More clarity now. The Israelis are indoctrinated with depravity in a nation that sanctifies militarized violence. The result is a perfectly weaponized citizenry. The nation is a cult, in need of an intervention and a massive deprogramming project.
What's worse....it bears some similarity to the American Empire. Which might in part explain why so many Americans support Israel.......and don't seem to mind spending so much money on the military machines that do the actual killing.
They do mind having their tax dollars stolen, once they understand what it is actually funding. The problem here, IMO, is that Americans are propaganda soaked, not educated, and haven’t even been aware of what our govt really does. I don’t know where you are based but did you know that the CNN coverage fed to Americans for decades is specially-formulated just for us? The rest of the world thinks we receive the same information as they do and that we must be stupid or evil for not resisting American policies. There is potential for change now with more access to alternative media, but my generation has been force-fed propaganda since after the Viet Nam War.
Thanks for this. I studied in Massachusetts many years ago and have fond memories of your country.........but I've always been shocked by the love of violence....and the vitriol that existed even then, in the Viet Nam era. And the mis and dis information being spewed on social media seems to be getting worse all the time...but at the same time, as you say, there is the possibility that alterntive views of reality........like Chris' interview with this brave man....will wake more people up.
This is why the very few Israelis that oppose the regime are truly heroes because they were able to overcome the brainwashing imposed on them since their early infancies and later had the courage to speak. I don't know what to say about the Zionists born and raised in USA.
Apartheid in South Africa was overcome by a multi-pronged attack and the global community mattered. We have elections coming up in the US and the UK. It is imperative that we vote out those that believe that supporting this pariah state is okay. Most of us don't but our politicans aren't listening. Refusing to give our money to their economy can help: from diamonds and oranges to investment funds - it is time to come down hard and encourage others to do the same. There is a gigantic difference between being anti-semitic and supporting this facist state and we need to start talking not stop talking with those who have been brainwashed by the mainstream media. Comfortable silence can not continue. What else?
This is no longer just about Palestine. I am starting to understand what the protest chant in our hundreds in our millions we are all Palestinians really means. Our humanity and the health of our global community is very much at stake. Chris Hedges does his job admirably. It is time for us to do ours.
Thank you for mentioning how we can fight this because it’s a long term strategy, and it is a apparent that we are finally angry enough with our politicians to do something about the AIPAC’s Vice-grip on our American Political Landscape. Most of our congressmen hate to be forced by AIPAC to vote for funding and ridiculous complaint’s regarding BDS boycotts and anti Semitic laws concerning the word Zionism (a political ideology only). And by the way all Arabic people and those who speak Aramaic are in the linguistic language group, so it’s impossible for Arabic people to be anti- Semitic.
Exactly correct. Semitic refers to the people living in that region............so in point of fact, the Palestinians who never left the region to mingle with anglo saxons and other western ethnicities, are more Semitic than are most modern Jewish people.
Thank you Bujac. Yes, the global community matters greatly, person by person. And yes, we are all Palestinians - not only our global human community, but the animal, plant and minerals kingdoms and the waters and hydrocarbons (oil) too, stored by Mother Earth for millions of years and distributed by her to nourish all life equally. Much needs to remain underground for the health of this planet. We need to hear the loud voices of all the kingdoms. So much is at stake.
I want to thank you so much Miko Peled. I think it takes great courage to take a public moral stance in the current deliberately cultivated and inflamed "Anti-Zionist = Antisemitic" atmosphere and I admire both you and Chris for being articulate spokespersons and beacons for all of us who want this carnage to end. What you are describing is all the more powerful in that you went through such a thorough indoctrination into militarism, racism,"religious" Zionist fascism in a military family and pervasive even in Israeli pre-schools! Though I do not believe this is a "religious" resurgence at all, but rather a Tribal/blood/superior racial resurgence being given the facade of religious sensibilities lost over generations (yet perhaps still subconsciously yearned for by most Jews?) What gives me hope is that with all that early conditioning, the moral human being in you had the honesty and inner strength to speak out, probably at great personal cost, against the death oriented moral corruption that has grown in Israel.
I think of the quote by Aristotle "Give me a child before the age of 7 and I will show you the man," re-quoted by Lenin as "Give me a child for the first 5 years of his life and he will be mine forever" and then again by Hitler as "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future," But - even so - the higher values of life like compassion, truth, charity, helpfulness and gratitude, values that are "caught," not "taught," when modeled by even just one person and imbibed by the child early in life, still has the potential to grow up to be a man or woman of moral character. Those higher values have that much power! The Power of One.
This interview helps to restore my hope along with all the grief I feel, day after day, for the unimaginable terror and suffering the Gazans are enduring. With so much gratitude to you both.
I’m Canadian but follow US and UK a lot. I’m not sure you can ‘vote out’ the people that are supporting this. It goes beyond political parties in my opinion. US presidents, no matter political party, are supported financially by the military industrial complex. Peace is not profitable and war instigated and supported by the west will continue until somehow that changes.
Many MPs in the UK are under pressure now that the deals they made with the political lobby that is supporting genocide have been exposed. How tax dollars are spent in the US is still decided democratically. Perhaps American voters were not aware of the amount of money that is going to Israel (almost 20% of total worldwide US aid to a country of 9 million people). 45% of Americans disapprove of the current military action in Gaza. Perhaps some of those people would prefer that their money, and the children it kills goes elsewhere. Easy to say but. If humanity is to survive it is time to start collaborating on how.
75% of Americans are for a permanent ceasefire. That says a great deal that overwhelmingly clarifies, by example, the US leaders’ sentiment refuses to save lives. The US is a puppet of the MIC.
Thanks again Chris. Miko joins the list of the bravest former IDF soldiers and Jews who speak truth to power! Zionist unquestioning supporters have a hard time using weaponized anti Semitism on those of us who quote former soldiers and Jews like Chomsky, Levy, Hass and Pappe to name a few. I have recommended this interview with some of my confused friends, who quote the most ridiculous hasbara as if it were truth. As they say "The Truth Will Set You Free", lets hope the truths of Miko and you Chris will set the Palestinian's Free!
I just watched Frank Borak and his guests Susan Albulhawa and Francesca Albanese They point out "Palestine" as a symbol or a metaphor for the Most vulnerable vs the Most Powerful or the Richer vs the Poorer." Old White Rich Power Elite, Rich Zionists and the Neo Con/Liberalism World Order of Exploitation and Never Ending war, will be cemented and never ending war guaranteed. Israel and Palestine are the lynch pin for the future world. Israel is the last Imperial Power committing Genocide. If they can be stopped and a 2 State solution put into reality with equal rights for all we have chance. If not and they push the Palestinian's out we are all doomed. Ruled by Might is Right with the most sophisticated technology to enslave all humans. The War on Gaza is a war against all of humanity!
It is exactly that. My concern at the moment is that the truth has been exposed that those in power were never honest brokers of a fair 2 state solution. They seem to have always wanted it all and they see this moment as the opportunity to get it. At this point, given the stance of the current stance of the US and the UK, how can they be stopped?
Are Palestinians Semitic people? (Question to an AI chat)
The short answer is yes, Palestinians are indeed considered Semitic people.
Now, let's dive into the long answer. The term "Semitic" refers to a group of people who speak or are descended from people who speak a Semitic language. These languages include Arabic, Hebrew, and Amharic, among others. Palestinians primarily speak Arabic, which is a Semitic language. So, in terms of language, Palestinians are indeed Semitic people.
But wait, there's more! The term "Semitic" is also used to describe a group of people who share common ancestry, originating from the Middle East and parts of North Africa. Palestinians, like many other groups in the region, have a rich and diverse history that includes various migrations, conquests, and cultural exchanges. This means that genetically, Palestinians are a mix of different ancestral groups, including Semitic peoples.
In conclusion, Palestinians are considered Semitic people both linguistically and ancestrally.
Likely luck....a bit of cultural capital...and of course a good mind.
Many people cave in to bullies and mean spirited leaders because they've already been abused inside the family, the church, the school. In general, courage comes out of places where we've been loved to some extent.........and not always been afraid.
Not going along with the demonization of the other..........any other, refusing to pretend a genocide is self defence....refusing to name call when we tell the truth as we see it....
I don't know if there's enough of us to turn the titanic around, but I hope not to die in fear of my immortal soul........and in one form or another, I still can't shake my belief in that core of sacredness in all of us.
you are not alone. and you are right. what goes around very much comes around. just physics. and we are witnessing this again now.
with this knowledge of the universe in mind it is easier to have compassion for those that rage. though I wish they wouldn't. we have to breathe through this. and bind our hearts to each other as a means of staying strong. I will believe to my dying breath in the power of humanity and our ability to turn this around one day at a time. we can fight this scourge without wishing harm on others. our sacred core will lead the way. big hugs ingamarie and jenny and everyone. and Chris Hedges. You are the reason we are all here having this beautiful conversation. thank you.
Watch his reaction.....when you disagree with Jon he's quick on the foul language and abusive name calling. Makes one wonder if he's really against genocide....or just mad because the wrong people are being....what's his word....'eradicated'?
Jon Carver. This is my last comment. I am currently listening to Wanda Landowska, playing Bach's The Well Tempered Clavier on the Harpsichord. I am Jewish and I am adamantinely against the genocide and ethnic cleansing that Israel is engaging in Gaza and it's repression in the West Bank and call my congressional representatives weekly to ask them to support an immediate ceasefire. The Palestinians are a repressed people and what happened on Oct 7 was a rebellion against that repression. In the long run Israel because of it's immoral behavior and arrogance will destroy itself. In modern times a country that engages in genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid will not be able to survive.
If anyone doubts Israels longstanding disregard for International law, humanitarian conduct, or even basic morality, I recommend reading Mr. James Scott's well researched 2009 book "Attack on the Liberty" that describes, in vivid detail, the IDF June 8th, 1967 attack on an unarmed U.S. Navy 'research vessel" about 100 miles off the coast of Egypt and approx. 70 miles from Gaza-- and its political aftermath. Mr. Scotts father was on that ship that day. This attack came during the waning days of Isreal's mythologized 1967 "Six Day War" with Arabs States (Egypt's Pearl Harbor) and the fledgling resistance to Israel's apartheid repression of Palestinians. Events of this day have, apparently, been systematically erased from American History. It's time to remember.
The result of the Isreali military attack on this unarmed U.S. Navy vessel (on a clear skied, Mediterranean Sea, day) was 34 U.S. civilians killed and 171 injured (many critically) in a crew comprised of under 300 U.S. sailors. According to eyewitness accounts the attack that included repeated torpedoing and sustained aircraft shelling of the Liberty for many hours such that "Damage control crews didn't bother to count machine gun and shrapnel holes, which were 'innumerable'. So extensive was the damage that repairs to the ship and order and replacement of equipment could take a year and cost up to $12 million." One wrote that " the degree of dismemberment of the dead and injured was so extreme as to be typified by the fact that he last few cases [of remains] we packed in the small hours this morning [after the crippled boat managed to be docked in Malta about 24 hrs later] contained, for example, a head and an arm in one and similar partial bodies".
While Israel admitted it had attacked the U.S. vessel, it claim it "was a mistaken action of Israeli boats" and blamed the attack on the U.S. vessels refusal to identify itself during the course of over the hours long attack from sky and sea. The Johnson administration demanded compensation for the victims, but those efforts were steadfastly resisted by the Israeli government. A day after the last remains of the dead from the Liberty attack were buried in a mass grave at Arlington Cemetery marked "Died in the Eastern Mediterranean" --two months after the attack-- Iowa State Congressman H.R. Gross asked, "Is this Government now, directly or indirectly, subsidizing Israel in the payment of full compensation for the lives that were destroyed, the suffering of wounded, and damage from this wanton attack." Congressman Gross followed with the statement: " It can well be asked whether these Americans were the victims of bombs, machine gun bullets and torpedoes manufactured in the United States and dished out as military assistance under foreign aid."
Almost a year after the Liberty was attacked and nearly two thirds of its crew left dead or wounded "Israel relented and wrote a check to the United States treasurer for $3,323,500." This came only after the U.S. State department, under pressure from the public and members of Congress, warned that a "public airing" could result from Israels refusal to pay as the first year anniversary of the attack approached. The #7,644,146 bill for repairs to the Liberty was presented shortly thereafter by the U.S. government on July 3, 1968. It was ignored by Israel. Scott writes "In August 1971, Israel secretly offered the United States the token sum of $100,000., about 1.5 cents on the dollar" for damages to the Liberty. The American ambassador to Israel at the time, Walworth Barbour, considered it an insult". Barbour "suggested [the] sum is so small as to call clearly for a courteous rejection out of hand". More telling, he said "We think it better to keep the claim outstanding than to make a settlement unsatisfactory in so many ways. It would not be a serious irritant in our relations, and it would be a continuing reminder we are not that easy a mark." By 1980 the settlement figure, with interest, climbed to $17,132,709. Scott writes "Israel offered to settle for $$6 million, payable in three annual installments of $2 million. The final offer was less than the original bill for damages. The United States, weary of the negotiations, accepted the deal in December of 1980".
More telling (and accurate) was that Dean Rusk, former secretary of State during the Johnson administration, wrote a 1981 letter to one the Liberty's officers believing the attack "was and remains a genuine outrage". Scott writes that Rusk believed Israel "did not pay enough to the families of the men killed or the survivors" and that " The bill for the ship was the least important". Rusk wrote in that letter (Capitalized sections of statement is my added emphasis): "It was not a major point because, IN LIGHT OF OUR AID PROGRAMS FOR ISRAEL, we would, in effect, BE PAYING OURSELVES."
The final point (and in my view the most salient, if not outright prescient point in regards to Palestinian genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza today) made by Scott is spoken through the words of George Ball, former undersecretary of state prior to Nicholas Katzenbach. Looking back, Ball contended that the attack on the Liberty ultimately had a greater effect on policy in Israel than in the United States. Ball writes: "Israel's leaders concluded that nothing they might do would offend the Americans to the point of reprisal." He said " If America's leaders did not have the courage to punish Israel for the blatant murder of American citizens, it seemed clear that their American friends would let them get away with almost anything."
Hi Chris. I just watched a pod cast called "The Thinking Muslim" Gaza; Cruel Zionism, Past and Present with Professor Avi Shlaim. This interview is one of the best I have ever watched, all his thoughts and historical truths were laid out and the interviewer never cut him off once. He described himself as one of the New Historian's mentioning Benny Morris and Ilan Pappe. I must admit I had never heard of him before, but will be getting a book or two very soon. "The Iron Wall" or "The Collusion Across the Jordan" may be my first choices. I don't know if he could be one of your guests but wow what a mind at 78 years old. His family lived in Iraq, where he pointed out Jews were welcome, thrived and were respected. His dissection of Imperialism, the Balfour Declaration and the underhanded Machiavellian Zionists, who planted bombs in Iraq killing Jews to create "Terror" and force them to go to Palestine/Israel in the 50's. Will make anyone's preconceived understanding of Zionism and the making of Israel as a Mountain of Lies! I dare anyone to watch this interview, without coming away with a deep understanding of the real Israel and Zionism's design for ethnically cleansing Palestine and the Genocide taking place before our very eyes!
An amazing, and terrifying interview. Miko Peled represents the best in the human family....a person who comes out of an ideology force fed as fact from infancy, looks around him at the reality on the ground..........and chooses justice. Perhaps it isn't as hard to do as we imagine.
But first we have to let go of that need to be always right, always on the side of the angels.....always wearing the label 'a good person' regardless of what we do, say or overlook. The story he tells is an essential one to hear, but it isn't an easy story to listen to.
We in the west who are people of conscience must DO more. I'm going to begin by sending this interview to every party in my Canadian government. Thank you Chris...for bringing this amazing human being to our attention.
WOW, thank you Chris Hedges AND Miko Peled!!! Since the latest Israeli atrocities began, i've been looking for sources of truth, those who would speak up publicly and reveal what's really happening from a perspective of witnessing, knowing, not afraid to speak up and tell what they know and/or believe. This interview is a GIFT to be shared far and wide. Thank you again.
Thank you. I now understand why my intense anger is justified and not antisemitic. I have been wondering if maybe I was wrong. Being anti- Zionist is NOT the same as antisemitism. Thank you.
More clarity now. The Israelis are indoctrinated with depravity in a nation that sanctifies militarized violence. The result is a perfectly weaponized citizenry. The nation is a cult, in need of an intervention and a massive deprogramming project.
they need to
Follow Thru on Bibi's
Corruption charges. if
only they weren't so dang
Busy with this little Genocide
What's worse....it bears some similarity to the American Empire. Which might in part explain why so many Americans support Israel.......and don't seem to mind spending so much money on the military machines that do the actual killing.
They do mind having their tax dollars stolen, once they understand what it is actually funding. The problem here, IMO, is that Americans are propaganda soaked, not educated, and haven’t even been aware of what our govt really does. I don’t know where you are based but did you know that the CNN coverage fed to Americans for decades is specially-formulated just for us? The rest of the world thinks we receive the same information as they do and that we must be stupid or evil for not resisting American policies. There is potential for change now with more access to alternative media, but my generation has been force-fed propaganda since after the Viet Nam War.
Thanks for this. I studied in Massachusetts many years ago and have fond memories of your country.........but I've always been shocked by the love of violence....and the vitriol that existed even then, in the Viet Nam era. And the mis and dis information being spewed on social media seems to be getting worse all the time...but at the same time, as you say, there is the possibility that alterntive views of reality........like Chris' interview with this brave man....will wake more people up.
Stay well.
This is why the very few Israelis that oppose the regime are truly heroes because they were able to overcome the brainwashing imposed on them since their early infancies and later had the courage to speak. I don't know what to say about the Zionists born and raised in USA.
Apartheid in South Africa was overcome by a multi-pronged attack and the global community mattered. We have elections coming up in the US and the UK. It is imperative that we vote out those that believe that supporting this pariah state is okay. Most of us don't but our politicans aren't listening. Refusing to give our money to their economy can help: from diamonds and oranges to investment funds - it is time to come down hard and encourage others to do the same. There is a gigantic difference between being anti-semitic and supporting this facist state and we need to start talking not stop talking with those who have been brainwashed by the mainstream media. Comfortable silence can not continue. What else?
This is no longer just about Palestine. I am starting to understand what the protest chant in our hundreds in our millions we are all Palestinians really means. Our humanity and the health of our global community is very much at stake. Chris Hedges does his job admirably. It is time for us to do ours.
Thank you for mentioning how we can fight this because it’s a long term strategy, and it is a apparent that we are finally angry enough with our politicians to do something about the AIPAC’s Vice-grip on our American Political Landscape. Most of our congressmen hate to be forced by AIPAC to vote for funding and ridiculous complaint’s regarding BDS boycotts and anti Semitic laws concerning the word Zionism (a political ideology only). And by the way all Arabic people and those who speak Aramaic are in the linguistic language group, so it’s impossible for Arabic people to be anti- Semitic.
Exactly correct. Semitic refers to the people living in that region............so in point of fact, the Palestinians who never left the region to mingle with anglo saxons and other western ethnicities, are more Semitic than are most modern Jewish people.
Thank you Bujac. Yes, the global community matters greatly, person by person. And yes, we are all Palestinians - not only our global human community, but the animal, plant and minerals kingdoms and the waters and hydrocarbons (oil) too, stored by Mother Earth for millions of years and distributed by her to nourish all life equally. Much needs to remain underground for the health of this planet. We need to hear the loud voices of all the kingdoms. So much is at stake.
I want to thank you so much Miko Peled. I think it takes great courage to take a public moral stance in the current deliberately cultivated and inflamed "Anti-Zionist = Antisemitic" atmosphere and I admire both you and Chris for being articulate spokespersons and beacons for all of us who want this carnage to end. What you are describing is all the more powerful in that you went through such a thorough indoctrination into militarism, racism,"religious" Zionist fascism in a military family and pervasive even in Israeli pre-schools! Though I do not believe this is a "religious" resurgence at all, but rather a Tribal/blood/superior racial resurgence being given the facade of religious sensibilities lost over generations (yet perhaps still subconsciously yearned for by most Jews?) What gives me hope is that with all that early conditioning, the moral human being in you had the honesty and inner strength to speak out, probably at great personal cost, against the death oriented moral corruption that has grown in Israel.
I think of the quote by Aristotle "Give me a child before the age of 7 and I will show you the man," re-quoted by Lenin as "Give me a child for the first 5 years of his life and he will be mine forever" and then again by Hitler as "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future," But - even so - the higher values of life like compassion, truth, charity, helpfulness and gratitude, values that are "caught," not "taught," when modeled by even just one person and imbibed by the child early in life, still has the potential to grow up to be a man or woman of moral character. Those higher values have that much power! The Power of One.
This interview helps to restore my hope along with all the grief I feel, day after day, for the unimaginable terror and suffering the Gazans are enduring. With so much gratitude to you both.
absolute whole hearted YES.
I’m Canadian but follow US and UK a lot. I’m not sure you can ‘vote out’ the people that are supporting this. It goes beyond political parties in my opinion. US presidents, no matter political party, are supported financially by the military industrial complex. Peace is not profitable and war instigated and supported by the west will continue until somehow that changes.
Many MPs in the UK are under pressure now that the deals they made with the political lobby that is supporting genocide have been exposed. How tax dollars are spent in the US is still decided democratically. Perhaps American voters were not aware of the amount of money that is going to Israel (almost 20% of total worldwide US aid to a country of 9 million people). 45% of Americans disapprove of the current military action in Gaza. Perhaps some of those people would prefer that their money, and the children it kills goes elsewhere. Easy to say but. If humanity is to survive it is time to start collaborating on how.
75% of Americans are for a permanent ceasefire. That says a great deal that overwhelmingly clarifies, by example, the US leaders’ sentiment refuses to save lives. The US is a puppet of the MIC.
Support BDS!
Yes.
Thanks again Chris. Miko joins the list of the bravest former IDF soldiers and Jews who speak truth to power! Zionist unquestioning supporters have a hard time using weaponized anti Semitism on those of us who quote former soldiers and Jews like Chomsky, Levy, Hass and Pappe to name a few. I have recommended this interview with some of my confused friends, who quote the most ridiculous hasbara as if it were truth. As they say "The Truth Will Set You Free", lets hope the truths of Miko and you Chris will set the Palestinian's Free!
I just watched Frank Borak and his guests Susan Albulhawa and Francesca Albanese They point out "Palestine" as a symbol or a metaphor for the Most vulnerable vs the Most Powerful or the Richer vs the Poorer." Old White Rich Power Elite, Rich Zionists and the Neo Con/Liberalism World Order of Exploitation and Never Ending war, will be cemented and never ending war guaranteed. Israel and Palestine are the lynch pin for the future world. Israel is the last Imperial Power committing Genocide. If they can be stopped and a 2 State solution put into reality with equal rights for all we have chance. If not and they push the Palestinian's out we are all doomed. Ruled by Might is Right with the most sophisticated technology to enslave all humans. The War on Gaza is a war against all of humanity!
It is exactly that. My concern at the moment is that the truth has been exposed that those in power were never honest brokers of a fair 2 state solution. They seem to have always wanted it all and they see this moment as the opportunity to get it. At this point, given the stance of the current stance of the US and the UK, how can they be stopped?
As Miko said near the end of the interview.........We the People must do more. Much more.
Is US Congress anti-Semitic?
Are Palestinians Semitic people? (Question to an AI chat)
The short answer is yes, Palestinians are indeed considered Semitic people.
Now, let's dive into the long answer. The term "Semitic" refers to a group of people who speak or are descended from people who speak a Semitic language. These languages include Arabic, Hebrew, and Amharic, among others. Palestinians primarily speak Arabic, which is a Semitic language. So, in terms of language, Palestinians are indeed Semitic people.
But wait, there's more! The term "Semitic" is also used to describe a group of people who share common ancestry, originating from the Middle East and parts of North Africa. Palestinians, like many other groups in the region, have a rich and diverse history that includes various migrations, conquests, and cultural exchanges. This means that genetically, Palestinians are a mix of different ancestral groups, including Semitic peoples.
In conclusion, Palestinians are considered Semitic people both linguistically and ancestrally.
The real battle field is the mind.
Totalitarians want to train citizens like Animal Farm dogs.
How did Miko Peled escape?
The neuropolitical perspective: https://meyerja.substack.com/p/a-measure-of-democracy
Likely luck....a bit of cultural capital...and of course a good mind.
Many people cave in to bullies and mean spirited leaders because they've already been abused inside the family, the church, the school. In general, courage comes out of places where we've been loved to some extent.........and not always been afraid.
Thanks for this.
So propaganda at an early age/most people having to do Military service/propaganda. What could possibly go wrong.
Turning kids and young people into terrorists with absolute NO empathy for others.
Israel should be wiped off the map because it's too late to change the thinking.
Careful Jenny. Once you argue for genocide, its hard to stand against it.
Ingamerie. Thanks for saying this to me.
I was SO angry this morning I wanted the whole world to burn.
You are correct.
I know how hard it is.......depressing, horrifying.......and the helplessness is the worst of it.
Hugs Jenny...another world is possible.
Yes..............I feel that NOTHING can be done and we are all just slopping around in a huge tub of bullshit.
Hugs to you too...maybe we will meet one day in the cesspool!
Not going along with the demonization of the other..........any other, refusing to pretend a genocide is self defence....refusing to name call when we tell the truth as we see it....
I don't know if there's enough of us to turn the titanic around, but I hope not to die in fear of my immortal soul........and in one form or another, I still can't shake my belief in that core of sacredness in all of us.
Stay strong....I don't think we're alone.
you are not alone. and you are right. what goes around very much comes around. just physics. and we are witnessing this again now.
with this knowledge of the universe in mind it is easier to have compassion for those that rage. though I wish they wouldn't. we have to breathe through this. and bind our hearts to each other as a means of staying strong. I will believe to my dying breath in the power of humanity and our ability to turn this around one day at a time. we can fight this scourge without wishing harm on others. our sacred core will lead the way. big hugs ingamarie and jenny and everyone. and Chris Hedges. You are the reason we are all here having this beautiful conversation. thank you.
As people all over the world have shown............we are NOT alone and Govts. are shaking in their boots.
Be safe.
Why should I be careful?
It is GENOCIDE
Jon Carver, please shut up!
Watch his reaction.....when you disagree with Jon he's quick on the foul language and abusive name calling. Makes one wonder if he's really against genocide....or just mad because the wrong people are being....what's his word....'eradicated'?
Jon Carver, Your reply, indicates that you are an ignorant, vulgar, obnoxious, mean individual.
Jon Carver. This is my last comment. I am currently listening to Wanda Landowska, playing Bach's The Well Tempered Clavier on the Harpsichord. I am Jewish and I am adamantinely against the genocide and ethnic cleansing that Israel is engaging in Gaza and it's repression in the West Bank and call my congressional representatives weekly to ask them to support an immediate ceasefire. The Palestinians are a repressed people and what happened on Oct 7 was a rebellion against that repression. In the long run Israel because of it's immoral behavior and arrogance will destroy itself. In modern times a country that engages in genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid will not be able to survive.
Proud of you for the clarity of your response. Stay strong....you aren't alone.
Thanks!
Enjoy your concert, but latter tell me are you also asking for the ending of the occupation and blockade which are the sources of this conflict?
Wow! Fabulous interview!
If anyone doubts Israels longstanding disregard for International law, humanitarian conduct, or even basic morality, I recommend reading Mr. James Scott's well researched 2009 book "Attack on the Liberty" that describes, in vivid detail, the IDF June 8th, 1967 attack on an unarmed U.S. Navy 'research vessel" about 100 miles off the coast of Egypt and approx. 70 miles from Gaza-- and its political aftermath. Mr. Scotts father was on that ship that day. This attack came during the waning days of Isreal's mythologized 1967 "Six Day War" with Arabs States (Egypt's Pearl Harbor) and the fledgling resistance to Israel's apartheid repression of Palestinians. Events of this day have, apparently, been systematically erased from American History. It's time to remember.
The result of the Isreali military attack on this unarmed U.S. Navy vessel (on a clear skied, Mediterranean Sea, day) was 34 U.S. civilians killed and 171 injured (many critically) in a crew comprised of under 300 U.S. sailors. According to eyewitness accounts the attack that included repeated torpedoing and sustained aircraft shelling of the Liberty for many hours such that "Damage control crews didn't bother to count machine gun and shrapnel holes, which were 'innumerable'. So extensive was the damage that repairs to the ship and order and replacement of equipment could take a year and cost up to $12 million." One wrote that " the degree of dismemberment of the dead and injured was so extreme as to be typified by the fact that he last few cases [of remains] we packed in the small hours this morning [after the crippled boat managed to be docked in Malta about 24 hrs later] contained, for example, a head and an arm in one and similar partial bodies".
While Israel admitted it had attacked the U.S. vessel, it claim it "was a mistaken action of Israeli boats" and blamed the attack on the U.S. vessels refusal to identify itself during the course of over the hours long attack from sky and sea. The Johnson administration demanded compensation for the victims, but those efforts were steadfastly resisted by the Israeli government. A day after the last remains of the dead from the Liberty attack were buried in a mass grave at Arlington Cemetery marked "Died in the Eastern Mediterranean" --two months after the attack-- Iowa State Congressman H.R. Gross asked, "Is this Government now, directly or indirectly, subsidizing Israel in the payment of full compensation for the lives that were destroyed, the suffering of wounded, and damage from this wanton attack." Congressman Gross followed with the statement: " It can well be asked whether these Americans were the victims of bombs, machine gun bullets and torpedoes manufactured in the United States and dished out as military assistance under foreign aid."
Almost a year after the Liberty was attacked and nearly two thirds of its crew left dead or wounded "Israel relented and wrote a check to the United States treasurer for $3,323,500." This came only after the U.S. State department, under pressure from the public and members of Congress, warned that a "public airing" could result from Israels refusal to pay as the first year anniversary of the attack approached. The #7,644,146 bill for repairs to the Liberty was presented shortly thereafter by the U.S. government on July 3, 1968. It was ignored by Israel. Scott writes "In August 1971, Israel secretly offered the United States the token sum of $100,000., about 1.5 cents on the dollar" for damages to the Liberty. The American ambassador to Israel at the time, Walworth Barbour, considered it an insult". Barbour "suggested [the] sum is so small as to call clearly for a courteous rejection out of hand". More telling, he said "We think it better to keep the claim outstanding than to make a settlement unsatisfactory in so many ways. It would not be a serious irritant in our relations, and it would be a continuing reminder we are not that easy a mark." By 1980 the settlement figure, with interest, climbed to $17,132,709. Scott writes "Israel offered to settle for $$6 million, payable in three annual installments of $2 million. The final offer was less than the original bill for damages. The United States, weary of the negotiations, accepted the deal in December of 1980".
More telling (and accurate) was that Dean Rusk, former secretary of State during the Johnson administration, wrote a 1981 letter to one the Liberty's officers believing the attack "was and remains a genuine outrage". Scott writes that Rusk believed Israel "did not pay enough to the families of the men killed or the survivors" and that " The bill for the ship was the least important". Rusk wrote in that letter (Capitalized sections of statement is my added emphasis): "It was not a major point because, IN LIGHT OF OUR AID PROGRAMS FOR ISRAEL, we would, in effect, BE PAYING OURSELVES."
The final point (and in my view the most salient, if not outright prescient point in regards to Palestinian genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza today) made by Scott is spoken through the words of George Ball, former undersecretary of state prior to Nicholas Katzenbach. Looking back, Ball contended that the attack on the Liberty ultimately had a greater effect on policy in Israel than in the United States. Ball writes: "Israel's leaders concluded that nothing they might do would offend the Americans to the point of reprisal." He said " If America's leaders did not have the courage to punish Israel for the blatant murder of American citizens, it seemed clear that their American friends would let them get away with almost anything."
Hi Chris. I just watched a pod cast called "The Thinking Muslim" Gaza; Cruel Zionism, Past and Present with Professor Avi Shlaim. This interview is one of the best I have ever watched, all his thoughts and historical truths were laid out and the interviewer never cut him off once. He described himself as one of the New Historian's mentioning Benny Morris and Ilan Pappe. I must admit I had never heard of him before, but will be getting a book or two very soon. "The Iron Wall" or "The Collusion Across the Jordan" may be my first choices. I don't know if he could be one of your guests but wow what a mind at 78 years old. His family lived in Iraq, where he pointed out Jews were welcome, thrived and were respected. His dissection of Imperialism, the Balfour Declaration and the underhanded Machiavellian Zionists, who planted bombs in Iraq killing Jews to create "Terror" and force them to go to Palestine/Israel in the 50's. Will make anyone's preconceived understanding of Zionism and the making of Israel as a Mountain of Lies! I dare anyone to watch this interview, without coming away with a deep understanding of the real Israel and Zionism's design for ethnically cleansing Palestine and the Genocide taking place before our very eyes!
An amazing, and terrifying interview. Miko Peled represents the best in the human family....a person who comes out of an ideology force fed as fact from infancy, looks around him at the reality on the ground..........and chooses justice. Perhaps it isn't as hard to do as we imagine.
But first we have to let go of that need to be always right, always on the side of the angels.....always wearing the label 'a good person' regardless of what we do, say or overlook. The story he tells is an essential one to hear, but it isn't an easy story to listen to.
We in the west who are people of conscience must DO more. I'm going to begin by sending this interview to every party in my Canadian government. Thank you Chris...for bringing this amazing human being to our attention.
Thank you for never quitting!
It’s unconscionable to me how many “humans” don’t seem to care or justify genocide. It’s live streamed FFS.
WOW, thank you Chris Hedges AND Miko Peled!!! Since the latest Israeli atrocities began, i've been looking for sources of truth, those who would speak up publicly and reveal what's really happening from a perspective of witnessing, knowing, not afraid to speak up and tell what they know and/or believe. This interview is a GIFT to be shared far and wide. Thank you again.
Thank you. I now understand why my intense anger is justified and not antisemitic. I have been wondering if maybe I was wrong. Being anti- Zionist is NOT the same as antisemitism. Thank you.
Thank you Chris for your clarity, reason, purpose and fortitude. (John 5:30) (KJV)
Thanks you ! Israël from the inside ! Can you put the full text of the interview after the presentation, as you usually do? For non-English speakers
Interesting that Mr. Peled described Oct. 7 2023 as an "opportunity". First time I've heard this positive description of events that day.