Thank you Fatima, for exposing the horrors and the anguish that has rained on the Palestinian people for the last one year. Their cry for help has fallen on deaf ears. The world looks on, hands wringing, yet does nothing to stop this injustice, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. How many more pounds of flesh and buckets of blood need to be shed before the colonial occupier’s hunger has been satiated and thirst quenched?
By the way, I grew up in the suburbs of NJ where half the population was Italian/Catholic and half Jewish. The first time someone shared the tattoos on their forearms with me and told me what they meant, what happened to them, I understood that the devil was not that red horned-hooved creature they tried to frighten us with at church. It was man's inhumanity to man that had an insatiable appetite for cruelty beyond comprehension. "Never Again" has become nothing more than a "concept of a plan" thanks to Zionism and genocide apologists for Israel. The silence of our Holocaust Education Centers is in itself an atrocity. Shame on AIPAC. Shame on the ADL. Speaking of which, look up their Pyramid of Hate lesson plan and let me know how Israel is doing.
Beautifully written, hard to read, I would expect no less. @Paula, I understand that it is often too much to absorb and yes we are being battered by images and words daily. But this is the price we pay to help those battered and bombarded year after year by bombs and injustice. I no longer pay subscriptions to Western media, this is one way to fight back. And only support independents. Fatima is right, time is the enemy of Israel. All empires die for one reason, economics, the US is on its last legs and Brics will ensure US debt isn't replaced as readily, which will lead to its downfall and subsequently that of Isreal. On their last legs, they will lash out like the Nazis did in South Africa during apartheid, attacking neighbors left and right, but in the end, they will all run out of money and they will fall. We can all do our bit... do not buy Western products, do not spend money on Western holidays (except those that support humanity) ... day by day we will see their power erode.
I can't thank you enough Medhi for your Zeteo platform & informing many of us about what's happening in this world - I live in a ' Liberal democratic country called New Zealand - if one got their news here from the mainstream media we would be totally in the dark about what is really happening - thankfully we have you & your guests to put us right - I share much of your content with my friends - I hope it will make a difference- keep on doing what you do !
Could some talented person do a collage, or exhibit with individual photos and frames, of every child lost to this horrible war? Describe the lovely children with a nice photo, and mention that death came because of weapons "MADE IN THE USA"
A tragic but splendid essay once again by Fatima Bhutto. You've gotten to the very heart of this genocidal rampage that Israel is on and made crystal clear what they are doing to the World. Thank you for your courage and clarity.
This last year really made me lose the last bit of faith I had for our political system, our societies and the media class. There wasn't much left anyway, granted, but still...
From conversations in real life as well as content shared on social media and documentary films like Israelism, I'm convinced that Israelis and Jews worldwide are indoctrinated to hold Palestinians responsible for the crimes of Germany 70-80 years ago.
And like all indoctrination of hate, many grow out of it by engaging with a diverse group of people. I didn't know anyone by name of Palestinian heritage before Israel started slaughteting civilians en masse in Gaza, and now the West Bank. I also never knew anyone by name who disclosed they were in the IDF. The difference between them is stark. Shocking really.
The only way I could best share the comparison is if you've seen Jonathan Glazer's Zone of Interest. The casual, maybe even joyful way the Germans living next to the concentration camp speak of their newfound upward mobility vs the people who endure this behavior with endless, aching anxiety just hoping to live one more day. Most don't even have the impetus to kill their abusers. They just want to be free of them and the pain they inflict.
Normalizing a genocidal level of oppression isn't new to those benefitting tenfold from said oppression. What's shocking is to see just how long Israel has gotten away with this without it being taboo.
Atrocity olympics will get us nowhere toward resolving the contemporary horror of the ME. More hate, more horror, more demonizing on all sides. We are in it together. And until we know that and live it, we are all living with half our heads blown off.
Really! In what parallel world do you live. I better not be confronted with the horrible reality of what my country is supporting. So I'm stopping my paid subscription. Come on woman stop being so pathetic.
Do you see pictures of murder and torture and think "Oh! This is great because it's a true depiction of the world?" I bet you sit around watching murder videos on the dark web because many of those are real too. You, who are not disturbed, are more pathetic.
There's a difference between wanting to KNOW the truth, and LIKING everything that's happening in the world!
Seriously! WTF? Accusing someone of liking snuff videos? As a reaction to the fact that they value the honest reporting of reliable information about a holocaust that needs to be STOPPED?
Accusing Ruth of not caring, when the fact is that she cares enough to INFORM HERSELF?
How can you do ANYTHING about problems if you refuse to see them? There's no argument that can turn wilful blindness into the honourable option. No matter how mad you are at Ruth, for calling you out.
Some people just can’t handle the truth. Rather, the details of the truth. Because the truth is there clear as day and night. Dropping a subscription won’t change that.
Why are you afraid of the truth? Remember, ‘the truth will set you free.’(John 8:32). You are fortunate to live in a time where genocide, ethnic cleansing, and subsequent war crimes are more difficult to be swept under the sand. It's a free country and I'm sure you won't be missed.
I believe the the cause of Palestine is not the cause of Palestinians, but is the cause of humanity and justice for the whole human kind. I do share every word, but I wonder if we are enough evoluted to avoid the repeating of worse predatorial and cruel historical happenings.
Can we ensure Palestine with a future of freedom and safety in their homeland, like South Africans and Vietnam or they wiĺl end up like native Americans, confined to a plot of land after being decimated? Ho can we avoid the repeating of a history of 500 yeats ago?
I don't disagree with a thing you said, but I take issue with this:
> This is blazingly evident given that Israel’s army, like so many criminal and terror outfits around the world, is made up of tens of thousands of foreign fighters – nationals or recent immigrants from France, England, the US, India, and beyond.
At least those "nationals or recent immigrants from France, England, the US, India, and beyond" can trace their ancestry to Palestine. Would you say that Americo-Liberians can't trace their ancestry to Liberia?
That being said, I agree with everything else and that in both cases, they Jewish Israelis and the Americo-Liberians are brutal colonizers despite being in their ancestral land.
I believe this is similar to what Johann Hari in "Lost Connections" referred to with respect to the seemingly endless accounts of personal experiences of severe depressions as "pain porn." A stretch, but in this case: ......"Genocide porn"? Although extremists on both sides have clearly committed genocide, it is a false equivalency: Israel did in fact kick start it all. But Medhi, you're preaching to the choir. I was/am offering "understanding," as I've continued to do so elsewhere. Your famous debater's skills and knockout blows do not necessarily generate understanding. You've won the debate.
From the response to the Oct 6 Zeteo "The While Western Media . . . .":
As has been the case with two previous comments, the censors at Zeteo have been editing out certain portions (correctly pruned to fit the #words requirements) that would allow fellow subscribers to pursue/look up related works by others outside the Zeteo bubble, no matter how supportive I/they have been of Medhi's efforts. As per usual, call it the MSNBC syndrome.
At the likely risk of becoming too annoying--for the last time--can we not try to solicit some "other voices" from "other rooms"? Here, again, sorry, in a much abbreviated version, is another take on these things that may be of interest to some fellow Zeteo supporters. The complete text is available on request from mischa139@gmail. com.
"Gaza, Sophie’s Choice, & The Myth of the Immaculate Victimization Conception"
Nearly a century ago, Max Weber delivered a speech in Munich at the University that had for its topic “Politics as a Vocation.” That address, now more well known in essay form, contained a lot more than just occupational advice about finding a job somewhere in politics and then holding on to it. Indeed, it offers some rather remarkable observations that can serve to kick start our thinking about one of the most horrendous abominations of our time, Gaza and the Palestinians. . . . .
And so what on earth could this seemingly good, decent man be thinking?........... (See some of the last portion there) Two references to relevant texts were later eliminated.
In terms of "preaching to the choir" - a request to 'share' was posted several times throughout the article. I shared; and with my 'share', I made requests for what readers could do after reading. If many did the same - we could introduce any number of people (who are not necessarily members of the choir) to all the wonder of Zeteo.
Hi Jackie. I'm a relative newcomer to Zeteo and maladroit at most of the technical features. It's just been trial and error. I have no idea what "Share" means or does, nor what a "substack" is. For example, I have next to no idea what you mean above, nor what I should do to view your "share." Now as for the "wonder of Zeteo" I would instead describe it as very promising. Unfortunately, some members of the choir have behaved rather badly. But then, what else can one expect from "social media"?
As for whoever is running Zeteo, some of us are getting censored for daring to question certain things in perfectly appropriate language. Quite frankly, I now wouldn't be at all surprised to discover that I am no longer welcome, if not completely banned from the site.
Hi Michael - Sorry, I didn't understand most of your post either. When you said 'preaching to the choir', I thought you were saying those who subscribe to Zeteo already agree with its point of view so what is the point of the articles. When I pressed the 'share' tab, I was able to re-post the post on my facebook page which allowed others who are not subscribed to Zeteo to see it and get some education about what's going on in Gaza. Ergo - more than the 'choir' would see the article. As for members of the choir behaving badly - I don't know anything about that, but sorry to hear it. Also sorry about the censorship issues you are experiencing.
Hi back at you, Jackie. It's a little difficult in this kind of forum to not rush the comments, hence the potential misunderstandings. I simply meant that most likely virtually everyone on Zeteo agrees that Gaza is genocide so continually trying to shock everyone with the atrocities is redundant, if not tiresome. As with so-called depression story "pain porn"--it's kind of like pelting us with higher and higher doses to keep us shocked and appalled. There's really no point. We get it. It will never be "normalized". The piece of mine that I couldn't post entirely was an attempt to broaden the discussion into other areas that might increase our understanding of why someone like Biden--and others--(in addition to the power politics/factions involved in jostling over and carving up the Middle East) could keep feeding the Israeli genocide machine. Long before I started listening to Medhi, Gabor Mate (look him up on You-tube, although he's taken his original "personal" post down, I believe) had already convinced me (the day after 10/7) that we were getting lied to about Gaza--especially the history that lay behind massacre, among other things (settler violence). You and others are welcome to request the full piece, "Gaza, Sophie’s Choice, & The Myth of the Immaculate Victimization Conception." Would be happy to send it out: mischa139@gmail.com. Best wishes. Thank you for not getting caught up in the "social media" frenzy. Zeteo should be way above that. Cooler heads ought prevail.
Michael, yes I have had so many misunderstandings with written communication on social media. I have to admit I have stopped reading some of the articles because of the redundancy of the horror show. So I agree with you on that. Some information, as you say, about the different pieces of the genocide machine and what they are getting out of it would be useful. I've been thinking maybe we should have the 'weekly news' on Zeteo since many of us have signed up because we are so fed up with mainstream news - just have someone reporting on what has happened over the past week with some analysis would be good. I am very familiar with Gabor Mate (a fellow Canadian) and have also learned much from Miko Peled, Norm Finkelstein, and Edward Said on the history and current situation in Palestine. Best wishes back at you. Don't give up, there are always so many things to untangle and set straight with any new endeavor.
Maybe we could start a sub-Zeteo "substack" with a brief statement of purpose and principles within Zeteo or even outside it. Maybe that would be a way to get Medhi's attention. So far, he hasn't responded to constructive criticism from subscribers. How MSNBC, how ironic. A disappointment. Yes, the establishment media is useless. I only watch Amy Goodman now (Democracy Now) and the things on You-tube from Jeffrey Sachs and John Mearsheimer (from my alma mater). Norm Finkelstein is a bit too prickly for me (E.g., Kamala Harris is not a total nothing, as he just claimed; the jury is out on her--if she actually wins. She may get up to 10 million more but the votes in only three or four states actually count for anything), although his Middle East knowledge is extensive. Said has been the original guiding light on these matters.
Missing half their head, missing their whole head, missing their body, missing their legs. I scream in my sleep these days.
Thank you Fatima Bhutto and Mehdi Hasan for brining to light the barbarism of the West.
Thank you Fatima, for exposing the horrors and the anguish that has rained on the Palestinian people for the last one year. Their cry for help has fallen on deaf ears. The world looks on, hands wringing, yet does nothing to stop this injustice, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. How many more pounds of flesh and buckets of blood need to be shed before the colonial occupier’s hunger has been satiated and thirst quenched?
By the way, I grew up in the suburbs of NJ where half the population was Italian/Catholic and half Jewish. The first time someone shared the tattoos on their forearms with me and told me what they meant, what happened to them, I understood that the devil was not that red horned-hooved creature they tried to frighten us with at church. It was man's inhumanity to man that had an insatiable appetite for cruelty beyond comprehension. "Never Again" has become nothing more than a "concept of a plan" thanks to Zionism and genocide apologists for Israel. The silence of our Holocaust Education Centers is in itself an atrocity. Shame on AIPAC. Shame on the ADL. Speaking of which, look up their Pyramid of Hate lesson plan and let me know how Israel is doing.
Beautifully written, hard to read, I would expect no less. @Paula, I understand that it is often too much to absorb and yes we are being battered by images and words daily. But this is the price we pay to help those battered and bombarded year after year by bombs and injustice. I no longer pay subscriptions to Western media, this is one way to fight back. And only support independents. Fatima is right, time is the enemy of Israel. All empires die for one reason, economics, the US is on its last legs and Brics will ensure US debt isn't replaced as readily, which will lead to its downfall and subsequently that of Isreal. On their last legs, they will lash out like the Nazis did in South Africa during apartheid, attacking neighbors left and right, but in the end, they will all run out of money and they will fall. We can all do our bit... do not buy Western products, do not spend money on Western holidays (except those that support humanity) ... day by day we will see their power erode.
I can't thank you enough Medhi for your Zeteo platform & informing many of us about what's happening in this world - I live in a ' Liberal democratic country called New Zealand - if one got their news here from the mainstream media we would be totally in the dark about what is really happening - thankfully we have you & your guests to put us right - I share much of your content with my friends - I hope it will make a difference- keep on doing what you do !
Could some talented person do a collage, or exhibit with individual photos and frames, of every child lost to this horrible war? Describe the lovely children with a nice photo, and mention that death came because of weapons "MADE IN THE USA"
Yes, I am having the same thoughts - a holocaust memorial.
And weapons also made in the U.K...
A tragic but splendid essay once again by Fatima Bhutto. You've gotten to the very heart of this genocidal rampage that Israel is on and made crystal clear what they are doing to the World. Thank you for your courage and clarity.
This last year really made me lose the last bit of faith I had for our political system, our societies and the media class. There wasn't much left anyway, granted, but still...
From conversations in real life as well as content shared on social media and documentary films like Israelism, I'm convinced that Israelis and Jews worldwide are indoctrinated to hold Palestinians responsible for the crimes of Germany 70-80 years ago.
And like all indoctrination of hate, many grow out of it by engaging with a diverse group of people. I didn't know anyone by name of Palestinian heritage before Israel started slaughteting civilians en masse in Gaza, and now the West Bank. I also never knew anyone by name who disclosed they were in the IDF. The difference between them is stark. Shocking really.
The only way I could best share the comparison is if you've seen Jonathan Glazer's Zone of Interest. The casual, maybe even joyful way the Germans living next to the concentration camp speak of their newfound upward mobility vs the people who endure this behavior with endless, aching anxiety just hoping to live one more day. Most don't even have the impetus to kill their abusers. They just want to be free of them and the pain they inflict.
Normalizing a genocidal level of oppression isn't new to those benefitting tenfold from said oppression. What's shocking is to see just how long Israel has gotten away with this without it being taboo.
Atrocity olympics will get us nowhere toward resolving the contemporary horror of the ME. More hate, more horror, more demonizing on all sides. We are in it together. And until we know that and live it, we are all living with half our heads blown off.
If this is a "atrocity Olympics " then the Palestinians are the Jamaican bobsled team whereas Israelis are the US summer Olympic team, no contest.
Except we’re not. My head is intact and I live in relative privilege compared with Palestinians
Seriously?! This whole situation is so disturbing and now this. Too much. I am stopping my paid subscription.
Really! In what parallel world do you live. I better not be confronted with the horrible reality of what my country is supporting. So I'm stopping my paid subscription. Come on woman stop being so pathetic.
Do you see pictures of murder and torture and think "Oh! This is great because it's a true depiction of the world?" I bet you sit around watching murder videos on the dark web because many of those are real too. You, who are not disturbed, are more pathetic.
There's a difference between wanting to KNOW the truth, and LIKING everything that's happening in the world!
Seriously! WTF? Accusing someone of liking snuff videos? As a reaction to the fact that they value the honest reporting of reliable information about a holocaust that needs to be STOPPED?
Accusing Ruth of not caring, when the fact is that she cares enough to INFORM HERSELF?
How can you do ANYTHING about problems if you refuse to see them? There's no argument that can turn wilful blindness into the honourable option. No matter how mad you are at Ruth, for calling you out.
How pathetic, you are disturbed by the reality so instead of working and helping to change that, you prefer self censorship.
ZIOBOT detected
Bye.
Some people just can’t handle the truth. Rather, the details of the truth. Because the truth is there clear as day and night. Dropping a subscription won’t change that.
Why are you afraid of the truth? Remember, ‘the truth will set you free.’(John 8:32). You are fortunate to live in a time where genocide, ethnic cleansing, and subsequent war crimes are more difficult to be swept under the sand. It's a free country and I'm sure you won't be missed.
I believe the the cause of Palestine is not the cause of Palestinians, but is the cause of humanity and justice for the whole human kind. I do share every word, but I wonder if we are enough evoluted to avoid the repeating of worse predatorial and cruel historical happenings.
Can we ensure Palestine with a future of freedom and safety in their homeland, like South Africans and Vietnam or they wiĺl end up like native Americans, confined to a plot of land after being decimated? Ho can we avoid the repeating of a history of 500 yeats ago?
When I see the Star of David I now see the Nazi swastika. For me both are now symbols of death.
I don't disagree with a thing you said, but I take issue with this:
> This is blazingly evident given that Israel’s army, like so many criminal and terror outfits around the world, is made up of tens of thousands of foreign fighters – nationals or recent immigrants from France, England, the US, India, and beyond.
At least those "nationals or recent immigrants from France, England, the US, India, and beyond" can trace their ancestry to Palestine. Would you say that Americo-Liberians can't trace their ancestry to Liberia?
That being said, I agree with everything else and that in both cases, they Jewish Israelis and the Americo-Liberians are brutal colonizers despite being in their ancestral land.
I believe this is similar to what Johann Hari in "Lost Connections" referred to with respect to the seemingly endless accounts of personal experiences of severe depressions as "pain porn." A stretch, but in this case: ......"Genocide porn"? Although extremists on both sides have clearly committed genocide, it is a false equivalency: Israel did in fact kick start it all. But Medhi, you're preaching to the choir. I was/am offering "understanding," as I've continued to do so elsewhere. Your famous debater's skills and knockout blows do not necessarily generate understanding. You've won the debate.
From the response to the Oct 6 Zeteo "The While Western Media . . . .":
As has been the case with two previous comments, the censors at Zeteo have been editing out certain portions (correctly pruned to fit the #words requirements) that would allow fellow subscribers to pursue/look up related works by others outside the Zeteo bubble, no matter how supportive I/they have been of Medhi's efforts. As per usual, call it the MSNBC syndrome.
At the likely risk of becoming too annoying--for the last time--can we not try to solicit some "other voices" from "other rooms"? Here, again, sorry, in a much abbreviated version, is another take on these things that may be of interest to some fellow Zeteo supporters. The complete text is available on request from mischa139@gmail. com.
"Gaza, Sophie’s Choice, & The Myth of the Immaculate Victimization Conception"
Nearly a century ago, Max Weber delivered a speech in Munich at the University that had for its topic “Politics as a Vocation.” That address, now more well known in essay form, contained a lot more than just occupational advice about finding a job somewhere in politics and then holding on to it. Indeed, it offers some rather remarkable observations that can serve to kick start our thinking about one of the most horrendous abominations of our time, Gaza and the Palestinians. . . . .
And so what on earth could this seemingly good, decent man be thinking?........... (See some of the last portion there) Two references to relevant texts were later eliminated.
In terms of "preaching to the choir" - a request to 'share' was posted several times throughout the article. I shared; and with my 'share', I made requests for what readers could do after reading. If many did the same - we could introduce any number of people (who are not necessarily members of the choir) to all the wonder of Zeteo.
Hi Jackie. I'm a relative newcomer to Zeteo and maladroit at most of the technical features. It's just been trial and error. I have no idea what "Share" means or does, nor what a "substack" is. For example, I have next to no idea what you mean above, nor what I should do to view your "share." Now as for the "wonder of Zeteo" I would instead describe it as very promising. Unfortunately, some members of the choir have behaved rather badly. But then, what else can one expect from "social media"?
As for whoever is running Zeteo, some of us are getting censored for daring to question certain things in perfectly appropriate language. Quite frankly, I now wouldn't be at all surprised to discover that I am no longer welcome, if not completely banned from the site.
Hi Michael - Sorry, I didn't understand most of your post either. When you said 'preaching to the choir', I thought you were saying those who subscribe to Zeteo already agree with its point of view so what is the point of the articles. When I pressed the 'share' tab, I was able to re-post the post on my facebook page which allowed others who are not subscribed to Zeteo to see it and get some education about what's going on in Gaza. Ergo - more than the 'choir' would see the article. As for members of the choir behaving badly - I don't know anything about that, but sorry to hear it. Also sorry about the censorship issues you are experiencing.
Hi back at you, Jackie. It's a little difficult in this kind of forum to not rush the comments, hence the potential misunderstandings. I simply meant that most likely virtually everyone on Zeteo agrees that Gaza is genocide so continually trying to shock everyone with the atrocities is redundant, if not tiresome. As with so-called depression story "pain porn"--it's kind of like pelting us with higher and higher doses to keep us shocked and appalled. There's really no point. We get it. It will never be "normalized". The piece of mine that I couldn't post entirely was an attempt to broaden the discussion into other areas that might increase our understanding of why someone like Biden--and others--(in addition to the power politics/factions involved in jostling over and carving up the Middle East) could keep feeding the Israeli genocide machine. Long before I started listening to Medhi, Gabor Mate (look him up on You-tube, although he's taken his original "personal" post down, I believe) had already convinced me (the day after 10/7) that we were getting lied to about Gaza--especially the history that lay behind massacre, among other things (settler violence). You and others are welcome to request the full piece, "Gaza, Sophie’s Choice, & The Myth of the Immaculate Victimization Conception." Would be happy to send it out: mischa139@gmail.com. Best wishes. Thank you for not getting caught up in the "social media" frenzy. Zeteo should be way above that. Cooler heads ought prevail.
Michael, yes I have had so many misunderstandings with written communication on social media. I have to admit I have stopped reading some of the articles because of the redundancy of the horror show. So I agree with you on that. Some information, as you say, about the different pieces of the genocide machine and what they are getting out of it would be useful. I've been thinking maybe we should have the 'weekly news' on Zeteo since many of us have signed up because we are so fed up with mainstream news - just have someone reporting on what has happened over the past week with some analysis would be good. I am very familiar with Gabor Mate (a fellow Canadian) and have also learned much from Miko Peled, Norm Finkelstein, and Edward Said on the history and current situation in Palestine. Best wishes back at you. Don't give up, there are always so many things to untangle and set straight with any new endeavor.
Maybe we could start a sub-Zeteo "substack" with a brief statement of purpose and principles within Zeteo or even outside it. Maybe that would be a way to get Medhi's attention. So far, he hasn't responded to constructive criticism from subscribers. How MSNBC, how ironic. A disappointment. Yes, the establishment media is useless. I only watch Amy Goodman now (Democracy Now) and the things on You-tube from Jeffrey Sachs and John Mearsheimer (from my alma mater). Norm Finkelstein is a bit too prickly for me (E.g., Kamala Harris is not a total nothing, as he just claimed; the jury is out on her--if she actually wins. She may get up to 10 million more but the votes in only three or four states actually count for anything), although his Middle East knowledge is extensive. Said has been the original guiding light on these matters.
What do you think?