David, I just wanted to include this in the comments section, but the comments section of your article was closed. I encourage everyone to read the article. It's very thoughtful and well written. David makes excellent points. My takeaway from it is that there is really never a moral war when civilians are killed.
But there are details of your article that I just couldn't get on board with 100 percent. I'm having trouble getting on board with anything, honestly. I find myself responding emotionally to everything and very stressed about teaching my course "Middle East History" to Jews, Muslims, Bahai, Christians, Hindus from all over the world first semester.
So, I turned to my Israeli husband, who I would describe as amazingly smart, thoughtful, liberal and perhaps most importantly, reasonable. I interviewed him about your article. He had read it before I did, not knowing it was you who wrote it.
This is written in the spirit of conversation and friendship, not as an attack on your ideas. I also don't agree with everything my husband says in this interview, but he makes good points. My thoughts are in red.
I hope one day that we can all get together and watch The Daily Show. We've watched the clip from yesterday 10 times.
Air Strike after Unity Government was Announced
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Response to David Harris Gershon's "For a Moral World to exist, Israel must kill innocent Palestinians"
They objected to the unity government between Hamas and
Fatah, but my husband doesn’t believe that the air strike you are referring to
was because of that. “The Air Force attacks all the time in response to
terrorist movements or retaliation to rocket fire. We hear about two rockets
fired at S'derot and no one even thinks about it, but the military responds to
it or movements of arms on the ground.”
Me: I'm not so sure. I just don't know.
The Kidnapping and the West Bank Search
They suspected they were dead; they didn’t know. Was it a
wide scope operation at least in part to behead Hamas in the West Bank? Yes, but
that’s because they kidnapped children. Rogue criminals is NOT TRUE. The two
suspects are known Hamas activists who have served time in Israeli jails.
They weren’t pillaging and raping, they were getting
intelligence.
Me: Arresting people without due process is problematic....I also don't think they knew for sure that they were dead, but I think they probably assumed that they were dead. Dead or alive, the bodies are deemed sacred, and their recovery was also important. Also, Netanyahu should know how sacred words are given the role of words and the assassination of Rabin. His language before and after the funeral was inflammatory.
Blockade
The blockade of Gaza isn’t a collective punishment. it's to punish Hamas. In 2007
Hamas had a coup d'état where they murdered and expelled the Fatah officials and
formed another party, essentially seceding from the PA which is the elected
head of the Palestinians (who Israel negotiates with). The head of the PA is the president. Israel started
blockading because Hamas is a terrorist organization. If there is no blockade
you will have more rockets from Iran and Syria, and more tunnels. How do you
ensure no arms shipments if there is no blockade?
Me: I agree with him, but I think they should ease it as much as possible, to the fullest extent, so that there are no restrictions on civilian supplies.
Death of Civilians
Civilian people die in Gaza. How many civilians died in
WWII, Afghanistan and Iraq? War has civilian casualties. As an IDF soldier, we don’t try to kill
civilians, we try to minimize civilian casualties.
Me: I agree with him, but I don't think when so many civilians are killed, that Israel has the moral high ground. I just don't think war and morality are usually ever synonymous. Israel's justification, if there is any, is based on sovereignty, not morality.
Goals of the Operation
I don’t know if the best policy is to keep the operation
going, because it would be seen as a giveaway to Hamas to stop now. If they
objectives are to deal with the tunnels, deal with the tunnels and get out.
Me: This ground operation will do little except reset the cycle of violence and buy, maybe at most, another five years.
I don’t believe in conquering Gaza and overthrowing Hamas. I hope the unity government would provide a return to a peace process. But, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Hamas is a Islamic, Jihadist movement that wants every piece of land that we live on. I doubt all of the sudden Hamas will say that the land is not Waqf (as to article 11 of the Hamas charter) and that Jews can live on it.
My hope is that the Palestinians will relegate Hamas to an
organization like the Klan.
I and a lot of other Israelis don’t think the
Palestinians are always wrong and Israel is always right. But Hamas is not
dissimilar from the same people who run Isis or Al Quaeda or all these other
Sunni Jihadist organizations. Once they decided in 2007 (Hamas) to take Gaza by
force, they have to take responsibility for the people there and how their actions affect them.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Educational Resources on Arab-Israeli Conflict, Middle East
If you are looking for resources on the Arab-Israeli conflict or the Middle East in general, please see below.
1. This is a very recent poll of Palestinians and their views on politics, religion and economy.
2. This is a very recent poll asking people from different countries what they think the likelihood is of a two-state solution.
Mounting Pessimism about Two-State Israeli-Palestinian Solution http://pewrsr.ch/1lPzQvs 3. Another poll
How support in Muslim countries for suicide bombing against civilians has changed over time pewrsr.ch/TzKmfa
4. Another poll
Hamas viewed negatively in countries with big Muslim populations, even Palestinian territories pewrsr.ch/TzwhOQ
5. Another poll
Concerns about Islamic extremism on the rise in the Middle East pewrsr.ch/TzwhOQ
6. Good, cogent explanation of history of Sunni-Shia split
ow.ly/y80LJ
7. Forty maps that explain the Middle East
The resources below are on the longer side.
7. Have you ever heard that the Oslo Accords are to blame for everything? This is a nuanced explanation of the failures of Oslo that isn't filled with vitriolic rhetoric. I used this in my International Relations Class. (PDF)
Liberalism and the Collapse of the Oslo Peace Process in the Middle East by Jonathan Rynhold
8. I wish every single person in the world would read this book. It is read as part of our Middle East Studies Curriculum. It is the Palestinian and Jewish narratives of Israel/Palestine written by Israelis and Palestinians respectively. (BOOK)
Side by Side: Parallel Histories of the Arab-Israeli conflict
9. The following book is the best resource on the Middle East out there. I've been using it with students of all ages for 12 years. (BOOK)
The Middle East published by Congressional Quarterly
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)