Let me first say that I believe Israel has the right to exist, and that it has the right to defend itself from attacks. In the following journal I’m going to voice opinions which are critical of the Israeli government’s present strategies of interacting with the Palestinian people. This criticism is aimed only at these policies. To those interested in discussing the issue, I welcome comments, but I would ask those who are unable to remain emotionally controlled while considering this criticism to please stop reading now.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The present conflict with Israel, and Hamas over the past 23 days resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,400 Palestinians and 53 Israelis. Of those killed, 75% of the deaths on the Palestinian side have been civilians and an estimated 25% have been militants. On the Israeli side 3 civilians have died, and the other 50 deaths have been soldiers killed in the ground operation in Gaza. This seems like a one sided conflict for the most part, although to be fair to Israel, Hamas (the terrorist group) has certainly been launching a large number of missiles into Israel, and Israel’s casualties would be much higher without the Iron Dome defense network.
Let’s talk about this Iron Dome. It’s a system of missile launchers and radar networks that identify incoming missiles and shoot them down before they can land or do much damage. It’s pretty cool, and very useful, and is doing a great job protecting Israeli citizens. The Iron Dome is technology that the United States and Israel co-developed and co-funded, and I think it is a very good thing. The effect of the Iron Dome is that it lowers the threat and damage that Hamas (the terrorist group) can cause. However, only 1 side in this conflict has this defense. The other side is a group of militants who hate Israel (not necessarily without cause due to past conflicts) who are hiding and operating within a civilian population in a densely populated but economically devastated region.
Israel has been launching air strikes against targets in Gaza, and has also launched a ground offensive into the territory which is technically its own state, although Israel has seldom (if ever) respected its borders. All of this is not without provocation, hundreds of missiles have been fired into Israel, and even if those missiles are almost all shot down, this is still a dangerous and unacceptable attack. Furthermore, the tunnels that have been dug into Israel’s territory from Gaza by Hamas are also unacceptable, and should be destroyed. However, the strategy Israel has deployed for stopping the missile launches and collapsing the tunnels is impractical, counter-productive and a human rights atrocity.
In the 23 days over 1,000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces. Hundreds of buildings, private residences, mosques, and even UN Schools serving as designated non-hostile shelters have been bombed. Neither Israel nor Hamas are willing to accept a cease fire, but it is important to note, that Israel itself identifies Hamas as a terrorist organization. This then begs the question of “Why are the majority of people who are being killed civilians who have done nothing to Israel?”
Yes, there have been some political alliances between Palestinian governments and Hamas, and that is disconcerting, but that does not excuse bombing civilians. Yes, there are militants hiding among the civilians, but when you have the upper hand in strength and technology, you can’t blow up the civilians along with the militants and call it your best effort or justice. Israel’s government claims that they don’t deliberately target civilians, but looking at the results of the conflict it is evident that there is little military restraint or digression on the issue, and ultimately the equation of killing 3 civilians for 1 militant is still somehow viewed as an acceptable, profitable, or positive result.
Personally I disagree with this equation completely on ethical grounds, but let’s continue.
Here is where the math doesn't add up for the conflict. Somewhere in the back of the Israeli government’s mind, they must know that the reason that Hamas is able to draw enough support to continue gaining recruits and funding its operations is because many (if not all) of the Palestinian people feel they have been wronged by Israel. There is anger in the population, and that is what ultimately provides fuel for the conflicts in the region. Surely Israel’s government must recognize that nothing gets people angrier than seeing defenseless children bombed. If Israel could do one thing to ensure that Hamas grows in power in the future, it would be doing exactly what it is doing now.
Yes, Hamas is a terrorist group that sows hate and wishes to destroy Israel, but if you are a child who grew up an orphan because your family was killed by an Israeli bomb that your family did nothing to deserve, then I doubt you’d be particularly compassionate towards the state of Israel. Certainly not all people who have suffered great loss from the actions of the Israeli Defense Force will swear their lives to vengeance or join Hamas, but a certain percentage of them will. Killing 3 innocent civilians will drive the hatred of dozens of people at least, and some of them will get angry enough to join Hamas, and the number that will join is probably greater than the 1 militant who was killed in exchange for the 3 civilians.
If the Israeli government desires a 2 state peaceful solution, it will have to defeat the anger of the Palestinian people, not the Palestinian people themselves. Right now it seems to be doing the opposite.
Defeating the anger of the people would require concessions. Israel would have to give back the territory in the west bank it presently occupies (or at least most of it) and it would have to lift the economic blockade around Gaza. Without doing those 2 things, there is no foreseeable future where the conflict does not go on indefinitely.
Of course, Hamas cleverly has asked for these things in exchange for peace, and the Israeli government feels it cannot do these things or it will look like violence against Israel has been to the gain of the Palestinian people which internally would be horrendously unpopular. However, in windows of time where Hamas’s influence has been low, Israel’s government has had opportunities to make concessions, and has chosen not to.
Now, why should we (speaking from a western cultural perspective) expect Israel to make concessions? Why are we more upset when we see Israel committing atrocities than we are when we see atrocities committed in less developed nations with only semi-stable governments and poor infrastructure? Because we view Israel as an ally who is supposed to be committed to upholding human rights and liberties, and because we have given economic and military aid to Israel, and therefore we feel partly responsible if we see those resources being used in a cause we disagree with. Also, because we have sworn to protect Israel, but it is very hard for us to mentally justify defend a government that is using its power to unnecessarily kill civilians. Many atrocities happen around the world, many civilians are killed in acts of cruelty and callous indifference, but within the identity of western culture (and most other cultures as well) is the idea that these acts are reprehensible and need to be prevented. I am not saying that both sides of this conflict have not suffered much in the past, but Israel in partnership with European Nations and the United States has acquired superior military power. To use that power cruelly and with impunity is unacceptable.
With the Iron Dome to protect it Israel could show tolerance and suffer only minimal losses while standing firmly on the moral high ground. Instead it has retaliated very harshly and been much better at killing innocent people than it has been at killing its enemies.
History is history and it fades in the minds of the people over time. We cannot change history; all we can change is the present and the future. Israel’s government maintains a position of power over the Palestinian people with the help of western intervention. With 40 years of restraint and generosity Israel could be at peace with the Palestinian people. Yes, there would still be a few terrorists who would try to attack Israel, even after 40 years with relative peace, but there needs to be an understanding that to punish a large civilian population for the actions of a few terrorists is not wise or just.
Realistically, with the situation on the ground I don’t know how Israel and Palestine will acquire governments that will be able to work together successfully. I will say though that the means of this particular conflict (killing lots of civilians) do NOT justify the ends (of temporarily stopping rocket attacks and ensuring many years of future conflict are yet to come).
Now, let’s address critics of Israel's actions and the critics of the critics.
There has been widespread condemnation of Israel’s actions in this conflict, mostly because the results have been so one-sided. Among the some of those protesting though are individuals who are expressing anti-Semitic views. This is an unacceptable element in the criticisms of the action of the state of Israel. Hatred towards a group of people is unproductive, foolish and dangerous. People are people, and will act as humans do. Hatred is what perpetuates conflict, and those who are afflicted with it lose their capacity to react rationally to situations involving the given subject. Still, despite its vile nature, it’s not surprising that those carrying such an affliction are rearing their heads. No matter what the idea is, if people are doing evil in its name, it does a disservice to that idea.
As for the critics of the critics, it has been common for those defending Israel's actions to label anyone critical of those actions as either anti-Semitic or anti-Israel. These labels are also unproductive and offensive. There is nothing particularly Jewish or Israeli about bombing children, and to somehow equate dislike of a particular action to dislike of a large and diverse group of people is idiotic. A. It ignores the legitimate complaint and dismisses something that is clearly not okay. B. It somehow implies that these actions are inexorably linked with the group in question, which is not true, and is extremely counter-productive.
I am not a scholar of the history of Israel and Palestine, only a young man who has been paying attention to this conflict and a few others in the past. I am not concerned about the origin of Israel, and I have no desire to debate its origin or the 6-day war. Israel is a part of the modern world, but I feel that if it wants to maintain its present alliances, and does not wish for perpetual conflict than the Israeli government needs to reign in its excessive use of force and offer the Palestinian people in Gaza some possible future where they can live in prosperity and dignity. I feel that these actions would improve the safety and prosperity of the Israeli people. Governments on all sides would do well to resist pressure from xenophobic radicals within their countries.
------
Fear makes people stupid, and that temporary stupidity makes people very easy to manipulate. I was 13 years old when the United States invaded Iraq. We shouldn’t have done it, but a few people in our government’s leadership were able to broadcast messages of fear throughout the populace quite effectively, and the troops rolled in on a wave of public support. I still don’t know why my country’s government lied to us about the threat, or why we invaded Iraq. A few Americans made a lot of money off it, and the rest of us will be paying the debt we accrued from that conflict for decades to come. Lots of Iraqi lives were lost or ruined in the conflict, and many American soldiers died as well. Nothing about that conflict was worth it for the American people, and yet we were sold the idea that we had to do it.
I stayed up late on the night when the invasion started and watched a video feed of our tanks rolling across portable bridges made just for the assault. At first I was kind of excited about the conflict; I thought that the troops were going to take nuclear warheads away from a dictator who posed a threat to global peace, but I also remember feeling a bit weird about the whole thing. The initiation for the conflict was so rushed. There were lots of short deadlines and only minimal attempts at negotiation. There was a 24-hour ultimatum issued to Saddam Hussein by my own country where he had to hand over all the nuclear materials that he was alleged to have possessed. Obviously, it's rather difficult to hand over something that you don't have, but that's not the point. Who goes to war on a 24-hour ultimatum? People who are being stupid, or people who are lying and don’t want reason and evidence to prevail. That was us, and I don’t believe that we are overall wiser or more foolish than any other nation.
Forgive me for drawing parallels between that experience and the present conflict Israel is engaged in. Having missiles flying overhead is a different situation from pictures of buildings that are said to be nuclear silos. However, I do believe that to an extent the Israeli people are being manipulated in the same way. Governments do this sort of thing. They lie about the risks, and they lie about the potential benefits of military conflict. They portray it as a glorious struggle for truth and justice, but it’s not, it’s just dropping bombs on the heads of children. Yet somehow, we humans keep buying this bullshit argument. History shows that military conflicts with external powers are great for improving politicians’ domestic approval ratings. We see the same thing happening in Russia today. People go to war and sacrifice much, and at the end of the day, everyone loses. Yet somehow, anything good that happens during that time is credited to the war effort, and anything bad is just a noble sacrifice.
I wonder, are we humans forever doomed to be this stupid, or is there something systemically wrong with the structures of governments we have created? Are we trying to deceive ourselves? Maybe we are… now isn't that scary.
