We must avoid the Samson Option

Despite the justifiable horror and rage we feel, all who value life and security must join against Hamas to enable Israel to pull back from taking steps it will deeply regret

Israelis are growing increasingly desperate, and this should concern everyone: Israel’s supporters and its detractors alike. Other than the small percentage of Israelis who see the fingerprints of the Messiah on the events of October 7, 2023, the mood in Israel is dark and getting darker.

Parallels to the story of the biblical Samson are plenty. Like Israel, Samson begins our story as a powerful, successful hero making way in the world. Like Delilah, Hamas lured Israel’s then and current Prime Minister and his political supporters into a sense of false security by promises of a calm and normal life if only the money kept flowing. Like Samson, Israel was caught and captured while sleeping, dragged away to Gaza in chains. Its power – its ability to protect itself and its people – was shorn by international actors just as it needed it most.

With time, as the story goes, Samson regained his power, and found himself needing to make a critical decision: would he use his strength to break away, return to his people, and continue to defend them as best he could – or would he seek revenge? Blinded physically and by his rage, Samson declares “my soul will die with the Philistines” as he brings down the pillars of Gaza on the heads of his enemies, destroying himself in the process.

I fear too many Israelis now intimately understand what drove Samson to choose death over life. Hamas’ parading of the hostages, their glee, and most of all the seemingly enthusiastic participation of Gazan women and children in the military spectacle surrounding the transfer of victims to the Red Cross have convinced more than a few of my deeply thoughtful, caring friends that there is no solution other than the Samson Solution: the complete and utter destruction of Gaza.

Because they do not believe there is a way to live alongside monsters that mark victory by showcasing babies in caskets. Because they believe two million people would rise up against thirty thousand armed men if they truly did not support their cause. Because they believe the same Gazans celebrating the death of children will invade our homes, our beds, our cribs again if only given a chance. Because they are tired of being told they are responsible for genocide and ethnic cleansing when the same people they’re accused of oppressing declare victory and dance on our loved ones’ graves. Might as well do what we’re accused of doing, they say – and I can see the deep sadness mixed with determined rage in their eyes.

But this fate must be avoided. Because even if the number of innocents in Gaza may be smaller than we thought, it is larger than any measure of morally acceptable collateral damage. Because as Jews, we survived thousands of years by sticking to our values, and our values do not permit innocents to be punished along with the guilty. Because if we do this, our children’s children will never forgive us.

Another future is possible. To achieve it, to walk Israel back from the brink, the true friends of both Israelis and Palestinians need to make a simple promise: if Israel agrees to end this war – in return for all of the hostages – the world will end Hamas.

That last point I believe to be key: I’ve come to believe that the only way to talk Israelis away from supporting the Samson Option is to amplify the voices of those who love Palestinians more than they hate Israelis so that they know they are not alone. Our best chance is for leaders of international institutions to join the UN’s Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk, in calling out Hamas, and to go further: to admit they were misled by the Gaza Ministry of Health, to clearly state there was no genocide. That yes, civilians were tragically killed in the heat of battle, but that in light of the terrible choices Israel had to make to defend itself, it behaved as any other country in war.

Given the urgency of the matter, here are three practical declarative actions I believe both Israel’s and Palestine’s true friends, and the international institutions who understand the gravity of the hour, can take to convince Israelis to walk away from the Samson Option:

1. Declare any direct or indirect support for Hamas to be unacceptable and illegal. Specifically, this will require a change in policy concerning countries such as Qatar, Turkey, and South Africa, who have regular working relationships with Hamas and provide it funds, equipment, and diplomatic support.
2. Declare the unwavering commitment for self-determination in place (where populations now live) as opposed to being in line with historical armistice or colonial boundaries. Whether it be a two-state solution, a three-state solution, or a twelve-state solution, the action of self-determination should be delegated to the local level at a later date once passions have subsided. The international community must stand firmly behind Israel’s right to exist, just as they stand behind the right of Palestinians to safety and security. This means normalizing the Palestinians among the nations, ending their special refugee status, dispelling the idea that there is a right to return to a polity not theirs – a right afforded to no other ethnic or national group in the world.
3. Declare a long-term commitment to the eradication of Islamic Imperialist campaigns that aim to rid the region of non-Muslims, starting with Hamas. Israelis need to be reminded that total defeat and the uprooting of a murderous/suicidal ideology takes time. Years. Maybe decades. It requires constant, continued action. As Qanta Ahmed reports, Muslim religious authorities have already stepped up – we now need international leaders to join them in their commitment. To support sustained operations by Israeli and Arab secret services, coordinated action to identify, disrupt, and root out radical nests. To demand a change in coordinated international policy towards facilitating actors (such as those inciting to violence including Al-Jazeera), and the establishment of deradicalization programs used elsewhere across the Muslim world. To build solidarity based on shared commitment, and a covenant with clearly demarcated areas of autonomy and responsibility such as were crafted in the campaign against ISIS.

I recognize that asking this of the international community is a lot. Some will surely call it naive. But I believe now is the time to demand that which may seem impossible in order to avoid the unthinkable

If Israelis sense that the world finally feels their pain and is committed to their right to live in safety – even if this commitment is balanced with a promise to ensure Palestinians receive the same right to security in place – we may be able to walk back Israeli society from the brink. The world had a chance to take these declarative steps after Hamas’ horrid attacks on October 7, and failed. Hamas’ craven behavior over the past few weeks of hostage releases opens another opportunity for Israel’s allies and international institutions to do the right thing for the sake of all of the residents of our fragile region. For the sake of the soul of Israel, and the lives of the residents of Gaza, let’s hope we’ve all learned a lesson.