In a letter to President Joe Biden, which was signed by most of the members of the Democratic caucus in the Senate, dozens of senators asked the president for one key thing – details on the Israeli strategy to bring down Hamas.
While the Israeli political and military leaders have been repeating statements about the defeat of Hamas, as well as promises that not a single rocket would be launched on Israel and a host of other decisive statements, the Israeli strategy regarding the day after the war is less clear.
This lack of clarity, combined with the growing number of dead on the Palestinian side, may soon put an end to the crucial patient support from the Democratic Party, the Biden administration, and European countries.
What is the plan?
In the face of the disastrous plan led by messianic members of the coalition and the government in Israel, in the form of fantasies about Israeli settlements returning to the Gaza Strip, there is no clear and applicable formal plan for the day after.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that the Palestinian Authority would not return to the Strip, so who will? What is the strategy? How will the Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, guarantee that “there will not be a single rocket flying into Israel?” When only the extreme and dangerous solution is being heard, it is the one that the decision-makers abroad hear and are rightly afraid of.
The Israeli government cannot continue waging a war without its citizens and partners understanding what its features are. What is the military and political purpose of war?
The answer to this question is necessary to strengthen citizen trust in the government and is critical to continuing to win international support, first and foremost from our main ally, the United States.
The Israeli domestic discourse has become very simplistic and shallow in recent weeks. It is manifested by the thought that there are those who are for us and those who are against us; there are no question marks, no arguments, only black and white. But the international reality is much more complex than our internal discourse. The dozens of senators who signed the letter to President Biden want Israel’s best interest; they are committed to its existence and security, but they also want to know that this difficult and painful war also has a clear goal and a way to reach it.
We can dig ourselves into the position of the victim and complain about anyone who dares to criticize us, or we can choose the more difficult but more effective way: listening to the criticism from those who really love us and want the best for us. “Faithful are the wounds of love,” says the verse from Proverbs (27:6), and the absolute majority of members of the Democratic Party are lovers of Israel who feel a deep connection to the State of Israel but also demand accountability from it. Not only because they are entitled to it as those who promote unprecedented military support for the State of Israel, but because that is what friends do.
The key to winning the war
If we want to win this war, we must understand that it is our duty as a country to have a dialogue with our friends overseas – not to dismiss any criticism as antisemitic or anti-Israel (there is enough of that), but to distinguish between our haters and our lovers and to give those who want our good the tools to continue fighting for our right to live in security in the state of the Jewish people.
The lawmakers of the Democratic party are the strongest supporters of the State of Israel in the United States. They are the ones who stand against the young men and women on campuses who are wrong to think that hatred of Israel is “progressiveness.”
The fact that a progressive senator like Bernie Sanders expresses support for overthrowing Hamas is critical for Israel. We must not ignore the requests that come along with this support because he and his friends are the dams that stop the flood.
The Israeli government must give the Americans and ourselves an answer, even partial, to the question, “What is the strategy?” It is needed to strengthen hope here; it is needed to maintain support overseas.
The writer is J Street Israel’s executive director.