And the historical lesson is there is nothing that can be done to stop it.

For an empire, it can not be stopped, because it is contrary to the nature of the empire to stop it. For a non-imperial nation, it can be stopped.

In Anabasis, Xenophon talks about the Kurds and what a pain in the ass they were for anybody who happened to be invading their mountains.

So can we say that Israel is defying history?

We can say that Israel is burning through its diplomatic capital with every nation on Earth, except the USA, which is more loyal to Israel than it is to itself.

The question is — after everyone believes that the Israelis are completely psychopathic mass murderers — will the rest of the world fear the Israelis and curry favor, or will the rest of the world try to strangle Israel and its enabling muscle — the USA?

Modern capitalism is somewhat like Bartertown in the Mad Max films, except instead of a midget named Master riding a giant named Blaster, we have a midget named Israel riding a giant named USA.

Who runs Bartertown right now? Israel-USA. Who will run Bartertown if the USA collapses? That remains to be seen.

And the historical lesson is there is nothing that can be done to stop it. Nothing humane, at any rate; doggedly conservative states that stake their identity upon ethnic purity become the nastiest of regimes; when they succeed, it is only through the moral outrages of ethnic cleansing and genocide.