Think of it this way, October 7 was Israel’s Pearl Harbor or 9/11. The US destroyed the Japanese military across the Pacific, firebombed over 60 Japanese cities, and nuked two of them. Had it not been for the atomic bombs, the US planned to invade mainland Japan with 1.8M troops in Operation Downfall. In other words, the US went to every length to ensure the destruction of the Japanese empire and their ability to wage war.
Do I feel for the innocent people of Gaza caught up in this war? Yes……but Israel is fully justified in destroying the Hamas terror group, its network, infrastructure, and ability to wage terror on Israel. Innocent people have suffered in war throughout the entire history of humanity. And many of them suffer at the hands of their horrific governments or regimes whether that be in Gaza or Japan in WW2.
I grew up with 9/11 and the War on Terror. I have zero sympathy for terror groups such as Hamas and their supporters. Zero
Wrong analogy leads to wrong conclusions!
Firstly, the US vs Japan war didn't start with Pearl Harbor: Americans had the Japanese naval blockade, which was an act of war. Both were imperial powers fighting for resources--just like in Europe various imperial powers fought for resources in World War II. There were no babes in the woods innocent all of a sudden molested by some evil (though I will say the Japanese were the most brutal ones).
But let's set aside the History and talk of the current time and the current conflict: October 7 was not Israel's Pearl Harbor or 9/11.
It was a Day of Reckoning for Israel, long overdue because of the brutal Occupation, displacements, humiliation, and killing of Palestinians for decades. Japan wasn't occupying any part of America and was within its own region despite the blockade. Your analogy is so wrong and thus you draw wrong conclusions.
I don't know why some of you Americans are more loyal to Israel than the Israelis themselves?? Is there ANY war waged by America you would not like?? Have you ever pondered why is America in some wars or insurgency or sanctions or have so many military bases the world over??
Here, read an article on the front page of NY Times by an ex Israeli soldier himself to try to understand what's going on.
But then... none are more blind then those who refuse to see!
There is a disregard among Israeli soldiers for Palestinian lives, and we are seeing it in Gaza today.
www.nytimes.com
Israel’s military has brought utter devastation to the Palestinians of Gaza after the attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. But the extreme response is not only a reaction to the horrors of that day. It is also a product of the decades-long role the military has played in enforcing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The occupation has cultivated a longstanding disregard among Israeli soldiers for Palestinian lives, and similar impulses in the words and actions of commanders can be seen to lie behind the horrors of what we are witnessing today.
Israel has governed a people denied basic human rights and the rule of law through constant coercion, threats and intimidation. The idea that the only answer to Palestinian resistance, both violent and nonviolent, is greater — and more indiscriminate — force has shown signs of becoming entrenched in the Israel Defense Forces and in Israeli politics.
I know this through the numerous testimonies collected by my organization, Breaking the Silence, which was formed in 2004 by a group of Israeli veterans to expose the reality of Israel’s military occupation. We know firsthand and from thousands of soldiers that military occupation is imposed on civilians through fear, which is instilled by the growing and often arbitrary use of force.
For 20 years, we have heard these soldiers speak of the gradual erosion of principles that, even if never fully upheld, were once seen as fundamental to the moral character of the Israel Defense Forces. We have continued our work despite criticism from the military and the government.
I also know this because I myself have undergone this moral corruption. I, like many Israeli soldiers, went into the military thinking I knew the difference between right and wrong, and had a clear sense of the boundaries on legitimate use of force. But every boundary is destined to be redrawn in a military occupation, whose very existence relies on terrorizing a civilian population into submission.
I clearly remember one of the first times I entered the home of a Palestinian family, as a sergeant, in a village near Nablus in the West Bank in 2007. It was in the middle of the night and we were told that the house would make a good observation point. As we approached, we heard an elderly woman next door screaming in fear. We broke the window of her home and shone a flashlight. She was terrified, speaking unintelligibly. Her family was looking in from the other room, too scared to enter and calm her down. These people weren’t suspects. They just lived next door to the house we needed.
I was horrified, but I soon grew accustomed to such scenes. As soldiers, we used people’s houses for our purposes. We used people’s things. We used people. From home invasions to checkpoints, patrols to arrests, we eventually stopped seeing Palestinian civilians as real, living people. I quit asking myself: What do they feel? What do they think? How would I feel if soldiers barged into my house in the middle of the night? These questions, so crucial for morality and humanity, lost their meaning.
www.timesofisrael.com
