Opinion

At first I thought I would refrain from debate sparked by the atrocities of Oct. 7. I felt appalled that, from the safety of Vermont, warmed-over “party-line” polemics are being thrown around, which is of no benefit to Palestinians or Israelis whose survival is at risk.

But finally, driven by the increasing normalization of antisemitism and acceptance of Hamas as “freedom fighters” (even by some politically active Jews), I had to speak out.

GENESIS 15:18
From the River to the Sea
https://www.biblestudytools.com/genesis/15.html

Holy Bible Old Testament
Genesis 15

The LORD’s Covenant With Abram
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

The Israel Hamas war has pushed both sides into unchartered territory. Most of what is happening violates not only rules of engagement but basic humanitarian principles. Israel has more firepower and they are using it in what appears to be a chaotic and indiscriminate way. In other words, if Israel has a battle plan it is hard to see what it is. To the rest of the world it looks like they are simply acting out of vengeance and killing as many Palestinians as possible.

I believe that Hamas could possibly be executing a well thought out battle plan that could have long-range implications for the Middle East while Israel seems to be developing plans on a day to day basis. Here is what I think Hamas could be doing.

The two major wars being fought in the world make it clear that no matter what kind of rules governing warfare are in place, there is no way to enforce them. Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Hamas are running roughshod over civilian populations, defying basic humanitarian principles while the rest of the world can only use words to slow them down.

Questioned at a Congressional hearing, the President of the University of Pennsylvania will not say that calling for the genocide of Jews violates the University’s anti-bullying or harassment Code of Conduct. She says it is “context-dependent,” and only violates University’s rules “if the speech turns into conduct.”

The presidents of Harvard and MIT gave similar testimony.

When Trump ran for President the first time it seemed like a bad joke when he was elected. Then the nightmare began. America became a country with a mentally ill fool for a leader. He trashed the economy and ruined any semblance of good relations we had with other countries around the world.

Despite the fact that he is facing 91 legal charges against him he is more emboldened than ever to assume the presidency and transform it into a military dictatorship. Snubbing all of the Republican debates is a very bad signal. It means that he is convinced he is the only one who can win the election and it also makes it clear that he will make up his own rules as the election season moves ahead.

Trump and his team of maniacs are already mapping out plans for when he wins the election. He is talking about clamping down on immigration and turning anyone who wants to enter this country into a criminal.

Years ago, Noam Chomsky suggested such a book be written.. Former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who would have written a foreword, expected it to be sent to key historians to knock America off it’s false pedestal of having protected the world from Hitler, who America”s greatest corporations had empowered with massive investments in, and joint venturing with his poor and disarmed Nazi Germany bringing it up to world’s #1 military in only six years.

With so much trouble in the world, in so many realms, I can’t help but ask myself, what is my responsibility? Where to begin? Problems seem innumerable. Where is the onus? 

Yet today, for some reason, I looked at that word, onus, and couldn’t stop seeing it as comprised of its parts; on us. The burden is… on us. Is that etymology on purpose? An answer to the elusive question hidden in plain sight?

For most of my life I have tried to keep an open mind about the perpetual conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. When there is a near-constant state of war both sides do things that oppress innocent people and make life difficult.

As a full-of-myself 20 year old I thought I had all the answers. It seemed black and white to me when I was in Israel in 1970. The Israelis had all the power and they were suppressing the Arab population. When I met my father’s cousins who had walked from Russia to Palestine in 1920 to escape the brutality of the Czar’s pogroms against Jews I told them I thought Israel was treating Arabs the same way that the Jews had been treated by the Nazis. They were outraged and didn’t speak to me for a few days. They decided to chalk up my remarks to youthful arrogance and innocence.

Over the past 54 years I have come to understand that this conflict is always in the grey area and I have tried to be sympathetic to both sides. But everything changed last week when Hamas attacked Israel.