the politics of violence
ethical ramifications of the United States’ involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict
To all my lovely subscribers:
I’ve really grappled with the decision to post this, but I feel as though Americans have a moral responsibility to shed light on the struggle of decolonization that the Palestinian people have been fighting for years. This is a short essay I’ve written for a class on U.S. politics about how U.S. involvement impacts foreign policy and is in no way intended to be a comprehensive analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict. I am not an expert on foreign affairs by any stretch of the imagination — this piece is merely a collection of facts intended to contextualize the ongoing crisis in Gaza along with my personal feelings about how Western powers have responded. There is a part of me that is afraid of speaking on this subject as someone who has no ancestral connections to the land or personal stake other than my empathy and compassion for all those affected, but I cannot begin to express how violently nauseated I am by the fact that we are witnessing ethnic cleansing in real time and it seems like the majority of the nation is reticent to make a definitive statement for fear of saying the wrong thing. My account of the issue is an imperfect one, but I hope it at least provides context into the issue and has the potential to spark larger discussion and political mobilization.
On October 7th, 2023, the governing military body of the Gaza Strip –– the world’s largest open-air prison –– launched an attack against Israeli citizens in neighboring towns, killing over twelve hundred people. Instantaneously, leaders of major Western nations (France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States) hurried to offer unabashed support for the Israeli government in a collective statement reading: “We make clear that the terrorist actions of Hamas have no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned” (White House, 2023a). And while broad condemnation of violence is a logical response to the act –– especially considering that the alternative appears to be justifying violence –– this statement and others like it are virtually unproductive in dismantling the systems of oppression that perpetuate violence and are often used to assume a false moral high ground when in fact there exists an obvious bias regarding exactly who is deemed worthy of care and consideration.
Violence does not emerge unprovoked; on a global scale, it is either a weapon against the oppressed or a means of resisting the oppressor. Of course, violence on its own cannot sustain political movements for decolonization –– it is impossible to surgically eliminate only the cruelest extremists, and to condemn only the most callous political leaders. Innocents will always fall victim to unbelievably tragic crossfire, just as morally reprehensible actors will always weasel their way out of even the slightest hint of accountability. The fear and grief of Israeli citizens who lost loved ones in the recent attack are understandable and deserving of widespread mourning. And yet, it is deeply irresponsible to act as though peaceful protests and calls for legislative changes can produce meaningful results for those indigenous to Palestine, a state that has been illegally occupied since 1967 and continues to endure the devastating effects of settler colonialism (Amnesty International, 2021). In order to contextualize violence writ large and paint a holistic picture of the geopolitical conflict between Israel and Palestine, we may find it enlightening to explore historical precedent rather than falling prey to sensationalized propaganda. Tor Wennesland, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, outlines the decidedly unilateral escalation of hostility as follows:
“[...] the unabated expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes, operations by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank areas under Palestinian administrative and police control, and attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages.” (Al Jazeera, 2023)
Regardless of the brute force that right-wing political propaganda has been able to wield, the material reality of Gazans cannot be disputed; through hegemonic military rule, Israel has imposed restrictions on access to travel, work, electricity, and even clean water, resulting in the average age of Gaza’s occupants being just eighteen years old (Mohammed et. al, 2023). It would be both ignorant and grossly uncharitable to place the burden of morality on the oppressed Palestinians and insist upon a palatable form of insurgency whilst refusing to hold those of the Israeli government to the same standard –– and worse still, by allowing and at times encouraging them to retaliate with impunity.
It is a fundamental and grave error of misattribution to assume that the United States’ overwhelming support for the Israeli government is founded on some semblance of morality rather than the desire to preserve a decades-spanning alliance that yields a myriad of invaluable benefits, from the economic prosperity garnered by their free trade agreement to mutual military assistance in the form of research and weapons development (U.S. Embassy in Israel, 2021). As famed political activist Noam Chomsky states in On Palestine: “The USA supports Israel not out of benevolence, but because it’s useful for US policies” (Chomsky & Pappé, 2015).
To this end, Israel received over $3.3 billion in foreign aid from the U.S. in 2022 –– 99.7% of which was allocated towards its already-formidable military (USA Facts, 2023) –– and President Biden has recently announced his plans to seek an “unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense”; meanwhile, he has pledged merely $100 million for humanitarian relief in Gaza and the West Bank (Macias, 2023). Even the blatant facts of these donations should reveal a naked truth regarding the severe power imbalance between Israel and Palestine. The former is protected by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) –– a standing army, navy, and air force of nearly 170,000 active troops, which boasts a seemingly boundless arsenal of infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, aircraft, helicopters, ships, and missiles (Procell & Padilla, 2023). The latter has shouldered a disproportionate number of the casualties over the last fifteen years alone –– with the death toll climbing well over six thousand Palestinians compared to just over three hundred Israelis prior to the recent Hamas attack early this October (OCHA, 2023). There is a reason why one side is being given billions to enact violence while the other is forced to contend with a fraction of that aid to mitigate the destruction and despair caused by that very same violence: Israel is in a position to ally with the U.S. due to its vast network of resources; Palestine is not.
Along with the vast economic disparity regarding aid in the Middle East, we must also turn to the influx of news coverage that can be described as selective or misleading at best and insidiously and intentionally cruel at worst. It is also worth pointing out the double standard that exists with regard to supposedly condemning violence; the Israeli government is showered with overwhelming global sympathy and praise for its swift and ruthless action –– President Biden recently traveled to Israel to affirm its right to exist as a Jewish state (White House, 2023b) –– while Palestinians are offered little compassion or understanding of their plight. Very few journalists and politicians are brave enough to speak about its brutalization of Palestinians and the abysmal living situation of those who reside along the Gaza Strip; instead, culture wars (in the name of combating anti-Semitism) have facilitated a surge in Islamophobia, leading to a heartbreaking rise in hate crimes towards Muslim-Americans comparable to ones experienced after 9/11 (Ellis & Duster, 2023). Supposedly trusted U.S. media outlets bear a notable pro-Israel slant aided by the use of passive language as a way to promote detachment from the violent atrocities taking place, such as the supposedly progressive organization Reuters claiming that one of its own journalists was “killed [...] in missile fire from the direction of Israel” (Reuters, 2023). Moreover, the U.S.’s blind support of the Israeli government has granted legitimacy to horrifically racist and dehumanizing rhetoric, such as this now-deleted Tweet from the office of the Prime Minister of Israel which reads: “This is a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle” (Turner, 2023).
The grim truth of the matter is as such: regardless of how many vacuous platitudes they espouse regarding the unequivocal condemnation of violence, imperial powers like the United States are justifying state-sanctioned violence now, just as they have for centuries. They have not always justified it not through brazenly despicable measures such as outright advocating for the virtuousness of ethnic cleansing, but rather through the slow creep of social conditioning, which relies on obfuscation of truth through political rhetoric spewed by seemingly credible officials and organizations as well as cultural fears about marginalized groups marked as the “Other” that breed ostracization and hatred. Only a few days ago, Israeli Defense Forces demanded that 1.1 million citizens of northern Gaza evacuate “‘for their own safety’” as they gear up to “‘operate significantly’” –– an order which the UN and various humanitarian agencies have denounced due to the unfeasible nature of the request coupled with Israel’s simultaneous effort to completely deprive the region of essential supplies like food, water, electricity, and fuel (Regan, et. al, 2023). Such a horrific undertaking is only made possible through the legitimation of state-sanctioned violence, bolstered by the United States’ approach of disproportionately offering financial aid to Israel and emboldening the apartheid rule through continuous shows of approval regardless of the staggering disparities in quality of life and death toll between the two peoples.
When we read about genocide in historical textbooks or documentaries, we ask ourselves –– perhaps with a scornful air of moral superiority –– how anyone could have idly watched terror unfold right for the world to see. We imagine ourselves to be courageous voices for the oppressed, advocating for worldwide peace with unwavering grit and determination. Yet in their eleventh hour, we are silent. We wring our hands about how confounding it is to understand the complexities of foreign affairs, about how mentally exhausting it is to formulate opinions on issues of war. And in doing so, we remain ripe for an ethical poisoning of the mind –– a gradual pollution of the humanitarian values we supposedly champion.
If we truly endeavor to put an end to war, we must engage in the difficult and necessary work of understanding the conditions that breed violence and then committing ourselves to eradicate them; to do otherwise would be to join the vast sea of bystanders throughout history who sat on their hands upon witnessing reprehensible cycles of brutality and despair. Even if the humanitarian crisis in Gaza seems hopeless, we cannot fall victim to the apathy that accompanies desensitization –– it is our moral duty to amplify and uplift the voices of Palestinians and ensure that the rest of the world hears their cries, no matter how reluctant it is to do so.
As always, I am indebted to your readership and immensely grateful for the small platform that I have. I urge you to do as much of your own research as possible, donate to humanitarian funds, and please take care of yourselves in this difficult time while showing as much support as you can.
<3,
sonali
References
Al Jazeera. (2023, August 22). More than 200 Palestinians, nearly 30 Israelis killed so far this year: UN. Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/22/more-than-200-palestinians-nearly-30-israelis-killed-so-far-this-year-un
Chomsky, N., & Pappe, I. (2015). On Palestine. PENGUIN Books LTD.
Data on casualties. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - occupied Palestinian territory. (n.d.). https://www.ochaopt.org/data/casualties
Israel’s occupation: 50 years of dispossession. Amnesty International. (2021, July 29).
Macias, A. (2023, October 18). Biden to seek ‘unprecedented’ Israel aid package; pledges $100 million for humanitarian relief in Gaza and West Bank. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/18/biden-will-seek-unprecedented-israel-aid-package-.html
Mohammed, L., Ermyas, T., & Chang, A. (2023, October 18). Half of Gaza’s population is under 18. Here’s what that means for the conflict. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/10/18/1206897328/half-of-gazas-population-is-under-18-heres-what-that-means-for-the-conflict#:~:text=MAHA%20NASSAR%3A%20So%20about%20half,is%20an%20overwhelmingly%20young%20population.
Policy & history. U.S. Embassy in Israel. (2021, February 10).
Procell, C. & Padilla, R. (2023, October 14). What is the Israel Defense Forces or IDF? What you need to know about the Israeli Military. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2023/10/14/idf-explainer-on-israeli-defense-forces-idf/71133855007/
Regan, H., Hu, C., Tawfeeq, M., Sharma, A., Ebrahim, N., & Tanno, S. (2023, October 13). Israel tells 1.1 million Gazans to evacuate south. UN says order is ‘impossible’. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/13/middleeast/israel-gaza-hamas-war-friday-intl-hnk/index.html
Thomson Reuters. (2023, October 14). Reuters journalist killed in Lebanon in missile fire from direction of Israel. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/reuters-videographer-killed-southern-lebanon-2023-10-13/
Turner, N. (2023, October 17). Just so we’re clear: This is blatant racism. pic.twitter.com/j6bxjpfj8s. Twitter. https://twitter.com/ninaturner/status/1714398564258922927
The United States Government. (2023a, October 9). Joint statement on Israel. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/09/joint-statement-on-israel/
The United States Government. (2023b, October 19). What they are saying: President Biden visits Israel following Hamas terrorist attacks. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/18/what-they-are-saying-president-biden-visits-israel-following-hamas-terrorist-attacks/
USAFacts. (2023, October 12). How much aid does the US give to Israel? https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-military-aid-does-the-us-give-to-israel/
Thankyou for this! It's so well written. I just finished Pappe and Chomsky's 'On Palestine' (2015) and I just want to imprint the entire book into my brain. Finally knowing the historical timeline and significance behind the regional peace agreements and ceasefire agreements has been critical to my understanding of Palestine. I'm going to read Edward Said's 'The Question of Palestine' next. Let me know if you have any other book/article recs on Palestine. Sending you love xx
thank you so much for your eloquence and refreshing realism in this piece sonali!! it is tiring and disheartening to see the media discount the systemic violence and perpetual settler colonialist oppression that is occurring in Gaza-- and which has been for decades.
yes- this is a loaded issue with two interested parties who have each endured decades of cultural and religious subjugation and exile. however, violence does not get to be viewed under this same lens of nuance: it is irrevocably and undeniably unacceptable. more than this, it’s critical to separate political parties from larger groups of people, and also to differentiate between acts of violent resistance to an oppressive regime vs. acts of violence which seek to uphold that regime and execute a cultural genocide. a lot of media outlets try to paint this as a “complex issue.” systemic violence is not complex, and should not be depicted as such. it’s heartbreaking to see the large-scale media so overwhelmingly denying the devastation which the Palestinian people have been enduring and the reality of the terror they are facing as a collective people, for the sake of maintaining consistency with the mainstream messaging promoted by the United States government (which is currently financing apartheid!!). I am encouraged to see others recognize the need for the liberation of Palestine, and with such empathy and upfront honesty!!
wishing you all the best <3