What One Must Understand about the New Israel War

“The ‘peace process’ and the ‘two-state solution’ are other thought clichés that must be questioned because ultimately whoever speaks of these, or even more generally of a ‘political settlement,’ has not understood the conflict at all.”

To be a philosopher, one must start from the beginning. It is not for naught that Hobbes introduces his exposition on the state by discussing such things as human perception, imagination, and reason, and that Hegel discusses scientific cognition before launching into his phenomenology. Such holistic treatments are not always practical, and most readers nowadays do not have the patience to concentrate for that long, but it is important to retain at least the spirit of foundational inquiry so as to avoid the thought clichés within which even relatively intelligent people become trapped.

To few current issues does this apply as well as it does to the Middle East conflict, as has been seen over the last few weeks, since the outbreak of the most recent war. I do not wish to discuss the right and wrong of the two sides. Just as little as I would debate whether the Nazis or the Jews were in the wrong would I debate whether the “Palestinians” or Israel are in the wrong. Only anti-Semitism, or ignorance of the history and cultures of the region, or, finally, fear of Muslims could cause a denial of the fact that moral right is squarely on Israel’s side and that there is no such thing as “occupation” or “colonization” in the area. For those who are unaware of these things, there are plenty of other sources they can consult. Instead, I wish to discuss some cultural and philosophical ramifications of the war for the West.

Some of the thought clichés common in the West, including among parts of the political right, must be questioned. Many even on the pro-Israel side will say something to the effect that “The Palestinians deserve better than Hamas,” or they will introduce a defense of Israel with a statement that “The Palestinians deserve a country, but…” which leaves me wondering: How bad does a people have to be not to deserve a country? How large does the Palestinian majority have to be that voted for Hamas, how many Israeli offers of a state must the Palestinians reject, how many millions of dollars must the supposedly moderate Palestinian Authority pay out to the terrorists and their families, and how jubilantly and ululatingly must Palestinian crowds race with candies through the streets every time a Jewish child is killed before we say: Perhaps, actually, the Palestinians do not deserve a country? The “peace process” and the “two-state solution” are other thought clichés that must be questioned because ultimately whoever speaks of these, or even more generally of a “political settlement,” has not understood the conflict at all. More general thought clichés that are implicated in the new war include the idea of the equality of cultures and peoples, as well as the narcissistic Western notion that other peoples ultimately desire the same things as we do.