I have many questions disturbing me about what is happening in the war between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel, the slaughter of over a thousand Israeli civilians, and the capture of over two hundred hostages that are now imprisoned in Gaza.
The Israeli government has declared its primary goals are the permanent destruction of Hamas and the freeing the hostages. But will the Israeli effort to destroy Hamas free the hostages? Prior to the Israeli invasion of Gaza, Israel and Hamas were close to reaching a deal, brokered by Qatar, for the release of up to fifty hostages in exchange for pausing the bombardment. Once the ground assault began, negotiations ceased.
Some Israeli families of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are pleading with the Israeli government to halt its military operation and negotiate for the release of the hostages. Hamas claims that Israeli airstrikes have already killed several hostages. Hamas has demonstrated a ruthless disregard for human life in its murderous attack on Israeli civilians. Trapped and facing death from the Israeli assault, I fear Hamas will decide to take the hostages with them. The Netanyahu government has not addressed this possibility.
The Biden administration claims it supports either a cease-fire in the Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza or a pause to protect civilians. But if this is the position of the Biden administration, why is it resupplying Israel with weapons that enable it to continue the attack? The Wall Street Journal reports the Biden administration is currently planning a $320 million transfer of precision bombs to Israel. The Israeli government has also requested that United States gunmakers provide it with 24,000 assault rifles, a request that would have to be approved by the Biden administration.
Human rights advocates and some European and Middle Eastern governments accuse Israel of committing war crimes in its bombing campaign Gaza that has destroyed schools, mosques, and other nonmilitary targets. A reported 10,000 people are already dead in Gaza, including more than 4,000 children as a result of the Israeli bombing campaign. The New York Times reports that Israeli officials and spokespeople justify the bombing of Gaza because the United States also killed civilians in the World War II atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and in Falluja and Mosul during in its war in Iraq. Israel insists that it is trying to limit civilian casualties and that the deaths are a consequence of a war against a terrorist enemy embedded in an urban area. The 1949 Geneva Conventions were ratified by all Member States of the United Nations including the United States and Israel. They outlaw “Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health” to civilians; “Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity”; “Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population”; and “Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping.” Israel denies that any of its actions were intentional violations of war crimes statutes.”
The United Stated Congress is also politicizing U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Hamas war as political parties try to score points at each other’s expense in a way that silences genuine discussion. Republicans in the House of Representatives delayed an aid package for Israel demanding that it be coupled with cuts in funding for the Internal Revenue Service.
The House Republicans with some Democratic Party support censured Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for statements about the Israel-Hamas war that they believed constitute a defense of terrorism. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, accused Israel of maintaining an “apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance.” This is a legitimate position that should be part of discussion and is not a defense of terrorism.
Tlaib also posting a video on Twitter challenging the Biden Administration’s support for Israel military actions in Gaza that includes scenes of Palestinian protest rallies in the United States. There were no antisemitic statements in the video, but some of the protesters are chanting free Palestine from “the river to the sea,” from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. This is a very disturbing slogan because it would mean the elimination of the state of Israel. Tlaib did not endorse the slogan and she has no control over what protestors chanted. In an explanation that is a serious mistake in judgement, Tlaib tried to explain the slogan as an “aspirational call for freedom” rather than one calling for the destruction of Israel. I am pretty sure she is wrong.
Tlaib issued a statement following the censure resolution that I support. “My criticism has always been of the Israeli government and Netanyahu’s actions. It is important to separate people and governments, Mr. Chair. No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation.”
Just before he died in February 1970, British philosopher Bertrand Russell prepared a statement for the International Conference of Parliamentarians that was meeting in Cairo, Egypt. Unfortunately, Russell’s comments about the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors still ring true today.
“The latest phase of the undeclared war in the Middle East is based upon a profound miscalculation. The bombing raids deep into Egyptian territory will not persuade the civilian population to surrender but will stiffen their resolve to resist. This is the lesson of all aerial bombardment. The Vietnamese who have endured years of American heavy bombing have responded not by capitulation but by shooting down more enemy aircraft. In 1940 my own fellow countrymen resisted Hitler’s bombing raids with unprecedented unity and determination. For this reason, the present Israeli attacks will fail in their essential purpose.”