Thanks for posting another informative video. I appreciated the statements at the beginning on conspiracies etc. While there has been some good work by journalists and scholars exposing the lobbying efforts in the US regarding Israel, too much emphasis on ‘the Israeli lobby’ or ‘donor class’ can too easily slide into anti-semitism. While wealthy zionists do have their influence on foreign policy, I think the main reason for support for Israel by European and North American governments has been its role as an imperial outpost and an enforcer to maintain hegemony in the region.
Good exposure on the origins of ideological support for Israel in Europe and North America. I also think that for some people fanatical support for Israel gives them a free pass to express their racist hatred of Arabs, and Palestinians in particular. You can see this with media personalities like Bill Mahr, Sam Harris and Douglas Murray. As Shlomo Sand has shown in regard to France, these Islamophobes and anti-Arab racists are the ideological descendants of the European anti-semites of the mid-twentieth century, they just have a different target.
But also, hate is instrumental to violence and dispossession. We hate some people not because they did something bad to us, but because we want to do something bad to them.
At the time of Israel's creation, Arab nationalism and self-determination stood in the way of the Zionists. So it was necessary to vilify the Arabs. I suppose this is the reason why mizrahi Jews were treated badly. And also not trusted, because they could empathize with the Palestinians. This is a conjecture of mine.
I also think that the Zionists know full well what they are doing. Deep down, they know they are guilty.
I agree with everything you said here. There is a lot to be gained from a sober and restrained approach to historical dynamics - while maintaining zero tolerance for displays of inhumanity
Great talk. I thought about this myself, and I came to the conclusion that it cannot be explained by money alone (thought the Israeli lobby indeed exists). There must be a deeper cultural influence. Zionism is powerful because it gives the American elites a perfect justification of their imperialism and racism, couched as a just moral cause.
I have a question. In your opinion, what does the Jewish American billionaire class get from supporting Israel? People like the Sheldon Adelson, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, etc. They are comfortably settled in the US so why do they care about Israel?
Fantastic. The time went by fast, it wasn't too long. What scope. I will say (which actually enhances what you said) that I believe there WAS a major good vs "evil" motif in WW 1 also. And Germany "coincidentally" was it, making the WW 2 myth of evil that much easier. It's clear from the over the top atrocity propaganda (victims hanging on bayonets et al) to the articles and statements of the "allies" themselves, to the historical burying of the early truce they offered, to the blatant degradation of the Treaty of Versailles that would make almost anyone crave "Hitler."
Picking up on the U.S./Zionist/chosen people intersect, did you hear that the new White House incarnation took down the portrait of Thomas Jefferson (faults and all, probably the most respected embodiment and symbol of the American ideals of freedom and democracy) and replaced it with one of James Polk, the embodiment of "manifest destiny" who annexed Texas and took over Mexico.
Thanks for focusing on assimilation. "Assimilationists" were the targeted enemy (see "State of Terror," Thomas Suarez). You said, "Without Zionism, there is no America." And without "anti-Semitism," there is no Zionism. As many of the leaders have said themselves.
Thank you very much, Howard. Great input, as always. I just have to add that as evil as Germany was, was the US that much better? With segregation and rampant lynchings and some of the most violent racist policies ever enacted anywhere? It's an open question
I agree it's an open question. In many ways, the US might be worse. Look at the works now available depicting the post-war treatment (after both world wars) of the Germans, by the US AND UK. To say nothing of mammoth civilian targeting/murder during the 2nd war. You can also pin the same post-WW2 treatment on the Russians/Soviets, but not the first war also. And how about everyone's favorite democracy in the Middle East? Even fully believing ALL the consensus stories, numbers, and details of the small "h" of World War 2, as facts, it's also factual from survivor stories and establishment sources that the Germans allowed musical performances and other cultural activities in Auschwitz. That might happen in Gaza -- after all the prisoners are totally eliminated or killed and Trump Gaza Riviera has kitchy floor shows (not classical concerts) for visiting tourists.
Alon, I thank you for your devotion to deep thinking. The genocide that began after Oct. 7, 2023, has stolen my happiness- I will never be the same. Roger Waters was speaking for me as well as himself when he told Piers Morgan, “I wake up every morning in tears over Gaza.” I couldn’t agree more when you say that the citizens are comatose and apathetic. I will add that the citizenry is captured: You are so on point when you tell American students that protesting is futile and we know they won’t take your advice and just drop out. I have been foolish enough to believe that I might start something by boycotting, writing letters and so forth. And, if not I would at least feel better knowing I had done something. Since the latest bombing in Yemen, I can only feel hopeless.
I find your devotion to deep thinking is very therapeutic for me. I started watching your new video on Zionism and I had to stop in the middle to pursue some questions: “When did antisemitism begin?” “Who created the word antisemitism and when?” I read for a few hours, then came back to finish watching your video. Weirdly, I wound up reading about “the other war” (Ukraine) and “another war” the Bolsheviks of the Russian Revolution. (Hint: the word “Semitic” is based on racist falsehoods.) Zionism is obviously antisemitic!
I say all of this as a person of British heritage whose roots in this country go back to the Puritans. I have always thought of patriotism as pure narcissism. I hate flags. The Constitution is based on racist falsehoods. People need to “feel proud” of their country to rationalize what they have done (the greedy capitalists) or what they have not done (the ones who are captured and powerless). Everyone could benefit from some deep thinking!
This is so perfect I feel like printing it and hanging it somewhere. Humanity is so beautiful, and this really is the core of what you show in this comment. Thank you so much for it
Thank you so much. I have written only two entries on Substack. I hope you will enjoy this one I am sharing. I was among "the comatose" on the Palestinian issue before Oct. 7. and It shows in my writing. Obviously I was laser focused on the Iraq War of 2003. Of course our media has played a big part in my ignorance. Unfortunately, I am still a captive. https://lynettewebb.substack.com/p/the-photo?r=2ve8bl
Very interesting analysis of the psychological aspects of what's going on. I think that what you said is a good grounding for the other aspects, such as Christian Zionism and their goal of Armageddon, the power brokers, who could care less about identity, or morality, and the profit-takers, who likewise only use the cover of morality for their stealth thievery.
We in the US have been brainwashed from the time we are toddlers in Sunday school. If you don’t stand for the Jew you will be cursed…The Jewish victim is the narrative pounded into our psyche minimizing how the Hebrews continually disobeyed God over and over. The only way a person in the US can break through the propaganda narrative of the bible is if they read it, understand it has been written only from fragments, so has been written to change history so the history of Canaan is erased. To dismiss and bury Abraham’s first descendant and first born son Ismael. The brother of the Hebrews. To study the main thread that there are decent and not decent people on earth. Essau and Jacob, Cain and Abel. And to see that good and evil are mixed up sometimes hard to tell who is the actual evil compared to good.
The word Jew no longer has any meaning. What is the root cause of the hatred of the European Jews? The middle eastern Jews do not seem to have this affliction. Have the European Jews always acted with arrogance, entitlements, and superiority? Is it because they are convert Jews? Is it because they are from the Khazar? Interesting how many factions are involved in the word or concept of Jew. Is it time to clearly segregate by labels so this is clarified? The same has happened to Christian. Compare catholic from evangelical Christian and extremist of the Christian Right. Sunni from Shite from extremist. How do we frame this Tower of Babel?
Ceasefire or no ceasefire; scam or no, we cannot allow Israel to escape the legal consequences of their war crimes. The Hind Rajab Foundation has, among other things, filed a case with the ICC against 1,000 Israeli soldiers for war crimes in Gaza.
They have taken further steps in recent days, and vacations are becoming a lot more difficult for IDF soldiers, worldwide. The Hind Rajab Foundation can use our help. Please join me in making a contribution.
You might find meaningful to watch the recent interviews that Glenn Greenwald did on his Rumble platform, and Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada, did with the head of this organisation, Dyad Abou Jahjah. It was very informative.
Here's a petition calling for accountability for the arrest of Ali Abunimah in Switzerland:
DAWN has urged the ICC prosecutor to investigate and prosecute former President Biden, State Secretary Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin for their personal roles in aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza as part of his ongoing investigation into the situations in Palestine since 2014.
I recall reading this and was amazed to see the American story laid naked and bleeding. Americans were invaders, thieves, plunderers, slavers and murderers, and still are (some of us). We've just told ourselves a nice little story about fleeing persecution to create the Land of the Free, and Alon is right, we've conflated the American story with the Biblical Jewish story, so much so that large swathes of Christianity (not just the dispensationalist evangelicals, either) are as fervently Zionist as anyone in the Likud Party.
🔥
Thanks for posting another informative video. I appreciated the statements at the beginning on conspiracies etc. While there has been some good work by journalists and scholars exposing the lobbying efforts in the US regarding Israel, too much emphasis on ‘the Israeli lobby’ or ‘donor class’ can too easily slide into anti-semitism. While wealthy zionists do have their influence on foreign policy, I think the main reason for support for Israel by European and North American governments has been its role as an imperial outpost and an enforcer to maintain hegemony in the region.
Good exposure on the origins of ideological support for Israel in Europe and North America. I also think that for some people fanatical support for Israel gives them a free pass to express their racist hatred of Arabs, and Palestinians in particular. You can see this with media personalities like Bill Mahr, Sam Harris and Douglas Murray. As Shlomo Sand has shown in regard to France, these Islamophobes and anti-Arab racists are the ideological descendants of the European anti-semites of the mid-twentieth century, they just have a different target.
But also, hate is instrumental to violence and dispossession. We hate some people not because they did something bad to us, but because we want to do something bad to them.
At the time of Israel's creation, Arab nationalism and self-determination stood in the way of the Zionists. So it was necessary to vilify the Arabs. I suppose this is the reason why mizrahi Jews were treated badly. And also not trusted, because they could empathize with the Palestinians. This is a conjecture of mine.
I also think that the Zionists know full well what they are doing. Deep down, they know they are guilty.
I agree with everything you said here. There is a lot to be gained from a sober and restrained approach to historical dynamics - while maintaining zero tolerance for displays of inhumanity
Great talk. I thought about this myself, and I came to the conclusion that it cannot be explained by money alone (thought the Israeli lobby indeed exists). There must be a deeper cultural influence. Zionism is powerful because it gives the American elites a perfect justification of their imperialism and racism, couched as a just moral cause.
I have a question. In your opinion, what does the Jewish American billionaire class get from supporting Israel? People like the Sheldon Adelson, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, etc. They are comfortably settled in the US so why do they care about Israel?
Fantastic. The time went by fast, it wasn't too long. What scope. I will say (which actually enhances what you said) that I believe there WAS a major good vs "evil" motif in WW 1 also. And Germany "coincidentally" was it, making the WW 2 myth of evil that much easier. It's clear from the over the top atrocity propaganda (victims hanging on bayonets et al) to the articles and statements of the "allies" themselves, to the historical burying of the early truce they offered, to the blatant degradation of the Treaty of Versailles that would make almost anyone crave "Hitler."
Picking up on the U.S./Zionist/chosen people intersect, did you hear that the new White House incarnation took down the portrait of Thomas Jefferson (faults and all, probably the most respected embodiment and symbol of the American ideals of freedom and democracy) and replaced it with one of James Polk, the embodiment of "manifest destiny" who annexed Texas and took over Mexico.
Thanks for focusing on assimilation. "Assimilationists" were the targeted enemy (see "State of Terror," Thomas Suarez). You said, "Without Zionism, there is no America." And without "anti-Semitism," there is no Zionism. As many of the leaders have said themselves.
Thank you very much, Howard. Great input, as always. I just have to add that as evil as Germany was, was the US that much better? With segregation and rampant lynchings and some of the most violent racist policies ever enacted anywhere? It's an open question
I agree it's an open question. In many ways, the US might be worse. Look at the works now available depicting the post-war treatment (after both world wars) of the Germans, by the US AND UK. To say nothing of mammoth civilian targeting/murder during the 2nd war. You can also pin the same post-WW2 treatment on the Russians/Soviets, but not the first war also. And how about everyone's favorite democracy in the Middle East? Even fully believing ALL the consensus stories, numbers, and details of the small "h" of World War 2, as facts, it's also factual from survivor stories and establishment sources that the Germans allowed musical performances and other cultural activities in Auschwitz. That might happen in Gaza -- after all the prisoners are totally eliminated or killed and Trump Gaza Riviera has kitchy floor shows (not classical concerts) for visiting tourists.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691172422/hitlers-american-model
this was a great talk, delivered beautifully, it certainly coalesced some thinking i have had recently. The Guardian - which i feel has been contemptibly complicit in this genocide - published this today https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/16/palestinian-exception-trump-campus-speech-zionist-jews - it also pulled similar threads together.
Alon, I thank you for your devotion to deep thinking. The genocide that began after Oct. 7, 2023, has stolen my happiness- I will never be the same. Roger Waters was speaking for me as well as himself when he told Piers Morgan, “I wake up every morning in tears over Gaza.” I couldn’t agree more when you say that the citizens are comatose and apathetic. I will add that the citizenry is captured: You are so on point when you tell American students that protesting is futile and we know they won’t take your advice and just drop out. I have been foolish enough to believe that I might start something by boycotting, writing letters and so forth. And, if not I would at least feel better knowing I had done something. Since the latest bombing in Yemen, I can only feel hopeless.
I find your devotion to deep thinking is very therapeutic for me. I started watching your new video on Zionism and I had to stop in the middle to pursue some questions: “When did antisemitism begin?” “Who created the word antisemitism and when?” I read for a few hours, then came back to finish watching your video. Weirdly, I wound up reading about “the other war” (Ukraine) and “another war” the Bolsheviks of the Russian Revolution. (Hint: the word “Semitic” is based on racist falsehoods.) Zionism is obviously antisemitic!
I say all of this as a person of British heritage whose roots in this country go back to the Puritans. I have always thought of patriotism as pure narcissism. I hate flags. The Constitution is based on racist falsehoods. People need to “feel proud” of their country to rationalize what they have done (the greedy capitalists) or what they have not done (the ones who are captured and powerless). Everyone could benefit from some deep thinking!
This is so perfect I feel like printing it and hanging it somewhere. Humanity is so beautiful, and this really is the core of what you show in this comment. Thank you so much for it
Thank you so much. I have written only two entries on Substack. I hope you will enjoy this one I am sharing. I was among "the comatose" on the Palestinian issue before Oct. 7. and It shows in my writing. Obviously I was laser focused on the Iraq War of 2003. Of course our media has played a big part in my ignorance. Unfortunately, I am still a captive. https://lynettewebb.substack.com/p/the-photo?r=2ve8bl
Very interesting analysis of the psychological aspects of what's going on. I think that what you said is a good grounding for the other aspects, such as Christian Zionism and their goal of Armageddon, the power brokers, who could care less about identity, or morality, and the profit-takers, who likewise only use the cover of morality for their stealth thievery.
Thank you.
We in the US have been brainwashed from the time we are toddlers in Sunday school. If you don’t stand for the Jew you will be cursed…The Jewish victim is the narrative pounded into our psyche minimizing how the Hebrews continually disobeyed God over and over. The only way a person in the US can break through the propaganda narrative of the bible is if they read it, understand it has been written only from fragments, so has been written to change history so the history of Canaan is erased. To dismiss and bury Abraham’s first descendant and first born son Ismael. The brother of the Hebrews. To study the main thread that there are decent and not decent people on earth. Essau and Jacob, Cain and Abel. And to see that good and evil are mixed up sometimes hard to tell who is the actual evil compared to good.
The word Jew no longer has any meaning. What is the root cause of the hatred of the European Jews? The middle eastern Jews do not seem to have this affliction. Have the European Jews always acted with arrogance, entitlements, and superiority? Is it because they are convert Jews? Is it because they are from the Khazar? Interesting how many factions are involved in the word or concept of Jew. Is it time to clearly segregate by labels so this is clarified? The same has happened to Christian. Compare catholic from evangelical Christian and extremist of the Christian Right. Sunni from Shite from extremist. How do we frame this Tower of Babel?
I agree with a lot of what you say here. As a native Arab Jew, I feel especially betrayed by this process that you describe
Ceasefire or no ceasefire; scam or no, we cannot allow Israel to escape the legal consequences of their war crimes. The Hind Rajab Foundation has, among other things, filed a case with the ICC against 1,000 Israeli soldiers for war crimes in Gaza.
https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org/perpetrators/hind-rajab-foundation-files-historic-icc-complaint-against-1000-israeli-soldiers-for-war-crimes-in-gaza
They have taken further steps in recent days, and vacations are becoming a lot more difficult for IDF soldiers, worldwide. The Hind Rajab Foundation can use our help. Please join me in making a contribution.
https://buy.stripe.com/cN228hbY5g7jaM84gg
You might find meaningful to watch the recent interviews that Glenn Greenwald did on his Rumble platform, and Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada, did with the head of this organisation, Dyad Abou Jahjah. It was very informative.
Here's a petition calling for accountability for the arrest of Ali Abunimah in Switzerland:
https://chng.it/8D4pkxPhWS
Please sign the petition and share widely.
DAWN has urged the ICC prosecutor to investigate and prosecute former President Biden, State Secretary Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin for their personal roles in aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza as part of his ongoing investigation into the situations in Palestine since 2014.
https://dawnmena.org/latest/
Let’s give them our support.
Petition for the immediate release of Greencard holder, Mahmoud Khalil
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/demand-the-immediate-release-of-columbia-student-pro-palestine-advocate-mahmoud-khalil-from-dhs-detention
The essay I mention:
https://alonmizrahi.substack.com/p/its-all-in-the-bible-and-the-fabricated
I never understood this until now. How can America be zionists. How can our whole society support this murder?
Thanks for giving me an understanding.
I think the essay Alon is talking about is this one, as it touches on many of the same points: https://alonmizrahi.substack.com/p/its-all-in-the-bible-and-the-fabricated
I recall reading this and was amazed to see the American story laid naked and bleeding. Americans were invaders, thieves, plunderers, slavers and murderers, and still are (some of us). We've just told ourselves a nice little story about fleeing persecution to create the Land of the Free, and Alon is right, we've conflated the American story with the Biblical Jewish story, so much so that large swathes of Christianity (not just the dispensationalist evangelicals, either) are as fervently Zionist as anyone in the Likud Party.
Yes, it's this one
sorry I'm quite new to substack, did you link the essay you talked about? thanks
There you go
https://alonmizrahi.substack.com/p/its-all-in-the-bible-and-the-fabricated