Letty. I am mostly a fan of yours and I, and many who think like me, share your horror at the deaths of so many Palestinians in Gaza. What I always find missing in these justifiably empathic writings, however, is anything approaching an articulate alternative to the way Israel is conducting this war. The news media try to make this about Netanyahu; his radical vision for Israel and his legal jeopardy. Yet, that is not accurate. Benny Gantz, a Centrist in the opposition, joined the war cabinet to create a unified front. The conduct of this war is a reflection of his thinking, as well as the thinking of most Israelis across the political spectrum. Netanyahu does not determine the way this war is conducted even though he tries to make it appear that way to feed his political base. So, please, don't just say what Israel should NOT do, offer a credible path to addressing the military problem that is Hamas. I have always been opposed to the settlements on the West Bank and am in favor of a two state solution, while also aware that this is easily sloganized and complicated to implement. Ehud Olmert was featured on Fareed Zakariah's program today without any examination of why the plan he offered to the PA and Abbas was simply rejected. Olmert wrote later in a Washington Post op-ed: “To this day, I cannot understand why the Palestinian leadership did not accept the far-reaching and unprecedented proposal I offered them… It would be worth exploring the reasons that the Palestinians rejected my offer and preferred, instead, to drag their feet, avoiding real decisions.” So, what is to be done? But... make it realistic. If you have read this, thank you for listening. Elisha Fisch
Elisha, I think you answered your own question regarding a credible alternative path to the problem that is Hamas. Israel must stop using its superior military power (provided by the US) to subjugate Palestinians and forcibly take their lands. It will not go smoothly but it is the only feasible solution. The military approach creates resistance faster than it can kill the people who refuse to be treated as less than human. There will be backlash for a time but it is not only the one credible path, it is the one ethical path.
Elisha, I think what is being said at high volume, at least to my [Jewish] ears, is that Israel has proclaimed its failure to the world and betrayal of basic Jewish and humanitarian values. Corpses piled to the sky and unrestrained violence, even in response to violence, do not represent anything other than criminal behavior. What is to be done? Just as the old Soviet and South African regimes fell--and up to the moment of their collapse seemed invulnerable--for better or worse, a re-thinking of Israel and how it should function now seems inevitable and necessary.
Yes. I know that is what is being said. And I know people keep saying "a re-thinking of Israel and how it should function now seems inevitable and necessary." I am asking to hear a cogent description of what a viable re-thinking looks like that includes dealing with the reality Israel faces, and has faced since before it was Israel. That is, that Jews are considered interlopers in the Middle East, and have no right to be there.
Thank you for this beautifully balanced humane story. I stumbled onto looking for articles on how Elie Wiesel could call all of humanity to witness crimes against humanity and genocide, and then manage somehow to be blind to Gaza. That search itself came from me sharing an interview with Yitz Greenberg about his new book, which claims every human on earth is responsible for the sacrament that is the earth and all its lifeforms, all its beauty. --- When I shared it I mentioned I was puzzled at Greenberg's failure to speak of what's going on in Gaza as he valorizes Israel and scolds it just a little bit, like it is a child who's just thrown a little temper tantrum. He was so lucid, so humane in his call to all of humanity. I couldn't understand how he avoids Gaza. Someone mentioned that Elie Wiesel, a great man, was just as purblind. --- I think that Gaza holds a particularity amongst genocides and utter tragedy because my American government, Britain's, Germany's, France's and all of us are just citizens are supposed to have learned by this late date we were ourselves never to be complicit in a genocide ever again. We are not supposed to sit back and let it happen that way we let it happen to Europe's Jews during the buildup and early years of WWII. Our governments and most of our people decided it was too hard to witness and impractical to act and by my lights the people who stand by and pretend not to see are more guilty than the monsters who do the killng. We are not supposed to have allowed this again. I don't see how this grief and culpability can ever be washed away and this war as it continues makes the perpetrators and the indifferent inhuman. There's nothing new or original about my beliefs here of course, and what perturbs me most , what distresses me is that an intellectual giant like Wiesel, and thinkers like him, can dehumanize demonize the people of Palestine.
Any rational person would feel compassion and grief for the pain and loss of life being suffered by the people of Gaza. This must be tempered by the realization that Israel is thrust into an impossible situation. If Israel is to survive, let alone flourish in a rough neighborhood, it is imperative that Hamas be not only defeated but destroyed. Hamas, as we all know, uses civilian infrastructure, inclusive of schools, hospitals, mosques, etc. as both miliary positions to plan and carry out attacks, and to store the weapons of war. If this was not appalling enough, Hamas uses the civilian population as human shields, with terrorists embedded among them and below them. Indeed, they see mounting civilian death totals as one of their prime weapons to win over world opinion and erode support for Israel. Both of these tactics are prohibited by the Geneva Conventions and are in themselves war crimes. By embedding themselves and their weaponry, civilian homes and infrastructure lose their protected status and become legitimate military targets. My sympathy for the people of Gaza is also tempered by the near universal joy and exhilaration that broke out all over Gaza after the atrocities of October 7 came to light and the fact that Hamas retains wide support among the populace even after the disaster and immeasurable suffering that Hamas brought upon them.
Letty. I am mostly a fan of yours and I, and many who think like me, share your horror at the deaths of so many Palestinians in Gaza. What I always find missing in these justifiably empathic writings, however, is anything approaching an articulate alternative to the way Israel is conducting this war. The news media try to make this about Netanyahu; his radical vision for Israel and his legal jeopardy. Yet, that is not accurate. Benny Gantz, a Centrist in the opposition, joined the war cabinet to create a unified front. The conduct of this war is a reflection of his thinking, as well as the thinking of most Israelis across the political spectrum. Netanyahu does not determine the way this war is conducted even though he tries to make it appear that way to feed his political base. So, please, don't just say what Israel should NOT do, offer a credible path to addressing the military problem that is Hamas. I have always been opposed to the settlements on the West Bank and am in favor of a two state solution, while also aware that this is easily sloganized and complicated to implement. Ehud Olmert was featured on Fareed Zakariah's program today without any examination of why the plan he offered to the PA and Abbas was simply rejected. Olmert wrote later in a Washington Post op-ed: “To this day, I cannot understand why the Palestinian leadership did not accept the far-reaching and unprecedented proposal I offered them… It would be worth exploring the reasons that the Palestinians rejected my offer and preferred, instead, to drag their feet, avoiding real decisions.” So, what is to be done? But... make it realistic. If you have read this, thank you for listening. Elisha Fisch
Elisha, I think you answered your own question regarding a credible alternative path to the problem that is Hamas. Israel must stop using its superior military power (provided by the US) to subjugate Palestinians and forcibly take their lands. It will not go smoothly but it is the only feasible solution. The military approach creates resistance faster than it can kill the people who refuse to be treated as less than human. There will be backlash for a time but it is not only the one credible path, it is the one ethical path.
Elisha, I think what is being said at high volume, at least to my [Jewish] ears, is that Israel has proclaimed its failure to the world and betrayal of basic Jewish and humanitarian values. Corpses piled to the sky and unrestrained violence, even in response to violence, do not represent anything other than criminal behavior. What is to be done? Just as the old Soviet and South African regimes fell--and up to the moment of their collapse seemed invulnerable--for better or worse, a re-thinking of Israel and how it should function now seems inevitable and necessary.
Yes. I know that is what is being said. And I know people keep saying "a re-thinking of Israel and how it should function now seems inevitable and necessary." I am asking to hear a cogent description of what a viable re-thinking looks like that includes dealing with the reality Israel faces, and has faced since before it was Israel. That is, that Jews are considered interlopers in the Middle East, and have no right to be there.
Thank you for this beautifully balanced humane story. I stumbled onto looking for articles on how Elie Wiesel could call all of humanity to witness crimes against humanity and genocide, and then manage somehow to be blind to Gaza. That search itself came from me sharing an interview with Yitz Greenberg about his new book, which claims every human on earth is responsible for the sacrament that is the earth and all its lifeforms, all its beauty. --- When I shared it I mentioned I was puzzled at Greenberg's failure to speak of what's going on in Gaza as he valorizes Israel and scolds it just a little bit, like it is a child who's just thrown a little temper tantrum. He was so lucid, so humane in his call to all of humanity. I couldn't understand how he avoids Gaza. Someone mentioned that Elie Wiesel, a great man, was just as purblind. --- I think that Gaza holds a particularity amongst genocides and utter tragedy because my American government, Britain's, Germany's, France's and all of us are just citizens are supposed to have learned by this late date we were ourselves never to be complicit in a genocide ever again. We are not supposed to sit back and let it happen that way we let it happen to Europe's Jews during the buildup and early years of WWII. Our governments and most of our people decided it was too hard to witness and impractical to act and by my lights the people who stand by and pretend not to see are more guilty than the monsters who do the killng. We are not supposed to have allowed this again. I don't see how this grief and culpability can ever be washed away and this war as it continues makes the perpetrators and the indifferent inhuman. There's nothing new or original about my beliefs here of course, and what perturbs me most , what distresses me is that an intellectual giant like Wiesel, and thinkers like him, can dehumanize demonize the people of Palestine.
How Israel Quietly Crushed Early American Jewish Dissent on Palestine
https://theintercept.com/2024/03/03/israel-our-palestine-question-zionism-american-jews/
Any rational person would feel compassion and grief for the pain and loss of life being suffered by the people of Gaza. This must be tempered by the realization that Israel is thrust into an impossible situation. If Israel is to survive, let alone flourish in a rough neighborhood, it is imperative that Hamas be not only defeated but destroyed. Hamas, as we all know, uses civilian infrastructure, inclusive of schools, hospitals, mosques, etc. as both miliary positions to plan and carry out attacks, and to store the weapons of war. If this was not appalling enough, Hamas uses the civilian population as human shields, with terrorists embedded among them and below them. Indeed, they see mounting civilian death totals as one of their prime weapons to win over world opinion and erode support for Israel. Both of these tactics are prohibited by the Geneva Conventions and are in themselves war crimes. By embedding themselves and their weaponry, civilian homes and infrastructure lose their protected status and become legitimate military targets. My sympathy for the people of Gaza is also tempered by the near universal joy and exhilaration that broke out all over Gaza after the atrocities of October 7 came to light and the fact that Hamas retains wide support among the populace even after the disaster and immeasurable suffering that Hamas brought upon them.