I wish I didn't believe that the events now unfolding in the Middle East are too complicated for unalloyed outrage. I wish the arguments of only one side rang wholly true to me. I am the first to accuse myself of paralyzing moral generosity -- the fatal empathy that terrorists prey on. But ambivalence is not the same as moral equivalence, and holy war, no matter who is waging it, makes my flesh crawl. Full Story »
Posted by Barry Grossheim
this is an excellent and responsible opinion piece, showing both sides of the question, pros and cons. Rather than a polemic attempting to sway the reader to come down for one side or the other, it displays the complex mix of interpretations a healthy adult would have given a complex situation which has not presented a solution for over half a century.
I sympathize with the author of this piece; there are atrocities and generosities on both sides; instrasingents and conciliatories, doctrinaire xenophobes and tolerant visionaries, so that the question of right cannot be based on historical assignment of guilt. What's needed is for those on either side who are more interested in a future, even if it's just for their own people, than in redress for ancient insults to join together and get support from those outisde the battle.
I wish I didn’t believe that the events now unfolding in the Middle East are too complicated for unalloyed outrage. I wish the arguments of only one side rang wholly ... More »
A broader historical context would dramatically improve this mediocre piece that randomly goes back and forth from one side to another. Perhaps starting with the Nakba, or earlier, would help. Perhaps starting with the massacres of Palestinians around the time of the founding of the Israeli state. Perhaps including more details about living conditions of the residents of Gaza secondary to the blockade. Perhaps including the fact that collective punishment is illegal under international law. This story could have shown insight, but it didn't.
Perfectly captures the ambivalence many of us feel when confronting this very complex political problem with no good answers.
Interesting weighing of the merits of Israel/Palestine dispute, in context of current murderous Israeli assault on Gaza. Kaplan does not mention the Arab peace plan, by which Israel would achieve peace with 23 Arab and other Muslim countries in exchange for getting out of the Golan Heights and the West Bank. Secure orders are well within Israel's reach, if the "democracy" were actually functioning well enough to carry out the will of the public.
The murderous assault on Gaza is intended to attempt to enable a deal with the Palestinian authority that Hamas would regard as a sell-out of the Palestinian's interests. In other words, innocent civilians are dying in Gaza to enable a foolish effort to keep the illegal settlements in the West Bank.
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