Don’t Play Into Their Hands

The Axis of Iran, Russia, and China really want Israel to level Gaza and reverse public opinion that currently blames Hamas

In “Gimme Shelter,” Mary Clayton and the Rolling Stones sing, “Rape, Murder, it’s just a shot away.”

Q: When is decapitating babies, murdering entire villages, taking hostages as human shields, and killing hundreds of young people at a music festival alright?

A: Never.

That wasn’t so hard, was it? It is also not a big leap to say that nothing ever excuses murdering children.

There’s no question among most American Jews that Israel’s historic treatment of Palestinians has been terrible. Nor can it be disputed that, beginning with Camp David, Palestinian leaders have rejected multiple opportunities to create a sovereign state on the West Bank, and instead did what was best for the preservation of their own power. Yasser Arafat, I’m thinking of you, as I watch Israel’s right-wing encourage illegal settlements. Never would have happened if they’d have declared victory and built their state.  

Joshua Leifer, a contributing editor at the left-wing magazine Jewish Currents and a member of the editorial board at the progressive publication Dissent. “At the strategic level, it would be much more helpful if there was a large group of American leftists who had the moral credibility to say, ‘We are horrified by the murder of innocent people by Hamas and we want the United States to put maximum pressure on Israel to not commit atrocities in Gaza.’”

There are examples aplenty of what not to do. Look no farther than our own response to 9-11. We started the two longest wars in American history, and never got the outcome we wanted: Iraq is completely under Iran’s sway, and Afghanistan is a lawless country ruled by anarchists from the 7th Century. We could have focused on capturing or killing Osama bin Laden, but instead committed massive amounts of blood and treasure to a long-term war whose outcome was never going to be what we wished. We wanted a democratic outcome more than regional players, and that never works. You can’t want it more than they do.

I was talking with some ranking military officers this week, one of whom had just returned from the Middle East. All shared the view that Israel would respond with the overwhelming force that invariably kills innocents.

The radical left has flooded social media with memes that hold Israel responsible for Hamas killing babies.

Israel, which repeatedly squanders the moral authority it reaped by the horrors of the Holocaust, must be careful not to do itself further reputational damage at a moment when it firmly has the high ground. Hamas has goaded Israel into making a disproportionate response. It’s exactly what they hope will happen, because they believe it will give them the high ground. Make no mistake, they have provoked what they hope will be a long and bloody house-to-house conflict in Gaza. I hope Israel doesn’t play into their hands.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Hamas is ISIS. And just as the forces of civilization united to defeat ISIS, the forces of civilization must support Israel in defeating Hamas.” The question is how to do that—and it must be done—without the wholesale killing of innocents.

From Morning Consult: “Americans’ Sympathies Shift Toward Israel Following Hamas Terrorist Attack.” The polling firm says 41% of Americans say they “mainly sympathize with Israel…That’s a double digit increase since 2021.” It’s clear that Hamas knew Israel would gain from the initial attack, but is betting on Israel’s retaliation to change the calculus.

There is a legal doctrine governing the rules of war, “The Law of Land Warfare,” that discusses proportionality in responses to attacks. It prohibits combatants from holing up in hospitals, schools, mosques and the like. Unfortunately, Hamas follows no rules They will dress as civilians and sequester hostages in schools, hospitals and mosques.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has shuttled back and forth across Arab nations saying, “We came here with four key objectives, to make clear that the United States stands with Israel; to prevent the conflict from spreading to other places; to work on securing the release of hostages, including American citizens; and to address the humanitarian crisis that exists in Gaza.”

If Blinken and Biden fail to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the path to peace lies in coalition with Jordan, The UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, massive civilian casualties and a demonstrable shift in sympathy will occur.

There is nothing that Iran, Russia, and China want more than an all-out Israeli assault on Gaza. There’s a straight line from Hamas through Iran to Russia and China. Iran wants to destabilize Israel and hurt its image in the world, while Russia wants us to shift support to Israel and away from Ukraine, and China wants us to distracted in the Middle East.  

It’s a huge mess, but remember, in“Gimme Shelter” the Stones also sing, “Love, sister, it’s just a kiss away.”

©2023 Jon Sinton