Strike Kills 12 Druze Children in Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights; Will It Lead to Feared Israel-Hezbollah War? w/ Ori Goldberg

Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

On this edition of Parallax Views, Israel commentator Ori Goldberg joins me from Tel Aviv to discuss the rocket that hit a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams within the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel has blamed the attacked on a Hezbollah strike. Hezbollah denied being behind the attack. Speculation arose that it was actually due to a malfunction of Israel's Iron Dome. That said, there is evidence that this was likely a Hezbollah rocket. In any case, 12 Druze children perished due to the rocket. At the funeral for the dead children, members of the Druze community protested the presence of Israeli ministers. Meanwhile, a number of Israelis are turning "We Are All Druze Now" into a slogan as fears of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah grow.

Ori offers his thoughts on the incident, and makes the case that the deaths of the Druze children was likely accidental based on Hezbollah past history and concerns that any false move could start a war. He DOES NOT deny that Hezbollah conducted strikes. Nor does he seek to deny the tragedy of children being killed. Additionally, he questions/challenges the conspiracy theories arising that this was an Israeli false flag and gives his reasons for believing this is not the case. With that in mind, he cautions against drawing any firm conclusions about whether this was a mistake or intentional until there is further investigation. Ori also argues that this will not lead to a war between Israel and Hezbollah because, in his analysis, neither the IDF or Hezbollah want a full-blown war at this time.

In addition to all of this we'll also discuss the death of Mohammad Bhar, a young Palestinian man afflicted with autism and Down syndrome who was mauled by an Israel Defense Forces attack dog and bled out in the aftermath. Moreover, we will discuss the Israeli psyche at this moment, the situation of the Bedouin and Druze minorities in Israel and discrimination against them, the Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People that was passed by the Israeli Knesset in 2018, why Ori believes the Gaza war is slouching towards an inevitable close/end, Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to U.S. congress, post-war Gaza and "The Day After", Netanyahu announcing the he's "postponing" the departure of sick children from Gaza who need life-saving therapy because of the Majdal Shams indecent, the blowing up of Rafah's water reservoir, Israeli hopes of introducing "de-radicalization" into Gazan education post-war, and much, much more.