An overwhelming tragedy
The war between Hamas and Israel requires clear thinking and a moral compass
Friends,
The warfare in Gaza is calamitous and heartbreaking.
But many of the things I hear or read about it from otherwise intelligent people strike me as blind to its realities. For example:
“Gazans are unfortunate collateral damage.”
I heard this today from an Israeli official. This view is morally bankrupt. Innocent children, parents, grandparents, brothers, and sisters are not “collateral damage.” Their lives are no less valuable than any other lives. Their deaths and suffering add to the deaths and suffering of everyone.
“Jews should be ashamed.”
I heard this yesterday from a so-called “expert” on the Middle East. It’s an absurd and antisemitic remark. Even if you condemn the decisions of the Israeli government that have led to this cataclysm (as I do), assigning complicity to all Jews is morally repugnant.
“No one should hire any student who blames Israel.”
I heard this from a titan of Wall Street. It’s outrageous. Students should be free to express their views, even if you believe them misguided. Harming their careers because of the views they express when at college is a form of blacklisting akin to the worst of Senator Joe McCarthy’s communist witch hunts. Wealthy donors from Wall Street and C-suites who seek to silence young people are morally wrong.
“I won’t vote for Biden because of his support for Israel.”
A young progressive activist told me this yesterday. I told her she has a right to vote for whomever she wishes, of course, but that a vote withheld from Biden will in effect be a vote for Trump. And no matter how much she disagrees with Biden’s support for Israel in the present conflict, Trump’s foreign policies will be far worse — giving authoritarian tyrants whatever they want.
“Israel has no choice.”
I heard this from a graduate student who specializes in the Middle East and says a ground invasion of Gaza is the only way to destroy Hamas. I think he’s wrong. Israel is wealthy and powerful. It has other ways to contain Hamas. The ground invasion will not destroy Hamas — it may even enlarge it, as more Gazans and other Palestinians are radicalized by it.
Israel can invest more and better in intelligence about Hamas (its intelligence failures in the current crisis are mind-blowing). It can infiltrate Hamas and destroy its leadership. It can work with other Arab states to isolate Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s other terrorist clients.
I fear that the choice Israel is now pursuing — a ground war in Gaza — is exactly what Hamas hoped for when it launched its October 7 assault, because it is undermining whatever sympathy Israel had, deflecting world attention from the murderous regime in Tehran, and forcing Israel to stretch its forces to permanently occupy Gaza and the West Bank.
“America can’t afford to support Israel and Ukraine simultaneously.”
I heard this yesterday from a senior House Republican who wants to send additional billions to Israel but not to Ukraine. It’s a foolish and misleading position. Of course we can afford to send additional aid to Ukraine even if we’re also sending aid to Israel. Trump Republicans must not reward Putin’s aggression.
The tragedy unfolding in Gaza requires clear thinking and a moral compass. I’m not observing a lot of either.
Mr. Reich is correct, Trump Republicans must not reward Putin’s aggression period!
Trump’s only strength
He plays on your weaknesses!
(The opposite of Bravery is Fealty to a dictator wannabe!) What has happened to THE HOME OF THE BRAVE? The GOP has become a herd of sheep.
It’s indefensibly deplorable that members of their own party were receiving Death Threats because they didn’t vote for Jim Jordan to be Speaker of the House! Then they voted unanimously for MAGA Mike Johnson! Heather Cox Richardson noted that Mike Johnson’s 2018 campaign accepted money from a group of Russian nationals, and he has said he does not support additional funding for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression! Not one Republican representative abstained or voted against the new Speaker of the House. I think we should start calling them the Marshmallow Party! Or maybe the Domino Party in a perfect line behind the treasonous cult leader.
To the 76 million who voted for Trump, how does it make you feel when you are aligned with racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, homophobia, misogyny, and bigotry!
It used to make your stomach turn if you had any decency. What changed? Think about all the fallen soldiers that gave their lives to protect our Constitution and our Country. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died defending us!
Are you also saying now that they were losers and suckers like the FPOTUS?
Think long and hard about whether you would rather live in a free country, where we the people pick our leaders, the present U.S., or a country with an autocratic form of government which is led by a Dictator, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no limitations, typically favoring loyalty over competence in their governments and have a general distrust of intelligentsia. Elites in personalist dictatorships often do not have a professional political career and are unqualified for positions they are given. Sound familiar? And your rights and freedoms that you have now are relinquished.
Your most important right, the right to vote would mean nothing!!!
There has been a dearth of clear thinking. Thank you for an intelligent response to this horrific tragedy