I engaged with Joe Walsh in good faith to debate the facts. He committed to responding. A year later he’s nowhere to be found—because he knows Israel’s actions are indefensible.
I think he's tried to roll back that part of his past in the Tea Party, but he's not very good at that. Then he called the DSA the Tea Party of the Democrats. Whatever controversial ideas may be on their platform, none of them match the teabaggers. They care about the workers and disadvantaged. They don't spread conspiracy theories, either. Trying to gatekeep the left in the Democratic Party while whining there should be room for him at the right side was just far too much.
I would make somewhat different arguments than you do, although I come out more or less on the same side. For me, I think a decent case for Israel could've been made up to a certain point. I think that point was less than a year into the war when it was clear that Israel was going well beyond defending itself, & even beyond crippling Hamas with a disproportionate response, which one could argue makes sense if Israel wants to "take care of the problem once & for all", & it was clear Israel was engaged in slaughter akin to genocide.
The argument about who started it is pretty murky since they've been going at each other for longer than a normal human lifespan, Israeli aggression towards Palestine manifested in invasion & settlements in Palestinian territory & brutality to Palestinians they encounter, & Palestinians periodically launching missiles or other weapons against Israel. I can understand & sympathize with the case made by both sides. The specific event was started by Hamas's attack on October 7th, but I'm not sure they weren't goaded or tricked into it, either by Iran, Putin or Israel itself. It certainly wasn't a beneficiary of the end result. The ones who benefited most were Putin, Netanyahu & Trump, the 3 psychopaths, & I can go into detail how they each have profited from the conflict & their respective behavior that makes me suspicious of their complicity, if you want me to.
However sociopathic Netanyahu acts towards his neighbors doesn't automatically reflect the attitude of Israeli citizens (& certainly not Jews in general as you have often pointed out). I think we can view Netanyahu equivalently to Trump & Putin as they are all sadonarcissistic sociopaths/psychopaths. I look at Trump's insane actions against the world that certainly don't speak for me nor the vast majority of Americans. However, from what I've seen, there doesn't appear to be as widespread opposition by Israeli citizens towards Netanyahu's policies as there are American citizens against Trump's policies. Maybe Israelis have been more thoroughly brainwashed, like Russians have, because they've been getting the same line for a much longer time than Americans have. I hope we never get that way. Still it's clear that many Israelis are fed up with Netanyahu in general by now, as many Russians have had it with Putin, & even some MAGA have had it with Trump.
The particular points 2 & 3 made here that have been often made by supporters of Israel are dubious & contentious at best, & look like excuses rather than genuine reasons for me. And Israel is no more a democracy now than the US is. Both countries have fallen out of whatever level of democracy they once had. Many would describe us as an anocracy, & using that term when referring to Israel seems like being charitable. In any case, Israel has gone well beyond the degree that anyone can credibly defend them on these points. The inescapable factor that overrides all other considerations is the terror, brutality, slaughter, expulsion & annihilation that Israel has committed against Palestinians & several others of its neighbors, & its refusal to stop, breaking all agreements & promises it has made. Yes, you win, Qasim!
Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank with these Settlers attacking and killing and with rage pushing innocent Palestinians from their land and homes. I am sick of my peoples incriminate violence. I do believe you Qasim have most of the facts, as I have seen the destruction and am appalled. Somehow, we have to end Israel's reign of terror on the Palestinian people. I wish there could be peace with a two-state solution. We have seen it with our eyes It is true what you have said, mostly. I cannot listen to people who won't admit the truth when it is in your face. To me my people, Israeli's taking part in such cruelty causes us American Jews immense suffering and emotional pain and shame.
Thank you for reposting this and bringing back to the forefront your excellent points. Israel defenders keep saying if only Netanyahu was gone. But look at his opponent in the upcoming elections. He has also sworn there will be no Palestinian state. Even the supposed peaceful and moderate Rabin, who was assasinated by far right Jew for conceding to much to the Palestinians, point blank said if there is a Palestinian state it will be in name only. And yes Netanyahu is primarily responsible for funding Hamas, but even that started in the late 80’s. From David Ben Gurion until today, every leader of Israel has subjugated and oppressed the Palestinian people and ensured they will never have a state.
I unsubscribed from and blocked Joe Walsh almost as soon as I found out about his fanatical support for Israel, even before I learned many of these horrifying facts.
One thought. Women don't always, or even typically, come forward when they've been raped. I am not speaking to this situation, per se. We just can't conclude that there were no rapes because girls and women haven't come forward.
This Substack is a keeper, Qasim. A couple of nights ago, I read in the July 27 New Yorker how much of this unfolded inside the Biden administration, and I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
If Joe Walsh runs for political office he will lose. We democrats will kick all of these pro Zionist politicians out of office. Period.
If we give people like 👍 Walsh a voice they will be heard.
I don’t care if he is pro Israel. If he is not in political office it means he has zero chance of giving taxpayer money to Israel and unlimited weapons.
We will kick all of these pro Israel supporters and candidates out of office. Period.
He's not worth your time. And it wouldn't surprise me if he's being paid for his vocal support. I just unfollowed an account that he was a frequent guest on. And a few others that were posting pics of the holocaust to explain/back-up their brain-dead support of Israel. I refuse to be an audience for any of them.
Netanyahu is committing unspeakable horrifying war crimes these folks won't disparage.
You won the debate without a doubt from the start.
Joe Walsh and sadly so many feckless individuals (Republicans and Democrats) will bear this horrific alignment supporting total genocide and will be called out in time for their inhumanity. This will be their legacy...intolerable criminally supported unspeakable murderous acts of innocents - and for what ??
The Five-Hundred-Year Parenthesis: Why Civilizational Power Is Returning to Asia
A historical audit of Western dominance, Islamic ingenuity, and the inevitable return of Asian civilizational gravity.
To view world history through the narrow prism of European supremacy is to mistake a five-hundred-year parenthesis for the entire volume of human achievement. Western dominance is a brief, modern anomaly. For the vast majority of recorded time, the economic, intellectual, and civilizational centres of gravity resided squarely in Asia.
Long before Western Europe consolidated power, the Persian Empire established benchmarks of administration and legal tolerance across continents. In the Far East, successive Chinese dynasties—from the Han and Tang to the Song and Ming—mastered statecraft, giving humanity paper, printing, the compass, and gunpowder, alongside the systems of Confucianism and Taoism, while Shintoism developed in Japan. Across South Asia, the spiritual traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism emerged to shape the lives of billions.
Yet, the true moral bedrock of history flows through an unbroken prophetic line in the Near East—stretching from Ādam (as) to Nuh (as), Ibrahim (as), Musa (as), and Isa (as), culminating in the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (saw). His standing as history's most influential figure is an objective reality. As the American historian Michael H. Hart—a non-Muslim—explicitly stated when placing him at the top of history's figures:
'He was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.'
This assessment is corroborated across academic literature, including historical surveys from Oxford University Press, documenting how no single individual reshaped human society so completely.
From this divine revelation arose Islamic civilization—the greatest civilization in human history. Centuries before Europe conceived the concept, Islam established the absolute rule of law, subordinating rulers and citizens alike to an impartial judicial framework. While medieval Europe enforced religious uniformity through inquisitions, Islamic law guaranteed true freedom of belief and worship without coercion or oppression. Moreover, the basics of personal hygiene and daily refinement—soap, shampoo, distilled perfumes, optics, and over a thousand fundamental inventions—flowed directly from Muslim ingenuity into a Europe that viewed bathing with suspicion.
As Edmund Burke noted on the supremacy of law over arbitrary authority:
'Law and arbitrary power are in eternal enmity.'
And as Allama Iqbal (ra) observed on civilizational cycles:
'The tavern changed, the drinkers changed, the age transformed its face; yet the cup remains the same, passed down from race to race.'
The re-emergence of China, the rise of the Global South, and the erosion of Western unipolarity represent an organic historical correction. Power is returning to its multi-millennial home across Asia. Clinging to permanent Western hegemony out of civilizational vanity is an exercise in futility. As someone born and living in England, this is a demand for historical realism: an empire that refuses to adapt to global balance will only accelerate its own decay.
I flat out called him a phony last year. He's on record as anti gay and transgender.
I find him to be hypocritical. Trust your instincts. He's no better than Michael Cohen.
I think he's tried to roll back that part of his past in the Tea Party, but he's not very good at that. Then he called the DSA the Tea Party of the Democrats. Whatever controversial ideas may be on their platform, none of them match the teabaggers. They care about the workers and disadvantaged. They don't spread conspiracy theories, either. Trying to gatekeep the left in the Democratic Party while whining there should be room for him at the right side was just far too much.
Perfect replies to Joe Walsh’s ideas.
Thank you Qasim
Thank you for bravely speaking truth to power. Zionists rely on the unlimited propaganda stream because their supremacist cause is indefensible.
Yeah, he’d do everyone a favor if he simply stopped talking about that topic.
I would make somewhat different arguments than you do, although I come out more or less on the same side. For me, I think a decent case for Israel could've been made up to a certain point. I think that point was less than a year into the war when it was clear that Israel was going well beyond defending itself, & even beyond crippling Hamas with a disproportionate response, which one could argue makes sense if Israel wants to "take care of the problem once & for all", & it was clear Israel was engaged in slaughter akin to genocide.
The argument about who started it is pretty murky since they've been going at each other for longer than a normal human lifespan, Israeli aggression towards Palestine manifested in invasion & settlements in Palestinian territory & brutality to Palestinians they encounter, & Palestinians periodically launching missiles or other weapons against Israel. I can understand & sympathize with the case made by both sides. The specific event was started by Hamas's attack on October 7th, but I'm not sure they weren't goaded or tricked into it, either by Iran, Putin or Israel itself. It certainly wasn't a beneficiary of the end result. The ones who benefited most were Putin, Netanyahu & Trump, the 3 psychopaths, & I can go into detail how they each have profited from the conflict & their respective behavior that makes me suspicious of their complicity, if you want me to.
However sociopathic Netanyahu acts towards his neighbors doesn't automatically reflect the attitude of Israeli citizens (& certainly not Jews in general as you have often pointed out). I think we can view Netanyahu equivalently to Trump & Putin as they are all sadonarcissistic sociopaths/psychopaths. I look at Trump's insane actions against the world that certainly don't speak for me nor the vast majority of Americans. However, from what I've seen, there doesn't appear to be as widespread opposition by Israeli citizens towards Netanyahu's policies as there are American citizens against Trump's policies. Maybe Israelis have been more thoroughly brainwashed, like Russians have, because they've been getting the same line for a much longer time than Americans have. I hope we never get that way. Still it's clear that many Israelis are fed up with Netanyahu in general by now, as many Russians have had it with Putin, & even some MAGA have had it with Trump.
The particular points 2 & 3 made here that have been often made by supporters of Israel are dubious & contentious at best, & look like excuses rather than genuine reasons for me. And Israel is no more a democracy now than the US is. Both countries have fallen out of whatever level of democracy they once had. Many would describe us as an anocracy, & using that term when referring to Israel seems like being charitable. In any case, Israel has gone well beyond the degree that anyone can credibly defend them on these points. The inescapable factor that overrides all other considerations is the terror, brutality, slaughter, expulsion & annihilation that Israel has committed against Palestinians & several others of its neighbors, & its refusal to stop, breaking all agreements & promises it has made. Yes, you win, Qasim!
Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank with these Settlers attacking and killing and with rage pushing innocent Palestinians from their land and homes. I am sick of my peoples incriminate violence. I do believe you Qasim have most of the facts, as I have seen the destruction and am appalled. Somehow, we have to end Israel's reign of terror on the Palestinian people. I wish there could be peace with a two-state solution. We have seen it with our eyes It is true what you have said, mostly. I cannot listen to people who won't admit the truth when it is in your face. To me my people, Israeli's taking part in such cruelty causes us American Jews immense suffering and emotional pain and shame.
Thank you for reposting this and bringing back to the forefront your excellent points. Israel defenders keep saying if only Netanyahu was gone. But look at his opponent in the upcoming elections. He has also sworn there will be no Palestinian state. Even the supposed peaceful and moderate Rabin, who was assasinated by far right Jew for conceding to much to the Palestinians, point blank said if there is a Palestinian state it will be in name only. And yes Netanyahu is primarily responsible for funding Hamas, but even that started in the late 80’s. From David Ben Gurion until today, every leader of Israel has subjugated and oppressed the Palestinian people and ensured they will never have a state.
I unsubscribed from and blocked Joe Walsh almost as soon as I found out about his fanatical support for Israel, even before I learned many of these horrifying facts.
One thought. Women don't always, or even typically, come forward when they've been raped. I am not speaking to this situation, per se. We just can't conclude that there were no rapes because girls and women haven't come forward.
This Substack is a keeper, Qasim. A couple of nights ago, I read in the July 27 New Yorker how much of this unfolded inside the Biden administration, and I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
If Joe Walsh runs for political office he will lose. We democrats will kick all of these pro Zionist politicians out of office. Period.
If we give people like 👍 Walsh a voice they will be heard.
I don’t care if he is pro Israel. If he is not in political office it means he has zero chance of giving taxpayer money to Israel and unlimited weapons.
We will kick all of these pro Israel supporters and candidates out of office. Period.
He's not worth your time. And it wouldn't surprise me if he's being paid for his vocal support. I just unfollowed an account that he was a frequent guest on. And a few others that were posting pics of the holocaust to explain/back-up their brain-dead support of Israel. I refuse to be an audience for any of them.
Netanyahu is committing unspeakable horrifying war crimes these folks won't disparage.
You won the debate without a doubt from the start.
Joe Walsh and sadly so many feckless individuals (Republicans and Democrats) will bear this horrific alignment supporting total genocide and will be called out in time for their inhumanity. This will be their legacy...intolerable criminally supported unspeakable murderous acts of innocents - and for what ??
You absolutely won on day one. Joe Walsh is another republican just looking for money and power
The Five-Hundred-Year Parenthesis: Why Civilizational Power Is Returning to Asia
A historical audit of Western dominance, Islamic ingenuity, and the inevitable return of Asian civilizational gravity.
To view world history through the narrow prism of European supremacy is to mistake a five-hundred-year parenthesis for the entire volume of human achievement. Western dominance is a brief, modern anomaly. For the vast majority of recorded time, the economic, intellectual, and civilizational centres of gravity resided squarely in Asia.
Long before Western Europe consolidated power, the Persian Empire established benchmarks of administration and legal tolerance across continents. In the Far East, successive Chinese dynasties—from the Han and Tang to the Song and Ming—mastered statecraft, giving humanity paper, printing, the compass, and gunpowder, alongside the systems of Confucianism and Taoism, while Shintoism developed in Japan. Across South Asia, the spiritual traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism emerged to shape the lives of billions.
Yet, the true moral bedrock of history flows through an unbroken prophetic line in the Near East—stretching from Ādam (as) to Nuh (as), Ibrahim (as), Musa (as), and Isa (as), culminating in the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (saw). His standing as history's most influential figure is an objective reality. As the American historian Michael H. Hart—a non-Muslim—explicitly stated when placing him at the top of history's figures:
'He was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.'
This assessment is corroborated across academic literature, including historical surveys from Oxford University Press, documenting how no single individual reshaped human society so completely.
From this divine revelation arose Islamic civilization—the greatest civilization in human history. Centuries before Europe conceived the concept, Islam established the absolute rule of law, subordinating rulers and citizens alike to an impartial judicial framework. While medieval Europe enforced religious uniformity through inquisitions, Islamic law guaranteed true freedom of belief and worship without coercion or oppression. Moreover, the basics of personal hygiene and daily refinement—soap, shampoo, distilled perfumes, optics, and over a thousand fundamental inventions—flowed directly from Muslim ingenuity into a Europe that viewed bathing with suspicion.
As Edmund Burke noted on the supremacy of law over arbitrary authority:
'Law and arbitrary power are in eternal enmity.'
And as Allama Iqbal (ra) observed on civilizational cycles:
'The tavern changed, the drinkers changed, the age transformed its face; yet the cup remains the same, passed down from race to race.'
The re-emergence of China, the rise of the Global South, and the erosion of Western unipolarity represent an organic historical correction. Power is returning to its multi-millennial home across Asia. Clinging to permanent Western hegemony out of civilizational vanity is an exercise in futility. As someone born and living in England, this is a demand for historical realism: an empire that refuses to adapt to global balance will only accelerate its own decay.