Not for the first time I see Germany’s deserved guilt clouding its judgment. Supporting an apartheid regime that is bombing women and children and hospitals will not expunge past crimes. Scholz and Von Der Leyen (she’s an overall disaster IMHO) are too busy mea culpaing to deliver a subtle balanced response to the unfolding disaster.
As I said in parliament last week, there can only be one place for Germany in difficult times: by Israel’s side. The security of Israel and its citizens is Germany’s reason of state. And the German parliament supports this stance unanimously.
Scholz noted that the history of Germany and its role “in the wake of the Holocaust, means it is our duty to stand up for the existence of the state of Israel”
Admitting from the outset that I don’t know much about the subject, my impression is that any public statement about Israel which expresses anything other than total support is likely to be counterproductive and lead to Israel continuing to retaliate irresponsibly and illegally.
I imagine and trust that Joe Biden, who is pretty much the only person in a position of influence over Israel, is doing what he can in private to calm things down.
I hope so and his rush trip today would indicate that. But all he’s doing is trying to calm down a situation that he and many other leaders stoked from the outset. I think they should have been more balanced when they voiced their rightful disgust and what happened on the 11th. While condemning Hamas and the slaughter and voicing support for Israel they should have called for calm and reflection on the next steps. Instead they gave Netanyahu carte blanche and now they are trying to put the genie back in the bottle. It’s a mess.
Is this the war thread part 2? I was quite saddened when what seemed to be about the most important topic around at the moment was suddenly cut off. Affecting the whole world, France included.
One thought I had was that many wars seem started by people wanting to stay in power - thatcher / falklands, bush / Afghanistan, bush (+blair?) / Iraq, Putin / Ukraine. It likely suits both parties in this ‘war’ to escalate - and it’s claimed one side was warned and ignored it.
Some leaders need an enemy to get people to vote for them.
Me too, I thought a respectful and considered discussion had to be shutdown (which I agree with) due to the behaviour of one participant. It felt like a bully had won. I valued the input of our fellow posters.
This one included. Hamas could see the peace negotiations brokered by Saudi and Isreal would quite possibly lead to making their violent form of resistance redundant.
Indeed. It was shut down when it became a flame throwing event rather than what it should have been - a genuine effort to differentiate between truth and perception.
This forum has many balanced and scholarly discussions, the current situation in Isreal and Gaza being one, not forgetting the other in Ukraine, most urgent. Our world is in turmoil and we are generally and genuinely trying to make sense of it with each other.
you could also compare it to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis, ended badly too… It is such a shame that human kind never learns from its history…
And radicals from which ever religion start human suffering that has no bearing to their religion
I would suggest that at the bottom of religious wars you will normally find some very human politics at work. Even if the given reason is a disagreement on theology or practice.
I agree. Religion is just the glue, like being in a club or movement, that binds a group together. Though even the Nazi “club” had their mystic signs and rituals.
It’s terrible that of all people Putin has summed things up succinctly, it’s Leningrad II.