By James J. Zogby,
Special to Gulf News
There appears to be a direct relationship between the
increasing ugliness and immorality of this war and the
extreme lengths to which Israel's supporters will go to
justify it.
This was brought home to me recently in three separate
debates, one in print, two on television. What I clearly saw
at work in these exchanges was how Israel's apologists use
verbal overkill paralleling Israel's use of overwhelming
military force. They will admit no wrong. They attempt to
bully opponents into submission. They deny history and
morality. And, maybe most disturbing of all, they seek to
present this war (as they have sought to present many of
Israel's previous wars) in exaggerated and near apocalyptical
terms.
One of my antagonists, Abe Foxman, head of the
Anti-Defamation League, objected to a piece I had written
charging the Bush administration with "criminal negligence",
for not acting quickly and decisively to end the carnage in
Lebanon. I went further in my piece noting that this
administration's policies and/or neglect had made a mess of
much of the Middle East, resulting not only in catastrophe
for the Arab world, but in a deepening of anti-American
sentiments throughout the region.
Ignoring my point, Foxman deliberately miscast my views,
accusing me of standing by while Hezbollah and Iran armed
themselves and became a threat to the entire Middle East.
After absolving Israel from all blame in the killing of
hundreds of Lebanese civilians, Foxman weirdly concluded
that, "[i]n the end, though Zogby won't admit it, the Arab
world needs an Israeli victory over Hezbollah and Iran as
much as Israel and the US. Maybe then, Lebanon can truly
become one nation and be rebuilt and the region can begin to
change for the better."
In my rebuttal, I noted that it was not I who stood by while
Iran and extremists were strengthened in the Middle East. It
was the policies pursued by the Bush administration that are
responsible for the nightmare unfolding before us. It was the
disastrous war in Iraq that empowered and emboldened Iran,
creating a new haven for terrorists and the dangers of civil
war. And it was the US's abandonment of Lebanon and the
Palestinians, followed by support for the Israeli onslaught
against both that is making the Middle East more dangerous
and more anti-American with Iran sitting on the sidelines
"licking its chops". Unlike Foxman's apocalyptical fantasy, I
see no cheering in the Arab world for Israel's behaviour and
I do not see how any compassionate or sane person can argue
that the outcome of an Israeli "victory" will leave Lebanon
better or whole.
My two televised exchanges, one with noted criminal attorney
Alan Dershowitz and the other with magazine publisher Mort
Zuckerman, were debates that focused on issues of morality
and war. Both of my antagonists claimed that Israel always
fought its wars using moral means. When Arab civilians were
killed, it was because: these civilians forfeited their
rights by not fleeing as they had been told to; or because
they were terrorist supporters; or because they were
deliberately used as shields; or because ... and on and on.
The point being that Israel is never guilty, someone else
always is.
This is such madness. Denying history and morality in the
defence of atrocities is, however, par for the course for
Israel's apologists. It took Israeli historians four decades
to admit that they deliberately falsified the history of the
1948 war and to acknowledge that it was their ethnic
cleansing campaign in 1948 that produced the first wave of
Palestinian refugees.
Now only four weeks into the Lebanon war and they want us to
forget that from the first days of this conflict Israeli
military leaders were warning that they would "turn Lebanon's
clock back 20 years", or that nothing and no one south of the
Litani river would be safe. And this is precisely what they
have done. Not only have entire swaths of the southern
suburbs of Beirut and much of Tyre and Bint Jbail and other
smaller communities been reduced to rubble, but the airport
and oil depot and ports, north and south, and much of the
infrastructure of the country have been destroyed as well. In
the process, thousands of homes have been levelled and
hundreds have been killed, by "smart bombs" that "repeatedly
miss" their targets. The moral justification? "Hezbollah made
us do it."
What is galling is that the Israelis said what they were
going to do, they did it, and now they send forth their
minions to deny their responsibility for their actions.
Hyperbole
In the end, my opponents fall back on hyperbole to buttress
their defence. For Zuckerman the argument becomes Israel
fighting for its survival this, presumably, justifying any
and all atrocities. More disturbing, Dershowitz argues,
"[t]his is the beginning of a world war in which this kind of
terrorism will be used against democracies. And the question
is are democracies going to be impotent in the face of this
or will the international community finally say to Hezbollah
and others 'You cannot hide behind civilians. You cannot use
civilians as a shield. If you do, you are responsible for
every death ..."
I grew up in an environment where I was taught that "you reap
what you sow". For that reason, while I have supported
Palestinian rights and opposed the occupations of Palestine
and Lebanon, I have never been an uncritical apologist when
terrorist acts against civilians were used in the name of
resistance. I, therefore, am outraged by the immoral
apologetics of those who uncritically excuse all of Israel's
behaviour. It is a dangerous game.
When my antagonists see only their history and deny that of
their adversaries, and when they insist that morality and
humanity are defined exclusively by their needs and
behaviour, they become dangerously solipsistic. Defending a
guilty client only serves to legitimate bad behaviour,
guaranteeing that it will continue. Worse still is attempting
to fantasise some larger good coming out of evil the
consequences of all this denial will haunt us for generations
to come.
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