A group of approximately 100 people went into the Trump Tower atrium and would not leave. They were there in response to the actions taken against Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist detained by ICE after his green card was revoked by the Trump organization (of course). There were a number of interesting signs held up. “Jews Say Do Not Comply” and “Not In Our Name” and “Jews Say Stop Arming Israel”.
It was organized by a group named “Jewish Voice For Peace”. And they chanted “free Mahmoud Khalil”. But they were peaceful. No nonsense like smoke grenades or guns or Molotov cocktails. Nothing was damaged. They were just stubborn about not leaving. Ninety-eight people were arrested, with about 50 being led from the lobby in zip ties and put into waiting police vehicles. That’s some *serious* protesting!
This comes days after Mahmoud was arrested at his home in New York. On Truth Social, tRump wrote “If you support terrorism …. your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here.” Mahmoud’s attorney said the U.S. Government “retaliated “ against her client “for speaking up in support of Palestinians” and he has been detained for “exercising his right to free speech”. I can see her point. If he wasn’t up to anything but talking, yea that’s First Amendment territory.
It’s getting really difficult to try and see where the amendment protection ends. If they were talking, I don’t see a problem. The people at Trump Tower were peaceful. That should be protected.
The whole situation overseas is a mess. There has been so much back and forth on each side that they are now tangled up with each other and there’s no clear road to get this to stop. Yes, there is a ceasefire. Yes, hostages were exchanged. But how do we balance out all of that to something that’s somewhat agreeable to all sides? Is that even possible?
So there’s not much the “little people” can do about this. It’s up to the government. But in the meantime, they make their voices heard.
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NO! No Susan, they were NOT peaceful and they are NOT Jews, no matter what they call themselves. People on the side of Hamas say that all the time in the US “We’re peaceful protesters” but I’m sorry – you CANNOT “peacefully” with smiles and infinite bullshit agitate on behalf of killing all 14 million Jews on this planet.And that is PRECISELY what they are doing. Just like Jeremy Corbin and just like their brethren at Columbia, Harvard, etc, etc. “Kill Jews”. “Fire Jewish professors” “Have anti-Semites teach classes on “zionism”” “Deny Jews the right to go to University unless they “renounce” Israel”. Spare me the bullshit, Susan!!!! You do NOT have the right to “assemble peacefully” and abuse the first amendment when your “peacefull” smiling message is “it’s ok, just stand up for “peacefully and with warm, loving smiles on our faces” killing 14 MILLION JEWS.” Francesca Albanese all over. Hamas has the right to kill as many Jews as they want in any way they want, because that’s “resistance”. But Jews have no right whatsoever “under International Law” to defend themselves or hit back because THAT’s “genocide”. “Oh the poor babies ,the babies – yeah, everyone cries over the poor Palestinian babies. But does ANYONE cry over the Jewish babies and people being held for two years in Gaza and raped and murdered in Israel? Not one fucking hypocrite, because, you know, killing 1 single solitary Palestinian “IS GENOCIDE!!!!” but killing 14 million Jews is a wondrous beautiful loving step to permanent global peace. What they should do with ALL these vile disgusting racists FUCKS is send them to Saudi Arabia and suggest they criticize the Royal Family and let’s see how far the “my first amendment rights” BS gets them” when they’re still in a hole 20 years and 10,000 whip strokes later”. See: Raif Badawi. Anyone who cries over these violent appalling racist fucks is also a psycho homicidal fuck like Hamas and Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo. END OF STORY!
It is flat out wrong to kill other people simply because of their heritage, religion (or lack thereof), skin color or some other superficial reason. It is equally wrong to assume that any of those traits AUTOMATICALLY make someone a person who believes the indiscriminate hatred and killing you speak to such a person. Pick any group of people. ANY. You will find good ones and bad ones, and some who share a mixture of those traits although they lean towards one or the other. So it is with Palestinians and Jews.
Both are, for lack of a better word part of ‘tribes’ descended from the time of Abraham, living in the same area. People on both sides have ancestry, roots that go back literally thousands of years. Religion, while it can bring out the best in people can also bring out the worst and more people have been killed (and made to suffer horribly) in the name of religion that for any other fucked-up reason. I’ve been agnostic for decades but was raised in the Christian faith. A half-block away lived my oldest sister’s best friend with her family in a large but modest house (they rented out the upstairs) who I learned early on were Jewish. What I didn’t learn until I got older was how prominent they were in southern Illinois. The Torah used in the Temple over in Carbondale was smuggled out of Russia by Mimi’s grandmother during one of those times when Russia decided to force Jews out. Anyway, starting from a young age when I would be over there and as I grew up Mimi would patiently answer all sorts of dumbass questions from me about the Jewish faith, as well as give me what looking back was an honest and balanced assessment of the turmoil and wars in Israel and the middle east during the time I was growing up. I’m now in my latter sixties just so you know.
Does the state of Israel (and its Jewish citizens) have the right to defend itself against TERRORIST attacks, and in general since there are still countries who’s leaders at least don’t recognize the right of Israel to exist? Of course. I can guarantee you Susan feels the same way. Have Jewish people been discriminated against (and killed) over and over again throughout history? Yes, and not just in the middle east as you damned well know. Does EVERY person who is NOT Jewish believe Jews have deserved such treatment? Of course not. That includes an awful lot of ordinary Palestinians who never wanted HAMAS to be leading them in the Gaza Strip. It was Bibi Netanyahu who forced HAMAS leadership on them, knowing damn well at the time AND ever since HAMAS was hell-bent on the destruction of Israel. Why would he do such a thing? For an appalling and hateful reason – in the West Bank he had the Palestinian Authority that had support both there and internationally to work on the ‘Two State Solution” of territory for Palestinians and territory for Israel (Jews) with details regarding sharing of holy sites for both You know, the VERY conditions that the brand new State of Israel agreed to when the U.S. immediately recognized it forcing other countries to follow. It’s a promise, a signed treaty Israel has steadfastly refused to honor since it was signed I should add. Every time progress has been made someone comes along and blows it up – sometimes quite literally and Israeli leaders have been known to do it just like Palestinian ones have.
As a Marine and one of 1980s/Lebanon vintage I have my issues with the IDF. My Marine Corps was over there trying to contain THEIR (Israel’s) mess and the SHIT the IDF gave us was enough to make them as hated as the fucking Arabs! Because we simply followed our orders and the Rules of Engagement. Israel with their “vaunted” military couldn’t project power a mere 100 kilometers past their border and had to come hat in hand to US to help them out – and then fucking TAUNTED us for not wiping out Lebanon for them! So admittedly I’ve got an axe to grind – not with the Jewish citizens of Israel (except those who support the Likud and even more extreme political Parties there) who for the most part want to just live their lives in peace. Without the threat of violence hanging over their heads every day. I doubt many like Palestinians but feel if they leave Jewish people alone then that’s good enough. The thing is, the average Palestinian tends to feel the same way. Each side has lost relatives to the violence for generations and the average person on both sides will probably always hold grudges but would settle for each side having their own space and leaving the other the hell alone.
Which brings me to the real point I want to make. Again, I have no issue with Israel defending itself including with significant military response to the TERRORIST attack of Oct. 7. If they located and killed every last leader in HAMAS I wouldn’t lose a second’s sleep over it. I imagine most people feel the same way. It’s HOW Israel has conducted the war in Gaza that I and others have a problem with. Not giving a fuck about the indiscriminate killing of average folks, and even making a point of doing so sometimes hoping to get them to leave is as cruel as what too many Palestinian leaders have done in organizing attacks on innocents in Israel proper.
The ASSUMPTION on either side that ALL those on the other deserve to die is reprehensible. As is the disdain for human life, the “well, some of them and maybe a lot don’t feel that way but too bad for them – we can’t take a chance” mentality. Which from where I sit is exactly that attitude YOU espouse. That being of Palestinian heritage means a person isn’t even a human fucking being and therefor merits extermination. When, as a matter of policy the govt. of Israel acts in such a manner and essentially espouses a “get out or get killed” “ethnic cleansing” criticizing them for doing so isn’t Anti-Semitism as you claim.
So get the hell off your moral high horse. Back when Bill Clinton was President there was a golden opportunity for peace in the middle east via the war that took place when Yugoslavia broke up. The “ethnic cleansing.” The U.S. only contributed air power but enough countries helped out with boots on the ground to end that awful mess. However, ISRAEL blew it. THEY should have been at the head of the effort, standing in the U.N. and DEMANDING other countries follow them in stopping the atrocities. If there was ANY country in the world at the time with the moral authority to declare extermination based on religion was a crime against humanity is was Israel. Yet they didn’t say or do jack. It was “only Muslims” so they didn’t give a fuck and made it clear it wasn’t their problem.
Imagine if Israel had stood into the breach during that moment in history. The effect it would have had on Arab countries in their own region who would have had no choice but to follow Israel’s lead and stop that awful set of atrocities. Imagine how it would have changed the dynamic. But hard-liners in Israel said (and still say) ‘We don’t give a flying fuck that your people have been here as long as we have and are descended from the same ancestor. It’s OURs. Every bit of it so get the fuck out or we’ll kill you.” I say shame on those of Palestinian heritage who have adopted such thinking, and equal shame on Jewish Israelis as well.
You should examine your thinking and perhaps rethink your absolutist attitude that ALL (or even most) Palestinians live only to kill Jews. Too many do feel that way to be sure. But most of them I believe just want the same as Israelis want which is to just live their lives without the constant threat of death and destruction rearing up on any given day.
Yes, it’s a much harder task to seek out and kill HAMAS leaders than to just bomb the shit out of wherever you think they might be and casually accept far more dead civliians who want no part of violence. But never forget that NETANYAHU created the conditions that led to that horrific Oct. 7 attack. Year after year he helped keep HAMAS funded. Just to keep the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank from making progress on a true two-state solution. And then, with a YEAR’S warning he shifted forces away from over the fence from Gaza and to the West Bank and left the area attacked vulnerable. And stood by as a second warning from the intel types about seeing the ParaGliders practicing just like in the plan they’d obtained the year before were taking place!
So call me Anti-Semitic if it makes you feel better. But I’m not and neither is Susan.