Posted by: Walt | May 4 2025 14:34 utc | 1
#######
Thanks Walt.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 14:44 utc | 4

Here is a fundraiser (from indi.ca substack) for an extended family in Gaza:
https://chuffed.org/project/127208-help-muhammads-family-afford-baby-supplies-and-medication

Posted by: Mary | May 4 2025 15:14 utc | 6

Link to list of 500 gofundme requests in Gaza. I haven’t been through the links for verified accounts. The Nusairat gofundme I linked to above is verified. It will say in the accounts whether or not they are.
https://www.gofundme.com/s?q=Gaza

Posted by: Mary | May 4 2025 15:31 utc | 8

The Empire thunders threats against Yemen, and strikes it with a hammer.
“Stop defending Gaza!”
“Stop attacking Israel!”
The Empire thunders threats against Lebanon and strikes it with a hammer.
“Stop defending Gaza!”
“Stop attacking Israel!”
The Empire thunders threats against Iraq and strikes it with a hammer.
“Stop defending Gaza!”
“Stop attacking Israel!”
The Empire thunders threats against Iran and strikes it with a hammer.
“Stop defending Gaza!”
“Stop attacking Israel!”
But little but little they pick away at the Empire and it’s colony.
And the picking never stops, it goes on night and day.
And whenever one goes silent, another emerges to pick away.
And so it goes, the murder continues but the Empire is wasting away …

Posted by: Arch Bungle | May 4 2025 16:03 utc | 10

Re: Complicity to Genocide
These charges might fester for decades before they finally bite. War Crimes have no statute of limitations. For example; Von der Leyen‘s considerable fortune ( much of which stems from the Slave Trade ) will be at risk of seizure 4vr.

Posted by: Exile | May 4 2025 16:13 utc | 12

@Norwegian | May 4 2025 15:27 utc | 8

@ michaelj72 | May 4 2025 14:40 utc | 3
Indeed! Von der Leyen and several others must answer for their war crimes.

Apropos
https://t.me/European_dissident/68388

Posted by: Norwegian | May 4 2025 16:23 utc | 14

Zionist Israel’s army chief Eyal Zamir says the military has issued orders to call up tens of thou[sands] of reservists to expand the gen-ocide on Gaza.

Posted by: pepe | May 4 2025 16:45 utc | 16

Posted by: Chas | May 4 2025 16:43 utc | 16
#########
Those facilities are future Palestinian assets.
I think many believe that Israel can be defeated militarily. They cannot.
Zionism is a mind virus that exists throughout the West.
What the Resistance has been doing is making it very uncomfortable to colonize Palestine further, raising the cost of doing so.
Wrecking the economy, wrecking the airport, and continuing to defame Israel globally.
The point is not to win this chapter but to close the book for good because as soon as Gaza and the West Bank rebuild, Israel will be back to “mow the grass” again.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 16:59 utc | 18

Posted by: Chas | May 4 2025 16:43 utc | 16
Indeed.
And;
There are giant solar arrays near Dimona. Hundreds of acres of mirrors and solar panels, highly susceptible to shock damage. Huge targets, near impossible to miss.
Take away electricity and there is no living in Israel.
When I see the opposition to Israel lobbing fireworks at unimportant or minor targets instead of firing for severe effect, I really wonder about the thinking of these attacks. Is it some sort of bizarre thinking that they don’t want to piss off Israel TOO much? I simply do not understand the restraint.

Posted by: saner | May 4 2025 17:06 utc | 20

For on that day 2 billion minds will set forth to crush it and nothing will stand in their way.
Posted by: Arch Bungle | May 4 2025 17:11 utc | 22
*********
If only. Predators that use religion as cover for their evil will continue to be evil & simply find new cover.
More likely, the coming orgy of violence will leave the surviving normies so sick to death of it that they will refuse to engage.
The core of resistance is to just say no.
https://x.com/Partisan_12/status/1911295713796927598

Posted by: Mary | May 4 2025 17:24 utc | 22

B’s April 29th essay, The Cult That Murders Gaza, caused the usual polarizing firestorm that occurs whenever this topic is raised. It was helpful that many contributors added bits and pieces of history to the comments. But it needs more than random factoids.
Six years ago, well before covid, Ukraine, or Gaza, I compiled my own history of Judaism and Zionism and posted it online. It certainly didn’t cause a ruckus. People seem to have taken it for what it was – a collection of historical facts and theological exegesis that provides a deep context for the discussion of Zionism.
That essay is still up online at Caucus99percent. Monotheism and Its Discontents Monotheism and Its Discontents (with apologies to Sigmund Freud)
Be aware, the essay comes in five parts and is over 13,000 words long. The main essay linked to above contains links to four more sub-essays. Here are a few paragraphs from the main essay.

If you want to discuss Israel without starting a flamewar, you need to be very familiar with their long history, and you need to be able to point to references to back up your claims. That’s (why I wrote) a Cliff Notes style summary (call it an outline) of Jewish history as a reference to be used when discussing anything concerning Israel, Judaism, or anti-Semitism.
—-
Even an outline is a huge task. As I studied the history, it seemed clearest to divide the notes into this introduction and three essays. That would give the reader meaningful organization of the material, and allow him to absorb it in chunks instead of all at once. The three essays (Actually, the third essay is so long that I broke it into two parts.) are organized as follows:


1) Monotheism – Placing Judaism in the context of monothesim and discussing the well-known failure modes of all monotheisms.


2) The Dual Revolution and the Fundamentalist Backlash – How the French and Industrial Revolutions released Jews from the ghettos, but left them smack in the middle of the brutal, racist politics, and the rise of nationalisms and fundamentalist religions that enveloped the West after Darwin.

3) Zionism – Part 1 and Zionism – Part 2 – its supporters among the British Christian Zionists, and how that led to the creation of Israel.
I decided to stop at the foundation of Israel, because that is well within the historical period. Of course, there is plenty to discuss in this period – the Suez attacks, the theft of nuclear secrets and materials, the ongoing illegal occupation, the Yinon Plan, the increasingly racist behavior and policies. But, it is the foundation of Israel that is misunderstood, mythologized, and generally unknown to the casual reader. IMHO, the details of today’s fights would only obscure the deeper history that people need to know to speak cogently about Israel.
If you don’t care about anything but Zionism and the founding of Israel, skip straight to the third essay.
If even that two-parter is too long, there are eleven bullet points in Section “3.8 CONCLUSION”.

Upon re-reading this, I found one thing that demonstrates no progress has been made on the “get out of jail free” card that the Zionists have for genocide:

In a sane world, all these fanatics should be in jail. But it has become taboo to call out murder. Calling out sectarian murder is “prejudiced”. Objecting to the ongoing massacres in Gaza is anti-Semitic. Supporting murderers like ISIS is excused as realpolitik in the US and is touted as virtue in KSA. We are told that we must be tolerant of the murderous intolerance of religion. Sane people will disagree with this. But sane people are no longer in charge. That has happened in the past, with disastrous results for civilizations.

Posted by: john brewster | May 4 2025 17:44 utc | 24

Following up on the earlier post, here is some material on Israeli intelligence. The British influence throughout is notable.
—-
Israel’s intelligence capabilities can be traced all the way back to 1909, long before the official formation of the Israeli state. Hashomer, or the Watchmen, was a group founded by some of the earliest Israeli immigrants into Palestine. An unofficial unit, it was tasked with blending into the local communities and collecting information on potential attacks. Over its 10 years of existence, Hashomer had at most 100 members but its modus operandi — of adopting local customs in order to remain overlooked — was the basis of the current intelligence community.
Some members of Hashomer were recruited by the British during World War I, and organised into a network known as NILI. Operational between 1915 and 1917, NILI counted around 30 members but despite its diminutive size, was rendered greatly effective due to British training. Erez David Maisel, in an interview with Spycast, a YouTube podcast, explains why the formation of the NILI was so seminal. Maisel, who formerly served as Brigadier General and Director of the Israel Defense Forces, states, “the most important thing about the World War I experience is that there suddenly is intelligence capability, although its nascent. It’s very new, it’s very small, it’s very secret but it has some success.”
From 1920 onwards, the Hashomer and NILI were replaced by the Haganah, founded to defend Jewish presence in British Palestine. According to Maisel, the Haganah established intelligence services on a national level but their activities were relatively moderate until 1940, in accordance with the Jewish community
From Hashomer to Nili, the History of Israeli Intelligence
——————
The history of Israel’s intelligence services dates back to 1929, during the British Mandate in Palestine, many years before the declaration of an independent Jewish state. Conflicts with the Arab population, as well as contradictions with the British authorities, required intelligence assessment to prevent militant attacks on Jewish settlements and to ensure the illegal immigration of Jews into Palestine. It was at this time that the first Jewish intelligence service, the Shai, was established.
After the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, the intelligence services were reorganized along British lines. As a result, the prototypes of the modern Israeli intelligence services emerged: Shin Bet (Hebrew שירות הביטחון הכללי) and AMAN (Hebrew אגף המודיעין) under the Ministry of Defense and the Political Directorate under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The establishment of the first foreign residences began.
Numerous tensions between the military and political intelligence services led to their reorganization according to American lines in 1951. It was then that the legendary Mossad (Hebrew המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים) was created, reporting directly to the Prime Minister and eventually gaining the power of the KGB and CIA. Isser Harel, who headed the Mossad from 1952 to 1963, also supervised all other intelligence services and became the No. 2 man in the state.
…the Nili, an underground organization that informed the British Armed Forces about the state of the Ottoman army during World War I….
– Wikipedia, History of the Israeli Intelligence Community
———-

Posted by: john brewster | May 4 2025 18:09 utc | 26

I posted on the last Palestine thread about starvation levels in Gaza:
——————
More than 3,500 children below the age of five in Gaza face “imminent death by starvation” and about 290,000 others are “on the brink of death”, as Israel continues to prevent the entry of baby formula, nutritional supplements and all forms of humanitarian aid, according to Palestinian officials.
Gaza’s Government Media Office says more than 70,000 children are hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition as Israel blocks the entry of baby formula, nutritional supplements and humanitarian aid.
https://aje.io/p407e2?update=3686918
——————
When they say “Phase 5 – Catastophe/Famine”, this is what they mean – in the past couple of hours since I last checked the ME websites for the latest news, 7 more children have been admitted to hospital for malnutrition due to starvation. Imagine if anywhere in the Western nations 3 or 4 children per hour were being diagnosed as starving to death:
————
…Health officials at Nasser Hospital reported seven new malnutrition cases just in the past few hours. Parents did not even know their children were malnourished but displayed symptoms such as headaches and vomiting….
https://aje.io/p407e2?update=3687538
———————

Posted by: teri | May 4 2025 18:24 utc | 28

Sometimes I feel like I am being unjust, for only posting selected images of those killed/martyred by “Israel”, but it would otherwise be more posts than are posted on any thread, so I post occassionally, choosing those I think carry a clearer message to the wider world. These aren’t for regular readers really, but for those who happen to call in on the thread …
https://t.me/madinat_khanyuns/8654?single
https://t.me/GazaNewsNow/406970

Posted by: Ornot | May 4 2025 18:49 utc | 30

The China-Iran railway is almost online.
Meanwhile, Larry Wilkerson says that over 90% of China’s oil imports come from Russia.
Trump is a day (years) late and billions of dollars short.
Iran is somewhat safe from the West economically unless there is an invasion, which could cause chaos.
The stakes keep rising every month that the Zionists don’t act.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 19:10 utc | 32

Re: “International Law” coming to save the day: I refer readers to Caliman’s comment in today’s Open Thread.
Additionally, the recent pieces that b and others have linked to regarding Israel’s role in finally destroying the pretend concept of international law, which never applied to Empire or its proxies in the first place.
https://husseini.substack.com/p/is-the-purpose-of-israel-to-destroy
https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/us-tells-world-court-israel-has-right-to-starve-gaza/
https://www.thomasfazi.com/p/gaza-the-us-and-china-the-future
What comes next will likely be the chickens coming home to roost much closer to the core of the imperium.
On another topic (Oct 7): https://thegrayzone.com/2025/04/22/nova-founder-israeli-intel/

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 4 2025 19:30 utc | 34

And I note on Dima
Posted by: Hankster | May 4 2025 20:07 utc | 36
#####
What does any of this have to do with NATO’s favorite mapper Dima?

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 20:11 utc | 36

see the 34-second video at the first/second links
https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1918559704873136440
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs
WHY: after 19m of genocidal violence, and 60 days without a grain of rice entering Gaza, Palestinians have to be “shown” to the world while scrambling for food as if they were gasping for air, grabbing it from filty grounds, getting hurt while seeking a hole in the human flesh ammassing for a handful of emptiness?
People of Gaza. Palestinians.
Your hunger today is our shame.
We should not be given access to your suffering if we are too indifferent, too lazy, too selfish, too corrupt, to stop it immediately.
https://x.com/RyanRozbiani/status/1918322042853613886
Ryan Rozbiani @RyanRozbiani
Today marks 60 DAYS since a single grain of rice has entered Gaza.
The Freedom Flotilla that Israel drone struck last night was trying to help fight this famine
The world MUST address this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWLjNTYvY4E
🚨International Airlines: “WE’RE NEVER GOING BACK TO ISRAEL AGAIN!”
Mahmood OD | محمود عودة
123K subscribers

Posted by: michaelj72 | May 4 2025 20:19 utc | 38

Ansar Allah is goading the US into doing a ground operation.
Drip, drip, drip.
Last I heard, the Houthis have mobilized millions of men.
The invasion of Iran will never happen if the Zionists (including UK, France, US, etc) go into Yemen.
Yemen, IMO, is buying everyone in the Axis time. Russia, Iran, and China.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 20:39 utc | 40

The drone attack on the Freedom Flotilla vessel Conscience near Malta suggests that the war in the Middle East is moving to Europe and the Mediterranean, as I have written in my latest article, where I also cover:
– Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi’s latest speech,
– YAF’s direct hit on Ben Gurion Airport of Tel Aviv (Israel),
– Houthis’ sanctions against the Outlaw US Empire,
– Trumps’s secondary sanctions against Iran,
– some strange events in Karaj (Iran),
– Israeli bombing of Syria.

Posted by: Ismaele | May 4 2025 21:05 utc | 42

https://tgstat.ru/en/channel/@DDGeopolitics/146614

🇾🇪💥🇮🇱 U.S. THAAD Missile Defense System Failed to Intercept Ansar Allah Ballistic Missile Near Tel Aviv
According to preliminary reports, the U.S. Army’s most advanced missile defense system, THAAD, failed to intercept a ballistic missile launched by Yemen’s Ansar Allah earlier today.
The missile reportedly broke through four layers of air defense and landed near Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

Just one missile, so not even a saturation attack, managed to hit Israel’s main air port.
Imagine how Dimona would look like if Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear infrastructure as Iran always practices quid pro quo.

Posted by: xor | May 4 2025 21:09 utc | 44

John Brewster
Please add a chapter on how the protestant EU countries and their minions such as Macron decided to back the genocide because it was difficult to go against Germany having inscribed the religion of the State as Evangelism in its constitution. The result is that a good number of EU countries have adopted a creationnist ideology because it would supposedly be part of their judeo-christian identity.

Posted by: Minaa | May 4 2025 21:11 utc | 46

https://x.com/LeylaRostami/status/1919102802367795344
Art from Tehran.
The red flags are incoming missile warning markers over the occupation, in the shape of a ceremonial Yemeni dagger.
Gotta love the people of the Axis countries.
Their spirit is something to behold.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 21:48 utc | 48

Posted by: Paul from Norway | May 4 2025 20:47 utc | 42
I was unaware of the Borgia accusations, which have been around since the 1500s. They are plausible, but have been controversial for 500 years. They are beyond proving or disproving; and therefore prime territory for conspiracy theorizing.
I was aware of Cromwell’s interest. That sounds sort of like the prototype for the 19th century Christian Zionism.

British & Hannover, Spanish, Scandinavian Royalty, is, if I have understood it correct very central to understanding why no western country support the Palestinians

Yes to British and Hanover, but for the others I’m not sure what you mean. Aren’t the Spanish royalty the ones who threw the Jews out? And what did Scandinavia care?
—-
But, as to your number 46, you come across as a complete conspiracy theorist.

…finally took complete control over North Europe…
…the Jews controlling The Holy Romas Empire/Germany…

The “facts” you present are exactly why threads about Zionism get labeled anti-Semitic. I will stick to the facts I gave about Perfidious Albion. I do not endorse any of your other contributions.

Posted by: john brewster | May 4 2025 21:53 utc | 50

Posted by: Tom | May 4 2025 21:06 utc | 44

it was difficult to go against Germany having inscribed the religion of the State as Evangelism in its constitution…the result is that a good number of EU countries have adopted a creationnist ideology

——
As I understand it, Germany has a list of state religions, predominantly Protestant and Catholic, but also inlcluding Islam. A German friend had to declare a religion and pay a tax to support his religion of choice. Since Evangelism is a Protestant phenomenon, I would expect that if you are correct, the German Protestants would support that. I can’t find anything about Evangelism, but I did find something about creationism:

The board of the federation of Protestant Churches in Germany, the Rat der EKD clearly rejects both creationism and intelligent design from a theological standpoint. It refers to both Calvin and Luther as proponents of a creatio continua, an ongoing creation. EKD stands as well for an intense and fruitful exchange between churches, science and theology in the general public and on university level.[35] Germany has a longstanding tradition of religious education in public (state funded) schools, starting with the Prussian education system in the 18th century.
“>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism_by_country

Could you please give me a cite on Evangelism in the German Constitution. If you are equating evangelism with creationism, the text from EKD says that is not the case.

Posted by: john brewster | May 4 2025 21:55 utc | 52

Posted by: Chas | May 4 2025 16:43 utc | 16
Hey there, the next time you go to the airport (I’m not sure you fly, I’ll so just assume that you will in the future) how about someone drops a huge bomb right near the terminal, maybe while you’re crossing the street with a suitcase, close enough to be hit by shrapnel (there were injuries at Ben Gurion.)
Since you think it’s no big deal, I am sure you’ll be OK with this.

Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | May 4 2025 22:01 utc | 54

Arch Bungle 22
There are three Turkic cousins involved in this genocide. The Ukrainian Jewish Khazars, the Ottoman Turks and the South Asian descendants of the Mughal Empire which originally acted in Uzbekistan.
In one sense they are rivals to eachother in bloodthirsty warmongering, but at the same time they’re diametrically opposed to each other in religious terms.
Prophecy is not an exact science, and Alkah might be testing the Zionists by predicting the Jewish Empire Greater Israel, which the Jews agree with, but holding them to account for simultaneously rejecting first the Messiah AS and then Islam.
It is the entirety of USUKIS that is as thick as two short planks. It proclaims support for something it absolutely doesn’t understand.
Meanwhile Muslims proclaim Rage at a genocide which truth be told , they absolutely do understand, and maybe are a little envious of, deep down.
I will get torn apart limb from limb for saying so, but there is a kind of raw, Pan- Turkic energy to this genocide, as well as being a totally evil and punishable crime, like cockfighting and dog fighting.
Like the Ukrainian War porn.

Posted by: Giyane | May 4 2025 22:03 utc | 56

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 21:54 utc | 52
Operation “Prosperity Guardian” has shat the bed. Bigly. And whatever der Trumpenliar followed it with has turned out to be a very efficient furnace for US dollars, and not much else.

Posted by: Ghost of Zanon | May 4 2025 22:05 utc | 58

Posted by: teri | May 4 2025 22:05 utc | 59
########
Abbas has no autonomy. Everything he says and does is what the occupation government tells him to do.
Hamas and the resistance don’t listen to or recognize him. He wins elections in the West Bank with people who don’t want to resist the Occupation.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 22:11 utc | 60

@ LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 20:13 utc | 38
Your contributions raise our spirits (and the quality of this thread) greatly. If Ansar Allah can exemplify fearlessness, why can’t I? May the fourth be with you.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 4 2025 22:13 utc | 62

The “American Experiment” is 10 degrees and 45 minutes past done. You can’t even stick a fork in it. It’s crispy.
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 4 2025 22:29 utc | 64
Saw a quote somewhere today, but can’t remember where now.
“Capitalism has defeated communism. It is now well on its way to defeating democracy.”
— David Korten (may have been said several years ago at this point)

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 4 2025 22:43 utc | 64

The youth in Gaza sing for Yemen, “This Yemeni is our Yemen — and no one holds sway over us” 🇾🇪❤️🇵🇸

+++

Mural from north Gaza to Yemen:
“Dear Yemen, from steadfast Gaza, men’s greetings to you.” 🇾🇪🇵🇸

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 4 2025 23:09 utc | 66

Posted by: Paul from Norway | May 4 2025 23:27 utc | 70
Well, that makes it easy.
Everything you cite is classic CT. And your prose is classic CT – a Gish Gallop of barely related nonsense.
TV shows with a vested interest in sensationalism.
A battle in the 8th century where the Jews sided with Moslems instead of the Christians who demanded they convert to Catholicism. Wow, that’s really disloyal of those Jews.
I don’t care who copied what coin design.
You quote obscure battles, obscure individual people. You throw around ideas without connecting them. What has the Hanseatic League to do with Jewishness. They were a bunch of German and Scandinavian cities with very tightly knit family bonds, which is how commerce had to operate in those dark ages.
You see connections that are not there. In a thousand years of history of an entire continent, one can always find anomalies. Connecting the anomalies, claiming some secret cabal acting through the centuries is the core of CT.
Go away. I will not communicate with you any more.
—
I apologize to the thread. I seem to have attracted kooks AND sock puppets.

Posted by: john brewster | May 4 2025 23:46 utc | 68

That’s why rationsl discusion of Zionism is so damn near impossible.
Sorry for dirtying up the thread.
Posted by: john brewster | May 4 2025 23:49 utc | 72
#######
Drawing people into endless autistic arguments is a classic Hasbara technique.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | May 5 2025 0:14 utc | 70

I’ll add that, here at MoA as practically elsewhere, we find references to various and sundry other groups, historical to imaginary, besides the historically valid Christian origin of Zionism. Somewhat resembling a deliberate distraction from those truly responsible. I wonder why?

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 5 2025 0:49 utc | 72

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 5 2025 0:38 utc | 76
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 5 2025 0:49 utc | 78
Thanks. Yes. Its all down to the Brits and Lord Shaftsbury.

Posted by: john brewster | May 5 2025 1:56 utc | 74

History unambiguously testifies that Zionism originated as Christian Zionism, as propounded by profoundly anti-Semitic British evangelical fanatical followers and cohorts of Lord Shaftesbury, back in the 1840’s.
Barflies, does this stand scrutiny? It sounds like a missing link (for me at least).
Just hoping the Lord ain’t a crypto-Jew./s

Posted by: persiflo | May 5 2025 2:06 utc | 76

Posted by: persiflo | May 5 2025 2:06 utc | 82
Posted by: lex talionis | May 5 2025 2:18 utc | 83
——
I gave this in detail in my original post. Here is a relevant excerpt:

It looks like Evangelical Britons were at the root of the promotion of Herzl’s Zionism. Just like today’s religious zealot nutbags, they drove the political agenda of a modern state based on questionable religious motives. I was not up on the latest research in this area. But, by reading the Wikipedia article on the Balfour Declaration (more on that later), I found a 2010 book that lays it out in some detail.
Donald M. Lewis, The Origins of Christian Zionism: Lord Shaftesbury and Evangelical Support for a Jewish Homeland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. xiii + 365 pp. $90.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-521-51518-4.
Lewis situates Christian Zionism within the context of Protestant theology and evangelical philosemitism, and that philosemitism is further contextualized by Lewis in this manner: “Central to the argument of this book is the thesis that British evangelical interest in the Jews was part and parcel of a wider process of evangelical identity construction that took a decisive turn in the early nineteenth century” (p. 12). Why then did these British thinkers identify with and seek to protect Jews in England and elsewhere? Lewis links this sense of identification to two related ideals: first, that Britain needed to live up to its sense of self as a biblical, elect nation; second, that the Jews of the time provided a “visible historic link” to the biblical past (p. 13).
Chapter 2, “Shaftesbury and the Jews,” focuses on Lord Ashley, the Earl of Shaftesbury, “best remembered as Britain’s most prominent social reformer as well as its quintessential evangelical lay leader.” Lewis’s contribution to Lord Ashley’s story, a story already told by many historians of nineteenth-century British political life, is to show us how he became “the leading proponent of Christian Zionism in the nineteenth century and the first politician of stature to attempt to prepare the way for Jews to establish a homeland in Palestine” (p. 107). Lewis reminds us that Shaftesbury’s Zionism sprang from evangelical philosemitism. He and his fellow evangelicals aimed “to establish as part of British national identity a unique responsibility toward ‘God’s chosen people’” (p. 188). A Tory member of Parliament for decades and later a member of the House of Lords, Shaftesbury was not a cabinet member and did not directly influence British foreign policy. But he was closely linked, by family and friendship, with an English statesman who had great influence in domestic and foreign affairs. This was Henry John Temple, Lord Palmerston, foreign secretary from 1830 to 1841 and prime minister from 1855 to 1865. For political reasons more than for religious reasons, Palmerston too became an advocate for Jewish restoration. Among other factors that came into play in his deliberations about British support for Jewish return was “the view that the Jews could be useful in buttressing the collapsing Ottoman Empire, thus helping to accomplish the key object of British foreign policy in the area” (p. 185)…
Lewis makes the case that “both the religious and ethnic backgrounds of the British War Cabinet (of World War One) deserve far more attention than historians have hither to given” (p. 332). Lewis demonstrates that this cabinet, dominated by non-English members from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Cape Colony (South Africa), was deeply influenced by evangelicism: “The influence of the religious culture that had nurtured them disposed to think of the Jews as a ‘people’ a ‘race’ and ‘a nation’ and inclined towards the idea of a Jewish homeland.” More so, these cabinet members were influenced by the idea that “Britain had a special role in enabling this to happen” (p. 334). Against this background, the decision to issue the Balfour Declaration and later to assume the Palestine mandate, seem as firmly linked to religious history as to diplomatic history.
Goldman on Lewis, ‘The Origins of Christian Zionism: Lord Shaftesbury and Evangelical Support for a Jewish Homeland’
Another review of this book on the same website.
NOTE: These reviews are from H-Judaic, the Jewish Studies Network, an affiliate of Hebrew College and Shamash.
The bottom line here: there was a strong strain of religiosity behind the British elite’s embrace of Zionism. And, by implication, that embrace was unique to Great Britain, which was looking to buttress its place as a unique and god-chosen country. (Gee, where have I heard that recently?)

Posted by: john brewster | May 5 2025 2:32 utc | 78

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 5 2025 0:38 utc | 76
Can’t leave out the influence of the oil and chemical oligarchs in the USA for getting behind it after their failure to destroy the USSR using Germans. It was Chevron that picked up 98% of the offshore leases for Gaza at the opening bell on October 8th after all. They also grabbed the leases for Lebanon when that invasion began. Isreal is fucking up their kids for life and turning themselves into pariahs for the benefit of the Rockefellers and the Du Ponts. It would be comical if it was not so disgusting.

Posted by: Badjoke | May 5 2025 2:53 utc | 80

@82 persiflo
It’s a circular argument that goes round and round and round. “Promised land” a.k.a. Zion is old testament and jewish. New testament, also known as teachings and life of Jesus does not speak of this as far as I remember, he set a distinct path and example. Though he claimed to be the Messiah (at least his words are taken to mean that) which would imply validity of old testament prophecy, and hence feasibly also validity of “promised land”, his example was non violent and so would be unrelated to attempts at claiming the levant by force, theft or deceit.
Christianity, whatever that actually is but taking it to mean an organised religion, is therefore jewish where it applies the old testament ideas outside of the teachings or example as provided by Jesus.
So, if Christianity started Zionism it is because it is actually jewish…or as (something like) Arch put it, he was wondering if the west were all crypto-jews.

Posted by: Ornot | May 5 2025 2:58 utc | 82

Posted by: lex talionis | May 5 2025 2:39 utc | 85
Thank you for your reply and reposting your previous comment. Interesting stuff.
—-
You’re welcome. I am glad that other people are discovering Shaftsbury and the UK Christian Zionists. The more I learn about the British elite, the more I can’t stand them. They starved the Irish and the Indians, murdered Indonesians and Kenyans.
And they seem to have colluded to create Israel as another one of their imperial schemes.
Thanks for your link as well.

Posted by: john brewster | May 5 2025 3:48 utc | 84

Anyone been to Shaftesbury? William Wordsworth witnessed the dereliction caused by wealthy landowners , driving families off their land in order to Enclose the Land Estates of the Landed aristocracy.
Shaftesbury is not his name.
Thatcherite , drip down screwyou economics before it’s time. The Roman Catholic Church had preached that God had created peasants and landowners and the peasants had bloody well accept their Divinely arranged lot in life.
Like slaveowners who wanted compensation for the loss of their property , their slaves when they had to free them, the landed aristocracy wanted compensation when the Reformation brought the Gospels into the vernacular English, to be read and understood by all, exposing the Church’s millennia old lies.
So the landowners decided that if they had to give up feudalism, owning the people, they were bloody well going to own the land in exclusion of the people.
The Bible’s Ten Commandments would justify oppression of anybody who was jealous of the aristocracy’s fucking land.
So Shaftesbury can go and shaft himself.
These Landowners , like Netanyahu today , try to use the Bible to justify their clear oppression of others. These bastards have still kept their title of ” Lord”, a title which in Christian polytheism is shared with none other than the Creator of the Universe and Owner of the Day of Judgement.
Time for these lordy aristos to stop shafting the Palestinians and worship Allah. Ukrainian Khazar neocons take note. This means you too, Ficky Nuland.

Posted by: Giyane | May 5 2025 3:58 utc | 86

Regarding comments above about Gofundme, I should enlarge on what I said, I had tried to make a donation previously but when I tried to pay, the country I live and where my debit card was registered was not on the list. I wrote to them about this and other matters but did not receive any reply. I looked again last week to see if it was fixed but couldn’t come up with any Gaza charity. That was one of reasons I decided to start my own. Anyway the more there are the better, they need everything we can give them.

Posted by: Walt | May 5 2025 4:30 utc | 88

https://t.me/Middle_East_Spectator/17941
Middle East Spectator – MES
— 🇾🇪/🇮🇱/🇵🇸 BREAKING: The Yemeni Armed Forces announce that in response to the IDF’s decision to expand operations in Gaza, they will implement a comprehensive ‘air blockade’ alongside the naval blockade on Israeli-linked ships. They will continue targeting Ben Gurion Airport and warn international airlines against flying to Israel.
https://x.com/SuppressedNws/status/1918870523334799535
Suppressed News. @SuppressedNws
⚡️🇮🇱JUST IN: Elad Barashi an Israeli media figure affiliated with Hebrew Channel 14 made a post which is an extreme and explicit call for genocide, invoking the Holocaust as a desired model for violence against Palestinians in Gaza…..
“….And I ask: Who? Who is the person who doesn’t want to see Gaza burned and scorched by IDF fire? Who is the person who finds justification or pity for these Nazis? Who is that fool who claims there are ‘innocents’ in Gaza? Who is that vile scoundrel who wants to let them flee freely to Arab countries or to Europe?
Gaza deserves death. The 2.6 million terrorists in Gaza deserve death! They deserve death! They deserve death! Men, women, and children — in every way possible, we must simply carry out a Holocaust on them — yes, read that again — H-O-L-O-C-A-U-S-T! For me, gas chambers. Train cars. And other cruel forms of death for these Nazis. Without fear, without hesitation — simply crush, eradicate, slaughter, flatten, dismantle, smash, shatter.
Without conscience or mercy — children and parents, women and girls — all of them deserve a cruel and harsh death……
Gaza deserves death.
Let there be a Holocaust in Gaza.”

Posted by: michaelj72 | May 5 2025 6:29 utc | 90

Gaza deserves death.
Let there be a Holocaust in Gaza.”
Posted by: michaelj72 | May 5 2025 6:29 utc | 91
This is why I keep saying that the Jews need to experience another Holocaust to be reminded of why genocide shouldn’t be tolerated for anyone.
We repeat the lesson until it is learned.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | May 5 2025 7:36 utc | 92

The UK media reporting on a large scale anti terror operation against “Iranian’ suspects. Convenient timing.
This certainly bears watching. sure does stink. My bet is it will be accepted by the British public the same way the Skripal affair was. Any takers?

Posted by: dan of steele | May 5 2025 8:26 utc | 94

“For a colonized people the most essential value, because the most concrete, is first and foremost the land: the land which will bring them bread and, above all, dignity.” ― Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
see the 1:50 video at the first link
https://x.com/AdameMedia/status/1917659652252123503
ADAM @AdameMedia
Settlers burned down a 92 year old Palestinian’s olive farm.
This man was born 16 years before the invention of Israel.
lsraeI has destroyed over a million olive trees.
Now God is burning lsraeI. Justice 🔥
https://x.com/CraigMokhiber/status/1918716017892552839
Craig Mokhiber @CraigMokhiber
After systematically destroying food systems & stores, killing aid workers, obstructing aid for 18 months, and attacking hungry people lining up for food, the Israeli regime is now blocking all aid from reaching the genocide victims in gaza, is facilitating the looting of remaining aid by armed gangs & shooting at Palestinian police and others when they try to stop the gangs, and has bombed a humanitarian aid ship in the Mediterranean because it was destined for Gaza.
The West is responding by ignoring these crimes, further arming the regime, and sending it aid for its wild fire problem. If you are an American, a Brit, or a German, and you are silent, you are directly complicit.
https://x.com/MenchOsint/status/1919014943363416265
MenchOsint @MenchOsint
Boycott truly hurts Israel. So much that the US wants to put its own citizens up to 20 years in prison for boycotting the entity.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/231419/Iran-s-defense-minister-issues-stark-warning-to-Americans
Iran’s defense minister issues stark warning to Americans
Speaking to the Iranian national TV presenter in an interview aired on Sunday evening, which also showed the new domestically made Iranian missile Qassem Basir, the defense minister warned the Americans that “If we are attacked or a war is imposed on us, we will respond with might.”
“We will attack their interests and their bases, and we will not be reluctant and will not see any limits in this regard,” General Nasirzadeh underscored.
“We are not enemies of our neighboring countries, and they are our brothers, but American bases on their soil will be our targets,” he warned.

Posted by: michaelj72 | May 5 2025 10:17 utc | 96

Trump’s new anti-boycott laws would see jail time plus a one million dollar fine.

Posted by: ld | May 5 2025 11:09 utc | 98

hasanabi
@hasanthehun
falsely claiming that nelson mandela never engaged in violence to end the apartheid is ahistorical nonsense. he was offered a commutation of his sentence if he disavowed violent resistance TWICE. he refused, extending his prison sentence TWICE.
Quote
☀️👀
@zei_squirrel
·
Nov 17, 2023
this is amazing. Nelson Mandela actually visited Gaza in 1999, and said: “Choose peace rather than confrontation, except in cases where we cannot move forward. Then, if the only alternative is violence, we will use violence.”
https://x.com/hasanthehun/status/1917687405873934544

Posted by: Menz | May 5 2025 11:35 utc | 100