Comments by "M.A.B." (@m.a.b.4104) on "‘This Is How Hamas Is Seeing This’" video.

  1. Thank you Ezra and team for tackling hard conversations. Another great episode.
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  2.  @valtracey6180  glad that link was a bit helpful. One bit that really got me was the young lady who was doing 6 years in jail for having a child out of wedlock. Brutal. Also the petty harassment of political rivals was telling. On the Irish struggle against the British, my grandfather was born outside Belfast and left for Australia as a teenager and have always been interested in the history. There are similarities between the two conflicts but there are also some important differences. Ireland's links with mainland Europe and eventual joining with the European Union played a big part in the Good Friday Peace deal. Sinn Fein had to put down arms and cease bombing etc to get full European backing and once they had that the pressure on everyone for peace made it inevitable. Splinter IRA groups have attempted to literally blow up/kill the peace deal but they have been ostracised, convicted, shut down etc and even though there are still deep seated issues that cause problems, the peace has held. The Palestinians have no real equivalent, the countries of the middle east are often either at war or on the brink of it instead of being a united group, Iran only uses the Palestinians to increase their power and influence in the region, Qatar does the same and the list goes on. The average Palestinian has to be one of the most screwed over people of the last 100 years. And what really tears at the heart in this latest flare up is Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc in one day committed the worst atrocities on Jews since the holocaust; men, women, children from babies to the elderly murdered in the worst way imaginable, some quickly in front of family, others slowly tortured; all the while go-pro'd directly to their telegram to create the maximum fear and mental pain for other Israeli's. This while Israeli has the most right wing government it's ever had with some cabinet members that are practically Nazis that would like to ethnic cleanse every Palestinian from the whole area(one of them said that nuclear bombs should be dropped on Gaza after October 7th). The events of that day have left such a wound on Israel that Hamas knew that it would lead a vengeful Netanyahu government to bomb the hell out of Gaza killing thousands while Hamas leaders sit in luxurious compounds in Qatar. Extremists on both sides are responsible. Even when a leader that works hard for peace gains enough power to make a start at peace, often a fanatic kills them (1995 Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin shot by right wing Israeli, Palestinian Fatah leader shot in 2006 by rivals in his own party). The fact that probably the most intractable conflict in modern history seems to be worse than ever is not a good sign for the end to the current fighting, let alone a longer lasting peace. For the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians who just want to live normal, respectable lives, the rest of the world needs to do better.
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  3. I don't believe it's a lie, large organisations can be more than one thing at a time. Of course the Muslim Brotherhood credentials were exposed when they gained power in Egypt after the Arab Spring led to the ousting of the military dictatorship and the MB leadership proved to be corrupt and inept. In the 80's when the PLO dominated the politics of Gaza, the Muslim Brotherhood through Hamas had a largely social presence through charities. It was the breakdown of partnerships between the PLO and the MB(the PLO leader Arafat had fought alongside the MB as early as '48) that contributed to Hamas becoming more political, which led to being more militant and conducting terrorism. This is in no way an excuse for the horrific violence over many years that the MB has been a part of, but to deny the social programs and charities they have also done would be wrong and a failure to accurately understand their history and support in the region. To try to work out constructive solutions without truly understanding the problem is pure folly. Everything said by both sides of a conversation doesn't have to be agreed with to gain understanding and learn from it.
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  4. The point you make about comparisons with other oppressed groups having political victories is a good one. Over simplifying comparisons with other struggles against oppression can lead to ignoring/failing to understand important factors of the conflict.
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  5. ​​ @valtracey6180 if you're interested, you said at the end that you know little about Hamas's rule in Gaza, the video below is a Vice video of when the part owner Suroosh visited Gaza in 2011, 4 years after they took over governing the area. Gives a reasonable idea of what day to day governing was like at the time compared to how their spokespersons stated the situation was. https://youtu.be/RWJFC98jPrQ?si=8SpCixtuipegttzL
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  6. ​ @LloydBraun9000 definitely found it more depressing than hilarious.
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