Author:Ralph Seliger
I'm currently editor of this website. I was the final editor of "Israel Horizons" in its incarnation as a print magazine from 2003 until 2011 and I edited the Meretz USA (now Partners for Progressive Israel) Blog from its inception in 2006 until 2015. I've been an active supporter of the Zionist peace camp since 1982. Among other print and online platforms which I've written for: The Forward, Tikkun, The Daily Beast, In These Times, Jewish Week, New Jersey Jewish News, Jewish Currents, Huffington Post, Dissent.
How less overwhelmingly? Only c 200 casualties and most of them Hamas soldiers and activists–that’s a remarkably low number. Based on what military analysis can we conclude that the Israeli strikes were not militarily justified in order to seriously reduce Hamas’ military capacity? War is serious business and innocent people get hurt, but that doesn’t mean that the measures were wrong- Should the British and Americans have held back their attacks on Germany during WWII because innocent civilians would be killed by the tens of thousands?
As I’ve indicated, I don’t know if Israel could have reasonably held down casualties inflicted on civilians. I was hoping for a ceasefire sooner, but it’s impossible for me to evaluate the targets selected.
As I’ve also indicated, Israel had the capacity to inflict much more damage than it did. Still, over 70,000 Gazans are now homeless, with water, power and medical resources enormously impaired. The optics for Israel are terrible, and Hamas seems strengthened politically, as (perversely) it always is after these conflagrations.
Dear Mr. Seliger,
I commend your courage and intellectual honesty. While both leftists and right-wing Israel supporters deride the rationale of “both-sides”ism” calling anyone who dares take a nuanced view, “coward”, “dishonnest”, “hypocritical”, and so on, you still muster the courage to reject a ome-dimensional understanding of the conflict. Our loneliness might be painnful right now but posterity will judge us kindly!
It’s obvious that the occupation created the context that allowed the situation to deteriorate. Even if one believes that the Palestinians are not ready for a final-status agreement, nothing prevents Israel from freezing settlement activities and transfer most of Area C (the bulk of the West Bank) to the Palestinians, creating a de facto 2-state reality before adressing the thorniest issues (holy sites, land swaps, refugees…).
That said, the Western “progressive” chattering class that criticizes Israel only, purposely ignoring the fact that Hamas is the main reason for the collapse of Israel’s peace camp are not part the solution. They are part and parcel of the problem.