Re: <nettime> silence on Palestine?

[Brian Holmes via nettime-l <nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>]

Rahul, first of all, I too am thankful that we can actually discuss these
issues on nettime, because in the world at large, the space for discussion
is narrow, while the space for bitter animosity seems almost infinite.

As stated in an earlier post, I think we are before a tragic situation
which ensnares all participants in a trap not of their own making. This is
why I don't justify one population over the other in this conflict. To me,
what would be important is not that one side wins. What's important is to
get out of the trap.

Anyway, there is a point which needs to be clarified. I think we all
understand that under the norms of international law, Hamas is a terrorist
organization, whereas the IDF upholds, or at least claims to uphold, the
humanitarian rules of military engagement.

However, the analysis of the people who disagree with you - including
myself on this point - is that since 1987 at least, the disproportionality
of Palestinian deaths compared to Israeli deaths indicates a failure of
humanitarian law as applied by the IDF. In the previous conflicts involving
Gaza, the Palestinian death toll is on the order of twenty times higher, at
least. This is due to the vast inequality in terms of weaponry,
institutional structure, international support and logistical resources -
exactly the inequality that has made it possible for Israel to hold two
million people in an open-air prison, and to pursue the takeover of
Palestinian land on the West Bank. It is impossible to see the humanitarian
character of military operations that result in such large numbers of
civilian deaths.

The disproportion is well known and can be seen in the chart on this page:

https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1352614/how-many-people-has-the-hamas-israel-war-killed-so-far.html

A humanitarian law that allows a country to slaughter civilians at that
level of disproportionality appears first of all to contradict its own
tenets, and more importantly, it looks like a transparently false
justification for violent domination. Already in the current conflict, we
are seeing twice as many Palestinian deaths. If the number rises to ten or
twenty times as many, the trap will be complete. Not only the Arab world
will look on Israel and the US as mortal enemies, but the entire Global
South will come to see the Western alliance system as a hypocritical force
of bloodthirsty domination. And so we will fight wars until the flames of
climate change consume us.

Despite the grief and rage, Israel should exercise restraint now, before
the situation becomes terminally polarized. As the more powerful party, the
country should analyze its own role in producing the conflict - just as the
US should have done after 9/11. Not to do so is a failure on every level,
including that of military strategy. Netanyahu's government is directly to
blame for this strategic failure, and it looks very likely that he will be
blamed for it by a majority of Israelis. Supporting them does not imply
anti-Semitism, nor even less, justification of Hamas. It's just being
against the war party.

Anyway, in terms of the discussion here, I wanted to clarify what looks to
me like a fundamental point of disagreement.

best, Brian
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