Thoughts on Israel and 'terrorism'
A friend recently noted to me that he thought I was blaming Israel for Hamas' actions, and that this was like blaming Western countries for Al Qaeda's actions. I found this to be a very apt comparison and expanded on it:
Pointing out that Israel's actions fostered the creation of Hamas is paralleled by pointing out that the USA's actions fostered Al Qaeda. The kind of radical and militant actions that are generally lumped into "terrorism" can only be supported in an atmosphere of crushing abuses and destruction of people and culture.
Israel's decades-long occupation of others' land, their theft and/or destruction of their homes and assets, their pushing of millions into refugee camps like Gaza or into other countries, the theft of resources necessary for survival like water, the constant enforced grind of starvation, homelessness and need are war crimes. Add to this the constantly belligerent Israeli military that uses brutal blockades, collective punishment, assassination, kidnapping, and torture to enforce Israeli government policies and you create an unstoppable need for change and redress in the abused society.
Where that need is directed is also in control of the Israeli government.
If Israel had addressed their responsibilities as an occupying force, the need would have been addressed before being created by supporting basic human rights.
If Israel had submitted to international laws and agreements after committing its crimes, made recompense and taken on its responsibilities after the fact, the need would have been addressed by supporting and submitting to the rule of law.
If Israel had recognized that decades of occupation had not succeeded and changed its policies to accept the 1967 borders and other compromises offered it year after year, the need would have been addressed by supporting diplomacy and negotiation.
By not doing any of these things, Israel creates a constantly growing need that Israel demonstrates they will not address and that they will not allow to be addressed legally or diplomatically.
That need, if given no other outlets, will turn to the radical elements that are present in all societies and become radical militants. When Israel demonstrates that there are no lines it is not willing to cross to meet its goals, it fosters the same actions in those who try to oppose it.
For example, when Israel started kidnapping Palestinians, holding them without charge and torturing them, Palestinians and human rights groups called for legal redress, for the detainees to be charged or released. Israel refused. Radical militants similarly kidnapped military and other enforcement personnel, and used them to negotiate the return; this was successful, proving that Israel would respond only to these types of actions.
Year after year that Israel eroded the rule of law and basic human rights, they made radical militantism more and more attractive to an abused and desperate people.
Now - What does this mean? Is Israel directly responsible for the actions of Hamas? This to me is similar to a landlord illegally throwing all of his tenants in a desperately poor, let's say, Polish ghetto onto the street, which one tenant responds to by holding up a local store to get enough money to move his family to a new home. This robbery, and the squatting and people on the streets in the area, lowers the value of the landlord's property along with the rest of the neighborhood.
So, who is responsible for the robbery? The Polish robber is. If the robber brutalized the store owner, then the robber should be held to account for that.
But in focusing only on the robber's actions, one is unable to understand why the robber acted, and has little information on how to prevent similar actions in the future. If the landlord is protected from rightful prosecution and continues to illegally throw Polish tenants onto the street, then an uninformed observer will conclude that Polish people are given to crime, based on the actions of the few radicals among them.
By being willing to look at the larger picture, one can see how to stop the cycle of violence and destruction, just as so many have seen throughout history, by creating an objective system of equal rights and justice, a rule of law that addresses the primary needs of all before they fester and grow into radicalism. That's why the UN was created. That's why the Nuremberg trials were run. Thats why an international court was created. To show that there was another way to address abuses and crimes other than becoming a criminal.
Pointing out that Israel's actions fostered the creation of Hamas is paralleled by pointing out that the USA's actions fostered Al Qaeda. The kind of radical and militant actions that are generally lumped into "terrorism" can only be supported in an atmosphere of crushing abuses and destruction of people and culture.
Israel's decades-long occupation of others' land, their theft and/or destruction of their homes and assets, their pushing of millions into refugee camps like Gaza or into other countries, the theft of resources necessary for survival like water, the constant enforced grind of starvation, homelessness and need are war crimes. Add to this the constantly belligerent Israeli military that uses brutal blockades, collective punishment, assassination, kidnapping, and torture to enforce Israeli government policies and you create an unstoppable need for change and redress in the abused society.
Where that need is directed is also in control of the Israeli government.
If Israel had addressed their responsibilities as an occupying force, the need would have been addressed before being created by supporting basic human rights.
If Israel had submitted to international laws and agreements after committing its crimes, made recompense and taken on its responsibilities after the fact, the need would have been addressed by supporting and submitting to the rule of law.
If Israel had recognized that decades of occupation had not succeeded and changed its policies to accept the 1967 borders and other compromises offered it year after year, the need would have been addressed by supporting diplomacy and negotiation.
By not doing any of these things, Israel creates a constantly growing need that Israel demonstrates they will not address and that they will not allow to be addressed legally or diplomatically.
That need, if given no other outlets, will turn to the radical elements that are present in all societies and become radical militants. When Israel demonstrates that there are no lines it is not willing to cross to meet its goals, it fosters the same actions in those who try to oppose it.
For example, when Israel started kidnapping Palestinians, holding them without charge and torturing them, Palestinians and human rights groups called for legal redress, for the detainees to be charged or released. Israel refused. Radical militants similarly kidnapped military and other enforcement personnel, and used them to negotiate the return; this was successful, proving that Israel would respond only to these types of actions.
Year after year that Israel eroded the rule of law and basic human rights, they made radical militantism more and more attractive to an abused and desperate people.
Now - What does this mean? Is Israel directly responsible for the actions of Hamas? This to me is similar to a landlord illegally throwing all of his tenants in a desperately poor, let's say, Polish ghetto onto the street, which one tenant responds to by holding up a local store to get enough money to move his family to a new home. This robbery, and the squatting and people on the streets in the area, lowers the value of the landlord's property along with the rest of the neighborhood.
So, who is responsible for the robbery? The Polish robber is. If the robber brutalized the store owner, then the robber should be held to account for that.
But in focusing only on the robber's actions, one is unable to understand why the robber acted, and has little information on how to prevent similar actions in the future. If the landlord is protected from rightful prosecution and continues to illegally throw Polish tenants onto the street, then an uninformed observer will conclude that Polish people are given to crime, based on the actions of the few radicals among them.
By being willing to look at the larger picture, one can see how to stop the cycle of violence and destruction, just as so many have seen throughout history, by creating an objective system of equal rights and justice, a rule of law that addresses the primary needs of all before they fester and grow into radicalism. That's why the UN was created. That's why the Nuremberg trials were run. Thats why an international court was created. To show that there was another way to address abuses and crimes other than becoming a criminal.