I just got finished deleting a post which attacked generically “the Jews” as opposed to “Israel” or “Zionism.” We’ve had this discussion in the past about distinguishing between the concepts and whether the conflation is proof positive by some Anti-Defamation League types that the latter two words are often code for the former, much as “affirmative action” is often code for more racist concepts.

Then I checked my email. Here’s a video of a Ft. Lauderdale demonstration and a referencing L.A. Times Column.

I know, I know. They’re oppressed. They can’t help themselves. They have a right to say those things.

Addendum: Yes, I know they’re angry.  And these photographs justify the anger.  It’s not the anger I object to.  It’s the hate.

Here’s a brief editorial entitled “the Ignored Choices in Gaza.”  It lays out some missed opportunities by both sides of the conflict.  Unfortunately, hundreds of Palestinians and a handful of Israelis pay the price.  And the outcomes for either side look bleak:

Now, inside war, the options look even more limited. Hamas wants some accomplishment to show for the conflict. It is desperate enough to consider Egypt as a diplomatic intermediary, though Egypt has no interest in the Islamic movement claiming a victory. When they decided to use force to stop the rocket fire, Israel’s leaders did not seem to have defined a way to end the war. The exit strategy was outside the narrow frame.

Reconquering the Strip would be a tactical victory and strategic disaster, turning the Israeli army into a daily target for guerrilla warfare. Shattering the Hamas regime would leave Gaza in chaos. According to the annual report of Israel’s Shin Bet security service (Hebrew report here), there’s been an increase in activity in Gaza by groups that identify with al-Qaeda and other forms of world jihad. Israel could find itself nostalgic for Hamas exercising a monopoly on force.

Reportedly, Israel seeks an international agreement to crack down on arms smuggling to Gaza, with foreign forces deployed on the Egyptian-Gaza border. But will foreign troops really engage in gun battles with Palestinians? The experience with international forces in Lebanon doesn’t lead one to think so. Yet to avoid conquering all of Gaza, Israel may have to accept a ceasefire that contains only the façade of a solution.

Second Addendum: People keep sending me depressing material. I’ll post this one, but enough already.  For some reason the embed function isn’t working, but it’s a horrific video ostensibly of Hamas soldiers using a child as a shield.  There’s no way to verify that’s what we’re looking at, but there it is.

And this one: “My father was no militant, but Israel’s bombs reduced him to a pile of flesh.”