The sides are being drafted for what could be humankind’s last great competition. In my talks with contacts and friends from the four corners of our world, a central theme echo. A common fear is surfacing. Are we about to end civilization again? And the focus of all this apprehension is not Ukraine. It’s Israel.
The mainstream media across the Western world is leaving out critical truths about Israel’s war of extermination on the Palestinians. A brief snippet of news from here in Greece tells me our NATO allies are being propagandized in preparation for Bibi Netanyahu’s assault on Gaza. The Greek newsroom staff pine over how dangerous the I.D.F.’s role is, as video of well-armed Israeli infantry opening up a tunnel like the ones Hamas is using to outmaneuver its adversary. The subliminal message is to forget about those mothers and their babies blown to bits or crushed, and to worry about America’s ally winning. But the propaganda is not working this time.
A few days ago, an old friend from the U.S. messaged me asking if the news in the states of Vladimir Putin being dead was true. Several days ago, a lifelong friend in America commented to me on the rising multipolar world and referred to Russia, China, and North Korea as “the evil triad.” I listened in disbelief and asked, “Who told you these nations and people are the great evil?” His answer came far from his proven I.Q. I won’t even repeat it.
Meanwhile, massive Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested in London, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Ankara, Istanbul, Dakar, and Washington some days ago to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and chastise Israel after its military intensified its assault against Hamas. Friends here in Greece are appalled at the Israelis’ disregard for human life. It’s as if the Zionists have become the ultimate anti-Semites for their hatred. For anyone who would argue this point, I suggest they study the Semitic people and the origins of the term anti-semite. (study, Carleton S. Coon, ancient Semitic and Abrahamic)
Moving forward, over 10,000 Palestinians have now been killed by Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza. Some 25,000 more have been wounded. Most of the casualties are women and children. In the U.S., tens of thousands took to the streets in Washington, DC, in the largest demonstration since the butchering began on October 7. Russia’s Vladimir Putin and dozens of other world leaders have condemned Israel for the carnage and for refusing even to discuss a ceasefire. Mr. Putin told his security council the other day
“The ruling elites of the U.S. and their “satellites” stood behind the killing of Gaza’s Palestinians, and behind conflicts in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.”
As of this writing, 18 U.N. and other humanitarian organizations have issued statements calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to end the bloodshed. For Israel’s response, reports show that deadly airstrikes and artillery fire by the I.D.F. targeted convoys, heeding Israel’s warning and evacuating the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, will shut down very soon for lack of fuel to run its generators. This will put 40,000 people who sought shelter there, the injured, even babies in incubators, farther into harm’s way.
On the border with Lebanon, the next phase of what might end up as Armageddon takes shape. The Israelis have been bombing targets on the border, with civilian casualties. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said if any civilian is killed, the response will be an attack in Israel, killing a civilian. After his comments, his soldiers fired rockets into an Israeli town that was in range. Hezbollah, which means “Party of God”, is an Iran-backed militia and political group and Israel’s most feared foe for several reasons. If Iran enters the fray… Well, we are seeing the Israelis pressed hard to defend themselves against the Hamas tunnel rats. If engaged by Iran and Syria, Netanya would probably be forced to use nuclear weapons the Israelis are not supposed to have. And when that happens, the Zionists will be under political and economic assault as never before.
To wrap up here, when Jordan’s Queen Rania recently said opponents of the ceasefire in Gaza are ‘endorsing and justifying death,’ she was addressing the United States of America and its allies. In an interview on CNN, Queen Rania responded to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s rejection of a ceasefire during his patching-up tour of Amman and other Middle East nations. Jordan’s queen said justifying the killing of thousands of innocent people to destroy Hamas is “morally reprehensible, short-sighted and not entirely rational.” She went on to issue a plea on the cable network interview, asking, “How many more people have to die before our global conscience awakes? Or is it forever dormant when it comes to the Palestinians?”
Relations between the U.S. and Jordan have been close for almost four decades. This section of a U.S. State Department fact sheet gives us what Washington’s dedication to peace means:
“The United States and Jordan share the mutual goals of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and an end to violent extremism that threatens the security of Jordan, the region, and the entire globe.”
This whole Gaza war catastrophe begs the question, “Who are these violent extremists threatening the world?” I think that the next time a friend or colleague asks me about Putin, Gaza, China, or even Artificial Intelligence (AI), I will ask them the question, How do you see America’s actions affecting those nations and their view of us? Better still, I wonder if we will wake up finally when the whole world detests and protests us. For Israel, I think that day has arrived.
Phil Butler, is a policy investigator and analyst, a political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe, he’s an author of the recent bestseller “Putin’s Praetorians” and other books. He writes exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.