes, this is a fantasy like the one proposed by your friend but would be fair to everyone.
Maybe two fantasies make a whole?😎
If you read my comment, Jon, you know I asked for feedback about what someone else had written, which I included in my comment.
I told the fellow who made the proposal that I felt Israel should move to The Sudan, but if that happened, who would rebuild Gaza? You. Caitlin? Chris Hedges? The UN? Hamas? Hezbollah? ISIS? Iran? Certainly not America or Israel.
To date, I have yet to see Caitlin, or any of her followers, or Chris Hedges, or any of his followers, offer a solution to the Israel-Palestine horror show, other than Israel ceases to exist, which is the stated goal of Hamas’s charter.
I think the odds getting Israel to agree to cease to exist are below zero. So, Jon, perhaps you will suggest a solution that has at least a zero chance of Israel and its Palestine adversaries accepting?
I have proposed here, and at Chris Hedges’s place, that America offer all Israelis sanctuary in America, to atone for not doing that after WWII, and I got no amens. I doubt the Israelis would go for it, and I doubt America would go for it, either.
I keep wondering if you, Jon, and many others who lay all the blame on Israel and America, were so abused when they were children, that they are unable to consider that what’s going on in Gaza punches every last one of their wounded and abused little child buttons, so that they simply cannot see Hamas tricked Israel into doing the very thing Hamas wants Israel to do in Gaza, and in that way, Hamas put every person in Gaza at mortal risk.
If I were America's President, I would do what in some circles is called a culture jam, and in other circles is called a systems jump. I would declassify all U.S. Government’s UFO files, hoping that would so fuck up every stupid war and disagreement going on everywhere, that maybe humanity would come to its senses, or at least stop fucking over other humans beings, and they start trying to save humans from themselves and what they perceive to be the, yes, the sum of all their fears, over which they have zero control, which might be worse fear for them than having zero control over God by whatever name they tried many times to remake in their own image and boss around.
Solutions. Many have including myself. It's an easy problem to solve. Give the Palestinians right of return. One person, one vote and equal rights for all. That isn't hard to understand or implement. People living in peace wow, what a hard concept to understand.
I agree, but how to bring that off?
Without u.s. aid israel falls as a functioning gov. See how quickly human rights are restored. Not special rights, equal rights for all. The world is ending israel slowly now not wanting to support Genocide. We could do nothing and nothing changes OR we can do the simple things that change everything.
Few today know that the “Star of David” actually is the universal symbol of Melchizedek, an angelic order.
I agree, but since I live in a part of America controlled by the Christian and conservative right, Alabama, I know they will not stand for a president or Congress that abandons Israel to Islam. So, elsewhere in this thread, including my initial comment, are other suggested solutions, which I imagine would meet Father Abraham and Melchizedek’s approval. In Genesis, Abraham had dealings with a supernatural being that had taken human form, Melchizedek, aka the King of Salem (Peace),
I’ve read the Hamas charter (as translated into English) and it actually calls for two states along ‘67 borders which is in line with the international consensus. Regardless, I don’t see why Israel *should* have the right to exist as an exclusionary ethno-state on land stolen (and continuing to be stolen) from Palestinians.
Before the launch of the Zionist project there was a functioning pluralistic society in Palestine. The land could have been shared, but the Zionists got greedy and to this day refuse to acknowledge the rights Palestinians ought to have in what little land they still have left.
Could the injustice of the occupation and siege have realistically been expected to go on forever? Did anyone really expect the Palestinians to just do the right thing and quietly fade away? Does Palestine not have a right to exist?
Creating Israel was a blunder. Hamas got the result it wanted the Oct 7 attack to produce from Israel.
The descendents of Ishmaeil are our half brothers and sisters. Not our cousins. Same father, different mother.
correct
He is not my friend, I haven’t seen or spoken with him him since grammar school. He is not Jewish. He is does not care for my view of Hamas. He understand Israel will never leave Palestine voluntarily. That said, I pretty much agree with your assessments and beliefs stated in your comment,, and I wish you would propose a solution, but your don’t, and perhaps that’s because Palestine is way beyond FUBAR and there is no solution. Unless, God, or something, steps in and does something truly biblical that maybe nobody in Palestine likes? So that every one there, and at Chris Hedgs’s and Caitlin Johnstone’s places all want to tell God to fuck himself? Or herself? Or itself?
First, I'm in awe of your response to Jon. I'm grateful for your example of grace and patience.
And I agree that there is no solution. I have my own idea, though: as a student of comedy improv, I think the Israeli side and the Palesitian side should get together. I like the idea of the King David Hotel. (That's where my uncle was born!) There you would have mediators, negotiators, psychologists, comedians (both Jewish and Palestinian--they have truly honed their craft!) and comedy improv teachers. Each Israeli would play the part of a Palestinian, and vice versa. This is how you truly understand someone. I've done it and it's remarkable. (I played a right-winger in the International Space Station.) Laughter is healing, and, yes, a good comedian can make anything funny. It's a great way to connect. Also, have the best Halal food, which is more Kosher than Kosher, and no wine. (Yeah, wine makes people weird. Just use laughter to break the ice. It's also against Islamic rules I believe.) And then just talk. And talk and talk. Maybe a few hundred years or so. I want to be there! At least, while people are talking, they aren't killing each other. There. Solved.
From God’s mouth to your ear. Thank you.
While I think C/hris Hedges has not understood Hamas’s strategy for October 7, I also think Chris is more than well enough known and respected as a war correspondent, who put his own life on the line many times in red hot war zones, and he was friends of Hamas’s founder, and he knows that region and its peoples, and I think he is the ideal person to go there, representing himself and concern for all people, and he tries to sit down with both sides, and speak them as a man who has been through the flames of hell, and nudge and cajole then to give serious thought to setting side their religious and other differences, and embracing they are all children of Father Abraham, and its time to turn their swords into plowshares, because anything else simply is intolerable for all the people in that region.
Palestine is the epicenter of three huge religions. Let them turn it into a peaceful, beautiful holy shrine for all three religions. Let the members those religions come there from all over the world, with their money, to celebrate their religions' history and to worship and to get to know their brothers and sisters descended from Abrahaam, Sarah and Hagar. That would surely please God. I can imagine Chris Hedges being Allah's emissary and mediator for that unfolding. But he has to go in neutral. He has to be ready and willing to be the adult in the room, because both sides have contributed to this horrible mess, and only they can fix it.
You go with Chris, as the court jester, the comedian, the sage fool who knows tears and love like perhaps no other. You and Christ tag team them, help them shriek, writhe, cry and laugh.
I know for a fact that God is real, but that’s not the problem. The problem is Israel and Christendom and Islam, in the main, are deranged in their thinking about God and their relationship with God, and there is nothing that you or I can tell them that will change their minds.
I’m not Jewish, Jon. I used to be a Christian. I think the creation of the state of Israel was a colossal blunder. I wish President Biden had abandoned Israel after he saw what IDF was doing in Gaza. Where you and I never agreed was I put half of It on Hamas, starting with October 7. Because Hamas got Israel to do precisely what Hamas wanted Israel to do. You may care about the Gaza people, but Hamas does not. All Hamas cares about is trying to destroy Israel. That’s why it was created. Its charter said so. Its “revised” charter says so in different language, all glory to Allah, Islam is a peaceful religion. Read it for yourself. Hell, Islam doesn’t even get along with itself.
Your comment sounds so utterly anti-Semitic that it's no wonder Jews are afraid for their lives. Yes, anti-Semitic. Would there even have been an Israel if people hadn't felt guilt about not allowing Jewish refugees from Europe into their countries? They were turned away from the US, and everywhere north and south of this country. They returned by ship to be butchered by Nazis. Where are we guaranteed to be safe? Nowhere except Israel. Murder and death taught us that. It sounds to me like you would like all of us to die. That would solve everything, wouldn't it? You believe that we are all that awful? If there were no Jews, would the Muslims then go after the Christians? Your speech does nothing to help.
"Where are we guaranteed to be safe? Nowhere except Israel." In my opinion, Israel is the only place in the world that compromises the safety of the Jewish diaspora because with its murderous actions the world believes that all Jews are the same and start hating them. Hopefully Israel will stop their genocide of the Palestinians, lift the blockade and the occupation. They should become wiser and learn the lessons of their holocaust.
"A genuine revolution of values means, in the final analysis, that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies." MLK Beyond Vietnam speech 4/4/1967
Chris, I posted this to your Alma Mater of NYT (which they did not allow) “who knew”
The seminal cause of Nikki, nor any candidate, of being able to win — which “These ‘TIMES’ they are a-changing”, must certainly understand, but which the NYT buries the lede on, is the fact that America itself has been distorted into being “The Quiet American” Global Empire — which is inexorably controlled by the arrogantly self-tilted “Masters of the Universe” based totally on the monopoly of Wealth, Inequality, Weapons, Mass Stupidity, and Superior Propaganda.
Naturally, the factors that this duopoly of Empire, and the lack of Education pose, are a contributing element that the ‘TIMES’ is willing to publicly admit also:
Take-over of these dual faux-parties of EMPIRE for decades was made possible by “the enormously powerful appeal to voters who haven’t graduated from college. This dynamic was partly about policy. By 2016, these voters had grown weary of candidates emphasizing cuts to entitlements and taxes on the wealthy while also favoring liberal rates of immigration, free-trade agreements that resulted in manufacturing jobs being shipped abroad, and pious defenses of waging wars in the name of abstractions like “freedom” and the “liberal international order.”
For the past two decades, Hedges gave us every indication that he'd be leading our fight against tyranny when the time came, but exactly the opposite has occurred ... Hedges now desperately clings to the Gaza and Assange stories to divert attention away from the battle here in the U.S. between the working class - his working class and the DS ... an unemployed, divorced mother of 4 never gives a thought to Gaza, Assange or CIA corruption, and Hedges knows it! ... but these are his "bread and butter" issues that protect his place in the independent media food chain ... he has chosen to double down on the ISR-PAL conflict instead ... he has now devoted more words to the plight of the Palestinians than he ever has about those of us who are being crushed by COVID tyranny here in America ... and he now seems hell bent on milking the Gaza genocide for all it's worth ... ya see, it's just too risky to stand with us ... and after urging us to confront tyranny for the past two decades, Hedges deserted us by throwing the working class under the bus with COVID ... he refused to stand with us against the illegal and unconstitutional mandates and passports, and deftly pushed the "safe & effective" narrative just 30 days after the explosive DEC 2, 2021 FDA FOIA release, and then rubbed our faces in it by openly admitting that he "does not trust Moderna or Phizer" ... there ARE things going on in the U.S. that may not be as urgent, but in a big picture sense are much more important to our survival than Gaza ... there are people out there like Hedges' friend Naomi Wolf, Karen Kingston and Dr Peter McCullough who are literally risking their lives to expose the truth while Hedges ignores the problems facing "his" working class here in the U.S. ... Hedges has actually sided with the globalists on the issues of climate change and vax-related bodily autonomy and has also called those of us who question the motives of our elected officials members of the lunatic fringe and conspiracy theorists ... these are not the lessons one learns at Harvard Divinity School ... it seems he actually got a masters degree in CYA at the "Chris Hedges School of Self" ...
Here are a few of his greatest hits that no longer ring true:
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"Let us stand up and resist so future generations will at least say ‘they tried.’ We cannot do this alone ... together we have a chance" ...
But he has refused to comment on THE GREAT RESET, The World Economic Forum and the book THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
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In a 2020 interview, he said he told indigenous pipeline protesters to "park your cars in their path, remove the engines and walk away" ...
But he did not even comment on the Canadian trucker convoy until a March 2022 interview with Jimmy Dore - one month after the protests actually ended ....
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In his otherwise terrific AMERICAN SADISM speech, he made this extremely divisive statement that revealed his disdain for those of us who openly question the motives of elected officials ...
He said the loss of the Elite's credibility "has given rise to spontaneous groups, as well as the lunatic fringe that embraces conspiracy theories" ...
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From his book WAGES OF REBELLION, he said:
“I do not fight fascists because I will win. I fight fascists because they are fascists” ...
If he still believed this, he would have stood with the working class against the illegal and unconstitutional mandates and passports ... I have more, but I'll spare you ...
Chris Hedges changed with the lockdowns ... something made him flip ...
Another unemployed, divorced mother of 4 would beg to differ. No one is perfect and no one can focus on every issue at every level. And I don’t have to agree with Hedges’ every statement or position to support his voice now. Don’t think the genocide in Gaza has nothing to do with us here in America. The same corruption that brought us the Covid disaster and crushing of the unions is currently sponsoring a genocide that could lead us into a world war. You think you have troubles now? Just wait.
Never expected him to be perfect - so please do not exaggerate my position ...
People like you are too quick to forgive persons of influence for betraying our trust, breaking their many implicit promises and brazenly taking sides against our best interests ...
So why don't you just admit it: ... you're not here to be enlightened or empowered ... as a member of his flock, I'm guessing you derive a perverse sense of pleasure and entertainment by hearing this man dish out his weekly dose of darkness ... it is clear this man has given up on humanity, and I for one am repulsed by it!
I follow the work of various writers and speakers but can’t expect to be totally informed and empowered by subscribing to a Substack or being one person’s groupie. And neither should you. Life is too short to waste it trolling.
I can do without your very predictable advice ...
The narrative out of Gaza has not changed, it's now been three months ... as Bill Gates would say, "nothing really new on that" ... and your assertion that we should cut him slack for not being "perfect" is beyond ridiculous ... I continue to be amazed at how far he has strayed from his publicly stated principles ... I've followed him as closely as anybody this past decade ... he's not the same guy ... but not to worry, I'm the only person in this hemisphere who notices such things ... wish you well, Jody ...
Chris, i tried to sign up yesterday, the 18th, about 2 PM and ticket sales were closed. Where can i see a film of your talk before the Islamic Society of Central Jersey??
I am trying to reschedule my schedule to attend. Hope to be there Inshallah. I'll be coming from the Media, PA area. I don't want men and women like Chris to speak without support.
A question -- how many independents and Democrat voters will vote in New Hampshire for -- Trump?
Out of their total disgust with DNC + state security cabal...