Israel and Palestine

 All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

It seems we have to make our stands clear these days.

I am Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestine. 

The following statements are not contradictory. A sane, ethical personal can, and I believe should, hold all these beliefs at the same time. These are NOT presented in any sort of order of importance or validity. 

No one wins the competition to be the greatest victim. 

The nation of Israel exists and deserves to exist.

The nation of Palestine deserves to exist. Sadly, there is no functioning Palestinian government.

A Two State solution is the only moral solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. 

That requires Palestinians and Israelis to both acknowledge the other’s right to life and existence. It requires both to compromise on other issues. 

It is wrong to call for the destruction of Israel and the death of all Jews. 

Hamas does this in its charter. It is fundamentally a terrorist organization. 

The Attacks of 7 October 2023 on Israel were wrong. Killing civilian men, women, and children is wrong. Raping women as an act of terrorism (or for any other reason, of course) is wrong. 

Israel is right to seek to root out and destroy Hamas, the terrorist organization.

Netanyahu is a far-right extremist who has empowered far-right extremists in Israel. The democratic state of Israel needs to remove him from office to protect its democracy.

Israeli settlers in the West Bank have used threats, intimidation, and violence in an attempt to drive out Palestinians. This is text book ethnic cleansing and it is wrong. 

Hamas uses other Palestinians as human shields in Gaza. 

That does not absolve Israel of its obligation to prevent war crimes and reduce collateral damage. 

Civilian deaths, aka “collateral damage”, cannot be prevented in warfare but the only acceptable level of such damage is 0. This applies to all nations, everywhere. For example, it applies to the American wars against the Taleban and Al-Qaida as well as Ukraine versus Russia. It is universal. 

The Law of War is not suspended because one side violates it. It is not a pact. You follow the law of war because civilization and morality demands it. Nations that willingly and knowingly violate the Laws of War are tainted by their failures.

The Holocaust happened. It was real. We must never allow it to happen again. 

The Holocaust doesn’t excuse all Israeli actions, forever. 

Israeli actions against the West Bank and Gaza do not excuse terrorist attacks.

Those attacking Jews or Muslims in the United States or elsewhere because they are Jews or Muslims are wrong. There is no place in the world for such hatred and evil.

Knowing these things are true doesn’t solve the problem. But starting from this foundation makes peace between those of good will possible. 

All views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.