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The Real Lessons of Oct. 7

(JNS) Jonathan S. Tobin - The post-mortems about the Oct. 7 disaster must include broader misconceptions that not only helped bring about this epic disaster but that might conceivably allow it to be repeated in the future. That's especially true in the U.S., where public discussion of the war on Hamas continues to center on myths that should have been rejected long ago. Belief in the idea of a two-state solution evaporated with the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000, which brought nearly five years of suicide bombings into every realm of Israeli civilian life. Since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, it was an independent Palestinian state in all but name. As such, it was an experiment that demonstrated what a two-state solution that encompassed the far larger and more strategic Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank") would mean. While there are individual Palestinians who may believe in the idea of peace with Israel, they are isolated and overwhelmingly outnumbered by supporters of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the so-called "moderates" of Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party. They have all made it clear in their rejection of every effort at a compromise peace plan over the decades that they deny the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no matter where its borders might be drawn. The point of the mass terror attack wasn't to end the "occupation" of a coastal enclave that had been evacuated by Israelis 18 years earlier or to push for a withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. It represented a Palestinian desire to turn back the clock to 1947 and destroy the State of Israel, even within the borders that existed before 1967. The widespread support among Palestinians for this effort (and for the atrocities that ensued) lays bare the futility and the insanity of any attempt to force Israel to make territorial retreats to accommodate yet another attempt at a Palestinian state. Palestinian political culture is solely predicated on the premise that Zionism and a Jewish state are incompatible with the minimum demands of their national identity. It is incumbent on Israelis and friends of Israel elsewhere to stop bickering over peace plans or pretending that Israel should be "saved from itself." In the absence of a complete transformation of Palestinian society that is nowhere in sight, any advocacy for a Palestinian state in the post-Oct. 7 world is a unique form of delusionary thinking. The only logical way to defend Israel going forward must begin by recognizing this truth and stop treating those who wish to deny Israel the same rights granted to every other nation in the world as if their opinions were reasonable and well-intentioned.
2024-10-08 00:00:00
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