28 Comments
founding
Nov 9, 2023Liked by Diane Francis

Hamas and the Religious Settlers on the West Bank have the same slogan" Our Land from the Sea to the Jordan River" .God given, of course. Religious monsters on both sides .

Expand full comment

How true. The late great Christopher Hitchens spent his adult life on this topic, I'm happy to see he is still prominent on YouTube. Religion is so often trumped by ego and power-hunger.

Expand full comment

ARE there monsters - whose land has been stolen - by the state?

Expand full comment
Nov 9, 2023Liked by Diane Francis

Netanyahu was also shortsighted in his cozying up to Putin despite the invasion in Ukraine. One has to imagine that he ignored his own intel that had to have had an inkling of what Russia was planning with Hamas as soon as Hamas was elected...the fact that the attack happened on Putins birthday must have been a huge humiliation to Israel's administration.

Expand full comment

The fact that Netanyahu would not condemn Putin and disassociate himself from Russia when Putin invaded Ukraine tells you all you need to know about Bibi. Putin, Trump, Netanyahu, Orban...all the same. Autocrats. Enemies of democracy...and humanity.

Expand full comment
Nov 9, 2023Liked by Diane Francis

Excellent thank you

Expand full comment
Nov 10, 2023Liked by Diane Francis

The U S should not be financing this horror show, current and future. If Israel had to clean up its own messes, it might be more careful about creating them to begin with. Anyone who believes that Israel is just a victim, a deserving victim, and that U S taxpayers should pay for its military and then reconstruct Gaza, plus share in all the hostility and revenge coming to Israel, is a fool and a sucker.

Expand full comment

We stole North America from Indigenous peoples. Bad. Really bad. But how would you react if Native Americans launched rockets from their reservations aimed at San Francisco? What if Native Americans killed 1400 people in Las Vegas? How would America respond?

Hamas is dedicated to the death of every Jew in Israel. Hamas must be eradicated. They are Taliban, ISIS and KKK.

The people of Gaza have been treated horribly. Actually worse than horrible. But they have allowed themselves to be governed by murdering monsters.

Just like Japan and Germany in WWII.

I would be a lot more sympathetic to Gazans if they were to overthrow their slave masters who hide under hospitals and schools.

Israel has no choice if they want to survive.

Should Israel have been established as a sectarian state that welcomed all people and displaced nobody? Yes!

Should Europeans have embraced Native Americans? Yes!

But here we are. Imagine being a peacenik on a kibbutz- someone who was helping Palestinians with trade and education - and you watched as your children's throats were cut. As your parents were shot. Imagine.

Hamas makes war on innocent people. They are not soldiers. They are vicious gangsters.

Expand full comment
author

russia is behind hamas along with Iran

Expand full comment

An excellent report. There will be no easy answers to this problem. None of the direct

parties involved want to talk

to each other about anything.

I'm amazed at all calling for

the U. S. to solve this. I can't

imagine the hours of lost sleep Biden, Blinkin, our

Embassador and others are

having, just trying to get a

few hours of pauses in fighting, for aid to Gaza in and get people out.

Expand full comment

If I were to call Israel a client state of the U.S., all hell would break out (well, if I were important it would) but I shudder to think what would be happening if the U.S. were not involved.

Expand full comment

Thank You. I think. Oh the horrors in the name of some god. Sharing.

Expand full comment
Nov 9, 2023Liked by Diane Francis

It was his solution to staying out of jail, which is where now he might end up anyway. In the U.S. it seems we're going to have on the 2024 ballot a man indicted on far more serious charges than Netanyahu's sordid corruption charges.

Expand full comment
Nov 10, 2023Liked by Diane Francis

What I feel so strongly about is the savagery of this large scale collective punishment with an impossible goal of eliminating Hamas and the impetus that created it. If Israel had confined itself to a much more limited military response and a focussed, circumscribed and intelligent pursuit of Hamas leaders, so much of the world might see its behavior as justified in this instance, and would not be recoiling. Even so, a livable future for Palestinians needs to find a form. But I am afraid that the way things are moving, much much more will be sunk--with damages to Israel, the U S and others, as well as to Ukraine and other victims of the dictator’s destructive malice.

Expand full comment

Such an arresting title, to call them ayatollahs but I wouldn't give the voting Israeli public a pass on this, because Israel is a democracy and this frightful set of politicians was voted into power; not yet thank god like Iran where schoolgirls are beaten to death for removing their headscarves. "Disfunctional democracy," yes so right (as our U.S. election is just 12 months away, we right now are running the risk of falling into the same pit as the Israelis), it has always been problematic in Israel even with some great leaders, but now Netanyahu is Dr. Faustus and Mephistopheles is actually sitting in his Cabinet. And I would think again about allowing the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza, considering what a relic it is, frozen in corruption and incompetence.

Expand full comment

Diane - please read the Opinion that should be in the National Post by Tasha Kheiriddin - "Canada's Multicultural Utopia Now a Balkanized Grievance" - this view is priceless AND rates a national debate by ALL Canadians trying to BE CANADIANS yet suffer the wars imported by immigrants. I hope you can find it. I really agree with her views.

Expand full comment
author

I've been the only critic in Canada with the temerity to write about Canada's foolish immigration policies. After many articles and a book about how to fix the broken immigration system, it was repaired under Stephen Harper. But Trudeau and Singh have stopped screening and admissions, based on reality. Here's a link to just a few: https://www.google.com/search?q=diane+francis+financial+post+immigration&sca_esv=581357649&tbm=nws&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjJr5bUybqCAxXNIDQIHRYJDt4Q_AUoAXoECAMQAw&biw=1428&bih=752&dpr=2

Expand full comment
author

I estimate that apart from writing a book in 1992, I have written several hundred articles that ran across Canada before and since.

Expand full comment

I have one of your books - outstanding - & really am starting to believe that it's women - who have the internal courage to stand up to speak on issues with a strong voice & (not to be forgotten) intelligence (mainly becuz of the American Rep Greene - dear GOD) and see through all the 'crap' that leaders like Trudeau etc. preach - wow - and I haven't even had my first glass of wine yet - this article really fired me up - hope there is some push on this issue!! I hope you keep on pushing as well - your name is so well respected & you remain so well informed. Highest regards - LA

Expand full comment
author

Wow. I need you to be my marketing guy....Just kidding.

D

Expand full comment
founding
Nov 9, 2023Liked by Diane Francis

Unfortunately, even if Netanyahu is ousted, the scandal of the illegal West Bank settlements will go on. In a recent prime-time television interview in France, Opposition leader, Yaïr Lapid said the settlers "have the right to be there, on biblical lands". He wasn't referring to to the West Bank, but "Judea and Samaria" !!

Expand full comment

I so agree, it's like the Wild West and is utterly unacceptable. For some reason it brought to mind the recent movie Hostiles, brilliantly told of the American frontier and genocide of the indigenous, and which also asks the question: Are we/who are the baddies?

Expand full comment

'Israel’s current catastrophe isn’t just about politics. It’s about religious fanaticism and raw ambition.' And Hamas? Murdering over 1400 innocent Israelis, including babies and children. Building Hamas headquarters under a hospital. Using Palestinians as human shields. Yes Bibi has to go and is far too extreme and he supports fascist Putin which you have highlighted but he is dealing with fanatical religious murderers. They above all have to be eliminated. Suggest you watch movie Hotel Mumbai and follow Sam Harris.

Expand full comment

Weren't all the murdered on the kibbutzes generally very left wing, sympathetic to Palestinians and anti Bibi?

Expand full comment

no comment -

Expand full comment

The article with the 'first rate' information stunned me - hence my 'no comment' cuz I was shook to the core. How can 'life' , be it human or animal, be so abused by a 'cause' of such anger that there is really NO solution. Again, the religion issue lies bare - if God made us in him image - he really screwed up. Humans show a lack of respect for life of any form from humans (killing babies GEEZ) to torturing animals - what kind is the proper name for 'humans' - we seem to be on a 'self' destruct mentality where values of life, whatever form be damned.

Expand full comment