...a pluralistic, multi-ethnic democracy and ally. I don't see the war in Gaza as "ethnic cleansing." It's still all Palestinian. Nor is it "genocide." It still has a huge population. (Originally, I thought the population went up, but Grok corrected me.)

I don't know why it would be, but Islamic nationalism just seems to be a blind spot for a lot of Americans, left and right. You'll see discussions of Christian nationalism, but not Islamic nationalism. No idea why. You would think the far right would approve of Islamic nationalism to the extent that it is socially arch-conservative, theocratic, patriarchal, racist, homophobic, etc. On the other hand, the far left shouldn't approve of Islamic nationalism for the same reason.

I think the non-Iran Islamic world is showing signs of moderating and controlling Islamic nationalism, accepting and working with Israel, and getting the world down to the business of human prosperity. Not sure how this Iran war is going to turn out, but if we can get Islamic nationalism way, way down, the world, including moderate Muslims, should benefit. My take.

And when 47% of Israelis in a poll supported killing all Palestinians, that's not exactly pluralistic and multi-ethnic.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/poll-82-of-israelis-want-to-expel-palestinians-from-gaza-47-want-to-kill-every-man-woman-child/ar-AA1FPQHi

I get the anger that Israelis have because Hamas and affiliated groups are just horrible, but it's also not like Israel has been purely innocent either (nor have other middle eastern countries or the US or anyone involved).

Admittedly, I should have checked it. I have a habit of checking and updating. For example, these lines.

And, yeah, the sentiment to "remove all Palestinians" from Gaza by 47% of Israelis doesn't surprise me. We'll see how it actually turns out. Neutralizing Iran might completely change the equation if Hamas, Hezbollah, and other tentacles no longer have a blood supply. Not sure.

The Constitution of the United States addresses the question of nationalism by establishing a framework that balances the power between the national and state governments. It does this through the separation of powers, the division of government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and the reservation of certain powers to the states.

This division helps to prevent any one government from monopolizing power and ensures that the government operates in a way that respects the rights and responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.

The Constitution's design is a response to the challenges of the Articles of Confederation, which were seen as inadequate for the new nation's needs. By creating a more complex and structured government, the Constitution aims to protect individual liberties and promote a system of checks and balances that ensures no single branch of government can dominate the others.

https://constitutioncenter.org/essays/federalism

...another fun fact:

Israel was supposed to have a constitution. This was specifically stipulated in United Nations resolution 181, and in Israel’s Declaration of Independence it was said that it would establish a democratic constitution.

As Prof. Aeyal Gross of Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law noted, Israel was built on the legacy of English common law and the British system. There was a feeling among some that a constitution wasn’t necessary when Israel was already a democracy; the United Kingdom didn’t have a written constitution, so it was questioned why it was necessary for the nascent state.

There were other more practical reasons. Religious parties, for instance, argued that the Jewish people already has a constitution, the Torah.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-730474

...as I'm wont to reflect on both Israel and Arab nations actions from the perspective of an American citizen, I'm eternally bemused how our politics assumes a secular resolution to a conflict in which the principles in power and authority on both sides believe in one form of the other of an apoplectic end to their respective struggles.

Even more confounding are those who are compelled by their own sense of and belief in the divine to urge our secular government to act on these Middle Eastern conflicts; ostensibly out of concern for Israel's democracy, but firmly rooted in religious affinities and affiliations.

Thomas Jefferson (who was a quasi Arab-nationalist; kept a copy of the Quran, etc., advocated equal treatment and regard of religious belief) was said to struggle with his own religious belief in the divinity of the nation's founding, which is reflected in many expressions and even actions of our government today:

In 'Notes on the State of Virginia,' Jefferson wrote:

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever: that considering numbers, nature and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situations, is among possible events: that it may become probable by supernatural interference! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a contest."

Good question for those who concern themselves with such things.

And disappears Palestinians into those prisons

And practices collective punishment on the Palestians

...fwiw.

An Israeli airstrike on March 5 killed four people in the town of Mashgharah, Lebanese officials reported. Israel has stepped up attacks on the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon as the war with Iran has spread violence across the Middle East.

A local official in Mashgharah told The Associated Press on Friday that the airstrike killed Ghazali’s two brothers, a niece and a nephew at their home just after sunset as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The official, who requested anonymity because he could not publicly discuss details of the airstrike, told the AP that Kassim and Ibrahim Ghazali were killed, along with Ibrahim Ghazali’s children, Ali and Fatima. Their mother was seriously wounded and remains in the hospital, the official said.

Link to tweet

"Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars."