Ceasefire Dilemma

𝗜 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗕𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗜𝗩𝗘, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗠𝗘. 

Since 10/7, I’ve been resolute in my belief that a ceasefire would give Hamas time to bounce back. I’m not a military tactician. What do I know?

Having watched John Oliver’s Emmy-worthy episode on “the situation” (המצב), I’m beginning to agree with him. The best 28-minute summary about המצב I’ve seen or read to date. True, his analysis was a bit skewed. There was more focus on the suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians and not enough coverage of the hundreds of anti-Netanyahu demonstrations in Israel for 40 Saturdays prior to the massacre.

He should have said the same thing about Israelis  as he did about the Palestinian civilians (basically, they’re not all Hamas, and we shouldn’t generalize). We’re not this government. It’s a bunch of thugs, and if the elections were held today, the left-center parties would have 61 mandates. That’s a coalition without the fascist and religious parties. Israel doesn’t represent Netanyahu. 

I first reacted with anger, but then I listened. He’s right. Israel cannot annihilate Hamas. It can get their leaders, but they’ll recover and will be as strong as ever, if the Palestinians let them. So how long do we prolong the suffering of civilians? Might as well end it now and continue hunting for the leaders of this bloodthirsty group without disrupting civilian lives. Yes, I did say hunting. 

First we need a hostage exchange (or hostages-to-prisoners exchange). There’s no excuse for a delay. Hamas wants its people in exchange for our hostages. Let them have what they want.

Next, we must help rebuild Gaza. We. Israel. With international aide. 

UNRWA must be removed from Gaza. It’s in cahoots with Hamas. It’s the only UN agency dedicated solely to one group of refugees. The school curriculum is created by UNRWA and promotes anti-Israeli ideas and Jew-hating (can’t really call them antisemitic). 

Construction supplies sent to Gaza must be distributed to the population, not for building more tunnels. Only a third-party can do that. It’s time the UN started making use of its useless “peace-keeping” corps. Let them supervise the rebuilding of Gaza, residences, farms, and industries  I know many Israelis would love to lend a hand toward this goal. 

So call me naive. But if you’ve read this whole thing, I’d love to read your comments. I’d love to debate this with people who know what’s what and who’s who.

I hope John Oliver follows up with a discussion about the rise of international antisemitism as a result of the 10/7 massacre. We diaspora Jews live in fear for our lives.

#Johnoliver