They exchanged text messages and emojis. Brief status updates with words of encouragement. A picture of the beloved family dog “Tutsi.”
Until no more messages came.
And then, Cindy Flash, an American, and her Israeli husband Igal vanished into the violence, presumed kidnapped by Hamas.
Four days after Hamas attacked Israel, more than 100 Israelis and potentially dozens of foreign nationals are thought to be held captive in the Gaza Strip. At least 14 U.S. citizens have been killed and an unknown number are still unaccounted for.
Flash, 67, originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, is one of them. She lives in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel near Gaza, where some of the most harrowing and grisly stories have been emerging during the last few days.
“They are breaking down the safe room door,” Flash said in one of her final messages to her daughter Keren, 34. “We need someone to come by the house right now.” She had been communicating with her parents from a few houses away.
Keren described her mother, who worked as an administrator in a local college, as someone who had the “sweetest biggest heart,” who everyone knew and loved, and who had spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of Palestinians, including those who live in Gaza where she may now be held.
Hamas ≢ Palestine
Hamas ≢ Palestine
Ok, but how truish are “Hamas ≠ Palestine” and “Hamas ≈ Palestine”? At what point do we draw the line?
Questions: Who is fighting for Hamas? From where the “boots on the ground” come from? How can they organise amidst civilian population to take any coordinated actions?
Assuming that your questions are rhetorical and that you are placing blame on all Palestinian citizens for the actions of Hamas. By the same logic, all Americans are guilty for the Jan 6th attack on the capital and all the other horrific acts America have committed around the world.
No, my questions are not rethorical. Any such movement cannot live separated from the local population. They cannot organise in secret if nobody is keeping that secret. They cannot train if the others don’t keep the secret. They cannot manufacture, hide and launch thousands of small range rockets if other don’t keep a secret.
I’m not arguing about justifications or who did what and why. It’s not relevant for this discussion.
No, my questions are not rethorical.
Goes on to talk about how they were making a point rather than wanting an answer to their questions
Ok, good luck.
Palestinians knew who they were when they elected them.
Israel knew who Netanyahu was when they elected him.
Sure. And Netanyahu is a right-wing asshole. But he isn’t a terrorist.
You see the difference?
I’m not here to argue semantics, Hamas are terrorists, Netanyahu is a terrorist.
Yeah, if I was dead wrong about what words mean, I wouldn’t want to argue semantics either.
Then why do you keep replying when you are dead wrong? Can’t even be consistent on keeping your word.
Hamas are terrorists, Netanyahu is a terrorist. If a terrorist is someone who attacks civilians for political aims.
I find it hard to discriminate Civilian A who was killed from Civilian B who was killed by the other side. Apparently that is a controversial statement around here. Ya’ll are fucked.
Hamas are terrorists because the target civilians for death.
Netanyahu is a corrupt right-wing asshole, but he doesn’t target innocent civilians for death.
If you broaden the word “terrorist” to apply to anyone you don’t like for any reason, the word ceases to have any meaning or weight.
And that gives cover to ACTUAL terrorists.
Deliberately cutting off water, electricity and medical aid will result directly in children dying. Again I find it hard to see the difference between civilian A and civilian B being killed just on the basis of WHO killed them. But you do you.
Again, you’re pretending that INTENTION doesn’t matter. That collateral damage is morally equivalent to a targeted killing.
I just 100 percent disagree.
bro you can you read? hear words? Israel is currently bombing apartments, ambulances, etc. Specifically with the goal of killing every last citizen in gaza that doesn’t flee.
Obviously not.
Hamas was never elected as sole leadership in Palestine. They never won a plurality of votes, ever.
They formed a unity government, then fought the other government, usurped control, and cancelled elections forever.
Hamas won 74 out of 132 seats. They did it with 44 percent of the vote. Not sure how that worked.
Anyway, you’re kind of right, kind of wrong.
Same way Republicans do it in Ohio, one assumes. Heavy concentration in minority-population areas.
This should be said more often and more forcefully, as its knowledge people (including myself) are not generally aware of.
20 years ago. Around half of today’s population didn’t vote and of the ones that did many didn’t vote for hamas. Find a new way to blame innocent people, this one doesn’t work.
deleted by creator
I don’t think we should condemn an entire population to death regardless of who they vote for. You’re only adding recruitment material to the terrorist’s repertoire at that point. And if they did vote for them, last year or today, you still have roughly 40% of the population who are minors. Do they deserve death because of their parent’s vote?
deleted by creator
Nowhere did I accuse you of supporting genocide. You asked if they’d still vote hamas and I don’t know so I replied with the assumption that they would because of the propaganda they’re raised with and the threat of violence if they dissent from hamas and stated that even if they did I don’t think they deserve to be treated as an entire nation of terrorists. If you can’t separate that from yourself that’s on you.
deleted by creator
Why the downvotes? If you really want to learn, Hasan Piker has been educating me about this entire conflict lately.
Overwhelmingly? In Gaza maybe, but Palestinians as a whole support them at 53 percent at last count. So, yeah, it sure looks like they are still majority pro-hamas
53% of adults which make up how much of the total population?
Excellent point. 53 percent of Palestinian adults voted to have Hamas rule over them. Hamas… Who use their kids as human shields.
Propaganda is a hell of a drug.
50% of the persons living in palestina are under 18
Edit: had a stroke
Yeah. I wish their parents loved them more than they hate Israel.
Are you a troll or something?
No he’s just right.
Yet Israel government=all Israelis is fine to you
The article clearly states “advocate for Palestinians, then Hamas came for her” like it’s some “voting for the face eating leopards” situation. It’s a valid distinction. Also, no, the Israeli army isn’t all Israelis.
It’s hard to see the difference between Palestinians and Hamas when they had a pro Palestine rally in my city and their signs were peppered with “death to all Jews” and pictures of Jewish caricatures being hanged.
Just because Hamas support Palestine doesn’t mean that supporting Palestine makes you support Hamas. That’s like saying that because I like art and Hitler liked art that means I support Hitler (which I very much fucking don’t). It doesn’t make any sense logically.
https://twitter.com/RomanGoddess72/status/1712114433428799680
Funny because I can’t see the difference between these people and the fascist Israeli government
Ok so don’t. These people are just like the IDF and the people shouting death to Jews are just like Hamas, what’s the problem here? Seems we’re in agreement
One group has the power to complete annihilate the other.
The other is living in the largest open air prison & concentration camp in the world.
This is a ghetto uprising. Something I would expect you to know the history of.
no it’s not, where the fuck did I wrote that?
Removed by mod
Maybe don’t vacation in or move to an occupied colonial outpost apartheid state.
Removed by mod
Whatever helps you sleep at night knowing your country is doing active ethnic cleansing man.
Removed by mod
Israel only does surgical strikes with tactical explosives which were all trained to only blow up terrorists. /s
Journalist who reported this as fact, later tweeted that they had only overheard it in a soldiers conversation.
No evidence that this happened.
Nice atrocity propaganda.
Plenty of independent reporting on this. It hasn’t been confirmed, but it definitely hasn’t been debunked either.
Being a settler in an occupied territory =/= advocating for Palestinians rights.
So much cognitive dissonance in this world making the bad guys now the good guys.
The article didn’t say she was a settler in an occupied territory though, she was in a Kibbutz on the border of Gaza. The settler problem is in the West Bank. The article DID say she advocated for Palestinian rights, which I don’t understand why you’d deny unless you have some proof otherwise? Hamas killed civilians indiscriminately - they were bound to kill some very good people. I don’t understand why someone who advocated for Palestinian rights is so hard to believe. It’s just super sad.
Why should a US citizen be given the right to someones else’s land. it is a stolen land from the Palestinians. every Israeli citizens is a settler. the were given the freedom to live and buy land that used to belong to its rightful owners, while the last are being caged-in in an open air prison
deleted by creator
Sleep with wolves, wake up with fleas.
Hey, don’t question the biased media narrative or look up statistics on the number of people killed by each side and realize Israel is terrible as well. That would distract from massive military industrial complex socialism.
military industrial complex socialism
Never seen it phrased this way. Thanks
