Stop Netanyahu Before He Gets Us All Killed

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/netanyahu-war-on-iran

Stop Netanyahu Before He Gets Us All Killed

We could soon see several nuclear powers pitted against each other and dragging the world closer to nuclear annihilation.

JEFFREY D. SACHS
SYBIL FARES
Jun 16, 2025

For nearly 30 years, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has driven the Middle East into war and destruction. The man is a powder keg of violence. Throughout all the wars that he has championed, Netanyahu has always dreamed of the big one: to defeat and overthrow the Iranian Government. His long-sought war, just launched, might just get us all killed in a nuclear Armageddon, unless Netanyahu is stopped.

Netanyahu’s fixation on war goes back to his extremist mentors, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Yitzhak Shamir, and Menachem Begin. The older generation believed that Zionists should use whatever violence–wars, assassinations, terror–is needed to achieve their aims of eliminating any Palestinian claim to a homeland.

The founders of Netanyahu’s political movement, the Likud, called for exclusive Zionist control over all of what had been British Mandatory Palestine. At the start of the British Mandate in the early 1920s, the Muslim and Christian Arabs constituted roughly 87% of the population and owned ten times more land than the Jewish population. As of 1948, the Arabs still outnumbered the Jews roughly two to one. Nonetheless, the founding charter of Likud (1977) declared that “between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.” The now infamous chant, “from the River to the Sea,” which is characterized as anti-Semitic, turns out to be the anti-Palestinian rallying call of the Likud.

Israel’s war on Iran is the final move in a decades-old strategy. We are witnessing the culmination of decades of extremist Zionist manipulation of US foreign policy.
The challenge for Likud was how to pursue its maximalist aims despite their blatant illegality under international law and morality, both of which call for a two-state solution.

In 1996, Netanyahu and his American advisors devised a “Clean Break” strategy. They advocated that Israel would not withdraw from the Palestinian lands captured in the 1967 war in exchange for regional peace. Instead, Israel would reshape the Middle East to its liking. Crucially, the strategy envisioned the US as the main force to achieve these aims—waging wars in the region to dismantle governments opposed to Israel’s dominance over Palestine. The US was called upon to fight wars on Israel’s behalf.

The Clean Break strategy was effectively carried out by the US and Israel after 9/11. As NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark revealed, soon after 9/11, the US planned to “attack and destroy the governments in seven countries in five years—starting with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran.”

The first of the wars, in early 2003, was to topple the Iraqi government. Plans for further wars were delayed as the US became mired in Iraq. Still, the US supported Sudan’s split in 2005, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 2006, and Ethiopia’s incursion into Somalia that same year. In 2011, the Obama administration launched CIA operation Timber Sycamore against Syria and, with the UK and France, overthrew Libya’s government through a 2011 bombing campaign. Today, these countries lie in ruins, and many are now embroiled in civil wars.

Netanyahu was a cheerleader of these wars of choice–either in public or behind the scenes–together with his neocon allies in the U.S. Government including Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Victoria Nuland, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, and others.

Testifying in the U.S. Congress in 2002, Netanyahu pitched for the disastrous war in Iraq, declaring “If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region.” He continued, “And I think that people sitting right next door in Iran, young people, and many others, will say the time of such regimes, of such despots is gone.” He also falsely told Congress, “There is no question whatsoever that Saddam is seeking, is working, is advancing towards to the development of nuclear weapons.”

The slogan to remake a “New Middle East” provides the slogan for these wars. Initially stated in 1996 through “Clean Break,” it was popularized by Secretary Condoleezza Rice in 2006. As Israel was brutally bombarded Lebanon, Rice stated:

“What we're seeing here, in a sense, is the growing -- the birth pangs of a new Middle East and whatever we do we have to be certain that we're pushing forward to the new Middle East not going back to the old one.”
In September 2023, Netanyahu presented at UN General Assembly a map of the “New Middle East” completely erasing a Palestinian state. In September 2024, he elaborated on this plan by showing two maps: one part of the Middle East a “blessing,” and the other–including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran–a curse, as he advocated regime change in the latter countries.

Israel’s war on Iran is the final move in a decades-old strategy. We are witnessing the culmination of decades of extremist Zionist manipulation of US foreign policy.

More…….skip……

Over the past 30 years, Netanyahu and his US backers have destroyed or destabilized a 4,000-km swath of countries stretching across North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Asia. Their aim has been to block a Palestinian State by overthrowing governments supporting the Palestinian cause. The world deserves better than this extremism. More than 180 countries in the UN have called for the two-state solution and regional stability. That makes more sense than Israel bringing the world to the brink of nuclear Armageddon in pursuit of its illegal and extremist aims.


Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

[Initech]

1. Netanyahu is pure fucking evil.

I'm not surprised Trump is siding with him, then denouncing any attacks as antisemitism. On brand for the fascists.

[brush]

106. Mutually assured anihilation for all...but I'm sure warmonger Netanyahu has a mutually assured...

tunnel heady for him to mimic Hamas when the nukes start going off.

The man is a danger to the world. Israel deserves better.

[LexVegas]

2. "Zionist manipulation of US foreign policy". There it is. nt

[MarineCombatEngineer]

4. Yup, this one is being quite transparent when it comes to Israel and Iran.

[Jack Valentino]

112. I hope they both reduce each other's current governments to RUBBLE.

but without our military involvement.

Hope that is 'quite transparent'.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

115. Hey, I'm all for letting Israel and Iran slug it out without committing US forces into combat,

and let the chips fall where they may.
Just to be crystal clear, I am adamantly opposed to any US forces attacking Iran unless they attack us directly.

[Jack Valentino]

116. Thanks, we are in complete agreement on that.

[iemanja]

39. Are you suggesting that in order to not be an antisemite

One has to promote mass murder and endless war?

[LexVegas]

46. Are you suggesting jews control US foreign policy? nt

[iemanja]

50. The US supports Israel foreign policy

and Trump does Bibi's bidding, Are you suggesting that isn't true?

[LexVegas]

51. There it is. nt

[iemanja]

53. You have trouble with reality

[iemanja]

55. Amy Kaplan writes about how the identities of Israel and the US became intertwined

https://www.amazon.com/Our-American-Israel-Entangled-Alliance/dp/0674737628

That is not the same as saying that Israel controls US foreign policy, but rather she argues that since before the foundation of Israel, the US has seen itself and the Israelis as exceptional people entitled to manifest destiny.

[Jack Valentino]

109. The German Nazis thought much the same.... "manifest destiny"

and HITLER studied American subjugation of our native population
as a "model" for his actions against the jews of Europe!

Israel has strayed far from the ideals of its founding---
which were mainly to create a "safe place" for jews.... that is very sad.
Now they oppress others...

[Autumn]

89. Netanyahu says jump and Trump asks how high. Yeah you are right.

[Jack Valentino]

108. NO, not "jews"--- but Israelis ?? There's a pretty good argument for THAT...

[MarineCombatEngineer]

3. Thanks for being transparent when it comes to Israel and Iran.

[claudette]

7. It's not

antisemitic to criticize Nuttyahoo

[Mountainguy]

8. It is

When you do it using antisemitic tropes, like the ones in the article.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

16. "Israel's critics are always accused of anti-Semitism , a charge that serves to silence even the mildest questioning of

“Israel’s critics are always accused of anti-Semitism , a charge that serves to silence even the mildest questioning of that country’s policies.”
— US Senator Abourezk, South Dakota


“this is completely genocide and ethnic cleansing…. attacked babies, children, women, the elderly, the disabled, hospitals, ambulances, medics, schools, teachers, residential complexes, worship places ….You have destroyed the international rules of the game, insulted the authority of the UN, torn apart the sense of justice, and hurt human values, and tarnished the face of human civilization."
- Sarbini Abdul Murad, head of Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia, Director of Indonesia Gaza hospital, in a letter to Biden dated Nov 20, 2023

[LexVegas]

21. Anti-zionism is antisemitism. nt

[Jirel]

33. LOL, no.

There are lots of non-Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews. Do, please, argue with them about why they’re antisemites.

[LexVegas]

45. You dont get to redefine bigotry. nt

[Jirel]

95. LOL, you just did exactly that.

But nice try, anyway.

[LexVegas]

97. ADL: "Anti-Zionism is antisemitic, in intent or effect" nt

[choie]

103. Is that supposed to end the conversation?

[AntiFascist]

79. Extreme far-right Zionism can be viewed the same as Christian Nationalism or Islamic Extremism...

they can all be criticized by the Left.

[Autumn]

90. No. It's not

[Jilly_in_VA]

135. No it is NOT

Otherwise there are JEWS you would accuse of antisemitism. Are you unaware that there are large numbers of Hasidim to whom Zionism is anathema? Not to mention Jews with some sense who see that what Bibi is doing will lead to the destruction of Israel? Or those Jews who see that what Bibi is doing in Gaza is genocide? Watch out who you are calling antisemites, Lexvegas. Pay attention.

[LexVegas]

136. ....

[Mountainguy]

67. Lol

Your going to defend your position by quoting a guy that literally went to work for Iran when he left office?

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

73. Surely you jest. I guess you are unaware about 2,000+ US companies working in Iran then

Suggest you expand your horizons and read this book.

ALL THE SHAH’S MEN.

Back when that thug, the USA’s thug dictator in Iran, Shah,
There were then over 2,000 US corporations/companies doing work in Iran.

Then the SHAH had $$$$, and US interests wanted it.

Just about any good sized US company and multinational corporations were In Iran doing work, services, construction, oil services, communications,
Coke-Cola, you name it.

1,000s of Americans were then working in and for IRAN

[Mountainguy]

80. You might want to check the dates

On when he was working FOR them.

It wasn't while the Shah was in charge.

He was literally Komenini's attorney.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/01/27/abourezk-now-irans-man-in-the-streets/79c9be96-c2e0-4105-9493-003a51d5127f/

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

85. If your dates are right,,,, I stand corrected

🥸

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

86. More facts...The Israel plot against Abourezk, in his own words.....

Last edited Tue Jun 17, 2025, 06:23 PM - Edit history (1)

Wiki…
After leaving the Senate, Abourezk served as legal counsel for the Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington, D.C., leading The New York Times to call him "Iran's Man in Washington".[24] He defended the Islamic Republic in lawsuits seeking payment for contracts entered into by the former Shah's government, and sought to recoup Iranian assets that were allegedly taken by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his wife.

———

https://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/24/the-israeli-plot-to-murder-a-former-us-senator/

FEBRUARY 24, 2012
The Israeli Plot to Murder a Former US Senator

COUNCIL FOR THE NATIONAL INTEREST


James Abourezk represented South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 1979. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including Advise & Dissent: Memoirs of South Dakota and the U.S. Senate. CNI asked Mr. Abourezk about his experiences with the Israel Lobby while he served in Congress. In his response he told of an Israeli plot against him in whch the US press has displayed no interest. Below is his description of this and other incidents.


A: I’m an eyewitness to what the Lobby does to Members of Congress, including to me during the time I spent in D.C. I was threatened, marginalized, attacked, lied about, among other matters in an effort to silence my criticism of Israel’s policies and of the Lobby. 

At one time Bob Cordier, from the Washington FBI office, called me to tell me that, during the investigation into Alex Odeh’s murder (Alex was one of my staff people) the FBI had uncovered a “plot” on my life. Not a threat, but a plot, but, he said it’s OK now, as the guy who intended to murder me had now gone back to Israel. Alex Odeh’s murder came not long after I had run four full page ads in the Washington Post asking for support against the Israel Lobby.

My assumption was that, reading the ads had enraged the plotter, which led him to bomb the ADC office in Orange County, California. 

I also assume that the plotter was Robert Manning, a hit man who was later convicted of the murder of the secretary of a Jewish businessman in California. Apparently Manning had been hired by another Jewish businessman who was a competitor. They found the fingerprints both of Manning and of his wife on remnants of the letter bomb that was sent to his target, but opened by his secretary, who died as a result of the explosion.

Manning and his wife were safe from extradition from Israel, due to Israeli policy of not extraditing Jews for any reason, until Peter Jennings on ABC Nightly News did a story on how Manning was running free in his West Bank settlement. The news story so embarrassed the U.S. government as well as the Israeli government that he was allowed to be extradited to California, but on the condition that he not be tried for killing Alex Odeh, but only for the secretary. That condition was tantamount to a confession that he had murdered Alex Odeh. Manning’s wife died of a heart attack in an Israeli jail while awaiting extradition.

James Bamford, now a writer living in Washington, D.C., and who was Peter Jennings’ producer then, has film clips of the news story that he shows at lectures he gives on the subject. He went to the West Bank and filmed a machine gun toting Manning for the news story.

Lobby-engineered mud-slinging

More….

[claudette]

30. Really?

So then is it anti-American to criticize Dumpy? You believe Nuttyahoo represents all Jews?

[Beastly Boy]

15. Netanyahu "Getting us all killed"? That's a classic antisemitic trope.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

34. Then how would one say

"That fascist is going to ignite WW3 and result in the death of a lot of people" without being antisemitic? Because that fucker is crazy and a fascist. I don't care what his religion is and what country he is the head of.

[Bettie]

57. He has a lot of fans here

not sure why, but he has fans who think that even the mildest critique of him is worse than the nuclear war we're likely to see.

[Skittles]

83. yup

it is disgusting

[Beastly Boy]

82. I can tell you how one can avoid being antisemitic.

First, hyperbole will not do it. Immediately, hyperbole betray ulterior motives.

Second, if one insists on hyperbole, which set their standing back from the outset, one should consider addressing all the parties that are igniting WW3 (if that's what one thinks is going to happen) with equal scrutiny. One would, for instance, mention at least in passing all the crazy fuckers and fascists responsible for one's outrage. If one is consistently selective against a particular crazy fucker excepting all other crazy fuckers, that's a clear sign of bias.

Finally, one would familiarize oneself with standard antisemitic tropes. When one is being hyperbolic, shows bias AND accuses an iconic Jew of blood lust, all at the same time... bingo!

[choie]

110. Who made you the arbiter of who is antisemitic?

[Beastly Boy]

120. My parents and grandparents.

And many generations before them.

And my all too frequent encounters with antisemitism. I get extra credit for life experience.

[choie]

125. I see

You’re self appointed. Congrats. I have the same background, yet I don’t make pompous statements adjudicating whether people of goodwill on this forum are antisemitic.

[Mosby]

128. Have you served on a DU jury?

Then you do adjudicate people's beliefs and comments.

[choie]

129. Yeah

And I hope I’m more circumspect about people’s motives on this board.

[Beastly Boy]

130. It is generations of bigots that appointed me.

I tried to coexist, but they would never let me forget that to them, I am first and foremost a Jew to be hated.

I have no issue with people of good will, though. But it's hard to presume it when I am confronted with classic antisemitic tropes.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

38. Geez. What utter nonsense

Wacko extremist Netanyahu is a clear danger to getting a good part of the world
BLOWN TO SMITHEREENS

[Mountainguy]

69. How?

[electric_blue68]

99. I've never heard that phrase apllied to either a group of Jews, or all Jews...

I live in NYC. I've certainly through decades heard various antisemitic remarks being reported on sometimes from within our city but often orher places, and people elsewhere.
But not this remark.

So why is it portrayed as such. When was it used as an anti-Jewish remark?

[Beastly Boy]

100. "Jews killed Jesus"

"Jews killed Christian babies for their rituals"

"Jews spread plagues to kill "us all", whoever "us all" happen to be at any particular time and place.

It is called blood libel. A classic antisemitic trope.

And if you didn't hear it in NYC, it's certainly because "Jews control the media"

Sorry, couldn't help myself with the sarcasm. Nothing personal, though. We in NYC are fairly well shielded from the antisemitism going around the world. But not for long, I am afraid.

[electric_blue68]

101. Well, I certainly -know about- the "Jews kilked Jesus", 🙄 trope , and the blood libel Lies....

Jews, and money, banking tropes, probably other stuff.

But as I said I never heard the original statement, nor have I heard this "plague" accusation either!

[Beastly Boy]

118. Was pretty popular in the middle ages

Persecution of Jews during the Black Death (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jews_during_the_Black_Death)

Still has its fans:
Coronavirus Crisis Elevates Antisemitic, Racist Tropes (https://www.adl.org/resources/article/coronavirus-crisis-elevates-antisemitic-racist-tropes)

So are accusations of genocide:
"The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_genocide_conspiracy_theory)

History doesn't repeat itself, but it sure as hell rhymes.

[electric_blue68]

119. Woah - didn't know about The Black Death/The Plague and Jews. And

covid "associationns" as well? Yikes!

And, yeah, Charlottesville. Hideous!

[Beastly Boy]

123. Forgot about that one: the Great Replacement antisemitic trope

A faint echo of "ethnic cleansing" accusations

[choie]

105. So wait

Saying Netanyahu is a warmonger is deemed antisemitic and equivalent to accusing Jews of killing Jesus? That is illogical. As a Jewish woman I despise Netanyahu the same way as I despise Trump. They are both corrupt, authoritarian liars. In fact Netanyahu is worse,

[electric_blue68]

107. No, I don't think he's saying that. He's talking to me about types of

Anti-semitic kinds of marks bc I said I'd never heard a particular remark:
Netanyahu "Getting us all killed" before.

He said it was an anti-semtic remark. I said I've a heard lot of anti-semetic remarks but not that one.
He preceeded to list more of them.

[Beastly Boy]

124. Attributing to me a stance that I didn't take is indeed illogical.

Then again, saying "Stop Netanyahu before he gets us all killed" is very much in line with, say, "Stop Soros before he gets us all dirt poor". Not as ridiculous as accusing Jews of killing Jesus, but ridiculous enough to be added to the list of antisemitic tropes.

[choie]

126. No it is illogical.

Netanyahu is the head of state and responsible for the actions of his country regardless of his being Jewish or not. Just as Trump is, and just as GW Bush was when he took us into a criminal war. George Soros has no power, regardless of his religion. So when one says stop Netanyahu it’s more than likely because he’s dangerous. Which he is. As was GW Bush.

[Beastly Boy]

131. Do you notice that you keep arguing with something without attributing it to me?

It is the thinly veiled antisemitic trope that I am up in arms with. You are addressing everything but what I stated.

[choie]

104. That is ridiculous!

[Beastly Boy]

121. My point exactly.

Antisemitic tropes are notorious for being ridiculous. But deadly nevertheless.

[choie]

127. And heads of state

can also be deadly, and Netanyahu is one of them.

[Beastly Boy]

132. Doesn't make antisemitic tropes any less deadly.

[Scrivener7]

133. That is just bonkers.

[Beastly Boy]

134. Yep, blood libel is bonkers, just like all other antisemitic tropes.

Sadly, they tend to lead to dead Jews in all the unexpected places, none of which have to do with Netanyahu or getting us all killed.

[Scrivener7]

138. Completely bonkers.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

12. "Israel's critics are always accused of anti-Semitism", Quote, by US Senator

Last edited Tue Jun 17, 2025, 03:57 PM - Edit history (1)

“Israel’s critics are always accused of anti-Semitism , a charge that serves to silence even the mildest questioning of that country’s policies.”
— US Senator Abourezk, South Dakota

[Beastly Boy]

19. "Stop Netanyahu Before He Gets Us All Killed" That's not criticism.

That's a call for a pogrom.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

26. "this is completely genocide and ethnic cleansing.... attacked babies, children, women, the elderly, the disabled, hospita

“this is completely genocide and ethnic cleansing…. attacked babies, children, women, the elderly, the disabled, hospitals, ambulances, medics, schools, teachers, residential complexes, worship places ….You have destroyed the international rules of the game, insulted the authority of the UN, torn apart the sense of justice, and hurt human values, and tarnished the face of human civilization."
- Sarbini Abdul Murad, head of Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia, Director of Indonesia Gaza hospital, in a letter to Biden dated Nov 20, 2023


“Israel’s critics are always accused of anti-Semitism , a charge that serves to silence even the mildest questioning of that country’s policies.”
— US Senator Abourezk, South Dakota 

[Beastly Boy]

28. I got it the first time, and I still don't care what a hopelessly indoctrinated zealot has to say.

[atreides1]

29. Forget it man

Netanyahu could shoot a Palestinian child on live television and anything said against him would be called anti-Semitism.

And for the sake of transparency I do not support Israel, because it's not my country, and I believe that it's an Apartheid State!

[Bettie]

58. Truth

but, prepare for the onslaught.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

64. He's already done that, hasn't he?

Many times over.

[Beastly Boy]

84. I've said many things against Netanyahu. I never praised him for anything, on DU or elsewhere.

And, believe it or not, I was never once suspected of antisemitism. Not once. It's not that difficult.

But I also never forget. So don't even ask.

[Jirel]

35. Wow, that's hysteria.

Nobody mentioned violence, chummy. Ever heard of a thing called political pressure? Sanctions? Diplomacy?

[Beastly Boy]

68. But someone mentioned "before he gets us all killed"

Netanyahu is immaterial here. He is just a trigger word to incentivize the pogrom part.

It is obvious that Netanyahu himself is neither the target to be stopped nor the threat capable of "killing us all". Nobody is taking a call to stop him literally. It is not Netanyahu who is the perceived threat here. Call them what you want, Israelis, Zionists, Jews, whatever - they are the target, and what you call them is also immaterial. And the threat itself is completely made up. It is an excuse to whip up outrage, with the made-up threat to "us all" as a rallying cry.

We've heard all this before: genocide, ethnic cleansing, land grab... it all ends up with random Jews being attacked by random antisemites in random places. And the excuses carry consistently preposterous themes: "I did it for Palestine", or "I did it to save the Arian race", or "I did it for the glory of Mother Russia", or "I did it to stop them from killing us all".

[Jirel]

96. What a crock.

It’s super straightforward. He attacked Iran, then said that oh noes, they can’t get to the actual production facility without US help, so the US needs to get involved immediately on Israel’s behalf. That’s some prime warmongering manipulation nonsense right there. The ass is starting a huge Middle East war with full intent of using DC’s Village Idiot to do the dirty work, making Americans a target internationally no endangering US troops as his cannon fodder.

[Beastly Boy]

98. I see that you are not taking "Stop Netanyahu before hegets us all killed" for a factual statement.

Last edited Wed Jun 18, 2025, 10:53 PM - Edit history (1)

I am underwhelmed, but not at all surprised.

So you are no longer paying attention to the post which I called an invitation for a pogrom. You are now replacing the "Stop Netanyahu before he gets us all killed" with an unlikely sequence of events of your own invention which is a far cry from what I responded to, because... what, it is not as ludicrous to defend as a classic antisemitic trope?

I can go into all the patently ridiculous suppositions contained in your latest post (believe me, there is plenty of drivel there begging for ridicule), but I will not. None of them address what I said earlier, and I will not be baited away from what you objected to in the first place and are now refusing to address.

[Eko]

102. How can saying stop one person be a pogrom?

Pogrom-an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, in particular that of Jewish people in Russia or eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[Mosby]

77. What does "get us all killed" mean?

Reading is fundamental.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

36. What about the increasing evidence that he is doing all he can to ethnically cleanse Palistine?

Probably more antisemitism?

[Beastly Boy]

81. What about it?

It's way off "killing us all" even if one takes this ridiculous claim for granted.

And I am not about to take it for granted. Actually, there is no evidence of ethnic cleansing. There may be evidence of other war crimes, but none of them, even if proven true, match the definition of ethnic cleansing in international law.

Too early to tell whether it is antisemitism or not. But after a competent legal authority looks into these accusations and renders judgement on them, them, they may indeed turn out to be antisemitic.

[choie]

152. "there may be evidence of war crimes"

Said so blithely. How insufferable.

[Beastly Boy]

154. I thought I made it clear the first time.

"may be evidence" is way off "killing us all", even if one takes this ridiculous claim for granted.

[Skittles]

60. it has become quite the cliche

I think more and more people are realizing just how fucked up it all is.

[IronLionZion]

32. Standard response to any disagreement with Israeli policy

Plenty of Jews around the world oppose Netanyahu's war policy. He's no progressive.

[Skittles]

49. yeah, nothing to see here

move along

[claudette]

6. He's even

crazier than Dump

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

14. "this is completely genocide and ethnic cleansing.... attacked babies, children, women, the elderly, the disabled, hospita

“this is completely genocide and ethnic cleansing…. attacked babies, children, women, the elderly, the disabled, hospitals, ambulances, medics, schools, teachers, residential complexes, worship places ….You have destroyed the international rules of the game, insulted the authority of the UN, torn apart the sense of justice, and hurt human values, and tarnished the face of human civilization."

- Sarbini Abdul Murad, head of Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia, Director of Indonesia Gaza hospital, in a letter to Biden dated Nov 20, 2023

[claudette]

31. Absolutely

[Ping Tung]

10. "The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he is on." Yossarian from Catch-22

[sarisataka]

11. I see the Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory is alive and well

I will repeat what I have said in the past, I believe Netanyahu is a criminal and active obstacle to Middle East peace. He should be removed from office and face trial.


Notice I did not have to resort to any antisemitic tropes to state my opinion.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

13. Even the mildest critics...."Israel's critics are always accused of anti-Semitism"

“Israel’s critics are always accused of anti-Semitism , a charge that serves to silence even the mildest questioning of that country’s policies.”
— US Senator Abourezk, South Dakota

[sarisataka]

18. I only bring up antisemitism when I see antisemitism

and the article you posted was full of it.

It is possible to criticize Netanyahu and Israel without being antisemitic. My post demonstrated that.
Unfortunately, much if not most criticism ventures close to or deep within antisemitic territory.
Perhaps some is done unconsciously but would we correct someone who is being unconsciously racist, I don't think so.

[LexVegas]

23. Anti-zionism is antisemitism. nt

[AloeVera]

111. Can we criticize the actions of the Israeli government though?

The wars, the occupation, the settlement expansions, the starvation of Palestinians, the confiscations and dispossessions, the administrative detentions, the raids and murders in the West Bank etc etc. There is a lot to criticize.

Is that ok? Or is that anti-zionism and therefore...?

[comradebillyboy]

122. Sure if it's clear that you are criticizing the

specific policies and actions of the Israeli govt. There's a lot there that deserves criticism. But it's important to avoid using too broad a brush. The middle east situation is quite complicated and requires a nuanced analysis. There's a lot of grey in the situation that needs to be recognized.

[Beastly Boy]

25. Certain Israel critics don't see the difference between criticism and antisemitism.

They need to be called out, not praised.

[iemanja]

40. Which part is a conspiracy theory?

The war on Iran? The annihilation of the people of Gaza? The systematic take-over of the Middle East?

[sarisataka]

54. The part asserting the entire Middle East and northeastern Africa

is part of a "Zionist" master plan, using western governments as their puppets

The Zionist occupation government, Zionist occupational government or Zionist-occupied government (ZOG), sometimes also called the Jewish occupational government (JOG),[1][2] is an antisemitic conspiracy theory claiming that Jews secretly control the governments of Western states.[3][4] It is a contemporary variation on the centuries-old belief in an international Jewish conspiracy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionist_Occupation_Government_conspiracy_theory

[iemanja]

56. Point taken

[milestogo]

17. Now is when I really miss President Biden.

He had great depth of foreign policy experience and he knew Netanyahu pretty well. We need him now.

[sarisataka]

24. But "Genocide Joe had to Go"

[iemanja]

41. Yet you defend the Trump-Netanyahu policies

Many here do.

[sarisataka]

48. My prediction leading up to the election

was if the pro-Palestinian voters got their wish, Palestinians would suffer even more than they had before.
I take no pleasure in my forecast being correct.

I am not sure which of those policies you refer to, since I have consistently supported a two-state solution and voiced my opposition to both Trump and Netanyahu.
Perhaps you have confused me with someone else

[iemanja]

52. Of course it's possible I'm mistaken

but you regularly ridicule and accuse of being antisemitic those who object to the Gaza genocide. How do you feel about the war with Iran?

You can't defend Netanyahu and be in favor of a two-state solution. The two positions are antithetical. He has done everything, and succeeded, to undermine a two-state solution--including funding Hamas.

[sarisataka]

59. I most assuredly do NOT

"regularly ridicule and accuse of being antisemitic those who object to the Gaza genocide". That is simply false.
I will call out antisemitism and no, criticizing Israel is not inherently antisemitic.

I have not made any comment on the strikes on Iran except to note how Iran's support of Russia's war on Ukraine has become a non-issue and the double standard relating to civilian casualties.
I will say I understand Israel's fear of a nuclear armed Iran, but I do not condone the broad operation Israel launched.
I believe Israel could have degraded Iran's nuclear progress with more limited, surgical strikes.

I do not defend Netanyahu. Let me repost what I said in the post you initially responded to:

I will repeat what I have said in the past, I believe Netanyahu is a criminal and active obstacle to Middle East peace. He should be removed from office and face trial.

[iemanja]

66. Your initial post said:

"But "Genocide Joe had to Go"

You say you don't defend Netanyahu, yet you regularly defend Israel. What is the difference? Bibi controls Israeli foreign poicy.

[sarisataka]

70. I was repeating the words of the protesters

those who felt Biden's concern for the Palestinian people was less important than "teaching Democrats a lesson"

I defend Israel's right to exist, free from the threat they face from most of their neighbors. I believe Palestinians should have the same right in Gaza and the West Bank.

Both Jordan and Egypt have fought wars against Israel, but there has been peace between Israel and Egypt since Carter brokered a deal. Jordan is helping to defend their former enemy. I would like to believe that under a government not led by Likud, there could eventually be peace between Israel and Palestinians.
At the moment neither Hamas nor Likud have any willingness nor desire for such a peace, therefore change is needed.

[iemanja]

74. I think the time for that has passed

Netanyahu and Hamas have ensured that.

[sarisataka]

78. I have hope, though I and many of us may not live to see it

I never expected to see a united Germany welcomed in Europe

[Dawson Leery]

20. Israel needs an intervention, not weapons.

[Beastly Boy]

27. Every time I hear calls for interevention into a parliamentary democracy,

I break out in cold sweat.

[Skittles]

61. is WWIII a better alterrnative?

just wondering

[Beastly Boy]

146. No, but thankfully, this is not the only alternative.

[Dawson Leery]

91. Cut their funding.

No more dollars for Israeli arms.

[Beastly Boy]

92. What do you think the implications of this would be for the US and the Western world?

You can start with the Middle East with not a single democratic state in it.

Try to not be too simplistic and naive.

[thought crime]

143. Both Israel and the US are experiencing democratic backsliding

Seems like that should cause some worry.

[muriel_volestrangler]

37. When an American Jew calls for the two-state solution, and praises Obama's JCPOA, while attacking Netanyahu

and his influence on Trump, while Netanyahu is starting a war, he will be called antisemitic on a Democratic website. Wow.

[iemanja]

43. Anyone who objects to genocide is an antisemite

[Crunchy Frog]

94. You know that Jeffery Sachs supports the genocide of Ukraine?

He's Putin's man.

[iemanja]

142. Ok

I’m not aware of his position on the Ukraine. Does that info make the war on Iran or genocide in Gaza any better?

[Crunchy Frog]

145. It calls into question his reliability as a source.

The situations with Iran and Gaza should be evaluated on their own merits and on the basis of objective information.

At any rate, his arguments appear to me to be nothing more than a hair on fire threat of nuclear annihilation. Something that seems unlikely in this situation.

Do you think it's acceptable that Iran is actively participating in the genocide of Ukraine, through providing russia with vast quantities of drones and missiles?

[iemanja]

151. Here's objective for you

A planned slaughter of 2 million Palestinians is morally reprehensible, and no decent human being can support it. Netanyahu has pledged to do exactly that.

The war with Iran is not in the US best interests and holds the potential of significant blow back on the US. Netanyahu has been advocating for war with Iran for decades, and at multiple times he has falsely claimed the Iran was on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon. He has worked to undermine negotiations with the Iranians, convinced Trump to blow up the agreement the Obama administration negotiated, and last week targeted and killed the lead negotiator for Iran, just as he targeted and killed the lead negotiator for Hamas. He does not want a negotiated peace in either case. He wants war and mass murder and is executing both. Now, in order to support Netanyahu's actions, you claim the war on Ukraine is a reason for destroying Iran. I don't see you advocating for war with Russia. Why should war against a proxy waring partner take precedence over the direct prosecutor of the war on Ukraine? And do you actually think the Ukraine enters even minimally into Netanyahu's concerns?

A person can be wrong on one subject and correct on another. I'm sure that's the case for many of us. Your "look over there" in order to distract from war and the Gazan genocide is not a convincing or moral tactic.

I do not think it's acceptable that Iran is helping fund the war on the Ukraine. That, however, does not mean the war on Iran is good for US interests.

You use the term genocide to describe the war on Ukraine. Fair enough. Do you use that same term for Gaza?

[Crunchy Frog]

156. And are you able to reach those conclusions on your own

without appealing to the words of a political charlatan like Sachs? It seems to me that you should be.

And yes, I know that Netanyahu has no concern whatsoever about Ukraine. It's just that in this instance, Israel's and Ukraine's interests concerning Iran may coincide. I tend to view this situation through a Ukraine lens.

I don't think you need to worry about Iran being "destroyed". It's a huge country, both geographically and in terms of population.

Are you trying to evaluate me to tell if my views are "acceptable"? Is that why you're asking about how I view Gaza? I think it's at least approaching genocide. It's certainly an attempt at complete ethnic cleansing of the region.

Ultimately I think that Trump is more likely to do what Putin wants than what Netanyahu wants, so maybe that can be a comfort for you.

I doubt that any attempt at a genuine discussion is likely to be productive, but who knows?

[iemanja]

157. Which words of Sachs' did I use?

You’re obviously not familiar with my posts. I pride myself on my intellectual integrity. I try to be thoughtful and am consistent in my views. I don’t adopt different positions depending on the party or personalities involved. Wars, like Israel’s assault on Iran, and genocide such as in Gaza are wrong, just as the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide were wrong. That is a basic humanitarian position. I don’t need anyone to tell me what to think, or right from wrong, certainly not Sachs.

You should really be taking your hatred for Sacks out on the OP rather than me. I did not post his views; the OP did.

My views are morally and intellectually driven. That they don’t concur with your support for war with Iran does not make them less than genuine. Since you’ve decided I have nothing “genuine” to contribute, I shall oblige you by discussing nothing with you again.

[Crunchy Frog]

158. I'm sorry. I made my initial comment in the context of the thread as a whole,

which was explicitly started by a large post concerning statements by Jeffrey Sachs. I wouldn't have posted in this thread at all if not for the subject matter introduced by the OP.

I apologize for the misunderstanding.

[Jilly_in_VA]

137. That seems to be

what Lexvegas and BeastlyBoy are saying, and I for one object! I am not now and never have been antisemitic, but I am damn sure objecting to the current actions of the Israeli state vis a vis both Gaza and Iran. Now y'all can claim that makes me antisemitic, but I'm in good company with a lot of my friends at the local synagogue, so maybe you need to rethink what you're saying.

[iemanja]

141. My post was sarcastic

I’m not calling anyone antisemitic. I oppose both the war on Iran and the Gazan genocide. My post was a comment on the accusations by Israel’s defenders.

[Jilly_in_VA]

148. Well, maybe

you should have used the smilie then. Sarcasm doesn't translate well in print.

[Beastly Boy]

150. Speaking for myself, that's not what I am saying.

What I am saying is that arbitrarily accusing Jews of genocide is an old antisemitic trope that has a long history.

What I am saying is that antisemites have a long history of gratuitously accusing Jews of genocide, and when I keep hearing those gratuitous accusations against the Jewish state again and again, I instinctively recoil in disgust. With good reason.

If you object to that, God help you.

[Jilly_in_VA]

153. And what they're doing in Gaza

ISN'T genocide? Please.

[Beastly Boy]

155. No, it isn't.

Not according to the competent international courts that make such determinations.

But what do they know when it comes to anitsemitic tropes?

[Skittles]

71. it's the default position

automatic

[W_HAMILTON]

42. Fuck Common Dreams.

I would tell people to go look at the types of anti-Democratic articles they were posting leading up to the election, but I wouldn't want to give them the traffic.

They were warned that this would happen and yet they continued to shiv Kamala and other Democrats in the back.

How fucking dare they cry out "Stop Netanyahu!!!1!" after all they did to shit on Biden and then Kamala -- the only hope we had of keeping a SOVEREIGN NATION somewhat in check to begin with. Now the guardrails are completely off.

Fucking idiots.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

44. Guess you ignore the truth too

Common Dreams has been a fantastic source.

One of THE BEST.

Guess you must have not been a BERNIE fan either then.
Common Dreams most commonly supported him.

Don’t have to agree with everyone and every News report or every commentary

[W_HAMILTON]

62. What they said about Biden and Kamala was not the truth -- it was their biased and short-sighted opinion.

And now that they no longer have those two to kick around, they are pleading for someone to come save them from what we all warned them would happen.

PS - Fuck Common Dreams.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

65. Agree, many of their commentators slammed Biden still $$ support to Israel after slaughtering Gaza

Sure, lots of comments news, commentary there was against support for Biden due to his support for Netanyahu even after slaughtering of Gaza civilians

Truth hurts.

Biden made mistakes,
Biden should have drastically slashed financial and arms supports
to this extremist Israel Govt

[W_HAMILTON]

72. Biden did what he could to rein in a SOVEREIGN NATION.

And now dipshits like Common Dreams are seeing that for themselves and crying out for someone to save them from what Netanyahu and Trump are doing.

Clickbait hate against Democrats and then clickbait what happens when Republicans get elected instead -- fuck those grifting idiots.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

76. Idiots are those going to war now, killing innocent civilians

Idiots that are getting innocent citizens civilians killed.

Netanyahu is an extremely unpopular leader in Israel.

It’s not just some commentators view,
It’s Israel citizens too

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

47. Another good source in Middle East Eye

Try this.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/

Like any news source, it presents views from a perspective
sorely lacking in lots the worthless corporate US news media.

[malaise]

63. Good read

Thanks

[Hellbound Hellhound]

75. Both of these opinion sources have advocated outright anti-Jewish views.

Fares as a fairly lackluster and mediocre Harvard student and Sachs as an outspoken anti-Israeli voice from Columbia University, which is under investigation for antisemetic attacks from staff members.

Sachs in particular should be examined to his "Anti-Western" approach to every one of his opines. "Close the US Bases in Asia" and "Giving Birth to the New International Order" are of note but are far from the only extremist, conspiracy-theory Tankie viewpoints he's offered. Most prominently, "US Biotech Possibly Behind Covid Origins and Cover-Up". He's cut of the same cloth as RFK wrapped in the cloak of Liberality.

Sachs is clearly an anti-Western tankie and his disciple Fares is indoctrinated. They both should be discounted as a matter of course in intelligent dialogue, as should their followers.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

87. Plot against him by Israel

https://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/24/the-israeli-plot-to-murder-a-former-us-senator/

CNI asked Mr. Abourezk about his experiences with the Israel Lobby while he served in Congress. In his response he told of an Israeli plot against him in whch the US press has displayed no interest. Below is his description of this and other incidents:

[Hellbound Hellhound]

88. A cute fantasy, but irrelevant. Made-up conspiracy theories with no factual basis have no hold on me.

ON EDIT: What TH does this have to do with my post? Some random psycho babbling nonsense says... What?

[Crunchy Frog]

93. Jeffery Sachs???!!

Dear Lord.

[Jack Valentino]

113. TOO BAD an Israeli PM who advocated peace was assassinated some decades ago---

it appears that they shot the wrong guy

[vanessa_ca]

139. Oh And what a coincidence. "Rabin was assassinated with Netanyahu's cooperation"

Rabin was assassinated with Netanyahu’s cooperation

In the weeks before the assassination, Netanyahu, then head of the opposition, and other senior Likud members attended a right-wing political rally in Jerusalem where protesters branded Rabin a “traitor,” “murderer,” and “Nazi” for signing a peace agreement with the Palestinians earlier that year.

He also marched in a Ra’anana protest as demonstrators behind him carried a mock coffin.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/labor-chief-michaeli-rabin-was-assassinated-with-netanyahus-cooperation/

The then leader of the opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, was the star speaker at two now infamous demonstrations, where the crowd’s slogans included “Death to Rabin”. In July 1995, Netanyahu walked at the head of a mock funeral procession featuring a fake black coffin.

Israel’s head of internal security asked Netanyahu to dial down the rhetoric, warning that the prime minister’s life was in danger. Netanyahu declined.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/assassination-yitzhak-rabin-never-knew-his-people-shot-him-in-back

They Incited Rabin’s Murder. Now They’re Murdering Israel’s Democracy
From Netanyahu to Ben-Gvir, the same figures who led an assault against Israel’s democracy, secular law and territorial compromise 30 years ago are fighting for their religious-nationalist coup today

-snip-

Following one Netanyahu speech two weeks before Rabin’s murder, a whipped-up crowd attacked Rabin’s car. A young far-right provocateur with a long police record leapt onto the Prime Minister’s Cadillac and ripped off the hood ornament.


An Israeli boy stomps on an picture of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin entitled "Traitor" during a protest against him in December 1993 in Jerusalem.Credit: Jacqueline Artz/Associated Press

-snip-

In addition to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi all played a critical role in the anti-Rabin campaign three decades ago.

But the leading man is still Netanyahu.

Netanyahu now seeks to avoid prison by appointing his own judges to quash his indictment on bribery, fraud and breach of trust. To maintain a majority, he has appointed racists and supremacists, long his unofficial base, to powerful government posts.

Like Netanyahu, his far-right partners all revile the Supreme Court and revere the idea of Greater Israel.

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-07-09/ty-article-opinion/.premium/they-incited-rabins-murder-now-theyre-murdering-israels-democracy/00000189-3a5f-da0e-a59b-bb7f1fc30000

[Crunchy Frog]

147. Yes. Netanyahu is a terrorist in his own right IMO,

and bears major responsibility for decades worth of suffering, as well as making such a tangled mess of the Palestine situation as to render it effectively insoluble.

I believe that his "solution" has always been to bring things to such a pass that mass ethnic cleansing, and/or genocide, becomes a thinkable prospect, as is happening now.

[vanessa_ca]

149. I want to weep when I imagine where Israel, Palestine and the world would be had Rabin not been assassinated. -eom

[LudwigPastorius]

114. I guess I missed the part of the article that describes how to "stop Netanyahu".

In fact, he just survived a call for new elections last week.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-politics-netanyahu-government-dissolve-parliament-coalition-5285b82f504820f36e652f99859813aa

He, and Trump, aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Things are going to get much worse.

[David__77]

117. It's interesting what a large percentage of Israel's history that he has been in power.

[gulliver]

140. "Netanyahu" is just a distraction from the "Iran gets no nukes" imperative

Commondreams and other consistently substandard sites muddy the waters with distractions like "I hate Netanyahu." People need to focus. Iran can't have nukes. That's not a dream. On Earth, Trump and Netanyahu have the bulldozer keys. If Iran's Islamist regime gets in the way of the bulldozers heading for their nukes, they get their wish for martyrdom. Done.

[thought crime]

144. "Iran gets no nukes" is a distraction from a violation of rules based order.

What happened to diplomacy? Pres. Obama had a verifiable agreement and a dialog with Iran, and Iran was cooperating. Israel's current attacks began as the US and Iran were still negotiating.

If we support Israel's unjustified war, how can we criticize Putin for his unjustified invasion of Ukraine? How could we criticize Trump if he takes over Greenland or Panama because he thinks those actions are "imperative"? Respect for rules based world order is crumbling.