I remember an interview with George Burns when the comedian was in his nineties. When asked about his daily routine, Burns replied: "First thing every day, I read the obituaries in the New York Times. If I'm not there, I go on with my day." I confess I find myself checking each morning that World War Three hasn't broken out in the Middle East, before I continue on with my day.
I am astounded by how one-sided the American mainstream media is in its coverage of the conflict in Gaza. Fox News, in particular, may as well be an Israeli propaganda outlet.
There has been a non-stop attempt to demonize Hamas, to portray them as heartless monsters who attacked Israel for no reason. It has always been one of the pre-conditions for war that both sides must be conditioned to think of the other side as monsters. After all, you can’t negotiate with monsters, can you?
If a nation’s media were interested in peace, they would tell a more nuanced story. They would include at least a certain amount of information that would call into question the ‘monster’ narrative.
As an example of the kind of material that could be used to create a more balanced view, there’s this testimony from a former hostage, an Israeli, who says she was respectfully treated by her (young and scared) Hamas captors. When the Israel Defense Forces showed up several hours later, they opened up on the Hamas militants without warning, catching the hostages in a furious cross-fire. It was then the hostages were killed - as likely killed by Israeli bullets as by Palestinian ones.
It would also be useful if more Americans understood how differently the non-Western world sees what is happening in Gaza.
In most of the world, for more than a week now the media has been full every day of pictures of the shattered bodies of young children being pulled from the ruins of homes, churches, hospitals and shelters in Gaza. There are truly massive protests taking place in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan. The Governments of all those countries are currently under immense pressure from an enraged citizenry to actively intervene in the conflict - on the side of Hamas.
The United Nations has correctly identified what Israel is doing now in the Gaza Strip as ‘crimes against humanity’. Even staffers at the US State Department are worried that the one-sided American approach will have terrible consequences. More than 800 EU staff are also worried.
A ground assault on Gaza by Israel appears imminent. Hezbollah has clearly identified such an attack as a red line that will bring it into the war.
It is clear to me that a great many Americans are itching for Israel to exact a massive and bloody vengeance on the Palestinian people. It is not clear to me that they have thought about where an escalating cycle of vengeance might end, either for Israel, or for America.
If the IDF launches a ground assault on Gaza, the probability of Hezbollah attacking Northern Israel with tens of thousands of missiles, mortars and drones is extremely high. If that happens, almost certainly many more Israelis will die than died during the Hamas attacks. Thousands of Israeli homes will also likely be destroyed.
If the US military attacks Hezbollah bases in Lebanon in response, Syria, Jordan and even Egypt could easily be drawn into the conflict. The bloodshed on both sides then would dwarf anything that has happened so far. There’s a non-trivial chance that at least one US carrier will be sent to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
If the conflict extends at any point to include Iran, then there is a very real chance that Russia and/or China will feel compelled to intervene on Iran’s side: World War Three.
Israel is dependent enough on US weapons and funding, the US Government could certainly pressure Israel both into holding off on a ground attack into Gaza, and into allowing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. That would at least leave open the possibility that the cycle of violence could be stopped before it spins completely out of control.
America politicians and media figures have been very strident in their ‘support’ for Israel. That ‘support’ is eerily reminiscent of American ‘support’ for Ukraine.
Ukraine has been ruined. The flower of its youth has been killed or crippled. Half of its population has fled, most never to return. The country is hopelessly in debt, its economy and infrastructure a broken shambles. “Fighting to the last Ukrainian” has been an unmitigated disaster for Ukraine.
Does America now want that same outcome for Israel?
Excellent piece Bruce.
As ex military, I would once have automatically been on the side of Israel, but as I've grown older, I've realised that most of what I "knew" was based on lies and deceit.