I am fixated with the news. I plan my mornings around reading the news in three different newspapers, with commentary online. And most of my evening, when at home, is devoted to watching the news on at least two Israeli TV channels and one American.
My wife contends that I am suffering from news-related post-traumatic stress disorder. She is, of course, correct. But then, I am not particularly unique in this regard. There are few Israelis who are able to avoid the news about the war; about the hostages; and about the on again, off again negotiations with a host of intermediaries seeking a deal to release hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Many more Israelis are no doubt dumbfounded by the discussion of the so-called day after the war ends.
Then, of course, there is the “news” (gossip) about our so-called “very, very, right-wing government.” The incredible way in which major financial, political, and policy decisions are made is a source of fear and trembling for any citizen who is even minimally informed about the workings of a responsible government.
We are, however, blessed with the knowledge that the minority ultra-Orthodox part of our population is finally benefiting from its “fair share” of our national budget. Every haredi minister has made certain that virtually all of the educational, religious, housing, and social service needs of his constituents are being provided for without regard for public policy, equity, or the shared responsibility of citizens in the workplace and in matters of national service. This, of course, has occurred in the middle of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza at the expense of budget cuts and transfers from departments and programs serving the basic needs of nearly all other non-haredi constituencies in Israel.
Above all else, I am distressed by the news which headlines all electronic and paper communications – the Gaza war, the volatile West Bank, and terrorist attacks in Israel proper.
The dimension to the story that upsets me tremendously is the way in which we appear to be compelled to act militarily. In particular, I am terribly stressed by the images and reports of the enormous physical destruction and injury of innocents resulting from our military initiatives.
I say this not because I believe that employing great military force is unnecessary. But in the face of the horrendous devastation, loss of life, and injury of so many innocent Palestinians, my heart cries out in empathic pain. Why, I ask, is it necessary to bomb entire communities and engage in fighting in areas heavily populated by civilians?
I am well aware of the insidious thinking and planning of Hamas, in contradiction to the laws of warfare, to embed and position their fighters within civilian areas. Evidence of this are the many civilian homes in which stocks of munitions and armaments have been discovered, even under the beds of children. No less striking is the revelation of how Hamas has made use of mosques and hospitals, above and below ground, as locations for armaments, research and command centers, and convenient hiding places for Hamas terrorists and officers. Among other condemning evidence, the IDF has discovered Hamas records listing families that “hosted” tunnel shafts leading underground in their homes.
The facts about the incredible network of underground tunnels spread all over the Gaza Strip, some as deep as 200 feet underground, are amazing. Proof of this is the estimated more than 5,000 separate shafts leading down into 350 to 450 miles of tunnels discovered throughout Gaza. This is an extraordinary fact when compared to the size of the Gaza Strip, a land mass of 140 square miles.
I understand that one way of destroying the tunnels is through bombing. But bombing such hugely reinforced structures deep down in the ground requires the use of extraordinarily powerful bombs or a large number of less powerful bombs. In such instances, there is bound to be collateral damage, perhaps no more or less than the effect of the bombing, artillery, and tank attacks of neighborhoods in cities and towns where Hamas has positioned fighters, armaments, and depots.
According to the World Bank, as of February 2024, some 45% of residential buildings have been destroyed, while 60% of the others, more than 130,000 buildings have been damaged. In addition, 60% of the infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
The Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, reports that as of the end of February, 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. While this report does not distinguish between civilians and militants, the IDF estimates that an approximate one-third of those killed were Hamas combatants.
I have learned how the laws of warfare apply to both sides of a conflict. Thus, the obvious use of civilians by Hamas to “shelter” their military people, armaments, and ammunition is illegal. So, too, is their use of missiles and rockets fired indiscriminately at civilian targets.
The thousands of missiles and rockets fired randomly at Israeli towns and cities is prohibited by international law. On the other hand, engaging in fire when the target is the military of a contesting group is acceptable.
The taking of hostages and the outrageous acts of sexual violence and the rampant murder of hundreds of unarmed innocent civilians falls into the category crimes against humanity. But so, too, does the excessive killing of innocent bystanders on either side.
Unfortunately, Israel has had considerable experience in confronting Hamas terrorists in Gaza during earlier rounds of conflict and invasion. The 2006 offensive against Hamas in Gaza was in response to rockets fired into Israel, construction of attack tunnels into Israeli territory, and the abduction of an Israeli soldier.
In December 2008, Israel conducted a planned incursion in central Gaza intended to destroy a tunnel and to conduct air attacks at rocket firing targets in Gaza, Khan Yunis, and Rafah. Concurrently, Israel also employed a force of some 4,000 soldiers, which rapidly expanded to some 20,000 Israeli soldiers in response to the increased number of rocket and mortar attacks. This included long-range rockets reaching Beersheba and Ashdod for the first time. The conflict came to an end following IDF operations in densely populated areas, where IDF forces engaged in seek and destroy missions in Gaza City and elsewhere. The result was the destruction of approximately 45,000 homes and the displacement of an estimated 100,000 Gaza residents. Some 1,400 +/- Hamas fighters and civilians were killed, along with an estimated 5,300 civilians wounded. In addition, there was extensive destruction of infrastructure, including civil service buildings and large segments of Gaza agriculture.
In 2012, Israel responded to a large barrage of rockets fired into Israel with an IDF military operation focusing on the destruction by airstrikes on rocket launch pads, weapon depots, government sites, and select housing targets. The conflict ended after one week of intense exchanges.
In 2014, Israel initiated a search and destroy operation of cross border tunnels, rocket stores and their launching pads. Hamas launched a rocket barrage following the discovery and destruction of one of its tunnels, to which Israel initiated a series of airstrikes and ground bombardment of targets throughout Gaza. In the course of a seven-week conflict, 32 tunnels were discovered and destroyed, but not before at least six of them were used by Hamas terror squads to attack Israeli residential and military sites.
Subsequently, an IDF preliminary analysis reported that 2,125 Palestinians were killed, of whom 936 were militants and 761 were civilians, in addition to 426 unidentified casualties. The IDF also noted that Israeli planes had conducted 6,000 airstrikes.
On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed, and some 1,600 were wounded. In addition, there was direct damage caused to buildings and homes by some 5,000 rockets and 2,000 mortars fired into Israel.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs in Palestinian territories reported that “the Palestinian fatality toll was 2,131, of whom 1,437 have been identified as civilians, including 501 children…18,000 housing units have been severely damaged, leaving approximately 108,000 people homeless…450,000 people unable to access municipal water due to infrastructure damage and/or low pressure. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that as of the 26th of August, 11,100 Palestinians, including 3,374 children and 2,088 women and 410 elderly have been injured.”
Following this conflict, on July 23, 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed an international commission of inquiry “to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.” Israel announced at the outset that the commission was biased and therefore would not cooperate with it.
The Investigatory Commission was headed by Richard Goldstone, a highly respected South African judge and Jewish public figure. Following a full year study of the war and its human consequences, Goldstone reported that the commission he led concluded that both parties to the conflict had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Subsequently, Goldstone relented on part of his conclusions, contrary to the views of the other commission members, when he announced that he did not believe that Israel intentionally targeted civilians in Gaza as an explicit policy.
While Israel did not participate in the 2014 UN Human Rights Commission’s investigation and review of the war’s events and consequences, the Israeli government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the IDF, prepared an extensive report on the war, which included detailed and substantive responses to alleged incidents and actions claimed to be contradictory of the laws of warfare and human rights. Throughout, the report emphasized that the loss of life and injury of civilians was regrettable and unintended.
In the current conflict, the especially large number of Palestinian civilian casualties will likely result in allegations against Israel, claiming crimes against humanity. This will be in addition to the ridiculous claim that Israel has conducted a genocide campaign against the Palestinian people.
In turn, the positioning of Hamas fighters in civilian residential areas including in hospitals, mosques, and schools, along with the wholesale bombardment of Israeli civilian communities, not to mention the horrendous destruction and the savage killing of Israelis on October 7, will all be fodder for Israel’s claims against Hamas.
How this process will impact on my state of mind or on the hearts and minds of the untold numbers of Jews throughout the world who are threatened by extremist anti-Zionists and antisemites is yet to be seen. The conundrum of this is the question of how committed Jews who are upset and disturbed by the pictures of huge numbers of homeless and hungry Palestinian civilians will be able to rationalize this by understanding that Israel is engaged in a bloody military conflict which unfortunately, but necessarily, impacts on the lives of innocents.
The claim of apartheid policies and the illegal settlement on Palestinian lands in the West Bank will also undoubtedly continue to obfuscate or possibly intensify the issues being contested. Worse still are the implicit allegations of the millions of uninformed or ill-informed demonstrators calling for the “return of all of Israel’s territory “from the river to the sea” to the “dispossessed Palestinian people.”
Turning to rabbinic sources for guidance
In light of all that I have reported and described, I turned to our rabbinic sources for guidance and understanding. In particular, the values and insights of our Jewish ethical tradition.
Upon three things the world rests: upon justice, upon truth, and upon peace. And the three are one, for when justice is done, truth prevails and peace is established (Jerusalem Talmud, Ta’anit 4:2, Megilla 3:5).
What, then, does justice prescribe in order to bring an end to the conflict with the Palestinians? Will a true resolution of the conflict occur by the surrender of Hamas or simply by an agreed ceasefire? Or is the complete destruction of Hamas necessary? And if so, is it possible? And, of course, how will this affect the situation and affiliations of the exploited and abused Palestinian people?
Will the support of the United States, European partners, and friendly Arab countries succeed in enabling the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state? Will Israel then be perceived and, in fact, existentially again be a resourceful democratic island of peace and justice in the Middle East?
Once again, I am thinking about our ethos. I am reminded that during Passover and again and again in our daily Shabbat and holiday prayers, we are called to “Remember you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
It is because we have known and are obliged to remember the pain of the persecuted that we are called upon to help ameliorate the suffering of others.
Millennial victims of hatred and envy; classical objects of suspicion and ridicule; contemporary martyrs of genocidal racism – we Jews cannot but empathize with people who suffer from injustice. This includes people who are exploited and/or oppressed by religious or militant extremists within their own nation.
Our biblical text commands us: “Justice, justice, you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20).■
Stanley Ringler was the director of the Israel Labor Party American Desk and chairman of Labor’s educational organ reaching out to the Russian-speaking community in Israel. He worked in support of the policies and programs of prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Ehud Barak.