For more than 70 years Israel has kept squeezing the Palestinians into smaller and smaller areas. As long as the secular Jews had a large enough majority, there was hope for a someday accommodation, but no more. From the very beginning the conservative/orthodox Jews had their sights on getting all the land they believe God promised them. Now, their ever enlarging population gives them enough political power to work their will. Thanks to Hamas’ atrocities they have an excuse to go full steam until the Palestinians are driven out of Judea entirely. Not that the arabs are ecumenical people either. It seems we have no choice but to let the religious zealots go at each other. God knows what the consequences will be.
Actually, it's the Israelis who have been squeezed into smaller areas (like when they unilaterally left Gaza in '05). About 75% of Israel is secular so pinning the actions you disagree with on the dark forces of the "Orthodox" pulling the strings is rather bigoted sounding. The Jews are, and have been, unbelievably "ecumenical" and to suggest otherwise does not seem to stem from an informed or good place.
Jagadeesan, your comment is disconnected from the framework of the article; a distraction from its main point. The article isn’t about religion or politics, it’s about morality and making the hardest and most difficult choices in the face of non-negotiable evil. Your attempt to reframe this obstructs your reckoning with what Hamas is and does. In avoiding the real issues, you seem to come close to siding with evil, excusing it, or creating false equivalencies. Is that your intention?
OMG, this is the BEST one in a long time. No splitting angel hairs on pinheads and slicing and dicing stuff that doesn't matter to most people. This essay is clear, relevant--straight to the point! It goes right to all the agonizing the world is going through right now. In my view, Hamas has a clearly stated agenda of "wiping Israel off the map." These terrorist groups use their own people to shield themselves. Hence the SAW-like difficulty. All the Israelis and their allies can do is try as hard as possible to get at HAMAS and kill as few civilians as possible. It is very doubtful that anything can be negotiated in this millenia-old conflict although it is hoped that humanitarian work can be done. Am I biased? Probably. I have Jewish ancestors way back in my DNA on both sides of my family and I have nephews and Jewish friends. None of this means that I lust to see Palestinian civilians killed. I recognize that they were displaced when the State of Israel was created. The settlements in disputed territories and the apartheid system in Israel are both wrong. Netenyahu is no nice guy. So Israel, just like our U.S. is flawed. But when push comes to shove, what do you do? You support your allies. P.S. I saw one SAW movie and never wanted to see another. They are too painfully grisly and the choices are terrible. Sophie's Choice was more my speed. Thanks for a great essay.
It’s not a view, you’re literally right that Hamas explicitly states that the Islamic world is obligated to wipe Israel,off the map. It is a barbaric, genocidal organization that exploit’s Palestinian suffering for its pan Islamic vision. It is much harder to defeat than Isis because the Hamas ideology partakes of nationalist resistance, but their goal is wiping Jews out. One need only read its charter to unambiguously see Hamas barbarism. Here’s a link: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp
Many thanks for your kind response. I know the issue is very controversial and many people may refute what I have said. I DO see it the way you have expressed it.
For more than 70 years Israel has kept squeezing the Palestinians into smaller and smaller areas. As long as the secular Jews had a large enough majority, there was hope for a someday accommodation, but no more. From the very beginning the conservative/orthodox Jews had their sights on getting all the land they believe God promised them. Now, their ever enlarging population gives them enough political power to work their will. Thanks to Hamas’ atrocities they have an excuse to go full steam until the Palestinians are driven out of Judea entirely. Not that the arabs are ecumenical people either. It seems we have no choice but to let the religious zealots go at each other. God knows what the consequences will be.
Actually, it's the Israelis who have been squeezed into smaller areas (like when they unilaterally left Gaza in '05). About 75% of Israel is secular so pinning the actions you disagree with on the dark forces of the "Orthodox" pulling the strings is rather bigoted sounding. The Jews are, and have been, unbelievably "ecumenical" and to suggest otherwise does not seem to stem from an informed or good place.
Jagadeesan, your comment is disconnected from the framework of the article; a distraction from its main point. The article isn’t about religion or politics, it’s about morality and making the hardest and most difficult choices in the face of non-negotiable evil. Your attempt to reframe this obstructs your reckoning with what Hamas is and does. In avoiding the real issues, you seem to come close to siding with evil, excusing it, or creating false equivalencies. Is that your intention?
OMG, this is the BEST one in a long time. No splitting angel hairs on pinheads and slicing and dicing stuff that doesn't matter to most people. This essay is clear, relevant--straight to the point! It goes right to all the agonizing the world is going through right now. In my view, Hamas has a clearly stated agenda of "wiping Israel off the map." These terrorist groups use their own people to shield themselves. Hence the SAW-like difficulty. All the Israelis and their allies can do is try as hard as possible to get at HAMAS and kill as few civilians as possible. It is very doubtful that anything can be negotiated in this millenia-old conflict although it is hoped that humanitarian work can be done. Am I biased? Probably. I have Jewish ancestors way back in my DNA on both sides of my family and I have nephews and Jewish friends. None of this means that I lust to see Palestinian civilians killed. I recognize that they were displaced when the State of Israel was created. The settlements in disputed territories and the apartheid system in Israel are both wrong. Netenyahu is no nice guy. So Israel, just like our U.S. is flawed. But when push comes to shove, what do you do? You support your allies. P.S. I saw one SAW movie and never wanted to see another. They are too painfully grisly and the choices are terrible. Sophie's Choice was more my speed. Thanks for a great essay.
It’s not a view, you’re literally right that Hamas explicitly states that the Islamic world is obligated to wipe Israel,off the map. It is a barbaric, genocidal organization that exploit’s Palestinian suffering for its pan Islamic vision. It is much harder to defeat than Isis because the Hamas ideology partakes of nationalist resistance, but their goal is wiping Jews out. One need only read its charter to unambiguously see Hamas barbarism. Here’s a link: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp
Many thanks for your kind response. I know the issue is very controversial and many people may refute what I have said. I DO see it the way you have expressed it.