I’m sick of the phony anti-Israeli outrage that’s become quite popular and fashionable among most news-watchers and the media. This outrage is particularly indefensible in the Arab media, which is taking an active side in the conflict rather than conducting professional journalism. No one likes to see civilians killed by aerial bombardment or artillery shelling in urban areas. But the focus of the current outrage is superficial at best and ignores the deeper undercurrents that created the current conflict.
Biased and wrong.
This conflict follows a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that neither side really kept. So, both sides were angling for a new ceasefire on more favorable terms. Hamas thought that rocket attacks would give it more leverage. Israel decided to change the game completely. But this conflict has even deeper roots. Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. No matter how principled this position may be, it ignores a fundamental reality in the international political arena; Israel is here to stay. Now, Hamas can use this recognition issue as a huge bargaining chip – if Hamas recognized Israel’s right to exist, Israel would be willing to swallow other major concessions in a final peace deal. Unfortunately, Hamas continues to stick to their guns, literally. Therefore, Hamas’s position can only be defended if you think Israel doesn’t have a right to exist and Israel can somehow be made extinct – the former may be defensible, the latter is an absolutely ludicrous fantasy. And supporting an organization that tries to kill innocent civilians makes no sense.
Popular outrage and the (Arab) media have focused on the death and destruction caused by Israel’s Operation Cast Lead. Anthems in favor of Hamas, and bodies of dead children occupy the news coverage. But Israel’s action in no way justifies this support of Hamas; the actions of the two are very different. Israel’s purpose is to stop rocket attacks on its civilians. Hamas launches rockets with the express intention of killing innocent civilians and creating fear within the Israeli population. There is no moral equivalency. How people, especially Arabs and Muslims, can defend Hamas and be outraged at Israel is a mystery to me. Intending to kill innocent civilians cannot be defended and is far greater crime than causing the death of innocents when defending your own country or when trying to dismantle a terrorist infrastructure. The outrage over the unintentional killing of civilians in Gaza has provoked more outrage than the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the numerous suicide attacks in Iraq over the past year combined. This fact is appalling. Surely Shia militias killing innocent Sunnis or Sunni insurgents bombing a Shia mosque are far worse crimes than Israel’s current actions. An Arab or Muslim life is not worth more than any other life. 200 innocent people were intentionally killed in the Mumbai attacks in the name of Islam and Muslims. Yet few Muslims or Arabs care. That’s the real outrage.
The current predicament in Gaza is the culmination of various complex political and historical currents. Phony outrage and media emotionalism will help no one, and only serves to promote hatred and distrust on both sides. But trust and mutual respect are the only way out of this conflict because this conflict has no military solution. Only diplomacy based on compromise and mutual respect will work. Phony outrage and media bias make a final resolution that much harder.
And that’s jus’ the tip.
