For the past two weeks, I have been ashamed of my government. It sits by watching, doing nothing – while Israel slaughters innocent civilians including mothers and children seeking shelter in schools – supposedly in the name of its security. Not only this, leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties assert that Israel has no choice in the matter, saying things like, "What do you think we would do if rockets were being launched from Mexico or Canada at US cities?"
Imagine if a bully in your neighborhood repeatedly threatened and attacked your child. What would you do? Would you respond by beating the kid up? Would you also beat up his parents? How about burn down his house? I hope it goes without saying that none of these responses would be appropriate.
While this analogy is not a perfect fit for the situation, the point remains that a violent response from Israel to Hamas' attacks sustains the violence now as well as assures that it will escalate in the future. The process of escalation of violence through vigilantism is precisely why we rely on agencies of criminal justice to respond for us when we are harmed by others through crime (as in the case of the bully in your neighborhood). It assures that upon arrest, conviction, and sentencing for a criminal act, retribution is achieved and there is no further risk of escalation by the victim.
Again, this analogy may not be apt for the Israeli response to Palestinian violence against its people – they cannot just "call the police" – but Israel and US politicians are wrong to assert that Israel has no choice but to respond with more violence. After all, it is Israel – with the backing of the world’s only super power – that is in a position of power in the region.
Further, there are international bodies that can be called upon to help settle this issue once and for all. Two things have to happen for this to occur. First, the United States would have to embrace them. Instead, the US has blocked the enforcement of UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to Israel and used its veto power dozens of times to protect Israel. Second, Israel would have to abide by them. Instead, Israel has routinely violated UN Security Council resolutions, with US protection at the UN.
To say that the powerless and the occupied (Palestinians) force you to do something is absurd on its face. In fact, Israel could do much to reduce terrorism against its people by Palestinians. For one, it could stop creating the conditions that generate anger and ultimately terrorism. For example, it could stop violating international law by building settlements in the Palestinian territories. It could stop utilizing collective punishment when dealing with the families of suicide bombers. It could stop building its "security wall" on Palestinian lands. It could stop treating the Palestinian people as goats to be herded from here to there without dignity or respect. Israel, and only Israel, has the power to do such things.
Even its current campaign against Hamas is a political rather than a military campaign, making it outside the scope of self-defense and therefore illegal. Still, Israel claims its Gaza offensive is aimed at preventing terrorism in order to protect its people. Ironically, if you look up the word "terrorism" in the dictionary, Israel's current actions fit the definition perfectly. It is using violence to create fear in order to achieve an ideological or political purpose.
The US example in its "war on terror" has not given Israel reason to do anything differently. US leaders launched their own war on Iraq for political reasons, and our war also is illegal. US leaders, including President-elect Obama, will not call Israeli actions terrorism, even though that is precisely what it is. Instead, Obama remains silent about the issue because when it comes to foreign policy we "only have one president at a time" (even while he is pushing Congress for a quick stimulus spending plan, I guess because the economy is different or more important?).
Shame on Israel. And shame on us. If we want peace, it is up to the powerful to bring it about.