It is hard to write about Israel. People are very polarized and hyper-alert for any signal that could be interpreted, or twisted, to indicate anti-Semitism. I am not an anti-Semite. I know that the Holocaust was real, and I understand the latent AND active anti-Semitism that exists in our contemporary world. That said, we need to talk about Israeli policy towards Gaza, discern the true character of the situation, and take positions reflecting reality.
My perspective is that there is not much difference between Netanyahu and Putin. They are both buttressed by far right extremists. They are both conducting an illegal land grab on a neighboring people. They are both using violence, to the level of genocide, to conduct their foreign policies. They are both killing civilians, mothers and babies and other non-combatants. They are both destroying life-sustaining infrastructure to a level that will prevent safe habitation if the hostilities cease. They both attack, with lethal results, the personnel and infrastructure of international aid groups. They both pander false claims that they are the real victims of the conflict.
Of course there are differences. Putin’s Russia was not under existential threat when he launched his adventure into Crimea; it was pure international adventurism. Even more so, Russia was not under military threat from Ukraine when it launched its invasion of the Ukrainian sovereign territory. In all cases, the conflict was instigated by Russia, putting Ukraine, and NATO, in a defensive position.
By contrast, Israel has been under existential threat from its inception with almost every State and non-State player in the Middle East arrayed against its existence. However, the Netanyahu coalition takes and extreme position on the rights of Israel. They intend, in stark difference with majority opinion in Israel, to push Israeli territory “from the river to the sea”. This policy is excused by the rationale that Israel needs to control the adjacent lands in order to prevent further attacks on Israel proper. This is a blatantly false assertion, a provably false assertion.
Other than October 7, 2023 land-based incursions into Israel have not been of significant scope. Arguably, the Netanyahu coalition allowed the events of Oct. 7th to occur, either by inattention, or more likely, in order to inspire more Israeli aggression in furtherance to the policy to control from the river to the sea. There are plenty of sources, both Israeli and internationally based, which give evidence that part of the motive for Israeli aggression is to keep Israel on a war footing to protect Netanyahu and his coalition from being dismissed from power and/or facing criminal allegations.
Despite the similarities between Putin and Netanyahu, Putin is almost universally condemned for what is widely seen as pure ambition and pure aggression against a neighboring, sovereign people. NATO has stepped up on behalf of Ukraine in order to prevent Putin thinking he can adventure further into Europe. Support for Ukraine is widespread among citizens and countries around the world.
The point of this article is to show that Netanyahu, despite having wildly different circumstances on the ground, is no less of an international criminal than is Putin. Morally, the ends do not justify the means. Netanyahu and his coalition of extremists are committing war crimes in Gaza, and now in Lebanon, on the probably true premise that Hezbollah and Hamas are effectively hiding among the civilian populations in those conflicts. But how can the Western nations accept the killing of hundreds or thousands of non-combatants in order that Israel might take out a significant opposition leader, or a significant source of attacks?
I will immediately add that it is the height of immorality for the anti-Israeli forces to be hiding behind mothers, children, aid workers, hospital staff and behind any other innocent person, activity or place in order to carry out their attacks on Israel. But even in war immorality cannot, should not, be matched with equal immorality.
The United States, and other supporters of Israel must immediately intervene, with two important purposes:
Israel must abandon the rubric and the policy denoted by the motto “from the river to the sea”. They must instead embrace the concept and policy of a two state solution that envisions the Palestinians living in peace within borders of a homeland, no more than what Israel wanted for itself, and
An immediate cessation of strikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure, even when high value targets are known to be hiding among them.
Israel must conduct themselves in accordance with international standards for warfare, even if the other side does not. Only in this way should the Israelis earn the unwavering support of America and the American people.
Agree 💯 %.