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A Plague on Both Your Houses

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One of the most difficult challenges in life is finding the proper balance in a hotly contested situation. Such, for example, is the case in the conflict between Israel and Gaza. I have not weighed in primarily because I have my doubts about the actions of both sides.

Some people get angry about any “Both Sides Are Wrong” argument, electing to stand 100% behind one of the combatants. Where I myself stand is more like a sliding scale. The percentages below are to be interpreted as percent to blame:

  • Hamas – 95% wrong. Their attack was totally reprehensible.
  • Bibi Netanyahu – 60% wrong. The enemy is Hamas, not the whole Arab world.
  • West Bank Settlers – 80% wrong. Their land grabs are indefensible.
  • Hezbollah – 50% wrong
  • Biden Foreign Policy on the Conflict – 30% wrong.
  • Gaza Civilians – 10% wrong. To the extent that they support Hamas.
  • Israeli Civilians – 10% wrong. To the extent they support West Bank land grabs.

From week to week, these percentages change. I would not shed a tear is Hamas were wiped out to a man, though I feel that our 100% support for Israel ignores the innocent Palestinians who deserve better.

Truth is not something that suddenly dawns when you’ve read an irate tweet or Facebook post. It is something that you arrive at in time if you have an open mind. Until such time as that happens, it is no shame to decline to state an opinion.

Bad Karma

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Both Israel and Hamas Are Asking for a Miserable Future

Both Israel and Hamas Are Asking for a Miserable Future

I do not intend to say who is right and who is wrong. But I think that both Israel and Hamas will suffer in years to come for their mutual intransigence. Both sides have negotiated in bad faith, especially when Benjamin Netanyahu was on one of the sides. Unfortunately, it is the innocent who—as always—suffer the most. The images of wounded Palestinian children are everywhere in the news. And certainly, the casualties are grotesquely one-sided.

The question I ask is: When does Israel’s right to defend itself cross the line over into war crimes? Although their rocket attacks have been one-hundredth the intensity of Israel’s air and land barrage, one might also ask of Hamas why, considering what they know of Israel’s tendency to over-respond, do they continue acting in such a way as to deserve punishment by Israel? But will Hamas be punished, or the Palestinians who just want to survive with their families and property intact?

So much of the news today is about irreconcilable conflicts between people who should be brothers: Ukraine and Russia, Syria and the Syrians, Iraq and ISIS … the list goes on. And the casualties continue to mount.