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Noah Otte's avatar

Also, I still say Am Yisrael Chai! 🇮🇱 and Long Live Palestine! 🇵🇸 But at the same time, I think it important to say blessed are the peace makers be they Zionist or Antizionist and Israeli, Palestinian or otherwise. I want to make it crystal clear, this includes Jake and Salome.

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I have given it much thought and I now realize my previous comment was totally wrong, rude and attacking Salome and Jake for no reason. I wanted to sincerely apologize to you both for my previous response. You guys weren’t smug, condescending or talking down to the viewers. From having given the video a second watch, I now realize I completely misinterpreted and misjudged you both. You were none of things described above you were rather understandably frustrated and angry that you at times were treated very poorly at the debate, talked over, told to shut up, and Eli Lake treated Jake with gross disrespect. The cheering for the deaths of innocent people was disgusting. That is NEVER okay be they Israelis or Palestinians! You guys don’t hate Israel at all. You guys just want whats best for all in the region and you see Zionism as not conducive to that or to long-term peace, and has led to the mass suffering and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. Also, Eli Lake did behave badly at times during the debate. The debate also should’ve had a better and more objective moderator. Konstantin has always made his position on the war clear and he was too bias for that job. Steven Pinker or Jonathan Haidt would’ve been a much better choice or someone from a nonpartisan organization dedicated to dialogue across partisan lines like Braver Angels, BridegeUSA or Unify America. I want to clarify that what I meant by “not taking one side of the other.” was not that you shouldn’t take a position but that that position should be nuanced. But I came to realize giving the video a second watch that you guys did take a nuanced position but nuanced in a different way. Also, after throughly reading Salome’s response I also now realize that I accused you guys of having sinister motives when you did not. I was not trying to be immature or emotionally manipulative but after reading my comment back I definitely sounded that way. I wasn’t trying to not be truthful but I definitely accused you guys of doing things you didn’t do, made assumptions that were absolutely wrong, hurtful and untrue and while I didn’t mean to be irrational, I was. I may have a different understanding of the history of the conflict and don’t see Zionism as harmful (but certain types of it most certainly are), I meant what I said that I respect you both. Also, to address what someone said in the comment section, Jake is not a “token Jew” that’s antisemitic in of itself and the same as calling a black conservative an “Uncle Tom.” ALL Jews be they Zionist or Antizionist are REAL Jews and a legitimate part of the community. I won’t stand for such bigotry against anyone of any political ideology! I believe the whole thing was framed woefully incorrectly from the very beginning. It should’ve been a roundtable discussion NOT a debate. Their should’ve been NO winners or losers! It’s not a contest, it should’ve been used as an opportunity to build bridges and create empathy and understanding. Dissident Dialogues fumbled the ball big time! Scratch that, they fumbled the ball, kicked the quarterback in the groin and vomited all over the stadium. It was a total disaster. Some of these comments are simply beyond the pale. I apologize once again to Salome and Jake and I hope they can forgive me. I should’ve watched the video with an open mind, not made assumptions and not made snap judgements.

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