Politics & Stuff

[Vesper 30,233]

Australian Doof Culture Has a Zionist Problem

In Australia, outdoor dance parties — known colloquially as “doofs” — are billed as progressive events that value peace, love, unity, and respect. So why do organizers keep booking artists who celebrate Israel’s genocide in Gaza?

https://jacobin.com/2025/03/australia-doofs-zionism-idf-palestine

The crowd at the Rainbow Serpent festival in Lexton, Australia, in 2013. (Asher Floyd / Wikimedia Commons)

 

For many Australians, there is nothing that epitomizes high summer more than the doof (for those unacquainted with the local dialect, doofs are outdoor dance parties similar to raves). Although pioneering parties like Rainbow Serpent and Earthcore are no longer running, festivals like Esoteric, Wild Horses and Rabbits Eat Lettuce have stepped into the breach, pulling in thousands of punters looking to dress up, drop acid, and lose their minds to psytrance for a few days.

Smaller, underground doofs are advertised to limited social networks and usually fly under the radar. Larger doof festivals, however, are professionally promoted, feature international artists, and evince a typical and replicable psychedelic aesthetic. Whether a semilegal gathering of mates or a festival with five stages and 15,000 punters, doofs are meant to offer an escape from the day-to-day worries of work, rent, bills, and general late-capitalist precarity. To many, they’re also an opportunity to temporarily take part in a genuinely horizontal set of social relations, and to experiment with new ways of being together where exploitation and oppression are absent. Whatever the flavor, the combination of electronic dance music (EDM), entheogens, and nature is potent and popular.

Cultural studies scholar Susan Luckman explains that “the term ‘doof’ resonates in Australia with sub-cultural capital,” which means in practice that many doofers understand their scene and its values as a way of life and not merely an opportunity to get wasted on the weekend.

The principles of Peace, Love, Unity and Respect (PLUR), which emerged from the 1990s US rave scene, are fundamental to Australian doof culture, and many participants see doofs as a vehicle for personal and social transcendence. There’s undoubtedly a utopian element to this, but unlike festivals such as Burning Man, Australian doofs are largely free of Silicon Valley tech moguls and still offer a relatively egalitarian, progressive atmosphere. That’s why they’re marketed — and often idealized — as spaces for free expression, individual empowerment, spontaneous community, and psychedelic exploration.

Over the last year, however, the trip has threatened to turn bad. This summer, artists who actively support Israel’s genocide have performed at major doof festivals. Others are slated to perform at festivals to be held later in the year. Last summer, the organizers of one festival encouraged attendees to boost and donate to coming_home4life, an Israeli pro-war campaign group. It’s not just an affront to PLUR. It’s something that the vast majority of doof attendees would — and should — reject. It’s one thing to enjoy a temporary escape facilitated by dance music (and substances.) It’s another thing entirely to get down and high to tracks played by artists who publicly and actively support war and genocide.

The Soundtrack to Genocide

Of the international artists at large Australian doof festivals, a significant number have always been Israeli, as have plenty of attendees, many of whom are backpackers fresh from finishing their compulsory military service. In and of itself, this is both inevitable and not a cause for alarm; no festival should bar artists or attendees based on their nationality, let alone ethnicity.

It also makes sense that Israelis are well-represented. Australia has a vibrant outdoor party scene centered around various “psy” genres. And according to anti-Zionist Tel Aviv–based DJ Niv Hadas, psytrance is “the truest form of Israeli folk music.” Metallic bleeps, acid squelches, 148-bpm kick drums, and samples from science-fiction films are core components of what has become one of Israel’s most popular genres.

Psytrance is the soundtrack to Israel’s genocide.

Numerous factors account for this, not least among them the connection between electronic music and Israel’s highly militarized society. For young Israelis, a period of often hedonistic travel after military service is customary. As a 2023 history of psychedelic culture by Ido Hartogsohn and Itamar Zadoff notes, “The founders of the Israeli psytrance scene were recently discharged male soldiers.”

The emergence of a psychedelic trance scene in Israel — as “warrior backpackers” brought the music back from Goa — was contemporaneous with the First Intifada. The emergence of psytrance as a “truly popular music” by 2000 aligned with the beginning of the Second Intifada. Periods of intensified violence seem to spur the cultural dissemination and popularity of psytrance, offering citizens of Israel an opportunity to unite and forget the violence committed by their state against a racialized enemy. This can appeal to both hard-line Zionists and people who just want to escape “the situation” by way of the drug-fueled pseudo-spiritual transcendence and collectivism characteristic of psytrance parties. As Hartogoshon and Zodoff explain:

The reception of trance culture into Israeli society was facilitated because it contained many cultural components that resonate with Zionistic youth movements and military life — camping in nature, navigation, and male camaraderie. Trance founders repurposed practices acquired during their army service toward participation in the new psytrance culture.

Indeed, as anthropologist of electronic music Graham St John documents, “Psytrance music and culture has permeated everyday life in Israel, where it emerged as a popular music by 2000.” Over the same period — and since — young Israelis have shifted further to the right.

There is of course a spectrum within Zionism, ranging from religious and openly ethnosupremacist Zionism to liberal Zionism, which aspires to a more progressive — but still ethnocentric — Israel. Recent decades, however, have seen the center of Israeli politics shift so far to the right that the liberal Zionist antiwar movement of previous decades is entirely absent. This shift has flowed through into Israel’s music scene. While many Israeli DJs evince a kinder, gentler, more liberal Zionism, what matters is whether they support war and genocide. Whether Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombs fall in the name of LGBTQ liberation or the total elimination of Palestinians as a people is immaterial to the lives they destroy.

Similarly, psytrance isn’t an inherently militant or nationalist genre or one that openly glorifies violence. Nevertheless, Israeli psytrance has evolved to the right, in step with Israeli culture in general. As anthropologist Giorgio Gristina argues, there is a

more dark, disturbed, militaristic or violent tone that can be found in Israeli psytrance, in the names of albums, artists or events like Expression of Rage, Psycho Sonic, Deeply Disturbed, Becoming Insane, Smashing the Opponent, Conquering the Israeli Desert, Groove Attack, We’re Dangerous, We Must Evacuate, Ground Zero, NuClear Visions of Israel and so on.

Of course, the political aesthetic of Israel’s psytrance scene also encompasses everything from apolitical ambivalence to hippie-flavored Zionism that decries the “cruel darkness” of “people [who] want to kill each other” while expressing faith that “the lights of hope, unity and love are lit.” Meanwhile, at least 61,000 Gazans are dead, and the strip lies in ruins while Israeli politicians — with support from the White House — discuss ethnic cleansing. And while some Israeli psytrance fans and artists may prefer to look away from the IDF’s violence, the reality is that psytrance is the soundtrack to Israel’s genocide.

Bush Doofs and Zionists

Australian doofs have a very different political aesthetic, which reflects the more progressive outlook of most organizers and participants. Most doofs begin with a welcome to country or smoking ceremony given by the traditional indigenous owners of the land on which the festival is held. Festival organizers draw on indigenous Australian practices and traditions to impress upon patrons a connection to the land and support for Aboriginal sovereignty, to encourage respectful behavior, and to showcase progressive politics.

However, this show of support for indigenous sovereignty — and the tacit anti-colonial stance it implies — is undermined when doof organizers book artists who are active partisans for an ongoing settler-colonial movement. Take Wild Horses, for example. As its website states, Wild Horses is “founded over basic human principles: LOVE and RESPECT. We encourage acceptance, we encourage love, we encourage you to be all you can possibly be but make sure you do the same to all the ones around you.

Wild Horses takes place at Carapooee West in Victoria, and last year it ran from December 6 to 8. Israeli psytrance artist Skizologic headlined the festival, and a cursory search of his social media accounts makes plain his support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. As one post reads, “If you are silent when terrorists murder Israelis, stay silent when Israel defends itself.” His one-sided focus on October 7 is typical of Israel’s basic justification for war, and his outspoken criticism of those who have stood against genocide is hard to reconcile with the Australian doof scene’s avowed commitment to PLUR.

In the case of Wild Horses, there’s reason to believe that the decision to book pro-genocide artists is not simply due to naivety. In 2023 the festival solicited donations for coming_home4life, a Zionist group formed after October 7 that campaigned for the IDF and Israeli government to wage war with the aim of rescuing the hostages and prisoners taken by Hamas. Wild Horses organizers also linked attendees to the hashtags #bringthemback and #bringthemhome, which overflow with racist and pro-genocide material. Wild Horses did not promote any equivalent campaign or charity aimed at supporting the people of Gaza, despite the horrifying hardships they continue to endure. And at last year’s Wild Horses, organizers introduced and enforced a policy prohibiting “political demonstration and disruption.” This is hard to square with anything other than the festival organizers’ fear at a backlash against their support for pro-war artists and charities.

Most Australian doofs begin with a welcome to country or smoking ceremony given by the traditional indigenous owners of the land on which the festival is held.

The problem is not restricted to one festival. Rabbits Eat Lettuce, planned for April 17 to 21 this year, features Israeli psytrance legend Astrix, who has shared videos justifying civilian deaths in Gaza, including of children. Other Astrix posts praise the “healing power of music” for Israelis impacted by October 7, in line with the purportedly progressive, peaceful, and apolitical attitude toward genocide characteristic of liberal Zionist psytrance artists.

While such views are commonplace, they also point toward solidarity between the Israeli psytrance scene and the IDF. Take, for example, the 2024 drone light show “renovation” of “Invasion,” a track by psytrance duo Invisible Reality. Or as reported by Turkish news outlet TRTWorld, an instance of IDF soldiers doofing to psy-pop monstrosities amid rubble, to promote a dance party they planned to hold in Gaza. In another case, video footage emerged of IDF soldiers dancing in the ruins of a bombed-out school that had previously sheltered displaced Gazans.

The explicit nexus between the Israeli psytrance scene and the IDF is added impetus for Australian doof organizers to refuse to book pro-war artists. And when they fail, knowingly or unknowingly, doof attendees have an important role to play in ensuring that festivals do not endorse ethnic cleansing and war.

Esoteric Festival is probably the most prominent Australian doof festival. Last year, a major boycott campaign led by ordinary punters pressured Esoteric organizers to rescind the booking of pro-genocide Zionist DJ Antinomy. Shamefully, Estoteric’s organizers soured this decision by also dropping Juman, the only Palestinian artist on the bill, on the grounds of hastily concocted “safety concerns.”

This year, Esoteric was canceled at the last minute after building surveyors for the Buloke Shire Council refused to approve necessary permits, on public health and safety grounds. However, festival organizers had booked several Zionist headliners to play at the event — and at least one, Animato, played anyway at a smaller, consolation event held on March 9, at Melbourne Pavilion. Animato is not an artist who attempts to position himself as apolitical, and he has made his support for the IDF’s campaign in Gaza very explicit. Animato is also explicit in his anti-Arab racism. In one reply to a post on Threads, he asked what “Arab country [sic] contributes to the world beside terror?” It’s a stance decidedly at odds with Esoteric’s self-portrayal as “an environment safe for everyone, free from negative energy that’s filled with love.”

The explicit nexus between the Israeli psytrance scene and the IDF is added impetus for Australian doof organizers to refuse to book pro-war artists.

Invisible Reality — mentioned earlier — and their side project Sorin and Shamil were also slated to feature at Esoteric. The duo have shown consistent enthusiasm for the genocidal campaign waged by the IDF. There is no ambiguity in video posts that uphold “peace, unity and love” while claiming that “Israel never targets civilians deliberately,” arguing that “if you think they do, you have been fed fake news.” They are, essentially, wartime propaganda.

Boycott Pro-Genocide Festivals

While the bombs have stopped for the moment, the Zionist state is pivoting toward ethnic cleansing in Gaza and land seizures and home demolitions in the West Bank, with the blessing of President Donald Trump’s White House. This is the context that festival organizers must take into account when making decisions about which artists they book. As Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni argues, festivals cannot claim to uphold progressive values while remaining silent or claiming neutrality. Rather,

progressive spaces like music festivals have a moral obligation to refuse to platform artists who support or justify genocide and the oppression of marginalized peoples. When festivals knowingly provide a stage to Zionist artists who publicly back the genocide of Palestinians, they perpetuate the normalization of apartheid, war crimes and crimes against humanity. These spaces cannot claim neutrality while supporting the very systems of violence they purport to oppose. Silence in the face of genocide is complicity, and these events must stand in solidarity with human rights, liberation and Palestinian justice.

At the same time, as Mashni notes, the “normalization of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia is rampant, often unchallenged and deeply ingrained within institutions, including the arts.”

So far, organizers of Wild Horses, Esoteric, and Rabbits Eat Lettuce have not heeded the call to boycott pro-war, pro-genocide artists. The organizers of Wild Horses declined to respond to questions about the types of speech or action prohibited by their “no politics” policy. Similarly, organizers of Esoteric and Rabbits Eat Lettuce refused to answer questions about the steps they took to avoid booking artists who support genocide or whose commitments and actions compromise the ethos espoused by both festivals.

Regardless of whether this stems from conscious support for Israel’s war or a head-in-the-sand attitude, it’s at odds with the values of the vast majority of doof attendees. It’s also a stance that threatens to undermine what is genuinely progressive about Australian festival culture. To experience the unity of shared rhythm amid lights among friends is beautiful. To remain true to that experience, festival attendees have a responsibility to pressure organizers when they make the wrong decisions.

This isn’t to argue that festivals should boycott all Israeli artists, nor is to suggest that organizers should vet every artist’s social media profile for misplaced likes. Nor should it apply to artists who oppose the genocide despite supporting Zionism in some abstract form. Rather, the boycott should apply to all artists — regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or religion — who explicitly endorse and support Israel’s war crimes, racism, and genocide. Because in the case of Israel’s war on Gaza, there is no ambiguity. It was — and is — an open and obvious violation of international law. To dance to music performed by artists who support these crimes is to dance to the soundtrack of genocide.

[Vesper 30,233]

Yanis Varoufakis: How the EU Is Fueling War, Austerity & Authoritarianism

Europe is spiraling into crisis—its democracy under attack, its people abandoned, and its leaders fueling war, austerity, and authoritarianism. In this explosive speech in Brussels, Yanis Varoufakis exposes the truth about the EU’s dangerous shift, the rise of the far-right, and the corruption of so-called centrists. The EU is turning into a War Union, prioritising military spending over its people.

Austerity continues for the many while the elite benefit from unlimited money printing. Elections are being canceled, censorship is rising, and democracy is fading. The far-right and neoliberal elites fuel each other’s power, silencing real opposition while pretending to fight one another. We saw this coming. In 2016, DiEM25 warned: Europe will be democratized, or it will disintegrate. Now, we are at a tipping point.

This is not just a crisis; it is a deliberate transformation of Europe into a militarized, oligarchic system that serves only the few. The only way forward is resistance. We must reject Military Keynesianism, fight for economic justice, demand a real Green Transition, and defend democracy against those who seek to erase it. There is no time to wait. We must act now.

[Vesper 30,233]

About 1/6 of the total population of Serbia protested government malfeasance today. In the US that would be more than fifty seven million people.

[Vesper 30,233]

Texas Bill Will Ban 'Furries' In Schools Because No Dumb Conspiracy Ever Dies

https://www.wonkette.com/p/texas-bill-will-ban-furries-in-schools

Just to demonstrate that no truly stupid idea ever goes away, a Texas Republican lawmaker, state Rep. Stan Gerdes, has introduced a bill to prohibit “non-human behavior” by kids in public schools, because apparently he either 1) believes there are actually kids being given litter boxes to poop in; 2) is literally stuck in a time warp from 2022-23; or 3) believes it will get him attention and donations from rubes who think option 1 is real. (We initially wrote “#1,” but that’s what the kitty litter is for.)

We assume the astute readers of Wonkette, at least three-quarters of whom are furries anyway, already know that the rightwing freakout over “kids identifying as animals” is simply an ugly myth that was made up to mock transgender folks. It’s very much a fake outrage based on the idea that trans identity is as absurd as insisting you’re a cat.

Of course, in the real world, outside the rightwing bubble, there aren’t any children insisting they’re animals (beyond the occasional very imaginative preschooler for a few days). But there are trans kids and adults, and they stubbornly insist on existing even if you torture them with “conversion therapy” or make it impossible for them to access life-saving gender affirming care.

Texas has already banned gender-affirming care for minors, and seeks to relentlessly pursue parents and medical providers who help trans kids, so apparently, with nothing else left to ban, Rep. Gerdes decided to address the nonexistent threat of furries in schools. Goofy teens hopped up on anime and clowning around might lead to dancing, for gosh sakes.

Gerdes even came up with a clever acronym for his bill, calling it the “Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education (F.U.R.R.I.E.S) Act, which you have to admit is more memorable than “Texas HB 4814 (2025).” So the hell with Gerdes, we’re calling it HB 4814.

The bill would amend Texas’s education code to prohibit “any non-human behavior by a student, including presenting himself or herself … as anything other than a human being.”

There are exceptions for school mascots, Halloween, school plays, and school dress-up days, just as long as there are no more than five such days in a school year, and the days are themed around “an era in human history,” a holiday, or a school event. So Fifties Day is fine, and we assume kids could dress as Nixon’s little dog Checkers or the late cosmonaut dog Laika.

But there’s one more disqualifier, because this Gerdes dipshit or whoever helped him write the bill really thought this stuff through, and wanted to rule out sneaky loopholes from pro-furry educators: Those theme days absolutely must NOT be “solely or primarily related to the history or celebration of a biological or artificial species other than homo sapiens.” This is a blatant swipe at I Am Not A Human Being, I Am An Animal Day, on which we atone for the sufferings of Oswald Cobblepot.

The bill explains that “non-human behavior” means “any type of behavior or accessory displayed by a student in a school district other than behaviors or accessories typically displayed by a member of the homo sapiens species,” and the examples of course lead off with those goddamn litter boxes, which may not be used for “the passing of stool, urine, or other human byproducts.”

Here is where we remind you that the grain of sand of truth in these fucking “child furry” stories is that some schools keep kitty litter on hand in the case of children being locked down in their rooms because of a school shooter, which Texas has done less than nothing about.

Ha. Ha. Fuck you Texas, and fuck you Rep. Gerdes.

Also banned are tails, leashes, collars, or other pet accessories; fur, “artificial, animal-like ears”; and “other physiological features that have not historically been assigned to the homo sapiens species through a means of natural biological development,” which comes perilously close to endorsing evolution, egad. And to be on the safe side, such non-human accoutrements are banned whether they’re simply worn, or “through surgical means,” because wouldn’t it be just like a Woke Lib to have a doctor add a long striped tail to their child, oh won’t someone please think of the children?

To cover all the bases, banned behaviors include “licking oneself or others for the purpose of grooming or maintenance,” so kids with a cowlick on photo day will have to find a comb, not lick a couple fingers to smooth it out.

And just try enforcing this in a middle school: The list also bans “barking, meowing, hissing, or other animal noises that are not human speech,” although it appears agnostic on making armpit farts.

Students could face penalties including suspension or even expulsion, since the anti-furry stuff is shoehorned into a section of the state education law that prohibits real things like bullying, sexual harassment, and threats of violence. Talking about shooting up your school, wearing a cat ear headband and clip-on tail, both are bad.

This gets especially gross when the bill addresses adult conduct: A completely serious list of prohibitions on causing or allowing kids to be harmed by bullying, assault, neglect, sexual assault, and the like suddenly has added to it the crime of “allowing or encouraging the child to develop a dependance (sic) on or a belief that non-human behaviors are societally acceptable.” Violations of that last could bring a penalty of $10,000 for a first offense, $25,000 for subsequent criming.

None of these pretended threats is real, but in a speech to a group of pastors in Austin Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed HB 4814, claiming that the furry threat is “alive and well” in schools, and needs to be snuffed out by legislation.

“In some small rural sections of school districts in the state of Texas, they have in their schools, what are called furries. Y'all know what this is?” Abbott asked the crowd, which responded with a smattering of “yeahs.”

“Kids go to school dressed up as cats with litter boxes in their classrooms,” Abbott said.

Abbott insisted that he knew of cases in two rural school districts that parents had complained about, but didn’t name them. Just one more reason that the crazy radicals in Texas education must be brought to heel. But if they’re wearing dog fursuits, they just might like that.

OK, that’s enough of that nonsense. Here’s much nicer nonsense, from the wonderful absurdist anime Nichijou. Enjoy 8-year-old genius inventor Hakase Shinonome and her robot housekeeper Nano just saying “It’s me-ow!” and “It’s cute!” to each other again and again. This is the future libs want.

What IS this world coming to?

Edited March 16 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,233]

The #maga resentment toward #federalworkers is misguided. #Reagan #Trump #heritagefoundation

 

[Vesper 30,233]

[Vesper 30,233]

Dictator shit

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114175908922736427

Edited March 17 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,233]

[Fulham Broadway 17,335]

MAGA is pushing a pardon for George Floyd murderer Derek Chauvin

Conservative media figures are pushing Donald Trump to pardon Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murder in the 2020 killing of George Floyd that sparked widespread Black Lives Matter protests.

It seems the White House has taken notice.

Beginning this week, high-profile commentator Ben Shapiro will begin airing a docuseries called “The Case of Derek Chauvin,” part of a pardon push that began earlier this month and has now wracked up some 50,000 signatures on a petition.

independent

[Fernando 6,585]

On 15/03/2025 at 13:36, Vesper said:

To dance to music performed by artists who support these crimes is to dance to the soundtrack of genocide.

This is the dumbest argument ever. 

It's like me a Christian who don't agree with gay who call themselves Christian. Some of them make Christian music and based on this logic if I listen to their music I am supporting their stance....

Really that shows just that article is just full of hate and thus makes no sense in their logic. 

[Vesper 30,233]

3 hours ago, Fernando said:

This is the dumbest argument ever. 

It's like me a Christian who don't agree with gay who call themselves Christian. Some of them make Christian music and based on this logic if I listen to their music I am supporting their stance....

Really that shows just that article is just full of hate and thus makes no sense in their logic. 

you need a new shirt

[Fernando 6,585]

Just now, Vesper said:

you need a new shirt

Can't argue just make fun?

The articles you always post are very biased. 

You believe in them like gospel. But i see their flaws because of their hatred. 

[Vesper 30,233]

Just now, Fernando said:

Can't argue just make fun?

The articles you always post are very biased. 

You believe in them like gospel. But i see their flaws because of their hatred. 

no, I just know a zio apologist when I see one

[Vesper 30,233]

Israel shatters Gaza ceasefire as more than 400 Palestinians killed in IDF strikes – Middle East crisis live

Benjamin Netanyahu says operation carried out to ‘achieve war objectives’ as Hamas labels strikes a ‘blatant violation of humanitarian conventions’

• Israeli strikes kill hundreds in Gaza

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/mar/18/israel-gaza-live-blog-updates-air-strikes-strip-netanyahu-hamas

Why has Israel decided to launch the huge wave of deadly airstrikes on Gaza now?

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that he ordered the airstrikes because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire. Officials said the attacks were open-ended and are expected to expand.

The Guardian’s international security correspondent, Jason Burke, has written up a useful explainer about other reasons why the airstrikes were launched, with Netanyahu, still facing huge opposition from much of the Israeli public, emboldened by the Trump administration. Here is an extract from his story:

Israeli officials say targeting the Hamas leadership, which has re-emerged in recent weeks to again take control of Gaza, will bring about the release of more hostages. Many hostage families in Israel dispute this.

More practically, Israel now has capabilities it lacked six weeks ago. Ammunition stocks have been replenished – partly due to US deliveries – and new potential targets among Hamas’ leaders identified. Planes and other equipment have been repaired. Troops have been rested…

Netanyahu needs support from rightwing allies to win crucial votes in Israel’s parliament in coming days and weeks, and to maintain his grip on power. These allies have fiercely opposed a permanent end to hostilities in Gaza, with one resigning from his ministerial post in protest at the January ceasefire. This vital support is now assured – at least in the short term.

Netanyahu is also on trial for corruption. If found guilty, he could face prison. On Tuesday, a court approved Netanyahu’s request not to appear at a hearing on Tuesday “due to the renewal of the war”, Israeli media reported.

On Sunday, Netanyahu announced he would seek to dismiss the head of the Israeli’s internal security service. This has been seen as a further attempt to override democratic checks in Israel and big protests are expected later this week. These can now be portrayed as unpatriotic by Netanyahu’s supporters.

Many countries have heavily condemned the Israel airstrikes. Here is some of the latest reaction:

• Belgium’s deputy prime minister Maxime Prevot condemned the airstrikes, saying their “heavy toll” undermines the objectives of the ceasefire with Hamas and makes the return of Israeli hostages less likely. “The blocking of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians constitutes a serious violation of international law,” he added in a post on X.

• Robert Abela, Malta’s prime minister, said his government “strongly condemn” the “barbarous attacks” by the Israeli military on the Gaza Strip.

• Switzerland’s foreign ministry reacted to the deadly overnight airstrikes by stressing “the obligation to protect the civilian population”. “Switzerland calls for an immediate return to the ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid,” it said in a post on X.

• The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it called a large number of civilian casualties after the devastating Israeli attacks on Gaza.

• China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the country “is highly concerned about the current situation between Israel and Palestine,” calling on the parties to “avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation, and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster”.

• The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said the Israeli airstrikes are being launched “amid the ongoing blockade of food and medicine in the Strip and with the green light from the United States”. Esmail Baghaei described the attacks as a “continuation of genocide and ethnic cleansing” across the territory.

Israel's 'massacre' of hundreds of Palestinians marks 'new phase in Gaza genocide policy' 

Turkey’s foreign ministry has denounced Israel’s “massacre” of hundreds of Palestinian people in overnight airstrikes on Gaza as “a new phase” in its “genocide policy”, saying the Netanyahu government “defies humanity” through its breach of international law.

The statement read:

The massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in Israel’s attacks on Gaza this morning demonstrates that the Netanyahu government’s genocide policy has entered a new phase.

Israel defies humanity through its violations of international law and universal values in the gravest way.

At a time when efforts to achieve global peace and stability are intensifying, the aggression displayed by the Israeli government threatens the future of the region. It is unacceptable that Israel is causing a new spiral of violence.

The international community must take a decisive stance against Israel to ensure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

As Türkiye, we reiterate our unwavering support for the rightful cause of the Palestinian people and reaffirm our commitment to contributing to efforts aimed at securing peace and stability in the region.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been a vocal opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza. He has accused Israel of genocide, called for it to be punished in international courts and criticised western nations for backing the country’s military assault.

Edited March 18 by Vesper

[Vesper 30,233]

[Fernando 6,585]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

no, I just know a zio apologist when I see one

An apologist is just like a MAGA blind supporter. They can do no wrong for them...

I'm willing to critique them if I believe they are wrong. I think I done that in the past for Trump. 

I'm no blind follower to any of them, because they are human and make mistake. 

[kolovrat 20]

2 hours ago, Fernando said:

An apologist is just like a MAGA blind supporter. They can do no wrong for them...

I'm willing to critique them if I believe they are wrong. I think I done that in the past for Trump. 

I'm no blind follower to any of them, because they are human and make mistake. 

Sorry to ask, but do you use Scofield bible as your reference?

[Fulham Broadway 17,335]

16 minutes ago, kolovrat said:

Sorry to ask, but do you use Scofield bible as your reference?

Uncanny - was looking that up today as well 😀

[Fernando 6,585]

48 minutes ago, kolovrat said:

Sorry to ask, but do you use Scofield bible as your reference?

Nope

[kolovrat 20]

1 minute ago, Fernando said:

Nope

K, which one is your Bible then?  Also, please help me understand - do you support Israel actions in Gaza and West Bank?