A Pragmatic Approach To Israel and Palestine? As if that’s even possible in an online discussion. But I am going to give it a shot, we will see how this mess turns out.
Story time
Way back in October, we got together with some good friends for a day of pumpkin picking (which is really just an excuse to drink good tea and eat kettle corn hot out of the popper at the pumpkin farm).
One of our dear friends is extremely progressive. Mind you, I am “extremely progressive,” so it’s not like she is talking to a moderate Republican or something. But she is what I would consider…. a touch fring’y. Not Tankie-level fring’y or anything, but she is a little more susceptible to an emotional reaction over a pragmatic approach than I am. Back then, she was in tears talking about the situation in Gaza; it really REALLY affected her.
The topic doesn’t always come up when we get together, but we got to talking about Gaza this past weekend at a friend’s birthday party and her feelings on the matter have become even more entrenched as you can imagine.
This past weekend, she started talking about the genocide going on in Palestine, the innocent lives being lost, the years of oppression, the Israeli bombings…..
I told her that I agreed with her, that I was also outraged over the events taking place, and that I was almost exactly on the same page as she is. But I have a different perspective in one very important way, I don’t blame “Israel” as much as I blame Netanyahu. If I blame Israelis for anything it’s that they keep voting for conservatives that put Netanyahu in power.
With that in mind, I wanted to offer this lone leftist’s viewpoint on the situation. And while I don’t pretend to know what every person on the left is thinking, I do believe there are millions of other left-leaning people around the globe who share my viewpoint.
My Perspective
I hate Donald Trump, with the heat of ten thousand suns I despise that man. I really only hate two people on Earth: Trump and Putin (Netanyahu could be a close third, now that I think about it).
There are many reasons for my white-hot hate of Trump but here are a few specific bullet points germane to this conversation:
- His only real interest is in his own power and wealth
- He believes the ends justify the means in all situations as long as the ends are for his benefit
- He has no compassion for anything or anyone outside of himself
- He uses far-right religious extremism as a sword to cut down his rivals and as a shield to defend his worst actions
- He has clearly broken the law on numerous occasions
- He has already tried to use the power of his office to make his legal problems go away
- He is a strongman who, with opportunity, would use the power of the military and police to inflict violence on others to win support from the far-right
- He scapegoats “the other” to maintain his power base
- Given half a chance he would dismantle our entire democracy to keep himself out of prison
There are plenty of other reasons to despise Trump but I think this is a fairly comprehensive list that many people here and around the nation would agree with.
What does this have to do with Israel, you ask? Think of Benjamin Netanyahu as you reread the points above. Go ahead, please read the bullet points again with Netanyahu in mind, I will wait here for you.
Now…. the situations in Israel and here in the U.S. are clearly not exactly the same; Netanyahu is still in power and Hamas is clearly also in the wrong and needs to release the remaining hostages are some examples. But strongman tactics are always very similar, it’s no surprise that Netanyahu and Trump share many of the same characteristics.
Let’s be clear on something else that I think is critical to this discussion…. I love America, and I consider myself to be a proud citizen doing my patriotic duty when I oppose creeping right-wing fascism.
So if I despise Trump for the points above and I still love my country, explain to me again why my disgust at Netanyahu somehow makes me a “hater of Israel” or an “anti-semite?” Frankly, I consider my disgust of Netanyahu as a sign of my support for democracy and oppressed people around the globe, including the people of Israel, whose democracy Netanyahu is threatening.
And yes, let me also categorically state for the record that I am equally disgusted with Hamas! I don’t feel that should even need to be stated, but some defenders of Netanyahu here at DK need us to say that repeatedly apparently. I may not be the most intelligent person in the room, but I am smart enough to hate both Hamas’ and the Netanyahu Administration’s actions while still offering support for the Palestinian and Israeli people who are caught in the middle of the seemingly never-ending cycle of bloodshed.
And that’s the nuanced problem in explaining many people’s stance on the whole I/P mess. Outside of the far-right wackjobs who are literally praying for the end times and see a greater war in the Middle East as the harbinger of that outcome, and the far-left crazies who are rooting for the demise of Israel from the river to the sea, the vast majority of Americans who understand the situation beyond a superficial level don’t “hate” Israel but they do have a problem with Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza and while they also condemn Hamas, they have sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people.
That nuance is hard to convey in a quick conversation or in an opinion poll.
What do I wish for then?
The simple answer to that question is that I want to see a change in U.S. policy going forward because I have a moral objection to Amercan's support of Netanyahu’s actions.
But beyond the obvious moral issues at stake here, speaking politically only, President Biden is being hurt by his support for Netanyahu. Like it or not, there are currently a LOT of unhappy people in the Democratic base who feel President Biden is supporting a war criminal. That’s not a great situation heading into an election.
My friend above has knocked on doors, manned phones, and sent postcards for Democrats in every election since the early 2000s. She said she would still vote for Biden in the fall because she knows the stakes, but she refuses to be part of his campaign efforts. Trust me; she FULLY understands that Trump would create a far worse outcome for the people of Palestine, not to mention the people of America.
I vehemently disagree with that choice to sit on the sidelines in this election, and yes, I told her as much. In her eyes, she feels she can’t morally tell people to vote for someone she fundamentally disagrees with so strongly on this issue, I see where she is coming from even though I don’t agree.
My counterargument was that she could still campaign, however, not for Biden but against Trump; think of it as negative vs. positive campaigning. She is too invested in defeating Trump, so, in the end, I know she will vote for Biden and Democrats up and down the ticket in the fall, but I am not sure she is going to actively participate in the election efforts either.
Either way the point is, there are some very upset people on the left right now that Biden needs to engage with. No politician can win an election without their base; elections don’t work that way.
That said, I believe Joe Biden is setting up the right message going forward. As I said above, I don’t hate Israel; I hate Netanyahu’s actions (and perhaps I hate Netanyahu as a man as well). This is bookended by the fact that I don’t hate Paltistine, but I hate Hamas and their actions as well.
I think Joe Biden’s plan will be to make a clear distinction between America’s support for Israel and cutting off military aid to Netanyahu, just like he has already stated that he is providing humanitarian support for the people of Palestine while also condemning Hamas.
Just like I can be an American who loves our country but despises Donald Trump, the Biden Administration can still support the Israeli people while cutting off support for Netanyahu.
It’s going to be difficult to thread this needle, but I have confidence Joe Biden can do just that as long as he has the will. I hope that America’s knee-jerk “we must support Israel at all costs” era is coming to a close, it’s very damaging to our reputation overseas and demoralizing for many here at home. I get the impression that Joe Biden has made this calculation already, but if not, I very much hope our unquestioning support for Israel at all costs is under consideration (meaning I believe we should still support Israel as a strategic partner in the region when they are abiding by international law but I think we should withhold support when they aren’t).
Please make this distinction between supporting Israel and suspending military aid to Netanyahu, President Biden! Not only is this the morally correct course of action, but I believe it’s important for your reelection, perhaps more important than many realize.