But War Crimes are Crimes Against Humanity
Two claims grate against human dignity and human decency. One is that decades of the treatment of Palestinians in the open air concentration camp that has been Gaza justifies the October 7 massacre by Hamas. The other is that the genocidal slaughter of Palestinian babies, children, men and women by the State of Israel is the legitimate self-defense of Jewish people in Israel. These are political justifications for barbaric behaviour borne in the attempt to reduce the ‘other’ to a less than human status. They are rooted in the belief of the extreme right that violence solves problems because we own the weapons and using them is justifiable revenge for how ‘those people’ have treated us.
There is enormous sadness and grief in watching the events that have unfolded in Israel and Gaza since October 7. There is enormous sadness and grief in what has unfolded in Israel and Gaza over the past decades. But even worse is the knowledge that the violent solutions chosen by Hamas and the state of Israel will not protect Jewish people or Palestinian people but will fill graves for decades to come. A decade from now misguided irresponsible Israeli politicians will still seek revenge and justify ‘ten teeth for a tooth’, ten of their children for every one of ours killed. Supporters of Hamas or similar organizations spawned by decades of brutal treatment and the genocide being carried out in Gaza now will want the same.
Israel is not protecting Jewish people. Hamas is not protecting Palestinians. Around the world people are appalled by the brutality of Hamas and the knowledge that they slaughtered not only innocent Jewish people but led to the deaths of tens of thousands of their own people. Around the world people find the genocide being carried out by Israel equally repulsive. It is a new ‘holocaust’ that Israel has perpetrated, justifying it in part by remembering the Holocaust of WWII. Israel has descended into being a failed state unable to judge right from wrong. Hamas, having slaughtered innocents and sacrificed its own children is clearly unfit to trust with any important decision on behalf of Palestinians.
Attempts at genocide do not solve problems but neither does the blinkered foreign policy of Canada and the United States and many countries around the world. Blind support for Israel, regardless of how inhuman its action have become, does not erase the role antisemitism in Canada played in the WWII Holocaust, when our government blocked the admission of Jews to Canada. We cannot ever forget Canada’s silence until the full horror of the slaughter in Nazi concentration camps became impossible to ignore no matter how hard some tried. Most Canadians were appalled by what we learned about the WWII Holocaust, and it became part of why so many ignored the treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories. We wanted to make amends to Jewish people, and so we should, but closing our eyes, blocking our ears and being silent about the treatment of Palestinians was the wrong way to make amends. Why do we continue to follow leaders who choose not to take principled positions against actions rooted in inhumanity? Do we seriously believe that the horror of this new Holocaust is a solution to anything; that it will make Jewish people safe?
It is time for the people of Israel to remove its racist, extreme right wing government and stop the war. It is time for Palestinians to respond by turning on Hamas and rejecting their callous violence. It is time for the United States and countries around the world to cut off all but humanitarian aid to the current government of Israel. Perhaps it is time for Israel to become a United Nations protectorate until such time as a two state solution can be created by Israelis and Palestinians working together. It is time to stop all military aid to either side. It is time for the traditional arms suppliers to both sides in this conflict to back off and support UN intervention. It is time to end the revolving cycle of violence and revenge. It is time for the world to choose peace. It can only happen with resolute action.
Let us turn for inspiration to Vivian Silver, that amazing and courageous woman who lived beside the Gaza border, who gave her life working for peace and had it taken away by the October 7 Hamas massacre. Her son, Yonatan Zeigen, has told us she would be “mortified” by what is happening now in Gaza. His values driven stance, given the enormity of his personal loss, is a reflection of his mother. Commenting on his mother’s death he said, “The only way to have safety and to have good lives is with peace. Vengeance isn’t a strategy.” and “You can’t cure killed babies with more dead babies. We need peace.” This response calls for much more courage than the blind revenge we are witnessing. Does Justin Trudeau have such courage? Does Joe Biden have such courage? Are we ready to demand such courage?
We are at a decision point, do we want to choose to follow Vivian Silver or the genocidal leadership of Hamas and the government of Israel. Whose side will we be on? Will we listen to those who would say she was a dreamer and not a realist and who would have us choose to support the slaughter of children as the only realistic way to respond? Or will we have the courage to reject revenge and violence and opt for peace.
Global Co-operation 