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A Simple Test to Check "Criticism of Israel" for Antisemitism

(Tablet) Cynical Publius - I am a Roman Catholic American who has spent much of my adult life in the Middle East. I made many Arab friends and have come to admire the richness of much of Arab culture. Yet, I would be lying by omission if I did not note what was appalling about what I saw: women treated as property, third-country nationals living as literal slaves, gay and lesbian people as criminals, utter religious intolerance, fascist restrictions on free speech, and monarchies ruling by fiat. Amid all of this, Israel stood apart to me, a shining light in a region full of dark despotism - a true democracy with guaranteed liberties, a technological wonderland carved out of a stark desert devoid of resources, and a place where 21% of the citizenry of this ostensibly Jewish state consists of non-Jewish Arabs. In Israel, gays are not criminalized and women are not property. Given the sharp contrasts with its neighbors, why is Israel so repeatedly singled out as if it is the only (and worst) bad actor in that region? In my experience, the IDF is one of the most professional militaries the world has ever seen. Most importantly for this conversation, it trains and practices civilian harm mitigation with the same zeal as all professional Western militaries. At the top of the mitigation list is constant warnings to civilians to evacuate tightly targeted areas before engagement with minimally destructive munitions. As a matter of training and doctrine, the IDF does all it can to minimize civilian casualties - and in this it is as good as, and I'd argue maybe even better, than U.S. forces. In war it is impossible to prevent all damage to civilians. It cannot be done. Innocents die. Most importantly, there is a huge difference between killing innocents by accident, and killing them on purpose (like Hamas does with its random rockets aimed at Israeli civilians). If the unintentional death of innocents is inevitable in all wars, why does Israel get special moral disapproval when it happens with the IDF? The IDF's efforts are as measured and tempered as those of any Western military at war. They are simply being singled out. If you want to commit genocide, you do not warn civilians to seek safe shelter before you engage the combatants in their midst. You're upset about the pictures of a leveled Gaza? Have you seen what the U.S. military did to Fallujah? When you know that Israel is the freest, most liberal state in the region; when you know that war is hell and civilians die in all wars; when you know that the IDF engages in state-of-the-art mitigation measures to protect innocent civilians; and you still engage in the blood libelish lies of "Israel is committing genocide," the only logical conclusion is that this is due to Jew-hatred. Anyone who spreads it to fellow Americans is a predator. The writer is a retired U.S. Army officer who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2024-05-23 00:00:00
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