Thursday, May 9, 2024
Israel's Mistake
I remain a strong supporter of Israel’s right to exist, but that country is now going in the wrong direction. I am not addressing the moral question underlying the current war in Gaza. My plea stems from fear and a desire for pragmatism
What Israel is doing right now is not going to work. The country is going the wrong way. I’m not speaking morally. The moral objection to what Israel is doing has been stated clearly by the thousands of marching students all over the US and elsewhere as well as by a majority of the world’s public opinion.
What I’m talking about here is the future of Israel, and how to make sure that the country HAS a future. Part of the problem is that in this war, both parties’ objective is the total destruction of the enemy. But what Israel seeks is the destruction of a militant group, whereas Hamas’ objective is the destruction of an entire country.
The question is: How do we assure that there will be an Israel in the future? That is really what is at stake. Israel’s current policy does not appear to promise greater security for the country’s future. To the contrary, it promises greater support for Hamas, Hetzbollah and the populations of the surrounding countries. It has already caused worldwide hostility to the Jewish state and the revival of anti-Semitism in many parts of the world. Most frighteningly, it may lead to escalation into a regional war in the Middle East, or even a global war that could engulf Europe and the US. The permanent occupation and administration of Gaza in addition to the West Bank is beyond Israel’s resources and capabilities. Israel will choke on its expansionist policies. They are a disaster for both the Palestinians and for Israel itself. The country’s government, whether under Netanyahu or a more reasonable team, must change course. Its current objectives - a greater Israel, no independent Palestinian neighbor state - are not only unachievable, but their pursuit is also ruinous for Israel itself. All former European colonial powers understood this after World War Two, and they all got rid of their colonies.
In order for this simple and common-sensical truth to be understood, the Netanyahu government must be replaced. But even before that, the war has to stop. There must be a return somehow to negotiations about a two-states solution, to the much more promising place where diplomacy was during the Carter and Clinton years.
The probable consequences of Israel’s current course of action are frightening, most of all for Israel itself. I loathe Hamas, but the forces aligned in the world today are such that Israel cannot continue to do what it’s currently doing. It is too risky. It has to stop, and not only on moral grounds.
I’m speaking about Israel’s survival, given the way the forces in the world are aligned at this time. The vast majority of public opinion is hostile, support is scant. Israel cannot take on the world and survive as a small pariah state. This is what bothers me the most.
When you face an unbeatable, invincible force, you try to work your way out of the situation through other means than brute physical resistance. Israel is facing such an irresistible force, namely legitimate Palestinian claims supported by a billion Muslims in the world and the majority of the rest of the world. Israel cannot continue to ignore those claims and trample them under and continue to kill Palestinians indiscriminately. It is the road to perdition for Israel itself. That is my focus.
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