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Israel and Hamas; When rockets from Gaza fall on black folks.

August 1, 2014 by  
Filed under News, Opinion, Politics, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) On just about every channel that you turn to there is a news story about what’s going on in Israel. Daily we are bombarded with images of communities that lay in ruin after just having been bombed. Both war wearied sides of the conflict are pointing fingers at the other saying “it’s their fault.” Meanwhile the American media, quick to capitalize on the over-abundance of grief stricken victims on both sides of the conflict, inundate us with images of death and carnage. Truly in war there are no victors.

To the average American this war is truly a world away, not only in distance but in cultural relevance. After all, they have been fighting each other literally since two brothers had a disagreement over a birthright more than 3500 years ago. The only difference then was that there was no television to broadcast it.

For many within the black community seeing this kind of destruction and chaos is a daily reality. Our communities are disproportionately littered with the carnage of death and despair. According to recent studies, 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 20 to 34 have been in prison. In fact black men are 6 times as likely to go to prison as any other ethnic group in this country. Our life expectancy rate, on average, is 4 years less than that of whites. Our communities are disproportionately plagued by violence, high unemployment, poor education and a low economic ceiling.Hamas-2014

All of these things, plus our history in this country, create a level of apathy in the minds of many African Americans. We don’t see that what’s going on in the Middle East as really affecting us that much, if at all. The feeling is, “hey, we have our own problems here to solve.” And while that sentiment is true, we do have a lot of problems here to solve, staying ignorant about the conflict between Israel and HAMAS will do us more harm than good.

Without getting into all of the exhaustive twists and turns that characterizes the shifting sands of relationships in the Middle East, Israel became a state in 1948. Immediately that claim was challenged by a league of Arab nations and war ensued. Israel won and proceeded to strategically buffer itself from hostile enemies on all sides while adhering to a UN mandate to allow for an Arab state within ancestral Arab land. This land became known as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, both controlled by what is now called the Palestinian Authority.

A major point of contention between Israel and its Arab inhabitants is what land belongs to Israel versus what land belongs to the Arabs? Neither side agrees with the other, so conflict often ensues. Within each camp are moderates and hard-liners. HAMAS is the hard-liner militant faction of Arabs who disavow the creation of an Israeli state. Their stated cause, in their covenant, says that they want to eliminate the Jews from the face of the earth and install an Islamic caliphate.

Herein lies why African Americans should be mindful of the events in Israel. Should HAMAS succeed in its ultimate goal, which is highly unlikely, then that entire region will be ruled by people who are hostile to the United States. Why is this important? Because when the twin towers fell in New York City the terrorist aboard those planes didn’t care if there were any black people who woke up that morning, kissed their spouses and children and then went to work so that they could support their families. They didn’t care that a community already ravaged by violence and absentee parents would now be straddled with instant orphans. They killed indiscriminately.

Being apathetic to what’s going on in the world does not make the very real problem of international terrorism go away. The act of going on an airplane is almost like receiving a lap dance now: the TSA can touch you, but you can’t touch them. Everyone is a suspected terrorist, including African Americans. We are not immune to the aftermath of 9-11 because of the color of our skin or because of our struggle in these United States. (And, in case you were wondering a Caliphate is an Islamic state of Muslim faithful ruled by sharia (Islamic) law. This means that if you’re not Muslim then you’re considered an infidel and can be legally executed if you don’t convert.)

This is not an indictment against Islam. Most of the Islamic world resides outside of the Middle East and is peace-loving. This is an indictment against maniacal zealots who are willing to kill for a very narrow and self-destructive political viewpoint.

Black folks need to be aware that what goes on in the Middle East directly affects them. If HAMAS wins, an Islamic caliphate will be declared. Jihad (or holy war) will follow afterwards and the United States, referred to as the great Satan, will become the target of every jihadist seeking to gain entry into paradise. Black people will not be spared by a Middle Eastern people who did not outlaw slavery until the 1940’s and still import black African slaves to their countries as servants. This brand of Islamic fundamentalism still enslaves black people in Africa and imposes heavy taxes, or death, on those who do not convert.

Israel’s fight for survival is not without bloody hands. No war is. Still Israel does not export the same brand of terrorism that those surrounding them do. Israel doesn’t enslave black Africans, nor does it require its inhabitants to be Jewish. In fact there are Arab members of its Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

So, don’t sleep on the Middle East or what’s happening between Israel and Hamas. Understanding the dynamics of the struggle, on both sides, is very important. 

Staff Writer; Steven Robinson

May also visit this talented writer over at; http://noroomtowiggle.wordpress.com/.

 

 


Comments

18 Responses to “Israel and Hamas; When rockets from Gaza fall on black folks.”
  1. Truthseeker says:

    Steve, your fact seems to be a bit murky. First off the struggle between the palestinians and the “Israelis” not Israelites (keep that in mine) is not one of two indigenous people to the same land fighting to establish their respective sovereign territory. No. The fact of the matter is the native Palestinians are in a life struggle to expel a parasitic invading death cult, whose bloodline is traced back to the Caucus Mountains. So if any of the two parties should be supported by the international community… naturally it should be the native Palestinians i.e HAMAS. Unfortunately the world seems to be operating ass backwards these days. A nation on the verge of being overran by Godless invaders, has a God given right to defend itself, not the invaders. Has the lessons of the struggle of apartheid South Africa been lost on you brother??? SMH. You also claimed that the Syrian government who is a supporter of HAMAS is also a supporter of ISIS. The Fact is, ISIS (funded and given safe haven by TURKEY) is a tool of the west, created to over through the very same Syrian government and spread anarchy in the region. As we speak ISIS’s guns are aimed at Damascus. You also stated that HAMAS’s neighbours know them best and is unwilling to support them. You fail to understand that all Arab government that enjoys diplomatic relation with Amerikkka and Is-real-Hell are in fact vassals and would dare not utter a word against their over lord. Please go back and do your research before writing articles on matters that aren’t clear to you.

  2. Steve says:

    This article was not written as a PR piece for Israel. In fact it’s pretty balanced because I too have travelled to that region and, quite honestly, there is no parallel here in the states.
    The Israeli government has the blood of millions of innocent lives on its hands. Hamas has the blood of tens of thousands. This is not a disputed fact. Neither organization can take the political high-ground on this issue. The only way that HAMAS will be happy is for Israel to not exist. That is their stated goal. You have hard-liners and moderates on both sides who don’t see it that way.
    So then my question is this: should we stand idly by as HAMAS, supported by Syria (which helps to fund ISIS members and gives them a safe-haven) take over that region? At the end of all of the political and cultural posturing, that’s what the question really is. Should HAMAS be allowed to have EVERYTHING they want, unfettered and un-regulated. The Arab world doesn’t even agree on this, and they have a much clearer understanding of who HAMAS really is.
    I remain unapologetic in my stance and dare anyone to provide a balanced and effective counter-argument on why HAMAS is the good guy.
    Russia is mostly silent on this issue because they see the USA’s support of Israel as a possible encroachment against their national sovereignty being that the region in question is a mere 1000 miles from its outermost borders. The Russian’s, as a result of their terrible history, are always very sensitive to outside countries encroaching on its borders. HAMAS provides a very convenient buffer presence in that region. So HAMAS is proving a very effective tool in that region, as well as Israel.
    I understand the issue very clearly.

  3. Third I says:

    The author of this article is either a willful lackey or Uninformed. Israel supported apartheid South Africa. Scott I agree with you 100%. This author needs to educate himself and stop trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the people on behalf of his Zionist paymasters. We live in the Information Age. Educate yourself before writing such bias garbage. For God sakes stop with the ass kissing. You sound like a CNN mouthpiece.

  4. Amatullah says:

    Please check the facts, give citations and stats before writing articles. This was a waste of time.

  5. Mike says:

    Sigh Lewis….so my eyewitness personal experience is no match for your revelation? Sounds familiar. It was fun while it lasted.

  6. lewis orr says:

    Mike, I don’t know where you’re trying to go with this long winded disjointed babble, all of which makes no sense at all. I stand on my last comments. Your facts are fictions of your own fantisies, and I’m through entertaining your delusions. I never argue with fools, for then who’s the fool? I’m done with you!

  7. Mike says:

    Lewis, how am I loose with my facts? Again, in case I didn’t make it abundantly clear, people over there HATE each other. Jews are typically not allowed in the walled city if they value their lives. Yes, my friends took me to the entry point and stayed behind, which is customary. My Arab tour guide was equally as accommodating (as long as I visited his family’s souvenir shop, which I did, he told me everything I wanted to know.) And, yes, I used Compton as a comparison because parts of that city, to this day, have still not recovered from the devastation of the Watts riots nor the riots that took place after the Rodney King verdict. I can assure you that while the majority of that city is comprised of compassionate and loving people it is hardly the aesthetic model of a peaceful, well manicured suburban getaway. Perhaps Lynwood, Lakewood or even Gardena would match those standards better. And, since you know your history so well, do you find it ironic that Theodor Herzl, an avowed atheist and founder of modern political Zionism, stated in 1902 that after helping the Jews that he wanted to “assist in the redemption of Africans.” It’s ironic that after Israel’s independence that several prominent African nations declared independence from Britain. Of course this can be viewed as political expediency on the part of Israel or as a source of inspiration for African nations.

    Funny how the modern state of Israel doesn’t support modern day slavery and forced child labor like many Middle Eastern nations do. Lastly, if you were President of the United States of America, who would you wholesale support in that region? Iran? Jordan? Lebanon? A disjointed Palestinian Authority? Turkey? Egypt? Would you leave out supporting Israel? In the end there is only one logical answer that any president, black or white, has. Supporting Israel does not mean that we agree with everything they do, no more than being American means that we support everything that this country stands for.

  8. Lewis Orr says:

    Mike, its you whose loose with your facts, didn’t you say when you went into the walled city your Jewish guide stayed behind? Which is it your Jewish guide or your friends that showed you around? And please don’t say both! Malaysia is a country and city/state. And where are you going with comparing the gritty side of Israel to Compton? Compton has well kept houses with tidy lawns as most cities in California! I have no animosity toward White Europeans although many in that region and around the world do! That’s because of the subjugation and colonization of the middle east and Africa for the domination and profit of White europeans. Don’t challenge me on Black History which is World History, you will lose everytime. And don’t bring up President Obama who is favoring Israel and seeming to be a token after centuries of segregation.

  9. Mike says:

    Lewis,
    I intentionally did not only go on the holy land tours. I have Jewish friends who live there and stayed with them. They took me to the gritty side of Israel, and, even to my amazement, it didn’t look like Compton. I visited a few Kibbutz’s (sp) in the northern part of the country. These collectives were pretty austere, even by American standards. I actually saw missiles flying overheard into Israel. It was WILD.
    The Israeli’s and Arabs looked like cousins. They weren’t white Europeans. The ones who had history in the land were varying shades of brown. The best way I can describe them is they looked almost like darker complexioned Mexicans. I don’t understand where the animus towards Europeans is playing into this. I can only go off of what I saw and experienced while I was there. No one mistreated me because I was black or American.
    The most amazing thing about travelling to that region of the world was that I went with one opinion and came back with another. The Israel I saw on TV was not the Israel I saw when I was there. Ironically I was treated worse in Germany in France than I was in all of Israel and the walled city under Palestinian control.
    Is it a utopia? Of course not. Would I want to live there? No. Do I understand why most Jews and Muslims don’t like one another? Yes. Is either side 100% right? No.
    I do not understand your point that you’re trying to make other than you don’t agree with the writer, which is fine. And, where on this planet can you travel outside of the sphere of US influence, albeit good or bad?
    When a Black man is president of any country within Malaysia or any other non black country that you’re eluding to then your argument will be more valid. Until then my point is proven.

  10. lewis orr says:

    Mike you need to come off your high horse. Just because you took a tour of the Holy Land doesn’t make you Indiana Jones, or a world traveler. Your paid tour guide is only going to take you to safe tourist friendly locations, they would never take you to the Black bottom, no tour guide would.

    What you need to understand is White people are only indigenous to Europe, although they have migrated all over the world. Most people are of color, and have dark complexed or Black people within their race. You might not know that by the news medias. And yes I can name several countries where a Christian Black man can get equal respect, Malaysia for one a friendly country. You might not also understand the term “friendly country” you have to travel outside the American sphere of influence. Your shy referrence to Obama doesn’t deserve a reply.

    Robert is right, in the lopsided arms and civilian deaths.

  11. Mike says:

    To all the NOI followers, stop allowing yourselves to be the tool of ultra left leaning Allison Weir. She is a classic white liberal who will never see you as an equal, but rather as someone who needs the correction, and guidance, of an all-knowing white savior. She is so loose with her facts that she should write fiction full time. You discredit yourselves by using her as a source of any kind.
    My question is this: to all you black folks who want to hate on Israel, can you name me one country in the world that is ruled by Islamic fundamentalists where non-Muslim black people are afforded the same rights and freedoms as Muslim black people? Can you name me a country anywhere else in the world where Black people make up less than 15% of the population yet a Black man is the Commander in Chief?
    When I was in that region I moved through Israel without any incident. There were rocket attacks everyday. One of the first things we learned as tourists was where the bomb shelters were. Sirens were always going off, so much so that, most of the time, the people there ignored them and went on with life.
    When I went into the Palestinian portion behind the walled city of Bethlehem, yeah, as an American it felt strange. My Jewish tour guides stayed behind and I was escorted by an Arab tour guide who was equally as nice(maybe because they both wanted my tourist dollars). I understood the resentment Palestinians had towards Jews, and vice versa. How could I not? The tension in the air was ever present and it always felt like something could jump off at any second.
    But here’s where it gets interesting. In Israel I saw mosques, Christian churches, Buddhists temples and met many atheist. Twenty percent of Israel’s population is Arab, and as an American fed on propaganda from the media this isn’t what I expected. And, just so you know, Black people make up less than 15% of the total population of the United States. There is a greater percentage of Arabs in Israel than Black folks in the United States.
    And it was easy to see.
    In the walled city, I didn’t see as much of that diversity, nor did I see a power elite that was ethnically black. But, according to many of you black folks who have drank the “Hate-the-Jew” Kool-Aid it would be much better under those circumstances than in Israel.
    Really?
    In Israel I saw rich and poor, young and old, good and bad, Arab and Israeli (which I couldn’t tell the difference between). I went to the bad side of town as well as the good side. What did I see? People of every ethnicity and ideology living in both places.
    Was there racism? I’m sure there was. All I’m saying is that I didn’t see it to the extent that I experience it here in these United States on a daily basis.
    So, please, miss me with all of your regurgitated Jew hatred crap, especially when many of you are still hung up on the buffoonery of light skin versus dark skin. Until you go over there and see how people are actually living then all you can do is listen to race baiters who either want Israel gone or who want something that never existed in the first place, namely a Palestinian state.
    It’s effed up what’s happening over there. It’s a real mess, and I feel sorry for a lot of my friends on both sides of the wall. At the end of the day I want people to just get along and not interfere with my flow.

  12. ROBERT says:

    WHAT this latest assault on the people GAZA has bought to light is the mentality of the JEWS because most people are not aware of what JEWS actually think and believe.

    SINCE they control our media and therefore our information they simply wrote themselves out the script.

    BUT it’s a different ball game with internet and we no longer need their media for information.

    WHAT we are now witnessing is just how savage and evil the JEWS actually are because no sane or rational people would do what these people are doing before the whole worlds eyes.

    KEEP in mind these monsters have complete control over our government from the president on down which is why AMERICA is just guilty of war crimes as they are.

    READ the articles below one was printed and then retracted by the times of ISRAEL because it exposed them for who they really are these are clearly not normal people!

    http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/gazaunderattack-timesofisrael-publishes-deletes-when-genocide-is-permissible/

    http://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2014/07/31/idf-sniper-admits-to-murdering-13-gazan-children-on-instagram

    http://en.alalam.ir/news/1612199?utm_source=Alalam+English+Website&utm_campaign=80cfdc80b6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e03004d72d-80cfdc80b6-304224645&mc_cid=80cfdc80b6&mc_eid=75f801dd89

  13. Yankele says:

    Scotty said, “And lets us not forget Africans sold other Africans to Arabs and Europeans.” Arabs WERE the main slave-trade link to Europe & the Americas. Hardly any Jews were involved. Stop repeating the NOI racist Judeo-pathic lies. By the way, Jews are the indigenous people in Judea, the Land of Israel. After Roman conquest & occupation, murder and forced exile, continued occupation by the Byzantines, Muslims, Crusaders, and Turks, Jews are returning to their now politically independent ancient homeland. Israel is nothing more than the Jewish Affirmative Action State. P.S. good well-balanced article. And, Yes, under Jihadist Islam all non-Muslims will be turned into Dhimmis or killed. Israel is the Front-Line battleground of the non-Muslim world for self-preservation!

  14. Eric says:

    I agree with Steven. Similar statements have been made before by other people (who are removed from the issue of race, such as Brigitte Gabriel). During 9/11 Palestinians were dancing in the streets.

    @Scotty
    If you want to compare Israel and the Palestinians in terms of relations to Blacks then look up Operation Magic Carpet. Additionally, if you actually look at the many Jewish rights activists such as Henry Moskowitz who was one of the founders of the NAACP.

    Additionally, the founding of Israel did not displace any ‘native populations’. The Muslims that left did so because their leaders promised they would be able to come back when the Jews were driven into the sea.

    Finally, if Israel was trying to commit a genocide then the number of Palestinian deaths would be much, much higher.

    @Lewis
    You make much better points than Scotty but I would reiterate that I recommend looking up Bridgette Gabriel. Additionally, most of the aid that the US gives to Israel does not come as cash, it is required to be equipment made by US companies, such as Lockheed Martin, which means that this money is going to US workers, not to Israel.

    @Aristotles
    To the best of my understanding Zionism was formed for the same reason as Garveyism: both were to give land to a globally oppressed minority population what did not have a nation ruled by said minority IN THE WORLD. Many of the Zionist leaders, such as Theodore Herzl, were atheists and only considered themselves Jewish because they were persecuted for it. Many of them would have been happy if the Jewish State would have been formed in Uganda.

    @Eleanore
    Alison Weir has been criticized by the Guardian, which is hardly pro-Israel, for making false claims. Weir is also NOT a historian-she is a reporter which means she has a much different priority.

    Deanna Spingola cannot make the claim Weir can that she has dealt with involved people. Spingola’s biography on her website starts, “Deanna Spingola has authored two books on quilt design, an activity that required methodical analysis and mathematical exactness.” This hardly seems to be appropriate pathos to be writing on historical subjects with any degree of accuracy.

    I would recommend you look at the Skeptics Dictionary’s entry on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. You seem to be buying into libel stories so I think you should know the most famous one recently is effectively a plagiarism of a satire

  15. Eleanore says:

    Thank you Scotty for your intelligent comments on this article. The author, Steven Robinson, is obviously over his head on this one. I suggest Steven that you go do some research on the Zionist Jews. A good book to start with is: ‘Against Our Better Judgement’ by Alison Weir. It will give you some background information on who the Zionist Jews really are. Then read: ‘The Ruling Elite: The Zionist Seizure of World Power.’ What is happening in the Middle East between Hamas and the Zionist Jews is way to serious to be taken so lightly.

  16. Aristotles says:

    Christianity has been widely subverted to something called Evangelicalism. Evangelicalism is a perversion: modern Christianity infiltrated by archaic Judaism, a strange sort of hybrid in Gnostic magic. It’s harder for a conservative Evangelical to believe that his religion has been compromised than to believe the Jews are controlling even that very thing. But the outcome is that the Evangelical feels a specious, non-Christian, connection to Israel, and some sort of duty to defend the Jews.

    Zionism and Evangelicalism both share the attribute-value that who you are is more important than what you do. The “who you are” is always an archetypical image which grants power or supremacy over others, and varies by cultural context. “I am an [entitled] victim of G-d”, or “I am an [empowered] heir of God” are the corresponding images. Radical Feminism, with its “I am [superior] woman!”, likewise. Under guise of these artificial self-images, one can justify just about any action.

    Thus comes together the absolute effort to justify absolutely whatever Israel might do.

    Christianity is Greek, not Jewish. The early market demographic, growth share, and philosophical/theological basis of Christianity was Greek, not Jewish. The guts of the thing were worked out by Greek-speaking monks and hermits within the first 100 years A.D. or so; the Jews continued on their own way. The New Testament – written in Greek, not Hebrew – supplanted the old as core scripture, the beginning of John’s gospel (Hellenic metaphysics unapproachable via Jewish mysticism) became the single most read passage of writing on the planet, and the entire ritual and law and praxis remembered of Judaism faded overnight.

    Christians are not beholden to Judaism in religion; neither should they be beholden to Israel in politics.

  17. Lewis Orr says:

    Your entire argument is totally unfounded, both sides treat Blacks with utter contempt. You are obviously siding with the Jews were Ambassador Kerry has even said the Israeli state has Black Jews in a state of apartheid, of course the Jewish money interest Forced him retract the statement.
    It makes no sense for American Blacks to waste their meger resources on someone else’s fight that prophets them nothing. We are the only people that spend all our money outside our community. If we were propheting as the MIC is selling arms to both sides, then maybe.
    We can’t do as the United States does changing sides as the winds of the fortunes of war blow. Siding with the Sunnis against the Shithist and now switching to the other side. Supporting Iraq against Iran and now wanting to side with Iran. Unless either side puts something on the table, let them bomb themselves back to the stone age. There are always collateral damages, that’s what the Jews are saying. I know this sounds unChristian, but what side in this war can the Christians be on?

  18. Scotty says:

    This is some straight up Zionist propaganda playing on the intelligence of Black people. Donald Sterling told you Israel treats Black Jews like dogs, there videos all over Youtube showing racism by the white Ashkenazi Jew against Black Jews and African Refugees who have had their women forcibly sterilized just like Americans did and still do to black women in America. Not to mention that this writer would have you believe that Black/African Palestinians do not exist although you can youtube Black Palestinian and see them. He has to try to play on African Americans emotions about slavery but fails to point out like the Nation of Islam’s research department and others, the role of white Jews in the enslavement of African people. And lets us not forget Africans sold other Africans to Arabs and Europeans. Israel is a white supremacist settler nation built on stolen land from Arabs and Africans, just like America was founded on the theft and genocide against Native American tribes. People do your own research if you doubt anything I’ve posted here. Genocide is wrong no matter who is committing it and no matter who it is being committed against. Anyone who puts out such garbage propaganda is an agent of zionism. Black people are not stupid and how dare you insult our intelligence.

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