(Photo from Associated Press – bombardment in Gaza)

October 7, 2023 is a date that will live in infamy. Killers from Hamas crossed borders from Gaza into Israel and attacked defenceless civilians, murdering over 1400 people, and taking some 225 people hostage. The attack wasn’t anticipated by Israeli intelligence or police services, and carnage ensued.

Back in August, I wrote an article on the oxymoronic nature of rules for war. All I can tell you now is to avert your eyes, because what you are seeing in Gaza and what you will continue to see in Gaza, is ugly. Civilians are dying under bombardment from Israel, and they’re being starved of food, water and other necessities of life. The first three weeks of Israeli response to the savage incursion by Hamas is horrific. Accusations of war crimes are hurled at the Israelis every day. One has to wonder how the rules of war apply to terrorists hiding within a civilian population.

What the Hell do we expect Israel to do? They cannot tolerate the continued existence of Hamas on their borders. Not after what was done on October 7^th. And since Hamas killers are living among – and largely indistinguishable from – innocent Palestinian civilians, the eradication of the Hamas threat is inevitably going to result in civilian deaths.

Sadly, I believe that Israel has charged right into a trap set by Iran and its proxy terrorist units in the Hamas and Hezbollah. The fact of the Hamas invasion has mostly disappeared from the evening news. If you watch, as I do, Power and Politics on CBC , what you see now is a steady diet of the plight of the poor suffering Palestinians. And I don’t mean to downplay that suffering. War is ugly and what is happening to those poor people is unimaginable. But I believe that Iran is delighted to see what’s happening in Gaza, and I believe that world opinion will slowly but surely turn against the Israelis if this nightly parade of suffering continues.

Israel needed first to respond and clean the invaders out of their territory. And they’ve done that. They needed to adopt a war footing to ensure that a second invasion was impossible. But I do wish they had waited and planned their response a little more carefully. I understand and respect the fact that street to street fighting in an urban setting is extremely difficult and dangerous for the invading army. And I also understand that the Hamas network of tunnels under Gaza further increases that danger. So possibly the bombardment currently underway is seen as a necessary pre-requisite to a land invasion. But I don’t think so. I think it is an expression of rage and a thirst for vengeance, and I don’t think it is going down well on the world stage.

A week ago Global News reported that “Muslim and Jewish community groups told Global News that incidents of verbal abuse, vandalism, hate and intimidation targeting Canadians across the country have spiked since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel and Tel Aviv has responded with retaliatory strikes on Gaza.” That’s a harbinger of things to come. People are dividing into pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli camps. The UN Security council is unable to reach agreement on a resolution to try to deal with the issue. So far, The United States, under a strong message of support from Joe Biden, is supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself, but behind the scenes they are urging restraint.

But the US is an unstable country. Joe Biden doesn’t have the support of everyone in the Democrat caucus on this issue. And although hard right-wing Republicans support the hard right-wing Israeli government, the long-term trend of the Republican party is to withdraw into isolationism. After the entanglements in Korea, Viet Nam, Afghanistan and Iraq, Americans are loathe to get drawn into another foreign conflict. Although many Republicans sympathize with Israel, they may quickly come to look for an excuse not to get involved. If the constant news drip continues to focus on the plight of the Palestinians it wouldn’t take much to see public opinion in support of Israel begin to waver. Mr. Loose Cannon Trump’s first statements on this issue were surprisingly anti- Israel. Can Israel be assured of American protection after the 2024 Presidential elections?  And without American support, could Israel survive?

Israel’s military position has always been precarious. It has been surrounded by enemies ever since its founding in 1948. If you look at the map of Israel which runs largely North-south, you will see the Gaza strip on the west, and the settlements on the west bank of the Jordan river to the east side of Israel. The west bank settlements are only about 20 Km from Jerusalem, and the strip of Israel between Gaza and the West Bank is less than 100 Km wide. A determined and coordinated thrust by Hamas and Hezbollah, with support (covert or overt) from Iran, threatens to cut Israel in half and allow an invading army to establish a beachhead and then roll north or south to divide Israeli forces. So Israel cannot take this latest incursion lightly, and they cannot appear to be weak.

It has been speculated that Iran has supported Hamas, and pushed for this invasion now, specifically to derail peace efforts in the middle east. Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirate, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco have all established diplomatic ties with Israel, and so the reality of an Israeli presence in the middle east has been gaining acceptance. Four of those diplomatic recognitions happened in 2020 or later, marking a slow but progressive reduction in tensions in that region. The current situation and the sad plight of the Palestinians in Gaza is setting those efforts back.   

The shifting trend in world opinion away from Israel is reflected in the number of countries calling for a cease-fire. Nine Arab countries (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Morocco) have issued a joint statement calling for a UN enforced cease-fire and they’ve been joined in that effort by Spain. The position of the US, and other countries like Canada that are not placing demands on Israel, is that they are unwilling to tie the hands of the Israeli Defence Force, and that we need to stand back and allow them to do what they need to do in their own defence.

Here in Canada, Jagmeet Singh has demanded that the Canadian government issue a demand for a cease-fire. I regard that request as a transparent political ploy on the part of Mr. Singh. Canada’s opinion on the matter really will count for nothing in the resolution of this matter. Quiet diplomacy can establish our position better than trying to embarrass the embattled Israeli government by criticizing their actions at this point. What Mr. Singh’s demand does is to ask Mr. Trudeau to adopt a position which will alienate either the pro-Palestinian or the pro-Israeli camp and thus turn voters towards the NDP. I hate that sort of political machination.

But of course, political machinations are what this is all about. Israel, beleaguered and harassed though they may be, are not blameless in what has happened here. Specifically, Binyamin Netanyahu is not blameless. As the Economist reports, “For over a decade Mr Netanyahu has isolated and neglected Gaza, believing it could safely be left to fester. The attack on October 7th demonstrated how tragically that policy has failed. His politicising of the war now, and his reluctance to plan for the future, could cost Israel even more.” Mr. Netanyahu governs within a hard right-wing coalition for which anti-Palestinian sentiment is a potent voter issue. The Economist reports “The coalition of far-right and ultra-religious parties that backs Mr Netanyahu knows it may not last long: public anger and another election could sweep them away. But they are anxious to cling on for as long as possible—and to make the most of their power. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister and leader of Jewish Power, a far-right party, has made a show of handing weapons to civilians, ostensibly to prevent further terrorist attacks. But he has been trying to stoke tensions between Israeli Jews and Arab-Israelis.”

Where do I stand? It’s a sickening mess, but I stand with Israel. It’s like refereeing a sibling fight – “well, he started it”. Whatever may be said about Israel’s mis-management of the Gaza situation prior to October 7^th, it was Hamas who decided that they would invade and slaughter innocent civilians. They started it, and they are now reaping their reward.

I hope that Israel can get beyond the rather indiscriminate bombing which is bound to kill civilians, and enter into a ground war where at least they can see who they’re shooting at. The slaughter of civilians will not stop, but it might be reduced. But make no mistake – there are still forces in the middle east who want to wipe Israel out of existence, and both the political calculation and the deep-seated antisemitism of those forces must be countered. You don’t have to like what Israel is doing right now. But you need to respect the fact that they’re fighting for their very existence. My heart goes out to the civilian casualties. But my head wonders what the Hell we expect Israel to do instead. And I’m very concerned that the impact on the Palestinian population in Gaza will ignite the flames of anti-Israel sentiment across the Arab world and may result in terrible danger for the country of Israel.

So mourn the dead in Gaza if you will. But don’t harden your hearts against Israel. Walking a mile in their shoes right now would be a perilous journey, don’t you think?