They exchanged text messages and emojis. Brief status updates with words of encouragement. A picture of the beloved family dog “Tutsi.”
Until no more messages came.
And then, Cindy Flash, an American, and her Israeli husband Igal vanished into the violence, presumed kidnapped by Hamas.
Four days after Hamas attacked Israel, more than 100 Israelis and potentially dozens of foreign nationals are thought to be held captive in the Gaza Strip. At least 14 U.S. citizens have been killed and an unknown number are still unaccounted for.
Flash, 67, originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, is one of them. She lives in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel near Gaza, where some of the most harrowing and grisly stories have been emerging during the last few days.
“They are breaking down the safe room door,” Flash said in one of her final messages to her daughter Keren, 34. “We need someone to come by the house right now.” She had been communicating with her parents from a few houses away.
Keren described her mother, who worked as an administrator in a local college, as someone who had the “sweetest biggest heart,” who everyone knew and loved, and who had spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of Palestinians, including those who live in Gaza where she may now be held.
Being a settler in an occupied territory =/= advocating for Palestinians rights.
So much cognitive dissonance in this world making the bad guys now the good guys.
The article didn’t say she was a settler in an occupied territory though, she was in a Kibbutz on the border of Gaza. The settler problem is in the West Bank. The article DID say she advocated for Palestinian rights, which I don’t understand why you’d deny unless you have some proof otherwise? Hamas killed civilians indiscriminately - they were bound to kill some very good people. I don’t understand why someone who advocated for Palestinian rights is so hard to believe. It’s just super sad.
Why should a US citizen be given the right to someones else’s land. it is a stolen land from the Palestinians. every Israeli citizens is a settler. the were given the freedom to live and buy land that used to belong to its rightful owners, while the last are being caged-in in an open air prison
Where do you live? Because I doubt you are the original settler of your land.
If you’re an American (North or South), you are not responsible for the reprehensible actions of your ancestors towards the Native populations just because you now live there. Similarly with Russia, China, most of Africa, Australia, Europe… basically the entirety of the world has a history of war and settling on conquered land. And you don’t deserve death for the actions of your ancestors.
Hey, don’t question the biased media narrative or look up statistics on the number of people killed by each side and realize Israel is terrible as well. That would distract from massive military industrial complex socialism.
Maybe don’t vacation in or move to an occupied colonial outpost apartheid state.
Journalist who reported this as fact, later tweeted that they had only overheard it in a soldiers conversation.
No evidence that this happened.
Nice atrocity propaganda.
You mean the guys who bombed women and children civilians who were evacuating to egypt via the route they told civilians to evacuate along?
I dont think they deserve anything but sanctions and a guilty verdict for war crimes.
Did they? I saw a video of an explosion NEAR the border, not hitting the crowd. Is that what you’re talking about?
There’s for sure going to be a lot of collateral damage. Hamas uses their own people as human shields.
That’s 100 percent on Hamas and on the Palestinian people who allow it.
Whatever helps you sleep at night knowing your country is doing active ethnic cleansing man.
Hamas ≢ Palestine
Questions: Who is fighting for Hamas? From where the “boots on the ground” come from? How can they organise amidst civilian population to take any coordinated actions?
Assuming that your questions are rhetorical and that you are placing blame on all Palestinian citizens for the actions of Hamas. By the same logic, all Americans are guilty for the Jan 6th attack on the capital and all the other horrific acts America have committed around the world.
No, my questions are not rethorical. Any such movement cannot live separated from the local population. They cannot organise in secret if nobody is keeping that secret. They cannot train if the others don’t keep the secret. They cannot manufacture, hide and launch thousands of small range rockets if other don’t keep a secret.
I’m not arguing about justifications or who did what and why. It’s not relevant for this discussion.
Hamas was never elected as sole leadership in Palestine. They never won a plurality of votes, ever.
They formed a unity government, then fought the other government, usurped control, and cancelled elections forever.
And the Palestinian authority is really a puppet government that Israel allows Palestine to have, so it’s not like any available option is really good
Hamas won 74 out of 132 seats. They did it with 44 percent of the vote. Not sure how that worked.
Anyway, you’re kind of right, kind of wrong.
Sure. And Netanyahu is a right-wing asshole. But he isn’t a terrorist.
You see the difference?
20 years ago. Around half of today’s population didn’t vote and of the ones that did many didn’t vote for hamas. Find a new way to blame innocent people, this one doesn’t work.
Half of the population is below 19 years old. So they weren’t even born when Hamas was elected.
The average age of Palestinians is 19. The average age of Israelis is 30. That tells you one thing, that you don’t live a long life if your Palestinian.
The article clearly states “advocate for Palestinians, then Hamas came for her” like it’s some “voting for the face eating leopards” situation. It’s a valid distinction. Also, no, the Israeli army isn’t all Israelis.
It’s hard to see the difference between Palestinians and Hamas when they had a pro Palestine rally in my city and their signs were peppered with “death to all Jews” and pictures of Jewish caricatures being hanged.
This seems more like an example of wrong place wrong time because nowhere in the article does it state that they were specifically targeted. What it does say is that they lived right next to the fence and that they and their neighbors both had safe rooms. To me, when you (and your neighbors) feel the need to build a fortified room to protect yourselves during a potential attack that says this area is potentially very dangerous.
Also, stop conflating the Palestinian people with Hamas. Not all Russians are committing war crimes in Ukraine. Not all Americans stormed the US capital on J6. Not all Saudis were on planes on 9/11. We do not need to further dehumanize ANY of the people who are now suffering through this now and the MANY who are continuing to have suffering brought upon them.
Nobody can excuse attacks on civilian populations for revenge. This goes both ways. And whether or not this poor sweet lady and her husband are still alive, I’m sure she would be equally abhorred that her life’s work is being used as an excuse to undo the very thing she worked towards.
Edit: I’ve been informed all homes in Israel must have safe rooms by law.
nowhere in the article does it state that they were specifically targeted.
Basically nobody was specifically targeted. Hamas simply flooded in and started raping, murdering, destroying and taking hostages indiscriminately. People from various countries and religions, old women, children and babies, even pro-Palestinians advocates like these people. It was straight up terrorist madness, and now innocent people in Palestine are suffering as a result. A textbook cycle of violence.
The raping allegations stuff doesn’t make sense. Imagine you are in an attack. Bullet flying, and you stop to rape someone.
Usually these things happen in occupied territory over time noy during the time of taking over.
I hate to break it to you, but sadly rape during war and violent conflict go back as far as the dawn of humanity.
It’s a very well documented thing and has been for a very long time.
Israeli here:
- Every house in Israel has to have a safe room by law
- The place where she lived was close to the border but completely within Israel. It wasn’t a settlement at all.
- Most kibbutzim in Israel are known to be centre-left. This is well-known to anyone who even vaguely follow the Israeli media (and Hammas follow)
Hammasb (not the Palestiniens, Hammas) knew exactly who they murder. There is no excuse to wash their hand.
“It wasn’t a settlement at all.”
Your entire country is a settlement.
There are Palestinians that are older than your “state”.
Palestine became a state at the same time. there was never a Palestine before that.
So then Israel (not it’s people, but the military) know exactly who they murder now? So when they now and in the past murder civilians there’s also no excuse?
- I didn’t know that about the safe rooms, thank you for the context.
- The article states she lived “right next to the security fence” and while I’m sure it’s within the border that still doesn’t mean it’s a great place to build. Nobody said it was a settlement.
- There’s no excusing the attack, rationalizing who they attacked or how they went about it. Again thank you for pointing this out because it highlights that this was either an indiscriminate attack against anyone and anything Israeli or that they were purposely trying to spoil the sentiment of those who would speak out against what now comes after. Were they just that diabolical or was it an attack of opportunity in terms of location and defense? You tell me.
Edit: also, aside from all that. I’m truly sorry this happened to your country and your people. I wish you all peace and an end to the bloodshed.
Hamas isn’t in any way working for Palestinian rights. Hamas is not a synonym for Palestinian.
As an elected government, it’s a synonym for “most of Palestine”. AFAIK it’s direct representation with no gerrymandering fuckery like the states to make it only questionably true.
Pootie was elected in a land slide in Russia. Kimie was Elected unanimously in North Korea. Pooh Bear, oops, sorry, Xi was elected by a large majority. Nyet 'n Yahoo was voted into power by a good margin. Fat Joffrey was elected by mostly empty land. None of those leaders represent anyone but themselves.
You are simply trying to justify your bigotry.
Ceausescu won his last elections with 96% approval. In the same year he escaped the capital, was captured, sentenced to death, and immediately executed, which promted a coutry-wide celebration
