DAY 66 OF THE GAZA WAR: A Day of Heavy Losses. Zionism and Colonialism My Take

Today was another difficult day in Israel. An announcement was released that seven soldiers died in the last 24 hours; seven were killed during combat in Gaza, and a eigth died due to an accident in southern Israel

.

Five of the six soldiers killed in Gaza died in a single incident. The group of soldiers entered a school, cognizant of the likelihood that it contained a tunnel entrance and additional military equipment. Once inside, a sudden large explosion occurred. Part of the building collapsed on them, killing them all. It took time to extricate the soldier’s bodies under fire. All of this happened in Khan Younis. Heavy fighting continues in both Shuja'iyya and Jabaliya.

Tonight, Defense Minister Galant held a press conference where he did not say anything substantial, only mentioning that Hamas is on the verge of collapse in Northern Gaza. I am old enough to remember the “5 o'clock follies” (military press conferences) in Saigon. That's not to suggest that Gaza is our Vietnam, but having the “5 o'clock follies” in mind  does make me a little skeptical of military announcements — especially optimistic ones. Galant’s optimism might be warranted, but with a war that is now Israel’s longest — surpassing all others, except for the War of Independence, and with no end in sight — there is reason for skepticism.

In Jabaliya, a large number of people continue to surrender. So far, Israel has captured 500 terrorists, all members of either Hamas or the Islamic Jihad. These new prisoners are freely talking and providing important information. Today, the IDF Chief of Staff and the Head of Shabak met in Khan Younis. Their meeting in this location was a statement in itself.

IN THE NORTH

The war continued today on our the northern border. In response to an Israeli attack further into Lebanon, rockets were fired on the towns of Ma’alot and Kfar Vradim, which are located 6-8 kilometers from the border. Ma’alot has not been evacuated. Fortunately, the rockets aimed at Ma’alot were all intercepted by the Iron Dome.

Two days of relative calm in Tel Aviv came to an end, when air raid sirens went off at noon. Hamas fired 12 rockets towards the Tel Aviv area. One rocket penetrated the Iron Dome and landed in Holon, causing substantial damage and wounding one person. This rocket barrage was a clear reminder to those of us in Tel Aviv that the war is very much still in progress.

WHITE PHOSPHORUS?

A report emerged claiming Israel had deployed white phosphorus munitions in Lebanon. Human Rights groups were quick to call for an investigation, claiming use of white phosphorus munitions constitutes a war crime. The IDF clarified that they utilized smoke bombs with magnesium content, emphasizing that these munitions were not directly employed against any people. The white phosphorus munitions were deployed in the air to create smoke, thus, according to the IDF, do not constitute a war crime.

HOW NETANYAHU HELPED HAMAS

There was an excellent article in the New York Times by Mark Mazzetti and Ronen Bergman, titled:‘Buying Quiet’: Inside the Israeli Plan That Propped Up Hamas, which outlines the multi-year assistance that Netanyahu provided to Hamas, hoping to lessen any push for a Palestinian state — by keeping Gaza and the West Bank clearly divided and at odds with each other.

ANTISEMITISM & ANTI-ZIONISM, ONE AND THE SAME?

Another article that appeared in today's NYT poses a more complicated question: “Is Anti-Zionism Always Antisemitic? A Fraught Question for the Moment.” I don’t want to rehash the article. You should read it and draw your own conclusions. However, I will state one broad criticism, regarding where the article blurs certain distinctions. Being an Anti-Zionist is not the same as expressing criticism of the Israeli government. If that were the case, as someone who has been unhappy with our government for a significant part of the last 40 years, I would be considered an anti-Zionist, which clearly I am not.

Someone who is opposed to additional settlement in the West Bank is not necessarily an anti-Zionist. In today's world, anti-Zionists oppose the right of the Jewish people to live freely in their own land. If you believe that, you are an antisemite. Thinking that the Jewish people should once again rely on other nations for protection reflects a lack of understanding of both Jewish and world history — and that stance is antisemitic. Being an antisemite does not necessitate a personal dislike toward specific Jews. To be antisemitic, one simply needs to hold the belief that Jews are different and do not deserve the same rights as other peoples or nations that have homelands.

COLONIALISM

Several readers requested I write my response from yesterday's Zoom session regarding the proposition often put forth by many left-wing critics of Israel, that Israel is a “colonialist enterprise”.

There are several challenges to this claim. First, colonies have traditionally been locations where a “home country” sends its people to settle, often to exploit the new location's natural resources such as minerals. The Jewish people do not have a “home country” that sent them to Palestine. Moreover, Palestine was certainly not a land rich in natural resources, offering only sun, sand, and malaria when Zionist first arrived.

Second, colonies are typically established in places where the colonists have no historical ties to the land. However, throughout history, Jews have consistently lived in Palestine/the Land of Israel. Whether in ancient times, through the Middle Ages, or into modern times, there has never been a period without a Jewish presence residing in Palestine. The Jews frequently faced death, and often barely survived. Yet, throughout most of history, despite being a minority, Jews have always been present in this land.

Third, (tied to the first point), Israelis do not have another “home” to which they can return.

Finally, Israel came into being after repeated commissions that throughly investigated the question of Palestine. These commissions, including the UN Commission that preceded the UN Partition Plan vote, concluded that two peoples, the Jews and the Arabs, both had valid claims to the land. As a result, the UN Commission recommended that the only fair and workable solution was to partition the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state. Had the Arabs of Palestine had accepted the UN plan, I can only imagine how much bloodshed would have been avoided, and how different our history might have been. However, the Arabs of Palestine did not accept the plan, and we have experienced over 75 years of bloody conflict since then. The Arabs’ refusal to accept the UN Partition does not render the Jewish state — which accepted the partition — a colonial state.