I promise that those two are not mutually exclusive.
Condemning the murder of innocent Palestinians because of the actions of Hamas is antisemitism, right? So what is it called when a hospital is bombed but the bombers pinky promise that they worked really hard to minimize casualties? Can you imagine if America bombed a hospital and pinky promised we worked really, really hard not to hurt innocents?
What about if the United States bombed civilians trying to get food from an aid distribution site?
But none of this excuses Hamas’ actions and, like the Taliban of the post-9/11 world, they are a cancer. Up until Biden’s disaster of a withdrawal from Afghanistan, the US had all but stamped out the Taliban with just over 46,000 civilian casualties in the 22 years since the US invasion, while in Gaza, 70% of of all deaths are civilians — to the tune of 55,000 people in just almost 22 months since the attacks of October 7, 2023.
This is the problem with religious wars; Muslims hate Jews, Jews hate Muslims, and when given the opportunity to end a multi-millennial religious blood feud where the hatred of the enemy is a commandment from god that is tied with your ability to live eternity in heaven, well you know how that usually turns out. It’s a concept that, combined with government’s abuses of it’s own people in the name of religion, is one of the biggest reasons the Founders built separation between religion and government.
So, going back to the original statement: being both anti-Hamas and anti-genocide by Israel can coexist, and they are not mutually exclusive. Hamas, like the Taliban, is a cancer. But like Afghan civilians, innocent Palestinians should not be exterminated because of guerrilla government that controls them.
Today’s whiskey is the always faithful, 12-year age 1792 bourbon.
Leave a comment