hesitancy

the purpose of this substack

A subscriber wrote me hesitantly last night to say he could see why Israel is reacting to conditions following the 7 October attacks. He did not want to put this views in the Substack chat, assumably for fear he would alienate others. I am profoundly

troubled by how polarised we have become on this and so many topics. He is absolutely entitled to his views and I greatly appreciated him sending them to me. With our seemingly endless focus on divisions, we miss the nuances that actually show commonalities which do exist. I just wish we did not have to feel reluctant to offer measured, civil thinking but we departed that path years ago as a society.

As I say to each person who joins, that measured, civil exchange of ideas is my entire goal here. I chose the title Actions Create Consequences deliberately as it’s the most basic aspect to our world.

Reluctance to engage is such a tragedy for us in the long run as it stunts political dialogue essential to democracy or republican (small r) rule. I, for one, do think hard about those views differing from my own as much as those I support as I am well aware I am a single voice in this maelstrom.

To clarify my post yesterday, I was describing what I see occurring in the broad sense for Israel’s long term aspiration. States pursue what they see as their national interests as leaders follow paths for their own benefit. Ideally those coincide but we rarely seem to reach the ideal. Clearly we are not seeing a coincidence across the globe in discussing the Israel-Hamas struggle.

I also recognise that Palestinians are part of the overall equation, regardless how horrible Hamas’s actions were in October. Hamas does not represent all Palestinians any more than Netanyahu’s coalition signifies all Israelis.

The IDF announced findings this morning after an investigation of the World Central Kitchen deaths earlier this week. I doubt it will calm many but perhaps I am wrong. The question of whether the past 180 days have strengthened Israel’s long term security still strikes me as open but vital.

This is a long-term challenge for everyone involved.

Thank you for taking time to read any of the columns. I hope they provide food for thought. Please circulate of you find them useful. Most definitely do respond—public ally or one-to-one. It is that sense of personal ties we all seem to find missing these days. Thank you deeply to the subscribers who support my work.

I wish you a satisfying weekend with time to enjoy our world. Spring is arriving (I promise!) in the northern hemisphere with its beauty, its storms, and its longer days. We are lucky to see all of that so we can refresh our minds.

Be well and be safe. FIN