There’s no end to the stupid has no better proof than the Israeli-Palestinian beef.  The problem isn’t at all about 1,000 years of conflict over land or religious identity or the future of the “Jewish State” or any of the thousands of things that people talk about when they talk about how complex the issues are.  No, it comes down to some stupid people not really caring enough about peace and life to just cut through the bullshit and think of the future.

Jimmy Carter called it when he said that Israel had become an apartheid state.  And when he said that, a Jew I used to know called Carter an anti-semite.  And what else do you need to know about how fucked up the political situation is?  I’m sure that today John Kerry is now an anti-semite even though he bent over backwards NOT to use the word “apartheid.”   By the thinking of Israeli hardliners millions of Jews are anti-semites.

The Jews in Israel (and America) get that Israel can’t allow their growing Muslim Arab population to have democratic rights (it’s their harsher version of gerrymandering) or they cease to be a Jewish state so they’ve twisted and demented their democracy and rationalize that.

The only answer is the two state solution.

And yet Israeli conservatives don’t want that.  Or they say they do, but never do anything to move that forward and then cite that ubiquitous catchall ender of arguments “security.” Like Trump and solving his conflict problems (or almost every issue), it’s just bullshit.

Like many issues here in America, it seems to have come down to rational people who actually study issues, respect facts and want to achieve some solution that works for people – versus irrational people spouting nonsense and denying reality as they assert that they also care, they just disagree – although they can’t even agree on what the issues are. So the dispute has so transcended agreement and disagreement it’s descended to a Tower of Babel from another planet.

This reached “a pox against both houses” long ago.  Netanyahu and Trump are threatening to take it to “Oh fuck off” levels as “strong on Israel” is now equated to be a supporter of the conservative government, Israeli apartheid (but don’t call it that) and not even trying for peace.  Peace, is just what we all want, but will compromise nothing to achieve.

The NY Times played this is a line from “Fiddler on the Roof”

On one side was Mr. Kerry, venting years of frustration on behalf of President Obama and himself at what they consider Israeli intransigence.

On the other were Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump, firing back at what they deemed a hypocritical betrayal of America’s closest friend in the Middle East.

On the one hand, then on the other hand… I’ve run out of hands.  And patience.

2016 claims another victim – the two state solution.  And sanity.

Not that I care, because I don’t, I can’t even support Israel as a democracy anymore because it’s not.  I never supported it as a Jewish state because I don’t care about a Jewish state and by the way if your first concern was the safe continuing existence of the Jewish people after the holocaust I can think of many better places to have established a Jewish state than in Palestine.  Biblical nonsense actually trumped safety in this matter – it mindbogglingly continues to.

All that said, that growing Muslim Arab population in Israel is the greatest existential threat to Israel.  Historically speaking, holding a greater population down has never worked out for anybody.  What’s Netanyahu’s plan to deal with that?

I guess we may find out after January 20 when the irrational people running Israel will have counterparts in D.C.