By Bruce S. Ticker
PHILADELPHIA — You might think that the deaths of an uncertain number of Palestinian civilians – reported to be up to 10,000 – might account for the fury that infuses pro-Arab protests around the world. That is part of it, but I question if it is driving the ringleaders and other true believers in the wake of the savage Hamas raid in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Of course, the majority may be outraged by civilian deaths, but I suspect that organizers have not disclosed to their followers this trivial motive: They are frightened and mad as hell that Israel is winning militarily and at least holding its own on the publicity front.
Leaders of the Palestinian cause – whatever that cause is – are believed by many observers to seek Israel’s destruction, not a better life for Arabs who live in Gaza and the West Bank. They clearly draw many followers who fervently believe that Israel is the bad guy – a bad guy who is occupying and stealing the land, abusing the Palestinian people in many ways and is now bombing civilians.
Recent history contradicts their claims of trying to help the Palestinians. They have traditionally encouraged martyrdom, so why would they mourn civilian deaths? It is a surprise that they are not celebrating them as martyrs. The death toll they recite is a matter of controversy. Critics claim that the Palestinian Ministry of Health might be overstating the civilian death toll.
The organizers neglect to recount recent history. My take on cause-and-effect is that the Arabs brought this on themselves. Israel in 2000 offered the Palestinians an independent state in the course of a Camp David summit. Then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat rejected the offer, and a deadly uprising followed that transformed much of Israel’s electorate into MAGA’s Middle East chapter. They almost consistently voted hard-right coalitions into office which steadily took questionable actions against Palestinians.
The pre-Oct. 7 policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government are indefensible, but it was the Arabs’ own doing. Their response to a two-state plan 23 years ago made me lose it for Palestinian society. When Arafat ignored the proposal, I decided then that the Arabs must take full responsibility for the problem. Israel did its part.
Fast-forward to today. First Israel suffered the loss of 1,200 of its citizens and others. Its response was to set goals of destroying Hamas and retrieve the return of 200 to 240 hostages held by Hamas. They have bombed Gaza almost into the Stone Age and at this writing are duking it out with Hamas terrorists in Gaza City.
Headquartered in Gaza City near to the Israeli border, Hamas has long served as the great Arabic hope for wiping Israel off the map. Instead, Israel is battering Hamas in Gaza City. I have not learned of any offensive actions by Hamas. They are probably on the defensive only.
In the process, Israel is demonstrating to their neighbors what to expect if any of them attacks Israel.
This is not to say that Israel’s response is necessarily what it should be, but so far they seem to be on a path to crippling Hamas.
In America and European nations, those who run governments and control corporations are cracking down on supporters of the Palestinians. Two universities have decided to severely limit activities of pro-Arab student groups. Companies are firing employees who post anti-Israel messages to social media. The U.S. House of Representatives censured Israel-basher Rep. Rashida Tlaib; about 20 of her fellow Democrats voted to censure her.
Across the pond, governments have been pushing back against pro-Palestinian protests including Germany, France Austria, Hungary and Switzerland; 100,000 rallied in Paris on Sunday to stand against antisemitism; and Britain’s Home Secretary sought to ban a pro-Arab demonstration in London on Saturday (there is more to this particular episode).
CNN and other media repeatedly broadcast and publish human-interest pieces on how Oct. 7 impacted Israeli families.
Israel has benefited somewhat from a Teflon effect, but it still catches heat for civilian casualties in Gaza and other actions. There is likewise considerable sympathy for civilians in Gaza.
Yet advocates for the Palestinians seem to be telling the world: “Hold on here. Those Jews…we mean the Israelis… murdered 10,000 people in Gaza. How does only 1,200 killings in southern Israel stack up against that? Okay, it is too bad about those Jewish deaths, but that’s already ancient history. It’s time to focus on Palestinian casualties.”
It sounds cynical to write about who deserves blame for these deaths, but the pro-Arab side especially trafficks in perception for the sake of embarrassing Israel, and Israel participates in that game, though less so.
Especially, talking about war in terms of winning and losing is distasteful. I recall hearing something like this in the past: Nobody wins in war. It is just that one side loses more than the other does.
*
Bruce Ticker is a Philadelphia-based columnist. He may be contacted via bruce.ticker@sdjewishworld.com