Hamas executes 5 Gazans charged with murder, aiding Israel

but not once in it do you mention that Israel is up against a terrorist led faction right next door.

facing down terrorists is never an excuse to sinking to their moral level. If Israel wishes to be seen as the bastion of democracy, freedom, and human rights it purports to be (and I would like to see it become), it cannot simply point at Hamas and go “well they did it first”. Part of being a pillar of righteousness is going high, even when going low appeals to that very human desire for retribution.

As for the ADL, they are welcome to call something they perceive to be offensive an insult. But it does not change the fact that what Israel hs done and continues to do fits the definition of a concentration camp - placing innocent people in a tightly controlled and concentrated area based solely on a perceived association with an “enemy group” in the name of “security”. Ergo, treating a group as guilty simply by association. Japanese Americans were placed in concentration camps and the justification was that America was facing an existential threat in the form of Imperial Japan and all members of the Japanese ethnicity were treated as potential fifth columnists simply because they were Japanese. They dressed blatant bigotry up as a necessary measure in the name of “public safety”. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.

the history of the violent actions of Palestinian Arabs and other Arabs against Israel since its inception.

The irony here is that you take the actions of Hamas and extrapolate it to include all Arabs, whereas I specifically distinguish between the Israeli government and the average Jewish person. And once again, the heinous actions of Hamas do not justify a tit-for-tat response. Unless you are okay with people holding the two groups as morally equivalent.

ReynardFoxToday  02:21 am JST

Not sure where you saw me denying the Holocaust. At no point did I deny the Holocaust. I pointed out the fact that concentration camps were not exclusive to Jews or the Holocaust. 

Totally missed my point, which is about the concentration camp comparison. See the ADL's response.

Using the term “concentration camp” is no more anti-Semitic than is it is anti-Japanese or anti-Boer.

According to you. But not the ADL. See above comment.

And you give a long explanation about why you criticize the Israeli government, but not once in it do you mention that Israel is up against a terrorist led faction right next door. And the theme of this article is about Hamas executing 5 Palestinian Arabs, yet you talk about Israel should be treating Palestinian Arabs with dignity--can you see the irony?

The long and the short of it is this: I’m not anti-Semitic.

And I believe that. But many often try and justify their reasons for criticizing Israel, while ignoring the blatant fact that there is a terrorist organization that is intent on destroying the entire country of Israel, and it seems they do not understand the history of the violent actions of Palestinian Arabs and other Arabs against Israel since its inception.

*I’d no longer criticize them.

I said "disgusting". The ADL said "disgraceful". You try to deny.

Not sure where you saw me denying the Holocaust. At no point did I deny the Holocaust. I pointed out the fact that concentration camps were not exclusive to Jews or the Holocaust. To act as if the mention of concentration camps is inherently anti-Semitic is to imply that such things are exclusive to Jews and Jews alone. Which is not true. Using the term “concentration camp” is no more anti-Semitic than is it is anti-Japanese or anti-Boer.

As I stated explicitly, my criticisms are leveled at the concrete, observable actions of the government of the nation of Israel. At no point do I state or imply that these actions are the actions of, or represent the feelings of, all Jews. The government of Israel and the Jewish people as a whole are not synonymous. The actions of the former do not represent the entirety of the latter. Israel is not, nor should it be, an exclusively Jewish state. It is not a theocracy. I made no statement implying that Jewish people as a group are inherently bad, only that the actions of the government of a nation are wrongheaded. This is no different that criticizing the use of concentration camps (yes, actual concentration camps not filled with Jews) by the Chinese government against the Uyghurs. I criticize the actions of the government, not all Chinese people as a whole. Though you’ll often see the CCP leveling the same “if you criticize our government, you must hate all Chinese people” accusation being leveled by them as well.

The long and the short of it is this: I’m not anti-Semitic. Far from it. And it’s easy to prove. If the government of Israel were to shift policies and begin treating Palestinians with the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings, I’d not long let criticize them. That’s because my criticisms are about actions and policies, not the ethnic makeup of the people carrying out those policies.

There's nothing inherently anti-Semitic about claiming that Israel's policy of isolating and concentrating Palestinian people in areas that can be heavily patrolled and controlled. While some people see the word "concentration camp" and think it was something exclusive to the Holocaust, it isn't.

Another typical approach that propagates this type of thinking; i.e. 'deniers'.

The Anti-defamation League would also find the use of this concentration camp analogy attempt offensive.

To make it easy, when AOC said “This administration has established concentration camps on the southern border of the United States for immigrants, where they are being brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying.”

The ADL responded:

“Six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. It is disgraceful for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to compare our nation’s immigration policies to the horrors carried out by the Nazis.”

Got that?

I said "disgusting". The ADL said "disgraceful". You try to deny.

They don't explain why some are hanged and others used firing squad. Barbaric, regardless of the reason. They should still have to explain the method.

It says the two executed by firing squad were security force members. Execution by firing squad is usually the standard method for executing members of military forces, while hanging is usually used for civilian or common criminals. Throughout history, execution by firing squad was seen as sort of legitimizing a person's military status. There are numerous instances of people who perceive themselves are soldiers demanding to be executed by firing squad and those seeking to delegitimize their claims to being soldiers by executing them by hanging

*Don’t believe in the death penalty, but giving information so Israel can bomb, destroy, kill and maim Palestinians in the worlds largest concentration camp does deserve some kind of punishment.*

This disgusting anti-semite statement shows the reason why Israel has to use hardline security measures to protect itself.

There's nothing inherently anti-Semitic about claiming that Israel's policy of isolating and concentrating Palestinian people in areas that can be heavily patrolled and controlled. While some people see the word "concentration camp" and think it was something exclusive to the Holocaust, it isn't. The Jews of Europe were neither the first nor the only people subjected to being herded into concentration camps. An obvious non-Jewish group placed into concentration camps were Japanese-Americans during WWII and the first systematic use of concentration camps was actually by the British against Boer civilians during the Boer Wars.

"Concentration camp" is a neutral term that isn't exclusive to Jews or the Holocaust and its use can be justified in regards to Israel's handling of Palestinians. The term "ghetto" can also be applied to the Palestinians' situation without it being an anti-Semitic critique.

Contrary to what people might try to imply, criticism of Israel's policies is NOT the same as hatred directed indiscriminately against an entire ethno-religious group. The former is a perfectly valid and defensible critique of the actions of a specific government vis a vis the people under its control. The latter is undiscerning hatred against an entire group, underpinned by unfounded or false prejudices about the supposed 'inherent nature' of an entire group, rather than the concrete actions of a specific subset of said group.

Gaza’s Hamas authorities Sunday executed five Palestinian men convicted in separate cases of murder and alleged collaboration with Israel.

And people complain when Israel builds a wall to protect itself from terrorists?

RodneyToday  09:22 am JST

Don’t believe in the death penalty, but giving information so Israel can bomb, destroy, kill and maim Palestinians in the worlds largest concentration camp does deserve some kind of punishment.

This disgusting anti-semite statement shows the reason why Israel has to use hardline security measures to protect itself.

Don’t believe in the death penalty, but giving information so Israel can bomb, destroy, kill and maim Palestinians in the worlds largest concentration camp does deserve some kind of punishment.

Exactly which country does Hamas speak for? None. This is a terrorist group.

I think similar things were said about the ANC and Sinn Fein and probably the American Patriots.

RedstormSep. 4  11:17 pm JST

The Israeli army has imprisoned more than 12,000 Palestinian children since 2000, according to Addameer.

If Palestinian Arab children were throwing rocks at Israelis, then they broke the law.

Exactly which country does Hamas speak for? None. This is a terrorist group.

RedstormToday  11:48 pm JST

I support nonviolence, human rights, civil rights, democracy, and equality.

Then you support Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.

Great to hear.

RedstormToday  11:17 pm JST

The peace-loving democratic nation imprisons people, including children, without trial.

I am sure they are all completely innocent.

Israel is holding about 600 Palestinian detainees without charge or trial, the highest number since 2016, an Israeli rights group said. HaMoked, an Israeli rights group that regularly gathers figures from prison authorities, said.

Good-keep them off the streets.

Israel is the only country in the world that tries children in military courts, often denying them their basic rights.

The Palestinian Arabs are the only people in the world who train their children to throw rocks at Israelis who are just trying to protect their country.

You either support the kind of terrorism inflicted by Palestinian Arabs, or you don't.

Sounds like you do.

Terrorists, nothing else. They have no country, therefore logically no legal three state entities like parliamentary legislation, executive forces and jurisdiction and therefore can’t have an applicable law system, verdicts and death penalty. That they play in reality as if they were a state with government and law system etc is obvious, but it all has no legitimacy anyway, being just only a terrorists governed territory , or to be more correctly, two linked territories.

It makes perfect sense that a terrorist organization would execute some of its members for trying to assist a peace-loving democratic nation.

They don't explain why some are hanged and others used firing squad. Barbaric, regardless of the reason. They should still have to explain the method.

How many people have Israeli settlers and “security forces” murdered in the past few years?? A hell of a lot more! But that’s ok because they are Israel and the media says nothing??!!

Hamas took over Gaza??? They were the legally elected reps of the West Bank an Gaza but because they wouldn’t kiss Israel and the US’s ring they were ousted

Hamas must have learned from it's occupier and the so called the PA in the west bank how to get red of rivals and dissidents.

Israel shoots on the spot in bright daylight, and the PA sends a group of thugs to their home and beats to death.

Countless atrocities carried out by the US-backed Israeli military on Palestinians (which in turn gives rise to groups like Hamas), yet rarely mentioned here.

To be fair, such things are reported in the media, but I'll agree that there's always an implicit bias toward Israel.

I will call out Israel any day of the week for its anti-democratic and discriminatory treatment of Palestinians. I will also call out Hamas' barbarity and stupid strategies. Hamas is doing the cause of the people it claims to represent no good by going the medieval route. There could be much greater global cooperation in joining the Palestinian cause if Hamas, Hezbollah, etc would act in better faith.

Countless atrocities carried out by the US-backed Israeli military on Palestinians (which in turn gives rise to groups like Hamas), yet rarely mentioned here.

Firing squads for traitors and hanging for murderers. Unfortunately for them, the evidentiary standards are not very high and the "training" of the judges is a farce. Many times there is no forensic evidence whatsoever, and only witness speculation or third-party testimony (known as "hearsay" in Western countries.)