The sources of the problem have come from both sides since the beginning. The lack of a Marshal plan to foster democracy and economic development in Palestine led to unrest in Palestine and the takeover by Hamas. Israel, in a productive and peaceful relationship with such a tiny Arab state, could have led to second thoughts on the part of Egypt, Hesbola, and others in Jordin. The settling of Palestinian land was not productive of such a relationship, and neither were other oppressive measures. Of course, we support Israel, but we need to admit, not repeat, and support fixing the wrongs done to Palestinians.
I agree with many aspects of this essay, but the unique persecution of the Jewish people throughout history makes any 1:1 comparison invalid.
Hamas is a terrorist organization whose only purpose is the eradication of the Jewish state. They indoctrinate and recruit Gazans at early age into their ideology of hate. They launch missiles at Israel from schools, hospitals, residences.
Israeli's fear and rage, not to mention still very clear memories of the Holocaust must be acknowledged. The depths of the brutality by Hamas is beyond comprehension.
It's not simply the unimaginable cruelty that has personally touched every Israeli citizen, but there very real fears for the survival of the Jewish state.
With this background, we can better understand the reaction of Israel and US politicians.
That said, young children are not a threat, nor most of their mothers, nor the elderly, babies in neonatal units, etc.
The problem is that there are only terrible choices. Israel must neutralize Hamas, but they hide amongst civilians. Neighboring Arab countries are unwilling to absorb hundreds of thousands or millions of civilians. There is no ability to form a humanitarian corridor.
Cutting off food, water, and electricity is horrific. Many will die from dehydration and malnutrition, if they don't die from bombings.
The greater the Gazan death toll, the greater the chances of escalation.
None of this makes Israelis safer.
But how do you fight an enemy that hides behind children, and has zero desire for peace...that views its own citizens as pawns...whose only goal is the destruction of the Jewish state?
No one has solutions...
De-escalation is aspirational when Hamas is wholly uninterested in reducing harm or death. Hamas has no asks..they just want the eradication of Israel and the Jewish people.
No country wants the Gazans, even on a temporary basis.
I appreciate the additional context, and as a Jewish person myself, the Holocaust and the history of persecution always rests heavy on my shoulders and factors into my thinking.
That said, since the 1970s, Israel has pursued an increasingly right-wing path, and since 2007 has blockaded Gaza. It does not take much further indoctrination to foster resentment at brutal occupiers.
Sadly, it’s the Israeli government that has been doing, empowered by a radical faction not dissimilar to Hamas in rhetoric and disinterest in human rights, that has been pursuing this brutal strategy in the name of a peace-loving people
I don’t think it’s acceptable to have a million kids under 18 as collateral damage to eradicating Hamas when there are other options. Netanyahu’s government supported Hamas, which can be reversed, while the US can lean on other middle eastern countries to pressure the political leadership of Hamas to give up its military leaders, who acted alone.
Further, Israel likes to boast of its unparalleled intelligence and military tech capabilities. If there were ever a time to use them, it’s now to capture Hamas leaders while minimizing damage to civilians.
As painful as it is, we can’t allow old genocides to justify new ones, against children who were born 70 or more years after WWII.
Of course, it's abhorrent to even consider children as "collateral damage".
Of course, Netanyahu's efforts to decimate Israel's democracy to insulate him from the consequences of his vast corruption is responsible for his alliance with religious extremists that led to harsher conditions in Gaza.
Of course, Netanyahu's bizarre calculation that economic incentives with Hamas would reduce their danger was delusional. Their charter is the destruction of the Jewish state.
Of course, the refusal of Netanyahu to acc er pt the warnings of his own intelligence services, because he was angry at their refusal to support his efforts to undermine the rule of law led to the breakdown in security.
That said, attacks from Gaza have occurred for years...just never a coordinated civilian attack, intended to inflict maximum cruelty and psychological trauma.
While I'd like to believe that the US has the ability to pressure Arab states to intervene, or that these states are even interested in reining in Hamas, I have significant doubts.
There is little doubt that diplomatic backchannels have been pursued 24/7, both to avoid a wider conflict and seek solutions to mitigate civilian casualties, we don't have the leverage to force either outcome.
In the meantime, Israeli's don't feel safe in their own country.
I continue to hope that wiser heads are devising short and long-term solutions.
I have a very bad feeling since two Saturdays ago that everything regarding standing up for the Palestinians is going to be locked/silenced down whether by local governments or pretty much in general society here in America.
Your post here is so anti Israel and one sided. The Arabs ave been trying to destroy Israel for years. They would not accept the U N Partition plane even though it gave them most of the territory from the Original League of Nations mandate, You did not mention the thousands of rockets fired at Israel or the outright massacre of 260 Israelis at a music festival. You also failed to mention that the Palestinian leadership has been taken out by vile anti-semites such as Hamas and Hezbollah. U also failed to mention how worse off the Palestinians are in Arab countries than they are in Israel. Per the League of Nations original mandate everything west of the Jordan is part of Israel as well as much of present day Jordan. Israel was willing to accept small pieces of land in 1948 but even this was not enough for the Arabs, I am utterly surprised that you are pushing the lies of the Palestinians rather than researching the real truth about Israel and their tiny sliver of land compared to the Arab Nations. You also failed to mentioned Hamas using civilians as shields and as hiding places for their launching thousands of rockets. I am ashamed to see Hamas lies written in to your newsletters!
Nothing here praises Hamas or Hezbollah! I call for their total elimination. All I am really saying is that Palestinian civilians shouldn’t be killed en masse, that there are better ways to address the horrifying attacks that don’t sink to their level. Discussing land agreements from 1948 is irrelevant to the plight of civilians on all sides at this moment.
Israelis themselves are outraged by Netanyahu’s fascistic tendencies and failures at doing his most important job. Ignoring that would be a travesty.
The sources of the problem have come from both sides since the beginning. The lack of a Marshal plan to foster democracy and economic development in Palestine led to unrest in Palestine and the takeover by Hamas. Israel, in a productive and peaceful relationship with such a tiny Arab state, could have led to second thoughts on the part of Egypt, Hesbola, and others in Jordin. The settling of Palestinian land was not productive of such a relationship, and neither were other oppressive measures. Of course, we support Israel, but we need to admit, not repeat, and support fixing the wrongs done to Palestinians.
I agree with many aspects of this essay, but the unique persecution of the Jewish people throughout history makes any 1:1 comparison invalid.
Hamas is a terrorist organization whose only purpose is the eradication of the Jewish state. They indoctrinate and recruit Gazans at early age into their ideology of hate. They launch missiles at Israel from schools, hospitals, residences.
Israeli's fear and rage, not to mention still very clear memories of the Holocaust must be acknowledged. The depths of the brutality by Hamas is beyond comprehension.
It's not simply the unimaginable cruelty that has personally touched every Israeli citizen, but there very real fears for the survival of the Jewish state.
With this background, we can better understand the reaction of Israel and US politicians.
That said, young children are not a threat, nor most of their mothers, nor the elderly, babies in neonatal units, etc.
The problem is that there are only terrible choices. Israel must neutralize Hamas, but they hide amongst civilians. Neighboring Arab countries are unwilling to absorb hundreds of thousands or millions of civilians. There is no ability to form a humanitarian corridor.
Cutting off food, water, and electricity is horrific. Many will die from dehydration and malnutrition, if they don't die from bombings.
The greater the Gazan death toll, the greater the chances of escalation.
None of this makes Israelis safer.
But how do you fight an enemy that hides behind children, and has zero desire for peace...that views its own citizens as pawns...whose only goal is the destruction of the Jewish state?
No one has solutions...
De-escalation is aspirational when Hamas is wholly uninterested in reducing harm or death. Hamas has no asks..they just want the eradication of Israel and the Jewish people.
No country wants the Gazans, even on a temporary basis.
What is the answer?
I appreciate the additional context, and as a Jewish person myself, the Holocaust and the history of persecution always rests heavy on my shoulders and factors into my thinking.
That said, since the 1970s, Israel has pursued an increasingly right-wing path, and since 2007 has blockaded Gaza. It does not take much further indoctrination to foster resentment at brutal occupiers.
Sadly, it’s the Israeli government that has been doing, empowered by a radical faction not dissimilar to Hamas in rhetoric and disinterest in human rights, that has been pursuing this brutal strategy in the name of a peace-loving people
I don’t think it’s acceptable to have a million kids under 18 as collateral damage to eradicating Hamas when there are other options. Netanyahu’s government supported Hamas, which can be reversed, while the US can lean on other middle eastern countries to pressure the political leadership of Hamas to give up its military leaders, who acted alone.
Further, Israel likes to boast of its unparalleled intelligence and military tech capabilities. If there were ever a time to use them, it’s now to capture Hamas leaders while minimizing damage to civilians.
As painful as it is, we can’t allow old genocides to justify new ones, against children who were born 70 or more years after WWII.
I truly appreciate your courteous response.
Of course, it's abhorrent to even consider children as "collateral damage".
Of course, Netanyahu's efforts to decimate Israel's democracy to insulate him from the consequences of his vast corruption is responsible for his alliance with religious extremists that led to harsher conditions in Gaza.
Of course, Netanyahu's bizarre calculation that economic incentives with Hamas would reduce their danger was delusional. Their charter is the destruction of the Jewish state.
Of course, the refusal of Netanyahu to acc er pt the warnings of his own intelligence services, because he was angry at their refusal to support his efforts to undermine the rule of law led to the breakdown in security.
That said, attacks from Gaza have occurred for years...just never a coordinated civilian attack, intended to inflict maximum cruelty and psychological trauma.
While I'd like to believe that the US has the ability to pressure Arab states to intervene, or that these states are even interested in reining in Hamas, I have significant doubts.
There is little doubt that diplomatic backchannels have been pursued 24/7, both to avoid a wider conflict and seek solutions to mitigate civilian casualties, we don't have the leverage to force either outcome.
In the meantime, Israeli's don't feel safe in their own country.
I continue to hope that wiser heads are devising short and long-term solutions.
A very well thought out and written piece, Jordan, but in increasingly jingoistic America,you will surely be characterized as anti-Israel.
I have a very bad feeling since two Saturdays ago that everything regarding standing up for the Palestinians is going to be locked/silenced down whether by local governments or pretty much in general society here in America.
Your post here is so anti Israel and one sided. The Arabs ave been trying to destroy Israel for years. They would not accept the U N Partition plane even though it gave them most of the territory from the Original League of Nations mandate, You did not mention the thousands of rockets fired at Israel or the outright massacre of 260 Israelis at a music festival. You also failed to mention that the Palestinian leadership has been taken out by vile anti-semites such as Hamas and Hezbollah. U also failed to mention how worse off the Palestinians are in Arab countries than they are in Israel. Per the League of Nations original mandate everything west of the Jordan is part of Israel as well as much of present day Jordan. Israel was willing to accept small pieces of land in 1948 but even this was not enough for the Arabs, I am utterly surprised that you are pushing the lies of the Palestinians rather than researching the real truth about Israel and their tiny sliver of land compared to the Arab Nations. You also failed to mentioned Hamas using civilians as shields and as hiding places for their launching thousands of rockets. I am ashamed to see Hamas lies written in to your newsletters!
Nothing here praises Hamas or Hezbollah! I call for their total elimination. All I am really saying is that Palestinian civilians shouldn’t be killed en masse, that there are better ways to address the horrifying attacks that don’t sink to their level. Discussing land agreements from 1948 is irrelevant to the plight of civilians on all sides at this moment.
Israelis themselves are outraged by Netanyahu’s fascistic tendencies and failures at doing his most important job. Ignoring that would be a travesty.