Menlo Park Logo
Jul 27, 2025
Email
All Emails

Re: Famine Expert: Israels Starvation of Gaza Most Minutely Designed and Controlled Since WWII

Aram,

I dont think too many Gazans would agree with your characterization of Hamas as "freedom fighters." Theyve never done anything to make Gazans freer. In fact, they’ve oppressed them far worse than the Israelis ever did, and their fanatical hatred against Jews and Israel has brought nothing but death and destruction to Gaza.

Your theory that Israel intentionally allowed October 7 to happen in order to have a pretext to invade Gaza is beyond ludicrous. If Israel wanted a pretext, it could easily have found one that involved no loss of Jewish lives, let alone over 1200 Jewish lives!

Your claim that Israel always planned to expel all the Palestinian Arabs is also absurd. If so, why did they grant full Israeli citizenship to so many of them, over a million of which continue to enjoy the benefits of Israeli citizenship today, including the right to vote.

Its true that some pre-state Jewish leaders considered the possibility of expelling the Arabs in light of their continued hostility, but this has never been the policy of the State. On the other hand, top Arab leaders have repeatedly boasted, especially in 1948 and 1967, that they were going to “ massacre” the Jews and “drive them into the sea,” and Hamas to this day insists that its goal is to remove every single Jew from the Land of Israel.

You accuse Israel of dehumanizing the Palestinians. You should take a look at how Jews are portrayed in Palestinian textbooks and classrooms. It seems that everything you accuse Israel of doing to the Arabs are things that the Arabs do, or try to do, to the Jews.

Your claim that the conflict is not between equals is also disingenuous. Hamas itself is no match for Israel, but its important to recognize that Hamas is just one branch of a larger movement called the Muslim Brotherhood. It also has wealthy and powerful patrons in Arab and Muslim countries, and its diverted hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid, intended to benefit the Gazan people, into militarizing the Strip for protracted warfare against Israel. And given its fanatical dedication to killing Jews, which it regards as a religious obligation, and its being willing and even eager to give their own lives to do so, it indeed poses an existential threat that Israel must deal with in a very forceful way.

Martin Wasserman


> On Jul 25, 2025, at 9:58 PM, Aram James wrote:
>
> Hi Mark,
>
> I place no blame on Hamas for the current situation. For decades, the U.S. and Israel have kept the people of Gaza in what can only be described as the largest outdoor prison and concentration camp in world history. This reality is well-documented by Jewish scholars like Norman Finkelstein and Israeli scholar Ilan Pappé.
>
> Like Nat Turner Hamas members can be viewed as freedom fighters of the first order. .
>
> It was known to Israel that Hamas was preparing for the October 7 attack for a significant period—possibly weeks or even months—before the actual event. The IDF was ordered to stand down by military leaders with the full consent of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. It seems that Israel sought a precipitating event to trigger violence, aiming toward the total ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from their historic homeland.
>
> Based on historical records that predate its establishment in 1948, Israel and its Zionist leadership have always planned to expel the Palestinian people through violence and military force. The Israelis routinely dehumanize the Palestinian people, similarly to how Europeans characterized Native Americans, providing justification for land theft and atrocities (Settler Colonialism).
>
> This is not a conflict between two equal parties. It is Israel, supported by substantial military and financial aid from the U.S. (billions of dollars every year), engaged in a systematic slaughter of the Palestinian people.
>
> Israel possesses one of the most powerful militaries in the world, with a functioning army, navy, air force, and nuclear weapons. In contrast, Palestine has no army, no navy, no air force, and no nuclear weapons.
>
> The Palestinians survive through their resourcefulness, while Israel relies on military strength supplied by the U.S. This situation transcends the classic narrative of David versus Goliath.
>
> Avram “Eliminate the state of Israel now." — Finkelstein
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 22, 2025 at 10:28 PM Aram James > wrote:
>> The ongoing genocide and war crimes committed by Israel, with the full support of the United States, will eventually be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This will happen regardless of any alleged actions by Hamas. It is crucial to understand that the ongoing genocide is a separate and distinct crime from the alleged behavior of the group referred to as Hamas (freedom fighters).
>>
>> As Bob Dylan famously said, “You dont need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” In a similar vein, you don’t need a genocide expert to recognize that Israel is currently engaged in a massive, full-blown genocide of the Palestinian people. One can offer various intellectual rationalizations, but the reality remains indisputable—the actions of the state of Israel amount to genocide beyond all reasonable doubt. Israel is guilty as charged of war crimes and genocide.
>>
>> Avram “Let The Prosecution Begin” Finkelstein
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jul 22, 2025 at 10:23 PM Martin Wasserman > wrote:
>>> The bias of the author is evident in the fact that the entire article mentions Hamas only once, in passing. Hamas could end the suffering tomorrow just by laying down their arms and releasing the hostages. But they care more about scoring propaganda points against Israel than about saving the lives of their own people.
>>>
>>> Martin Wasserman
>>>
>>>
>>>> On Jul 22, 2025, at 3:08 PM, Aram James > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Famine Expert: Israels Starvation of Gaza Most Minutely Designed and Controlled Since WWII
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Famine Expert: Israels Starvation of Gaza Most Minutely Designed and Controlled Since WWII | Common Dreams https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.commondreams.org%2fnews%2ffamine-expert-israel-s-starvation-of-gaza-most-minutely-designed-and-controlled-since-wwii&c=E,1,1h7sknruumeJT0rSv2_GXRei8Maa6uk9YUwALqQnE6jyq41AK1xNOCElFz2KGLDH52p_CmW1D9YCezDNRrXMsiKOD97LnYNgvEk5i75rLjijTlTYDa7mr7aAcsXj&typo=1
>>>