I knew something was afoot when they said that it was “Israel’s 911”. I mean, I guess it depends if you believe the official narrative or not. But for those of us who don’t necessarily believe the official story, this is a red flag.

Now, I’m not saying people didn’t die. People also died in 9/11. But there’s something weird. How come this even happened? How come thousands of terrorists were able to cross one of the most guarded borders on earth and kill civilians en masse?

Well, it’s possible it’s just incompetence, and the Mossad isn’t really all that we were told. It’s also possible, say, well, that the Mossad knew about it or suspected it, but let it happen anyway, because they didn’t think it would be so big.

Maybe. But, in fact, 86% of people in Israel are blaming the Israeli government and saying what happened was a huge failure. 79% of Israelis want Netanyahu to resign. So whatever happened, it doesn’t seem to benefit him very much.

Whatever they plan to do in Gaza, Israelis are not happy with the government, and things are not looking good in general for Israel right now. They do not have easy options on Gaza, and they may have war coming from the North too.

I do have sympathy for the Israeli civilians killed. I don’t know if as many died as it is said, as there’s no way to verify, but I am sure many people died. I am sort of neutral on the conflict, as I try to see both sides.

But they lost me a bit at the dead babies thing. I mean, this is a psychological trick, always used to manipulate public opinion, even when true. Babies killed by Saddam! Babies killed with poison gas by Assad! Now, children sometimes die in war, in bombings, in terrorism and even in mass shootings, it’s true. Some of those events are fake, but some aren’t. Many Iraqi and Palestinian children died in bombings. Many children died in bombings in the Donbass. Children are not immune to the horrific effects of war.

But when you have stuff being brandished like that, it just becomes annoying, even if it’s true, because you see that it’s an attempt at psychological manipulation. It’s like Eli Wiesel in his Holocaust book, he also talks about babies being burned by the Nazis in an open field. I’m not a fan of the Nazis, and I’m sure a lot of Jews died in the camps, you don’t need to invent anything to make it more atrocious. But burning babies in an open field? Why would they do that?

On the other hand, well, if you attack, don’t be surprised if they attack you back. That applies to both sides, of course.

Now, I am not unsympathetic to Israel. You see, I have Jewish friends. Most of them are not religious and not very political, but some of them even visited Israel. I don’t know what is their position on the current conflict. But in general, I do think that Israel has a right to exist. I don’t see why, at least in theory, it should be so complicated for Israel to exist. You will say, the Arabs were there first. Yes, maybe, but the region was under British control, and before that under the Turks, and before that, Christian armies briefly conquered it during the Crusades, and throughout history lots of different peoples lived there, even some Jews.

Besides, there are a lot of other Arab countries, with a huge territory. Is it really so complicated to share a small part of it with Jews, who otherwise have no country of their own?

But of course, you forget that it is not just any “small part”. It’s the Holy Land, a place of immense importance to all the so-called Abrahamic religions. And there are lots of other interests, too. For the U.S., of course, Israel has huge geopolitical importance. For Europe, too. And for Iran, Palestine has become an important wedge. But also for Russia, who is somewhat between both camps, as they are now allied with Iran but, on the other hand, Israel has a lot of people of Russian origin, who left after the break up of the Soviet Union.
I guess what most people dislike is just Israel’s hypocrisy. Being nationalist is evil. Except in Israel, where it’s okay. So I think that’s the main point of discord. Well, at least for me.

What will happen now? I have no idea. Probably an expansion of the war. Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia. Maybe even the U.S., Russia and China. Who knows. We are in uncharted territory here.

I had a dream the other night. I remember little of it except someone talking about Gog and Magog. “This is the real Gog and Magog”, he said. Those are the name of evil nations that are supposed to be led by Satan to attack the Holy Land and then be destroyed during the Apocalypse. Many people debate what it means. Along history, they were associated with many different nations. The Mongol Empire. The Khazar Empire. Even the Vikings.

Today, some associate them with Russia and Iran, some with the United States.

Who knows? As they say, the only thing certain in life is death.

There’s a story from Primo Levi’s “The Truce” that I like. It happens after the Second World War ends. On seeing him without shoes, a Greek friend criticizes him: “The first thing you need in a war is a good pair of shoes.” “But the war is over”, answers Levi. “It’s always war”, the other replies.

Yes, my friends, it’s always war. And a big one is coming. Prepare accordingly.

May God have mercy on our souls.