Yoav,

The history is most definitely complex.

I tend to try not to take sides, even if I might have have some investment in it. Growing up as fifth of six kids, I realized very early on in life that there are two sides to every fight, or there wouldn't be a fight.

So it is a matter of studying the form.(I also grew up in a horse racing family, so form is all.)

My view is that Israel has seriously over reacted to Oct 7th, because of some basic issues to Israeli society. It has that tight tribal bond of Judaism to tie it together, but the inherent conservative centripetal elements and liberal centrifugal elements to every society(node and network) are seriously pronounced in Israel, given the essentially messianic core and its very networked cosmopolitan liberal side, very much in evidence prior to Oct 7th. The over reaction to which became a distraction from that internal split.

The problem with Netanyahu is that as the consummate politician, he doesn't think long term, just how to make it through whatever intramural spat is occurring and leverage any possible angle to his favor. Given the degree to which Israel is based on reconstructing some 2000 to 3000 year old ideal of a nation, with mostly guns and money to power it and lacking the last 2000 years of civil evolution to work through quite a few complexities and feedback, the larger long term plan isn't even close to workable. Thus the Samson Option as suicide pact. That's the problem with the US and Europe descending, given they have been the sources of much of the guns and money.

If the current peace proposal does go through, it seems that internal split will erupt with even more force. So I suspect there is some Israeli reluctance to accept it, but further war will only cause other breakdowns, or Israel would have invaded Lebanon already.

I realize how much you are invested in this, but you might want to start thinking outside the box.

Having realized at 20, when the country had a choice between Carter saying to put on a swearer and Reagan saying to put it on the credit card, the US would eventually end up in the place it currently is, I've spent my life trying to think outside the box.

Here would be my most recent medium essay;

https://johnbrodixmerrymanjr.medium.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-western-mind-906dc73cffe2