Learn to read, comprehend what you read, think about what you read, and then avoid saying stuff that gets you the exact opposite of what you want. FFS

I agree with a lot of this but this bit is a non-sequitur:

One thing many people don’t realize is that the Zionist colonial project was in motion long before WWII, as far back as the late 1800s.

Political zionism did get started in the late 1800s, as a proposed solution to the centuries of pogroms, expulsions and discrimination against Jews in Europe. Prior to the horrors of WWII, most Jews considered it literal heresy. It was the Holocaust that convinced many that Zionism was their only option, not least because most of the free world closed its borders to Jews fleeing the Holocaust and its aftermath. There was nowhere else to go.

This is a very useful short piece by a Jewish anti-zionist, pleading with the pro-Palestinian movement to take more care with their understanding of history: Zionism, Antisemitism and the Left Today

The Palestinians are paying the price for Europe’s crimes. The problem cannot be solved by denying that those crimes ever happened.

It doesn’t matter? This incident was doubly antisemitic, preventing someone from protesting because they are Jewish, and assuming that pro-Palestinian protesters would attack them simply because they were Jewish (ie equating Jewishness with support for Israel and criticism of Israel with antisemitism).

Yes, he’s a provocateur. So what? If the copper had said it was because they wanted to keep the two groups of protesters apart (as they routinely do, or are supposed to do), that would be fine. But he decided to be racist about it instead.

She was crap at her job but she was also too inexperienced for it and employed to do it by cost-cutting producers who took so many shortcuts on set safety, half the crew walked out before this happened.

More powerful heads need to roll.

Exactly the same arguments applied to Ariel Sharon (who was the malignant force in power 20 years ago). Getting rid of him made little difference.

The Occupation demands resistance (and the right to resist it is enshrined in international law). That resistance, and the need for Israel to maintain such an enormous military force that it requires universal conscription and every adult male to serve in the reserves, keeps Israelis fearful. And fear is what triggers support for authoritarianism. And, of course Aliyah tends to attract the most extreme authoritarians, keeping the authoritarian-inclined proportion of the population relatively high.

They’re not going to stop electing genocidal maniacs because those genocidal maniacs create the fear that causes a substantial proportion of the population to vote for them. They never win a majority but, under Israel’s electoral system, they don’t have to. All governments are coalitions and it is very difficult to put together a coalition without some of the more extremist parties involved (whether they are welcome or not). And those small extremist parties can (and do) bring the government down any time they feel like it.

Pretending Israel’s problems, and the problem that is Israel in its current form, can be solved by new elections is no effort at all. It’s the Democrats’ comfort blanket. Everything will be fine if only the right people are in charge. Look away, no structural problems to see here.

No there isn’t.