pastafariantimatter

Thanks for doing an AMA, I've been reading a lot about the most recent conflict lately, so have a few questions.

1. Do you think the kidnapping/murder of the 3 teenagers was used as an excuse for the IDF to infiltrate Gaza? The response seems extremely heavy handed - hundreds of arrests, confiscation of large sums of money, etc? It hardly seems like a proportional response and much more like collective punishment justified by emotions running so high.

2. How do you feel about the religious Zionist settlers? I've read that many more moderate Israelis see them as doing much more harm than good, there was a news article discussing some in the Israeli government wanting to classify them as terrorist groups.

3. What do you think Hamas is trying to achieve with their constant rocket attacks? The Iron Dome seems to make firing them a complete waste, yet they're causing massive destruction on the Palestinian side. Surely all they're doing is making Hamas less popular with Palestinians that just want to go about their business.

4. Given the rocket attacks are doing very little harm, do you think the IDF's response is appropriate? Hundreds of Palestinians have died at this point, many of them children, vs only 1 (I think) Israeli.

Looking forward to your replies. I do my best to take an objective view of the conflict, in order to understand it as best I can.

1. Thanks. What are your thoughts on Netanyahu? Do you think he has any interest in peace, or the emotional capability to bring it?

2. Interesting response. Do you think the majority of mainstream Israelis feel the same way? Why doesn't Israel go further to reel in how militant they've become, given the problems it creates? Is the influence of American "Christians" a factor in that?

3. What percentage of the Palestinian population do you think feels this way? It seems like a very radical view of the world.

4. When you say "illiumination" do you mean "elimination"? Surely the killing of innocent civilians just radicalizes Palestinians, perpetuating the cycle of violence even further - it seems like a strange means to that end. Surely the best way to eliminate them is to eliminate any leverage they have over their populations with a real 2 state solution.

Thanks. I find the answers to #2 and #3 really ironic: The religious people are the problem, when each of their religions teaches the exact opposite of what they practice. It's insane.

On my question regarding American "Christians", I was referring to the fact that many Evangelical Christians believe that Israel occupying the entire region is necessary to the end times/second coming prophecy (which, ironically, ends pretty badly for Jews), so therefore give a lot of money to support settlers. I'm glad you don't know about it, it's pretty disgusting.

That's awesome! I had the pleasure of having a few drinks with Rick and Mike Carroll a couple of months ago. They were both super humble, down to earth guys. It's really nice when your childhood heroes turn out to be genuinely good people.

I agree, it's just hard to stomach so many innocent civilians dying (on either side) and in this case those deaths are almost all Palestinian. I'm not sure what the rocket attacks are supposed to achieve, but Israel's reaction doesn't seem to result in fewer rockets.