Chimera
A few sad thoughts on vulnerabilities
As you no doubt are aware, today marks a year since Hamas attacked Israel, murdering more than 1,100 Israelis and foreigners. Dozens became hostages, several of whom were now to be dead while the fate of others still unknown. The hours of unrelenting violence shook Israeli society to its core.
Israel reacted with understandable fury at the assault, first targeting the Hamas-occupied Gaza Strip but now aiming to obliterate Hezbollah fighters menacing Israelis in the north of this precariously small Jewish state. Tens of thousands in Gaza lost their homes or died, primarily Palestinian civilians. The devastation is deep in a place pretty poor before this happened. The fate of Lebanese in Hezbollah-controlled areas would appear equally likely to disrupt an entire society, as happens in wars. Israel launched a similar effort to eradicate the Hezbollah threat four decades ago, only to confront it again today. History repeating is too close for comfort for these people.
The initial attacks last October were one day shy of the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. Egypt and Syria surprised Israel, gaining immediate tactical victories because of surprise in the fortnight conflict. That fighting threatened to escalate beyond the Middle East because the Arabs were Soviet clients while Washington had become Jerusalem’s fiercest supporter in the prior, 1967 war. Ultimately the Soviet-American nuclear threat subsided but the United States, enmeshed in its own extended internal crisis known as Watergate, put our forces on a higher nuclear warning level, hardly a common event. With U.S. resupply, Israel regained its defensive advantage by late 1973 but it was an extraordinarily tense period.
Israelis reacted in 1973 and half a century later because of the profound vulnerability its citizens confronted. One can argue about what the purpose of any government is but few, if any, of us challenge the assumption that providing security is the most fundamental responsibility elected officials (or even autocrats) assume.
What Israelis have felt repeatedly since the proclamation of the state in 1948 is the existential danger others pose. Too many in today’s world seem unable or unwilling to recall that Jews emigrated from where they invariably were unwanted and isolated. They made Aliyah, moving to this small parcel of land to build a Jewish sanctuary in hopes of living somewhere free of unending, multi-generational vulnerability. Six million Jews died in the prior decade to the establishment of the State because of their religion, not actions nor some casus belli. The murders based on religion in during the 1930s and 40s were not the first instance of Jews experiencing this vulnerability based on vicious hate and anti-Semitism. The vulnerability and threat date back millennia but the hope for safety and security resulted with the founding of a Jewish homeland in 1948.
I understand the disputed land ownership, the Muslim diaspora that resulted after 1948, and the vulnerability Palestinians felt as a result. It is an ugly picture of action, reaction and further actions as one looks at the long term. I see little hope it will burn itself out because new generation is growing up bent on revenge built on vulnerability in the Jewish land as well as in Palestine and Lebanon. It doesn’t matter who is right or wrong because the hatred on both sides is primordial.
We reacted with equal rage following the 9/11 attacks, moving twenty-three years ago today against Afghanistan. We believed the unprovoked attacks merited a harsh retaliation to assure we could rest assured “never again”. Like Israel we sought to remake a context from Kabul to Baghdad where we would no longer face similar dangers that could catch us by surprise with such deadly results. We failed to accomplish the outcome we hoped but we certainly changed the region and we changed ourselves. Actions create consequences.
Is Israel confronting a stronger set of foes because of the wars across the Muslim world from twenty years ago? I don’t know but am certain that the consequences of conflict do not rear their ugly heads immediately after the initial attacks or retaliatory responses. I have to wonder what consequences Israel will see decades ahead.
I am most definitely NOT saying that Israel ought not defend itself. That is what crucial for Jerusalem or any other government. I am, however, dubious that invulnerability is anything but a chimera for populations anywhere, most especially Israelis. That sounds harsh and hopeless, perhaps as I see things today following a year of so many deaths, a global spread of annti-Semitism, and so much destruction. The history of this region, however, is century upon century of conflict when any group tries to eradicate threats. Instead, those very dangers reappear with tragic repercussions for future generations. I simply see no evidence this time will be any different, though I so completely recognize why these conflicts recur.
No man, woman or child seeks vulnerability, based on gender, race, ethnicity, age, or religion. Yet we all deal with it daily, if not hourly. It is the what life creates along with joy, hope, and any other emotions. Life is fragile and humans can be horrible stewards of protecting those who differ from themselves yet we are all made of DNA on this planet.
The question Israelis ultimately will have to ask, as will Iranians, other Arabs, Western Europeans and Americans is at what point can retaliation end to recognize a tolerable level of vulnerability? I don’t know if there is a single answer for each and every form of vulnerability but it is the crucial question to address ultimately. Perhaps the choice is that for each an individual but our unit of internal affairs is nation-states so someone will have to wrestle with it beyond one person or another. I see this consequence as by far the most likely a year into Israel’s and the Middle East’s latest pain. Of course, Israel hopes the Muslims will decide to be “reasonable” but I don’t think their vulnerability makes that a serious likelihood.
I welcome your thoughts, probably a boatload of rebuttals, and your questions. I am not an ethicist so I did not address many points you might want to raise. I fear vulnerability usually overwhelms ethics in practice but you are free to dissuade me. I genuinely welcome your thoughts so please feel free to shoot me an email or, as a subscriber, leave your thoughts on the comment page. Perhaps you will show me a better outcome than I see.
Thank you for your time. Please feel free to circulate of this is worth showing to others. As you know, my intention is to generate discussion on issues confronting us all.i have a hard time thinking of a bigger one. Thank you to subscribers.
I am loath to add a picture as if I were not aware of the severity of the problems discussed but these photographs keep me sane. This was Annapolis as the sun rose over Spa Creek this morning.
Be well and be safe. FIN