So far I have stayed the hell away from the Israel/Palestine conflict that’s happening at the moment, not because it’s not stuffed full of ethical issues (it most certainly is) but because I don’t know nearly enough about what’s actually happening, why, and who I can trust for that information (though this sort of ignorance hasn’t stopped about 80% of other commentators on the topic).
This analysis on the other hand is pretty damn well-rounded, comes from a source on the ground who admits the limits of their knowledge, and most persuasively, doesn’t automatically take sides. Well worth a read for those trying to sort out what the hell is going on over there at the moment, and who, if anyone, is in the right.
[WARNING: RANT TO FOLLOW!]
I haven’t really said much about the latest round of Gaza-Israel hostilities but after a number of questions (and arguments!) about the conflict over the last few weeks, I feel a need to state my piece (peace!). My viewpoints have been established after spending about seven out of the last eighteen years living in Israel, some of which as a journalist, and most of my life obsessed with the region. To be clear, I identify as a left-wing Australian Israeli. Meaning that on the political spectrum I am most closely aligned with the Greens in Australia and the social democratic Meretz in Israel (check out their stated principles for where I stand (more or less) on Israel here). I am also a pragmatist.
In reality this means that I am a firm believer that the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is…
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