My recent post on the Israel/Hamas conflict brought a fair amount of comment from several critics. Apparently my claim that only a two state solution could lead to long term Middle-East peace was a bridge too far for several folks.

One said what Israel was doing in Gaza was exactly right and I was too naive to recognize it. Another said that I was clearly anti-Israel, or worst, pro-Hamas and was endorsing its goal of destroying Israel. One said the Palestinians had the chance for their own state 75 years ago and refused; now there could never be peace as long as they occupied part of the Jewish Homeland. That individual did not suggest where Palestinians should go. Another misquoted me as saying Hamas was right on October 7th. Not a single comment expressed concern for the plight of the Palestinian People.

I am certainly familiar with the history of the creation of Israel, the rejection of the UN two state solution by the Palestinians at that time, and the impact this ongoing conflict has had on all Middle-Eastern people. I am not here to defend the Palestinians rejecting the UN “partition” plan. I would note however that the plan was quite biased in favor of the Jews. And I suspect that presented with a similarly unbalanced choice as the Palestinians were offered, virtually all Americans would reject it as well.

I spent more time on the ground pursuing investment and strategic partnership opportunities in Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt than I care to relive. Regardless, that experience did give me some sense of the hopes, dreams, and politics of the various peoples in the region. Unlike the Israeli and American extremists like to claim, virtually non of them (except Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian backed terror groups) have the destruction of Israel as their goal.

As for me saying Hamas was right on Oct. 7th: if the individual claiming that had read my literature more carefully, if he read it at all, he would have seen that I was quite critical of Hamas’s October 7 attack. I specifically wrote that what they did was “pure inhuman evil and is way beyond what any civilized people would do to others, even in war”.

But regardless of what Hamas did, withholding food, water, fuel, and medical supplies from 2 plus million mostly innocent people to punish a few hundred terrorists with indiscriminate bombing is itself criminal. It is certainly not the behavior of a civilized democratic government. It is also guaranteed to fail because it creates a near infinite new supply of terrorists. A special forces approach to gain intelligence, root out the terrorist leaders, and find the hostages would likely produce substantially better results. I recognize Israel will say that would expose their solders to increased danger. That is probably true if Israel’s timetable is a few weeks rather than months. That type of warfare takes time, patience, and intelligence. It certainly can’t be done quickly and it does lack the pizazz of leveling entire city blocks, as they are doing now.

The “jury is still out” on how history is ultimately going to assess this current Israel/Hamas conflict. I suspect if/when the mass killing stops this time, Israel’s star will be seriously tarnished in the eyes of the international community. I am just thankful that the Biden Administration is finally stepping up to try to moderate Israel’s brutal military behavior. The Administration’s willingness to openly reference the creation of a Palestinian State as the only long term solution is clearly a positive move as well.