As I write these words, I am sitting at home in Tel Aviv, trying to figure out how to protect my family in a house with no shelter or safe room, following with growing panic the reports and rumors of horrible events taking place in the Israeli towns near Gaza which are under attack. I see people, some of them my friends, calling on social media to attack Gaza more fiercely than ever before. Some Israelis are saying that now is the time to eradicate Gaza entirely — essentially calling for genocide. Through all the explosions, the dread and the bloodshed, speaking about peaceful solutions seems like madness to them.
Yet I remember that everything that I am feeling now, which every Israeli must be sharing, has been the life experience of millions of Palestinians for far too long. The only solution, as it has always been, is to bring an end of apartheid, occupation, and siege, and promote a future based on justice and equality for all of us. It is not in spite of the horror that we have to change course — it is exactly because of it.
While I am extremely sympathetic to Palestinians who are totally fucked by Israel as well as Israeli citizens who are caught in a crossfire and victims of terrorist attacks, both sides are very much bad here, in terms of leadership.
That the Israeli government has effectively no plan for long-term de-escalation and encourages far-right hardliners is unacceptable. That Palestinians are increasingly clinging to Hamas and calling for Israel’s destruction is unacceptable.
Regardless of the history (and I am very aware of the repeated and at times extremely generous peace plans put forth), what matters is competency and leadership today, and the leadership of both sides here has unflinchingly chosen escalation
As a result, there is no option for Israel after this attack except an overwhelming show of force, which is both tragic and as clear and example as you can get that recent leadership has utterly failed to provide genuine safety.