Stand Up for Decency and Sense in Israel/Palestine
Resist unhealthy tribalism of all sorts, whether racial/ethnic, religious or political
The other day a friend of mine invoked part of the name of this newsletter in a Facebook post. My friend wrote:
If you have at any point expressed a belief that the October 7 massacre was an act of resistance then I question your decency.
I agree with my friend. And I believe my friend would agree with a comment that I made in a discussion group on the morning of October 9. While the Hamas attack of just two days prior was still fresh and Israel had not yet mounted a significant response, I offered the following observation:
In the United States, there never seems to be an appropriate time to reflect upon the suffering of the West Bank and Gaza Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli government and the settler movement.
It seems shameful to mention this in the context of the vile barbarism that Hamas has perpetrated and is perpetrating. HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT SORT OF THING NOW!
And yet, one struggles to identify a time when such an observation is EVER acceptable to what is likely the plurality of American opinion.
To make this sort of observation is NOT to justify the vile barbarism in any way.
I propose, though, that those who are so quick to condemn such an observation in this context reflect whether they personally EVER in ANY context opened their hearts to such an observation.
There is never a bad time for earnest reflection.
This in my own estimation – a bit self-congratulatory to be sure – is simple decency and sense.
Which brings me to the essay that Will Saletan published in The Bulwark today bearing the title “Republicans Are Rationalizing Cruelty Toward Gaza.” The Republicans Saletan had in mind were seven presidential candidates who spoke to a conference of the Republican Jewish Coalition: Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis, Doug Burgum, the former guy, and Mike Pence. Here is a key introductory paragraph, which preceded a close examination of the candidates’ remarks.
I’m Jewish. I believe in Israel, and I’m aghast at what Hamas did to so many innocent people on October 7. I strongly support the use of force against the killers. But as thousands of innocent people die in Gaza—not as targets, but as victims of relentless bombardment in a war they didn’t choose—I can’t accept the bigotry, zealotry, and callousness these candidates are espousing. They aren’t standing up against ruthless religious violence. They’re promoting it.
And here are eight propositions that the candidates put forth and which Saletan illustrated with quotes and rebutted:
America supports Israel’s territorial claims because we accept the Hebrew Bible.
Israel should exact vengeance for October 7.
We should send no humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The United States should accept no refugees from Gaza.
Only Hamas can be blamed for death or suffering in Gaza.
Israel should act without restraint.
Israel should match the enemy’s ruthlessness.
Israel is entitled to rule all of Palestine.
Saletan’s essay is excellent and deserves a wide reading. People who are both decent and sensible can take it to heart and cast a critical eye towards those whom he admonishes. I make Saletan’s concluding paragraph my own:
WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES are advocating, in sum, is an abandonment of morals. They’re rationalizing bigotry and cruelty—withholding humanitarian aid, barring child refugees, bombing Gaza without limits—and they’re grounding America’s loyalty to Israel in Jewish and Christian scripture. This isn’t the way to build an alliance against terrorism. It’s the way to feed a religious war.