On Oct. 17, the Middle East Studies Program hosted a teach-in called “Behind the Violence in Israel and Palestine.” I was part of a standing-room-only crowd who attended. The event was organized to help our community understand the events that dominate the news today. As someone who is professionally involved in Jewish and Israel-focused education, there are several points that I think I can make which will contribute to that laudable aim. 

First, as difficult as it is to do so, it is important to focus attention on the nature of the violence perpetrated on Oct. 7. It was directed at children, the elderly, the disabled and other innocent civilians. The Hamas men tortured, mutilated, raped and desecrated Israelis who were at home or otherwise engaged in the activities of private life. Over 1,400 people were slaughtered and Hamas men kidnapped over 200 babies, toddlers, teenagers, women and men. I suggest that you visit this site: https://www.kidnappedfromisrael.com/ to see the faces and names of these hostages.

One of the panelists at the event commented, “There is violence, and then there is violence.”  It is useful to elaborate on this point. In the view of most political philosophers — and, indeed, most people — there is a moral difference between intentionally targeting civilians and causing the death or injury of civilians who are put in harm’s way by their proximity to military targets. President Biden was referring to this when he reiterated several times that there are laws of war and that Hamas is violating those laws by using civilians as human shields. I was disappointed that no one on the panel mentioned this well-established tradition of moral philosophy and how it applies in this case. 

Second, when analyzing political events, it is important to resist the temptation to believe that we live in the utopian world that we all wish for. In the world we do live in, the facts are these: Israel will not survive unless the enemies who are determined to destroy it are deterred. What does deterrence mean? It means that anyone who contemplates an attack on Israel will judge that the costs are too high. To put it bluntly, if there is to be peace, would-be aggressors must fear Israel’s military response.

The highest imperative for Israel right now is to reestablish deterrence. This will unfortunately entail a lot of violence against an enemy that intentionally entrenches itself among civilians and discourages their evacuation to safer places. There was no mention of these hard political truths at the panel discussion.

Third, it seemed to be taken for granted that Jews are occupiers and colonialists in Israel. Indeed, the panelists seemed at times to imply that Israel “deserves what it gets” because of this fact. The latter proposition is not worth dignifying with a reply. But I would like to register a strong objection to the former proposition. 

Every day, facing east toward Jerusalem, I recite the prayer from our liturgy: “Sound the great shofar for our freedom; raise a banner to gather our exiles, and bring us together from the four corners of the earth into our land.” This prayer is centuries old and has been recited by Jews in every country of the diaspora every day, three times a day for more than 1,000 years. There are many similar prayers that are part of the fabric of Jewish life. They show the centrality of the land of Israel to the Jewish people. This is simply not how colonizers or occupiers think and feel about the land where they reside.

The point can also be made without referring to prayer. If Jews are colonizers, where exactly is the “capital” or “homeland” from which they were sent out to colonize other lands? Was it Poland? Iraq? Morocco? Germany? Of course, it was none of these places. The Jews were homeless until they returned to their home. And this is the fact that their enemies never seem to absorb: They cannot be chased away by violence as actual colonizers have been. They are defending their home.  

Finally, a point about the broader geopolitical considerations — a question from a student at the event. Hamas gets most of its financial support, weapons, intelligence and military training from Iran. Hezbollah, a militant group based in southern Lebanon that is also sworn to destroy Israel, is even more closely supplied and directed by Iran. Whether Iran planned, approved or simply cheered on this attack, its support over many years made it possible, and it fits well into its own violent rhetoric about both destroying the Jewish state and harming the US. The calculations that the US is making now are certainly tied up with the strategy for dealing with Iran. This should have been something the panelists discussed.

I hope these remarks are of some service to the Carleton community and I would welcome your feedback ([email protected]).