Truth, then Reconciliation 

Israel must demand parties involved in ceasefire talks make a single statement before negotiations are finalized

News that regional and global parties are working furiously to work out a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, that would include a cessation to Israel’s military operations in Lebanon and Gaza in return for the release of the hostages, is a good thing. A blessed thing. We can only pray that the hostages come home before the holiday of Sukkot. That our cousins and brothers and sisters and sons and daughters return from the front. Yet before we make such a deal, there is one thing that will cost the powers nothing that we must demand as part of any agreement: the public admission that Israel did not perpetuate a genocide against the Palestinians.

It might seem ridiculous to include the absolution of Israel from genocide accusations as a critical demand from the regional and global powers, but a truthful statement putting Israel’s justified war effort into perspective is critical if we ever want to move towards reconciliation with the peoples of the region. This isn’t about Tshuva – or repentance, in the language of Yom Kippur; it is a necessary prerequisite to avoiding such conflicts in the future.

We do not need the powers to go so far as to advocate for Israel’s side in the war. We don’t need to demand a statement absolving Israelis of potential war crimes that may be adjudicated. What is necessary is a simple statement, made by the leaders of the Arab and Muslim world in particular, that clarifies that no matter how hard-fought the war in Gaza and Lebanon, Israel did not genocide the Palestinians, and if they are willing to go further, that the Jews too deserve a right to self-determination in peace.

Only through truth can we come to reconciliation. It is true, Israel bears a lot of responsibility for the fate of the Palestinians. Israel’s military occupation of the lands captured from Jordan and Egypt in the 1967 war – and its continued military administration of those lands – created a twilightzone for millions of Palestinians who were essentially citizens of no country. Israel could have nationalized the territories and granted the inhabitants citizenship. Or granted them autonomy. It did neither. Instead, successive Israeli administrations created a reality in which two peoples, living less than a kilometer from one another with no national border running in between, had different rights and different legal protections. Israelis and Jews need to admit that truth, and grapple with its implications.

It is also true that Israel killed many, many Palestinians and Lebanese citizens over the past year. Putting aside that the majority of these were members of terrorist forces armed by the Islamic Republic of Iran dedicated to the genocide of Jews and the elimination of Israel, the peoples of the region need to face the truth: Israel killed far, far less people than Hezbollah killed in Syria, Turkey killed in its many wars against the secessionist Kurds, Saudi Arabia killed in Yemen, and has resulted in a fraction of the damage inflicted by Iran across the region. And that is not even beginning to mention the casualties by US, British, and French forces in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan.

Anyone who looks at the numbers knows this truth about Israel’s relative restraint. Everyone who looks at Israel within the context of the Middle East knows that the Jewish State has fought the most exact and humanitarian war, given the circumstances. Yet until the leaders of the Arab and Muslim world admit it and publicly quash the genocide claim against Israel, their people will continue to believe the lie sold to them by the Qatari and their Imperialist partners in Iran. Campuses across the world will continue to burn with the righteous fury of progressive anti-zionism, and the future of Israel will be threatened by the good intentions of global elites who know nothing more than what they see amplified by their social networks.

The incredible intelligence and tactical victories in Lebanon have proven to the world that Israel’s military continues to hold a qualitative and quantitative edge. The past year has proven to the peoples of the region that the Jews know how to come together when the going gets tough. Israelis are less afraid now, less existentially anxious. Many are awakening to the fact that we were never truly existentially threatened by Hamas or Hezbollah or even Iran’s military forces. It was bloody, tragic, unforgivable, terror whose purpose was to destroy Israel’s credibility, crash its economy, and wear down its resilience. To counter this offensive on Israel’s economy and international standing and to give Israel a chance to rehabilitate and recover, we need to start by making one simple demand: admit there is no genocide in Gaza, and let the truth guide us towards a new stage in Israel’s relationship with the region.