The analogy of Gaza being a ghetto like the Warsaw Ghetto doesn't work. The borders between Gaza and Israel are patrolled and to an extent, controlled, by Israel in order to protect Israeli citizens from the very real threat of terrorism (witness the enormous tunnel discovered this week just feet from the Israeli border, many acts of terror from said tunnels and civilian locations, and Oct. 7) from Hamas controlled Gaza which explicitly aims to annihilate Israeli and specifically, Jews. The Jews who were historically ghettoized were no physical threat to the Germans (or Italians), other than psychologically/metaphorically, as a foil for projected anxieties by an antisemitic society. Gaza is a ghetto of it's own choice, not Israel's choice, or at least not Israel's choice alone. The billions spent on terror tunnels could and should have been spent on infrastructure, industry, social services --instead, it was spent to annihilate Israel. Israeli politicians have and continue to make decisions based on fear that do cause suffering, but the fear is real. The responses require greater wisdom, but not the naive belief that the wish to destroy Israel -really destroy Israel--will evaporate if the war ends.
"The ghetto,” Gessen writes of Gaza while invoking some of the most painful events of the Holocaust, is “being liquidated.”"
Ouch.
I can definitely see the analogy. I think a key difference is that it is being done by an extremely unpopular - even despised - government (Bibi et all) and that most Israelis aren't reporting escapees to be returned or shot. There are far, far more Israelis who want and have spoken out for peace. This isn't as much a slaughter of one people by another as it is one unwanted government (Hamas, which has actively called for the slaughter of Jews) by another (Bibi). Hamas is a threat to Israel in a way that the Jewish people were never a threat to the Nazis.
I'm not saying this makes anything ok, but I feel like it's a big gaping hole in your analogy. If you disagree, I'm interested in why. I appreciate your thoughts.
Jewish ghetto resistance fighters were in no way supported by well financed surrounding governments, nor were they 40,000 healthy fighters strong with high tech weaponry and strategic plans that called for killing all the Germans, including bursting out of the ghetto and mutilating civilians and taking hostages.
It also doesn't help that when Israel agreed to a temporary truce, Hamas immediately took credit for a terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
I mean - for the Palestinian civilians it looks an awful lot like the liquidation of the Nazi ghettoes. I just don't think it's a plan and simple analogy.
Anti-Semitism is the second-oldest "organized hate" still practiced by people (including, unfortunately, Jews, who have ingrained self-hate). Misogyny is the first.-oldest organized hate (including, unfortunately, women who have ingrained self hate). I'm a Gender Equity Educator who points out to students at each of my presentations that "If men were the only practitioners of misogyny, half our social problems would be solved." There's something to be learned here.
Thank you, Lauren Wolfe, for pointing out that being anti-Israel is not the same as being anti-Semitic; after all, not all Israelis are Jews. And some folks peg Israeli citizens--citizens--who are Jewish as comprising only ~47% of the population. ~RD
I completely disagree with Gessen's statment of Gaza "the ghetto is being liquidated." Israel has the capacity to literally obliterate all of Gaza, that they didn't and that they warn the citizens beforehand to evacuate, is the first difference. The Jews of the kibbutzim were given no such warnings. Second, most ghettos I have been to (and I actually have been to quite a few) don't have beaches or water access, or other bordering countries (Egypt) who could open their gates, but for their own reasons are choosing not to. Third, many Gazans, prior to October 7, came to Israel to work or came for medical care.
I also have an argument with Cameron's version of the Gaza Strip as an open air prison. It is an area with borders, just like the U.S. has with Mexico and Canada. You can't freely cross those borders without appropriate documents.
Palestinians still have the keys to their old houses, for what? At some point, most of the Israelis could go to the "old country" in Europe or Russia, or to the now Muslim-only. lands of Iran, Egypt and Iraq, where many of them came from, and demand their houses back. Still, a 2-state solution is the best option, if only Arafat had accepted it at Oslo, or prior to that, war been perpetrated on Israel by Arab countries not accepting the United Nations partition. It is COMPLICATED!
Netanyahu is not the leader Israel needs. It seems to me that October 7 happened because the country was distracted with his Supreme Court takeover and the diversion of troops to the West Bank. But as long as he can, he will wage this awful war to save his seat as prime minister. Israel deserves a better leader.
The idea of a 2-state solution is the only viable answer to solv
I agree with most of what you write here. Here is where I disagree -- without saying whether or not Bibi is the leader we need. I never voted for him and will not vote for him in future. But he is the leader we have. So he has to be what we need. So far, I am pleased with his handling of the war.
Oct 7 happened, not because we were distracted with his Supreme Court takeover, and not even because of the distraction/disruption that was caused by the demonstrations against judicial reforms that blocked roads, etc. This still did not cause the terrorist infiltration; it only, perhaps, led Hamas to believe we were weakened by our domestic troubles. They quickly saw how wrong they were -- when our backs are against the wall, we all come together to fight a common enemy. We will get back to bickering afterward.
Bibi is also not waging this war to save his seat. He is continuing this war until he will have rid us of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Bibi politicks to save his seat. This war has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with our survival. I wish our local media would stop all political debates until this war will be over. And I hope most people do not fall in the trap of analyzing the war in terms of Bibi's ego.
There is only one reason the infiltration and torture/slaughter/abductions happened -- because Hamas wants to get rid of the Jewish state. There are multiple videos of Hamas leaders saying they will do Oct 7th over and over again until they succeed. It has nothing to do with Bibi or anything else other than the fact that we Jews have polluted the land by regaining sovereignty over Dar al-Islam, land that once was ruled by an Islamic ruler.
I do not agree with a 2-state-solution. Most Israelis no longer believe it is possible, that it would bring peace. I have no alternative to offer, but the 2-state-solution is certainly not viable. If it was, then Hamas, with all the monies they got when we Jews got out, would have built all the infrastructure needed and would have been ready for statehood -- the envy of many states around the world. In 2005, Israel offered to build a naval port and an airport. Gazan leaders rejected that. So who, exactly, do you think is interested in a 2-state-solution in any shape or form among the Palestinian Arabs?
At the same time as I write up my disagreement with the last bit of your comment, let me re-emphasize how much I agree with the first part.
I agree with most of what you wrote, but I have concerns regarding your positioning Hamas officials as representative of the Palestinian people. The leaders of Hamas are largely living in luxury in Qatar, having enriched themselves with the aid sent to help the people they supposedly represent. Hamas also knew full well that Bibi would respond as he did to the October 7 pogram, but they it recognizing that they would be safe in another country and it would be the people who would gain the world's sympathy *by being blown away.* I absolutely stand by Israel's right to defend itself, but it would have been nice if the leaders didn't go about it in the most brutal, civilian centered way possible. But again, Israel didn't start this war.
Hamas was voted into office in Gaza in 2006. They do not represent ALL of the Palestinians, therefore, just Gaza. But Hamas wins student council elections in all universities in the PA and the mayor of Hebron is Hamas. If elections were held today, Hamas would win, which is why Abbas cancelled the elections he intended to hold a year or two ago.
And yes, the leaders of Hamas are mostly in Qatar -- or Turkey -- and recently you can see civilians expressing their hatred toward Hamas at this very fact now that they see what destruction has been wrought by the pogrom. Still, even as they hate Hamas, they do not say anything about a willingness to live alongside Israel.
I am not sure that Hamas leaders knew the extent of the response to the pogrom. They expected some bombing, for sure, some going after leaders, for sure. But they did not expect, I think, this determination to eliminate Hamas totally. And because Hamas leaders are open about their determination to do another Oct 7 and another and another, we have to remain strong and make sure they cannot do that.
I wish there was another way. And I appreciate your understanding of the complexities of the situation.
Unfortunately, I'm not convinced that winning elections is a good indicator of the wishes of all residents of Gaza...or anywhere anymore. And the continuation of this war benefits the Hamas leadership, who helpfully convince the people to vote against their own best interests... just like the MAGA people here in the US.
It is complex. I don't understand how anyone sees any other way to view it.
Polls consistently show that the general citizens of both Gaza and the WB favour Hamas. The war has so far turned the non-Hamas civilians against Hamas in Gaza while not affecting the views of those in the WB. Gazans are openly, faces uncovered, shouting in videos (and on live TV interviews) against Hamas for having destroyed their homes and neighbourhoods. If you can follow "X" accounts, you can see this development. I have also collated "X" posts to show this trend and published them on my website (israeldiaries dot com).
The latest is that Hamas is shooting civilians who are trying to prevent Hamas from stealing food delivered as humanitarian aid for families and children.
Below is a link to the most recent survey -- note, this was published on September 26, about two weeks before that fateful Saturday and no more recent study has been done since then. Anecdotal evidence (for what that's worth) has shown that many who previously believed in a two-state-solution gave up on it on Oct 7th. Some did not. We do not yet have numbers. I think it would be most interesting to have survey data from a week (about) following Oct 7th, then a month or two later, 6 months later and a year later. I don't know if anyone is collecting that data.
What happened was shattering for many who believed in the two-state-solution. How long their change of opinion will last is what needs to be captured by periodic surveying.
This article addresses what you’re bringing up and goes into more detail with actual evidence to support the reality that Palestinian are living in a ghetto while Israel commits genocide against them and just does a much better job of what Wolfe attempted in this blog entry: https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2023/12/21/the-anatomy-of-zionist-genocide
Thank you for this, Lauren. Your four points of clarification are, to me, the central (and critical) message. They most often get lost in thinking and discussion about the Israeli and Palestinian situations and conflicts, including in responses to brilliant pieces such as this one.
The analogy of Gaza being a ghetto like the Warsaw Ghetto doesn't work. The borders between Gaza and Israel are patrolled and to an extent, controlled, by Israel in order to protect Israeli citizens from the very real threat of terrorism (witness the enormous tunnel discovered this week just feet from the Israeli border, many acts of terror from said tunnels and civilian locations, and Oct. 7) from Hamas controlled Gaza which explicitly aims to annihilate Israeli and specifically, Jews. The Jews who were historically ghettoized were no physical threat to the Germans (or Italians), other than psychologically/metaphorically, as a foil for projected anxieties by an antisemitic society. Gaza is a ghetto of it's own choice, not Israel's choice, or at least not Israel's choice alone. The billions spent on terror tunnels could and should have been spent on infrastructure, industry, social services --instead, it was spent to annihilate Israel. Israeli politicians have and continue to make decisions based on fear that do cause suffering, but the fear is real. The responses require greater wisdom, but not the naive belief that the wish to destroy Israel -really destroy Israel--will evaporate if the war ends.
"The ghetto,” Gessen writes of Gaza while invoking some of the most painful events of the Holocaust, is “being liquidated.”"
Ouch.
I can definitely see the analogy. I think a key difference is that it is being done by an extremely unpopular - even despised - government (Bibi et all) and that most Israelis aren't reporting escapees to be returned or shot. There are far, far more Israelis who want and have spoken out for peace. This isn't as much a slaughter of one people by another as it is one unwanted government (Hamas, which has actively called for the slaughter of Jews) by another (Bibi). Hamas is a threat to Israel in a way that the Jewish people were never a threat to the Nazis.
I'm not saying this makes anything ok, but I feel like it's a big gaping hole in your analogy. If you disagree, I'm interested in why. I appreciate your thoughts.
Ok, a couple of additional thoughts:
Jewish ghetto resistance fighters were in no way supported by well financed surrounding governments, nor were they 40,000 healthy fighters strong with high tech weaponry and strategic plans that called for killing all the Germans, including bursting out of the ghetto and mutilating civilians and taking hostages.
It also doesn't help that when Israel agreed to a temporary truce, Hamas immediately took credit for a terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
I mean - for the Palestinian civilians it looks an awful lot like the liquidation of the Nazi ghettoes. I just don't think it's a plan and simple analogy.
Anti-Semitism is the second-oldest "organized hate" still practiced by people (including, unfortunately, Jews, who have ingrained self-hate). Misogyny is the first.-oldest organized hate (including, unfortunately, women who have ingrained self hate). I'm a Gender Equity Educator who points out to students at each of my presentations that "If men were the only practitioners of misogyny, half our social problems would be solved." There's something to be learned here.
Thank you, Lauren Wolfe, for pointing out that being anti-Israel is not the same as being anti-Semitic; after all, not all Israelis are Jews. And some folks peg Israeli citizens--citizens--who are Jewish as comprising only ~47% of the population. ~RD
I completely disagree with Gessen's statment of Gaza "the ghetto is being liquidated." Israel has the capacity to literally obliterate all of Gaza, that they didn't and that they warn the citizens beforehand to evacuate, is the first difference. The Jews of the kibbutzim were given no such warnings. Second, most ghettos I have been to (and I actually have been to quite a few) don't have beaches or water access, or other bordering countries (Egypt) who could open their gates, but for their own reasons are choosing not to. Third, many Gazans, prior to October 7, came to Israel to work or came for medical care.
I also have an argument with Cameron's version of the Gaza Strip as an open air prison. It is an area with borders, just like the U.S. has with Mexico and Canada. You can't freely cross those borders without appropriate documents.
Palestinians still have the keys to their old houses, for what? At some point, most of the Israelis could go to the "old country" in Europe or Russia, or to the now Muslim-only. lands of Iran, Egypt and Iraq, where many of them came from, and demand their houses back. Still, a 2-state solution is the best option, if only Arafat had accepted it at Oslo, or prior to that, war been perpetrated on Israel by Arab countries not accepting the United Nations partition. It is COMPLICATED!
Netanyahu is not the leader Israel needs. It seems to me that October 7 happened because the country was distracted with his Supreme Court takeover and the diversion of troops to the West Bank. But as long as he can, he will wage this awful war to save his seat as prime minister. Israel deserves a better leader.
The idea of a 2-state solution is the only viable answer to solv
I agree with most of what you write here. Here is where I disagree -- without saying whether or not Bibi is the leader we need. I never voted for him and will not vote for him in future. But he is the leader we have. So he has to be what we need. So far, I am pleased with his handling of the war.
Oct 7 happened, not because we were distracted with his Supreme Court takeover, and not even because of the distraction/disruption that was caused by the demonstrations against judicial reforms that blocked roads, etc. This still did not cause the terrorist infiltration; it only, perhaps, led Hamas to believe we were weakened by our domestic troubles. They quickly saw how wrong they were -- when our backs are against the wall, we all come together to fight a common enemy. We will get back to bickering afterward.
Bibi is also not waging this war to save his seat. He is continuing this war until he will have rid us of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Bibi politicks to save his seat. This war has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with our survival. I wish our local media would stop all political debates until this war will be over. And I hope most people do not fall in the trap of analyzing the war in terms of Bibi's ego.
There is only one reason the infiltration and torture/slaughter/abductions happened -- because Hamas wants to get rid of the Jewish state. There are multiple videos of Hamas leaders saying they will do Oct 7th over and over again until they succeed. It has nothing to do with Bibi or anything else other than the fact that we Jews have polluted the land by regaining sovereignty over Dar al-Islam, land that once was ruled by an Islamic ruler.
I do not agree with a 2-state-solution. Most Israelis no longer believe it is possible, that it would bring peace. I have no alternative to offer, but the 2-state-solution is certainly not viable. If it was, then Hamas, with all the monies they got when we Jews got out, would have built all the infrastructure needed and would have been ready for statehood -- the envy of many states around the world. In 2005, Israel offered to build a naval port and an airport. Gazan leaders rejected that. So who, exactly, do you think is interested in a 2-state-solution in any shape or form among the Palestinian Arabs?
At the same time as I write up my disagreement with the last bit of your comment, let me re-emphasize how much I agree with the first part.
I agree with most of what you wrote, but I have concerns regarding your positioning Hamas officials as representative of the Palestinian people. The leaders of Hamas are largely living in luxury in Qatar, having enriched themselves with the aid sent to help the people they supposedly represent. Hamas also knew full well that Bibi would respond as he did to the October 7 pogram, but they it recognizing that they would be safe in another country and it would be the people who would gain the world's sympathy *by being blown away.* I absolutely stand by Israel's right to defend itself, but it would have been nice if the leaders didn't go about it in the most brutal, civilian centered way possible. But again, Israel didn't start this war.
Hamas was voted into office in Gaza in 2006. They do not represent ALL of the Palestinians, therefore, just Gaza. But Hamas wins student council elections in all universities in the PA and the mayor of Hebron is Hamas. If elections were held today, Hamas would win, which is why Abbas cancelled the elections he intended to hold a year or two ago.
And yes, the leaders of Hamas are mostly in Qatar -- or Turkey -- and recently you can see civilians expressing their hatred toward Hamas at this very fact now that they see what destruction has been wrought by the pogrom. Still, even as they hate Hamas, they do not say anything about a willingness to live alongside Israel.
I am not sure that Hamas leaders knew the extent of the response to the pogrom. They expected some bombing, for sure, some going after leaders, for sure. But they did not expect, I think, this determination to eliminate Hamas totally. And because Hamas leaders are open about their determination to do another Oct 7 and another and another, we have to remain strong and make sure they cannot do that.
I wish there was another way. And I appreciate your understanding of the complexities of the situation.
Unfortunately, I'm not convinced that winning elections is a good indicator of the wishes of all residents of Gaza...or anywhere anymore. And the continuation of this war benefits the Hamas leadership, who helpfully convince the people to vote against their own best interests... just like the MAGA people here in the US.
It is complex. I don't understand how anyone sees any other way to view it.
Polls consistently show that the general citizens of both Gaza and the WB favour Hamas. The war has so far turned the non-Hamas civilians against Hamas in Gaza while not affecting the views of those in the WB. Gazans are openly, faces uncovered, shouting in videos (and on live TV interviews) against Hamas for having destroyed their homes and neighbourhoods. If you can follow "X" accounts, you can see this development. I have also collated "X" posts to show this trend and published them on my website (israeldiaries dot com).
The latest is that Hamas is shooting civilians who are trying to prevent Hamas from stealing food delivered as humanitarian aid for families and children.
“ Most Israelis no longer believe it is possible, that it would bring peace.”
I’m genuinely curious - how do you KNOW this? Where is the data?
Below is a link to the most recent survey -- note, this was published on September 26, about two weeks before that fateful Saturday and no more recent study has been done since then. Anecdotal evidence (for what that's worth) has shown that many who previously believed in a two-state-solution gave up on it on Oct 7th. Some did not. We do not yet have numbers. I think it would be most interesting to have survey data from a week (about) following Oct 7th, then a month or two later, 6 months later and a year later. I don't know if anyone is collecting that data.
What happened was shattering for many who believed in the two-state-solution. How long their change of opinion will last is what needs to be captured by periodic surveying.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/26/israelis-have-grown-more-skeptical-of-a-two-state-solution/
Thank you for your statement, of Gessen's, "The ghetto of Gaza is being liquidated." A paraphrase.
This article addresses what you’re bringing up and goes into more detail with actual evidence to support the reality that Palestinian are living in a ghetto while Israel commits genocide against them and just does a much better job of what Wolfe attempted in this blog entry: https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2023/12/21/the-anatomy-of-zionist-genocide
Thank you for writing this article. It is all I needed to cancel my subscription to your newsletter
Nobody wins :(
Thank you for this, Lauren. Your four points of clarification are, to me, the central (and critical) message. They most often get lost in thinking and discussion about the Israeli and Palestinian situations and conflicts, including in responses to brilliant pieces such as this one.