Gabe Ende: Israel-What has Happened to Us?
Who could have imagined that cries of “genocide” would be stridently directed at the Jewish state only “four score years” after the Holocaust? That not a few young Jews would be among the accusers? And that our people over here would be so slow in providing insight into what was and is currently happening in the Israeli soul beyond the usual polemics? These questions became particularly compelling for me after someone very close to me asked, “Hey, could the critics actually be on to something? What do you have to say?”
- There have always been people in Israel— particularly figures on the right—who have resorted to extremist rhetoric to simplify and demagogically press home their positions on the Palestinians. For instance: ” You (” the left” ) live in a world of impractical moral principles and utopian fantasies, whereas we stand on the ground of bedrock reality. The Palestinians want to destroy us. They have demonstrated this time and again. We must thus destroy their sources of power before they do so. Have our sages not warned that ‘He who is merciful toward the cruel will ultimately condone cruelty toward the merciful?'” And the inevitable sequitur: “If Hamas attacks us, Gaza must be completely ‘flattened’ …”
Words are cheap. The feelings of fear and hate conveyed in such remarks are certainly real, but in the office and the marketplace, relations with “the Arab other” have generally been cordial—even after terrorist incidents. There has always been a “well-earned” consensus that many Palestinians would slit our throats if they had the opportunity– but we felt protected. As such, we would often laugh at extremist incantations. When Netanyahu decided, for political interests, to legitimize the Judaeo-fascist Kahanists and bring them into the government, he demanded that they recant on several particularly ugly positions. They agreed, and the lid on the bottle containing potential Jewish rage appeared to be effectively screwed on .
- Then came the mega-bloodbath of October 7, and murderous rhetoric became “the bon ton”– as happened, inter alia, in the U.S. after 9/11. Did this mean that we intended to inflict a “final solution” upon the Palestinians? Certainly not—but we were enraged, humiliated, intent upon revenge… And even more important: We felt that the time had come to ensure the future of our children from unremitting Palestinian murderers, whatever measures had to be taken. This frame of mind didn’t carry with it an ideology of genocide but it made it easier to bomb and force large numbers of civilians to move from one hastily established tent city to another in order to facilitate our attacks upon Hamas terrorists– who made it a practice to exploit mosques, schools, hospitals and homes to conceal themselves and their weapons. There were those who argued that “every Gazan is a Hamasnik,” which invariably had its effect during the fighting, but there was no policy of hunting down Palestinians qua Palestinians or attempting to deprive them of food, water, and other necessities.
- Then things got out of hand. Hamas was exploiting humanitarian aid to strengthen its rule and mobilize additional recruits through its control over the ” food economy,” and there was an outcry to take all necessary measures to prevent the aid from continuing to fall into their hands. The result was an embargo on the shipment of aid, ultimately including the supply of water and electricity as well. Officials confidently contended that this would create conditions for an uprising against Hamas. The assumption proved fallacious, but it led to general acceptance of deprived conditions among the civilian population. Did the Israeli public want to create malnutrition? With all necessary caution concerning the use of the Collective We, I’m certain that this was not the case. It also wouldn’t have served our interests– but we were swept away by what appeared to be the only policy that would lead to Hamas capitulation. Very few of us were capable of imagining how quickly this could degenerate into a disastrous humanitarian crisis. Those who raised the issue were “assured” that there were alternative sources of nutrition in Gaza, concealed for rainy days. This assuaged our conscience and enabled us to feel that despite the “moderate” degree of suffering, our tradition of moral concern was not being irreparably undermined but placed, at most, on hold. We were effectively manipulated by what we wished to believe was going on and were thus shocked to learn how quickly things were deteriorating. There were warnings of such from international bodies, but many of us bought into the government’s explanation of their collusion with Hamas propaganda… And then, “all of a sudden,” we were confronted by a shocking reality which we didn’t see coming. The government, ever wary of the reliability of frightening reports –even from its own intelligence agencies–refused to budge from its position that Gaza’s population wasn’t headed in such a direction.
And then the escalating reality hit us on the head, and Bibi was forced to put an abrupt end to the siege.
- Does any of this deserve to be called genocide? My feeling, however disgusted by our cynical and morally perverse government, is : Certainly not. The “classical” definition of genocide refers to a systematic, government-directed campaign to utterly destroy a people. The attempts of the “Israel-is-performing- genocide crowd” to adjust and reshape the definition in various ways to try to justify their claim merely indicate how important it is to maintain the integrity of the original article. Otherwise, the difference between large-scale murder (intended or “collateral”), war crimes of one sort or another, and actual genocide will be so blurred that the latter will lose its exceptional impact and significance.
- Has Israel–or units or individual fighters of the IDF –committed war crimes? I assume so, but how can such phenomena—on both sides– be avoided in such an enraged confrontation? We have certainly closed our eyes and hearts to the suffering of Gaza civilians and forced them to relocate again and again like sacks of potatoes—but is this exceptional in a war pitting a well-equipped army against fanatical guerrillas unconcerned with their people’s suffering and insistent upon using them as human shields? This reality, in fact, has prompted some academic scholars to call for a reconsideration of the relevant “laws of war”…
- Many events have occurred that have effectively obliterated the IDF’s claim to be “the most moral army in the world”. As the fighting dragged on, some soldiers undoubtedly “lost control” while attacking the enemy. Others complain, surprisingly, of “their hands being tied” by military regulations. Hostile public opinion has pretty much intimidated and stifled the Military Prosecution.
- Defenders of Israel cite disingenuous discrepancies in what is reported by the world press. It is obvious that the war has fallen prey to political agendas among the media, most particularly those promoting identity-related politics. There are also groups, for assorted reasons, who literally crave the sensation of “proving” that the victims of yesterday’s genocide have become “the current perpetrators” of this most heinous crime. Be that as it may, I feel that we are doing a disservice not only to the cause of truth but to the very character of our society by callously discrediting all criticism and not sufficiently acting upon those items which deserve follow-up. Reality is reality. Moral infractions can be debated but not buried at will.
- I’m particularly concerned about our failure to facilitate the secure passage of humanitarian aid to hungry—even starving– Gazans, now that the siege has been lifted. I understand that Hamasniks, armed gangs, and desperate “hordes” are attacking the trucks and stealing the supplies, and that attempts of Israeli policing have only led to violence and casualties. Egypt could certainly pick up the slack by allowing trucks to enter Gaza from its border crossing. And yet, we cannot shirk our responsibility as occupiers to find a solution ( It appears that government attempts to “flood Gaza with aid”—a decision that should have been made long ago– is now moderating the crisis).
- I’m troubled by another issue as well: the impact of the war on the Jewish heritage. Our heritage –particularly our historic experience– has underlined the necessity of strong moral and humanitarian values, values antithetical to the pressures of warfare. How are we to integrate the current conflict into the Jewish ethos, beyond the Hagada’s statement that “In every generation enemies have arisen to destroy us”? Sensitive Jews often find it difficult to relate seriously to what we choose to believe about ourselves, particularly on holidays relevant to universal themes such as freedom, equality, peace, and the Golden Rule. We certainly have national interests which we dare not ignore, but we can’t allow our values to be defined by our interests.
- We have an overriding need to put our house in order—and that won’t begin until we end the war. This is not entirely in our hands. The Hamas policy of holding starving kidnapped hostages for purposes of extreme political extortion weighs heavily upon the process– but we’ve got to find a way nonetheless, to end the fighting without dragged-out internecine guerrilla warfare, as in the justly controversial Netanyahu Plan. The guy sounds convincing in his press conferences, until one recalls his policy of ongoing deceit and distorted “personal achievements”. As was said of Nixon, I certainly wouldn’t buy a used car from this current liability.
- In summation… Have we performed activities or permitted developments that should abrade our moral conscience? Yes—but this is most certainly secondary to our very justified commitment to protect our people from Hamas atrocities and genocidal (yes!) intentions –and to give this region a future. שe got to find a way to end the war nonetheless, without additional protracted
