JustASC

This Times’ oped piece on Gaza by Roger Cohen is disingenuous,  self-involved, and about as insightful and nuanced as a bumper sticker — not bad for 800 words.

Where to start — with the stupid historical analogies? (France, Poland and Germany did not “free… themselves after 1945 from war’s cycle.” After Germany crushed France and Poland into submission, a massive alliance vanquished Germany.) With the dimestore psychology? (Israel’s security fence was not intended to turn Palestinians into a “vague abstraction.” The goal was to prevent them from killing Jews.)

So why do I think we need to take his piece seriously? It comes down to this line:

…I’ve been having nightmares. I cannot see a scenario in which any short-term Israeli tactical victory over Hamas is not overwhelmed by the long-term strategic cost of this war.

The more this war goes on, and the higher the body count rises, the more this sentiment is bound to seep into the mainstream. And not just among the “Israel-bashers,” but among disinterested third parties, and even American Jews, who will find it harder and harder to defend the carnage. Perhaps that is their failing, and they should man up and recognize that tough things have to be done in a tough neighborhood. Perhaps the qualms that lead Cohen to say that he has never been so “shamed” by Israel actions are misguided. But they are real. And even among the, let’s say, 10 – 20 percent or so who are deeply engaged with Israel, either politically, religiously, or philanthropically, I can see a tipping point being reached. Israel may or may not care how American Jews feel about their policies. But others do.