An Israel-Gaza reading list

There is no contradiction between condemning the war crimes of Hamas and acknowledging that Israel is now committing war crimes too, on a massive scale.

This newsletter has obviously been quiet for a couple of weeks, and my last post about the war in Gaza was only four days after Hamas mounted its murderous assault in southern Israel. A lot has happened since then, but most importantly, Palestinians in Gaza have been dying at a huge daily rate.

Actually, that last sentence does not capture the reality of the situation, although its passive construction is typical of the way that mainstream media in the United States is reporting the bombardments. The reality is that Israel has been killing people in Gaza. The death toll is more than 9000 as I write, nearly half children. They are dying because Israel is bombing them day and night, with little noticeable regard for avoiding civilian casualties, despite claims by Israeli leaders and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders.

Acting in disregard for civilian, noncombatant lives is a war crime, long recognized as such in international law. Ironically (if that word can even be used here), the Geneva Conventions and other international laws governing the conduct of war were adopted after World War II, in large part because of the Holocaust that killed an estimated 6 million Jews. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and the transfer of Palestinian populations from their homes in the West Bank and Jerusalem, are violations of international law. So are the series of collective punishments of the people of Gaza Israel has been carrying out since it enacted a blockade of the strip, with its population of more than 2 million people, 16 years ago, after Hamas was the victor in elections that—like it or not—international observers deemed to be fair and honest.

I am saying nothing new or original here, even when I say that the war crimes of Hamas do not—repeat, do not—give Israel a free pass to commit war crimes of its own. Collective punishment, the incessant bombings of civilians, are war crimes even if “Hamas did it first.” The laws of war permit no exceptions.

Earlier this week, after Israel bombed the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, leading to hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries—again, including many children—CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, currently reporting from Tel Aviv, had what might be called a Walter Cronkite moment. It is captured in the video above, and has been widely circulated on social media.

Those of a certain age, and those who have studied the history of the Vietnam War, will recall that Cronkite, who many Americans considered “the most trusted man in America” (in the days when journalists were almost universally admired), publicly turned against the war in a famous broadcast on February 27, 1968. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had staked his entire presidency on the success of the Vietnam war, reportedly commented, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.”

During Blitzer’s interview of the IDF spokesperson, Wolf is visibly shocked to hear the latter dismiss mass civilian casualties as an acceptable price for killing a key Hamas commander and perhaps one or two other Hamas leaders. Blitzer, who has long been a staunch supporter of Israel, almost doesn’t believe what he is hearing, because he knows—how could he not, as a serious journalist—that such blatant disregard of civilian lives is a war crime.

Whether or not this episode changes Blitzer’s thinking, and whether or not CNN and other mainstream media start to report accurately and fairly on what is happening in Gaza, I think it was an important moment—and I hope it will be recognized as one of many such moments that may turn the tide and eventually allow us to stop Israel’s brutal actions.

One reason I have been silent for a couple of weeks, and I am not the only one among my friends and colleagues, is that I have been trying to get over the shock of hearing some people I have long admired taking the same position as that IDF spokesperson (I am not naming him, out of disrespect.) The only consolation, as a Jew myself, has been the huge mobilizations of fellow Jews in the U.S. and around the world against the killing, against the war crimes, and against this blatant violation of the Judaic values of fairness and social justice so many of us grew up with.

Each of us who opposes the massacres Israel is carrying out in Gaza (and the stepped up ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Palestinians in the West Bank that Israeli settlers and soldiers are carrying out concurrently with the Gaza war) is trying to find their own way to protest and make a difference. In this post, I want to share a fairly long annotated reading list of articles that I have found particularly helpful over the past couple of weeks (yes, I have read each one.)

Inevitably, some of them will be behind a paywall for some readers, which I regret. I hope they are still helpful to you; I will update the list selectively as important new articles come along.

But first, I would ask you to consider the poem “Red Sea,” by Puerto Rican Jewish poet and activist Aurora Levins Morales.

We cannot cross until we carry each other,

all of us refugees, all of us prophets.

No more taking turns on history’s wheel,

trying to collect old debts no-one can pay.

The sea will not open that way.

This time that country

is what we promise each other,

our rage pressed cheek to cheek

until tears flood the space between,

until there are no enemies left,

because this time no one will be left to drown

and all of us must be chosen.

This time it’s all of us or none. 

Do Israel’s actions violate international law? Are they war crimes?

Nearly all experts in international law and human rights organizations say yes. In addition, some Israeli officials and analysts have explicitly stated their desire to ethnically cleanse all of Gaza.

“The law limits Israel’s response to Hamas,” by Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch.

“To not allow water, food and fuel through is to turn all of Gaza into an extermination camp,” by Luis Moreno Ocampo, former prosecutor for the International Criminal Court.

“The Tragedy of Dehumanization,” by Bill Blum, civil rights attorney.

“This is not the State Department I know. That’s why I left my job,” by Josh Paul, former State Department official.

“Joe Biden is Engaging in Atrocity Denaliasm for Israel. It Has a Long History,” by Bradley Simpson, a historian of U.S. foreign policy at the University of Connecticut.

“How does international humanitarian law apply in Israel and Gaza?” by Clive Baldwin, a senior legal advisor at Human Rights Law.

“Expel all Palestinians from Gaza, recommends Israeli gov’t ministry,” by Yuval Abraham for +972 Magazine.

The following articles detail the war crimes Israel committed by bombing the Jabalya refugee camp.

“Cratered ground and destroyed lives: piecing together the Jabalia camp airstrike,” by Emma Graham-Harrison, Manisha Ganguly, and Elena Morresi for The Guardian.

“Israeli strikes on Gaza refugee camp offer glimpse of war’s destruction,” by Miriam Berger, Hajar Harb, and Meg Kelly for the Washington Post.

The historical and political context for the current conflict.

Obviously the conflict did not start on October 7, as shocking as the atrocities by Hamas may have been.

“In the Israeli-Palestinian debate, you might be wrong. So be humble,” by Washington Post columnist Shadi Hamid.

“Vengeful Pathologies,” by Adam Shatz in the London Review of Books (highly recommended.)

“After the Flood,” by Amjad Iraqi in the London Review of Books.

“A Practical Appraisal of Palestinian Violence,” by Steve Salaita (Trigger warning: This article comes close to justifying Hamas’s atrocities, but the central point needs to be heard.)

“The Compass of Mourning,” by Judith Butler in the London Review of Books. Probably one of the most important things written since October 7.

“Bearing witness to the disappearing world,” by Sarah Kendzior.

“The Memories That Feed Distrust in the Middle East,” by Zeynep Tufekci for the New York Times. An uncompromising look at the history of the conflict and Palestinian grievances.

“A Brief History of the Netanyahu-Hamas Alliance,” by Adam Raz for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. This may come as a surprise to a lot of people.

“Israel must stop weaponising the Holocaust,” by Raz Segal in The Guardian.

“On Gaza, Part I,” by Osita Nwanevu.

“Israel and Palestine’s Existential War,” a good and balanced perspective by Israeli journalist Mairav Zonszein.

“The Wisdom of Edward Said Has Never Been More Relevant,” by Nathan Robinson for Current Affairs.

Media coverage of the conflict.

A couple of the more insightful pieces I have seen on this topic.

“I spent two decades as a CNN correspondent. We journalists need to do a better job reporting the truth,” by Arwa Damon, a courageous war correspondent formerly with CNN.

“No Human Being Can Exist,” essential reading by Saree Makdisi for n+1 magazine.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, ethnic cleansing steps up markedly during the fog of war in Gaza

Two articles on this topic, which goes to the heart of Israeli motivations.

“Ethnic Cleansing in the West Bank,” by Neve Gordon for the London Review of Books.

“‘A new Nakba’: settler violence forces Palestinians out of West Bank villages,” by Bethan McKernan for The Guardian.

Jews take the lead in opposing Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

“A Dangerous Conflation” (between criticizing Israel and anti-Semitism), an open letter from Jewish writers published in n+1.

“Jewish Groups Rally at White House Urging Biden to Push for Gaza Ceasefire,” Robert Tait, The Guardian

“Jewish Activists Arrested at US Congress Anti-Israel Protest Amid Gaza War,” Al Jazeera staff, Al Jazeera

“‘Let Gaza Live’: Calls for Cease-Fire Fill Grand Central Terminal,” Claire Fahy, Julian Roberts-Grmela and Sean Piccoli, The New York Times

“Survey: A Quarter of US Jews Agree That Israel ‘is an Apartheid State,’” Ron Kampeas, JTA

“The Rise of ‘If Not Now’ and the Collapse of the Pro-Israel Consensus,” Alex Kane, Mondoweiss

“The Anti-Democratic Origins of the ADL and AJC,” Emmaia Gelman, Jewish Currents

“The ADL Doubles Down on Opposing the Anti-Zionist Left,” Mari Cohen and Isaac Scher, Jewish Currents

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