Weekly Signals — Israel edition
1. Endgames compared
Sam Harris — Why I Don’t Criticize Israel
This essay by Sam Harris (the most prominent atheist thinker of our time) is making the rounds, and is worth reading.
“The truth is that there is an obvious, undeniable, and hugely consequential moral difference between Israel and her enemies. The Israelis are surrounded by people who have explicitly genocidal intentions towards them.
“To see this moral difference, you have to ask what each side would do if they had the power to do it. What would the Jews do to the Palestinians if they could do anything they wanted?
[Now] What do we know of the Palestinians? What would the Palestinians do to the Jews in Israel if the power imbalance were reversed?http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp of their government in Gaza explicitly tells us that they want to annihilate the Jews — not just in Israel but everywhere.”
2. Proxy Wars
BBC — “Long Difficult War Ahead”
WSJ — Iran Helped Plot Attacks
This is the latest round of a proxy war between Iran and the West. Hamas spokesperson admitted Hamas had direct backing from Iran. What is their goal? Disrupting the developing relationships between Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Sunni Islam countries.
Who else benefits? Putin’s Russia. By playing two of their allies (Israel and Iran) against each other in this regional conflict, Russia diverts attention (and dollars) away from its conflict with Ukraine, speeding up the war of attrition.
3. Flanks exposed
The internal push by far-right Ultra Orthodox to establish, maintain, and expand the controversial West Bank settlements has always revealed political divisions. Now, it seemed to have physically opened up Israel’s southern flank in Gaza. It’s a sub-plot that will get lost in the United response to Hamas, but it should not be ignored.
4. Background Piece
Tablet — Everything You Need To Know
The Free Press and Tablet have a good primer, from a Jewish perspective, on Israel and Hamas.
