Moral Clarity

Charlie K brings the moral clarity, but it feels like a waste of time even as it reads like the Truth. Excerpt:

Rarely does international politics present a moment of such moral clarity. Yet we routinely hear this Israel-Gaza fighting described as a morally equivalent “cycle of violence.” This is absurd. What possible interest can Israel have in cross-border fighting? Everyone knows Hamas set off this mini-war. And everyone knows the proudly self-declared raison d’etre of Hamas: the eradication of Israel and its Jews.

Apologists for Hamas attribute the blood lust to the Israeli occupation and blockade. Occupation? Does no one remember anything? It was less than 10 years ago that worldwide television showed the Israeli army pulling die-hard settlers off synagogue roofs in Gaza as Israel uprooted its settlements, expelled its citizens, withdrew its military and turned every inch of Gaza over to the Palestinians. There was not a soldier, not a settler, not a single Israeli left in Gaza.

And there was no blockade. On the contrary. Israel wanted this new Palestinian state to succeed. To help the Gaza economy, Israel gave the Palestinians its 3,000 greenhouses that had produced fruit and flowers for export. It opened border crossings and encouraged commerce.

The reason it seems like a waste of time is that the people determined to perpetuate the ridiculous "cycle of violence" meme sound so morally superior to everyone. The sense I get from them is "Yes, yes, we know that one side may be more to blame that the other, but really, this part of the world has been fighting for hundreds and thousands of years. It's time to stop pointing fingers...." No! I want more finger pointing. What is wrong with a one-state solution, run by grown-ups (Israelis) where we recognize who's to blame for the violence (Palestinians)? And anyone who doesn't like that can move to one of the other wonderful Muslim countries in the area. If they'll allow them in.