As someone who was recently attacked in the NYTimes Instagram comments section by a former friend who is now a self-righteous non-Biden-voter, I was so happy to read this and remember i'm not alone. Thank you.
Joe Biden is moveable and listens, even if he is sometimes devastatingly slow to act. Trump will tear gas protesters—we’ve seen him do it before in his last term, and he will do it again if given the chance. If your goal is to help civilians in Gaza, Biden is the only choice.
Hi 🙋♀️humanitarian aid worker here. This is mostly an academic exercise for me because, as a current DC resident, my vote de facto won’t count (yay democracy!), but Biden is not staying Bibi’s hand and indicating that you think he is undermines this argument IMHO. Famine is about to hit a tipping point where it is very, very, very hard to stop, and the only thing to stop it while we can would be to let the miles of lined up trucks through — and Biden is not pushing Bibi to do that, instead he’s doing showmanship like air drops or whatever he’s trying to do in a few months with a port. Without a ceasefire, UNRWA restoration, and the roads opened to aid trucks, what is about to happen is going to be even worst. There are zero indications that Biden is acknowledging this with the seriousness it needs.
Totally agree. Trump just said Israel should “finish the problem”. He also supports settlements whom which Biden just put an executive order putting them on notice for violence.
I am frustrated that these non Biden voters think he has the power to just end the conflict or that Israel is the only group with agency to end the war. The west is infantilizing Palestinians as people who don’t have a choice in the war they started and their choice to refuse to negotiate a ceasefire, return hostages or negotiate peace agreements. A lot of tragedy could have been avoided if either side had relented.
You’re conflating governments with civilians. The civilians who are dying in huge numbers in Gaza did not start a war and have no ability to negotiate a ceasefire.
While that is true, Hamas is more popular after the attacks. 72% in December said Hamas’s attack was correct with over 52% in Gaza. This bit below from a survey shows that Palestinians are far more interested in no Israel at all vs a 2 state peace next to Israel. This is what I mean by taking Palestinians at their word. They say over and over that they do not want peace
Asked to choose “the top Palestinian national priority during the coming five years,” two-thirds (66%) of West Bankers in this poll pick “regaining all of historical Palestine for the Palestinians”; a mere 14% choose “ending the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, to achieve a two-state solution.” Gazan respondents, surprisingly, are a bit more moderate: 56% want all of Palestine, while 31% opt for the two-state solution.
I agree that you shouldn’t and that it is a terrible tragedy.
That isn’t my point though. My point is that the majority in Gaza and vast majority in the West Bank are not interested in peace that everyone wants for them. Nor are they particularly interested in just an end to occupation. There can’t be peace until all sides are on board.
As someone who has spent time in both Israel & Palestine & is currently working coordination of humanitarian aid, I can say with complete confidence that Palestinian civilians are desperate for peace, and that polls that ask reductive questions of a population who, again, is currently seeing their families slaughtered, are not painting a full picture of civilian life, beliefs, or hopes. We started this conversation because you wrote that “The west is infantilizing Palestinians as people who don’t have a choice in the war they started and their choice to refuse to negotiate a ceasefire, return hostages or negotiate peace agreements,” and I need to reiterate that the majority of people being killed, in fact, are civilians who DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE, and it is not infantilizing to acknowledge that.
Thank you for this!!! I’m probably your mother’s age and I love reading your column. I hope more people your age are reading this and will listen to your sage advice, but I’m afraid their privilege is going to be their undoing!
Put this on the front page of every newspaper in this country.
As someone who was recently attacked in the NYTimes Instagram comments section by a former friend who is now a self-righteous non-Biden-voter, I was so happy to read this and remember i'm not alone. Thank you.
You are one of my favorite brains that express through your fingers.
Giving you a standing ovation
Somebody make this a full-page Sunday NYT ad please.
Love your comedy, for sure; love your grasp of reality more.
Joe Biden is moveable and listens, even if he is sometimes devastatingly slow to act. Trump will tear gas protesters—we’ve seen him do it before in his last term, and he will do it again if given the chance. If your goal is to help civilians in Gaza, Biden is the only choice.
Hi 🙋♀️humanitarian aid worker here. This is mostly an academic exercise for me because, as a current DC resident, my vote de facto won’t count (yay democracy!), but Biden is not staying Bibi’s hand and indicating that you think he is undermines this argument IMHO. Famine is about to hit a tipping point where it is very, very, very hard to stop, and the only thing to stop it while we can would be to let the miles of lined up trucks through — and Biden is not pushing Bibi to do that, instead he’s doing showmanship like air drops or whatever he’s trying to do in a few months with a port. Without a ceasefire, UNRWA restoration, and the roads opened to aid trucks, what is about to happen is going to be even worst. There are zero indications that Biden is acknowledging this with the seriousness it needs.
yours is the only take. love him or hate him, biden is the only way at this point. thank you for saying it loud and proud!
Thank you for this - sharing far and wide
Good! Now distribute this widely and don’t worry about getting cancelled (an act of courage, I acknowledge).
In life there are always compromises-and in this situation there is only one rational choice. You don’t have to agree with everything, always
Totally agree. Trump just said Israel should “finish the problem”. He also supports settlements whom which Biden just put an executive order putting them on notice for violence.
I am frustrated that these non Biden voters think he has the power to just end the conflict or that Israel is the only group with agency to end the war. The west is infantilizing Palestinians as people who don’t have a choice in the war they started and their choice to refuse to negotiate a ceasefire, return hostages or negotiate peace agreements. A lot of tragedy could have been avoided if either side had relented.
You’re conflating governments with civilians. The civilians who are dying in huge numbers in Gaza did not start a war and have no ability to negotiate a ceasefire.
While that is true, Hamas is more popular after the attacks. 72% in December said Hamas’s attack was correct with over 52% in Gaza. This bit below from a survey shows that Palestinians are far more interested in no Israel at all vs a 2 state peace next to Israel. This is what I mean by taking Palestinians at their word. They say over and over that they do not want peace
Asked to choose “the top Palestinian national priority during the coming five years,” two-thirds (66%) of West Bankers in this poll pick “regaining all of historical Palestine for the Palestinians”; a mere 14% choose “ending the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, to achieve a two-state solution.” Gazan respondents, surprisingly, are a bit more moderate: 56% want all of Palestine, while 31% opt for the two-state solution.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/poll-shows-palestinians-back-oct-7-attack-israel-support-hamas-rises-2023-12-14/
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/palestinian-majority-rejects-two-state-solution-backs-tactical-compromises
Okay. You still can’t kill children in huge numbers because you don’t like the way 56% of their parents responded to a poll while under siege.
I agree that you shouldn’t and that it is a terrible tragedy.
That isn’t my point though. My point is that the majority in Gaza and vast majority in the West Bank are not interested in peace that everyone wants for them. Nor are they particularly interested in just an end to occupation. There can’t be peace until all sides are on board.
As someone who has spent time in both Israel & Palestine & is currently working coordination of humanitarian aid, I can say with complete confidence that Palestinian civilians are desperate for peace, and that polls that ask reductive questions of a population who, again, is currently seeing their families slaughtered, are not painting a full picture of civilian life, beliefs, or hopes. We started this conversation because you wrote that “The west is infantilizing Palestinians as people who don’t have a choice in the war they started and their choice to refuse to negotiate a ceasefire, return hostages or negotiate peace agreements,” and I need to reiterate that the majority of people being killed, in fact, are civilians who DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE, and it is not infantilizing to acknowledge that.
Thank you for this!!! I’m probably your mother’s age and I love reading your column. I hope more people your age are reading this and will listen to your sage advice, but I’m afraid their privilege is going to be their undoing!
Oh Bess. Thank you Thankyou. How much DOES an ad in the NYT cost? Spreading widely. ❤️
Thank you! 1000 fucking percent!
Such a great essay! Loved every poignant point you shared! I also reposted on twix - for the few sane folks left in the hellhole. Thank you Bess!
Go Bess go!