Israel, Netanyahu the war criminal, and Biden.
Stop the violence now.
President Biden has been a very good President, but his role in the Israel-Hamas war is less brilliant. He has been asking prime minister Netanyahu to stop pursuing the war in a way that creates a huge number of Palestinian victims. Netanyahu is a narcissist whose main goals seems to be to remain in power, to avoid the continuation of his criminal trial for wrongdoing, and to make sure there will be no Palestinian state. He does not seem to care much about the hostages. If there were a new election his party/coalition would almost certainly lose, and then with his trial continuing he might well end up in jail.
Mr. Biden tries to exercise influence, but the current Israeli leaders don’t listen to him. I have suggested in previous Substack posts that the U.S. must act—by stopping military aid and making it clear to the Israeli government that we will stop the long history of protecting Israel diplomatically, for example, by vetoing resolutions of the Security Council. The following is a quote with which I agree from a Substack message yesterday by Peter Beinart, a professor, journalist and occasional television commentator. He and I are both Jewish, but I adhere to the principle that what was done to the Jews in the Holocaust, which I survived as a young child in Hungary, should not be done to any group. He seems to feel the same way. And the Israeli Hamas war is also destructive to Israel.
“…The Biden administration doesn’t want to have to deal with that central question, with the political fallout of actually addressing America’s role, it tries to sidestep that by suggesting America continue to be this active participant, but also be this supposedly neutral umpire that can basically come out with a way of solving the conflict. And that doesn’t work. It’s not America’s fundamental job…..The president’s job is to be able to say to the American people: ‘I am ethically and wisely using your money in the way we interact with other countries.’ “
It has become clear that what President Biden has been doing is throwing sand into the air, which the wind blows back in his face, and all of our faces. The nature of engagement between the President and Netanyahu is also destructive to the President’s reelection efforts. It shows him weak. Nobody is satisfied with it. It has also contributed to conflicts between groups in the US and to student demonstrations. He had many great accomplishments during his tenure as President, with a divided Congress. And even though he faces many challenges, it is time for him to show courage in this and act decisively.
Prof. Staub,
You spoke about the "Roots of Evil" at my high school back in the mid 1990s. I've thought back to that talk and to the book a lot lately. So glad to see you're still active and writing!
I'm afraid your Holocaust trauma blinds you. As a second-generation Holocaust survivor and a sixth-generation survivor of Arab-Muslim aggression, I too adhere to the principle that what was done to the Jews in the Holocaust should never be done to any group. However, your suggestion that a similar atrocity is occurring in Israel right now is unfounded and scandalous. By advocating for a cessation of U.S. military aid to Israel, you are effectively calling for a second Holocaust.
I, along with millions of Israelis and Jews, strongly oppose Netanyahu's terrible government. Yet, we must recognize that Israel is not the aggressor in this conflict; Israel did not start this war. As long as our hostages—among them babies, Holocaust survivors, and peace activists—remain in captivity and Hamas continues to fire rockets at Israel, the war will not end.
Stopping U.S. military aid to Israel would only embolden those who seek to destroy us and perpetuate violence. It is imperative to support Israel's right to defend itself and protect its citizens. President Biden must act decisively, but not by abandoning an ally and jeopardizing its security. Instead, he should leverage U.S. influence to ensure a balanced and effective approach to peace in the region.