DEAD PALESTINIANS? BLAME YOURSELF

Want to lay blame for dead Palestinians? If you are blaming Israel, you are playing the role Hamas wants you to play. Look in a mirror. You are the reason Palestinians are dying.

Every single innocent life lost is a universe of tragedy. We mourn the thousands of innocent lives lost in this war, Palestinian and Israeli.

There are, however, both distinctive strategies and fundamental moral differences on the two sides – and if we do not understand these distinctions, we misconstrue the cause. If we misunderstand the cause, we will inevitably fail to resolve the problem.

The Israelis who were murdered, raped, beheaded, immolated and kidnapped on October 7 were targeted for death and torture by bloodthirsty terrorists who represent the nadir of humanity.

In response, Israel has been engaged in a military operation not terribly unique among contemporary wars. The nature of the two sides is fundamentally, existentially different in intent and execution.

If our goal is stopping more deaths, we need to understand why they are happening. Denying reality is never a good strategy for resolving problems.

A huge denial of reality is happening right now.

Here is the reality being denied: The goal of Israel is to minimize casualties on both sides. The goal of Hamas is to maximize casualties on both sides.

This is the core truth of this war – and to excuse or deny this root cause is to endorse continued war and death.

We do not get to self-righteously claim we oppose the deaths of Palestinians and then continue behaving in ways that ensure more Palestinians die. If we misrepresent the cause of why this is happening, and therefore lay blame for what is happening at the wrong feet, we help ensure the tragedy continues.

Every single death, Palestinian and Israeli, is caused by Hamas. They started this. They perpetuate it. All this dying could end today if Hamas surrendered. They are solely to blame.

No buts.

No “settler-colonialism.” No “Zionist-imperialism.” No “Israeli apartheid” jibber-jabber.

Enough fanatical inflexibility.

Enough “They stole our land.” Enough “River to the sea.” Enough “By any means necessary.”

Either we want peace or we want more dead Palestinians. Peace will come when Palestinians and other Arab parties are willing to coexist with the Jewish state of Israel. We either accept this or we support permanent war and more dead Palestinians.

When Palestinian leaders are willing to peacefully negotiate a two-state solution in good faith, there will be a two-state solution. The idea that Palestinians have no choice but violence is a racism of low expectations, an excuse Western activists make for terrorism based on the idea that “those people” know only violence and are incapable of peace and negotiations. (Or, on the flip side, it could be based on the antisemitic idea of Jews as master negotiators who can’t be bested in a deal. Either way, it’s racist.)

If you insist on blaming Israel for this war, you are hardly alone. The world is pretty close to unanimous in blaming Israel. The idea that this is proof of Israeli malevolence is to accept that inflamed mobs have never been wrong before – especially about Jews.

This is where you come in.

If you insist on playing your part in the Hamas strategy, if you count up dead Palestinians and blame Israel, you are not helping Palestinians. You are not doing anything to prevent these tragic numbers from escalating.

If your main goal in this whole catastrophic, heartbreaking war is to pin the responsibility on Israel, you are doing exactly what Hamas hopes mindless overseas activists will do. You are part of a Hamas PR strategy whose price is paid in the bodies of Palestinians.

In that case, it is not only Hamas that bears responsibility for the Palestinian bodies that are piling up. It’s you.

Want to place blame? Look in a mirror.

Because by playing the role Hamas knows you will, you are the reason Palestinians are dying.