— Musings —02.10.2024 09:09 AM
What I’m noticing
Noticing that there are fewer stories about Israel’s just and proper war against Hamas. Factors:
• war fatigue
• Israel has won it
• the majority are happy Israel won it
Attention will now turn the anti-Semitism that has appeared everywhere.
That battle will take longer.
Warren,
As a supporter of Israel but an opponent of Netanyahu, this is a tough moment for me as he prepares to send the IDF into Rafah. It’s reported that there are between 1.3 and 1.5 million refugees there. Where are they supposed to go and how will they get there safely? I bet that Netanyahu is hoping to force Egypt’s hand to open the border. I doubt that will happen no matter what Netanyahu does. The IDF has been told to clear Rafa of three Hamas battalions. This seems almost insane given that people will have to go into the Mediterranean to survive hopefully. Biden is already pissed off as relations deteriorate between the United States and Israel. Netanyahu seems intent on turning an apparent military victory into a total political disaster.
Ronald,
It’s only a difficult moment because leaders in politics, religion, and media have spent 80 years brow beating (to great success) the notion that either you unconditionally and emphatically support every action taken by the Israeli government and military of the day, or else you’re a Jew-hater.
Netanyahu is beyond the pale and will be remembered alongside Slobodan Milosevic (a monster, it should be noted, that Netanyahu himself refused to condemn during the worst of the atrocities in the former Yugoslavia). Nobody with any sense of objectivity will argue. Least of all, the majority of the Israeli people, who are increasingly suspicious of the means by which the world’s most sophisticated intelligence network was pierced so thoroughly, repeatedly, and effectively on October 7th, just as the people were preparing to hoist Bibi on his own petard.
You won’t find me defending Hamas. They deserve eradication. But the whole goddamn world knows that what is happening now is a genocidal campaign by the Netanyahu cabinet. Admitting as such doesn’t mean you hate Jews. It means you’re sick of watching the innocent and frail be shot dead in the streets.
Jason,
If your analogy is 100% accurate, then sooner or later Netanyahu could end up in The Hague.
He wouldn’t. Israel isn’t a member of the ICC in the first place, and I can’t imagine Netanyahu will ever be able to safely leave Israel again. Right now, he has the whole world screaming at him not to invade Rafah. I doubt he will listen. He’s convinced himself he’s the second coming of Moses. A crying shame that the few who believe it control the weapons.
“You won’t find me defending Hamas. They deserve eradication. But the whole goddamn world knows that what is happening now is a genocidal campaign by the Netanyahu cabinet.”
Jason,
How would you eradicate Hamas?
For starters? Flood the tunnels. It’s worked before, to great effect. “But the hostages,” you might say. IDF leadership admitted MONTHS ago that rescuing hostages and eradicating Hamas are “not compatible goals.” In more recent weeks, Bibi has made it abundantly clear that he is not interested in any hostage negotiations. Those people aren’t coming back, unless they’re able to free themselves somehow. Espionage. Precision targeted strikes.
And if that isn’t effective enough? It still doesn’t come even remotely close to justifying collective punishment of this magnitude on 2 million people.
Flooding the tunnels won’t eradicate Hamas. They’ll just leave the tunnels, or move to another one. And the Israel detractors will say this is also genocidal as it is poisoning the water table.
Precision air strikes? Against what/whom? Hamas hides in hospitals, UN facilities, schools, mosques, etc. and surrounds themselves with civilians, including children.
A reminder: the stated goal of Hamas is to kill all the Jews.
They’ve said this repeatedly. Supposedly 75% of Palestinians supported Hamas.
Hamas wants a ceasefire, so they can launch rockets (from next to hospitals, etc) in peace. Also so they can prepare more attacks.
Again, how would you eradicate Hamas?
Joe,
I don’t believe they can be totally eradicated. The IDF and Mossad are hell-bent on taking out the top leadership and as many fighters as is humanly possible. IMHO, they won’t succeed even close to 100%.
Some points being glossed over repeatedly: Hamas doesn’t have anything even remotely close to a force capable of inflicting that kind of genocidal damage. Terrorism, sure. But you know who does? The nuclear state next door. You seriously want to tell me that thousands of women and children are acceptable losses in retaliation for hundreds of women and children? Absolutely not. That’s just monsters begetting monsters.
Additionally, while Hamas is not loved in the Arab world, the relentlessness of the attacks are deeply reframing this war for a lot of people as one against Arabs in general- including those IN Israel. That’s what terrifies me most of all – that “winning” this battle with large scale bombing is going to turn into a global nightmare that could have been prevented.
The October 7 attacks will beg A LOT of internal questions of IDF and political readiness, particularly once Netanyahu is no longer able to stymie them.
Jason,
Sure, from Day One (October 7), the almost universal reaction in the Arab world to the Hamas terrorist attacks was one of being broadly collective thrilled. So it was already a pan-Arab war even before the IDF set a foot on Gazan soil.
That aside, it’s no longer realistic to expect further ceasefires and hostage releases. Netanyahu won’t go for anything that requires the release of prisoners in Israeli jails who are considered terrorists or murderers.
Jason said “You won’t find me defending Hamas. They deserve eradication”
I asked you. Peter asked you. How would you eradicate Hamas?
Your last response (February 12, 2024 at 11:29 am) seemed to suggest you;ve changed your mind, that Hamas shouldn’t be eradicated?