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This is one of the best most balanced articles I’ve read on this issue, the stuff about Biden playing a delicate balancing act is both obviously true and something the far left is incapable of understanding…. Mainly because most of them only discovered politics was a thing that existed on the day Facebook bought it to their attention on their feed in 2016

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Thank you Lee!

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The far left, going back to Lenin (a member of the lower aristocracy) through to Corbyn (grew up in a stately country home) has always been mainly made up and certainly led by the upper middle classes or even more privilege, see the working class who they claim to speak for as a constant disappointment because people who’ve actually had to work for a living understand that revolutions hurt those at the bottom the most so mainly just want a quiet life with a house, the occasional holiday and some good opportunities for their kids, we haven’t had the privilege of an upbringing that lets us fantasise about revolution and tearing the system down, we just want things to be a bit fairer and bit more even, this is not the group of which people storming the barricades are made so now, to their eternal shame they’ve latched onto Islamists and Russian Fascists as their great hope as they’re groups that will die for a (terrible) cause and allow them to sit on the sidelines cheering on the death and destruction while claiming to care about peace

I truly despise them

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It is

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Anyone not realizing trump would be encouraging Netanyahu to be more brutal doesn't know him.

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Actually this isn't correct, and I've been warning the minority of my Israeli friends and family who happen to be Likud voters about this. Trump is only loyal to Trump, and clearly listens to his billionaire backers and Putin more than he has any consistent beliefs of his own.

If Putin or Jeff Yass told Trump that Netanyahu is bad, he'd do a lot of damage to Israel, because he has no real positions beyond those that get him attention from powerful people he admires/kisses ass to.

Biden, regardless of him hating Netanyahu (half of Israel does too), has a longer history of supporting Israel than Trump does.

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Sad! Now you conflate supporting Netanyahu with Israel. At least you're consistent.

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Nah, I voted against Netanyahu in ever possible Israeli election. Netanyahu isn't Israel and Israel isn't Netanyahu - I was saying that Trump isn't a reliable ally of the Israeli right, and they're nuts to think so. You shouldn't adopt Trump mannerisms, if you dislike Trump, "Sad!"

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Trump loves anything that makes Biden look bad. He’s even said there would be no war now if he was POTUS. Both the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war on Hamas. Trump save the day.

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There's no denying that he's both a genius and the healthiest president ever.

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Thank you for writing this. It's helpful to unpack (for me) what is a terribly confusing situation. Well done.

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You're welcome!

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The "far left" doesn’t want peace, never has. Leftists aren’t ’peace activists’, they align with the most extreme Palestinian positions, those of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, insisting on the destruction of Israel, completely comfortable with a genocide and ethnic cleansing of 7 million Israeli Jews.

This is why calls of ‘genocide’ are bogus - it’s simply echoing false claims of Hamas, based on imaginary numbers.

Similarly leftists don’t care about democracy in the US.

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Not saying I agree but your message would be far more accurate & effective if you used "far left." "The Left" is anyone left of center so using it makes you sound like a rwnj. If that is what you were going for, nevermind.

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Pardon me if I've offended the DSA freaks who celebrated the "heroic resistance" of Hamas during the immediate days after October 7, and academic left lunatics who think they have common cause with the most violent form of far Right religious terrorism in the world, just because it's Palestinian Islamists and the victims Israelis - mainly Jews, but also Israeli Muslims and Druze and Christians.

Sure, 'leftists' in the US is progressives and those to their left - the grab bag of DSA, socialist, Marxist, 'woke', identity synthesis/intersectional, whatever dingbats that horseshoe right up to the populist far-right.

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Got it. You do not grasp the concept of nuance.

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I grasp it plenty, and as more and more progressives become useful idiots of the far left, there's less distinction between those groups.

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Only in your mind. You are just helping trump with your conflation BS, but you are clearly committed to it so I won't waste any more time commenting further.

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I vote Democratic Party, buddy. The only people helping Trump are the the far left and the progressives who enable them.

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Sam echoes something I’ve been saying for awhile, that the old definitions of “left” and “right” don’t apply to what we’ve been calling “far left” or “alt-left”, or, for that matter, “alt-right”. 🤔😉😊

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Exactly! Conflating the Center-Left, aka the majority of Dem voters with the Far Left, is barely if even a half-truth at best.

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Right. And I hate it when I’m labeled. The right thinks of us all as extreme and I’m accused of wanting this or that just as the far left does when it couldn’t be farther from the truth. My own bro did this to me-he “told me” what I wanted when he didn’t have the first clue. We haven’t spoken in years.

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I've been a consistent Democratic Party voter. The progressive wing is a bunch of embarrassing useful idiots of the far left, infected by that tiny minority's agenda. The farther left doesn't really vote consistently, and prefers chaos and tantrums, withholding votes, voting for the far Right candidate to 'own the libs'. It's a stupid policy to court these people, considering the center is far, far larger. There are so many more center-left, independent centrist and center-right voters than the far-left and progressives, that it's mind boggling to try and change policies and better yet - help Hamas, in order to get votes from these freaks.

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Well, you insult the vast majority of Dem voters by using the "the Left." You do you.

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I do mean progressives and leftward when I use "leftists". The vast majority of Democratic Party voters aren't socialists or progressives.

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Right! There are to many levels now, to many factions each with their own causes.

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You are a MAGA moron. Israel has been outta control for years.

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No, I’m what most Democratic Party voters are like. DSA affiliated squad members are not. If Israel has been out of control for years, consider that the Palestinians have been out of control since 1920.

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Mar 20Liked by Ben Cohen

We live in the age of HD multimedia, where the horrors of war are vivid, compelling, and can reach a worldwide audience within seconds. That makes the atrocities in Gaza seem all the more urgent. But lets not forget, these wars have been raging for thousands of years. Look at most any square inch of land or sea and there's along history of blood battles over supremacy. The only plausible solution would be a mass human extinction event because human beings don't seemed designed to get along. Shiites versus Sunnis. Jews versus Muslims. MAGA versus Libs. Blacks versus whites. Browns fans versus Steelers. Bey Hive versus Swifties. It goes on. Race and religion are easy ways for the power elite to get the masses to fight each other to the death while the elites hoard resources and don't share. Oh, you'll get your dues when you die and enter the "glory of heaven". Race is a total clusterfuck of ambiguity. Last night on that PBS show that traces ancestry, a notable Black activism podcaster learned one of his elders was a white slaveowner and a further on up the chain a distant white grandfather chose to fight for the British in the Revolutionary War and was hung for his treason. Religion, in turn gives Trump supporters carte blanche justification to act like heartless idiots with physical and verbal violence. In Palestine, the very place the Left feels so oppressed, LGBTQ rights are non existent and honor killings of women who have premarital relations are common. Let's not forget how prevalent child brides are in countless cultures, even here at home. Mankind is a disgusting and barbaric animal. It's amazing the US lasted more than 100 years between civil wars, but it's not too unlikely that soon our quiet suburban streets will be bathed in blood as Trump leverages hundreds of years of racism and religious superiority to get his followers to commit horrifying acts of violence. I keep hoping level heads will prevail, but that doesn't seem to be the direction society is heading. Jordan Klepper had a profound take on this, called "The War on Certainty" -- where opposing sides are so set in their ways, there is no room for negotiation, compassion or compromise. Everyone needs to give something. I'm trans and feel there's lots of room for compromise on the two biggest issues we face, sports and bathroom access, but most trans activists would prefer to die on these swords.

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Interesting piece. I don’t agree with all of it but it is very worth reading. It should come as no surprise that the pro Hamas left is not interested in a two stars solution or anything short of the annihilation of Israel as a Jewish state. This is 100% clear from the very beginning. Literally 10/8 of truthfully anything said by that group prior to that.

The cease fire crowd (see the artists4cease fire pin with bloody hands) are actually calling for the bloody death of Israelis. The pin is memorializing the lynching of two Israelis who got lost on the West Bank about 25 years ago and were murdered by a mob of Palestinians in Ramallah. It’s apparently acceptable to wear this pin to the Oscars.

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Ben, you are so close. So close to allowing yourself to see things as they really are. I respect your dedication to being a Good Leftist, which includes the requisite shibboleths of denouncing Israeli policy as "atrocious" and calling Bibi the Devil.

Here's an idea to try on: Israel is good. The war in Gaza is just, and is being fought with incredibly low collateral damage given Hamas' strategy of human shields (read John Spencer).

And most importantly, the Genocide Joe people suck -- not because they hurt Biden's chances at reelection -- but simply because their ideology is wrong and toxic and is based on hatred of America.

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Nah. The war was “just” on October 7.

Six months later, it’s just ethnic cleansing. And we KNOW this because of how the IDF has blocked journalists (and flat out killed them) for daring to report on the actual ATROCITIES being perpetrated by not-so “good” Israel.

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Out of interest, what do you think Israel should do? Should they allow Hamas to continue governing Gaza given they have committed publicly to killing all Jews in the region and repeating (real) genocide if given the chance?

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And what “chance” has Hamas had to follow through on this threat? Seriously?

Hell, I’m hard pressed to see how they can be said to “govern” Gaza seeing how the last election there was back in 2006.

It’s akin to declaring that Putin won that sham election last week.

Meanwhile, wanna talk about how Bibi has helped to keep Hamas in power, while simultaneously undermining Abbas and decimating the West Bank in full view of everyone?

I’m not saying I have the answers and the far left stays on my last nerve but I remember warning centrists that letting the right call everyone who didn’t bow to Bibi antisemitic and not forcing Israel to be accountable was going to lead to this point.

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This is hilarious. October 7th was exactly Hamas making good on their threat to attack Israel. That, and the more than 10,000 rockets fired at Israeli civilians since Hamas took power in 2007. Hamas leaders boast about how they will commit Oct 8, 9, 10, etc. Hamas' entire legitimacy is based on "resistance", meaning the violent overthrow and destruction of Israel.

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Well then, if October 7 was the best Hamas could do on its threat (because it’s obvious the “10,000 bombs” hadn’t gotten it done), then I HIGHLY doubt that anyone in Israel was ever in fear of a Hamas-based genocide.

So again, what’s the issue now? Why does the IDF continue to block humanitarian aid and news organizations?

It’s certainly not out of any fear of Hamas. Heck, Bibi literally announced plans for new West Bank settlements while the “war” continues on.

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Nope. Zero Gazans have been forcibly expelled from the Strip.

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Uh…you do understand that Gaza and the West Bank are two different places, right?

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First. When reading and being reminded of Republicans rejection of Obamas nuclear deal with Iran:

Flashback: Republicans stirred controversy in 2015 by inviting Netanyahu to speak to Congress before informing the Obama administration of the plans. The speech, in which Netanyahu railed against Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, angered Democratic lawmakers at the time.

This shows Netanyahu’s disdain of the Democratic Party and why he will never relent to Biden’s call for a cease fire. Never.

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Why is a cease fire a good idea? Would the allies have done a cease fire with Germany before the war was over? This is war. Not a game.

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And is nothing like hitlers invasion and occupation of all Europe and into Russia so don’t compare the two-it’s a nonsensical I’ll leave it at that and I might not be up on the politics and I don’t need to be in order to want to relieve some hunger pangs and heal some wound of people who can’t help where they are.

It’s always the men in any regions that bring about atrocities and women and children have to suffer for it.

It doesn’t take a scholar to see it.

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The ceasefire call is an idiotic one, and unacceptable to all of Israel. You guys are pretty out of touch with Israeli politics. Netanyahu is the person appeasing Hamas, and the person who shit his pants on October 7. If it was up to Netanyahu, he'd drop some bombs from the air and call it a day. He was scared of the necessary ground operation. This war exists because a united Israel will not accept the existence of Hamas any more, and only a sociopath would expect Israel to imagine along with the progressives that there is no Hamas. Just imagine hard isn't a policy Israel can accept.

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You’ve misunderstood me. I’m speaking of a cease fire to allow food and medicine to come into Gaza to innocent people who are actually starving to death because they’re trapped. And yes the hostages taken by Hamas should be released. What’s going to happen when every innocent child is dead?

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Who is trying to kill "every innocent child" exactly?

Israel has already committed to a ceasefire during the previous exchange of hostages. That ceasefire was constantly broken by Hamas, but Israel mostly didn't respond. Hamas also didn't release all the captives it committed to. This time around they won't even provide a list of live or dead hostages and are making delusional demands for an organization with 14,000 dead, 4000 captured and a large number of injured. Instead of blathering about what Israel is doing wrong, the US and EU and UN and assorted fools around the world can focus on how Hamas steals food aid, attacks food distribution, and is still committing atrocious war crimes. Instead of working hard to help Hamas survive the world can apply pressure to Hamas and its allies and not call out Israel for shit Hamas is responsible for.

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And who said anyone was “trying to kill” innocent children. I’m not stating what I said again.

You’re a word twister

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I’m afraid that if Trump wins (legitimately which is possible) then the same pro Hamas crowd will take to the streets violently and Trump will use push back violently and we’ll have incessant street fighting daily.

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The section on “not the only bad actor” reflects something I was saying last year, namely that an awful lot of people seem compelled to declare who is the “bad guy”, and conversely, who is the “good guy”. We seem to have difficulty in situations such as this, where *neither* is a good guy, both are bad actors.

But some folks just have to choose sides. Reminds me of R.A. Wilson’s response to Stokley Charmichael: “People who say ‘you’re either part of the solution or part of the problem’ are themselves part of the problem.” 🤔😉😊

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I think it’s correct to look to Russia for the origins of the ‘Genocide Joe’ slur. I understand the emotions, but Trump must be stopped. He is certainly not going to make it better for Gaza.

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You must know that a million children, right now, at this moment, are starving, and Joe Biden's most stalwart ally on earth is preventing them from eating. I assure you that this sign, and the people behind it, are not the ones “hurting Palestinians.” Zionist politicians are hurting Palestinians. This is undeniable.

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Joe Biden ordered our military to bring food in on the only available open side and he’s doing everything he can to help them. He cannot order another state to stop what they’re doing. Trump and his Russian friends are putting this out there and people are accepting it because they want too.

Read real news like the associated press, AP you’ll get the facts but of course you won’t do that.

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Biden is literally sending Israel all of the weapons that they're using to carry out their genocide - no questions asked. Even when the UN security council demands a ceasefire. Even when the UN general assembly credibly accuses Israel of fomenting a genocide. The weapons keep coming. The bombs that have destroyed 70% of the houses in Gaza - those were American made. Joe Biden ordered them to be delivered to Israel. You can't divorce Biden from his responsibility, his culpability in these atrocities.

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Bebe knew the October attack was coming and he welcomed it to set about what is occurring in GAZA. Biden has no control over this. Just like Putin knew the concert hall attack was coming. Using it as leverage against Ukraine. Blaming Biden for this is a disgrace and a distraction.

Great article. Thank you.

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“Protestors of the war have labeled Biden “Genocide Joe,” inferring [SIC] the president is directly responsible for Israel’s killing of civilians”

Implying.

The speaker implies, the listener infers.

They aren’t ASSUMING (inferring) from the label that Biden is responsible. They’re using it to SUGGEST TO OTHERS (implying) he’s responsible.

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They don’t get real information in fact they avoid it and it’s easy to do. You see this one posting a couple below you? That’s what they get and it’s what they want.

He could be a troll but idk

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Yeah, here's the late great Michael Brooks dismantling this nonsense in less than 90 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxC5HhKQ5ks

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