Solidarity with Palestine
We’re collating and sharing actions, vigils, protests and meetings in solidarity with the people of Gaza and wider Palestine. Let us know and we’ll host them here and share.
Demonstrations across Scotland this weekend. Further demonstrations announced across Scotland tomorrow (Saturday at 2pm). There is also a demonstration planned in Inverness at 12pm.
FREE PALESTINE FUNDRAISER WITH A HOST OF SCOTTISH HI-HOP TALENT AT THE STEREO
SONGS OF FREEDOM: SOOM T. MEDICAL AID FUNDFRAIER FOR GAZA AT THE DREAMMACHINE, CALTON
“Soom T is an international music artist and songwriter from Glasgow. Her music is a collection of Soul, Reggae, Gospel and Avant Garde Choral with a strong, spiritual and activist message underpinning her inimitable and diverse vocal capabilities.”
from
FIFE STOP THE WAR COALITION
I see no reference to the evil behaviour of the Hamas terrorists. Do you think the rape and murder of Israeli women, a baby being cut out of a pregnant Israeli women, and the baby being beheaded in front of her or the beheading and burning of Israeli children or the murder of Israeli old people, or the kidnapping of 200 Israeli people, or the murder of 250 people at a music festival. Israeli soldiers do not do this.
What would you do if a bunch of terrorists made their way down Sauchiehall Street murdering and butchering people like Hamas did. What actions would you demand of our government? You’d want them hunted down and killed!
The Terrorist/Military arm of Hamas deliberately behaved as they did to provoke a response from the Israelis. They then hid amongst their own civilian people knowing that any strike by Israeli would kill Palestinian civilians. They did not care for the well being of their own families. They are still firing rockets into Israeli, knowing that Israeli aircraft would strike at those locations. They are viscous, callous, calculating animals.
Interestingly, no Arab countries wants to take the Palestinian people in. Look at Lebanon, dominated by Hezbollah, Palestinians are considered foreigners, and not allowed to work in up to 39 professions.
Israel is the only real democracy. Israel is surrounded by countries that hate them and would want them murdered or driven out. Israel has the right to defend themselves.
Have you forgotten the holocaust? Supporters of Hamas and Palestinians in Sydney were shouting “Gas the Jews” Why do people in the West allow open antisemitism? The young in our country are clearly stupid, lacking the knowledge of history of that region, of realpolitik, and preferring to be performative activists. Shame on you.
Why aren’t you marching to have representatives of Hamas and other Islamist terrorist organisations deported? Why aren’t you holding rallies in support of Iranian women who have been brutally murdered by their male dominated totalitarian state simply for not covering their heads? Why aren’t you on the streets protesting about the murder of Christian villagers in Africa by Islamist terror groups. Especially the kidnapping and rape of young girls. Don’t you see that this is hypocrisy of the first order?
Before you go out on the street. Try to imagine you are one of those young Israeli women. Gangraped, bound and watching everyone you love be murdered in from of your eyes. Can you imagine their last moments on this earth? I can. How would you feel if it were your sister, your daughter, your mother, your wife, your friend, your neighbour or even a stranger?
Remember them as you go on the streets supporting Hamas.
The wokies have taken leave of their senses . . . completely.
“What would you do if a bunch of terrorists made their way down Sauchiehall Street murdering and butchering people like Hamas did. What actions would you demand of our government? You’d want them hunted down and killed!”
They were hunted down and killed. The Israeli govt said they killed the 1500 Palestinians who came through the fence and killed 1400 Israelis. The fact Hamas killed less than 1 Israeli each is so much at odds with the way the Israelis (and yourself) describe the attacks that it’s difficult to believe many of the reports. Either way, it was a vile act carried out by Hamas but it cannot compare to the carnage taking place in Gaza (including the killing of 3,000 children). Far from destroying Hamas, Israeli actions are swelling their membership.
Ah, I see its proportionality you favour. So, if you’re looking for a net-zero gain, then shouldn’t have the Israelis rape, murder, butcher and kidnapped an equal number of women, children, old folk, then respond with one missile for every rocket Hamas and their allies fire at Israel?
Israel is surrounded by enemies who would wipe them out in an instant.
Try viewing it from an ordinary Israeli’s perspective. They can’t afford your luxury beliefs
Shouldn’t the Palestinians be allowed to push all the Israelis off their land first?
At last. An honest contributor.
Many protestor placards and posts talk about “genocide”. I guess, that apart from the Jewish diaspora, driving all the Israeli’s out would amount to “genocide”. Given the limited reception the Jews got in the 1930’s in other countries, can you blame them for not being inclined to chance being in that situation again.
They are fighting for their existence. What do you expect the Israeli’s do? Roll over?
Finally, what is in the UK’s and the West’s best interest? Our interest?
How much would Iran’s aggression and that of other totalitarian non-democratic countries’ be encouraged by this?
The destruction of Israel makes a world war more likely. Be careful what you wish for.
My comment was in response to your comment
“Ah, I see its proportionality you favour. So, if you’re looking for a net-zero gain, then shouldn’t have the Israelis rape, murder, butcher and kidnapped an equal number of women, children, old folk, then respond with one missile for every rocket Hamas and their allies fire at Israel?”
If you’re looking for an eye for an eye you’ll have to go back a lot further than the recent Hamas actions.
The key here is to break Iran’s little vicious mates, aka the military terrorist wing of Hamas.
This isn’t a performative activist’s opportunity to show their moral superiority, Its a brutal conflict with real consequences for those directly involved and potentially for the wider world.
Call me what you like. It changes nothing.
Hamas are still vicious terrorists, and Israel has the right to defend itself and will defend its people. I’ve yet to see a counter argument that just doesn’t hand control to Hamas and their Iranian masters.
The only way they will defeat Hamas is by wiping out the Palestinians (I daresay you’d support that). For every member of Hamas they kill, they’ll kill 20 civilians (10 kids) and Hamas’s membership will grow by 10.
You suppose wrong.
Hamas terrorists choose to use their own people as human shields in areas from which to launch rockets and hide hostages.
Maybe there should be demonstrations in the street against Hamas terrorist’s paymasters – Iran.
Iran, that totalitarian theocracy who forcible convert gay men in to so-called “sex change” surgery, and who brutally kill young women for not wearing the hijab.
Iran, who fund the rockets reigning down on Israel.
@SteveH, hmmm. Maybe the British and USAmerican Empires shouldn’t have illegally overthrown the secular democratically-elected Iranian government of Mohammad Mosaddegh, pursued unending campaigns against secular Arab states and backed all those militant Islamists?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27état
Perhaps the most extreme forms of Islamic militants have come from super-repressive UK/US allies like Saudi Arabia, which provided so many of the personnel in the 9/11 attacks? Maybe you should look at the history of the gulf states and the anti-democratic role the British (and their mercenaries, and auxiliaries) have played?
Maybe. But that doesn’t stop the Iranians funding and directing extreme violence now, and fermenting a regional war.
The most dangerous enemy is the one who has nothing to live for. The Israelis are mass producing them.
Maybe you’re right. What’s your suggested solution that would bring lasting peace?
There is none without a massive Israeli climbdown. If they couldn’t even back the plan agreed by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat then what hope is there? The backing the Israelis get from the US, UK & others only emboldens their stance. That support should be dependent on working towards a lasting peace. As things stand, the only way the Palestinian voice is heard is through actions such as that taken by Hamas.
You make some good points. I agree that the previous Rabin/Yarafat deal would have been infinitely better than what’s happening now.
Another point, how do you break the Hamas link with Iran and their geopolitical aims?
How do you guarantee that Hamas won’t repeat their attack of the 7th Oct, or keep firing rockets as soon as they regroup?
In Ireland there were groups opposed to peace (DUP voted against the GFA, the Real IRA planted the Omagh bomb in response). Those who sought peace didn’t allow them to derail the process. I guess most people had had enough of living in fear and wanted some semblance of normality in their lives.
I realise the complexities in the middle east go way beyond Ireland but while most Israelis are sheltered from the horror I don’t see them ever giving any ground. Maybe if they realised support from the west was dependent on making peace with the Palestinians, such that they had to live with the fear of an all out war with the Arab world on their own, they too might prefer some semblance of normality in their lives. While only one side has something to live for the attacks will continue as that’s the only way the Palestinians can be heard.
The US and much of the west are as much to blame as Iraq. Both sides should be involved in bringing about a peaceful settlement.
I’m not sure there will ever be peace in the region until religion is seen for what it is – simply beliefs and dogma.
I’m reminded of a friend of mine who was an Lt in the Lebanese regular army. He ran a small signals unit. It was supposedly a pause in the conflict. He went on leave, and when he returned he’d found his small unit had been kidnapped by one of the many independents Palestinian groups who were having a vocal spat with the government. His men had been lined up and their throats were cut. They were a bunch of techies, not combat troops.
Another friend – an American Israeli told me that if I wanted to understand Israeli’s I had to realise that Israel has a siege mentality. It has coloured everything they do, and the decisions they make.
@Tom Ultuous, I believe the Irish Good Friday Agreement was informed in part by studying the Truth and Reconciliation process implemented by post-Apartheid South Africa. Such a truth process will be needed before any reconciliation in post-Apartheid Israel too, I expect.
To step aside a little first, the intelligent television drama series The Man in the High Castle (based on the alternate history science fiction novel by Philip K Dick) extrapolates what might have happened if the Axis powers won WW2 and occupied large parts of the globe including the USA, where the action is largely set. In order to cement their grip on occupation, the Nazis develop their Big Lie approach. Without giving too much away, this necessitates eliminating (denying) the positive contributions and humanity of people of African descent and of Jews.
We can see today the harm that Holocaust denial can cause, but Israel has its own version of denial of what Palestinians call the Nakba. Piecing together threads from various sources, the Israeli narrative follows typical settler-colonial tropes.
Dangerous self-serving European colonial ideas of the right to forcibly annex ‘under-exploited’ land or ‘masterless’ lands of people whose states were not recognised were used to justify violent occupation of lands, often in retrospect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius
A recent documentary by a young Israeli said that her immigrant grandfather’s diaries described a land where Palestinians were successfully cultivating their land; and after Jewish terrorist groups and militias drove the Palestinians away, the existence of these settlements was eradicated in some places by a forestation program, and children were told that the recent ruins of Palestinian villages were ancient.
In Prisoners of History on monuments to WW2, historian Keith Lowe devotes chapter 23 to the Balcony at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. The Holocaust History Museum opened 2005 to replace its official 1960s predecessor. Its triangular ends stick out both sides of a mountain, one closed, the other a balcony overviewing forest. To reach its light, you have to zigzag through obstacles and dark rooms telling the Holocaust story.
The museum’s operator Vad Yashem (est 1953) uses reparations from Claims Conference (paid by perpetrators Germany) to fund its projects, closely connected to official Israeli State message. Passage through museum is mandatory for diplomats and visiting leaders.
p300 “It is what Israel ignores, and Yad Vashem omits, that makes this official message of redemption and rebirth so controversial.”
Lowe goes on to say that many European Holocaust-surviving Jews were shabbily treated by on arriving in Israel-Palestine by local-born Jews (Sabras), while a civil war was going on in 1947 and incomers pressed into Army. The Museum omits any non-Jewish history, ignores Palestinian Arabs, unusual stance for a national monument. Even after a wave of recent arrivals, Jews made up only about 1/3 of population by 1945, still under British Mandate. By militias and terror groups, after rejection of UN-offered split by Arab leaders, Jewish forces drive most Arab Palestinians away using terror attacks, like Irgun-led massacre of Palestinian villagers at Deir Yassin. Foreign leaders are not forced to view those histories, something that critical Jewish groups point out, noting you can see the unmarked hilltop where Deir Yassin once stood before it was razed, from the balcony.
To confront the lies Israel tells and truths it omits about its past would also be awkward for its settler-colonialist supports, the USA and European Empires, guilty of the same crimes, coverups and mythologising. To refer to another recent commentator, the Israeli crimes against Gaza are not only in preventing vital supplies getting in, but in largely stopping produce being exported, which would give Palestinians a measure of self-sufficiency and a head start should they recover their stolen land. As many have said, this is an age-old kind of land and freedom struggle for the Palestinians, who might have joined the secular Arab movements round the Mediterranean were it not for oppression and occupation of the apartheid Israeli regime and racist Jewish Orthodoxy that has fed anti-Jewish Islamism.
I saw the documentary you refer to SD.
” I believe the Irish Good Friday Agreement was informed in part by studying the Truth and Reconciliation process implemented by post-Apartheid South Africa. Such a truth process will be needed before any reconciliation in post-Apartheid Israel too, I expect.”
I would certainly agree with that and the rest of what you say.
Wow. You given this a lot of thought.
Its interesting you should mention South Africa and the truth and reconciliation process. I have been to South Africa many times. Sadly, Mandela would be appalled at what he would now find.
Corruption and injustice perpetrated on and by the very people he fought so hard for.
The increase in attacks and murder of White farmers and EFF’s leader Julius Malema open call to kill all whites is hardly encouraging.
Then there was the murder of African migrants using the burning “necklace”. There is even a Black organisation openly dedicated to driving out migrants.
South Africa is in steep decline and more Black people are murdered or live in extreme poverty than under apartheid.
I certainly didn’t approve of apartheid, but I don’t think Black South Africans have benefitted from the ANC liberation.
I certainly wouldn’t use S. Africa or Zimbabwe as shining examples to encourage the Israelis to do things differently.
Given that Israel is the only real democracy in the region, there’s not much to recommend the rest.
There is a massive difference between realpolitik and the ideology of Marxist based liberation. Marxist thinking doesn’t work.
Indeed, Marxism -another white man’s invention turned out to be a cure worse than the disease. How many African countries are still reeling from that ideological experiment.
Where a former colony worked with its former colonial power such as Malaysia there is greater prosperity and quality of life than others that adopted Marxist ideology.
Then of course, the British Empire is the only known Empire who used its might and its people’s lives to stamp out slavery. The worse offenders in Africa being e.g. the Kingdom of Benin and of course the Arab slavers, whose practice was to castrate Black slaves from the start. There are more Black Africans enslaved now then transported to America.
The much promoted Decolonisation Theory favoured by academia is an ideology which makes the lives of the “decolonised” even worse. Then they then are encouraged to demand reparations, instead of taking real responsibility for themselves. The aim it seems to keep them in a state if perpetual victimhood.
Its a luxury belief ideology from mostly elite white academics.
The interesting thing is that so many from these liberated lands would rather be in nasty old racist Europe and America, where they are freer, safer and treated so much better than in their “liberated” homeland run by totalitarian corrupt leaders.
You see, I’ve actually taught in Africa doing my best to make a difference to the lives of those I taught and trained.
I have more respect for a few of these hard working unpretentious people then all the privileged Western academics who think they know whats best for the Africans and don’t have to live with the consequences of their arrogant hair-brained ideas.
Go and speak to the African migrants who are now in our refugee system and ask them what they want.
Then think about how the ideological approach you suggest is likely to work in practice.
At least the old colonisers were honest.
Much of this is racist nonsense and historically illiterate “Then of course, the British Empire is the only known Empire who used its might and its people’s lives to stamp out slavery.”
@Editor, considering that slavery was still legal in British-controlled Oman in 1970, and employed by the British Empire in many places since ‘official’ ‘abolition’, I’d have to agree.
Historian David Olusoga gives a summary of the Royal Navy’s much-belated efforts in Chapter 8 of Black and British: A Forgotten History (p284):
“They were hampered by poorly drafted treaties riddled with legalistic loopholes, some of which created perverse incentives and unintended, even tragic consequences, and the bureaucratic oddities of the system of legal adjudication set up to determine the status of intercepted slave ships and their crews resulted in bizarre contradictions and procedural absurdities that led to the deaths of African captives.”
The irony being that the Royal Navy itself uses a form of slavery via the royal prerogative of impressment.
Of course, lying about its slaving past and burying its colonial crimes were full-scale endeavours for the British Empire.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/29/king-charles-britain-already-admitted-torture-in-kenya-no-need-for-you-to-choke-on-an-apology
There is useful historical background and modelling of events in books like How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney, but for a quick thought experiment, consider:
What would a small number of aliens visiting the Earth in UFOs to harvest humans do, if they could mass-replicate ray-guns (more lethal than human weapons and usable with little training but ineffective against UFOs)?
Show me any other nation that has fought against slavery as much or more than Britain did, even if it was imperfect?
Show me the evidence that the continent of Africa hasn’t always been a world leader in the culture of slavery and is living up to to that reputation today?
Yes, I’m glad you mentioned RN impressment. In the time of Empire, European elites were as hard on their own populations as on anyone else.
“White privilege” is another example of the critical social justice warrior’s abuse of language, history and reality. Interestingly, the biggest promoters of CSJ dishonest ideology are the very same class of white elites, differentiated by their top university education and divisive political ambitions.
Malcolm X warned Black people not to trust the White liberals (Neo-Marxists), who were only interested in their fight with White conservatives.
Who said: “The past was a foreign country. They did things differently there?” However, in today’s world, non-Western countries in Africa etc., have picked they slavery habits and traditions again.
By obsessing and focussing on an unchangeable past, you endanger the future – or is that the real objective?
Typical CSJ use of labelling. You call anyone who disagrees with your simplistic, Neo-Marxist critical race theory view of the world, “racists”, “Nazis”, etc.
Sure Empires are not nice things, but you know the’ve been a part of human existence for 1000’s of years.
Look at the Soviet Empire, for example. More fascist than Mussolini’s lot. All based on Marxism.
Then there’s the non-Western empires – the Ottoman, and the various African and Asian ones.
You have a selective view of how humanity actually functions, and of history.
In my travels I have seen extreme racism, bigotry, corruption and oppression in non-Western countries, yet you would ignore those currently hurting people in favour of historical ones which you wish to rewrite the history of to fit your decolonising theories.
There is not one slave you could rescue from the King of Benin’s Slaver army, or take off a TransAtlantic Slave ship, but there are millions of Black African people enslaved today by their own people whose lives you could help save.
I expect you won’t allow my words to be posted.
From what I can see I am the only contributor these days that stops this site from being an echo chamber.
Your words have been posted but this isn’t a platform for spreading racism.
Thank you.
To call anyone a ‘“racist” as a way of shutting them up is so commonplace that it has lost the power it once had.
Given that Critical Race Theory is an especially racist and divisive narrative, I’m amazed CRT’s proponents still accuse others of racism.
I now wonder what the graduate elites will come up with next to maintain their power over the less privileged majority
University education isn’t what it used to be.
Calling someone a racist is often accurate if they are a racist.
The guidelines for being part of this community explicitly lay out what will and won’t be tolerated, you can read it here:
https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/our-comments-policy/
Once you’ve read it you can either abide by it or not. If you don’t want to, that’s fine, but you will be removed.
Define “Racist”.
If you espouse racist views you’ll be removed. It’s not complicated and I’m too busy to enter into a stupid conversation with you about it.
Sorry, I don’t mean to be a pain.
Words and meanings are important, and how they are used – or misused.
You may be surprised to learn that I happen to work at Universities, and I listen carefully to what I hear. I am saddened by the lack of open and honest conversations, and by the ideological capture I see there. Without openness and honesty the problems will never be solved.
The evil of Hamas will not be contained by the genocide of the Palestinian people. If Russia cutting off electricity in Ukraine is deemed a war crime, then surely Israel cutting off electricity in Gaza must be judged by the same standard. One can support the people of Palestine without being deemed to be anti Jewish. Where were the Israeli army when Hamas broke through the fence? Lasting security will not be achieved by the murder of even more women and children. Is the Israeli army incursion and the cutting off of electricity and water to Gaza an attempt at a final solution?
Bill
Why aren’t the protestors demonstrating against Hamas, who are still holding hostages and still firing rockets which are indiscriminate to say the least?
Rockets paid with money meant to improve the lives of ordinary Palestinians.
Why are the far-left who are leading the protests not ashamed of their blatant antisemitism? The same extreme left who promote critical race theory nonsense and a BLM that supports Hamas. Ironic isn’t? Antisemitism is the oldest form of racism there is. They are outdoing the tiny number of far-right NAZI sympathizers they bleat about. I’d laugh, but it isn’t funny. It’s tragic.
The wider public are now really seeing the extreme left amongst our graduate population for the narrow luxury belief minded elites they are. An elite that moralizes about different identity groups, yet supports some of the worse people around.
They’re also seeing what a biased lot the left wing mainstream media are.
The BBC minimizes Hamas violence, and automatically blamed the Israelis for a Palestinian rocket which hit the hospital. They were too quick to apportion blame.
They can’t even bring themselves to describe Hamas as the terrorists they are.
Its time to ditch the woke hypocrites and their twisted illiberalism and identity politics, and to expel the Islamists who abuse their comfy stay in Britain. Those we can’t expel we need to hold them to account for their celebration of terrorism.
The mainstream media are many things but ‘left wing’ is not an applicable label in my experience. The root cause of this dispute is the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by Israeli state militants, there is no getting away from that. If the mainstream media reflect this truth in their coverage it is surely a good thing. Good luck with your propaganda campaign.
You mean like not keeping a sufficient focus on Hamas’ s actions or status as terrorists, and taking an anti Israeli position.
The BBC, Guardian and Independent etc seem to be big on racism industry nonsense, yet not especially hard on the antisemites clearly present amongst the protestors.
“These things don’t happen in a vacuum.”
So blame the Israeli victims. Take a look at what Iran is doing, and the $100m it supplied Hamas with. You can buy an awful lot of rockets and AK47M’s with that.
Israel is in a war of survival. Western elite critics have a luxury belief approach to the situation, and dip in and out of the argument when they want to do some performative activism.
My father fought on the streets against Mosley’s blackshirts and their hatred of the Jews in the late 1930’s. I see no reason why I shouldn’t do so in the 21st century.
I have sympathy for the Palestinian civilians who never wanted this war, but they are cursed by having terrorist force as their rulers.
I stand with Israel, and her right to survival in a region where millions of Arabs would finish what the NAZI’s tried to do.
It appears that some people commenting on this site seem be unable to comprehend that you can be sympathetic and show support for innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza and be appalled by Hamas atrocities.
This is not an either or situation and I am sure that the vast majority of people in this country are able to be sympathetic of civilians who have suffered in both Gaza and Israel.
At this point in time the only way to stop more innocent civilians suffering is a pause/ceasefire in hostilities and release of all hostages.
Indeed and those kind of disgraceful comments – completely misrepresenting other people – won’t be tolerated
The reality is that Hamas, pushed by Iran, and encouraged by weak, fluffy leadership of Western countries felt empowered to attack Israel in the most obscene of ways, an a 100,000 Israel haters took to the streets in London and 1000’s across Scotland.
Unless Western protesters and media also challenge Hamas’s behaviour in a demonstrative way then Israel will continue to feel under threat, and do what it has to protect it’s people. The gobby left wing and graduate elites of the Western world have piled in on Israel, and seem to blame the Israeli victims for the situation.
Western graduate elites seem to find it easy to be Palestinian supporters, and use antisemitic language, yet expect Isreal to be the one that has to show restraint. Grow up.
The 1000’s of anti Israel protestors and pathetic MSM coverage sends a powerful message that must make them feel alone.
Let me tell you, if Scotland and Britain were subjected to such an existential threat, I’d probably be even more hawkish then the most aggressive Israelis. I’m pretty sure you would too!
As I stated earlier, it is possible to support Palestinians without hating Jews. Do not see this as a binary issue. Did you watch the clip in an earlier post, of the speech by Gerald Kaufman? That Hamas is indeed a very nasty organisation is true, but as Kaufman said, they were democratically elected. Why? The conditions that obtained in Gaza, led to that support. There are many other similar examples around the world.
Bill
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Bill – from my experience of reading comments on this site Stevie H is a far right (possibly Britain First) type of fanatic who is not interested in reasoned debate but more interested in promoting his own hate filled beliefs and ensuring debates are on his agenda.
I personally have found that only way to deal with him is j
to give him and his comments the amount of time they deserve- I.e. completely ignore them.
Here we go again. When far-left people like you are losing the argument you start calling your challengers “far right”, without any real evidence. Grow up.
We are talking realpolitik here not your Neo-Marxist ideological bull.
The left wing hate their beliefs being challenged, because they collapse like the pack of cards they are.
Live in the real world not the luxury-belief-land privileged people do.
@SteveH, surely you were the one who expected Israel to show restraint, given you appear to have written, albeit somewhat off-topic:
“I have been to Israel many times. Compared to the level of professional soldiering I’ve seen in Africa and the Arab world, the IDF are the probably the most restrained troops you will ever find in a police action conflict.”
https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2023/10/15/black-history-month-celebrating-and-saluting-our-scottish-sister (comments)
I’m not sure what calibrations you are using, as you seemed to be talking about merking for Shell or whoever at the time. I suppose mercenaries have the luxury of working for whichever side pays the most, the luxury of not having to believe in any cause, the luxury of causing devastation in one place then immediately move on, regardless of consequences.
Of course, some mercenaries do appear to believe in things like white supremacy, like those operating across Africa and employed by the likes of the British MI6 to do the dirtiest of dirty work. Even the son of the British Prime Minister was convicted of such crimes.
But surely Niccolò Machiavelli is right that “Mercenary armies bring only slow, belated, and feeble conquests, but sudden, startling defeat.”, “To sum up, cowardice is the danger with mercenaries, and valour with auxiliaries.” and Israel are better relying on militias. And what about Machiavelli’s warning not to join aggressive alliance with stronger party else be their prisoner? I suppose Israel has a pathological dependence on vast amounts of foreign military aid. Frustratingly, Machiavelli had nothing to say on nuclear weapons, which the British helped arm Israel with.
Here we go again. Typical critical social justice warrior language. “White supremacy” really. Only an idiot hangs onto that type if thinking.
The reference to mercenaries? You’ll be calling me a Wagner group employee next.
I object to the far-left’s pro Hamas stance and protests, which you only find with Islamists and young graduates who have adopted the Neo-Marxist binary oppressor/oppressed or coloniser/colonised models of the world.
The world is a dangerous place, and the idea that Israel and Western society is immoral and needs bringing down is a Darwin Award mindset.
The Israelis have the right to defend themselves, and prosecute the war as they need to protect their people.
Hamas brought a new level of savagery to this current conflict and are now reaping the whirlwind!
Sleeping Dog – you are wasting your time with this guy.
He is full of right wing batshit nonsense.
If you dare disagree with his skewed view of the world based upon his extensive experience as a soldier (allegedly) you are castigated as a neo Marxist- from his view point 99% of the UK population are probably neo Marxists!
His get out of jail free card quoted ad nauseam is his dad fought Mosely’s black shirts (allegedly).
He is nothing more than a disruptive nonentity. To give him any time is a waste of your own time.
@John, yes indeed, from obvious neo-Marxists Charles Windsor and sons suggesting past British racialised chattel slavery might have been a bad thing, to the dangerous country-hating wokists at the British Legion asking why British and USAmerican military seem so prone to sexual violence, it’s sometimes hard to spot that the British are still ruled by an ecocidal imperial elite. Who do of course make use of mercenaries and auxiliaries in the Machiavellian sense (historian Mark Curtis has written an extensive account of how the British used Islamic shock troops – auxiliaries, in other words — in Secret Affairs: Britain’s Collusion with Radical Islam). Machiavelli’s point is that these auxiliaries frequently turn on their own employers (part of what the CIA call ‘blowback’). Russia’s reliance on the Wagner Group mercenaries seems problematic, as has been Britain’s with its Ghurkas, some of whom the Daily Telegraph claims joined Wagner.
Meanwhile, I find it interesting which countries have signed and ratified the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, and which haven’t.
Jonathan Cook makes some interesting points on a dire situation:
https://www.declassifieduk.org/lawless-in-gaza-why-britain-and-the-west-back-israels-crimes/
I do love your “whataboutism”. None of what you write justifies the cutting out of a baby from a pregnant woman, and beheading it in from of the dying mother.
The British forces you sneer at are the same forces who have kept you safe, and enabled you to have the privileges you now enjoy.
J Cook? He’s just another critical social warrior. Why should I take any more notice of him than any other of the privileged educated indoctrinated graduate elites who have nothing better to do than try to run down and destroy the very society that gave him every advantage and privilege?
Tell me, do people like you protest about the likes of Boko Haram et al in their rape and murder in Christian villagers in Africa? How about the 10m+ Africans enslaved by fellow black Africans? Please spare me the extreme left-wing hypocrisy and performative activism.
To this country’s enemies you are useful idiots. When such people turn on you, as they undoubtedly will, then it will be to those you sneer at to save you.
If you want to see blatant racism in action you can also go to South Africa where the ANC youth wing hold rallies to demand the murder of white people, especially the farmers. How about the burning “necklace” murders of migrants from Mozambique, Nigeria, Zimbabwe etc.
The hypocrisy of the luxury belief social justice warriors staggers belief.
Do you feel that? The sense that the majority of the people of Britain are realizing that the extreme political correctness that dominates the public discourse is something more sinister, totalitarian and religious-like than is comfortably acceptable.
The pushback has began. Even the Labour party and bless them, the SNP, has felt the wind of change.
Far-right label again? Really? The antisemitism I’m seeing suggests real extremist political ideology.
The antisemitic protestors and apologists/supporters of Hamas must be confronted with the reality of Hama’s actions.
I expect antisemitic behavior from the Islamists (Those idiots who want to turn the world into a pseudo Islamic theocracy). I say psuedo because my Muslim friends see not seem them as true Muslims, merely political opportunists.
But, I find it really pathetic that the young non-Muslim Z Gen (mostly) do the antisemetic thing viewing the world through Neo-marxist bull shouting that Israelis are oppressors and colonizers.
The vast majority of the British population have sympathy for Palestinian civilians but do not have hatred of Israelis.
When I read or hear terms like ”White supremacy” and “oppressors” or “colonisers” applied to this situation I know I’m listening to Neo-Marxist critical social justice warriors, who are cynically taking advantage of this tragedy.
So stop being condescending and see that antisemitism is vile and must be openly challenged. I am that challenger in this instance.
Thanks for the heads-up.
According to many politicians in UK it appears that advocating for a ceasefire to prevent further death of civilians (both Palestinian and Israeli hostages) means that you actually:
approve of horrific attacks on October 7th.
support Hamas.
are anti- Semitic.
This is nonsense and gaslighting only cynical politicians could indulge in.
What they cannot appreciate is that majority in this country are repelled by what has and is happening and are not taking either Hamas or Israeli government’s side but are on the side of innocent civilians regardless of which side they are on.
I also suspect that the majority of people have actually learnt lessons from the post 9/11 response that overreacting to terrorist atrocities is counterproductive and exactly the response the terrorists want to induce.