05-15-2021, 08:31 AM
(05-13-2021, 09:51 PM)John J. Xenakis Wrote: *** 14-May-21 World View -- Communal violence within Israel threatens much wider war
My view has been that the current war would fizzle out within a few months, like the 2014 war. The only thing that could prevent that is if some third country, like Egypt or Turkey, actively entered the war on the side of Hamas...
However, there's a new development that changes that calculation. The new development, which has apparently caught everyone by surprise, is the rise of extremely bitter communal / sectarian violence between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. To be clear, we're talking about Israeli citizens who have for years been living side by side within Israeli cities and towns. About 20% of Israel's total population are Arabs.
I agree with this (surprise!). Hamas has a benefactor-client relationship with Iran, and this may be the inside-outside effort that starts a real war. Worse, Israel has shifted so far to the right that even Bibi Netanyahu is now a "moderate". Are the Israelis now the autocratic "other" that we tend to oppose? They've certainly tried their damnedest to make that true.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
