To wish those in Israel safety in these coming times

[mids2019]

Israel is a country at war and I know many will have links or family in that country so I think it appropriate to wish them safety in the coming days.

I don't understand how taking out mass civilians can be treated differently according to its respective war.

It can’t be different. But the word ‘genocide’ was never bandied about for these other conflicts, despite the terrible death tolls.
But for Gaza, the word has been used because it’s emotive, not because it’s accurate.
Like torture used to describe Greta being asked to watch the Oct 7th evidence.
Or kidnapping to describe the arrest of that illegal boat attempted incursion.

@HellsBalls

Or the false but emotive term of carpet bombing to describe the dropping of any bombs on Gaza. When Israel doesn't even have the type of aircraft required to perform mass bombing (B1,B2,B52)

Or the false but emotive term of apartheid to describe the relations between Israel and the West Bank.

Or replacing the word of "Jews"
with "Zionists" (which is then defined as however they wish), in order not to be seen as anti Semitic.

The minute anyone uses the term carpet bombing I assume they know nothing about history or war and I stop finding their posts credible.

Words like genocide, apartheid, and carpet bombing are not just emotive terms pulled out for drama. They are legal and political designations, many of which are being used by international experts, human rights organisations, and international courts, not just activists online.

Genocide is not about how people feel. It is a legal term defined by the UN Genocide Convention. In the case of Gaza, the International Court of Justice has ruled that South Africa’s claim that Israel may be committing genocide is plausible, and it has ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide. That is not an opinion. It is part of an active legal process.

Apartheid is the term used by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Israeli group B’Tselem to describe the system of governance between the river and the sea. This is not about emotion, but about the existence of two separate legal systems based on ethnicity, with one group enjoying full rights and the other living under military rule.

The use of “Zionist” instead of “Jew” is often done precisely to avoid being antisemitic. It refers to political ideology and state policy, not religion or ethnicity. Conflating the two, and accusing anyone who criticises Israeli policy of antisemitism, is itself a misuse of the term that weakens genuine efforts to fight hatred.

As for carpet bombing, the phrase has been used informally to describe the scale and intensity of the bombing in Gaza. Whether or not Israel uses B-52s is irrelevant to people on the ground who have seen entire neighbourhoods flattened and civilian infrastructure destroyed.

Language does matter. But dismissing well-documented human rights violations just because you dislike the terms being used does not make the suffering or the abuses any less real. If you object to the language, take it up with the international legal and humanitarian bodies that are using it, not just with the people drawing attention to what is happening.

Are you using AI to write these answers? Because they're always just slightly missing the point and oddly devoid of human phrasing.

A lot of word salad but no actual points being made.

Me too, its a dead giveaway.

It boils down to intent basically. ISIS targeted Yazidis with a planned intention of wiping them out. It’s very specific.

The other mass killings in Syria, for example, were for political reasons. The intent was to win or punish the other side. There were certainly war crimes and many other human rights abuses but it doesn’t meet that specific legal definition of a genocide.

Are you saying that although Israel is committing crimes against humanity, you don’t think it is genocide ?

Well I’d encourage you to look at the google maps recent update of Gaza which is still a year old and shows complete towns and areas absolutely flattened. 70% of buildings are destroyed or damaged, 90% of people are now homeless. Many roads and farmland has been damaged or wiped out?

What do you call destruction on this scale?

Feels like a bit of a deflection, to be honest. If I’ve missed something or misread your point, I’m more than happy to clear it up. But just calling it “word salad” without actually engaging with what I said isn’t really a response, it’s a way to avoid the conversation.

I’m here to talk about the actual issues. If anything I wrote came across as unclear or off the mark, say so and we can talk about it. I’d genuinely rather have a proper discussion than swap vague digs.

So are you using AI? Direct question?

Carpet bombing is a method of bombing, not a measure of levels of destruction.

What would you call the method of bombing used to flatten Gaza then?

Just bombing. Its not carpet bombing.

Im sure there is precise military terminology that Im not aware of. You dont need to be a military analyst to work out that its self evidently not carpet bombing. And Gaza is not "flattened'. Fgs.

Yes, I put what I have written into AI to help correct the grammar and spelling etc. It just makes things quicker because I don’t have to spend as much time going back through what I’ve written. It’s a handy tool. I always make sure to read over it before posting to make sure it’s still all my own opinions.

Well it’s clearly not targeted bombing as such large swathes of buildings/land/people have been destroyed.

Would indiscriminate bombing be more palatable for you?

Why are some of you still clinging on to getting others to agree with you about genocide and now carpet bombing? You can keep asking the same questions in as many different ways, we do not share the same opinion.

Thanks for saying. I've been using a lot recently too for work and thought I recognised it. It's definitely better at spelling and grammar than me, but comes off weirdly flat and unengaged in posts like this. I admit I don't like it.

Apologies but I don't wish to engage further with you on the issues, I feel we'll never meet anywhere useful because of how you feel about the antisemitism of Hamas.

It's bizarre.

We don't harass them to agree with us.

It's tiring especially people using AI to spout nonsense.

I dont think carpet bombing is an opinion tho. Its using unguided large heavy explosives to simultaneously or progressively in a short space of time completely cover ( carpet ) the enemy ground. Meant to cause large scale destruction and lots of civilian deaths.

Israel has been using targeted smaller munitions and warning civilians to move from target area. Sometimes using sound to warn of impending attack. Nowhere near the same thing.

Yes, much of Gaza has now been destroyed. But if it had been carpet bombed that would have all taken place in the space of a couple of hours / runs, and the civilian deaths toll would have been in the 100's of thousands.

I guess I’m surprised that people seem to think the term “carpet bombing” is ridiculous to use.

The scale of the destruction in Gaza is no secret, everyone from Trump to Netanyahu to The UN and human rights groups seem to agree - Gaza is unliveable, the bombs have destroyed it.

I’m puzzled that people think targeted bombing campaigns caused it.

Fair enough to argue over genocide or Apartheid which are highly specific legal terms. But to insist that this is targeted bombing seems extraordinary.

Its about accuracy and a lot of the bombing has certainly been targetted. that's completely unarguable. Im afraid I havent monitored every one. Why do you care what is 'palatable' to me? These discussions are so tedious.

But it is targeted bombing. They know what they're aiming at.
They've just aimed at lots of different buildings at different times.
See my post above too.

Because its not carpet bombing ffs. Look it up!