In reply to a meme going around that to the effect of “how can the world stand by and just let the genocide in Gaza happen?…” In fact, this is exactly how it happens. The world always stands by while other countries commit atrocities and genocides against other peoples. This is not new, and the inability or, as some people have suggested, the unwillingness of the world to restrain the State of Israel in Gaza is not exception. This how it has always been, and it does not make the plight of Gaza special.
The liberal democracies of Europe and America stepped aside when the legitimate, democratically-elected government of the Spanish Republic was attacked from within by Fascists. Despite pleas for assistance from its neighbors in France and Britain, and from the United States, that great beacon of democracy, the world stood back while Nazi Germany and Fascist joined forces with the Falange and destroyed Spanish Democracy. The Soviet Union did come to Spain’s aid, but at a price. And when it was all over, more than 300,000 Spaniards were dead.
The world stood aside when the German Empire massacred hundreds of thousands of Herrero and Nama people in the early years of the 20th century, and when the Soviet Union engineered the deaths of millions of Ukrainians in the Holodomor. Americans, Britons, Canadians, and all the rest could not believe it could happen – many cannot believe it now – and denied the evidence of their own eyes. They deny it still. The atrocities and genocides of Armenia, King Leopold’s Congo, Myanmar, and China have been met, at most, with hand-wringing, pious words, and the inevitable “strongly worded” diplomatic letters, but with nothing else. These are means to stake out moral positions without moral actions; they enable “standing aside and letting it happen.”
The good people of the world watched as the Nazis almost exterminated the Jews and Roma of Europe, in the process condemning millions to the lime pits of the killing fields and the crematoria of the Death Camps. The Holocaust was no secret – our newspapers were full of accounts from Europe, immigrant families in America heard the deafening silence of their kin who disappeared, heroes smuggled incontrovertible evidence out of the ghettos and camps. But we stood by; our war leaders denied the entry of refugees and declined to divert resources from the “legitimate” war effort to end the slaughter. I am sure they felt regret as they stood aside.
Global passivity in the face of Gaza is hardly exceptional; rather, it is the historical rule. One might ask what form actual moral action might take in this instance, as a repudiation of our historical moral passivity and complicity in atrocity and genocide. That would take more than pious words like my own, repeating packaged memes and heroically changing our profile pictures to the Palestinian flag, even chanting at public demonstrations. I cannot imagine what form this moral action might take, only that it has eluded well-intentioned people in the face of atrocity and genocide for more than a century.
The key is to actually make Gaza the exception – that time when we don’t stand aside. It will not redeem the moral cowardice and complicity of our history, but maybe it will redeem us in this one moment.
7 April 2024
***
I am not accustomed to the State of Israel showing any remorse or embarrassment for its actions in Gaza – for its actions anywhere. The best adjective that I can come up with to describe the Israeli government is “shameless.” Yet, here we are, days after the murderous Israeli airstrike on the World Central Kitchen aid convoy in Gaza, and the State of Israel is there with a sheepish look on its face, essentially saying “oops, our bad.” The IDF has dismissed two (notably, unnamed) officers they hold responsible for the “accident,” and the Israeli government has pledged to “do better.”
If only I could take comfort in that. I mean, what does the State of Israel even mean by “do better?” Hanlon’s Razor holds that one should “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity,” so there is a part of me that is willing to accept that the six aid workers killed at Deir al-Balah lost their lives to Israeli military incompetence. If anything has become clear, the IDF is not the super-efficient, professional military force that it has always claimed to be, and which a generation of Krav Maga obsessives have claimed it to be. The evidence strongly suggests that, rather, it is a bumbling, inept group of bloodthirsty killers, from the brass, on down; if anything, a savage Army of Chelm. They can kill in great numbers, but with stupidity.
On the other hand, there is strong evidence to suggest that the IDF intentionally targeted the convoy and thus the deaths of the six aid workers were no “mistake.” This takes some unpacking, as the intentionality of the IDF and the State of Israel seems to be at cross-purposes with how the Netanyahu government responded publicly, and that speaks to a different kind of incompetence. Even if the kill order did not come from the highest echelons of the IDF the State of Israel has suffered the public embarrassment that it really has no control of the situation. It prosecutes a war that it cannot reasonably win, apparently giving its commanders and men wide latitude to kill whomever they wish with few operational restraints or rules of engagement, tolerating acts of indiscipline on the ground that would result in courts martial in almost any other military.
The State of Israel is certainly embarrassed, but only that its barbaric incompetence is on display. Whatever passes for contrition among Israelis these days, I am reasonably certain that the deaths of the aid workers themselves do not weigh heavily on their conscience. After all, it is hard to imagine that a people who believe killing 33,000 people in an unwinnable war and resisting any suggestion of a ceasefire have many scruples. But, having this combination of depravity and incompetence revealed to the world must be very troubling, especially at a time when world opinion is turning very sharply against them.
They are embarrassed, of course, but they have no shame. When the Israeli government takes steps to discipline its military officers, its is simply selecting patsies for public consumption and, being unnamed, there is no guarantee that they won’t be simply assigned elsewhere. Indeed, that is a virtual certainty. And the State of Israel’s assurances to its sponsor the United States that it will take measures to ensure that it won’t happen again ring hollow. Is it saying that it will do better to cover its tracks next time? And what of the two million Gazans who did not have Canadian, British, Polish, and Australian passports? Should we assume that all that the State of Israel promises is that it will avoid the embarrassment of targeting citizens of powerful countries, while butchering and starving the powerless on the ground in Gaza?
I cannot imagine what else to expect from a country that has no shame.
5 April 2024
***
Passover shopping is always a challenge, but especially so this year. As a rule, I prefer not to patronize Israeli companies, not really as part of BDS, but out of a personal preference. I am committed to a thriving Jewish Diaspora and consequently, I make a point of buying Jewish products from pretty much anywhere else in the world. That can sometimes be difficult, since the largest market for Jewish and kosher products is in the State of Israel and, in the last few decades, Israeli companies have come to dominate that market. As a result, I have broken my rule a couple of times when there was no other option available.
But, with the State of Israel waging a brutal War on Gaza, breaking the rule no longer seems an option. There is no way that I will allow myself to contribute to the economy of a rogue state that has killed 33,000 people and displaced two million more. Call it a boycott if you wish, but like the 19th century Quakers who would not wear indigo-dyed clothes or fabrics lest they support the American slaveocracy, I will have no truck nor trade with the State of Israel. And I know that I am not alone in this, so I have prepared a few pointers for how to avoid Israeli products for Passover.
I am aware that some of my shvesterkind might regard the very idea of choosing not to patronize Israeli businesses as antisemitic, but that merely demonstrates how thoroughly Maximalist Zionism has sought to evacuate “antisemitism” of any real meaning. For, how can choosing to patronize Jewish businesses in the Diaspora rather than businesses in the State of Israel be regarded as antisemitic, unless the term has no real meaning?
Most Passover products that are made in the State of Israel will proudly announce that fact on their packaging since, for most Diaspora Jews, that “authentic” connection with the Holy Land is one of the selling points – hence the appearance of shmura matzos on many an American seder table – but it is not always so obvious, and you might have to search the small print. And it is also important to remember that products produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories and sold in the United States are now labeled “Made in Israel,” so searching that fine print can be important.
The biggest Passover issue is sourcing matzo. The only matzo that you can be certain are not made in the State of Israel is what you make yourself (this is entirely do-able) or which comes in a pink box. Streit’s began making matzo on New York’s Lower East Side in 1916, and moved its operation to Orangeburg, NY nine years ago. In fact, as far as I can tell, all of Streit’s products, from its matzo ball mix to its coconut macaroons, are made in the US.
Not so the other two main matzo makers, Yehuda and Manischewitz. All Yehuda products are made in the State of Israel, along with any products bearing the Osem and Gefen labels, and anything from Kedem that isn’t wine. The irony is that Manischewitz invented industrial matzo production in Cincinnati in 1888 but seems to source most of its matzo and Passover products from Israeli manufacturers. As far as I can tell, the only Manischewitz products that originate in the US are its coconut macaroons, and I suspect that they’re actually made by Streit’s.
Horseradish, what we use for maror even if its really isn’t bitter so much as spicy, doesn’t seem to present much of a problem. It is grown in temperate climates, with bulk coming from Europe and North America. Be careful that you buy prepared horseradish that is kosher for Passover, however, since many versions contain khamets. I’m pretty sure that Kelchner’s (Allentown, PA) and Gold’s (Brooklyn, NY) have an OU Passover hechschel and, in any event, their websites claim that they are Passover-safe; Bubbie’s (San Francisco, CA) doesn’t contain khamets, and is kosher but is not officially OU kosher for Passover.
Passover wines can be a bit tricky, but the traditional Concord grape wines are all made in the US, with the Manischewitz classic “so thick you can spread it with a knife” wine coming from Canadaigua, NY, and the Kedem wine, and the grape juice, from Kedem Wine in Marlborough, NY. It turns out that there is nothing special about the Concord grape, in fact it is an inferior varietal that produces a bitter wine that has to be fortified with sugar (hence the sickly-sweet flavor); it just happened to be the only grapes that would grow in upstate NY when kosher wine production began there in the 19th century.
Most of the kosher wines imported to North America by Kedem’s parent corporation, Royal Wines, like Askelon, Matar, and Carmel, are made in Israel and, in many cases, in the Occupied Territories. The good news is that there also kosher wines from France, Italy, California, and Australia that are much more palatable than the classic Concord plonk. KosherWine.com, in fact, has a nifty search feature that will allow find Passover wines, including meshuval, from around the world.
4 April 2024
***
I have little doubt that President Biden truly believes that the technologies of “modern war” – laser-guided munitions, drones, surveillance satellites, AI fire control, etc. – enable “pinpoint accuracy” and, when properly used, can greatly minimize civilian casualties by taking out the bad guys with “surgical precision.” A lot of people believe this and, thanks to our militarized, fantasy-rich, technophilic popular culture, with all of the cool gadgets that “get the job done” with little mess, few people doubt it. We don’t, after all, see where the missed missiles go in Top Gun: Maverick, we only see the ones that the good guys shoot up the bad guys’ tailpipes. The technology of killing, at least in this fantasy world, is this a moral instrument that only (and righteously) kills the deserving evildoer.
So, I have no doubt that he is shocked and appalled that the precision weapons that he supplied, and continues to supply the State of Israel has killed noncombatants and aid workers because that is not what these weapons are meant for. They are meant to kill Hamas terrorists cleanly, effectively, and righteously, and not bystanders. It cannot be the weapons’ fault or, indeed, the fault of the United States, which supplied the weapons, since that is not what they were designed for and, he is certain, they are a priori incapable of inflicting indiscriminate damage. Nor can he blame the IDF which, after all, claims that it is the “most moral” and best-trained military force in the world. Besides, the State of Israel is, fundamentally and essentially (in his thinking), a force for good, whatever reservations he might have about its Prime Minister.
There must be some other force, then, which is leading these precision weapons astray and causing embarrassing “collateral damage;” perhaps adverse weather conditions, warps in the space-time continuum caused by the unspeakable evil of Hamas, or the unreasonable hate that the people of Gaza have for the State of Israel. It can’t be the IDF’s fault, or the fault of the precision weapons, or the fault of the government that continues to supply them, or its leader.
So Biden can feel bad about the aid workers slaughtered under the State of Israel’s bombs and still sleep well at night.
3 April 2024
***
I am no great admirer of Joe Biden’s. This is especially true of his handling of US policy with regard to the State of Israel and its War on Gaza. There is so much that the United States government can do and is not doing to end this war. Far from being a world leader, Biden seems to be dithering between the ethical and the practical: Can he take a firm line against the State of Israel without alienating voters and, above all, powerful interests in the November election?
3 April 2024
***
The lesser of two evils is still evil, but it is nonetheless lesser. I am no Biden cheerleader, and I am appalled by administration’s cynical support of the State of Israel while attempting to strike the position of a peacemaker and calling on the State of Israel to show “restraint” and consider a ceasefire. But I am under no illusion that the political alternative is anything other than the greater evil. As ditheringly cynical and impotent as the Biden administration might be, a Trump administration would not even bother with the window-dressing, and full-throatedly support the Israeli extermination of Gaza. And what likelihood would there be for even a two-state solution with a Trump administration in the White House?
Don’t kid yourselves; the lesser of two evils is better than the greater. In the coming American election, it will be important to remember that, and to remember that politics is does not, nor ever did, mean holding out for the millennial promise of utopia, but about harm reduction. Your vote may sometimes be no more meaningful that trying to ensure that some faint hope remains.
3 April 2024
***
I have observed the continued and persistent reminders from my more Zionist (or, at least, pro-Israel) friends about the plight of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas for six months now. To be honest, I share their concern; most of these hostages are civilians and they are being held in intolerable conditions by a brutal terrorist organization whose member probably have little regard for their health and safety.*
What I object to is the suggestion that, by not focusing on what they insist is “the real story” – the 7 October attack and the plight of the hostages – one is somehow committing a grave moral lapse. It is as if they are saying “don’t look at the 33,000 Gazans whom the State of Israel has murdered, they are irrelevant next to these 130 hostages!” And that is a moral calculus that I cannot accept, or even really understand.
I wish the hostages to be returned home safely, but I also desperately wish for this war to end, and for the people of Palestine to live lives of safety, in a future where they will not have to exist under the endless threat and oppression of the State of Israel. So, while I acknowledge the plight of the hostages, I would ask my more Zionist (or, at least, pro-Israel) friends to step back a little from their ethno-narcissism and acknowledge the greater plight of the people of Gaza, who suffer at a level several magnitudes greater than the hostages.
And, as always in war, all of the suffering is linked. The safety of the hostages can best be secured through a ceasefire and an end to this war and the end of the suffering of the people of Gaza.
3 April 2024
***
It is perhaps a measure of the skepticism with which I approach most social media content that repetitive copypasta almost always undermines my confidence in a post or a meme. For example, this copypasta has been filling up my feel for the last few months, often on posts with which I might otherwise agree:
We will NEVER forget .💔
We will NEVER stop sharing
ᖴᖇᗴᗴ ᑭᗩᒪᗴSTIᑎᗴ !! 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
It has a long history and, as far as I can tell, first seems to have made its appearance during the 2008 Gaza War. It was not as common or pervasive then and seems to have been used primary by advocates of Hamas.
Social media has evolved into an important theater of political activity, and one of the ways that people can participate politically to advance their causes is by amplifying posts and memes by sharing them. It is a low-cost, largely passive way to engage politically, and that seems to be its great appeal. It is something that I never do, for a number of reasons, but I do understand why many, if not most of my friends do.
But the repetitive copypasta concerns me. It is invariably attached to multiply re-shared posts and seems to suggest that these posts have a common origin. That is, that they do not represent a spontaneous political expression (which would give them their social media authority) but the efforts of a small number (or even one) meme farms.
That is worrying, since the use of such outfits by governments – including the State of Israel – to influence mass opinion in social media is well documented, and I find myself wondering which government or psyops operation is behind this. It isn’t the State of Israel – the products of its meme factories are easy enough to spot – but it could well be any number of hostile governments and “bad actors” who are manipulating the legitimate anger and concern we all have for Gaza to their own ends.
So, I automatically delete any content that I see with this copypasta and have de-friended a number of people whose entire social media activity consists of repeating posts that contain it.
2 April 2024
***
I am fairly confident that the State of Israel will lose its case at the ICJ. When that happens, Israelis will have to adapt to living in a world where their government has been judged guilty of genocide. I have to wonder how they will come back from that. Contrition does not appear to be something of which Israelis are collectively capable. But that will be the price of readmittance into what Romain Rolland once ironically called “the fellowship of civilized nations.” More likely, the State of Israel will reject the world that judged it, as Italy did when it walked out of the League of Nations in 1937, and embrace existence as a pariah, as proof that the world is against it. What this will mean for the lives of Israelis is anyone’s guess, but mine is that they will become even more inclined to the blandishments of their country’s would-be dictators.
1 April 2024
***
* I know that there is a school of thought that all Israelis are evil, genocidal settler-colonists, so there are no “noncombatants” or “civilians” in this fight, and that Hamas is a brave, honorable national liberation movement and a paragon of virtue. I do not share this opinion.