Middle Temple Library

I’m taking a break from blogging for a few weeks.

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Sir Horace Avery — very famous judge.

The world wants a ceasefire, but Hamas doesn’t want it

Political theater this week in the United Nations.

I wonder if the UN is aware that there was a ceasefire in place already. And, guess who broke it?

The Biden Administration has thrown a bone to the progressives and China and Russia while burnishing their reputation among the global south to save face. But, I think this has hurt Israel and bolstered Hamas. I don’t think it amounts to a serious shift from America per se; but it’s noteworthy.

From Julian Borger & Lorenzo Tondo, in “Israel isolated as UN security council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza” (The Guardian):

The UN security council has voted to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, after the US dropped a threat to veto, bringing Israel to near total isolation on the world stage.

The vote result sets up the strongest public clash between the US president, Joe Biden, and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, since the war began.

The US abstained and the 14 other council members all voted in favour of the security council ceasefire resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members who voiced their frustration with more than five months of deadlock between the major powers. Applause broke out in the chamber after the vote.

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Hamas doesn’t want a ceasefire, even if the rest of the world does

Last week, a hostage deal was agreed with Hamas in which they would release 40 Israelis against 800 Palestinian prisoners. (Yes, a joke; but that’s a tangent). Israeli negotiators agreed to it via an American-brokered compromise. But, then, on Monday, the UN General Security Council passed a resolution submitted by Russia and China demanding a ceasefire without stipulating the release of hostages.

Then, Hamas rejected the hostage deal. And just yesterday, Hamas fired rockets into Israel — for the first time in 2 months. They clearly don’t want a ceasefire; but the rest of the world still maintains Hamas somehow wants “peace”.

This resolution has done nothing but to bolster Hamas. The Biden Administration’s abstention has isolated Israel diplomatically; and has shown Hamas that the international community will pivot their pressure against Israel demanding a ceasefire which mentions but doesn’t condition the ceasefire on the release of the hostages. (Mind you, when the US proposed a resolution for a temporary ceasefire with the condition that hostages be released, Russia and China shot it down swiftly). 

The resolution tells Israel that it needs to ceasefire until the end of Ramadan, whether or not the hostages are released. And separately, it also tells Hamas that they need to unconditionally release the hostages. This subtle American shift against Israel is also a message to Hamas that they will get a ceasefire without having to pay anything. And hence, as I have mentioned, Hamas have derailed the negotiations. Afterall, why ‘negotiate’ if you’re already going to get what you want via the UNSC. Namely, their original demands of a permanent ceasefire, troop withdrawal and hostages-for-all-prisoners exchange.

Moreover, there already was a ceasefire in place on Oct 6 which Hamas broke. It was agreed after rocket attacks on 21 May 2021. We’ve always had ceasefires which Hamas keeps on breaking.

There’ll be calls for another ceasefire next week, and probably pressure on Israel to release much more prisoners and accept even worse terms.

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The Yasser Arafat romantic projection

Secular liberals in the West keep projecting onto Islamic terrorist organisations some kind of anti-colonial/imperial rationality which we are more familiar with. There are ‘good guys’ against the ‘bad guys’. We tend to think about this conflict as if we are dealing with charming Yasser Arafat … like an alternate reality. Mind you, Yasser Arafat was anything but charming. As such, big-strong westerners sweep in, rescue the “oppressed”, reverse centuries of resentment and hatred, and put the jewel back in the crown.

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Failure to understand Hamas’ support

A real problem in the West — and particularly among the Left — is to look at the Hamas-Israel war and think it’s just some innocent Palestinians that are getting killed here; and that Hamas is a separate conceptual entity. However, almost every single poll on the issue shows overwhelming support for Hamas among the Palestinians (e.g. “57% of respondents in Gaza and 82% in the West Bank believe Hamas was correct in launching the October attack, the poll indicated”). 

With respect to Hamas, or a majority of the general Palestinian population in greater Israel; when asked in interviews about peoples’ solutions — the average answer was not coexistence. That is the problem. The desire for political autonomy is understandable; but when you see the exultation of ‘martyrdom’, you know you are dealing with a very dangerous and warped outlook.

Palestinians have been lectured, preached, and taught that Israel is only a week or a month away from non-existence. “If you resist a little longer, the Jews will leave ...”. This fascistic guerilla-warfare psychology is not just totally delusional, but presents no clear military path to any kind of victory. Afterall, what was the military object of Oct 7 – besides a bloodletting? They don’t want a two-state solution.

Every peace negotiation begins with Israel asking: “are you prepared to recognise the sovereignty of Israel?” Israel’s non-negotiable demand is the precise negation of Palestine’s non-negotiable demand. Once Palestinians stop seeing the Jews of Israel through the prism of French rule in Algeria, and drop the ridiculous ‘right of return’ nonsense, then negotiations can finally happen.

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The principle of negotiating with terrorists

Something I’ve been thinking about is what happens once a liberal democracy starts “negotiating” with terrorists? I think you invariably incentivise terrorist activities. You make it profitable. It suddenly becomes attractive to kidnap citizens of a government and hold them ransom. So, while the Israeli government thinks it may be saving lives in the immediate negotiation, that government is putting future Israeli lives at greater risk. As soon as you pay the ransom for one person, it gives an inherent legitimacy to the transaction.  

On the other hand, Ronald Reagan traded arms for hostages in the Iran-Contra affair. Also, the United States has been negotiating with Iran on their development of their nuclear weapons programme? Also, there were negotiations with the IRA. 

So, what is the answer? Should Israel be negotiating the hostages?

In the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, Israel negotiated the soldier’s release in exchange for 1027 prisoners held in Israeli custody. According to wikipedia, of which “two hundred and eighty of these had been sentenced to life in prison for planning and perpetrating various attacks against Israeli targets”. So v. dangerous people were released. Among the prisoners released was Hamas Chief Yehiya Sinwar who is one of the architects of Oct 7.

I think Israel has to ignore international pressures, keep plowing through and get the job done of eliminating Hamas. Israel has a duty to guard its borders and the rest of its Israeli civilians. 

At least, with these new missile launches, Hamas can’t use the excuse of Ramadan anymore.

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Corrigendum (28.03.2024): Above, it said rockets were fired for first time in 2 months. Thanks to Yael, rockets have been fired from Gaza repeatedly.

Princess of Wales undergoing cancer treatment

Poor woman. A young mother faces much more than just her own suffering; and having to go through this publically must be brutal for her and the family. I hope the press give her some privacy which she deserves.

I understand some horrid and unscrupulous type had accessed her medical records in order to sell it to the tabloids. 

It’s pretty awful that she had to release the announcement of her surgery earlier than, I think, she would have wanted because some idiot wanted to make a quick buck.

Must be awful for William too. He lost his own mum at a young age. This has to be heartbreaking for him as well. He finds out his dad has cancer; then, almost immediately, finds out his wife does too. He recently lost his granny, and his brother is an estranged idiot. Poor guy.

Wishing her all the best.

Ceasefire is on the table, but Hamas terrorists don’t want it

In “US president warns of looming Ramadan deadline and tells Israel there are ‘no excuses for not letting aid into Gaza’” (Daily Telegraph):

Joe Biden has said a ceasefire deal is in the hands of Hamas as he urged the terror group to accept an Israeli proposal for a pause in fighting.

“It’s in the hands of Hamas right now,” Mr Biden. “The Israelis have been co-operating, the offer (of a ceasefire) is rational. We’ll know in a couple of days. But we need the ceasefire.”

The talks broke down after Hamas refused to provide a list confirming which hostages in Gaza are still alive.

The deal involves:

Hamas releasing all women, children and wounded hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, to a ratio of about one hostage to 10 prisoners.

It also allows for hundreds of aid lorries to enter Gaza during a 40-day pause in fighting.

There seem to be no protests & exhortations calling on Hamas to release the women, children and injured? Indeed, a few days ago, Hamas even “refused to reveal how many hostages are alive” (DT):

Hamas was refusing to hand over the names of living hostages, stalling talks for a ceasefire, on Sunday night.

Israel has demanded to know how many of the roughly 130 hostages that remain in Gaza are still alive as a condition of returning to the negotiating table.

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Israel doesn’t want to be at war; but Hamas wants it

Israel is amenable to a ceasefire — as long as Hamas releases the Israeli civilians being held hostage. Hamas have not only instigated this war; but have refused to observe measures which would bring about a ceasefire — even a modest reprieve for Ramadan. They want to be in a perpetual state of war. 

People will be thinking as they read this: “oh... but is that a reason to be killing civilians?”. But, they need to blame the right people: Hamas. Hamas grabbed these non-combatants; women and children as hostages. They have wrought hell-on-Earth upon ‘their own’ people in Gaza.

A fundamental problem is that people regard Hamas as a vague external actor and not as the government of Gaza. Hamas have somehow managed to shift the responsibility for Gazan citizens wellbeing onto Israel. However, Hamas simply don’t care about the innocent Palestinian civilians. Ismail Haniyeh has called “the blood of women, children, and the elderly of Gaza ... so as to awaken our revolutionary spirit”. They will never prioritise peace, prosperity and wellbeing for the ordinary Gazans. They don’t want a ceasefire because the more the Gazans suffer, the more the West will turn on Israel and Jews in general. There’s also a report of the Hamas leadership citing civilian causalities as a good bargaining chip. 

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As far as I see it, a ceasefire would only ever be entertained by Hamas if it offered a strategic advantage in stopping Israel from winning the war which Hamas declared on Israel & Gaza.

The harsh reality, in my view, is that the kidnapped victims are very unlikely to be released safely. Probably Ever. And, I suspect that the Israeli government knows this.

From a strategic perspective, enacting a ceasefire would now only strengthen Hamas. They are now in a position of an almost defeated enemy, and desperate to regroup. Only Rafah is left in Hamas’ control. I think Israel should go forward with their offensive. A ceasefire called now will, in a few months/years, be another war with heavy civilian casualties against a fascist adversary that cares not for its civilian population. I don’t think Israel is going to stop until they wipe out the capabilities of Hamas. Hamas and their Iranian backers have overplayed their hand on October 7th.

Art vandalism — the painting of Lord Balfour

We have yet another idiot destroying and ruining art — in the service of their “cause”. 

The portrait that was spray-painted and slashed was of Lord Balfour, the former British Prime Minister. This took place at Trinity College in Cambridge by a “pro-Palestinian protester”. 

Cultural vandalism

We have seen this happen to the poor Van Gogh pieces in the National Gallery, or the ‘Mona Lisa’ in Paris; and I think symptomatic of our times: throwing a temper tantrums and vandalising art in museums.

I must admit: I don’t have any special concern for this particular painting. It seems a conventional portrait. What angers me is the fact that anyone can destroy art, of any type.

This kind of vandalism creates a culture that normalises the targeting art for mere self-indulgence. It’s the self-preening attempt to strike the pose as a “great revolutionary”.

I think the very notion of threatening or attacking art and artists — as a mode of political speech — is cultural poison. This rotten stupidity is becoming a regular thing now. Every maniac — acquiped with what they perceive as a political grievance — feels entitled to use works of art to project their anger. 

Yet, these are vertible cultural artifacts; and we have a duty to preserve them for future generations. Works are held in the public trust. This kind of vandalism isn’t anything new; and I really hate it. It’s such arrogance and ignorance. 

I’ve always wondered how many books and how much art was collected and then burned in the “Bonfire of the Vanities” in Florence. We can only imagine. It’s said that over 90% of all religious art was destroyed during the English Civil War. Years ago, Daesh destroyed parts of a Roman Amphitheater in the ancient city of Palmyra. In all cases, society has robbed its progeny of pieces of our common heritage and history.

These vandalisms impose a cost on the gallery visitors.

Museums now respond with barriers, wires and fences that make loud horrible noises when triggered. There are guards and alarms. When we go into a museum and see a beautiful work of art; we now see it through a pane of glass/perspex. It creates an artificial barrier between the art and the viewer. It’s an extra separation between the art and someone — like myself — trying to admire it. 

It’s a necessary evil that is separating us from really “touching” and “feeling” every artwork. I regularly find myself distracted by the pane of perspex distorting the imagine or reflecting the museum’s often bright lights into the painting. It’s so irritating. And to think earlier generations could just walk into the Louvre and see a Da Vinci without any separation. This is also not confined to the most iconic pieces. This ridiculous levels of security is a huge expense to often threadbare budgets (often consumed by conservation costs). Nowadays, in some cases, the actual real objects are not even shown anymore. A facsimile is presented for the masses. And, we all have to be strip-searched just to get into a museum.

Moreover, with some of the soup-splashing; they invariably damage the centuries-old gold-gilded frames which can often be valuable work of art in themselves. Fashioned from antique wood and plaster, they don’t respond well to moisture and acidity.

Then, we must ask, who cares about Lord Balfour in the painting?

We care about the art. We care about who painted it, why, the technique used by the artist, and how it influenced other artworks. The wealthy have always been commissioning artists to do their portraits for centuries, so they can be immortalised. This is an act of disrespect towards the artist and to the history of art itself. Art is a window into contemporaneous perspectives. 

It is also the arrogance of declaring that my personal modern perspective on history allows me to censor art at my discretion. Except we’ve seen examples in history where the contemporary political environment tarnishes a piece of art because of the values of the period. Then, the political environment evolves and changes; and for that censorship to be looked at unfavorably through a longer historical lens. We shouldn’t destroy pieces of historical art because of our current political environment.

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Update: 12 March 2024 — In today’s Daily Telegraph, there is an interesting letter from the Earl of Balfour which I enjoyed reading:

“Jewish Londoners ‘make plans to flee capital’ amid huge antisemitism wave”

This is the headline from the London’s paper: “Jewish Londoners ‘make plans to flee capital’ amid huge antisemitism wave” (The Standard).

Martin Bentham writes:

Growing numbers of Jewish families are considering fleeing London for abroad because of rising antisemitism in the capital, campaigners warned on Tuesday as they demanded tougher action to combat intimidation and hate.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said some Jewish residents had already left because of fears for their safety.

But it added that the number of those considering leaving London was increasing daily in response to hostility being displayed towards them.

The campaign group has exposed a series of antisemitic attacks in London amid reports of increasing nervousness among Jewish people about their safety.

Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said an earlier opinion survey had already shown that about half of Jewish people were considering moving abroad and that the trend was growing because of continuing hostility from sections of the community.

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This is incredibly depressing. 

As a Londoner, I must admit that I feel this article has somewhat overstated the problem — if not a bit misleading. People are not seriously “fleeing” the Capital.

On the other hand, it is very definitely hostile. For example, at university, Jewish people feel that it is not safe to wear Jewish identifiers:

Jewish students are covering kippahs with baseball caps and hiding Star of David necklaces amid soaring reports of anti-Semitism at UK universities. Undergraduates at some of Britain’s leading institutions have told The Telegraph they feel “afraid” and “on edge” on campus. One student described how she put up posters of hostages taken by Hamas in her university town, only to see them ripped off the wall within 45 minutes. The accounts come as reports of anti-Semitic incidents in the 18 days following the Hamas terror attacks hit a record high.

Ms Schwinger, who admitted sometimes hiding her Star of David necklace when she walked past a pro-Palestine protest or rally, said she and others had reported signs held at such demonstrations, including one that read “Intifada until victory”. (The Daily Telegraph)

Pupils at a London Jewish school have been allowed to not wear their school blazer amid hate crime fears (The Independent). They even had to cancel after school clubs so students can go together on the school buses. And, then, there have been instances of public buses refusing to stop for Jewish school children (The Independent). 

People have been reporting antisemitic graffiti, stickers and posters — often by Jewish schools or Jewish graveyards. One of my own local shops actually had “from the river to the sea” written by its entrance. Disgusting. 

Immediately after the Jews were targeted in an evil attack, antisemitic incidents hit record highs. Why? Where is all the disgust and racism and hatred against Russians? People don’t care about russia because it’s not Jewish.

London isn’t Nazi Germany. But, for me, I think we should be mindful of history. The chants didn’t immediately start by saying “murder all the Jews”. but, people having to hide their Jewish identity is how it all begins. We should be very careful.

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Update: article below from earlier in the week:

Hot chocolate with whipped cream for energy to submit an assignment

To get me in the “study mindset”. 😏

Photo: “Next level” at the library

At my library.

Photo: St Paul’s Cathedral in London

After exams, will go & visit it.