Self-Own Alert: Gaza Freakout Shows 'Occupation' Lies
Also, your employment rights and legal protections from discrimination
As soon as Trump said it, the global freakout began. In live remarks last night, he said the U.S. would “take over” Gaza, apparently temporarily remove inhabitants, and somehow build it into a wonderful place with people from around the world, including Palestinians, living there.
First, a note to people who panic every day (literally) over the latest things Trump has said: His remarks virtually never constitute any kind of actual thought out plan. He changes his mind constantly, and often forgets he even said something. Pace yourself with him, or you won’t last four years. He has not “ethnically cleansed” Gaza, and there’s no reason to believe he will.
Now, a note to his adorers: Love him all you want, but his track record shows that he does not know how to build a beautiful, thriving, multicultural utopia. Even Republicans who usually instinctively agree with him took no time breaking with him on this.
It’s also clear that Gaza must be led by people who are actually committed to modernization, acceptance of differences, ending Islamist terror teachings, and living peacefully alongside Israel. That means no Hamas, UNWRA, or other radicalized groups.
I try to focus on the media, which is missing a centerpiece of this story. The responses prove that claims about “occupation” have been wrong all along.
There’s a wildly popular, global myth that Israel has been “occupying” Gaza, with help from the United States. If people really believed that was the case, they would call Trump’s occupation “plan” a virtual continuation of the status quo. They aren’t, because it wouldn’t be. In fact, Israel has not occupied Gaza for two decades. I covered this in Episode 1:
And here was the newsletter for it:
Meanwhile, the media continues to call the entire West Bank “occupied,” despite what the Palestinian Authority itself has put in writing:
The West Bank got its name from Jordan occupying it. (Learn more about that in Episode 8.)
There’s much more to say about this, including the reality of post-war occupations, and some amazing, historic achievements of the occupation of Germany post-World War II. Also, Sen. John Fetterman deserves credit for getting something factually correct.
But for now, I want to hear from you. What reports are you reading/hearing/seeing about all this that need to be fact checked? Post in comments (paid subscribers) or submit through this form.
Meanwhile, a new episode is out today! It focuses on your rights against discrimination in employment, and how the media has been blowing it on coverage of Trump’s actions. I’ll write about that in the next newsletter.
JL