Opposing Israel's Government But Not Supporting Hamas, Islamic Jihad And Their Cheerleaders

 Waging war in densely populated areas only leads to civilian casualties, including children. Wage war and you get war, and civilians on all sides suffer.

People that could care less about all of the mass slaughtering taking place in the world all of a sudden are stirred to selective anger when it comes to Israel. Their hatred, their incitement, their selective concern helps the killing continue and for peace to remain elusive. 

I oppose this government in Israel. Netanyahu should be long gone from the political scene. This is not a government that should be in power. 

I oppose the actions and governments of many countries. There are many things the U.S. has done that I oppose. There is a difference, however, in opposing the actions of a government, opposing the leaders of a government, opposing a government itself, and wanting the destruction not only of the government, but of the whole nation. Even though I oppose the actions of many governments, I do not support ever the destruction and ethnic cleansing of the people of any nation.

It is unfortunate that opposition to Israel takes the form far too often of seeking the destruction of the entire nation and the ethnic cleansing and genocide of its people. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iran and many others make it clear that ethnic cleansing and genocide are their goals. 

The misuse of the word Zionist as a way to dismiss all of the human beings that live in a nation is a cynical manipulation of a word. Opposing the government of Israel and wanting the genocide of its people are too often intertwined. Many critics of Israel that despise the small country pretend that genocide is not on the table as they vent their selective self righteous anger, knowing full well that Israel is unique among nations of the world in that many of its enemies seek not a change of government, but the destruction of the entire nation.

I oppose this war and its escalation. Israelis and Palestinian Arabs must find a way to share the small piece of land without killing each other. Like it or not, they are stuck with each other. All the calls for war or genocide against the Jews are not out of love for Palestinians, even though they may pretend otherwise. It is out of hatred for Jews. The war they seek against Israel means not only the deaths of the Jews they despise, but also of countless Jewish and Arab children and countless other civilians on all sides.  

The pathological hatred for Jews, which manifests itself in many ways including the demonizing and delegitimizing of the millions of Jews that live in Israel, keeps the conflict inflamed. 

The sideline cheerleaders that excuse Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and company no matter what they do, and fault Israel for everything it does, are not helping anyone.

The calls for hate, war and violence by either side or by the supporters of either side takes Jew and Arab down a dark and ugly path. Death, maiming, and destruction are unfolding before our eyes. War and violence instead of peace, forgiveness, tolerance and reconciliation brings only misery and suffering. 

Israelis and Palestinian Arabs must find a way to share the small piece of land without killing each other. Like it or not, they are stuck with each other. .  

No matter which side a person supports, nothing justifies the deliberate attacking or harming of civilians. There are those that want this violence and death. Death and maiming will spin out of control if they prevail. Death, maiming and misery are already spinning out of control.