Israel Has Gone Too Far

I’m making this my business because I have Jewish ancestry. I renounced religion when my rabbi shredded my Bar Mitzvah speech, teaching me religion wasn’t about speaking truth. I was naive then, didn’t realize speaking truth could get me in so much trouble. I’m wiser now, but despite my reluctance to discuss matters of religion, I have to denounce the blockade of Gaza. This latest incident was so outrageous, I’m compelled to stand up to say this Jew is sickened by the actions of Israel. Maybe it’s time it should be treated as a rogue state. Maybe it’s time this country stops vetoing Security Council resolutions that Israel thinks are unfair; whatever watered down version gets passed Israel ignores anyway. The siege of Gaza is beyond unacceptable and unsustainable, to paraphrase the Secretary of State. This is an ongoing war crime, with the implicit support of Jews and those who enable these war crimes to go on with impunity. I can renounce my religion, but not my ancestry. I’ve never been so ashamed of the actions going on in the name of Israeli security as now. Go on, call me a self-hating Jew, as if I could break the bonds of blood. Israel has gone too far once too many times for me; I can pretend it doesn’t stain me no longer. War crimes should be prosecuted, regardless of who commits them. The United States should stand aside and allow international law to deal with Israel. I’m not naive enough to think that’s going to happen, but I’m saying, this is one United States born and raised Jew screaming in disgusted protest, and I’m not alone in that. I wouldn’t go so far as Auschwitz survivor Dr. Hajo Meyer, comparing Israel’s dehumanization of Palestinians to Nazi tactics, or Helen Thomas, who just quit after being roundly denounced for saying Israeli Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine,” but I can understand their sentiments.

I copied this image from the Atlantic.

Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip

This is what Israel calls security, why it must board these ships and make sure no contraband gets into Gaza. I read this and wept. This I don’t blame on bad science, rather the belief system that can justify that as necessary, or justifiable, as part of Israel’s arsenal in its war against Hamas. This has nothing to do with self defense or security. Some call it collective punishment. I think that fits the crime. The government of Israel has forfeited its legitimacy. It may be time to at least threaten to impose a peace settlement on Israel, or maybe confiscate its nuclear bombs. Since Israel is so worried about arms shipments to Hamas, international inspections could be arranged. Bottom line, Israel doesn’t own Gaza, and has no right to blockade Gaza. The state of war Israel uses to justify these actions is as one-sided as it gets, maybe even worse than the United States trying to squash the resistance of one of the poorest nations on Earth, Afghanistan. At least there, the resistance fighters have some ability to fight back, despite the overwhelming military superiority of the occupying forces.