A conversation I had last week with a progressive Jewish friend reflects the ongoing discussions on the left. Many liberals condemn Hamas’s killings and kidnappings in southern Israel while also supporting a Palestinian state and criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
My friend expressed distress over parts of the left, a vocal online minority, that not only failed to condemn Hamas’s atrocities but also justified terrorist acts against innocent individuals, including left-wing Israelis longing for peace and justice for both Palestinians and Israelis. This moral failure has led my friend to believe that antisemitism has infiltrated the political wing she has long identified with.
It is important to note that commenting on this intra-left controversy may distort the political stakes, as there is a rare consensus in mainstream politics that Hamas’s terrorism was an act of pure evil, as President Biden stated in his powerful speech. Sympathy for Hamas within the US will have no impact on future politics. The true contrast lies between Biden’s morally and strategically serious response and the petty, unhinged, and self-centered rants of Donald Trump. Hopefully, those considering voting for the former president will recognize that returning him to the White House would be an act of democratic suicide.
Liberals and supporters of the democratic left pride themselves on their sensitivity to injustice, decency in their instincts, and ability to make distinctions. Rationalizing Hamas’s sadistic crimes goes against these standards and weakens the arguments that the majority of the left wants to make concerning the future of Israel and Palestine.
While right-wing governance, settlement expansion, and attacks on democracy by Netanyahu’s government have influenced the left, older liberals like Biden, who sympathize with the survival of a Jewish homeland in Israel, also empathize with the injustices faced by Palestinians. The support for a two-state solution stems from the desire to see both Israel and Palestine as democratic entities. However, the destruction of Israel, which Hamas longs for, would be a moral catastrophe.
Unlike the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian citizens of Israel, Hamas is explicitly antisemitic and seeks nothing less than the eradication of Israel. Netanyahu’s strategy of containing Hamas and prioritizing settlements has failed tragically. This shift to the right in Israel has eroded support for the country among younger Americans. While most of these critics do not support Hamas, the once strong liberal sympathy for Israel has significantly diminished among those born after Biden’s generation.
The recent attack by Hamas may have restored consensus within the Democratic Party regarding the defense of Israel against terrorism, but opposition to Israel’s settlement policies and lack of engagement with Palestinian demands for self-determination remains. These traumatic events should prompt a reassessment rooted in moral realism.
Supporters of Israel should advocate for accountability and eventually push for Netanyahu’s removal, as argued by Max Boot. While defending Israel’s right to self-defense, we should heed the warnings of experienced Middle East analysts like Thomas L. Friedman and David Ignatius, who caution against overreach in Gaza. Having worked alongside them during the war in Lebanon in the 1980s, I share their skepticism of grand military plans that promise a lasting resolution to the conflict. Biden’s speech rightly emphasized the moral obligations that even legitimate wars of self-preservation must abide by.
The left should continue advocating for justice for Palestinians, and Israel’s center and left should persist in demanding the abandonment of Netanyahu’s plans to undermine the country’s judiciary. However, terrorism will not lead to a more democratic Israel or Palestinian self-determination. The Israeli-Palestinian dispute is complex, with conflicting moral claims, but the actions of Hamas, as Biden stated, are unequivocally evil.
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