Diana, that was as beautiful as it was haunting. Thank you for writing this. It was the first time I’ve heard the term “Axis of Genocide” to describe the perpetrators and their backers; what I would give to have that become part of the mainstream conversation.
This podcast was amazing and terrifying and just plain sad. But it reminds me of a trip to Israel back in the 90s in which my life totally changed. What I will never forget is how many brave and incredible Palestinians I met and how they struggled in a land that is anything but peaceful. I also will never forget how victims can easily become victimizers. For too long, the United States has had an out of balance look at Israel. It took actually being there to see and hear many different sides.
Thank you for sharing this. My heart breaks. I cannot understand the mentality of a people who suffered their own genocide, only to impose it on others. The brainwashing of their children to hate Palestinians and others is unspeakable.
I have cousins who live in Jerusalem and this is very true. What always amazes me is the daily intimidation and violence they face while simultaneously being told they are the savages!
If Israelis are worried about antisemitism then perhaps they should stop slaughtering people and then gloating about it. Nothing happens without consequences, what goes around comes around.
Anyone with a heart reading this story feels the pain and suffering of the Palestinians. Why do our complicit politicians not feel their pain and suffering? Just what else has to happen before our American government stops sending weapons and financial aid to Israel? And why do those Jews in Israel, many who are descendants of the Jews who suffered under Hitler’s cruelty, commit these cruel crimes against humanity? Did none of them hear the stories of Nazis who tortured and killed innocent people simply because they were Jews? How can it be that those who were victims become the torturers? Is it simply vengeance for past crimes? I do not understand. Diana please continue to tell your stories, and maybe our government will come to its collective senses and stop contributing to the murder and destruction? Thank you for your story. We in America have a great deal for which to atone.
Most Israelis are not descendants of Holocaust survivors. Miko Peled said at a talk I attended that only about 10% of Jewish Holocaust survivors resettled in Israel. Many Holocaust survivors, in fact, have been treated poorly in Israel, viewed as weak for not fighting back against the Nazis. These Zionist Israelis are a different breed of cat.
That explains a lot. Thank you. I am at a loss as to how to try to stop our government from sending weapons. And now Biden is sending them more. He is a strict Catholic but clearly does not heed the Jesus call to peace.
And as our US government sends billions for genocide, it appears FEMA is lacking in funds to adequately support those devastated by hurricane Helene. The rot and lies of both Maga Red and Maga Blue are fully exposed.
I volunteer at a food pantry in Hartford, Connecticut and over the past three years we've seen steadily increasing numbers! The pantry relies on most of it's food from a government clearing house called Foodshare (I actually run a little backyard farm and donate my produce to the pantry). The government buys surplus food to distribute through this organization which recently has not had much! The clients who are almost all POC and working poor stand in line to get a meager amount of food. Meanwhile there is no shortage of money for killing people and I'm at a loss of what to do? :^(
I have prayed every night for all those suffering in Gaza and every morning, the macabre diabolical inhumanity of the Israelis increments to unspeakable levels of savagery. In the end, they will become consumed by the evil they possessed and they will turn against each other. In the meantime, the US and Western Europe descends into their own apocalypse. They have been persecuting Muslims far longer than we give credence. As a Catholic and a Democrat, this holocaust has made me leave both allusions of truth behind as I see the world how it truly is and reclaim my humanity.
Too gut wrenching. But thank you for helping us to keep our eyes open. It gets harder and harder each day. My heart goes out to you and all the generations of Palestinians who have survived the Israelis – first, in the Nakba, then through the decades of apartheid, and now this genocide. My heart goes out also to the Israeli children who are taught to hate, to dehumanize other human beings. Generation after generation of Israeli children inherit this vile hatred. And with each generation it gets worse. We become what we hate, and never has that been so evident as with the Israelis. I have witnessed it for years and wondered how we could be so anti apartheid regarding South Africa and not even notice it was happening in Palestine. For many of us who are older, the holocaust was incomprehensible. When I recognized that Israel was headed in that direction I just couldn’t understand it. Alas, it is one of humanity’s greatest flaws; abuse begets abuse. Abused children become abusers. Abused Jews have become the monsters who abused them. It is the saddest story in the world. History is full of such stories. And, in the end, it will be the demise of the Jewish ’state.’
.....i'm ashamed of being a European living in a Europe that does not care about humanity, about Palestinians, about Lebanese and all the others to come, to suffer in the wake of collective Israeli madness ,megalomania and absolute horror!
The world needs more voices like yours- the world needs to wake up and stop participating and endorsing these horrors! Have we learned nothing from the past?
It must terrifying living in such a society Diana. I’m impressed by your courage and hopefully it will pull you through. Thank you for your description which was amazingly measured under such unbearable conditions. X
Heartbreaking.....I can only hope that one day the main perpetrators will stand trial for Genocide. WE NEED BRAVE, COURAGEOUS PEOPLE TO STAND UP THAT ARE IN POWER AT THE BEHEST OF VOTERS AND SAY ENOUGH!!!!
Once upon a time, as a child, hearing my parents whispering about Bergen Belsen (my mother nursed survivors the British brought to her London hospital) - and yes, children understand the whispers - once upon a time I thought Nazism too evil to comprehend. Now? Oh no. I was thinking only yesterday, again, of some of today's parallels. Then the Germans had lost WWI and in their defeat needed to blame, needed to dehumanise The Other, needed to distance themselves from their subconscious fascination, needed to reassert their pride and seek revenge - on the nearest victim. And the fascism born of militarism, which masks a toxic mix of fear and greed and hubris. As you say, Diana - "Im lo b'koach, az od yoter koach" the army saying of how to solve a problem: "If you don't succeed with force, try more. Force." And the overwhelming folly of needing to feel good, at the expense of hiding from reality or responsibility. The inferiority complex that needs to be superior ("the chosen people...") The elephants in the room. The entitlement of the abused - "Never again -- to us." Not "never again to anyone." And the appeasement that coddles a Frankenstein, while undermining the international system that was achieved back then at such a high price.
Thank you for this amazing exposition, Diana... may it reach all those in the Axis of Genocide. They know deep down who they are. Surely?
I struggle living in western europe with the attitude towards the geonocide. I honestly cannot fathom how it would be to live in Israel. It must be a nightmare. We live in a world ruled by sociopaths. Until we stop electing ppl based on how good they talk or look nothing will change. We should elect boring scientist with absolutely no desire for power. If you desire power you must never have it. Instead, the desire is cherished in our society. And thus we find ourselves right here.
Diana, that was as beautiful as it was haunting. Thank you for writing this. It was the first time I’ve heard the term “Axis of Genocide” to describe the perpetrators and their backers; what I would give to have that become part of the mainstream conversation.
Please stay safe, and thank you for your work.
May the phrase be known far and wide…
This podcast was amazing and terrifying and just plain sad. But it reminds me of a trip to Israel back in the 90s in which my life totally changed. What I will never forget is how many brave and incredible Palestinians I met and how they struggled in a land that is anything but peaceful. I also will never forget how victims can easily become victimizers. For too long, the United States has had an out of balance look at Israel. It took actually being there to see and hear many different sides.
Thank you for sharing this. My heart breaks. I cannot understand the mentality of a people who suffered their own genocide, only to impose it on others. The brainwashing of their children to hate Palestinians and others is unspeakable.
I have cousins who live in Jerusalem and this is very true. What always amazes me is the daily intimidation and violence they face while simultaneously being told they are the savages!
If Israelis are worried about antisemitism then perhaps they should stop slaughtering people and then gloating about it. Nothing happens without consequences, what goes around comes around.
I wouldn't be surprised!
Anyone with a heart reading this story feels the pain and suffering of the Palestinians. Why do our complicit politicians not feel their pain and suffering? Just what else has to happen before our American government stops sending weapons and financial aid to Israel? And why do those Jews in Israel, many who are descendants of the Jews who suffered under Hitler’s cruelty, commit these cruel crimes against humanity? Did none of them hear the stories of Nazis who tortured and killed innocent people simply because they were Jews? How can it be that those who were victims become the torturers? Is it simply vengeance for past crimes? I do not understand. Diana please continue to tell your stories, and maybe our government will come to its collective senses and stop contributing to the murder and destruction? Thank you for your story. We in America have a great deal for which to atone.
Most Israelis are not descendants of Holocaust survivors. Miko Peled said at a talk I attended that only about 10% of Jewish Holocaust survivors resettled in Israel. Many Holocaust survivors, in fact, have been treated poorly in Israel, viewed as weak for not fighting back against the Nazis. These Zionist Israelis are a different breed of cat.
That explains a lot. Thank you. I am at a loss as to how to try to stop our government from sending weapons. And now Biden is sending them more. He is a strict Catholic but clearly does not heed the Jesus call to peace.
And as our US government sends billions for genocide, it appears FEMA is lacking in funds to adequately support those devastated by hurricane Helene. The rot and lies of both Maga Red and Maga Blue are fully exposed.
I volunteer at a food pantry in Hartford, Connecticut and over the past three years we've seen steadily increasing numbers! The pantry relies on most of it's food from a government clearing house called Foodshare (I actually run a little backyard farm and donate my produce to the pantry). The government buys surplus food to distribute through this organization which recently has not had much! The clients who are almost all POC and working poor stand in line to get a meager amount of food. Meanwhile there is no shortage of money for killing people and I'm at a loss of what to do? :^(
I have prayed every night for all those suffering in Gaza and every morning, the macabre diabolical inhumanity of the Israelis increments to unspeakable levels of savagery. In the end, they will become consumed by the evil they possessed and they will turn against each other. In the meantime, the US and Western Europe descends into their own apocalypse. They have been persecuting Muslims far longer than we give credence. As a Catholic and a Democrat, this holocaust has made me leave both allusions of truth behind as I see the world how it truly is and reclaim my humanity.
Gaza will always live in our hearts and minds!
Well said, SB
Too gut wrenching. But thank you for helping us to keep our eyes open. It gets harder and harder each day. My heart goes out to you and all the generations of Palestinians who have survived the Israelis – first, in the Nakba, then through the decades of apartheid, and now this genocide. My heart goes out also to the Israeli children who are taught to hate, to dehumanize other human beings. Generation after generation of Israeli children inherit this vile hatred. And with each generation it gets worse. We become what we hate, and never has that been so evident as with the Israelis. I have witnessed it for years and wondered how we could be so anti apartheid regarding South Africa and not even notice it was happening in Palestine. For many of us who are older, the holocaust was incomprehensible. When I recognized that Israel was headed in that direction I just couldn’t understand it. Alas, it is one of humanity’s greatest flaws; abuse begets abuse. Abused children become abusers. Abused Jews have become the monsters who abused them. It is the saddest story in the world. History is full of such stories. And, in the end, it will be the demise of the Jewish ’state.’
Thank you Diana,
.....i'm ashamed of being a European living in a Europe that does not care about humanity, about Palestinians, about Lebanese and all the others to come, to suffer in the wake of collective Israeli madness ,megalomania and absolute horror!
The world needs more voices like yours- the world needs to wake up and stop participating and endorsing these horrors! Have we learned nothing from the past?
This is as horrific as the gas chambers in Germany and Poland during WWII. I wish I had the power to end it.
It must terrifying living in such a society Diana. I’m impressed by your courage and hopefully it will pull you through. Thank you for your description which was amazingly measured under such unbearable conditions. X
Thank you for this. I hope people share this widely.
And the irony is the "axis of genocide" had the gall to call other countries with nowhere close to as much blood on their hands "the axis of evil"
Heartbreaking.....I can only hope that one day the main perpetrators will stand trial for Genocide. WE NEED BRAVE, COURAGEOUS PEOPLE TO STAND UP THAT ARE IN POWER AT THE BEHEST OF VOTERS AND SAY ENOUGH!!!!
Once upon a time, as a child, hearing my parents whispering about Bergen Belsen (my mother nursed survivors the British brought to her London hospital) - and yes, children understand the whispers - once upon a time I thought Nazism too evil to comprehend. Now? Oh no. I was thinking only yesterday, again, of some of today's parallels. Then the Germans had lost WWI and in their defeat needed to blame, needed to dehumanise The Other, needed to distance themselves from their subconscious fascination, needed to reassert their pride and seek revenge - on the nearest victim. And the fascism born of militarism, which masks a toxic mix of fear and greed and hubris. As you say, Diana - "Im lo b'koach, az od yoter koach" the army saying of how to solve a problem: "If you don't succeed with force, try more. Force." And the overwhelming folly of needing to feel good, at the expense of hiding from reality or responsibility. The inferiority complex that needs to be superior ("the chosen people...") The elephants in the room. The entitlement of the abused - "Never again -- to us." Not "never again to anyone." And the appeasement that coddles a Frankenstein, while undermining the international system that was achieved back then at such a high price.
Thank you for this amazing exposition, Diana... may it reach all those in the Axis of Genocide. They know deep down who they are. Surely?
I struggle living in western europe with the attitude towards the geonocide. I honestly cannot fathom how it would be to live in Israel. It must be a nightmare. We live in a world ruled by sociopaths. Until we stop electing ppl based on how good they talk or look nothing will change. We should elect boring scientist with absolutely no desire for power. If you desire power you must never have it. Instead, the desire is cherished in our society. And thus we find ourselves right here.