The land on which your foot       has trodden is your inheritance...

1 Now these the children of Yisra’ĕl inherited in the land of Kena‛an, which El‛azar the priest, and Yehoshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Yisra’ĕl caused them to inherit.

2 Their inheritance was by lot, as יהוה had commanded by the hand of Mosheh, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.

3 For Mosheh had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Yardĕn, but to the Lĕwites he gave no inheritance in their midst.

4 For the children of Yosĕph had become two tribes: Menashsheh and Ephrayim. And they gave no part to the Lĕwites in the land, except cities to dwell in, with their open land for their livestock and their possessions.

5 As יהוה had commanded Mosheh, so the children of Yisra’ĕl did, and they divided the land.

6 And the children of Yehuḏah came to Yehoshua in Gilgal, and Kalĕḇ son of Yephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which יהוה said to Mosheh the man of Elohim concerning you and me in Qaḏĕsh Barnĕa.

7 “I was forty years old when Mosheh the servant of יהוה sent me from Qaḏĕsh Barnĕa to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.

8 “But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I followed יהוה my Elohim completely.

9 “So Mosheh swore on that day, saying, ‘The land on which your foot has trodden is your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have followed יהוה my Elohim completely.’

10 “And now, see, יהוה has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years since יהוה spoke this word to Mosheh while Yisra’ĕl walked in the wilderness. And now, see, I am eighty-five years old today.

11 “Yet I am still as strong today as I was on the day that Mosheh sent me. As my strength was then, so my strength is now, for battle, and for going out and for coming in.

12 “And now, give me this mountain of which יהוה spoke in that day, for you heard in that day how the Anaqim were there, and that the cities were great and walled. If יהוה is with me, then I shall dispossess them, as יהוה said.”

13 Yehoshua then blessed him, and gave Ḥeḇron to Kalĕḇ son of Yephunneh as an inheritance.

14 So Ḥeḇron became the inheritance of Kalĕḇ son of Yephunneh the Qenizzite to this day, because he followed יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl completely.

15 Now the name of Ḥeḇron was formerly Qiryath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anaqim). And the land had rest from fighting. — Joshua 14 | The Scriptures 1998 (ISR 1998) The Scriptures 1998 Copyright © 1998 Institute for Scripture Research. All Rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 23:2; Genesis 35:27; Genesis 37:14; Genesis 41:51; Genesis 46:20; Numbers 13:1; Numbers 13:6; Numbers 13:30; Numbers 13:33; Numbers 14:4; Numbers 26:55; Numbers 32:8; Numbers 32:33; Numbers 34:13; Numbers 35:1; Deuteronomy 1:28; Deuteronomy 1:36; Deuteronomy 11:24; Deuteronomy 31:2; Deuteronomy 34:7; Joshua 13:1; Joshua 13:14; Joshua 15:13; Joshua 21:2; Joshua 22:6; Judges 1:20; Psalm 91:7; Acts 1:26; Acts 13:19

Keep believing you can make a difference

The hope we had at the beginning for humanity is gone.

The joy we had at the beginning because finally the Western world understood what was happening in Gaza for years...gone

Any respect we had for the modern world? A joke.

Any respect I had for Egypt and Arabs? Replaced by so much shame, I no longer will defend them.

The only hope we have left is Allah and ourselves.

Keep praying. Keep posting. Keep boycotting. And if you can, start your own revolution.

If you live in a country that won't take you to jail for it, make a stand. Take a walk with a sign. Raise your voice in a conference.

Boycotting works!

In Egypt, it was the least we can do. And the changes were insane. McDonald's was throwing statements left and right about how the branches in Egypt had nothing to do with supporting Israel. Their sales still plummeted by 70% ! Their branches are virtually empty except from tourists.

Pepsi ? They had to rebrand by multiple different names to foul people into buying! And Coca-Cola is worse.

Small businesses went up by 300% in profits. A local soda producer that replaced Pepsi had to even go in public and ask the people to wait because he can't keep up with the demand.

That's boycotting. A small dent in the system, but still a difference. McDonald's in Jordan promised to send donations to Palestine. Others simply stopped supporting Israel in public.

I believe we need a more aggressive way of protesting. I don't mean violence. Just something to shake the system more... vigorously?

Do what you can. Please. Children's lives depend on it.

Stand on the right side of history. Find something to answer Allah on judgment day

Jesus is Under the Rubble

“This Advent, while global Christians prepare to commemorate the arrival of the Prince of Peace, our Palestinian kin in Gaza suffer unthinkable violence. Their cries of deliverance, echoing those of two millennia ago, seem to be falling unheard on the United States.”

— by Kelly Latimore icons. All proceeds from sales of this digital image will go toward Red Letter Christians trusted partners in Gaza.

Transcript: Christ in the Rubble A Liturgy of Lament Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church Bethlehem Saturday, December 23rd, 2023 We are angry…

We are broken…

This should have been a time of joy; instead, we are mourning. We are fearful.

Twenty thousand killed. Thousands under the rubble still. Close to 9,000 children killed in the most brutal ways. Day after day after day. 1.9 million displaced! Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed. Gaza as we know it no longer exists. This is an annihilation. A genocide.

The world is watching; Churches are watching. Gazans are sending live images of their own execution. Maybe the world cares? But it goes on.

We are asking, could this be our fate in Bethlehem? In Ramallah? In Jenin? Is this our destiny too?

We are tormented by the silence of the world. Leaders of the so-called “free” lined up one after the other to give the green light for this genocide against a captive population. They gave the cover. Not only did they make sure to pay the bill in advance, they veiled the truth and context, providing political cover. And, yet another layer has been added: the theological cover with the Western Church stepping into the spotlight.

The South African Church taught us the concept of “The state theology,” defined as “the theological justification of the status quo with its racism, capitalism and totalitarianism.” It does so by misusing theological concepts and biblical texts for its own political purposes.

Here in Palestine, the Bible is weaponized against our very own sacred text. In our terminology in Palestine, we speak of the Empire. Here we confront the theology of the Empire. A disguise for superiority, supremacy, “chosenness,” and entitlement. It is sometimes given a nice cover using words like mission and evangelism, fulfillment of prophecy, and spreading freedom and liberty. The theology of the Empire becomes a powerful tool to mask oppression under the cloak of divine sanction. It divides people into “us” and “them.” It dehumanizes and demonizes. It speaks of land without people even when they know the land has people – and not just any people. It calls for emptying Gaza, just like it called the ethnic cleansing in 1948 “a divine miracle.” It calls for us Palestinians to go to Egypt, maybe Jordan, or why not just the sea?

“Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” they said of us. This is the theology of Empire.

This war has confirmed to us that the world does not see us as equal. Maybe it is the color of our skin. Maybe it is because we are on the wrong side of the political equation. Even our kinship in Christ did not shield us. As they said, if it takes killing 100 Palestinians to get a single “Hamas militant” then so be it! We are not humans in their eyes. (But in God’s eyes… no one can tell us we are not!)

The hypocrisy and racism of the Western world is transparent and appalling! They always take the words of Palestinians with suspicion and qualification. No, we are not treated equally. Yet, the other side, despite a clear track record of misinformation, is almost always deemed infallible!

To our European friends. I never ever want to hear you lecture us on human rights or international law again. We are not white— it does not apply to us according to your own logic.

In this war, the many Christians in the Western world made sure the Empire has the theology needed. It is self-defense, we were told! (And I ask: how?)

In the shadow of the Empire, they turned the colonizer into the victim, and the colonized into the aggressor. Have we forgotten that the state was built on the ruins of the towns and villages of those very same Gazans?

We are outraged by the complicity of the church. Let it be clear: Silence is complicity, and empty calls for peace without a ceasefire and end to occupation, and the shallow words of empathy without direct action— are all under the banner of complicity. So here is my message: Gaza today has become the moral compass of the world. Gaza was hell on earth before October 7th.

If you are not appalled by what is happening; if you are not shaken to your core— there is something wrong with your humanity. If we, as Christians, are not outraged by this genocide, by the weaponizing of the Bible to justify it, there is something wrong with our Christian witness, and compromising the credibility of the Gospel!

If you fail to call this a genocide. It is on you. It is a sin and a darkness you willingly embrace.

Some have not even called for a ceasefire.

I feel sorry for you. We will be okay. Despite the immense blow we have endured, we will recover. We will rise and stand up again from the midst of destruction, as we have always done as Palestinians, although this is by far the biggest blow we have received in a long time.

But again, for those who are complicit, I feel sorry for you. Will you ever recover from this?

Your charity, your words of shock AFTER the genocide, won’t make a difference. Words of regret will not suffice for you. We will not accept your apology after the genocide. What has been done, has been done. I want you to look at the mirror… and ask: where was I?

To our friends who are here with us: You have left your families and churches to be with us. You embody the term accompaniment— a costly solidarity. “We were in prison and you visited us.” What a stark difference from the silence and complicity of others. Your presence here is the meaning of solidarity. Your visit has already left an impression that will never be taken from us. Through you, God has spoken to us that “we are not forsaken.” As Father Rami of the Catholic Church said this morning, you have come to Bethlehem, and like the Magi, you brought gifts with, but gifts that are more precious than gold, frankincense, and myrrh. You brought the gift of love and solidarity.

We needed this. For this season, maybe more than anything, we were troubled by the silence of God. In these last two months, the Psalms of lament have become a precious companion. We cried out: My God, My God, why have you forsaken Gaza? Why do you hide your face from Gaza?

In our pain, anguish, and lament, we have searched for God, and found him under the rubble in Gaza. Jesus became the victim of the very same violence of the Empire. He was tortured. Crucified. He bled out as others watched. He was killed and cried out in pain— My God, where are you?

In Gaza today, God is under the rubble.

And in this Christmas season, as we search for Jesus, he is to be found not on the side of Rome, but our side of the wall. In a cave, with a simple family. Vulnerable. Barely, and miraculously surviving a massacre. Among a refugee family. This is where Jesus is found.

If Jesus were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza. When we glorify pride and richness, Jesus is under the rubble.

When we rely on power, might, and weapons, Jesus is under the rubble.

When we justify, rationalize, and theologize the bombing of children, Jesus is under the rubble.

Jesus is under the rubble. This is his manger. He is at home with the marginalized, the suffering, the oppressed, and displaced. This is his manger.

I have been looking, contemplating on this iconic image….God with us, precisely in this way. THIS is the incarnation. Messy. Bloody. Poverty.

This child is our hope and inspiration. We look and see him in every child killed and pulled from under the rubble. While the world continues to reject the children of Gaza, Jesus says: “just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” “You did to ME.” Jesus not only calls them his own, he is them!

We look at the holy family and see them in every family displaced and wandering, now homeless in despair. While the world discusses the fate of the people of Gaza as if they are unwanted boxes in a garage, God in the Christmas narrative shares in their fate; He walks with them and calls them his own.

This manger is about resilience— صمود. The resilience of Jesus is in his meekness; weakness, and vulnerability. The majesty of the incarnation lies in its solidarity with the marginalized. Resilience because this very same child, rose up from the midst of pain, destruction, darkness and death to challenge empires; to speak truth to power and deliver an everlasting victory over death and darkness.

This is Christmas today in Palestine and this is the Christmas message. It is not about Santa, trees, gifts, lights… etc. My goodness how we twisted the meaning of Christmas. How we have commercialized Christmas. I was in the USA last month, the first Monday after Thanksgiving, and I was amazed by the amount of Christmas decorations and lights, all the and commercial goods. I couldn’t help but think: They send us bombs, while celebrating Christmas in their land. They sing about the prince of peace in their land, while playing the drum of war in our land.

Christmas in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, is this manger. This is our message to the world today. It is a Gospel message, a true and authentic Christmas message, about the God who did not stay silent, but said his word, and his Word is Jesus. Born among the occupied and marginalized. He is in solidarity with us in our pain and brokenness.

This manger is our message to the world today – and it is simply this: this genocide must stop NOW. Let us repeat to the world: STOP this Genocide NOW.

This is our call. This is our plea. This is our prayer. Hear oh God. Amen.

(Source)

I found these on Twitter a while ago. Original creator unknown.

I can't stop you ascribing hateful, paranoid meanings to these images, but they're not about blaming religions. Jesus was a Jew born to a community of Jews in Palestine, the cradle of the Abrahamic faiths. He was raised and loved by them, betrayed by their rulers* and killed by Romans. He's a Prophet of Islam. End of.

*Y'know, like how the people of the Arab and Muslim nations love Palestine and crying to help them, except their leaders are greedy and rotted to the core. The ruling class will always only serve the empire.

Edit: alt text provided by @this-world-of-beautiful-monsters

If there was a pro-Palestinian movement that wanted to capitalise on the disgust at the destruction of Gaza, it would be moving now to demand a compromise peace.

Western and Arab governments should use every sanction to enforce the removal of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, it would say. They are designed to so change the demography of the West Bank that a Palestinian state becomes an impossibility.

 Since Netanyahu came back to power in a coalition with the far right,  mobs have wrecked Huwara and other Palestinian villages.  It is not too fanciful to imagine a future when ethnic cleansers will run riot.

Western governments have already made tentative and, from the point of view of any robust and principled supporter of Palestine, wholly inadequate gestures. They have issued sanctions on groups that fund extremism, and left it there.

But instead of the global left demanding that the world begins to lay the groundwork for compromise, it insists on war, and a war to the death at that.

I could moralise about left ignorance. I could say its position that Israel is a settler colonial state is at best a half-truth which fails to acknowledge that its population is made up of the descendants of refugees from Arab nationalism and European fascism.

Let me for once avoid preachiness, however, and say that from the practical point of view, the global left has adopted a disastrous position.

It’s worse than a crime, it’s a blunder.

In any war to the death, Israel will win. It has nuclear weapons and a population under arms

Those who urge the abolition of Israel by chanting “from the river to the sea/ Palestine will be free” or by demanding that the descendants of Palestinians refugees have a right to return to swamp the Jewish state may think they are being principled. But they are playing into the hands of the Israeli right.

Netanyahu tells the West that he has no partners for peace. By supporting the programme of Hamas and Iran, the global left is proving him right.

When Iran attacks, the Israeli right can say completely accurately that its enemies want to wipe Israel from the map. And look what happens then. Not just Western countries but Arab states like Jordan defend Israel.

Two can play at the game of demanding total victory, and one side has all the advantages.

As the charter of the hard-line rightist Likud party put it, in  language which sounds familiar: “Between the Sea and the River Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.”

If I were Palestinian, I could imagine myself wanting Israel gone. But the hope of total victory has been a disaster. In 1948, 1967 and 1973 the Arab states tried to wipe Israel off the map and succeeded only in strengthening it.

There is still a great deal of argument about what Hamas thought would happen when its terrorists attacked Israel in October. One theory holds that Hamas was possessed with the same delusion that misled the Bolsheviks in 1917, and hoped to ignite a general uprising.

The Arab masses failed to rise up on Hamas’s behalf and Iran made it clear it was not prepared to engage in more than token warfare with Israel.

Once again, an attempt to wipe out Israel has brought harm to Palestinian civilians.

If you doubt me on the dangers of going for a purist, maximal strategy and demanding total victory, listen to a true leftist, Norman Finkelstein.

There was a time when I admired his attacks on the “Holocaust Industry” and Jews who exploited Nazism to help Israel.

But after my own experiences of left antisemitism, I became suspicious of an argument which, when taken to extreme, was used to maintain the pretence that anti-Jewish racism did not exist, or barely existed, and that accusations of antisemitism were log rolling by cunning Jews seeking to exploit the compassion of naïve gentiles.

The parallels with anti-black racists who claim their opponents are merely “playing the race card” were too obvious to labour.

No such qualms held Finkelstein back. He helped build the anti-Israel movement in the US, and you might have thought his comrades would have listened to him.

He gave a speech at the student sit-in at Columbia university saying they should not chant for the abolition of Israel and for a Palestine “from the river to the sea”.

If you leave “wriggle room for misinterpretation,” he said, your enemies will exploit it.

The speech was a faintly embarrassing performance. Finkelstein is an old man now, and he rambled down many rhetorical cul-de-sac​s. At the end the students just laughed at him and began chanting “from the river to the sea/ Palestine will be free”.

A part of the explanation for their disastrous flight to the extremes lies in the appeal of ​Manichaeism.

People want to feel wholly virtuous and by necessity want to believe their enemies are wholly evil. In these circumstances, only the co​mplete destruction of evil from the river to the sea will suffice. It’s simply not enough to say that Israel must merely withdraw from the occupied territories. Satan and all his works must be renounced.

You might object that some protestors say they want to replace Israel with a sweet, multicultural liberal democracy. But this is progressive thinking at its woozy wishful-thinking worst: an argument made in clear bad faith.

If they were serious, they would damn Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Iran who want to create an Islamic state. But it is not just that they do not criticise radical Islam, they barely acknowledge its existence. If you listen to the speeches at the rallies and sit-ins, Hamas and its ultra-reactionary blood-stained ideology are simply not mentioned.

The effort is self-defeating. By going to the extremes, a protest movement has a Manichean appeal but it plays into the hands of its enemies.

The “evaporation theory of protest” explains the phenomenon. When the Gaza war ends, and let us hope that it ends soon, most of the protestors will drift away and get on with their lives.

As they evaporate, all that is left will be a residue composed of the most committed and the most extreme.

They will carry on campaigning when the cause is all but forgotten. When Palestine and Israel are no longer in the news, they will still be there.

And when the next war begins in Israel/Palestine – and I am afraid that there will be a next one – they will organise the protests, write the extreme slogans and set the maximalist demands.

This is why the far left dictates the terms of left-wing protests, and why those protests fail.

Or to put it another way, this is why Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour party and then lost every election he fought

I could be wrong. Perhaps the global wave of protest will bring change for the better. I hope it does. But I fear that, as so often, Palestinian people will be worse off than they were before.​

hello new york

summary ― sam gets signed to play for the western new york flash team

pairing ― sam kerr x reader

warning/s ― fluff, mentions of injury

masterlist

Not even two days after arriving back home from Cyprus did your world completely flip. 

Sam had been offered a sport in the Western New York Flash team playing in the National’s Women Soccer League. It was a big deal and you knew she had to take it - even if it meant leaving the country for the first time without you. 

Logically you both knew you would be able to come over and visit, as well as play in the Asian World Cup in a few months. But this was different to last time, this wasn’t just on the other side of the country, it was the other side of the world. 

Bags were packed within the week and after the win against Brazil in Brisbane when it was time to fly home, you went one way and Sam went another. 

You never got used to Sam not being around, but you got the hang of long-distance fast enough. You both had block-out times every day where you would both be contactable. You had all her games in the calendar, ready to watch them regardless of the time over here. 

It felt a lot longer than a month before you saw each other again. It was hard seeing each other for the first time and not being able to hide away, training for the Women’s World Cup taking over. Thankfully you were given the nights in your shared hotel to make up for lost time. 

The games were rough, your ankle playing up in the second game causing you to sub off halfway through the game. You watched on the sideline as your team won 3 - 1 to Jordan. Turns out your ankle was now placed as a stress fracture, being benched for the rest of the World Cup. It sucked, sitting there watching the girls go out and play but you knew (from last time) not to push yourself and let it heal properly. 

After many talks with your physio, you were given the all-clear for air travel, deciding to use your break to head back over to New York with Sam. Tickets were booked (although you had to change Sam’s booking so that you two could be together on the flight over, which she didn’t know about) the excitement of your plan helped you through the annoyance of not being able to play. 

The World Cup ended as fast as it came, the team saying their goodbyes as they all started making their way to wherever they were heading. It had taken Sam three seconds to realise what exactly she was looking at when you handed her the tickets and passports. Her arms wrapped around you as she spun you around. 

“You’re coming with me? To New York?” you nodded your head in response, laughter leaving both your lips and she brought you in for a kiss. 

“God, I love you so so much”. 

After a meeting with your physio, Sam asked every question under the sun to ensure it was okay for you to come and all the information she would need over there, you were off. You held Sam’s hand through lift off, taking her mind off the flight by telling her stories she had missed while being away. 

The flight was hard on your body, the pressure of the plane as well as not being able to move around and use it caused your ankle to swell up. Sam massaged it as best as she could, asking for ice to create an ice pack for you and when you cried, she brought your head into her neck, rubbing your back trying to soothe you in any way possible. 

You managed to pass out during the 7th and 8th hour on the flight, your armrest between you and Sam up, so you could lay on her without either of you being stabbed. Sam continued to watch your face, looking for any sign of discomfort as she played with your hair. The lady who was sitting in the aisle seat kept looking over at the pair of you, Sam waited for the comments to start, she didn’t care what this lady had to say. Her girlfriend was in pain. 

“You two make a lovely couple” 

Sam almost missed it the way she whispered it, being mindful of you asleep in her lap. Sam looked up at the lady to see a small smile on her face. 

“Thank you” 

She throws her hand in the air to say no need to thank me before adding “You two remind me of me and my husband, back when we were young” 

Sam smiles in response, looking back down to you, pushing the hair that had fallen off your forehead. A few seconds pass, Sam thinking the lady was uninterested anymore, as she looked back up. 

“Is she the one?” a small glint in the lady’s eye causing Sam to let out a small laugh, nodding her head. 

“Yeah, she’s the one”.

✨Mila's (Early) Endless Summer Reading List ✨

I'm packing my bags, so I thought I should pack my favorite stories: stuff that's been on my to-read list for too long, stuff I just enjoy re-reading and want you to know about, something to get me through the long-haul flight, something for sipping cocktails on the beach. I'm going to be updating the list with your recommendations and more stuff that I find. So:

Recommendations? 💕 YES PLEASE!

Recommend your own work? FUCK YES! ✨ minors dni, respect the author's tags, and show them some love by commenting and reblogging.

✨ TGM

mostly Bradley Bradshaw tbh lmao * This Love Came Back To Me by @beyondthesefourwalls i love these kinds of plots and it's so sweet *Remember You Even When I Don't by @beyondthesefourwalls i bizarrely never actually finished this and i will have to rectify this pronto *The Younger Kind by @roosterforme im like 20 chapters behind, soooo excited to binge this

*Leave a Light On by @sometimesanalice comfort story right here

*Hey Sailor by @sometimesanalice no notes, just yum

*Less Talk by @tongue-like-a-razor a jake story??? yes and i love this one *Faking It by @tongue-like-a-razor a classic, a must-read

*Little Wallflower by @bradshawsbitch it warms my poor heart and i feel this story on a personal level since I've been dealing with hearing loss

*Mise en Place by @bradshawsbitch hands down on my favorite AUs

*(christmas) baby please come home by @gretagerwigsmuse this fic influenced me so hard i bought a theragun *and even when we’re wrong in every way, we come out the other side okay by @gretagerwigsmuse actually just anything Jordan has ever done with the Smart Alec universe, you should read it

*Concerned Neighbor by @mothdruid this is just hot and you should enjoy it

*The Boyfriend Experience by @notroosterbradshaw i swear this is the fic that got me writing again, so if you like anything I've ever done you should go show Cass some love. *Don't Hang 'Em Till Noon by @sailor-aviator Jake western!AU? I knew I was rewatching Deadwood for a reason. Excited!! recommended by @goldenseresinretriever *Fool's Fare by @sailor-aviator A Jake pirate!AU while I'm on a beach in the Caribbean? Sign. me. up. Also recommended by @goldenseresinretriever *You Catch More Bees With Honey by @goldenseresinretriever I've seen this on my dash so much, but I shamefully never got around to it. How did you know I like hockey?

✨

Masters of the Air

Trust by @blurredcolour yeaaaaah, im obsessed. im deceased. this is so good.

prettier than a peach by @honeyskywitch reading this on my flight, so excited!

Oblivious by @sagesolsticewrites saving this one for the airport~

24 October 2023: Queen Rania of Jordan relayed the Arab World’s shock and disappointment at the world’s “glaring double standard” and “deafening silence” in the face of Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that, despite the prevalent Western media narrative, “this conflict did not begin on October 7th.”

“Most networks are covering the story under the title of ‘Israel at War.’ But for many Palestinians on the other side of the separation wall and the barbed wire, war has never left. This is a 75-year-old story; a story of overwhelming death and displacement to the Palestinian people,” Her Majesty said. “The context of a nuclear-armed regional superpower that occupies, oppresses, and commits daily documented crimes against Palestinians is missing from the narrative.”

In a live interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, conducted remotely from Queen Rania’s offices in Amman, Her Majesty explained that the people of Jordan are united in “grief, pain, and shock” in response to the staggering civilian casualties of the past 18 days of war.

“We've seen Palestinian mothers who have had to write the names of their children on their hands, because the chances of them being shelled to death – of their bodies turning into corpses – are so high,” Queen Rania said. “I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world. And for them to have to go through this, it's just unbelievable.”

Conveying Jordan’s position, Her Majesty stated that the country has been very clear that it condemns the killing of any civilian, whether Palestinian or Israeli. “That is Jordan's ethical, moral position. And it's also the position of Islam,” she said, explaining that the religion prohibits Muslims to kill a woman, child, or elderly person, to destroy a tree, or hurt a priest.

The Queen stressed that these rules of engagement should apply to all sides, arguing that Israel is committing atrocities under the guise of self-defense.

“6,000 civilians killed so far, 2,400 children – how is that self-defense? We are seeing butchery at a mass scale using precision weapons,” she said, “For the past two weeks, we have seen the indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza: entire families wiped out, residential neighborhoods flattened to the ground, the targeting of hospitals, schools, churches, mosques, medical workers, journalists, UN aid workers – how is that self defense?”

The Queen went on to state that many in the region view the Western world as complicit in this war through the support and cover that it provides Israel. “This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire,” Her Majesty said. “Many in the Arab world are looking at the Western world as not just tolerating this, but as aiding and abetting it.”

Elaborating on the plight of Palestinian people, Her Majesty explained, “There are over 500 checkpoints scattered all over the West Bank. You have a separation wall, which is deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, that has separated the territories into 200 disconnected enclaves. And you've seen the aggressive expansion of settlements on Palestinian land, and those have interrupted the territorial contiguity of the territories and has deemed an autonomous, independent Palestinian state not viable.”

The Queen also mentioned that Israel is in violation of no less than 30 UN Security Council resolutions, which “require it, and it alone, to act to withdraw from territories occupied in 1967, and to stop the settlements, the separation wall, and the human rights violations.” She also underscored that Israel has been designated as an “apartheid regime” by Israeli and international human rights organizations.

Commenting on military solutions to conflict, Her Majesty said: “Victory is a myth that politicians make in order to justify immense loss of life… There can never be a resolution except around the negotiating table. And there's only one path to this: a free, sovereign, and independent Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel.”

The Queen also indicated that allies to Israel are doing it a disservice by giving it blind support. “Expediting and expanding the provision of lethal weapons to Israel is only going to expand this conflict. It’s only going to prolong and deepen the suffering,” she said.

Criticizing the role of the media in covering the current conflict, Queen Rania noted the double standard presented when Western interviewers demand that people representing the Palestinian side immediately issue condemnations, requiring them to “have their humanity cross-examined and present their moral credentials.”

“We don't see Israeli officials being asked to condemn, and when they are, people are readily accepted by [claiming] ‘our right to defend ourselves,’” she said. “I have never seen a Western official say the sentence: Palestinians have the right to defend themselves.”

The Queen also discussed the oppression of Palestinian expressions of solidarity in Western democracies, commenting that when people gather to support Israel, they are exercising their right to assembly, but when they gather for Palestine, they are deemed terrorist sympathizers or anti-Semitic.

“Freedom of speech is apparently a universal value, except when you mention Palestine,” Her Majesty said.

(Source: Petra)

by Dan Perry

The serious international media is most comfortable when it can maintain a comfortable distance from any particular protagonist. Generally, this is wise. It's also good business, because the media is struggling to stay afloat financially and doesn't need the headache of political controversy—as Michael Jordan famously said, Republicans buy sneakers, too. And so, it generally gravitates toward a type of bothsidesism that suggests to readers and viewers that there are no good guys on any given field. Usually, that is sufficiently accurate that it works quite well.

It breaks down when the market of news consumers—or other powerful players—has chosen sides. The media has largely presented Russia's President Vladimir Putin as satanic, and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky as impishly heroic. So, coverage of the Ukraine war has been a tad simplistic and has hardly reflected the Russian case. But this is not, on balance, the worst thing in the world: Putin is odious and Russia's attack on Ukraine was, in the final analysis, a mistake and a crime.

No such luck in the case of the Gaza war. The media has largely stuck to its instincts for impartiality: "Both sides" have their narratives, and both have good and bad. One may be a terrorist group and the other a Western-leaning democracy—but in this era of progressive decolonization narratives, an association with the West will not get you very far with much of the Western media. Ironic.

The Israelis indeed have good and bad. But Israel is a democracy that can dump its useless government and probably will. Israel's mainstream wants to be rid of the conflict with the Palestinians and views the issue largely through the prism of security. Israel has ultranationalists, violent settlers, and religious fanatics, but the bulk of the population inhabit the same Euclidean universe, share the same values, and believe in the same primacy of reason as most news consumers abroad.

None of that can be said of Hamas, and since Hamas is omnipotent in Gaza it should be the center of media scrutiny. It is a violent fundamentalist movement that seeks not just the demise of Israel but also, with its jihadi fellow travelers, of the West. Hamas and its accomplices share none of the values that drive the modern world, from respect for human rights to freedom of speech to the rule of law.

Are so many Westerners, especially Gen Zers, too feeble-minded to get this? Perhaps to a degree. But I say that a major factor is that they are not being informed.

Is it antisemitism on the part of the foreign press corps, as some Israeli partisans will rush to charge? Not much, in my experience. It mostly stems from intellectual laziness typical of our era, a surfeit of cynicism typical of journalists, and a dollop of woke-ish fuzziness.

Some argue that no one appointed journalists to connect the dots for people, and that the wisest approach would be to just "report the facts." The self-righteous just-the-facts school misses something basic. Every nanosecond in the universe throws up an infinity of facts. The choices of which tiny minority among them to pursue and how to present them are already judgement calls.

When the result is the normalization of a monstrosity like Hamas, that is malpractice. Have I been guilty of it myself? All I can say is, like Oscar Schindler in the film, I feel I did not do enough.

Hey, remember that JLU episode titled ‘The Once And Future Thing: Weird Western Tales’ where a couple of JL members ended up stranded in the old West thanks to time travel?  

Well, turns out there was a comic book very similar to it written by Gerry Conway with art by Don Heck but starring a different set of JL members which may or may not have been the inspiration for the episode:   

The episode was written by the late Dwayne McDuffie who was no stranger to writing in references to older comics. For instance, the two parter ‘Brave and the Bold’ Flash’s hallucinations were references to various Silver Age Flash comic covers and he was also very open about the fact that the line up for the Terra Beyond two parter was based on Marvel comics Defenders (no not the Netflix team, the one with Namor and Dr Strange). Even the episode title itself, ‘Weird Western Tales’ is a reference to the long running anthology series of the same name featuring DC’s western characters. 

The story arc in the comics ran from Justice League of America Vol 1 #198-199.     

While it’s hard to conclusively say that the episode was inspired by the comic, there are some interesting similarities like Batlash’s introduction here:   

I posted Zatanna’s meeting with Cinnamon earlier in another post but here is a little excerpt:  

Interesting to note that one of the goons calls her an ‘Eastern Filly’ (is it because of the way she was dressed or a subtle hint that she is not 100% Caucasian?).  The heroes and their new Western cowboy friends all meet at a Saloon: 

Then they all ride off on horses out of town to confront the villain and of course, faces robot cowboys:   

The differences begin with the choice of the time travelling villain, the comic went with classic JL villain: the Lord of Time:   

JLU went with David Clinton, aka Chronos. He’s a different villain who is primarily the enemy of the Atom/Ray Palmer but has also fought the JL on occasion.   

The Lord of Time on the other hand, is a conqueror from the future who travelled back in time with future technology to conquer the past and rule the future. Sound familiar? He was Kang before Kang.  Since JLU’s version of Chronos comes from the future, you could make a case that version is a combination Chronos and Lord of Time.   

Then of course,  there is the line up, the comic features Zatanna, Elongated Man, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan whereas the show features Wonder Woman, Batman and Green Lantern.  Superman also appears trying to thwart the Lord of Time in the present day.     

On the Western heroes side, we got Diablo instead of Cinnamon and Scalphunter is replaced by Pow Wow Smith (and it only takes a cursory glance at the characters wikipedia pages to see why the socially conscious Dwayne McDuffie made that choice).   

The plot of the JLU episode involved a corrupt sheriff using future technology to take over the town but the plot of the comic is a little different. The Lord of Time sent the heroes back in time, erased their memories, because an anti matter meteor was set to strike earth on that day.   The LoT is counting on the heroes to stop the meteor so he can have it for himself so he can use it to conquer the world.  (Why he doesn’t just get the meteor himself? Maybe he didn’t have the technology to?) 

Anyway, the heroes learn about the anti matter meteor heading towards them, Zatanna is reluctant to leave her new found cowgirl girlfriend with her friends to fight the robots:

But she ends up going anyway:   

Can I just say, I really like this shot of Zee and Green Lantern flying together? Even though she is depowered during this period, they never really stuck strictly to the ‘she can only manipulate the elements’ ethos.  Having her flying alongside GL and being unabashed powerhouse is really cool and shows her place among the DCU. There is no ‘she has to be taken out so someone else can shine’ bs here.  Also, reading these comics, I have felt that GL makes the most sense as the field leader of the JL; power based on creativity and will power and they are specifically trained to work together and take on strange extra terrestrial or otherwise threats. I think any of the human GL’s (except maybe Guy) can lead the team.  

Zatanna and GL  manage to stop the meteor. But in present timeline the Lord of Time ends up defeated by Superman (early on he got in a kryptonite trap set by the LoT but managed to escape) just as the time trapped Leaguers make their way back.      

Awww, a krytonite waterfall wasn’t that bad, Clark.    

Overall, the issue was alright. It does feel like placeholder (albeit a fun one) before the big #200 celebration issue (I posted some scans from that here). Come to think of it, the episode came off as filler as well, with the Western parts feeling like a fun romp and ultimately inconsequential to the arcs of the main heroes but the follow up portion set in the Batman Beyond timeline was more impactful and memorable.   

Hello all!

There are posts going around on X, FaceBook, TikTok, and Tumblr claiming that Hamas has called for a global day of Jihad this Friday against "Western" targets and allies. Other posts claim he has called for a worldwide day of violent strikes on Jewish institutions. Many of these posts use news articles from right-wing and tabloid sources, like the National Review.

The original source is Reuters, and it actually says very little compared to what outlets like the Daily Mail are reporting.

The former leader of Hamas' political wing and current head of Hamas' diaspora office, Khaled Meshaal, has called for Muslims in the Islamic world to protest Friday in support of Palestinians. Meshaal also called on Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt to help in the conflict.

His reported statement is as follows:

"I call on you... to head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday, the Friday of Al Aqsa Flood. Deliver a message through the squares and the streets, a message of anger, that we are with Palestine, that we are with Gaza, with Al Aqsa, with Jerusalem, and that we are a part of this battle, this is first.

Second, Gaza is calling you for help, with relief and money, with whatever you own, whoever can help; this is the moment of truth... We are facing truth, and here I say clearly, without hesitation, this is the moment for the nation to join in the fight, to fight with them.

I call firstly on the surrounding countries, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, all of its sons and daughters; officially and popularly, your duty is bigger because you are closer to Palestine.

Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan, from all of your sides and backgrounds, this is a moment of truth, and the borders are close to you; you all know your responsibility, and this applies to all nations.

To all scholars who teach jihad for the sake of God and who preach the fighters and martyrs, to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application so that words are not just words."

There is no definite meaning to the concept of jihad as the concept is constantly evolving in meaning, practices, strategies, teaching, and understanding. It has been interpreted and re-interpreted for a variety of political reasons. In the context of Islamic law, the "lesser" jihad generally refers to an armed struggle against outsiders in the way of Allah. The "greater" jihad, on the other hand, refers to the struggle to be a good Muslim and pious, and this is the common meaning of jihad for 99.999% of the 1.8 billion Muslims around the world, which is why I caution against alarm.

More responsible news outlets report that without greater elaboration, Meshaal's comments have not made it clear whether he purely intends to provoke political protests and plead for relief, or if there is a deeper meaning given he still represents Hamas. They have stressed that pro-Palestinian acts are not inherently aligned with terrorism and violence at a time when people have been taking to the streets in major cities worldwide to peacefully protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people. These protests are unrelated to Meshaal's statement. Less responsible news outlets, however, are reporting this as a call for a global military jihad against Jewish people as well as "Western" countries and their allies.

Officials have cautioned against jumping to conclusions, warning that interpreting Meshaal's statement as a call to global military action can lead to violence. Fearmongering will only contribute to the likelihood of sectarian violence. It is also more likely to contribute to antisemitic and Islamaphobic hate crimes in the Global North. The advice of conservative political strategists like Joey Mannarino (who I have seen many people and outlets quoting) to Americans is an overreaction.

The Jewish Community Center released a statement after Reuters published Meshaal's statement, saying that while there aren’t any known threats against Jewish institutions in the U.S., it will remain on high alert. Out of an abundance of caution, they are taking proactive steps to provide greater security for Synagogues, Jewish community centers, and Jewish neighborhoods. Jewish advocates recommend that Jewish people remain vigilant during this time as the outbreak of violence in Israel often leads to a spike in antisemitic crimes in the Global North.

Contrary to what some claim, you will not have to avoid any public spaces on Friday. Not trains. Not planes. Not shopping malls. There are *no* known threats against U.S. institutions or Jewish institutions in the U.S. If you do not live in Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, or Palestine, you are likely to remain unaffected by any protests, riots, or violence inspired by this conflict. So, please, do not inspire panic about Friday.

I urge the WASP-y Americans and non-Jews reblogging right-wing news coverage and fretting about their safety over the next 24 hours to remember that this isn't about you. And, please, for the love of peace, stop depicting this as a holy war, reducing the conflict to Muslims v. Jews, and claiming this as the start of WWIII. You are *not* helping anyone, least of all the religious minorities you’re claiming to support.

Let's keep the focus on relief and liberation for the Palestinian people and on relief for the victims of terrorism. And let's take efforts to make our own country a safer, more secure, more welcoming, and more comfortable place for religious minorities. That includes Jewish people.

Thank you,

Evan

We read beginning at verse 1.

“Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to...

Further, unless Biden does a 180, little to no hope exists of electing a President in 2024 who will turn the screws on Israel. There is zero chance of that happening in the foreseeable future. If there ever was, it died on October 7th. If leftists got their heads out of their asses long enough to think strategically and thoroughly about the situation, they would realize the only hope Palestinians have is a shift in politics within Israel, the collapse of the current Netanyahu regime, and the rise of a more moderate government in Jerusalem that seeks to restart peace negotiations. The only way that happens is if powerful Western leaders, with the American President the biggest among them, are popular enough within Israel to affect internal Israeli politics. In offering unconditional support to Israel since October 7th – that “bear hug of Bibi” the Left hates so much – Biden has won good graces among the public in Israel and become the first Democrat since Bill Clinton to be popular there. That could parlay into having significant influence over the Israeli electorate. Barack Obama never had it and, indeed, his existence was antagonistic – he opposed settlement expansion in the West Bank – and Netanyahu leveraged that to gain and hold power. With Netanyahu’s political career on the ropes because of Israeli anger toward his dropping the ball on October 7th, now is the time to strike. Only Biden, with the support of like-minded leaders in the UK, Germany, and other Western countries, can possibly affect any political change in Israel in a direction that favors Palestinians. If Trump, who is also quite popular in Israel, were to win, he would simply prop up Netanyahu indefinitely and, in hopes of winning Jewish votes and support, allow him to annex and settle Gaza and the West Bank, leaving Palestinians stateless. We know he would do this because he already has. While president, he supported Israel annexing Golan Heights. Trump will also use his business influences to bribe Arab states with money and weapons to put down any domestic uprisings and eventually tacitly support Israel’s existence. Currently, the most prominent Muslim country supporting Palestinians is Iran, a Shia nation funding the Houthis in Yemen, the extremist gang firing on ships in the Red Sea, and who are fighting against the Sunni Yemeni government, backed by Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia. Trump would leverage the internal Shia-Sunni Islamic strife with Arabs on one side and anti-Israel Iranians and their proxies on the other to push Arab countries to turn a blind eye to further ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and if you know your history, Arab powers never cared for them anyway. They *especially* do not want an Iranian proxy state (Hamas-controlled Palestine) bordering Egypt and Jordan. The only hope for Palestine is Hamas’ destruction and Biden’s reelection.

(x)

Okay! So, a few days ago, a pro-Palestinian picture came on my dash with the "river to the sea" slogan. This naturally led to me debating a lot of people in the comments, one of whom, @hvly asked me to back up my assertions with sources. I decided to do this in a separate post because a.) makes it easier to post a bunch of links, b.) the original artist took down the picture, and c.) I recently read how many on the pro-Palestinian side lack a lot of context on the conflict, so I figured this could serve as a general resource.

(Not linking to the original artist, but if he sees this, I do apologize if it seemed like I was attacking you, or if all the arguing just stressed you out. It was a cute picture and I trust that you didn't mean anything by it, but my point here is that a lot of well-intentioned people don't get the nuances of this issue.)

I'm not sure which of my arguments Hvly wanted evidence for, so I'll just try to be thorough.

Why is the "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" slogan anti-Semitic?

Because it is a call for the elimination of Israel. A two-state solution would involve Palestine and Israel in the space between the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea. If Palestine takes up that whole area, what happened to Israel and its 10 million inhabitants, 7 million of whom are Jewish? I don't think Palestine is gonna give them citizenship, in case the October 7th massacre didn't make that clear.

It's also worth noting that "will be free" is not the only variation on this chant. Especially early on, it was often "Palestine is Arab" or "is Islamic." Can't really deny that those are about excluding Jews (and/or Arab Christians, Druze, etc.)

Put another way: imagine if in the United States, we popularized the phrase "from the Canadian border to South America, the U.S. will be free!" Sounds great, right? Nothing wrong with freedom! But, wait...how do Mexico and Central America fit into this geography? And oh, yeah, the people promoting this slogan are the KKK, and the first draft was that the U.S. would be "white." Would you pooh-pooh a Hispanic person who found this kinda racist? Then why are Jews different?

I appreciate that many Westerners want this phrase to be about freeing Palestinians from Israel's supposed occupation (we'll get to that in a minute). But it's not. It's about killing Jews.

Are you sure? Has Hamas ever SAID they want to kill all Jews/Israelis?

Yes. Right here. Right after they killed, raped and terrorized them on a Jewish holiday.

It's also in their official charter. Contrast the Israeli Declaration of Independence, which calls for peace between it and its neighbors. (They declared war the day after it was signed.)

But isn't Israel trying to genocide the Palestinians too?

"Genocide" means that you're trying to kill every member of a race within a certain area. So if Israel wants to "genocide" the Palestinians, dropping pamphlets warning them to seek shelter seems like a poor strategy.

Israel is not trying to kill civilians. They're trying to kill Hamas—which, as established, does want to commit genocide. Unfortunately, this is urban warfare, and Hamas' strategy is to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. So yes, a lot of Palestinian civilians are dying. That doesn't make Israel the bad guy. At least 1.5 million German civilians died in World War II, but that doesn't mean the Allies were wrong to overthrow the Nazis, let alone that they were trying to "genocide" them.

But isn't Hamas only trying to throw off Israel's occupation?

Gaza hasn't been occupied since 2005. That was 18 years ago. A child born the day of the disengagement would now be in college, listening to people protest the non-existent occupation.

Israel didn't even withdraw due to a peace treaty; they had no promise that this would stop Palestinian terrorism. They withdrew in the desperate hope that it would bring peace. Instead, the Palestinians elected Hamas, which, as we've ascertained, wants to genocide all Jews.

What would a ceasefire mean?

In the short term, Israel would stop bombing Gaza. Good for the Palestinians, in theory. But Hamas would remain in power, and immediately start gathering strength again. Which means that within a few years, they'd attack Israel again, and there'll be another war, killing people on both sides.

Also, the 100+ Israeli hostages—including women and children—will remain in Gaza. After all, if Israel gives Hamas what they want for nothing, why should they send them back?

Anyway, that's all I have time for. If anyone still wants to argue, I'll be incommunicado until at least tomorrow night. Have a peaceful Saturday.

Replying to more frequent unhinged comments

If you’re supporting Hamas, you’re not supporting freedom, fighting or liberation. You’re simply supporting a terror organisation.

following the logic of why Israel isn’t a legitimate state some that most of the users here believe,

Most of the western world shouldn’t exist.

WHY IS FROM “THE RIVER TO THE SEA” A PROBLEMATIC PHRASE?

You *are* being antisemitic when you say Israelis should all just be transferred out of Israel or killed as “from the river to the sea “ is a genocidal call for the wiping of Jews from the Jewish state.

It’s literally a less extreme translation of Hamas’ chant:

“Some of those sources said that in the context most people at ceasefire rallies are using it today, it likely indicates a desire for Palestinian liberation and dignity — as well as a vision for the future in which Palestinians have equal rights in their homeland. But to many Jewish people, it’s a mortal threat to the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state.”

(“The controversial phrase”from the river to the sea” , explained , Vox)

To many Jews and Israelis, this phrase comes with context of genocide. It means that there shouldn’t be any Jews in the land of Israel. How do you think that will be achieved?

(Spoiler alert: massacres like the October 7th massacre).

is it also such a foolish and dangerous thing to suggest because:

-It completely ignores the vast history of the Jewish people with this land. Saying we all immigrated to Israel from Europe is also wrong since a) most of us aren’t white/ European b) We have always been here (yes even before 1948🤦‍♀️).

* for further reading about the Jewish people’s connection the land:

We Cannot just pack our bags and go: the people are the safest we can be in Israel , and that’s a fact.

Once again, I keep having to explain this:

-The many other ethnic groups living peacefully in Israel: Druze , Bahai’s , Christian Arabs, Muslim Arabs…. All live equally in Israel. There are still prejudices between cultures- it is not a “systematically racist and apartheid country”.

We’re also not terrorist state- retaliating to terror attacks and arresting the Palestinians behind them isn’t an act of terrorism.

Having blockades and barricades between Israel’s territory and the West Bank or Gaza , which aren’t controlled by Israel and have many terrorist threats inside- isn’t an act of terrorism either.

I don’t see you condemning Egypt or Jordan for doing the exact same thing.

This conflict started before 1948, and cannot be summarised in “Israel as the white oppressor”.

unfortunately, nowadays, it involves many terror proxies from Iran, funded by Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia: Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, Hezballah from Lebanon, the Houthis from Yemen and many more.

I’ve said Most of this and previous posts, but people here, seem to ignore all parts that don’t fit their agenda. Me and my Druze/ Arabic friends and colleagues exist side by side peacefully,

And we will not be forced into this false image of apartheid you project upon us (because you feel guilty about your own country’s history).

“Stop pink washing Israel🤡”

Every single time, I post something about being queer in Israel, I get this comment.

Do you think queer people in Israel just don’t exist?

We do, and we deserve to be happy about positive change in our community.

“But you’re supporting your government/ Bibi”

As Israelis, We are also the first ones to protest any injustices from within. Most of us are against the current government. We have been protesting against it for years now! Don’t assume we all support it.

*****

Early on Saturday morning, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented multipronged attack on Israel that caught intelligence officials the world over by surprise. Israel swiftly declared war and began retaliating against the Gaza Strip, which is controlled internally by Hamas but has been under an Israeli military blockade since 2007. So far, hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian soldiers and civilians have died in fighting that shows no sign of abating—and could yet expand to new fronts.

At its core, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a dispute over land—specifically, who has the right to live in the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and under what conditions they can do so. Within this area, the question of where Israel starts and Palestine ends is a complicated one that has changed over time. It also depends on whom you ask.

Though Israel has never delineated all of its official boundaries, most of the international community recognizes the 1949 armistice lines between Israel and its Arab neighbors, which for the first time divided Jerusalem into eastern and western sectors and created the West Bank and Gaza as geopolitical entities. Together, the latter two areas are referred to as the “Palestinian territories,” even if Palestinians have never had full control over how they are run.

It’s the enclave in the south, the Gaza Strip, that is at the center of the latest outbreak of violence—and which is now the target of an Israeli military onslaught.

How did these territories come about?

In the early 20th century, Jewish immigration to the British mandate for Palestine, a slice of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, accelerated. Arrivals were driven by rising antisemitism in Europe and a rising Jewish national movement known as Zionism. In 1947, amid growing tensions between Palestinians and Zionist militias and in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, the brand-new United Nations voted to divide Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states; the contested city of Jerusalem would be under international control.

Most Jewish groups supported the plan, while Arab groups and the governments of Arab states rejected it. Violent confrontations between the two sides intensified, and the U.N. blueprint as envisaged was never implemented.

In May 1948, after Britain dissolved the mandate, Zionist leaders declared Israel an independent state. A group of Arab countries including Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and what was then called Transjordan invaded, triggering the first Arab-Israeli War. As Israeli forces seized territory, thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes and became refugees in what is referred to as the “Nakba,” or catastrophe.

The Jordanians occupied and annexed East Jerusalem as well as a block of territory to its east, while Egypt occupied a seaside sliver of land north of the Sinai Peninsula about twice the size of Washington, D.C., that included the town of Gaza. Many Palestinian refugees fled to the Egyptian- and Jordanian-occupied areas. Jordan’s territory would become known as the “West Bank” (of the Jordan River), while Egypt’s has since been called the “Gaza Strip.” Israel and its Arab foes reached armistice agreements the following year.

How did Israel take control of the Palestinian territories?

In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel launched preemptive attacks against Egypt and Jordan and managed to take East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, as well as the Sinai Peninsula. Though Israel incrementally returned Sinai to Egypt starting in 1979 as part of peace negotiations, it has occupied the other territories ever since.

Israel formally annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 but has held off making the same official designation in the West Bank and Gaza. Instead, it steadily built up a vast settlement enterprise in both territories—considered illegal by most of the international community—while maintaining officially that their final status would be determined in future negotiations. Israel withdrew from its settlements in Gaza during a contested disengagement campaign in 2005 but has expanded them dramatically in the West Bank.

In a brief optimistic period following the signing of the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s, it seemed as though portions of the West Bank and Gaza might one day merge to become an independent Palestinian state. However, the implementation of the accords quickly unraveled as the region became roiled by political violence following the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a right-wing Israeli extremist as well as the Second Intifada, or uprising.

How is the West Bank governed today?

A follow-up treaty to the first Oslo Accord established the Palestinian Authority (PA), a quasi-government in the Palestinian territories that experts agree has little actual power and acts mostly as a security subcontractor to Israel. The PA—led by unpopular President Mahmoud Abbas—officially manages only 18 percent of the West Bank, known as Area A, though Israeli forces can still enter the PA’s area at will. The PA has administrative control of another 22 percent—Area B—where the Israeli military has security control. The overwhelming majority of the West Bank (60 percent, known as Area C) is blocked off for Israeli settlements and is under Israeli control. Many leading human rights organizations have concluded that the conditions faced by West Bank Palestinians are tantamount to apartheid. Others have argued that the territory is already de facto annexed.

What about Gaza?

Initially, the PA governed both the West Bank and Gaza. But the PA lost control over Gaza after elections in 2006, in which the Islamist Hamas party defeated Fatah, the long-dominant political party of Yasser Arafat that Abbas now leads. Unlike the secular Fatah, which recognizes Israel, Hamas—founded in Gaza in 1987 during the First Intifada—rejects what it calls the “Zionist entity.”

Hamas’s 2006 election victory plunged the PA into crisis and led to a civil war between Fatah and Hamas, with Hamas taking over Gaza in a 2007 battle. Israel, with Egyptian support, immediately responded with a land, air, and sea blockade that has been decried by human rights organizations as a form of “collective punishment.” Sixteen years later, Gaza is regularly referred to as an “open-air prison.” The U.N. considers Israel’s occupation in the enclave ongoing, despite the 2005 disengagement, though Israel disputes this.

Gaza is home to 2.3 million people and is one of the most densely populated places on Earth. From their respective border crossings, Israel and Egypt decide who and what can enter and exit the territory, including humanitarian support. Israel also controls the strip’s electricity supply and can turn it off at will. The blockade has decimated Gaza’s economy—and Gazans’ quality of life. Gaza today is deeply impoverished: Eighty percent of Gazans rely on aid to survive, and, even before this week’s full siege, 95 percent did not have access to clean drinking water. Around half do not have enough to eat. Many are unable to obtain proper medical care due to a notoriously restrictive Israeli permitting system.

The undemocratic PA has not held national elections since 2006 in part because Abbas and his international benefactors—in particular Israel and the United States—fear what may happen in the West Bank if Hamas wins again.

Why has Gaza become such a hot spot?

Unlike Fatah, Hamas’s raison d’être is to fight Israel—and the feeling has become mutual. Since Israel’s blockade began in 2007, Israel has conducted four large-scale military assaults on Gaza, not including its ongoing operation. Hamas regularly launches rockets into Israel, and Israel retaliates in kind. Past fighting has disproportionately led to Palestinian casualties. In 2019, the International Criminal Court announced an investigation into both Hamas and Israel for alleged war crimes.

Hamas’s latest attack on Israel is unparalleled; at the time of writing, the death toll was over 1,000 Israelis, mostly civilians. In response, Israel launched ongoing retaliatory airstrikes that it said targeted Hamas sites. Palestinian officials, however, have said that these have so far also hit civilian infrastructure. So far, 849 Palestinians are estimated to have been killed. Those casualty numbers are only expected to rise, particularly in Gaza: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a total ban on food, water, fuel, and medicine entering the already-besieged territory. Netanyahu is reportedly planning a ground invasion.

First i love your art

Second// TELL US ABOUT IRAQ JORDAN REALTIONSHIP BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MUCH HISTORY TOGETHER AND WERE MARRIED IN 1958

like gimme headcanons , explanation.anything

Im desperate for these two

+ i hope you have a great day♥️♥️

First of all, thank you so much for your words!!! I hope you have a great day too 💞

Second of all, WOO... there's a lot you could write about the two! The following information is mostly by @letttalias so give her the credit 🥳

Prior to the 20th century, neither had particularly strong ties to one another. Iraq wasn't geographically close enough to be acquainted with Jordan's mother Nabataea (likely for the best) and even during the Ottoman era Jordan kept to Syria's side of that arrangement. They were of course aware of each other, Iraq knowing Jordan as "that one quiet kid that hangs around Syria and Palestine and Kuwait likes to pick on," and Jordan better knew Iraq's "general deal" because of Iraq Being a Big Deal Back Then (particularly during the Abbasid Caliphate) and Jordan's nature as a calculating mfer. But beyond that? Didn't have any particularly strong feelings on each other 🤷‍♂️

Now we exit the Ottoman era and enter the Hashemite era, which was a strange time for Jordan, as he found himself isolated from his Levantine neighbors; Syria was grieving Hejaz's death and with it, the death of the Pan-Arab State Dream Team Federation 1.0, Palestine and Lebanon were cut off from him in a way he hadn't ever experienced before (for varying and complex reasons), and things all around just seemed super unstable. For all those factors, Jordan saw value in allying himself with Iraq (which took a few attempts to accomplish), someone who was in a similar situation in him and so a part of him hoped could understand him a little bit better.

However, the Hashemites weren't popular whatsoever in Iraq, and this is really where their differences came out in full force. Jordan is a 🐍 and is more than used to putting aside sentimentality and personal feelings in the pursuit of his own security, but Iraq is less able and willing to do that, placing a higher premium on his own "personhood" (as far as a nation can have that to begin with) So while Jordan saw the Hashemites as a tool to keep himself in Britain's good books and maintaining a degree of independence granted to a western ally/puppet (depending on who you ask) vs the other Levantine states, Iraq saw the Hashemites as a rule imposed by outsiders trying to keep him subjugated and trying to prevent the vision of a wider Arab movement. This difference is the source of a lot of their disagreements and conflicts in the short-lived Arab Federation 💦

But their personal ties during the union? It was probably polite and distant at the best of times. Even if they hadn't had that many prior interactions, Jordan saw Iraq as one of his elders and thus, gave an appropriate level of respect for that, and who can say no to Iraq's cheerful and upbeat personality? They weren't exactly venting hardcore to each other, but they weren't spending a lot of time with each other to begin with, indicating the disconnected nature of the Arab Federation, and so, their relationship remained distant. Maybe they didn't reach the heights of the Syria-Egypt Union (whatever those are), but it also means they didn't really reach its pits.

(One of the exceptions to this distant, cool relationship is Iraq venting to Jordan in his moments of weakness about Kuwait lmao)

Following the coup, things were icy between them to put it mildly; Jordan saw Iraq as "collateral damage" and a victim of his unstable state, and Iraq viewed him as a "callous youngster." Things did eventually calm down the 70s, and their relationship returned to amicability. I still don't think they're particularly close, but they can hang out and chill, and even Jordan these days can acknowledge Iraq's steadfastness in holding to his personal convictions, even if he thinks it's foolish. Iraq probably jokes to Jordan all the time about lightening up "Akhi, I'm the old man here, not you!"

TL;DR