The doctrine of deterrence has taken a beating. Few doubt that Israel can strike back at Gaza in a very powerful way, and yet that wasn’t enough to stop the attacks. I am still trying to digest this one.
I'm a Jew in NYC and I made friends with a Palestinian in Gaza this week. Using @Snap Maps I was able to build a personal connection with a complete stranger and learn from their first-hand experience of whats happening on the ground in real-time. Heres the story + some takeaways
When I was a clueless young leftist I too believed Israel was the oppressor and Palestinians were the oppressed, because that’s what everyone around me was saying, and my empty mind was a vacuum that sucked it all up. Once I escaped my echo-chamber, and began to objectively assess the facts, I realized just how unfairly Israel has been demeaned —... See more
A similar homology applies to the term “terrorism.” During the period of Jewish struggle against the British military in Palestine, “terrorist” had a positive connotation. In the late 1940s, American newspapers ran an advertisement with the headline, “Letter to the Terrorists of Palestine,” wherein the Hollywood screenwriter Ben Hecht wrote, “My... See more
Unlike with South African apartheid, Israel gives its Arab citizens all the rights available to its Jews, and it even has Arabs sitting in the Knesset. Further, Israel allows Palestinians into Israel to work, though, since millions of Arabs want to see Israel obliterated, Israel must carefully vet those it welcomes. And given the flow of weapons... See more
Either side can easily be portrayed as the underdog, because victimhood is limited only by imagination. So we must consider the question not in terms of who is most oppressed, but who is most reasonable? Who is most willing to compromise, and whose goals will, overall, benefit Israelis and Palestinians most?