JULY 2014 POST REDUX - Israeli Women on Facebook Promising Sex to IDF

Today, February 6, 2024, I am linking to a post I wrote in July of 2014 about a Facebook page by Israeli women dedicated to members of the IDF. Some of the photos have been scrubbed. But in short, these women posted sexy selfies promising "rewards" to IDF soldiers based on the number of Palestinians killed. 

Again, this was ten years ago. I have no idea if similar pages are being posted today, but I wouldn't be surpised. I'm not on FB, I've never been a member of FB, but some FB pages are public. That one, as of today, is still publicly available, HERE.   

Link to my original 2014 post here. 

I was reminded of that post by this article in today's NYT:

What Israeli Soldiers’ Videos Reveal: Cheering Destruction and Mocking Gazans

Published, Later Removed by Times of Israel: "When Genocide Is Permissible"

This is an op-ed that was published by the Times of Israel on August 1, 2014. It was written by Yochanan Gordon. It was published with this title: "When Genocide Is Permissible."

Their title, not mine.

If that's not horrifying enough for you, you're so far gone there's no hope. For the rest of you out there not living in denial, read it and weep. The Times eventually took it down, but not before publishing it and not before lots of people got screen shots and archived it. Where the hell were the editors??

UPDATE: The editors have now published this apology.

#JewsAndArabsRefuseToBeEnemies

Hashtag: Jews And Arabs Refuse To Be Enemies. 

R. I. P.

From the Middle East Children's Alliance:

The staff and board of the Middle East Children's Alliance would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to our colleague Dr. Mona El-Farra, her family, and all of the Palestinian families who have lost their relatives and loved ones.

Early this morning, Israeli tanks shelled a home in Khan Younis and killed nine members of Dr. Mona's family including 5 children. Ten more relatives are injured and five of them are in critical condition. 

We are saddened by the very personal loss of our friend and colleague, Dr. Mona El-Farra, and by the knowledge that her relatives were killed with the full support of our government. 

Rest in peace:
Abed Almalek Abed Al Salam El-Farra, 54 years
Osamah Abed Almalek El-Farra, 34 years
Awatef  A'ez Eldeen El-Farra, 29 years 
Emad El-Farra, 28 years
Mohamad Mahmoud El-Farra, 12 years
Nadeen Mahmoud El-Farra, 9 years
Yara Abed Al Salam El-Farra, 8 years (pictured above)
Abed Al Rahaman El-Farra, 8 years
Lujain Basem El-Farra, 4 years 

Gaza: We Are Responsible

Our great poet and national conscience, Chris Hedges:

. . . The unanimous U.S. Senate vote in support of the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the media’s slavish parroting of Israeli propaganda, and the Obama administration’s mindless repetition of pro-Israeli clichés have turned us into cheerleaders for Israeli war crimes. We fund and abet these crimes with $3.1 billion a year in military aid to Israel. We are responsible for the slaughter. No one in the establishment, including our most liberal senator, Bernie Sanders, dares defy the Israel lobby. And since we refuse to act to make peace and justice possible we should not wonder why the Palestinians carry out armed resistance.

The Palestinians will reject, as long as possible, any cease-fire that does not include a lifting of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. They have lost hope that foreign governments will save them. They know their fate rests in their own hands. The revolt in Gaza is an act of solidarity with the world outside its walls. It is an attempt to assert in the face of overwhelming odds and barbaric conditions the humanity and agency of the Palestinian people. There is little in life that Palestinians can choose, but they can choose how to die. And many Palestinians, especially young men trapped in overcrowded hovels where they have no work and little dignity, will risk immediate death to defy the slow, humiliating death of occupation.

I cannot blame them.

-Chris Hedges

Daniel Levy in the NYT on Gaza

This is Daniel Levy's op-ed in the New York Times on Gaza. It was published on July 22, 2014. I'm reprinting it in full, with emphasis mine (Levy's words that I have bolded):

Israeli Self-Defense Does Not Include the Right to Kill Civilians

Daniel Levy is the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation. He was a negotiator in Palestinian talks under Prime Ministers Rabin and Barak, and the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva Initiative. 

JULY 22, 2014 

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005; now Hamas is firing rockets at civilians; Israel has the right to self defense – the endlessly repeated question is “well, what would you do under such circumstances?” 

To be clear, Hamas does carry responsibility for this situation – its targeting of Israeli civilians violates international law. The Hamas charter, its political platform, and its military activities all deserve to be condemned. But Israel’s share of the responsibility is far greater. That is a hard conclusion to draw but a necessary one if our understanding of events, our responses and policies are to improve. 

Gaza, by Mr. Fish

Once again, the superb Mr. Fish.

If you want to help the people in Gaza, ANERA is an excellent organization that is providing food, water, and medical care on the ground. Your money will go directly to the people who need it. Dr. Mads Gilbert is a Norwegian physician volunteering in Gaza who has been speaking out about the slaughter that's going on there:

Israeli Women on Facebook Promising Sex As Reward for More Killing

UPDATE BELOW.

I know the human race is fucked up. I know this. I get it. But every time you think you've seen it all, something comes along to show you that you haven't. And that you never will. Since the human imagination is limitless, human depravity likewise knows no bounds. 

This is from a Facebook page. Though I'm not a member of Facebook, I can still see the page. 

As background, Kim Jensen lives in Baltimore, coincidentally not far from me. She is married to a Palestinian man and they have two children. They sometimes visit their relatives, for which they must pass through Israel, where they have to jump through hoops and are usually treated like shit. Their son has been roughed up by Israeli authorities. I realize none of this is surprising to people who know what's going on over there; I'm just providing it as identifying info on Jensen, whose name you'll see in this excerpt. For those who may not know, IAF stands for Israeli Air Force: