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In response to
"I agree with everything here. I disagree with the way this war on Hamas, which is justified, has spilled over"
by
TWuG
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It is also a war crime to use civilians as cover. But I want to be clear here, I am not saying that Israel is free from criticism. But I'm trying to
Posted by
pmb (aka pmb)
Nov 16 '23, 11:12
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sensitize people to throwing terms around and not recognizing the incredible complexity of the situation as well as trying to provide some context that people may have awareness of, but don't fully understand. Additionally, trying to sensitize people to what I will call unconscious bias that is playing out here (global "here"), particularly among the left that is leaving Jews feeling attacked and abandoned by people they thought were allies and friends.
On sensitizing people to context, putting aside the literally thousands of years of Jews being attacked and pushed out of wherever they call home, the attacks from surrounding countries have happened within the lifetimes of much of the population (or at least the lifetimes of the parents of the population). The terrorist attacks and rockets have happened during the lifetimes of the people who live there. This is an entire population with PTSD. They have survived largely by making the cost to those who attack them far greater than the benefit of the attacks. They essentially want their enemies to know that they will not be out-crazied. I don't necessarily agree with it in all cases, but it has helped them survive and I understand it. And unlike other wars we've experienced, Israel and Gaza are tiny and right on top of each other. The distance from Gaza to Tel Aviv is basically from Chicago to one of its mid-way out suburbs. So the threat is real and ever present. Even as we may condemn the extent of the bombing of Gaza, there are still rockets coming into Israel. What is the right amount of that for Israel to endure for their actions to be ok? I don't have answers to these questions, but I find people are too quick to point the finger in one direction.
As for feeling attacked from the left (and unconscious bias), why is the left so quick to choose which victim that they want to believe (or side with) here? So many are treating Hamas and Palestinians as the same (they're the "freedom fighters" for Palestinians). That is mind-blowing to me (and I'm not suggesting you're doing it, but we're seeing it constantly around us from surprising people). Hamas doesn't care about the Palestinian people at all. They are canon fodder. They want the extermination of Israel and the Jews. Period. They are funded by Iraq and not generally supported by the Palestinian people except that they have nobody else helping them. Where are the "moderate" Arab states? The truth is they don't really want Israel to exist either, but they don't want to fight them, so they've let it simmer. Somehow it is all up to Israel to solve without hurting people.
And yet from the left I've literally seen some posts that suggest Israelis have created concentration camps in the west bank and Gaza because they don't understand what it's like to live in a concentration camp. This is what my daughter is seeing even among people she thought of as friends.
I could go on, but I just want to leave you with these suggestions. It's ok to criticize policy. Keep it to policy. Don't use pejorative terms to make your point. But also consider both sides when you're offering criticisms. It can't just be Israel's responsibility to solve and it's not just Israel that deserves criticism. Consider whether you have a better solution that protects both sides before pointing your criticism in one direction as well. It is extraordinarily complex and focusing on just one piece without appreciating the other parts of it is a bias, intentional or not.
Thanks for listening.
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