I read the responses of the panel of experts assembled by The Guardian to the question “How should the U. S. respond to the Israel-Palestinian Crisis?” with a sort of grim amusement. Here are the experts and their responses:
Joshua Leifer: ‘The US has the power to stop the bloodshed’
Alex Kane: ‘Biden is giving the green light to an extremist coalition’
Yousef Munayyer: ‘The laziest thing the US can do is condemn Palestinian violence yet ignore the causes’
Libby Lenkinski: ‘Retain a sense of humanity for all innocent people’
Noura Erakat: ‘The US is a central part of the problem
I presume you get the gist of it.
Israel is not the ally of the United States. It is a client of the United States but it is a client like no other of which I am aware that dictates the terms and conditions of the relationship. In terms of U. S. politics support for Israel is a valence issue.
Consequently, Mr. Leifer is wrong. Yes, the U. S. could “stop the bloodshed” by bombing Gaza and the West Bank, Israel, or all of the above into oblivion but that isn’t what he means and in any event that won’t happen. Israel will not change their course of action if we say “Pretty please” and, as I note, support for Israel is a valence issue. We won’t hold our military assistance hostage to a change in Israeli policies.
Mr. Kane apparently does not read the U. S. news media. What he interprets as a “green light to an extremist coalition” (he means Israeli coalition) is interpreted by some in the U. S. as a green light to Palestinian atrocities.
Mr. Munayyer is correct. Condemning Palestinian violence and ignoring Israeli actions over which we have no influence is the laziest thing we can do. It’s also our most likely course of action.
Ms. Lenkinski’s remarks are a lament. I agree. It’s worthless and provides no guidance for action but I agree.
Noura Erakat is operating under the misapprehension that the Israelis would do things differently without U. S. support, verbal or material. Where’s her evidence? I don’t believe that is the case. Quite to the contrary the Israelis don’t need our permission and will do what they will regardless of what we say or do.
Injecting ourselves into the war is the last thing we should do. It is of no benefit to us and we’ll get blamed by somebody regardless. There is literally no upside.
The conflict is an instantiation of what happens when two peoples claim the same territory based on made up history, supported by their holy books. The panel’s reaction illustrates why we should not involve ourselves in such arguments in any but the most lofty terms.
A quick search suggests all of these people are Americans. While the British media often seems to have better news coverage on American current events, it doesn’t when it has domestic importance. This seems like the Guardian sought out Americans that would give voice to the view’s of yesteryear’s Labour Party at a time when it would be politically unwise for Labour to unroll the Palestinian flags. Not sure what that says about the panel members.
I think the politics of the area is so complicated and the history so long there is no way we can intervene very well. The best we can do is criticize when one side in the conflict is overly barbaric. I find it disappointing that if you try to discuss causes it degenerates into claims that is entirely the fault of one side or the other. Both sides have plenty of blame to shoulder.
Steve
The place is too complicated. I had forgotten that Hamas had launched some rockets in May. Israel retaliated and killed 30. Yet with recent killings by Hamas Israel still pulled the IDF away so that they could prioritize settlements over safety. In essence Israel told the guards in murderers section of the criminally insane to leave and make sure the doors were open.
https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-islamic-relief-distributes-food-and-medical-supplies-amid-ongoing-escalation
Steve
Yup. We shouldn’t get involved for the same reason you don’t mud wrestle with a pig.
Its all very fuzzy.
Seems like the US is trying to keep Hezbollah / Syria / Iran from involving themselves and turning it into a regional war. Hezbollah / Syria seem to be tiptoeing around. I don’t know what US involvement looks like if it does escalate into a regional war.
One thing I have also decided, is that when something like this happens people get really pissed if you suggest that you look at root cause analysis or ask them for an end game. Anything other than condemning the party behaving worse at the current moment is just not tolerated. Seems pretty boring actually for internet talk. It’s absolutely the right thing to do for political leaders, but that we are not. It all leads to maintenance of the status quo.
Steve
Intellectualizing. Typical.
Meanwhile, babies are decapitated. Women are raped. etc
While the candy assed intellectualizing continues, Israel’s response is going to be very straightforward, and gruesome. Very gruesome.
Not very intellectual.
Reality sucks. We don’t live in an academic world.
You people… Staffers and consultants. Not a leadership instinct among you.
What a shame. You used to show the ability to think beyond the current issue. Everyone here has actually said and pretty much supported Israel killing all fo Hamas and knows the end result is they kill a lot of civilians. That’s fine. However, it really doesnt change much. Israel will go back to taking over the West Bank. Israel will maintain a harsh blockade that will keep Gaza poor but still allow some weapons through. They will prop up and work with the Hamas replacement just like they did Hamas. They need an occasional attack to keep the pro-security/pro-settler party in power. Once the finish on the West Bank they concentrate on Gaza.
Steve
In principle, I agree – but it’s also important to, as I’ve seen constantly recently, not try to paint equivalency. And, even more important, we should not use “Palestinians” and “Hamas” interchangeably. Hamas, which claims to represent the interests of Palestinians, constantly shows by its actions that Palestinians generally are merely tools in its war against Israel and its desire to genocide Jews.
Yes, it’s a common delusion that the US abandoning Israel would incentivize them to be nicer to the Palestinians. It would likely have the opposite effect. But it would demoralize Israel and be a moral victory groups like Hamas, which would see an opportunity achieve their dream of genocide.
So, I think the US still serves a useful role in influencing Israel to get it to temper its excesses and not create the perception of abandonment that would only mean more conflict. The problem recently is that the US – including under the Biden administration – has not done much of anything to influence Israel positively.
steve,
The reason people get upset is because this “root cause analysis” usually ends up being a list of bad things Israel has done, while ignoring everything else including relevant facts like the goals of Hamas. Much of the time, it’s transparently blaming the victim for an atrocity. A legitimate root cause analysis would acknowledge that Hamas has always had committing atrocities as an explicit goal. Hamas, from the beginning, has made it crystal clear that its goal is genocide and ethnic cleansing. It’s like trying to have a “root cause analysis” to explain why ISIS beheads people and concluding it’s all about a reaction to discrimination against Muslims.
And you turn it around, and ask these people for a root cause analysis in other contexts, and suddenly it’s is quite different. Ask what are the “root causes” of Israel “blockading” Gaza, for example, and the answer is always about the bad intentions of the Israelis. Legimitate Israeli security concerns, and the past atrocities made by Hamas never enter into it. And of course, it’s never mentioned that Egypt and the Palestinian Authority are also parties to the blockade. Again, conveniently.
So, at least in my experience, the vast majority of “root cause analysis” is dishonest justifications for actions that can’t otherwise be justified – actions like intentionally butchering innocent people. It’s an attempt to shift blame to the victim, since the “analysis” always points to Israeli actions and supposed intentions and never considers anything else.
I think those are some fair points but I also think people overreact even after explicitly saying and repeating that Hamas is evil and they should die. I had held a long time personal policy to never comment on Israel or never say anything bad about them. I guess I should resume that. So let me start. Israel is perfect.
Steve