In Israel, as in Ukraine, I do take sides | Opinion
The Star’s editorial board is not a monolith, and I appreciate that when one of us disagrees with the consensus of the group, that person is free to dissent publicly.
This does not happen often; the last time I begged to differ was five years ago, when the sense of my colleagues was that Democrats should elect anyone but Nancy Pelosi as House speaker, because only “fresh leadership for a caucus in desperate need of it” could effectively counter Donald Trump. The woman my colleagues saw as “an albatross around the neck of the Democratic Party” I saw as uniquely qualified to meet the moment.
That difference of opinion was small, though, in comparison to the chasm between my view of what’s happening in Israel now and the board’s position that “We denounce violence in the Israel-Hamas war — but we have to find a way to coexist.”
That would be nice, but it sounds like something Pope Francis would say.
(Lova ya, Your Holiness, but what you have said on this barbarity so far is miles too mild in the face of actions that President Joe Biden correctly characterized as “sheer evil.”)
As in Ukraine, this is just not a ‘tomato/tomahto’ situation.
There is no “but” in a scenario in which people have been beheaded and terrified children and grandparents taken hostage.
I do take a side, Israel’s.
And I further agree with our president that there is never any justification for terrorism.
This is not a partisan issue, or shouldn’t be, anyway.
Without any hedging, I can’t relate to what Charlie Sykes rightly calls “the moral depravity of the pro-Hamas left.”
That’s not where my colleagues are; they’re where I often am, too, in “can’t we all just get along?” mode.
As a result, they’re against taking sides at all, and question whether we should really call the attack on Israel “unprovoked.”
Normally, my view of the situation in Israel is that both sides are right and both sides are wrong, too.
But what just happened blew “normally” into a thousand pieces.
And right now, to decide against taking a side is to effectively line up with the wrong side.
I can and do stand with Israel while also praying for a humanitarian exit strategy for civilians in Gaza; those two things are not mutually exclusive.
No, I don’t long to see Gaza turned into a parking lot, and yes, I do feel for Palestinians both here and there.
“One way to work toward peace in our community,” the Star editorial said, “is to get to know those different from us.”
That’s always a good idea, but it is not a substitute for clarity on who started this war, and who will have to finish it.
Hamas cannot survive to repeat this outrage, and neutrality will not accomplish that.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 12:35 PM.
