哈马斯对以色列发动可怕袭击已经过去 17 天，造成 1,400 多名以色列公民死亡，其中包括手无寸铁的妇女、儿童和老人。在这种难以形容的暴行发生之后，美国政府和美国人民与家人分担悲痛，祈祷亲人归来，并正确地宣布与以色列人民站在一起。
正如我在之前的帖子中所说，以色列有权保护其公民免受这种肆意暴力的侵害，我完全支持拜登总统的呼吁，要求美国支持我们的长期盟友追击哈马斯，摧毁其军事能力，并帮助数百名人质安全返回家人身边。
但即使我们支持以色列，我们也应该清楚，以色列如何打击哈马斯很重要。尤其重要的是——正如拜登总统一再强调的那样——以色列的军事战略遵守国际法，包括那些力求尽最大可能避免平民死亡或痛苦的法律。坚持这些价值观本身就很重要——因为它在道德上是公正的，反映了我们对每个人生命固有价值的信念。坚持这些价值观对于建立联盟和塑造国际舆论也至关重要——所有这些对于以色列的长期安全都至关重要。
这是一项极其艰巨的任务。战争总是悲惨的，即使是最精心策划的军事行动也常常将平民置于危险之中。正如拜登总统在最近访问以色列期间指出的那样，美国本身在卷入战争时有时会达不到我们的更高价值观，而在 9/11 事件之后，美国政府甚至没有兴趣听取我们的建议。在谈到我们为保护自己免受基地组织侵害而采取的措施时，我们与盟友保持着密切的联系。现在，在对以色列公民进行系统性屠杀之后，这场屠杀唤起了对犹太人迫害的一些最黑暗的记忆，这是可以理解的，许多以色列人要求他们的政府采取一切措施根除哈马斯并确保此类袭击永远不会发生。再次发生。此外，哈马斯的军事行动深深植根于加沙，其领导层似乎有意隐藏在平民中，从而危及他们声称代表的人民。
尽管如此，世界仍在密切关注该地区事态的发展，任何忽视人员伤亡的以色列军事战略最终都可能适得其反。已经有数千名巴勒斯坦人在加沙的轰炸中丧生，其中许多是儿童。数十万人被迫离开家园。以色列政府决定切断被俘平民的食物、水和电力，这不仅有可能使日益严重的人道主义危机恶化，而且还可能加剧这种危机。它可能会进一步强化巴勒斯坦几代人的态度，削弱全球对以色列的支持，落入以色列敌人的手中，并破坏实现该地区和平与稳定的长期努力。
因此，重要的是，我们这些在以色列需要帮助的时候支持以色列的人，应该鼓励采取一项战略，使哈马斯丧失能力，同时最大限度地减少进一步的平民伤亡。以色列最近允许救援卡车进入加沙，部分原因是拜登政府的幕后外交，这是令人鼓舞的一步，但我们需要继续领导国际社会，加快向日益绝望的加沙提供关键援助和物资人口。虽然未来和平的前景似乎比以往任何时候都更加遥远，但我们应该呼吁该地区所有关键行为体与那些承认以色列生存权的巴勒斯坦领导人和组织接触，开始为巴勒斯坦人阐明实现实现目标的可行途径。他们对自决的合法愿望——因为这是实现大多数以色列和巴勒斯坦家庭所渴望的持久和平与安全的最佳途径，也许也是唯一途径。
最后，在应对如此多的人处于痛苦之中、激情高涨的极其复杂的情况时，我们所有人都需要尽最大努力展现我们最好的价值观，而不是我们最担心的事情。
这意味着在任何地方积极反对一切形式的反犹太主义。这意味着拒绝减少以色列人民刚刚经历的可怕悲剧的努力，也意味着拒绝任何道德败坏的建议，即任何事业都可以在某种程度上证明蓄意屠杀无辜人民是正当的。
这意味着拒绝反穆斯林、反阿拉伯或反巴勒斯坦的情绪。这意味着拒绝将所有巴勒斯坦人与哈马斯或其他恐怖组织混为一谈。这意味着要警惕针对加沙人民的非人性语言，或者淡化巴勒斯坦人的苦难——无论是在加沙还是在西岸——视为无关紧要或非法的。
这意味着承认以色列拥有一切生存权利；犹太人民拥有一个安全的家园，他们在那里有古老的历史根源；而且以色列前几届政府也曾为解决争端并为两国解决方案提供一条有意义的努力而做出过有意义的努力，但这些努力最终遭到对方的拒绝。
这意味着承认巴勒斯坦人也世世代代生活在有争议的领土上；他们中的许多人不仅在以色列成立时就流离失所，而且继续因定居者运动而被迫流离失所，而定居者运动往往得到以色列政府的默许或明确支持；愿意为两国解决方案做出让步的巴勒斯坦领导人往往没有什么成果；善意的人们有可能在不反犹太主义的情况下捍卫巴勒斯坦权利并反对以色列政府在西岸和加沙的某些政策。
也许最重要的是，这意味着我们应该选择不要总是对那些与我们意见不同的人做最坏的打算。在社交媒体上不断存在仇恨、恶搞和错误信息的时代，当如此多的政客和寻求关注的人看到释放热量而不是释放光芒的优势时，期望在任何问题上进行相互尊重的对话可能是不现实的——更不用说在一个问题上进行尊重的对话了。在如此高的风险和如此多的流血之后，问题才得以解决。但是，如果我们关心为以色列和巴勒斯坦儿童的子孙后代以及我们自己的孩子保持和平、安全和尊严的可能性，那么我们所有人至少有责任努力在我们的国家中树立榜样。自己的言行，我们希望他们继承的世界。
Thoughts on Israel and Gaza
It’s been 17 days since Hamas launched its horrific attack against Israel, killing over 1,400 Israeli citizens, including defenseless women, children and the elderly. In the aftermath of such unspeakable brutality, the U.S. government and the American people have shared in the grief of families, prayed for the return of loved ones, and rightly declared solidarity with the Israeli people.
As I stated in an earlier post, Israel has a right to defend its citizens against such wanton violence, and I fully support President Biden’s call for the United States to support our long-time ally in going after Hamas, dismantling its military capabilities, and facilitating the safe return of hundreds of hostages to their families.
But even as we support Israel, we should also be clear that how Israel prosecutes this fight against Hamas matters. In particular, it matters — as President Biden has repeatedly emphasized — that Israel’s military strategy abides by international law, including those laws that seek to avoid, to every extent possible, the death or suffering of civilian populations. Upholding these values is important for its own sake — because it is morally just and reflects our belief in the inherent value of every human life. Upholding these values is also vital for building alliances and shaping international opinion — all of which are critical for Israel’s long-term security.
This is an enormously difficult task. War is always tragic, and even the most carefully planned military operations often put civilians at risk. As President Biden noted during his recent visit to Israel, America itself has at times fallen short of our higher values when engaged in war, and in the aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. government wasn’t interested in heeding the advice of even our allies when it came to the steps we took to protect ourselves against Al Qaeda. Now, after the systematic massacre of Israeli citizens, a massacre that evokes some of the darkest memories of persecution against the Jewish people, it’s understandable that many Israelis have demanded that their government do whatever it takes to root out Hamas and make sure such attacks never happen again. Moreover, Hamas’ military operations are deeply embedded within Gaza — and its leadership seems to intentionally hide among civilians, thereby endangering the very people they claim to represent.
Still, the world is watching closely as events in the region unfold, and any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire. Already, thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the bombing of Gaza, many of them children. Hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes. The Israeli government’s decision to cut off food, water and electricity to a captive civilian population threatens not only to worsen a growing humanitarian crisis; it could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel, play into the hands of Israel’s enemies, and undermine long term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.
It’s therefore important that those of us supporting Israel in its time of need encourage a strategy that can incapacitate Hamas while minimizing further civilian casualties. Israel’s recent shift to allow relief trucks into Gaza, prompted in part by the Biden administration’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy, is an encouraging step, but we need to continue to lead the international community in accelerating critical aid and supplies to an increasingly desperate Gaza population. And while the prospects of future peace may seem more distant than ever, we should call on all of the key actors in the region to engage with those Palestinian leaders and organizations that recognize Israel’s right to exist to begin articulating a viable pathway for Palestinians to achieve their legitimate aspirations for self-determination — because that is the best and perhaps only way to achieve the lasting peace and security most Israeli and Palestinian families yearn for.
Finally, in dealing with what is an extraordinarily complex situation where so many people are in pain and passions are understandably running high, all of us need to do our best to put our best values, rather than our worst fears, on display.
That means actively opposing anti-semitism in all its forms, everywhere. It means rejecting efforts to minimize the terrible tragedy that the Israeli people have just endured, as well as the morally-bankrupt suggestion that any cause can somehow justify the deliberate slaughter of innocent people.
It means rejecting anti-Muslim, anti-Arab or anti-Palestinian sentiment. It means refusing to lump all Palestinians with Hamas or other terrorist groups. It means guarding against dehumanizing language towards the people of Gaza, or downplaying Palestinian suffering — whether in Gaza or the West Bank — as irrelevant or illegitimate.
It means recognizing that Israel has every right to exist; that the Jewish people have claim to a secure homeland where they have ancient historical roots; and that there have been instances in which previous Israeli governments made meaningful efforts to resolve the dispute and provide a path for a two-state solution — efforts that were ultimately rebuffed by the other side.
It means acknowledging that Palestinians have also lived in disputed territories for generations; that many of them were not only displaced when Israel was formed but continue to be forcibly displaced by a settler movement that too often has received tacit or explicit support from the Israeli government; that Palestinian leaders who’ve been willing to make concessions for a two-state solution have too often had little to show for their efforts; and that it is possible for people of good will to champion Palestinian rights and oppose certain Israeli government policies in the West Bank and Gaza without being anti-semitic.
Perhaps most of all, it means we should choose not to always assume the worst in those with whom we disagree. In an age of constant rancor, trolling and misinformation on social media, at a time when so many politicians and attention seekers see an advantage in shedding heat rather than light, it may be unrealistic to expect respectful dialogue on any issue — much less on an issue with such high stakes and after so much blood has been spilled. But if we care about keeping open the possibility of peace, security and dignity for future generations of Israeli and Palestinian children — as well as for our own children — then it falls upon all of us to at least make the effort to model, in our own words and actions, the kind of world we want them to inherit.