Antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-woman, or any other anti(s) do not reveal your smarts; they generally reveal your prejudices. The recent reemergence of a two-page manifesto from terrorist Osama bin Laden justifying the murders of nearly 3000 people in a terrorist attack in 2001 is a case in point. More alarming to me as a black man whose political and social justice education was nurtured by the sixties, the efforts, by many, to divide what was a strong alliance of blacks and Jews in America tears at my soul. People who cannot separate the innocent Israeli people from the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu are as guilty as the people who cannot separate the desperation of the innocent Palestinian people from Hamas.
I fielded some questions from a few former students over the past few weeks, and unfortunately, I spent much of the conversations disabusing myths. No, Israel has not occupied Gaza since 2005. No, Netanyahu does not have widespread support for establishing illegal settlements in the West Bank. Yes, Hamas was elected as the ruling party in Gaza in 2006, but no free elections have happened since. Yes, Gaza is fenced in and has its freedom of movement and commerce controlled by the Israelis. There have been enough atrocities on both sides to give each the false justification of violence as an answer. As much as people would like to believe the Palestinian-Israeli conflict began in 1947 or, worse, on October 7, 2023, it dates back to World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the Brits. After the British conquered the area, they promised both the Arabs and “Zionists” a fair apportionment of the land. Meanwhile, the French divvied up Syria and Lebanon. In reality, the British and French created a purposeful quagmire for what they believed would be a strategic advantage in the region.
What is true are the realities of war.
College campus protesters are pointing an accusing finger, asserting that Joe Biden is aiding genocide and colonization, neither of which is true. The problem with discussing the issue is that it has become a tit-for-tat conversation when the reality of war is that murder begets murder. Once, a group of Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel and brutally murdered a reported 1200 to 1400 non-combatants; the response was predictable. Just as former American President George W. Bush felt obligated to take revenge, the previous promises of safety by Israeli President Bibi Netanyahu brought about murderous retaliation. Mr. Bush stood in the rubble of the World Trade Center and declared America’s intentions. Netanyahu vowed “mighty vengeance” and has continued on that path.
Current President Joe Biden warned the Israeli leader of making the same mistakes of the U.S. government following 9/11. “I caution this, that while you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it. After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes,”Biden said in public remarks in Tel Aviv. The world has become accustomed to instant gratification; if one sees it on Facebook or TikTok, why read or research? In this instance, simplicity is deadly. Unfortunately, it is not governments who pay the price of war; it is their people. It seems absurd to talk about the rules of engagement in a war, but it is the only thing that separates us from total depravity.
Life moves in full circles, and with so many Americans either misinformed or disinformed about history—like telling kids there were benefits to enslavement, I wonder where America’s venture down revisionist history will inevitably lead.
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