Netanyahu Begins to Lose His Hold on His Country

The chief of staff of the military, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, spoke to soldiers in Gaza on Sunday and reminded them of the rules.

He urged them to “take two seconds” when they see unarmed people without shirts — a way of showing that they do not have explosives — and their hands held up. “And I want to tell you something just as important, and if it’s two Gazans with a white flag coming out to surrender, why would we shoot at them? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. That’s not the I.D.F,” he said.

When people begin to understand they're being lied to, by leaders who were questioned about corruption and protested for their judiciary grabs before the war began, things in their civil society begin to break down when they realize that the violent (un?) authorized use of force traditionally employed against Others is indeed responsible for taking out three of their own -- in their prime living years -- sometimes all hell breaks loose... It's painful, but necessary (?) for bringing about Change in a civil society that refuses gentler calls to action and sees only Force and violence as the means to inaugurating structural changes that allow civil societies to grow and serve all their people.  To ensure long-term survival for all.

George Floyd mural in Gaza City.

Shorter version?

Israelis and Jewish and non-Jewish persons the world over are getting a sorry glimpse at how innocents are treated by the IDF in its pursuit of security over justice in maintaining Israel's survival bolstered by the finest military weapons U.S. taxpayers can provide. Israel is waking from a long slumber to learn, like America on 9-11, how vulnerable a mighty country can be... and like America, Israel was fooled into tranferring their impotent rage into attacking, killing and destroying innocents in other lands as a way of lashing out, instead of addressing the internal errors that led to the security breach the terrorists exploited...

There's so much work to be done, but the intelligence and will are not there like the gunman's need for dominance, thinking he can "bleed out" via his superior weapons, all life forms in other lands. That he can win via destruction alone, never thinking ahead to teh new world that will need to be created, and rebuilt, when his passions cease, his winnings never add up, and his own children are called upon to pay the price for his excessive and violent outbursts that prove so costly to so many without addressing or resolving the issues that made the country vulnerable to the attacks.

Be Better.  Take the lead from the people who ask questions, even under fire, who think ahead based on what we've learned in the past. The people who tell the truth and keep reaching for greater ways of knowing are the true leaders in life, even as they can be undervvalued by their own countrymen who choose force over reason, and think they can strongarm in solutions... even as they prove again and again, it takes more brainpower than that if we're ever to truly know peace living in a land that respects life and worships justice for all.

Make it a great week. Be big in the little things you do; know that life is about so much more than you, and your own, and perhaps the best way you can provide for them and their collective futures is to make good choices today, ones that don't just benefit some unjustly costing others their lives, livelihoods or dreams and fortunes.