As a former IDF soldier and historian of genocide, I was deeply disturbed by my recent visit to Israel, Omer Bartov, The Guardian

An Israeli genocide scholar lays out why he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

What American Jews Haven’t Been Told about Gaza, Peter Beinart, Haaretz

The single most important article to understand what happened in Gaza since the 2005 Disengagement. Reprinted on my blog from Israeli news source Haaretz.

For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces, Times of Israel

Netanyahu played a cynical game of facilitating funding to Hamas to keep Gaza “pacified,” weaken and marginalize the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, continue settlement expansion in the West Bank, and prevent a two-state solution, according to this right-wing Israeli new source.

There Is a Jewish Hope for Palestinian Liberation. It Must Survive, Peter Beinart, New York Times

On Palestinian nonviolent resistance.

I Am Gaza City’s Mayor. Our Lives and Culture Are in Rubble, Yahya R. Sarraj, New York Times

Heartbreaking article by Gaza City’s mayor after his city was destroyed.

If Israel Eliminated Hamas, Nothing Fundamental Would Change, Peter Beinart

Peter Beinart wrote in 2021 that even if Hamas were eliminated, it wouldn’t change anything. Hamas is not the root cause of the conflict.

Israel Targets Civilians

The Dahiya Doctrine is Israel’s explicit policy of targeting civilian homes and infrastructure to pressure combatants (which is the definition of terrorism).

“The Israeli army’s expanded authorization for bombing non-military targets, the loosening of constraints regarding expected civilian casualties, and the use of” AI to generate targets has helped create conditions where almost anything and anyone is fair game in Gaza. (+927 Magazine)

Even back in 2005, Gaza was considered a “playground for sharpshooters.” It has gotten worse since then. (The Guardian)

“A handful of children, all about ages 5 to 8, were carried to the emergency room by their parents. All had single sniper shots to the head. These families were returning to their homes in Khan Yunis, about 2.5 miles away from the hospital, after Israeli tanks had withdrawn. But the snipers apparently stayed behind. None of these children survived.” (LA Times)

An Israeli friend told me that soldiers told him Gaza is basically a free-fire zone. So I was saddened but not surprised when Israeli soldiers shot and killed three escaped Israeli hostages who were shirtless, waving white flags, and shouting in Hebrew. (PBS)

Hind Rajab’s family was fired on in their car as they tried to flee to safety. Everyone was killed but six-year-old Hind (rhymes with “bend”), and she called the Palestine Red Crescent for help. They dispatched an ambulance but lost contact with Hind and the paramedics. All were found murdered days later. (The Guardian, Instagram video)

Two Christian women were murdered by Israeli snipers on church grounds in Gaza. A relative of the women described their murder in gruesome detail. (NBC, Wikipedia, Middle East Eye)

I could write a long post on the shocking number of journalists, doctors, nurses, medics, academics, and UN workers targeted and killed.

The Israeli government does nothing about any of these incidents other than occasionally promise an investigation that never takes place. The US almost always lets them get away with it.

These are just a few of thousands of stories. Amnesty International is amassing endless evidence of Israeli war crimes. And of course, the International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel is plausibly committing genocide.


Analysis

My friend Fadi Quran is a Stanford graduate and Palestinian peace activist. Here’s one small story that exemplifies life under Israeli occupation, even for people who have never engaged in violence. (Twitter)

Israeli journalist Gideon Levy on why Israeli propaganda is fooling fewer and fewer people (except Israelis themselves). (Haaretz)

Shortly after October 7, Israeli journalist Amira Hass wrote: "In a few days Israelis went through what Palestinians have experienced as a matter of routine for decades, and are still experiencing – military incursions, death, cruelty, slain children, bodies piled up in the road, siege, fear, anxiety over loved ones, captivity, being targets of vengeance, indiscriminate lethal fire at both those involved in the fighting (soldiers) and the uninvolved (civilians), a position of inferiority, destruction of buildings, ruined holidays or celebrations, weakness and helplessness in the face of all-powerful armed men, and searing humiliation.” (Haaretz)

This is of course not to justify any crimes committed on October 7. But if you want to prevent another October 7, it’s important to understand what might have led to it.

Almost a year ago, violence in the West Bank was already ramping up. (The Nation)

Israeli human rights advocate Hagai El-Ad’s cri de coeur is nuanced in its treatment of history and its engagement of the post-colonial paradigm. It is anguished and heartfelt, intelligent and important. It doesn’t come to conclusions, but it also doesn’t look away from difficult truths. It assumes humanity on both sides. (Haaretz)


People I Follow

Peter Beinart (South African / American Jewish journalist)

Owen Jones (British journalist)

Fadi Quran (Stanford grad and Palestinian peace activist)

Gideon Levy (Israeli Jewish journalist)

Mosab Abu Toha (Palestinian poet who's been published in The New Yorker and other outlets as his family struggled to survive the war and then escape Gaza)


More Info

A brief history of the conflict from the First Zionist Congress to the Second Intifada.

My book Fast Times in Palestine is free to download on this website. It provides crucial context from the second Intifada to the Hamas election victory in 2006.

Western commentators often mention Hamas’ takeover of Gaza in 2007 but rarely mention the fact that the takeover was a response to a violent coup attempt instigated by the Bush Administration.

It’s a common Israeli talking point that Israel “ended the occupation of Gaza” in 2005. This is false. The Gaza Strip remained occupied by Israel under international law.

When another country controls your access to food, water, electricity, medical supplies, building supplies, imports, exports, travel, residency, air space, territorial waters, currency, and so on, you don’t have “autonomy.” You have “the world’s largest open-air prison.” Poverty and unemployment were already catastrophic before the latest Israeli assault.

My Gaza FAQs.


Top Videos

Gabor Maté explains how he sees the Palestine Israel conflict

World trauma expert and Holocaust survivor Dr. Gabor Maté has an excellent take on the root causes (19m)

Israeli Dissidents Expose Genocidal Language, Owen Jones

Chilling words from Israeli leaders who have dehumanized and brutalized Palestinians (7m)

Key members of Netanyahu’s cabinet ‘throwing fire on the flames’, Jake Tapper, CNN

CNN's Jake Tapper pulls few punches while discussing Netanyahu's far-right cabinet of violent ethno-supremacists (9m)

How Israelis Live So Easily With Occupation, Gideon Levy

According to Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, Zionists are among the most delusional people on earth. He lays out how they delude themselves via (1) entitlement, (2) a schizophrenic victim mentality (while oppressing 5 million people), and (3) dehumanization of Palestinians. This allows them to live in psychological peace while holding millions of people hostage under belligerent military occupation without human rights for 56 years and counting (6m)

Israel-Hamas War: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

A relief when John Oliver had a quite good take (31m)

The Strategy Of Managed Oppression Has Failed, Peter Beinart

American Jewish journalist Peter Beinart on why Israel's policy of trying to Pacify Palestinians in ghettos without actually granting them human and political rights is like at an end, one way or another. There will likely have to be real peace or ethnic cleansing / genocide that could spiral into world war (12m)

Israel 'Worse Than Apartheid', South African Jewish Former ANC Politician Andrew Feinstein

Owen Jones interviews an extraordinary Jewish man from South Africa who worked with Mandela and Archbishop Tutu. He talks about how Israel's apartheid is far worse than South Africa's was and about why it was South Africa that brought the genocide charge against Israel (48m)

How You Can Help Stop Israel's Carnage In Gaza - And Support Palestinian Liberation, Omar Barghouthi

Owen Jones interviews the founder of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. He explains how this peaceful, Palestinian-led mass global movement can help bring this horror to an end - and finally bring about freedom, justice, equality and dignity (37m)

Former IDF soldier believes Israel is making 'a catastrophic mistake' in Gaza, Benzi Sanders, CNN

An Israeli soldier who served in Gaza in 2014 has come to see that brutalizing Palestinians will not bring peace or security (11m)

Facing the Horror in Gaza, Peter Beinart

Among the false Israeli talking points he debunks: (1) The number of Palestinian civilians killed isn't accurate, (2) Every Palestinian civilian killed is Hamas' fault, (3) Israel is trying to minimize civilian casualties, and (4) There are no civilians in Gaza because they voted for Hamas (15m)

James O'Brien's damning verdict of Israel's war on Gaza, LBC

It's not Israel's "plan" to destroy Gaza. They've done it. As he says here, imagine if the British had gone into Ireland and destroyed entire cities and killed thousands upon thousands of Irish children to "wipe out terrorism" during the Troubles. Does anyone think that would have led to peace? Only good-faith negotiations can lead to peace. That's it. So this violence is simply gratuitous. It's making Israelis less secure, not more. It's making the entire world less secure. And it's putting the hostages in danger every single day. The Israeli government has basically lost its mind (14m)

CNN’s Nima Elbagir reports on the scale of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza

A report on the devastating scale of Israel's bombardment of Gaza and the impact of the hundreds of two-thousand-pound bombs raining down on civilians (2m)

CNN Discovers Israeli Settlers Are Ethnically Cleansing West Bank, Majority Report

A progressive news source breaks down a surprisingly good CNN report about the horrors of military occupation and settlements in the West Bank (17m)

CNN visited a Gaza hospital. This is what we saw

Clarissa Ward witnessed the horror and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza during a heartbreaking visit to a field hospital in Rafah operated by the United Arab Emirates (14m)

Israel Bombing Beirut Could Spark 'Untold Death And Destruction', Omar Baddar

Owen Jones interviews Omar Baddar about many things, including Israel's policy of targeting civilians (33m)

How Israel Could Be Stopped By South Africa - Its Overwhelming Genocide Case Explained

Owen Jones goes over the devastating South African document alleging Israel's genocide (33m)

A Different Path Israel Could Have Taken — and Maybe Still Can, Ezra Klein, New York Times

There are Israelis who believe the occupation shouldn't be strengthened daily and can't be maintained forever, even if they currently comprise a relatively powerless minority. Here's an interview with a pragmatic Israeli about how things could and should have been different over the past decade, and how they still might change for the better (59m)

An Alternative to Invading Gaza, Peter Beinart

What Israel could and should have done instead of laying waste to Gaza (16m)

Indigenous solutions to colonial problems, Instagram

Some beautiful reminders

Netanyahu Lets Slip Israel's Real Plan -- Ethnic Cleansing, Owen Jones (14m)


Zionist Militias Used Civilian Buildings for Military Functions, Middle East Eye (2m)


What causes Antisemitism?, Dr. Gabor Maté (3m)


Israeli spokesman admits to war crimes (2m)


Heart-wrenching video of a small injured boy who survived an Israeli bombing shaking in shock and terror


Joy Reid interviews Peter Beinart, MSNBC (16m)


Why Not Offer Florida To Israelis For Settlement, Bassem Youssef on Piers Morgan (2m)


Incredible Speech at the UN by Palestinian Ambassador (18m)


CNN Interview: "Our hearts are burning" for Victims in Gaza(2m)


Israeli peace activists say end the occupation, it’s the only way, MSNBC