Slaughter

[Gwen Williams]

Am I mistaken in understanding that the US has fully supplied Israel with missille interceptors that shoot down missils from hamas before they explode on the ground?!
Thanks from
Old Pensa person Gwen

Sent from my iPad

[Gwen Williams]

Thanks Laurie.

It makes me wonder how many dollars from the US in one form or another have been spent for Israel in the last year?

Gwen

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Laurie Nessel <laurie...@gmail.com>
Date: May 17, 2021 at 1:16:07 PM MST
To: Gwen Williams <sloa...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Slaughter



Iron Dome was funded and designed by an Israeli company in Tel Aviv, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, LTD beginning in 2005, and first used in 2011. Since then, the US has partially funded the project. 

In 2012, the US asked for access to, and a stake in, elements of the system's technology in exchange for its share of funding. 

In 2019 the US made their first order of Iron Dome which was delivered in 2020 and 2021.

Last May (2020), Rafael signed a joint venture agreement with Raytheon (R2S) to produce Iron Dome interceptors and launchers in the US. 

I can't answer whether the latest batteries used against HAMAS were made in the US or Israel. 

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[Laurie Nessel]

Here is a good resource

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/total-u-s-foreign-aid-to-israel-1949-present

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[Laurie Nessel]

Last month, the Biden administration reinstated financial support to the Palistinians ($235million, with 2/3 going to UNRWA https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56665199). Since most of UNRWA money goes to HAMAS, indirectly, but nonetheless, you could theoretically say that the US is fighting a proxy war against itself.

Today, Democrats (and one Republican) in the House blocked emergency funding to Israel for Iron Dome. So I guess you could say that the US is attempting to even out the playing field.    

Laurie Nessel

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 12:03 PM Gwen Williams <sloa...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Denis Franklin, MD]

It occurs to me to point out that Iron Dome is a purely defensive anti-missile system, and without it, Israel has little tactical choice but to go after the Hamas rocket launching sites in Gaza with conventional air strikes.  This rather more blunt force response will inevitably result in a great many civilian casualties, since launch sites are often hidden among civilian targets.

This latest episode began with Hamas launching 85 UNGUIDED missiles  into Israeli cities.  Meaning rockets that cannot be guided to military targets and therefore which land randomly, including among civilian homes and markets.

With the "two state" solution  seen as the only long-term path to deescalation, a solution adamantly opposed by both Hamas and Jewish extremists ("God gave us this land. ") ;  It seems that this conflict cannot end well.  If Israel does not have the support of strong allies she may have to mount another full-scale attack against Arab adversaries now supported by Russia and Iran.  Facing heavy odds against survival in such a conflict, the use of nuclear weapons may seem Israel's only option.

I wonder who thinks they would benefit from that?

Denis

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[Denis Franklin, MD]

Addendum:  The 85 rockets launched by Hamas into Israel were only in the first day.  The total number in this recent attack was 4,000.

Yesterday there was a cease-fire.  Today Bebe announced that if a single Hamas rocket breaks the cease-fire it will result in a hugely disproportionate response from Israel.

Hamas sites its rocket launchers at schools and hospitals and among civilian-occupied buildings.  It appears that they actually HOPE that Israel will target the launch sites so that it can be blamed for Palestinian civilian casualties.

Then muslim legislators in our congress pressure the WH to withdraw support from Israel.  With our support withdrawn we lose the ability to pressure Israel moderates to accept a two-state solution.  As the moderates lose influence, that leaves the "God promised us this land" zealots in the more powerful position.  They are the ones who are sticking their "settlements" in the middle of the Arab countryside.  It seems to me that this can only not matter to people whose plan it is to exterminate Israel anyway.

But then I'm only an amateur, guessing from the other side of the planet in a forum of consummate unimportance to either of the involved parties.  

Today there have been a couple of attacks on jews in the U.S., either by Palestinian sympathizers or by agitators flying a false flag, but none on my block yet, so ....      

There are about seven million jews in the U.S. and only about half that number of muslims, with the latter number sure to rise now that the "open borders" party is back in power.  Judaism and Islam are the second and third most populous religions in the U.S., and with peace, stability, the rule of law no longer observed or valued, and the reason for the intentionally relative immutability of the Constitution no longer understood nor respected, the willingness and ability to interact with violence may become the force that controls America's rudder.  We will have arrived at the ultimate expression of identity politics - first devalue and then destroy those who differ.   Might as well get the antipastos over with and get straight to the linguini.

This whole epoch has seemed like a reprise of the religious wars, when it came down to, "If you don't accept our beliefs as your own we will kill you."  Sad to think that is what my family fled in 1600, making their way to the New World in order to create a land where differing beliefs were more than tolerated.  They were, in fact, encouraged.  

Denis

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[Jim Delton]

 Well said.

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