Beautifully put. As a fellow Jew who is horrified by the way our government is failing to respond to the plight of Palestinians, I've been struggling to find a way to express this without coming off as unsympathetic to the Israeli victims of Hamas' terrorist attack, and I appreciate the clarity in your writing here.
No, sir. I am very proud to be Jewish. And one of the Jewish beliefs that I hold most dear is that all human life is sacred. I identify with and care for all human beings, including those who are vulnerable to hateful ideologies — which includes some Palestinians and some Israeli (and American) Jews. The rightward turn in Israel of course didn't come out of nowhere — the spate of suicide bombings during the second intifada undoubtedly caused a lurch to the right — and I don't mean to downplay the incredible complexity of the situation — but the bottom line is that the occupation is illegal, Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens or worse, and that the IDF's response to the truly ghastly massacre of 10/7 has long eclipsed anything that could be described as proportionate. My heart breaks for the families of the victims and hostages of 10/7, and it breaks for the thousands of Palestinians who have died, and many more who will die.
Palestinians had multiple opportunities to have statehood. They refused each time. How many opportunities should they be afforded? That said, I still favor a two-state solution.
During WWII, the Allies were said to have committed war crimes by bombing Dresden and Berlin. Many people were incinerated in the fires that resulted. But the alternative was extermination of the Jewish people, not to mention potential worldwide domination by the Nazis. Who was responsible for those bombings? It was the Nazis who bore the blame for the Allies' actions, which ended up harming all German people. Sometimes, seemingly disproportionate measures are necessary to further a laudable goal.
Meanwhile, Hamas is being exposed for who they really are. I urge you to read what their own Muslim brothers think of them:
Hi there — yes, I have encountered this argument comparing the Allied bombing during WWII to what the IDF is doing in Gaza, but I find it a frankly tortured analogy, inasmuch as the German war machine was many magnitudes stronger than Hamas and was occupying large swaths of Europe. The story of Palestinian leadership (or lack thereof) is undoubtedly a painful one, and while you are correct that Hamas and or other factions of Palestinian leadership have found ways to thwart the possibility of statehood, it's also the case that what Israel has offered relative to what was expropriated in '48 (or even '67) was a pittance. Palestinians desperately need real (and new) leadership— I was just on a call w/ an Israeli-Palestinian peace group called Standing Together, and the Palestinian representative was making precisely this point. Of course Israel has a right to defend itself following the horror of 10/7, but I have yet to encounter any military analysts (other than those directly involved with the current effort) who have argued that the IDF's campaign to root out Hamas is ethically defensible. But more than that, the notion that Hamas can be militarily defeated seems foolhardy... but then I don't think that Netanyahu and his ilk believe it can either — they are using the war to cling to power, and are almost as cynical and nihilistic as their opponents, which is part of what makes this war so excruciating to observe. (For me, at least.)
Further to your point about military analysts and Israel's ability to defeat Hamas militarily, this retired US general appears to suggest that Israel can both eventually stop the initial massive bombing campaign and successfully pursue Hamas with lower intensity military measures to achieve their objective of getting rid of Hamas control of Gaza by eliminating its leaders, and destroying/disabling Hamas' system of tunnels, from which they pose the greatest threat.
You've neglected one important point, and that is that Iran is using Hamas as a proxy against Israel, so that it doesn't have to directly confront Israel or the US. That is part of what makes the Nazi analogy apropos. That said, although the Nazis were a much bigger force and were bent on worldwide domination, the analogy still fits on a smaller scale. Israel is in an existential fight against Hamas, Hezbollah and, yes, indirectly, Iran. So, Israel's fight against Hamas is absolutely necessary for its survival, given that Hamas has made no bones about its plan to not only kill all Jews in Israel, but to target Jews worldwide. Its battle is not only against Israel, but all Jews. Hence, Israel as the world's only Jewish state, must stand up to protect Jews worldwide. I beg to differ about the ability of Israel to defeat Hamas militarily. While it will be unconventional, due in part to Hamas's embedding in civilian populations, and hiding in tunnels, they can be wiped out, eventually. Hopefully, the people of Gaza will soon turn on Hamas and begin fighting against them, which will make getting rid of them much easier, to the benefit of the people of Gaza,, who will then be able to avoid the worst of the collateral outcomes. That said, the general population are not saints, and most, greater than 70% support Hamas, with even greater support since Oct. 7th. So they are not entirely without blame for what happens to them.
BTW, NOTHING was expropriated in 1947. Palestine wasn't a country, and there has never been a nation of Palestine prior to 1947. The Palestinians are Arabs, plain and simple, some of whom lived in what is now Israel, and some of whom lived in neighboring countries and moved to Israel. The UN partition of 1947 was a way to codify control of the land comprising Israel, West Bank and Gaza and to divvy it up fairly so that Arabs and Jews could each have their own country, as the British withdrew from control, following their assumption of control post-Ottoman Empire. Jews were not given all of what they wanted or felt they should have, and Arabs were not given all of what they wanted or felt they should have. That's called a compromise. Jews were willing to compromise, while Arabs were not, because they wanted it ALL. In such matters, the wise thing is to accept what is offered and work out through negotiations changes in borders in a peaceful manner over time. It was very unwise of the Arabs to refuse to accept the partition, which is what led to the 1948 war, which Israel won. When a country wins a war against an aggressor (i.e the Arabs), they get to keep what they capture, except to the extent that a peace agreement cedes back some portion of what was captured. Same thing happened in 1967, when Arabs lost again. You'd think they'd have learned their lesson and have come to the table to negotiate for statehood, but oh, no, they walked away again when Israel was later prepared to offer statehood in the West Bank and Gaza. IMHO, Israel needs to make another similar offer, but this time, exchange Gaza for some similarly sized piece of Israel proper/or settlement areas, simply to enable Palestinians to have a contiguous state. If Palestinians won't accept that, then Israel should flatten them and/or drive them into Jordan, Lebanon and/or Syria the next time they launch any kind of attack, where they'll get along just fine.
Gabriel Kahane's letter to Joe Biden is excellent: compassionately awake, comprehensive about what needs to be said, lucidly articulated. Please place it in a online format that others of Jewish faith can sign on to, before resending again -- with an abundance of signatures -- to both the White House and the State Department. It is an important articulation.
You echo my own thoughts & feelings in a beautifully written and straightforward piece. It pains me to see all the killing of innocents in Israel & Gaza. The bombing of Gaza is a war crime & it needs to be addressed by the UN. I expect the US to condemn it and withhold any aid until it stops. Thank you for writing. I hope you hear back from President Biden and that he has honored your request.
A wonderful, wise, very articulate description of the issues involved. Revenge has definitely been at the forefront of the Israeli statements about going into Gaza. And Netanyahu has even been complicit in empowering Hamas at the expense of the more moderate PLO because it has helped him politically. He did not reckon with the uproar he has created in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and other middle east countries. This threatens to erupt into a planet wide conflagration if Israel is not stopped from their murderous intentions.
Beautifully put. As a fellow Jew who is horrified by the way our government is failing to respond to the plight of Palestinians, I've been struggling to find a way to express this without coming off as unsympathetic to the Israeli victims of Hamas' terrorist attack, and I appreciate the clarity in your writing here.
Self hatred from centuries of persecution, and now some of us have begun to identify with those who are raised and taught to hate us.
No, sir. I am very proud to be Jewish. And one of the Jewish beliefs that I hold most dear is that all human life is sacred. I identify with and care for all human beings, including those who are vulnerable to hateful ideologies — which includes some Palestinians and some Israeli (and American) Jews. The rightward turn in Israel of course didn't come out of nowhere — the spate of suicide bombings during the second intifada undoubtedly caused a lurch to the right — and I don't mean to downplay the incredible complexity of the situation — but the bottom line is that the occupation is illegal, Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens or worse, and that the IDF's response to the truly ghastly massacre of 10/7 has long eclipsed anything that could be described as proportionate. My heart breaks for the families of the victims and hostages of 10/7, and it breaks for the thousands of Palestinians who have died, and many more who will die.
Palestinians had multiple opportunities to have statehood. They refused each time. How many opportunities should they be afforded? That said, I still favor a two-state solution.
During WWII, the Allies were said to have committed war crimes by bombing Dresden and Berlin. Many people were incinerated in the fires that resulted. But the alternative was extermination of the Jewish people, not to mention potential worldwide domination by the Nazis. Who was responsible for those bombings? It was the Nazis who bore the blame for the Allies' actions, which ended up harming all German people. Sometimes, seemingly disproportionate measures are necessary to further a laudable goal.
Meanwhile, Hamas is being exposed for who they really are. I urge you to read what their own Muslim brothers think of them:
https://fatwacouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/English-Resolution-Document-of-Fatwa-No.-F02301-compressed.pdf?fbclid=IwAR330j-r-a2e8fBxRajGArGXmPyv7glU-XZl3TAjKekDqiPPOuv1gx2rO40
Hi there — yes, I have encountered this argument comparing the Allied bombing during WWII to what the IDF is doing in Gaza, but I find it a frankly tortured analogy, inasmuch as the German war machine was many magnitudes stronger than Hamas and was occupying large swaths of Europe. The story of Palestinian leadership (or lack thereof) is undoubtedly a painful one, and while you are correct that Hamas and or other factions of Palestinian leadership have found ways to thwart the possibility of statehood, it's also the case that what Israel has offered relative to what was expropriated in '48 (or even '67) was a pittance. Palestinians desperately need real (and new) leadership— I was just on a call w/ an Israeli-Palestinian peace group called Standing Together, and the Palestinian representative was making precisely this point. Of course Israel has a right to defend itself following the horror of 10/7, but I have yet to encounter any military analysts (other than those directly involved with the current effort) who have argued that the IDF's campaign to root out Hamas is ethically defensible. But more than that, the notion that Hamas can be militarily defeated seems foolhardy... but then I don't think that Netanyahu and his ilk believe it can either — they are using the war to cling to power, and are almost as cynical and nihilistic as their opponents, which is part of what makes this war so excruciating to observe. (For me, at least.)
Further to your point about military analysts and Israel's ability to defeat Hamas militarily, this retired US general appears to suggest that Israel can both eventually stop the initial massive bombing campaign and successfully pursue Hamas with lower intensity military measures to achieve their objective of getting rid of Hamas control of Gaza by eliminating its leaders, and destroying/disabling Hamas' system of tunnels, from which they pose the greatest threat.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/12/26/us-strikes-iraq-israel-hamas-war-spider-marks-keilar-dean-vpx.cnn
You've neglected one important point, and that is that Iran is using Hamas as a proxy against Israel, so that it doesn't have to directly confront Israel or the US. That is part of what makes the Nazi analogy apropos. That said, although the Nazis were a much bigger force and were bent on worldwide domination, the analogy still fits on a smaller scale. Israel is in an existential fight against Hamas, Hezbollah and, yes, indirectly, Iran. So, Israel's fight against Hamas is absolutely necessary for its survival, given that Hamas has made no bones about its plan to not only kill all Jews in Israel, but to target Jews worldwide. Its battle is not only against Israel, but all Jews. Hence, Israel as the world's only Jewish state, must stand up to protect Jews worldwide. I beg to differ about the ability of Israel to defeat Hamas militarily. While it will be unconventional, due in part to Hamas's embedding in civilian populations, and hiding in tunnels, they can be wiped out, eventually. Hopefully, the people of Gaza will soon turn on Hamas and begin fighting against them, which will make getting rid of them much easier, to the benefit of the people of Gaza,, who will then be able to avoid the worst of the collateral outcomes. That said, the general population are not saints, and most, greater than 70% support Hamas, with even greater support since Oct. 7th. So they are not entirely without blame for what happens to them.
BTW, NOTHING was expropriated in 1947. Palestine wasn't a country, and there has never been a nation of Palestine prior to 1947. The Palestinians are Arabs, plain and simple, some of whom lived in what is now Israel, and some of whom lived in neighboring countries and moved to Israel. The UN partition of 1947 was a way to codify control of the land comprising Israel, West Bank and Gaza and to divvy it up fairly so that Arabs and Jews could each have their own country, as the British withdrew from control, following their assumption of control post-Ottoman Empire. Jews were not given all of what they wanted or felt they should have, and Arabs were not given all of what they wanted or felt they should have. That's called a compromise. Jews were willing to compromise, while Arabs were not, because they wanted it ALL. In such matters, the wise thing is to accept what is offered and work out through negotiations changes in borders in a peaceful manner over time. It was very unwise of the Arabs to refuse to accept the partition, which is what led to the 1948 war, which Israel won. When a country wins a war against an aggressor (i.e the Arabs), they get to keep what they capture, except to the extent that a peace agreement cedes back some portion of what was captured. Same thing happened in 1967, when Arabs lost again. You'd think they'd have learned their lesson and have come to the table to negotiate for statehood, but oh, no, they walked away again when Israel was later prepared to offer statehood in the West Bank and Gaza. IMHO, Israel needs to make another similar offer, but this time, exchange Gaza for some similarly sized piece of Israel proper/or settlement areas, simply to enable Palestinians to have a contiguous state. If Palestinians won't accept that, then Israel should flatten them and/or drive them into Jordan, Lebanon and/or Syria the next time they launch any kind of attack, where they'll get along just fine.
Beautifully written— powerful, respectful, heartfelt. You've inspired me to do the same. Thank you.
Thank you. Keep on making good trouble and come to NC for another performance, please.
Yes this as well!
Beautiful and fair-minded. Thank you.
Gabriel Kahane's letter to Joe Biden is excellent: compassionately awake, comprehensive about what needs to be said, lucidly articulated. Please place it in a online format that others of Jewish faith can sign on to, before resending again -- with an abundance of signatures -- to both the White House and the State Department. It is an important articulation.
in appreciation, David Rivers
You echo my own thoughts & feelings in a beautifully written and straightforward piece. It pains me to see all the killing of innocents in Israel & Gaza. The bombing of Gaza is a war crime & it needs to be addressed by the UN. I expect the US to condemn it and withhold any aid until it stops. Thank you for writing. I hope you hear back from President Biden and that he has honored your request.
Thank you. 🙏
Thank you for your clarity and compassion in response to horror and violence.
A wonderful, wise, very articulate description of the issues involved. Revenge has definitely been at the forefront of the Israeli statements about going into Gaza. And Netanyahu has even been complicit in empowering Hamas at the expense of the more moderate PLO because it has helped him politically. He did not reckon with the uproar he has created in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and other middle east countries. This threatens to erupt into a planet wide conflagration if Israel is not stopped from their murderous intentions.