Highlights: Joe Biden and top aides have discussed the likelihood that Benjamin Netanyahu’s political days are numbered — and the president has conveyed that sentiment to the Israeli prime minister in a recent conversation.
Biden has gone so far as to suggest to Netanyahu that he should think about lessons he would share with his eventual successor, the two administration officials added.
I’ve got news for the Biden administration. Lashing themselves to a fascist ethnostate and participating in their genocidal campaign is going to have political consequences for themselves too.
Unfortunately no it won’t. Republicans are even worse about Israel than Democrats are, so unless someone who opposes Israel and can somehow gain mainstream support enters the race, Biden’s probably gonna win.
Why do people act like voter turnout isn’t ever an issue leading up to an election?
A third of our country usually don’t vote. It’s been less than a decade since trump managed to win because Clinton depressed turnout… For lots of Americans, casting a ballot can take hours after a full day of work. Potential positive rewards is always more effective than potential punishments, that’s just human psychology.
And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but someone doesn’t need to win the popular vote to be president. A couple states decided by less than 100,000 votes can swing for any number of reasons that dont exist in a vacuum. It doesn’t need to be a single one issue. A bunch that have small effects is just as effective as a single large one.
Like, man, that shit just happened. We all just lived through that.
To further this point, there are 200,000 registered Muslim voters in Michigan. 16 electoral votes that Biden barely clinched with around 155,000 votes.
For lots of Americans, casting a ballot can take hours after a full day of work.
With the recent (last ten years) political silliness, I’ve started to schedule election day(s) off each year.
But I want to talk about something you may not know, or didn’t mention, that makes your point even more important. In some places, the polling place/election booths are literally in the lobby of an old folks home.
What this means, is while you and I and all the working people in this country have to schedule time off, and work around their jobs to vote, Ethel, who can barely walk, doesn’t remember her kid’s names, and thinks Gerald Ford is the current president gets to just drive her Rascal down to the lobby to vote. And it’s easy to sway the people in the retirement home with conservative talking points.
Fracturing your coalition (even if you are only cleaving off a few percent) in a political environment as tight as we have, is really problematic.
Many Muslim Americans have more interests in common with Republicans than Democrats - except for identity. Identity is only one component of a person’s decision of how to vote.
Biden is endangering far more than he seems to appreciate.
That you say “probably gonna win.” is a risk I’m loathe to take.
That you say “probably gonna win.” is a risk I’m loathe to take.
Yeah makes sense. Also I guess I didn’t consider the voter turnout part. Yeah he, and America, might be fucked.
That aside, I’d say a Muslim that actually looks at policy would consider republicans to be like a lot worse than democrats, but that puts too much trust in the average voter.
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Not surprising, Netanyahu was facing fairly large protests against his authoritarian actions before the war started. Protests against Israel’s judicial overhaul kick off at Supreme Court a day before crucial hearing. This was 11 September 2023, just 3 weeks before the war escalated.
Nobody should have the amount of power or weild it for as long as he has. He’s corrupt through and through and he needs to go. Nobody who has the power he has would be uncorrupted
Then why are we backing his every move
Why do you assume we (the USA) are? I think it’s far more likely that there are disagreements and negotiations going on which are not being announced publicly, because the public announcement of such things wouldn’t send the right message.
Yes, god forbid that we send a message that humans matter in any meaningful way. Anyway I’m glad to hear that Biden has a secret plan that contradicts nearly all of his actions and rhetoric to date.
Of course I can only guess what happens in secret negotiations, but my guess is that their main goal is to keep this conflict contained in Gaza rather than involving Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies. To this end, the US might counsel avoiding actions that would be particularly provocative even if they serve a legitimate military purpose. But despite any disagreement, the appearance of total solidarity is essential, since Iran is much less likely to get involved if that appears to risk war with the US.
Negotiations while giving him a shitton of money are still backing his every move.
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Investments that are already in place is my guess. The u.s wants to keep Israel as an ally but knows that Netanyahu needs to go, so they may be becomingy Israel but are starting to seperate the two.
Counterpoint: Netanyahu know this and he won’t let this “war” stop so he can stay in power
He won’t. Bibi will be gone when the shooting stops. Israel has a history of these things.
And by then the genocide will be complete
I really am tired of throwing an important term like genocide around. When you say “Stop Palestinian Genocide” ask why the Palestinian population in Gaza increased by 100% in 20 years (The pop birth must decline for genocide). Why is there no prerequisite systemic mass murder of EVERY ONE OF THE 2.1 MILLION GAZANS? … like Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, or what HAMAS tried on 10-7. Try some facts before you throw around terms you obviously don’t understand.
This Israeli historian and Holocaust scholar disagrees with you.
https://www.newsweek.com/holocaust-historian-israel-committing-genocide-raz-segal-1835346
Just bc it’s your OPINION it isn’t a legal basis of fact. Has Israel’s policy skirted it in aspects? Clearly, but War against terrorists is not genocide by definition even with civilian casualties.
Here is the original article, it’s more detailed. What are your specific disagreements with it? I find the Professor’s arguments persuasive.
Genocide requires an intent to destroy an ethnic group. The article does not make a good case for this, eg citing comments by Biden and von der Leyen that were clearly directed at Hamas, not Palestinians in general.
That’s not to say that Israel is doing the right thing. I don’t they are. We are certainly seeing the horror of a botched war. I’m not so certain we are seeing genocide.
FTA:
“It’s not only Israel’s leaders who are using such language. An interviewee on the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 called for Israel to “turn Gaza to Dresden.” Channel 12, Israel’s most-watched news station, published a report about left-leaning Israelis calling to “dance on what used to be Gaza.” Meanwhile, genocidal verbs—calls to “erase” and “flatten” Gaza—have become omnipresent on Israeli social media. In Tel Aviv, a banner reading “Zero Gazans” was seen hanging from a bridge.”
I mean, it’s the opinion of a well respected (Israeli) historian whose focus is history’s largest genocide. Does his opinion not merit your consideration? Who would you have to hear define this as a genocide to begin considering it as such?
It seems you are the one who doesn’t understand the term. There’s a very specific definition for it established by the UN: https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml
Namely:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
Killing members of the group;
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
Nowhere does it say every member of the population needs to be murdered. And Israel is very clearly checking the first three boxes at the very least.
The intent to “destroy, in whole or in part, a … group” is an essential component of genocide as defined by the UN. Civilian casualties as an inevitable consequence of warfare in a densely populated area are not genocide.
And Isreali officials have repeatedly stated they want Gazans gone, calling them human animals and the like.
And if that wasn’t enough, there’s this shit.
https://kbin.social/m/[email protected]/t/588452/Israeli-Government-Mulls-Forcible-Permanent-Transfer-of-2-2-Million-Gaza
I think you’re right, in that what Israel has been doing to Palestinians over the past 70+ years is more accurately described as “ethnic cleansing”
Call me when the UN makes a referral to the International Criminal Court. Until then this remains a law broken in your mind.
Are you implying that crimes only exist if they’re reported/prosecuted?
Remind me in 2 weeks
Psst, lets not call that guy. His takes are bad and he’s universally unpleasant.
As is TinyPizza
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The UN Genocide Convention lists five acts that fall under its definition. Israel is currently perpetrating three of these in Gaza: “1. Killing members of the group. 2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group. 3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
Israel has loudly proclaimed this intent. Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant declared it in no uncertain terms on October 9th: “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we will act accordingly.”
Ah, right, Hamas is the one committing genocide. Of course! Why didn’t we see it before!
They’re ethnically cleansing Gaza as we speak. I understand you are likely an American with pro-Israel sentiment, likely born out of a respect for the Jewish people and decades of history of America supporting this state, but you need to stop missing the forest for the trees here. They are committing war crimes on the daily, bombing hospitals and refugee camps. This is not acceptable and is a crime against humanity.
This affair began with butchery for sure and yes war crimes. But, I didn’t hear your voice when it happened. If you publicly support the innocent Palestinian People, as I do, you had better condemn HAMAS in the same breath.
“I didn’t hear your voice in this” ???
My dude. I’m a random stranger on the internet. You just met me. Come on.
I’ve supported the Palestinian people since day one. And I’ll gladly condemn any he actions or Hamas, though I can understand that the way their people have been treated over the years would lead them to this. It’s Israel’s 9/11. Just like America; this was an inevitability for Israel.
Their people…,
Yeah. The human beings.
“Your political days are numbered… man, I’m tired. Here’s 50 billion dollars. Now my political days are numbered too.”