Like someone trying to salvage a tattered relationship, President Joe Biden has taken too long to tell Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that’s his killing spree through Gaza has to end or he can forget about any more aid – military or otherwise – from the United States.
It’s pretty obvious that Netanyahu, a corrupt-as-the-day-is-long politician, has zero regard for the lives of any Palestinians whether they’re Hamas or not. Right now, he needs to be called out for his wag-the-dog effort as a wartime president who’ll do anything to (1) stay in power and (2) prevent the two-state solution that’s really the only sensible end game for the decades conflict in that region.
Look, two things are true here: Hamas’s attack that killed hundreds of Israelis, some by extremely brutal means, was heinous and those involved should be held accountable, and that Netanyahu’s wild-eyed approach has killed too many innocent civilians.
Netanyahu is either incapable or unwilling to figure out a targeted approached that kills as many Hamas members as possible while minimizing the deaths of civilians. So far, he’s given no indication that the lives of any Palestinians are worth the trouble. Do we really want to support this?
I understand Israel is a long-time ally, and it’s a sovereign nation that has a right to defend itself. But we’re a sovereign nation too, and we have the right to distance ourselves from the immoral fiasco that Netanyahu’s leadership has wrought.
Is this genocide? That’s a pretty strong word, but the slaughter of civilians has been tough to watch.
This week, Israel’s military ordered about 100,000 civilians in parts of Rafah to evacuate immediately to a humanitarian zone, the Washington Post reported. It’s threatening to operate with “extreme force” in that area.
Not only is this position a sticking point in cease-fire negotiations, it also spits in the eye of Biden, who’s made it clear to Netanyahu that he strongly opposes the idea.
Hey Joe, he’s making a monkey out of you.
All this has led to protests on college campuses around the nation. More seriously, the Israel-Hamas conflict has sparked the antisemitic tendencies in his country, and they aren’t pretty.
As for the protestors – some of which aren’t even students – they have the right to peacefully demonstrate but they don’t have the right to break the law or disrupt the lives of others, like their fellow students. If they do so, lock them up.
Some folks are upset that there’s been cancellations of graduation ceremonies at some of these schools. I understand you don’t want to let the lawbreakers control what you do, but I still don’t have a problem with schools that error on the side of safety by not holding these events.
Here’s your diploma, go out and make this a better country so this doesn’t happen again.
Sometimes things are complicated, but sometimes they’re simple and peripheral factors make them stickier. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.
The United States needs to stop giving aid to a country that’s operating with no regard for the lives of innocent civilians. Protestors who break the law should be held accountable and, hopefully, they’ll come to understand their antics aren’t helping their cause.
See, like I told you: simple.
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