New Gallup Poll Shows Majority of Americans Disapprove of Israel’s Actions in Gaza

Approval of the war fell among both Republicans and Democrats, although those groups remain split: 64 percent of Republicans and 18 percent of Democrats approve of Israel’s military action, according to the March poll. Such sentiments have fallen since November among adherents of both parties: 71 percent of Republicans said then that they approved of Israel’s war in Gaza, while 36 percent of Democrats said they did.

Many Americans also disapprove of the United States sending more military aid to Israel for its war against Hamas, according to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University. More than half of U.S. voters, 52 percent, oppose sending more military aid, while 39 percent support doing so, according to a survey of 1,569 U.S. adults from March 21 to March 25.

I don't "approve" of their actions, but do understand them.

I've said this before. What did Hamas think Israel would do after their unprovoked attack?

They were clearly confused because Matthew 5:38-39 ("But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also”) is decidedly NEW Testament. Anyone who knows anything about Jewish people is that they're decidedly OLD school when it comes to their bible.

Israel was never going to just let it slide or be pushed to the bargaining table.

Either Hamas intentionally provoked this situation expecting a scorched earth response in some sort of laughable "long-game" play to turn the world against Israel or they utterly miscalculated. But, history is clear about what Israel's response would be. They always respond with extreme prejudice. If they responded with anything less, it's enemies would take it as a sign of weakness and the attacks would have been endless.

Again, what did Hamas hope to gain from the initial attack. I think Israel is taking it too far. However, you can damn well bet that anyone considering attacking them is going to think twice once again. Bluntly, it's been too long and not enough "institutional" knowledge exists within Hamas leadership to remember how Israel would respond to the least provocation.

Like Putin, another old man is destroying his country. Is it our turn to let our orc Trump take us down the tubes come 2025?

Watching PBS News Hour the other day I learned something very interesting which I didn't know - Netanyahu is not the Commander In Chief of the IDF and has little to no control over what the IDF does. The ruling majority of the Israeli government is responsible for the control and direction of the IDF.

That was a big surprise to me. Did everyone else know that?

[quote]The ruling majority of the Israeli government is responsible for the control and direction of the IDF.

Isn't that a distinction with no real difference?

The Prime Minister is the leader of the ruling majority party of the Israeli government. If he weren't supported by a majority of the majority party, he'd be ousted anyway.

[quote]Isn't that a distinction with no real difference?

No R5. For example - President Biden is the sole Commander in Chief of the 6 branches of the United States Armed Forces. While Biden receives advice and intel from various sources and agencies - the ultimate decision is his.

Whereas, the Israeli government controls the IDF. Netanyahu is just one small voice amongst many and has no control over the IDF. He gets to announce and try to sell/defend the decisions made by his coalition government only. He doesn't make any of those decisions.

So the situations are totally different.

[quote] 64 percent of Republicans … approve of Israel’s military action

Nazi achievement unlocked

Not the ones who are gonna go ta Heaven!

The Israeli government has behaved like a capital crony for the last 20 years - this is a US brand of Republicanism that’s making decision makers a lot of money.

[quote]Netanyahu is just one small voice amongst many and has no control over the IDF.

He is the leader of the majority party - it's how he became prime minister.

While he does not have "direct" control over the military, as the US President does, he exerts an enormous amount of power over his party, hence the government. And again, if the majority of his party didn't support his policies, he wouldn't still be prime minister, that includes military action.

[quote]Israel was never going to just let it slide or be pushed to the bargaining table.

I’m sorry, what? Let it slide? Hamas slaughtered over 1200 people, including raping and torturing them, all civilians. They still have over 150 hostages including babies. Why on earth would Israel “let it slide” or be “pushed to the bargaining table”? You do know that all negotiated ceasefires have been rejected by Hamas because they don’t want to return the hostages right?

[quote]Either Hamas intentionally provoked this situation expecting a scorched earth response in some sort of laughable "long-game" play to turn the world against Israel or they utterly miscalculated. But, history is clear about what Israel's response would be. They always respond with extreme prejudice.

What on earth does this even mean? It’s war. If Hamas uses their people as human shields, as they always fucking do, it’s going to mean a higher death count. That is not on Israel, that is on Hamas.

[quote]Again, what did Hamas hope to gain from the initial attack. I think Israel is taking it too far.

No, they are not.

[quote]Bluntly, it's been too long and not enough "institutional" knowledge exists within Hamas leadership to remember how Israel would respond to the least provocation.

Completely insane. Up is down and down is up. You are literally writing as if Hamas is a rational group of extremists.

You Hamas supporters are next level.

It's about time. Israel is committing genocide on the Palestinian people killing more than 30,000 innocent civilians.

Fifty percent of Palestinians are under 18--so NO, these Palestinians did not vote for Hamas.

Israel wants to steal the Gaza Strip from the Palestinians just the same as Israel is trying to steal the West Bank--land that does not belong to Israel.

[quote]he exerts an enormous amount of power over his party, hence the government

R10 - the point is that he doesn't an exert enormous amount of power because he leads a very unstable, hard-right wing coalition of various political parties who have banded together to form the majority to govern. Most of them don't get on and have many conflicting political directions. To hold it all together, Netanyahu has to do whatever they say so they don't remove support because he has so little power and is holding on to being the PM by the skin of his teeth. When they say jump - Netanyahu says how high. He is essentially a figurehead only. Israeli political analysts and talking heads all agree that as soon as this war is over - Netanyahu is gone for reasons well known to everyone.

So for the final time - the situations are completely different.

When people on social media ask rhetorical questions about Gaza such as "Has there ever been a war the cruelty of which has been documented so thoroughly in real time?" and "Have there ever been targeted attacks on hospitals, like in this war?", they are not aware that the answer to both questions is: "Yes, and far worse, for many years, in Syria." It seems to me that this type of ignorance and naivety mainly shows the necessity of considering violence in the Middle East in a wider context.

There are many similarities between the conflicts in Syria and Israel/Palestine. Not only did Israel carry out hundreds of air raids in Syria during the civil war there; Assad supports Hezbollah. Indirectly as well, Assad's scorched-earth strategy and repressive regime have further undermined international ethics of warfare and encouraged cynics like Netanyahu. Most forms of Israeli violence currently being perpetrated in Gaza are taken right out of the playbook of Bashar Al-Assad: bombing hospitals, the use of "unconventional" weapons such as white phosphorus, openly racist and genocidal language, indefinite captivity, sieges and starvation, and the destruction of cultural heritage. All these forms of violence have remained unpunished in Syria, and have therefore become (even) more common in Palestine. The word "context" may have become a dirty word, but this context is relevant when it comes to better understanding the situation in Palestine.

The Yarmouk district, just south of Damascus, was once home to the largest Palestinian community outside Palestine. Many young Palestinian men who demonstrated against the Assad regime in 2011 were arrested and tortured by the notorious Palestine division of Assad's Military Intelligence Service. One young Palestinian in exile recently mocked Western supporters of Palestinians as "weekend keffiyeh wearers," saying they kept completely quiet before October 7, or whenever Palestinians are persecuted by Arab dictators outside Israeli borders. He asked: "Is these people's interest in Palestine motivated by a love for the victims, or by hatred for the perpetrators? Where were these people when Yarmouk was destroyed?"

Interesting because a Pew poll released last week says majority of Americans support Israel in their actions.

1967 borders and Hamas obliterated. The rest is just cheap sentiment on both sides.

100% R16.

I wonder if the world’s new concern for civilian war casualties will apply anywhere else.

[quote] It's about time. Israel is committing genocide on the Palestinian people killing more than 30,000 innocent civilians.

How many of the Palestinian casualties are Hamas fighters?

R15 The leaked drone footage has changed public opinion enormously. Even Joe Rogan, arguably the most popular podcaster in America, is calling it a genocide now.

R2 Get the fuck off datalounge bible thumper! Don't be quoting that book in here.

Israel was the dumbest idea in the history of bad ideas. Put a bunch of people in a region no one likes them but not before you take the land away from the people living there who can’t stand the people you’re giving it to. Britain fucked up as usual. Jews and Arabs will fight until the end of time. They hold a grudge like no one else. Just drop a bomb on the Middle East, Russia, and North Korea and get it over with. It’ll save a lot of time, heartbreak, and money.

[quote] but not before you take the land away

Except they didn't.

The only possible conclusion to that poll is that the majority of US citizens are racist anti-Semites and crypto-Nazis. Never mind that many of the people who disapprove of Israel's genocide against starving children and people in the ICU are Jewish themselves - this only means that they are self-hating anti-Semites and crypto-Nazis who support Hamas!

Oh, and by the way: Palestinians are not Semitic-Semitic, so slaughtering over 50 thousand of them and starving almost 2 million to death is perfectly fine. After all, the only Semitic victims of genocide in history are Jews, right?

Thank God that Congress, the Senate and the POTUS are bought and paid for by AIPAC - otherwise, Netanyahu might have to negotiate instead of using the weapons that Biden sends him every 36 hours, to murder innocent people!

[quote] Israel was the dumbest idea in the history of bad ideas.

Really?

[quote] Israel was the dumbest idea in the history of bad ideas.

Nah, that would be America. Decolonisation for you all.

Come on, not one in 1,000 Americans could place Gaza on a map.

R27, first, yes, 1 in 1000 could, and second, that has nothing to do with disapproving of Israel's actions.

What do we think of Israel blowing up the Islamist/Iranian bigwigs at the embassy in Damascus?

Jesus himself foretold of his future Second Coming. The problem? Christ also proclaimed in Matthew 24:36 that “no one knows” the day or the hour of his return. While the Bible proclaims that humanity cannot know the “when,” Jesus did reveal to the disciples some signs of his second coming in Matthew 24:6-8:

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed … Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

More nonsense at the link - I was just wondering what the cult is thinking - isn't Mike Johnson one of these loons?

[quote]What do we think of Israel blowing up the Islamist/Iranian bigwigs at the embassy in Damascus?

Is Israel declaring war on Syria and Iran by striking a building in a sovereign country which has nothing to do with their invasion of Gaza? That would seem to be the intent.

This overstep by Israel has the potential to draw in various middle east countries and turn into the bigger war that everyone has been hoping wouldn't happen. Very worrying. The US backs Israel and the US pays for Israel's weapons and supplies aid so there are questions to be answered. This unending and unquestioning support of Israel places a target on the US.

One of the most pressing issues is that Netanyahu must go immediately. He has been an obstacle to a 2 state solution for peace in the area for decades and the Israeli people want him gone.