2024-03 Israel

Israel 45,

May 3, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

I have delayed making a statement on the recent student demonstrations that have rocked Canada, the USA and Europe. These demonstrations are also being copied in other parts of the world. I wanted to do some basic research as well, and combine that with what I already know to be fact. It is obvious to my followers that I will take the Israeli side, otherwise what have I been doing in Israel as a volunteer for 8 weeks.

I have learned in my discussions that certain people, when you aboard a topic of discussion, just ‘don’t know’.

1. Certain people ‘don’t know’ because they have never studied the subject. This is usually quite simple if you are the one who is better informed. These people, if they are reasonably intelligent, can be taught the subject. This is what we do in universities. Afterwards, you can engage in conversation with these persons and discuss their point of view and perhaps learn from the exchange.

2. Certain people ‘don’t know’ because they are incapable of learning. Unfortunately in our society, there is a vast number of people that are uneducated and incapable of understanding certain topics. These people can be influenced by good leaders or bad leaders to have certain beliefs and then to do certain deeds, some of which may be good, some of which may be bad. A good example is what happened in the 1930s. Germany was unlucky, Hitler was their leader. Russia was unlucky, Stalin was their leader. The UK was lucky, Churchill was their leader. The USA was lucky, Roosevelt was their leader. Had the UK and the USA not had these men as leaders, the world would be a very different place today.

3. Certain people ‘don’t know’ because they don’t want to know. In many cases they are capable of learning, however they just don’t want to understand often based on the prejudices that they bring to the table by poor upbringing or poor information which they are incapable of sifting through. This group is the most dangerous group as they are incapable of engaging in an intelligent discussion. They have learned all that they want to learn in Twitter and Instagram. They read pamphlets, they don’t read books. They have no clue about historical events and what has brought us to the present situation. They shout slogans which they can not define past the time that it took them to pronounce the phrase. This unfortunately is the group that we are dealing with and who is camping out in tents on our university grounds.

I was born in the 1st half of the last century (1949). I was brought up in the 60s with the slogan ‘make love not war’. To some extent I still believe this to be true. If that is so, why may you ask have I chosen at age 74 to volunteer to go to a war in Israel and spend 8 weeks here with the IDF and MDA. The answer lies in the 43 entries that I have written in gobriantravel.com What I have done here is a small drop in the bucket if I compare it to the 6 years that my father spent in the Canadian Army defending freedom and democracy. I believe that that I have contributed to defending the same principles here in Israel where Israel once again is fighting for her very survival. Lofty goals you may say, yes but I must say that I have spent the last 74 years of my life preparing for the 8 weeks that I have spent here with these 2 organizations, in Israel.

To be continued tomorrow as I have only scratched the surface of what I want to write.

Love,

Brian