Horror in Israel
RWL #364
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! Do you know those Saturday nights where you’ve been busy all day and all you want to do is chill out and not even go out, but just stay home, kick back, maybe a little Netflix and Chill? That’s the kind of night we had at the newly empty nest this past weekend. Neither of us wanted to go out, and neither of us wanted to cook. So I scooted out to the grocery store (which is literally ¾ mile down the road - have I mentioned how much I love the LHH?) and picked up a few delectables and we just sipped a little vino and gnawed on some crusty bread and chilled.
And then there are nights like our Sunday night - our friends Harry and Sally (I know, right?) invited us along to see the band Yacht Rock Schooner at Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club in Portsmouth. Yacht Rock is this sort of soft rock genre from the late 70’s/early 80’s that was popular as I was on the cusp of discovering my own taste in music. it’s the music that I know by heart, but rarely makes it onto any of my Spotify lists. But this band plays it all and you know what, I was singing along and smiling the whole night. We had so much fun just laughing and emotionally reminiscing.
But you know what as cool as yacht rock? I might have mentioned it (a few times), but my new podcast, Flourishing in the World! I am so excited it is finally out there, in the world as it were. So you might notice the last minute change of name. That’s because, true to my approach, I didn’t bother to verify that Being in the World wasn’t taken (spoiler: it was). So I had to make a quick last minute pivot, but you know what, I think the new name is perfect and even more on the nose. That’s what I really want to talk about. What makes each of us flourish, what makes societies flourish? It’s being good and beautiful and true. So that’s the new name and we’re going to stick with it. Please check out the first three episodes - I really had a lot of fun talking to all of my guests and I think they have some really insightful things to say. And if you don’t mind, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble - please toss me a 5-star review when you get there?
It breaks my heart when I realize that I have been plugging along enjoying myself and I find out others have been suffering. That is always true, but the scale is not usually the same. Specifically I am thinking of the vile attacks by the terrorist group Hamas over the weekend on Israeli civilians. I’ve committed the links this week to considering the tragic attacks. If you haven’t been paying attention, I think you really need to take a few minutes to do so. Hamas is an Iranian-backed terrorist group that has taken over Gaza, and they launched a wave of mass murder - killing hundreds of Israeli kids at a music festival, randomly murdering and kidnapping women and children like some monster from the bogs of hell. They kidnapped an unknown number of civilians and have taken them back to Gaza and have announced they will publicly kill them when Israel retaliates. Whatever grievances the people of Gaza had, this is wrong and calls for vengeance. Which Hamas will get. And now putting on a cold, strategy hat, that makes this situation interesting. Hamas knew, prior to initiating these attacks that Israel would justifiably respond with overwhelming force. The attacks were essentially a suicide mission. So why do it? I think the answer is they are trying to mobilize the anti-Western (anti-Israel) Arab countries to stop the peace process that has been emerging from the Abraham Accords. If the peace process progresses, Hamas will lose its backing. Thus, I think Hamas had nothing to lose. They were going to fail either way. But now they might reignite the decades of war that were just begining to progress toward peace. What is more interesting is how this is part of a larger war against the Western (US)-led world order. Russia and China have been leading this larger effort. And now we know Hamas leadership has been working not only with Iran but Russia as well. Having war break out in Israel would help Russia by distracting Western attention from their equally murderous adventures in Ukraine, and it would tie down US resources that could otherwise be used to respond to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. I don’t think it’s possible to look at this turn of events in isolation. Hamas is just a gang of thugs without the backing of Iran, and Iran is looking to sow chaos just as much as Russia and China, because all of them see themselves as winners in a post-Western world.
I am deeply saddened by this turn of events. Not only am I concerned for the people of Israel, but I am concerned for my Jewish friends and neighbors here - this sort of event tends to bring out ugly antisemitism among our own countrymen. So today’s linkletter is going to be all about the attacks. As a non-expert, this is my effort to understand what is going on. It’s depressing, but important. Because of the great power interests, this is the sort of scenario that could lead to much larger scale action.
I’ll be back on Sunday with the essay, and hopefully a more positive theme. As usual, willing good for all of you!
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Read
What: BBC News, What is Hamas, what is happening in Israel and Gaza Strip, and other questions
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67039975
Why: This is a good background explainer on Hamas, and the conflict with Israel. I consider the BBC a reliable source.
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What: Al Jazeera, What is happening in Israel and Gaza? A look at the war with Hamas
Why: I should probably read Al Jazeera more often than I do because it provides a view from the Arab perspective that is somewhere between neutral and anti-Western (and for this purpose, I include Israel as part of the West). When you intentionally murder people at a concert and kidnap children to use as human shields, you surrender your right to having a different perspective IMHO. But it’s still useful to hear what they are thinking and how they are promoting their perspective.
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Watch
What: Peter Zeihan, Hamas Attacks Israel and Netanyahu Declares War (4 min)
Why: Rape, murder, kidnapping. The Hamas leaders have spent significant time in Moscow over the last year. I guess they were studying up on the Russian way of war. Hamas terrorists went on a rampage killing Israelis attending a music festival as part of their attack. That’s just murder, not war. Zeihan is my go-to guy on all things global macro. Worth 4 minutes.
As I said above, the big thing, the thing I think Hamas wants, is to stop the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and then all the other Arab countries in the middle east, which has been progressing thanks to the Trump administration’s efforts (you have to give credit where credit is due). If relations normalize, Hamas is done. Given the stakes, it’s not surprising Hamas has tried this now.
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Listen
What: Honestly with Bari Weiss: War in Israel: Michael Oren Explains How ‘Evil’ Infiltrated the Country (52 min)
Why: The podcast host Bari Weiss is an American Jew, so you hear a great deal of emotion in this conversation. But they raise important points. It’s worth a listen.
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What: National Review The Editors Podcast, Horror in Israel
Why: Domestic political perspective on the horror wrought by Hamas.