The Economist leader on August 9th has a troubling subheading:

Why Israel must hold itself to account

And how it can be made to do so

The threat implied, is sadly not new and sadly shows how the West has been cajoled finally to join the Arab League and Palestinian’s to siege the Jewish state until it’s destruction.

The editor is correct that Israel’s declaration of Independence enshrines individual human dignity in it’s founding document, a right that predates the Geneva Conventions, founded and codified in the Book of Books, the Bible, that man is created in God’s image. This founding vision continues to hold amongst religious and non religious Jews in Israel and is in no way lying in any sort of balance.

The editor writes that Israel was born in violence, implying a foundational original sin at the root of Israel’s founding in 1948. The editor is correct, the idea of political Israel, an idea penned by Theodor Herzl in the 1880s was absolutely born in violence, a recognition of the insatiable Christian violence against the Jews of Europe that gave Jews no rest from violence on local or even state level, culminating in the worst crime known to mankind – the Holocaust.

From Israel’s actual founding in 1948 and before, a hand of peace was always extended to it’s neighbors, Statement to the Elected Assembly of Palestine Jewry by Mr. David Ben-Gurion, 2 October 1947: :

Come what may, we will not surrender our right to free Aliyah, to rebuild our shattered Homeland, to claim statehood. If we are attacked, we will fight back. But we will do everything in our power to maintain peace, and establish a Cupertino gainful to both. It is now, here and now, from Jerusalem itself, that a call must go out to the Arab nations to join forces with Jewry and the destined Jewish State and work shoulder to shoulder for our common good, for the peace and progress of sovereign equals.

The editor writes: “The laws of war are being broken and the system for upholding them is not working.” This is incorrect, the laws of war themselves are broken. A state army fighting a militia holding civilian hostages, hiding amongst their own civilian population in tunnels as we see in Gaza, on this scale, is actually unprecedented. The laws of war are no long suitable to enable states to fight this type of war and win. Israel, employs hundreds of lawyers in the army and continues to follow its interpretation of the law. Who are we, to judge at this stage, all the individual assessments and deliberations? Surely a time will come for that.

“Israel’s just war against the terrorists who massacred its people on October 7th 2023 has turned into death and destruction on a biblical scale. Most of Gaza lies in ruins, millions of civilians are displaced and tens of thousands have been killed. And still, Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, cannot stop himself.”

Gaza lies in ruins as buildings not only booby trapped, but with tunnel infrastructure throughout the villages meant that the only safe way to clear the area was to destroy the buildings. Millions displaced – how else was Israel to clear the military infrastructure built with billions of dollars over decades, without moving the population? Ten’s of thousands killed, it is estimated that Hamas has recruited another 30,000 fighters willing to join the cause, this is on top of the 30,000-40,000 estimated at the start of the war. The Prime Minister cannot rest until he fulfills his obligation to the people of Israel to return the hostages and defeat Hamas. “But Hamas is no longer a military threat” who exactly is the military fighting daily if Hamas is no longer a threat? What other type of threat are they if not a military one? When Hamas preps rockets to fire at civilians villages over the border, is this not considered a threat?

“It should also agree on a ceasefire, which will enable it to recover its hostages.” What did I miss? What ceasefire is the editor referring to – the one that involved Israel pulling back and Hamas being allowed to continue to rule the strip? Surely the writer can see how that is the worst option long term for peace in the region?

[post script: this blog post was written and not posted due to copyright issue on the image. The commentary I gave, still holds today and clearly the miracle achievement of the hostages returned, is something that was hard to imagine back in August – how the ceasefire plays out, is still being determined. With prayers for the return of the final body Ran Gvili].