Peace Terrorists (h/t Baldie McEagle)

Of course the Whole Wide World is all abuzz over the cowardly IDF's latest atrocity, this one on the high seas, commandeering international vessels headed to Gaza to deliver 10,000 tons of much needed basic supplies like wheelchairs, medicine, cement, to the encaged inhabitants. In the process of commandeering the vessels, the IDF cowards murdered a shifting number of passengers of one vessel (the Official IDF Number today is 9, but it has varied substantially so much and so often -- from 9 to as many as 20 dead -- there is no way for an independent observer to know for sure. No doubt by design). They injured dozens of passengers, some with gunshots, others with stun grenades, rubber bullets, electrical shock devices, and just plain mano-a-mano brutality.

It's a "public relations disaster" for the cowardly Likud coalition regime in Jerusalem and the cowardly IDF, as if the only concern they or anyone else really need have about this act of war against Turkey and other nations is the "Narrative."

The perpetual Narrative. Worry about what we and others say not about what happened.

What Israel has become is heartbreaking for someone like me. I grew up with Israel.

And when I was younger, until the aftermath of the 1967 War, I was a strong supporter of Israel, even subscribed to some magazine they put out for young people all about the kibbutzim and the hardy Zionist pioneers who were transforming the Holy Land, yadda, yadda, yadda. It was really thrilling, and prior to 1967, there was no concept in my mind that there might be something a little off about this experiment of settling (mostly) European Jews -- refugees and Holocaust survivors -- in Palestine. The facts of the foundation of Israel were... murky to say the least, at least to someone like me who was fascinated with the energy and excitement of it all. Israel was the kind of progressive, forward-looking, strong, independent, youthful, happy society most Americans aspired to in one way or another. Israel was doing what so many idealists believed had to be done.

And prior to 1967, it seemed possible that Israelis and Palestinians would live together in peace, harmony and prosperity, eventually if not immediately. It seemed -- at least until then -- that the Israelis and the Palestinians were trying to come together, but Jordan and Egypt were preventing it.

Then Israel initiated war in 1967, took the West Bank and Gaza and all of Jerusalem, and while at first there was hope that this conquest would work out for the best for the Palestinian inhabitants, soon enough, it became clear that they would be under military occupation and not integrated into Israel, and it wasn't good.

The situation has deteriorated ever since.

In 1973, Israel went to war again against its neighbors and seized the Sinai Peninsula and the Suez Canal from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria, and defied anyone to do anything about it.

At that time, I became a "neutral" when it came to Israel, thinking -- to the extent I thought about it at all -- that if Israel acted like a grown up, or just followed concepts of human decency, things would work out.

But they didn't.

Over the years, the Israeli dilemma has gotten worse and worse, and in the last few years, Israel has turned into a bloodthirsty rogue monster state, a tiny version of what the United States has become, without the USA's redeeming qualities, and this latest misadventure against "Peace Terrorists" has just about sealed the deal for the whole world.

Nope. No more of this shit. They've gone too far. They are a pariah state for whom the end will come.

Of course nothing will happen in the short term. Likudniks will rage and fulminate the way they do, probably killing a few score more Palestinians to prove they "can" (I heard three were slaughtered in the Gaza yesterday; there will be more).

The supply convoy intended to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza; instead the ships and passengers were abducted and hauled off to Ashdod. Oddly enough, though, the reaction of world opinion was so swift and so fierce and so negative that Egypt opened the Rafah crossing without restrictions the day after the seizure of the convoy and its passengers, thus effectively breaking the blockade, while the rest of the world called for its ending. Israel apparently swiftly unloaded the supplies from the vessels and transported them all to Gaza, apparently without restriction. (I have to say "apparently" because Israel has an annoying habit of lying about everything it does and says it is doing and/or will do. "Information Management/Information Warfare," don't you see.) Most of the passengers, if not all of them, have been or shortly will be released and repatriated.

Another convoy is on the way, this one from Ireland, and the question is whether the Israelis will try to commandeer these vessels as well. Turkey says it will escort the next convoy with naval ships. Israel has already committed an act of war against Turkey by seizing a Turkish-flag ship and murdering and wounding dozens of Turkish passengers. If there is a confrontation between the Turkish navy and the Israelis, it could turn very nasty and very ugly very fast. We'll know more within the week.

Someone asked, "What should Israel do?"

The answer is very simple: escort any aid vessels to Gaza, and assist them in unloading and distributing supplies, lift the blockade by land and sea, and pay substantial reparations to Gazans and Palestinians in general.

For a start.

And then get some national social and political therapy.