Anti-Semitism and the Left Wing

 Anti-Semitism and the Left Wing

 Left-wing students and young people have been holding anti-Semitic demonstrations all over the world, and particularly at colleges and on the streets of U.S. cities.  (And in our congressional hearings).  These demonstrations are not only ant-Semitic, they are anti-Israel and pro the Hamas terrorists that butchered 1400+ innocent Israeli civilian men, women and children on October 7.

 In modern times, how did anti-Semitism migrate from tiki and AR carrying right wing extremists, ala Charlottesville, to mousy, purple-haired college student liberal coeds?  I embarked on some research to find out.

 There has been an undercurrent of anti-Semitism and persecution of Jews in the world since the biblical diaspora.  It has been prevalent throughout history.  This timeline refers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_antisemitism

 The referenced excellent article on the topic is from “The Conversation”, which I vetted to be an honest, balanced source.  It confirms that left-wing activists all over the world have become decidedly anti- Israeli and pro Hamas.  The article explains how this happened, but is a little light on elucidating why it happened.

 Quoting a few paragraphs:

 “Traditionally, antisemitism in the United States was promoted by far-right organizations and movements, such as the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi groups and skinheads. Such groups focused on propagating traditional antisemitic narratives alleging Jews’ racial inferiority, their control of the financial sector and their role in global cabals aiming to undermine America and Western civilization.

 More recently, progressive and left-leaning movements that are critical of Israel’s policies – especially with regard to the Palestinian population in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 – have become linked to antisemitic practices, too.

 In the U.S., our data shows that 95% of antisemitic incidents motivated by Israel’s policies were perpetrated by far-left or unidentified activists. Just 5% were perpetrated by known far-right activists.

 Thus, it is not surprising that following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, Jewish organizations on American campuses became the main targets of violent activism by Palestinian rights supporters.

 We find that antisemitic hate crimes are occurring especially in politically progressive areas of the country. The New York metropolitan area and the Northeast in general, and urban centers in Florida, California, the Northwest and the Midwest are experiencing the majority of antisemitic incidents.”

 https://theconversation.com/antisemitism-has-moved-from-the-right-to-the-left-in-the-us-and-falls-back-on-long-standing-stereotypes-215760

 Ray Gruszecki

October 31, 2023

Rules of War

 Rules of War

 Not even addressing the alarming antisemitic, pro-Hamas,  demonstrations that have popped up all over the world, the Biden government’s sophomoric “useful idiots” keep prattling on about “the rules of war” and “humanitarian aid”, as if the Israelis were cut from the same cloth as the barbarous Hamas butchers that slaughtered 1400 innocent men, women and children three weeks ago.   The Israeli military is moving to eliminate Hamas in Gaza.  It is a military operation, and not a sadistic, hate-filled, tortuous attack on civilians. 

 Being a “civilized” military, the Israelis seek to spare civilians and have warned them “to get out of Dodge”.  Hamas, on the other hand, hides behind innocent civilians such as emotion-provoking little girls, or hides under hospitals or other civilian targets.

 In these times of misinformation, AI generated propaganda and

Just plain lies, it’s hard to distinguish what’s really happening.

 Generally speaking, I would doubt almost anything coming from

Hamas.   The New York Times and other prestigious news sources

believed Hamas that Israeli bombed that hospital in Gaza and killed

500 innocent people, whereas, actually, a Hamas rocket backfired into the hospital parking lot.

 Netanyahu’s office has released some eye-witness accounts of the medieval horrors perpetrated by Hamas, including burnt and slaughtered infants in their cribs, brutal assassinations and torture of civilians and more.  Our Trey Yingst, a seasoned war reporter gave an emotion-filled walk-through report of the carnage in Southern Israel.  He said that he had never seen evidence of such brutality.

 And, other stories of the brutality and butchery of Hamas on October 7th keep emerging, such as the kidnapping, torture and beheading of Shani Louk, a young German-Israeli concert-goer.

 Reports are that these barbarians laughed and had a great time slaughtering women and children.  They even phoned and texted back to Gaza, proud of their accomplishments.

 https://nypost.com/2023/10/30/news/shani-louk-kidnapped-at-israeli-music-festival-found-dead/?lctg=60ec57ef9bcb294ed4547c78

 Ray Gruszecki

October 30, 2023

Can We Save Our Country?

 Can We Save Our Country?

 There are hopes that this completely inept, “woke”, politically correct administration of a weak, senile old buffoon of a party hack will soon be voted out of office and relegated to the dustbin of history.

 Then, one looks at the 2022 mid-terms, where something like “Cultural Marxism” based educational propaganda, rectification of the unconstitutional abortion law and equally unconstitutional bribes regarding student loans resulted in a democrat senate, and a barely republican house that can’t seem to choose and keep an effective speaker.

 And, even more disturbing are the recent demonstrations in our colleges and cities that are not in support of the innocent Israeli men, women and children butchered by Hamas terrorists 3 weeks ago.  The demonstrations are in support of the Hamas butchers as part of some twisted Marxist Critical Theory of oppressed and oppressor.

 Is there any hope for our country in the near term?  These people elect our president and congress, and they have not done very well recently.  Have they become so indoctrinated to Marxist socialism that they will completely destroy our country?

 We need a strong and charismatic president and equally charismatic legislators to change the direction of the country.  The one politician in the lead for the 2024 election is Donald Trump.  Will he lead from a jail cell?  Because that’s where his democrat enemies have contrived to put him, lead or no political lead.

 There is no sense in saying, “well, if Trump were president, Putin would have never invaded Ukraine, or the ayatollahs would never have given the OK for Hamas to invade and butcher civilians in Southern Israel.”  The first is probably true.  Not so sure about the more rabid Hamas.

 A any rate, we are headed for World War III because we elected an incompetent, arrogant, senile old political hack, and his sophomoric “woke” extremist handlers and minions, espousing and bumbling through their 1960’s and 1970’s socialist justice philosophies, rather than being animated by pragmatic domestic and foreign policies. 

 That’s right, World War III.  An increasingly modern and militaristic China is poised to take Taiwan by force.  Will a weak, mewling politically correct Biden administration and military do anything about it?  And if not, what is next? Philippines? And on and on in the Pacific, while Putin reconstitutes the old Soviet Union, and the ayatollah try to impose Shia Islam on the Middle East.. 

 Who’s to stop them?  Biden will barely mumble through tough-sounding speeches, with no teeth, written by his sophomoric social justice warriors, which will bounce off of the real adults in the world.

 Trump, with congressional majorities, could fix the country and stand up to its foreign adversaries, particularly if he could keep his mouth shut and his thumbs off the tweeter and Truth Social.  He had a great economy going during his first term, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the economy went in the toilet.  He got vaccines developed in nine months, for which few of his enemies gave him credit.  Also, the world was relatively peaceful during his four years in office, we had a real southern border, and crime in the cities was under control.

 Then, his collective enemies, political, media, legal, socio-economic ganged up and fixed the election against him by hiding and manipulating the real news that would have moved the election in his favor.  His reaction, protesting the results of the election were twisted into charges of insurrection, he was once again impeached by Nancy Pelosi and her minions. He has been mercilessly persecuted by his collective enemies ever since.  Although Trump is leading in the race for president in 2024, there are efforts by his collective enemies to prevent him from running.

 Lacking Trump, we need another Reagan, Lincoln, or one of the Roosevelts as executive, and real majorities in the house and senate.

 But dream on.  Even with a real leader as president, our country and its congress is so hate-filled and divided that it is doubtful that they will ever get anything positive done.

 Something has to be done to get our country out of this morass.  God-fearing people say that “God will provide”, and “in God’s time”.  Let’s pray that’s the case.

 Ray Gruszecki

October 29, 2023

Hamas Hiding Behind a Little Girl

 Hamas Hiding Behind a Little Girl

 Pretty, emotion-provoking Palestinian little girl from Gaza.

 Who would not immediately and viscerally respond to this little girl’s picture positively, and with sympathy for her and opprobrium for the nasty Israelis that are persecuting her family in Gaza?

 Forgotten are the burnt and mutilated bodies of infants butchered possibly by the cousins and uncles of this little girl two weeks ago.  All that the antisemitic, pro-Hamas world remembers are the results of bombings as the Israelis rightfully seek to eliminate the virulent Hamas terrorists from their enclaves in Gaza.

 And, of course, any discerning soul could see that this propaganda to elicit the world’s sympathy is exactly what Hamas intended.  After butchering 1300 innocent Israeli civilians, Hamas now hides in their tunnels in Gaza, or behind little girls like the one in the picture, to escape the justifiable wrath of the Israelis.

 The continually biased media has been, and continues to be complicit in the Hamas propaganda.  Reuters is normally balanced in their news coverage, but sadly, they seem to have joined the anti-Israeli propaganda parade.

 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-families-wear-id-bracelets-avoid-burial-mass-graves-2023-10-25/

 Ray Gruszecki

October 25, 2023

Cultural Marxism and Gen-Z

 Cultural Marxism and Gen-Z

 After observing riots and demonstrations by young people all over the world, but particularly in the U.S. and Europe, the question arises “what is the ideology or ideologies fueling and firing these demonstrations”?  How can young people possibly be demonstrating against Israel, and for the Hamas butchers that slaughtered more than 1300 innocent Israeli civilians?  And, the people demonstrating are the same ones who caused 25 deaths and billions in damages during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots.

 An obvious answer is cultural Marxism opposing what they see as oppression of the Palestinians by Israel.

  “As Karl Marx’s ideological heirs in Communist nations struggled to transform his political legacy, his intellectual heirs on American campuses have virtually completed their own transformation from brash, beleaguered outsiders to assimilated academic insiders. It could be considered a success story for the students of class struggle, who were once regarded as subversives.”

 The Heritage Foundation summarizes:

 “The United States has successfully confronted Marxist attempts to derail it from its historic path of liberty and order. The multifaceted effort to defeat the enemy, generally referred to as the Cold War, concentrated many of the best minds in the country. In 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved, many Americans and others around the globe justifiably believed that communism had been defeated.

 However, American Marxists, making use of the complacency that victory often produces, have gained more influence than ever before. Cloaking their goals under the pretense of social justice, they now seek to dismantle the foundations of the American republic by rewriting history; reintroducing racism; creating privileged classes; and determining what can be said in public discourse, the military, and houses of worship.  Unbalanced activist environmentalism and feminism, abortion on demand, LGBTQ++++ hegemony, and gender changes and mutilations are offshoots of cultural Marxism.  Societal oppression, real and manufactured, is thrown into the cultural Marxist mix.

 So, the ideology fueling youthful demonstrations and violence is sourced in the cultural Marxism being taught in our schools and colleges.  It hides behind euphemisms such as “Critical Race Theory”, “1619 Project”, or other less controversial course names, but peel back the cover-ups, and what do we find, “cultural Marxism”

 Unless Marxist thought is defeated again, today’s cultural Marxists will achieve what the Soviet Union never could: the subjugation of the United States to a totalitarian, soul-destroying ideology.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE HERITAGE ARTICLE:

“With the end of the Cold War, many Americans justifiably believed communism had been defeated. But American Marxists have gained more influence than ever before.

 Cloaking their goals under the pretense of social justice, these cultural Marxists want to distort America’s history and dismantle its very foundations.

 Unless Marxist ideas are defeated, their proponents will push the United States to follow a totalitarian ideology that obliterates freedom and opportunity.”

 Left-wing ideologues would like to cast cultural Marxism as some sort of far left-wing conspiracy theory.  In fact, it has its origins exactly 100 years ago in the controversial Frankfurt School of Philosophy and its views on Critical Theory.

 Socialist oriented retreads from previous generations, are now not only the movers and shakers of leftist political administrations, they are also the college professors who are teaching the principles of so-called “social justice”, which is really cultural Marxism hidden behind the course names.

 As the Heritage article points outs, if we don’t come to grips with this ever-encroaching cultural Marxism and take steps to root it out or curtail it, we will not have a viable country left.

 Ray Gruszecki

October 22, 2023

Polish Kielbasa Update

 Polish Kielbasa Update

 A Kielbasa as part of the święcony Easter basket was always a part of local Catholic Polish-American tradition when I was growing up in the Berkshires.  The kielbasy were homemade on local farms or special-ordered for Easter from small local meat markets. These kielbasy were garlicy, spiced and smoked a certain way.  

 As my world expanded through education, career and travel, I retained my taste for genuine Polish kielbasa, of the type that were sourced in Southeastern Poland, where my ancestors, and many of the Polish-Americans from the Berkshires originated, and where I visited in 2013.

 Long story short, after sampling Kielbasa from various locales, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Polish Chicago, and Southeastern Poland itself, for my taste, the best kielbasy I found were from Labuda’s Market in Wilbraham, Massachusetts.  Many kielbasa aficionados agreed.

 Earlier this year, Labuda’s suddenly closed, creating a drought among kielbasa lovers in New England and New York State, and as far away as Dallas in my case. I have subsequently learned that two other well-known meat markets and kielbasa makers in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, have also recently closed.  One was Sikorski’s (originally Winski’s), where I traded when I lived in New Jersey, and the other was Kiszka’s, also known as the West Nassau Meat Market. 

  I have gone online and have also asked friends and family about where to get good kielbasy now that Labuda’s is closed. 

 Bernat’s in Chicopee, Mass has a good reputation, but when I tried to order online, shipping was nearly $180 on a $60 order.  I plan on phoning them about this, and will consider this a “drive to” market when I’m in the area.

There is cooked kielbasa from Bernat’s sitting on my sister Joan’s kitchen cabinet in Savoy.  I believe that this is Bernat's Signature Kielbasa – Kielbasa Tarnowska.  Joan advises that this kielbasa is close to Labuda’s in taste and quality.

  The link is: https://www.bernatspolishdeli.com/

 I have tried Alex’s kiebasa. Pretty good, but not as good as Labuda’s.

 https://www.amazon.com/AlexMeat-Alex%60s-Meat-Kielbasy-Krestyanskie/dp/B00RPSSO30?&linkCode=sl1&tag=homekitchentalk-20&linkId=d84d0b01cc56cddcd5d8c644a8f49dbc&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

 I have also tried Konopelski’s from Pennsylvania.  Very good, with taste and quality pretty close to Labuda’s.  A little salty and fatty, but that adds to the excellent taste overall.  The taste grew on me in succeeding days.  Alex’s was leaner and less salty, and that made it a little more bland.

https://konopelskimeats.com/products/smoked-polish-kielbasa

 Another online Polish market with pretty good looking kielbasy I Polona Meat Market in Chicago.  They proffer a dry ice shipping container, and their shipping costs seem reasonable.  They have good descriptions of what the various kielbasy are about.  Look under “deli” and “smoked sausages”.  I’ll give them a try at some point in the future.

https://www.polana.com/collections/smoked-sausages/products/chlopska-kielbasa-peasants-sausage

 Same for Piast Polish Market in Northern New Jersey.  Seems to have a good reputation, and has a good selection which they seem to carefully ship.  https://www.piast.com/pages/buy-kielbasa-online

 Polish Deli Online also looks good  https://www.polishdelionline.com/store/c3/Kielbasa.html#/

 So does this one in Pittsburg  https://www.polishfoodandgifts.com/polish-regular-kielbasa-wiejska-smoked-sausage-two-sticks/

 General comments on brands of kielbasa:

https://homekitchentalk.com/brands-of-kielbasa/

 Make your own kielbasy?  Looks like a decent recipe, with and without casings.

Find it online: https://thecookful.com/homemade-kielbasa/

 Ray Gruszecki

October 22, 2023

Cultural Marxism

 Cultural Marxism

 It is pretty evident, after observing the leftist political orientation of many of our young people, or gen-z generation, that they have been indoctrinated into cultural Marxism in our schools and colleges.  Exactly how did this happen?  Communism and virulent socialism died for most of the Western world as part of the European political upheavals of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, didn’t it?

 The point is that economic Marxism may have failed, but it was replaced by the cultural Marxism which invokes race, “social justice’, feminism, gender diversity and a plethora of other sociological issues as part of its continuing social mantra.

 What got me researching is to answer why so many of our young people support and demonstrate for anti-social, Marxist principles.

 This is a long read, but it is a pretty complete account of how our colleges and young people have been corrupted by cultural Marxism, and part of the reason that they demonstrate in support of the Hamas terrorist butchers, and not the innocent Israeli civilians.

 I also have a large print copy of this article.

 https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/how-cultural-marxism-threatens-the-united-states-and-how-americans-can-fight

 Ray Gruszecki

October 20, 2023

Emerging from Dysfunction?

 Emerging from Dysfunction?

 What is wrong with this picture?

 Hamas terrorist butchers from Gaza attacked Israel and brutally murdered nearly 2000 civilians, - peaceful men, women and children, who were relaxing on a weekend.  Unspeakable atrocities against women and children were recorded by early observers.  Babies were not beheaded as originally posited and that went viral on the internet, but pictorial evidence of burnt and slain bodies of infants at Kfar Aza kibbutz were given to Secretary of State Blinken by Netanyahu’s office.

 With Israeli forces poised to react militarily against the Hamas terrorists, young gen-z activists around the world, have taken to the streets and are demonstrating.  For Israel and her slaughtered people?  No, against Israel and for the Hamas terrorist butchers.

 What is wrong with this young generation, who cannot distinguish true evil from political action?  Have they been that brainwashed in left-wing schools and colleges teaching Marxist ideologies?  Can they not see that the real agents backing the recent attacks on Israel are the Shia Iranian mullahs, whose aim is to destabilize the area and undo positive actions toward peace within the Abrahamic Peace Accords?

 I lived and worked in Southern Lebanon in the 1960’s with Palestinians displaced by the formation of Israel in 1948.  I have seen the camps and the breeding grounds for the hatred of Israel even back then.  Where I lived and worked, South of Sidon, has been Hezbollah country for the past 50 years.  Wars have been fought over this area since the Six Day War.

 So, I am probably more familiar with the Palestinian cause than most Americans, who blindly support Israel.  Millions of Palestinians were displaced by the formation of Israel in the aftermath of the holocaust and extermination of Jews by the Nazis during the second world war.  That does not excuse the current terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah from perpetrating their hatred and atrocities on modern Israel, the only really democratic country in the Middle East.

 After nearly two weeks, the attack and atrocities by Hamas on Israeli civilians is nearly lost in the din of anti-semitic propaganda developed by leftist activists and their fawning media lackeys.  Weak-kneed, mewling Joe Biden and his handlers and minions talk at the situation, and cite “humanitarian” concerns for the poor, oppressed Palestinians in Gaza, those same people that chose the Hamas terrorists to lead them.

 The situation was exacerbated by casualties at a Gaza hospital, proven after investigation to be caused by a Hamas home-made rocket falling back on itself.  But Hamas, of course, immediately blamed Israel, without any proof, and most of the world, led by a dishonest media added to the opprobrium against Israel.

 Now, as propaganda and misinformation continue to inflame the situation, Israel stands poised to send ground troops into Gaza (why haven’t they already?), and Hezbollah is stepping up attacks from Southern Lebanon, and threatening to escalate further.

 We have the weakest and most ineffective government that we have ever had in recent memory, being run roughshod by the likes of Putin in Europe, Xi Jinping in China, the Iranian mullahs and the Sunni militants in the Middle East, and various and sundry petty despots and dictators.  We have a weak, vacillating senile old puppet hack, being manipulated by sophomoric left-wing socialist retreads from the 1960’s and 1970’s.  And, not to spare the other useful idiots, we have a majority party in the House that cannot choose a Speaker.

 Where is the charismatic leaders and the legislators and judges that have the political acumen to lead us out of the divisive hatred that has overtaken the country?  Will it be Trump, leading in the polls, but from a possible jail cell imposed by his persecutors?  Or young Vivek Ramaswamy, full of vitality and rhetoric?  Or Nikki Haley, drawing on her experience as Governor and UN Ambassador?  Or Bobby Kennedy Jr., drawing on the famous name and his own almost libertarian politics?

 Someone has to save our country before we succumb to hatred, incompetence and stupidity.  Those who are religiously inclined believe that our country is God given, and that God will save us.  We are almost at the point where only God and a strong faith can prevail over the many destructive ills.

 Ray Gruszecki

October 19, 2023

Hamas Attack on Israel

Hamas Attack on Israel

 Virtually nobody seems to give a “fiddler’s f---" about the atrocities perpetrated by the terrorist organization Hamas, on innocent Israeli civilians last Saturday.  Rumors magnifying the atrocities abound.

 Oh, there have been windy analyses of why Israeli and U.S. intelligence could not have seen how Hamas was able to develop the command and control mechanisms to mount such a devastating attack.  Some blame Israeli complacency and political infighting, and even their laxness during a religious holiday.

 And it seems that the Murdoch right-oriented media covered the attacks truthfully and honestly, while those to the left of the spectrum seemed to make excuses for the Hamas terrorists.  Several left-wing mobs on several college campuses such as Harvard, supported the Hamas terrorists, and not the Israeli victims.

 One egregious account of the atrocities committed by Hamas relates to the killing and beheading of babies at Kfar Aza kibbutz.  Sources were IDF Major Nir Dinar who was early on the scene, I24 reporter Nicole Zedek, and later, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  Some news outlets covered this story.  Others refrained. 

 The IDF will not confirm that Babies were beheaded, or that Israeli women were raped.  This story could have been an embellishment after the IDF soldiers saw the horror of murdered Israeli women and children at Kfar Aza kibbutz.  However, Nicole Zedek, a reliable I24 reporter, continues to insist that she saw beheaded babies “with her own eyes”.

 On Friday, October 13, Netanyahu’s office released three photos of dead babies on “X”, which they showed to Blinken.  Two are burned and charred beyond recognition.  The third is of a baby’s body, with the head area bloody but fogged out.  These pictures look genuine and are pretty horrible.  Some have said that in these times of AI, they could be AI generated misinformation.  I find this to be inconceivable.

  The emergence of anti-Semitism on American and world university campuses and city streets is truly alarming after Hamas butchered over 1300 Israeli civilians.  It points to the unmitigated rot that our “higher education” , (and some of our society), has become.  It is little wonder that we continue to slide into dangerous and corrosive political ideologies that we thought were long ago relegated to the dust bin of history. 

 Ray Gruszecki

October 13, 2023

Summary - Arab Israeli Conflict

 This is a summary of what the Israel-Palestinian conflict is about.

 Oct 10 (Reuters) - The fighting between Israel and Hamas, which launched a surprise attack on Saturday, is the latest in seven decades of war and conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that has drawn in outside powers and destabilised the wider Middle East.

 WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF THE CONFLICT?

The conflict pits Israeli demands for security in what it has long regarded as a hostile region against Palestinian aspirations for a state of their own.

 Israel's founding father David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the modern State of Israel on May 14, 1948, establishing a safe-haven for Jews fleeing persecution and seeking a national home on land to which they cite deep ties over generations.

 Palestinians lament Israel's creation as the Nakba, or catastrophe, that resulted in their dispossession and blocked their dreams of statehood.

 In the war that followed, some 700,000 Palestinians, half the Arab population of what was British-ruled Palestine, fled or were driven from their homes, ending up in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well as in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

 Israel, a close U.S. ally, contests the assertion it drove Palestinians from their homes and points out it was attacked by five Arab states the day after its creation. Armistice pacts halted the fighting in 1949 but there was no formal peace.

 Palestinians who stayed put in the war today form the Arab Israeli community, making up about 20% of Israel's population.

 WHAT MAJOR WARS HAVE BEEN FOUGHT SINCE THEN?

In 1967, Israel made a pre-emptive strike against Egypt and Syria, launching the Six-Day War. Israel has occupied the West Bank, Arab East Jerusalem, which it captured from Jordan, and Syria's Golan Heights ever since.

 In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli positions along the Suez Canal and Golan Heights, beginning the Yom Kippur War. Israel pushed both armies back within three weeks.

 Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and thousands of Palestinian fighters under Yasser Arafat were evacuated by sea after a 10-week siege. In 2006, war erupted in Lebanon again when Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers and Israel retaliated.

 In 2005 Israel quit Gaza, which it had captured from Egypt in 1967. But Gaza saw major flare-ups in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021 that involved Israeli air raids and Palestinian rocket fire, and sometimes also cross border incursions by either side.

 As well as wars, there have been two Palestinian intifadas or uprisings between 1987-1993 and again in 2000-05. The second saw waves of Hamas suicide bombings against Israelis.

 WHAT ATTEMPTS HAVE THERE BEEN TO MAKE PEACE?

In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty, ending 30 years of hostility. In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Arafat shook hands on the Oslo Accords on limited Palestinian autonomy. In 1994, Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan.

 The Camp David summit of 2000 saw President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Arafat fail to reach a final peace deal.

 In 2002, an Arab plan offered Israel normal ties with all Arab countries in return for a full withdrawal from the lands it took in the 1967 Middle East war, creation of a Palestinian state and a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.

 Peace efforts have been stalled since 2014, when talks failed between Israelis and Palestinians in Washington.

 Palestinians later boycotted dealings with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump since it reversed decades of U.S. policy by refusing to endorse the two-state solution - the peace formula that envisages a Palestinian state established in territory that Israel captured in 1967.

 WHERE DO PEACE EFFORTS STAND NOW?

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has focused on trying to secure a "grand bargain" in the Middle East that includes normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, custodian of Islam's two holiest shrines.

 The latest war is diplomatically awkward for Riyadh as well as for other Arab states, including some Gulf Arab states next to Saudi Arabia, that have signed peace deals with Israel.

 WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN ISSUES?

A two-state solution, Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem, and refugees are at the core of the dispute.

 Two-state solution - an agreement that would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. Hamas rejects the two-state solution and is sworn to Israel's destruction. Israel has said a Palestinian state must be demilitarised so as not to threaten Israel.

 Settlements - Most countries deem Jewish settlements built on land Israel occupied in 1967 as illegal. Israel disputes this and cites historical and Biblical ties to the land. Their continued expansion is among the most contentious issues between Israel, the Palestinians and the international community.

 Jerusalem - Palestinians want East Jerusalem, which includes sites sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians, to be the capital of their state. Israel says Jerusalem should remain its "indivisible and eternal" capital. Israel's claim to the eastern part of Jerusalem is not recognised internationally. Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital – without specifying the extent of its jurisdiction in the disputed city - and moved the U.S. embassy there in 2018.

 Refugees - Today about 5.6 million Palestinian refugees - mainly descendants of those who fled in 1948 - live in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. About half of registered refugees remain stateless, according to the Palestinian foreign ministry, many living in crowded camps.

 Palestinians have long demanded that refugees should be allowed to return, along with millions of their descendants. Israel says any resettlement of Palestinian refugees must occur outside of its borders.

 Compiled by Reuters journalists; Editing by Edmund Blair

Ray Gruszecki

October 10, 2023