On October 27, 2023, Harry
Shannon, an emeritus professor at McMaster University, published the following
article (now slightly revised) in the Hamilton Spectator, p. 27. I tried to post a link to it on my Facebook
account, but was prevented from doing so by Facebook’s ongoing dispute with the
Canadian government. Facebook does not permit sharing Canadian news at the
moment. However, Harry has given me permission to post the whole thing, so here
it is. I think Harry’s balanced and compassionate
opinion on the Israel/Gaza war is well worth reading.
Responsibility
for the war is not one-sided
by Harry Shannon
Author’s
siblings in kibbutz near Gaza narrowly avoided fate of residents in nearby
community
"My brother lives with his wife on Kibbutz Saad, near
the Gaza border. That weekend, my sister was visiting from Jerusalem. Saad is
right in the middle of some 20 or so villages and kibbutzim which were attacked
by Hamas. Literally across the road is Kfar Azza, where there was a horrible
massacre. Documents recovered from dead Hamas terrorists showed detailed plans to
attack Saad. But for some reason, Saad was spared and my family members
survived.
At the same time, I have Palestinian friends. I have
worked with health researchers in Ramallah. I know many Jews would be afraid to
visit the West Bank. Several years ago, I told an Israeli cabby that I was
going to Ramallah. “Don’t tell them you’re Jewish,” he said. “They’ll kill
you.”
He was very wrong. I have been warmly welcomed, not in
spite of being a Jew, but even because of it. The vast majority of Palestinians
just want what we in Canada consider a normal, peaceful life.
But instead they’re subjected to arbitrary arrest,
separate roads, a separate legal system, travel restrictions, and so on, all
based on their ethnicity – apartheid by any other name.
I’ve been appalled at some of the recent rhetoric, not
just what’s been said, but also what hasn’t been said. Sarah Jama’s post on X
(Twitter) on October 10 has been castigated for not condemning Hamas. She
certainly should have and she belatedly did so. Those who have criticized Jama
are absolutely right to revile Hamas. But they are equally wrong not to
denounce Israel’s grossly disproportionate response.
Israeli lawyer Michael Sfard believes “Israel is
racing to the moral abyss.” He writes that 75 years of imposing refugee status,
56 years of occupation, and 16 years of siege on millions of Palestinians “have
normalized a situation where there are people worth less. Much less.” He cited
a statement by Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, considered a moderate. Appallingly,
Herzog said that all Gazans are responsible for Hamas’ crimes.
Jews of all people should understand the potential
consequences of demonizing an entire population.
Justin Trudeau and other Western leaders have been
quick to condemn Hamas and support Israel, though they caution that
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) must be obeyed.
Yet it is clear that Israel is violating IHL.
The blockade of water, food, and medicines (and more arguably, fuel) is
collective punishment of civilians – not just a breach of IHL, but also
thoroughly immoral and indeed a contravention of Jewish law. The demand by
Israel that over a million civilians move from northern to southern Gaza is
likely a violation – and most certainly inhumane. Even so, Trudeau, Biden, and
other leaders issue Israel a free pass. They are spinelessly silent on Israel’s
flouting of IHL and they have failed to press for a ceasefire.
Hamas’ murders and abduction of hostages, while
horrendous, did not come out of thin air. When I spoke to my sister on October
7, she reacted (albeit before she knew the full extent of what happened): “I
guess we [Israelis] deserve this – but that doesn’t make it any easier when
you’re going through it.” She knows that Israeli settlers on the West Bank have
for years committed terrorist attacks on and murders of Palestinian civilians,
usually with impunity. Unlike terrorism by Hamas, they are almost never
condemned in the West.
As does Michael Sfard, my sister acknowledges that
responsibility for the war is not one-sided. If the conflict is ever to
be resolved, both sides and their supporters must first own up to their crimes."
