The Cycle Continues

As of this moment, the Gaza Strip remains relatively quiet, as a cease fire holds between the Israeli military and Hamas.

I have nothing funny to say about this situation. (Yeah, yeah: “Why should today be different?” Ha ha.) As a middle-aged American Jew, one who attended elementary school at a yeshiva no less, I have a certain quasi-genetic connection to Israel—to the idea of Israel at any rate. I’ve never been there, and never really had any strong desire to visit, but I admit to taking some comfort in the thought of a strong Jewish nation. Historical examples of the persecution of Jews are not hard to find—and, frankly, not that historical, Animals attacking the US Capitol, wearing shirts that read “6MWE”—six-million wasn’t enough—come to mind. So you’ll have to forgive me if I take some comfort in the thought of a nuclear-armed nation ready to stand up for the rights of Jews everywhere.

At the same time, I am thoroughly disgusted by the right-wing government that has run Israel more or less uninterrupted for the last twenty-plus years. I hate the idea that Israel is becoming—has become—an apartheid state, where Arab citizens are legally discriminated against because of their ethnicity. I think the settler movement, creating “facts on the ground” in occupied territories, is self-defeating at best and rank colonialism at worst. And as a secular Jew, I find the governmental kowtowing to extreme right-wing Orthodox factions just as appalling in Israel as its parallel in US politicians’ pandering to Evangelical zealots. 

I’m also troubled by the images of destruction and the loss of life—particularly the deaths of children—in the Gaza Strip. But I find more than a little hypocritical the worldwide condemnation of Israel that pours forth whenever Israel responds to Hamas rocket attacks with military force. People condemn Israel’s response as disproportionate, presumably because the rockets launched at Israel are largely ineffectual. But I’m not sure exactly what these critics feel that Israel should do. Ignore the rockets? What other country in the world would be expected to show such restraint?

Now, I know, critics of Israel will argue that Hamas is just representing people who have legitimate grievances against an occupying presence. I don’t entirely disagree with the idea that legitimate grievances exist (see above). And I would agree that the political stance of Netanyahu and his supporters have made things worse. But the problem is that Hamas has never even (to my knowledge) paid lip service to the idea of living in peace with Israel. They’ve made no secret of their desire to see Israel destroyed. So what would even a more liberal, less confrontational Israeli government do?

I have no solution, here. I would love to see Israel pull out of its settlements, if for no other reason than to provide critics with less ammunition to condemn the country’s efforts at legitimate self-defense. Beyond that, though, I despair that we will ever see an end to constant cycles of calm followed by bloodshed followed by calm. . . .but calm that never advances to the level of peace.