United Liberty
Israel and Palestine: The Case for Non-intervention
Thu, 01/08/2009 - 6:21am | posted by Dr. Charles Kennedy
The recent Israeli military incursion into Gaza has been correctly termed an “invasion”, as put by Congressman Ron Paul. It shows the world, once again, that the policy of preemptive or “preventive” war carries the day with Israel and its policies towards its neighbors. In reality, this is an extension of the U.S. foreign policy of intervention into the internal affairs of other nations, having taken its latest form in the past five years as preemptive war with the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Many staunch (i.e., blind) supporters of the state of Israel somehow believe that the latest military strategy will somehow work in staving off the threats of rockets being fired by members and supporters of Hamas. Sadly, this strategy is only likely to beget more violence and to further radicalize Palestinians in Gaza who are understandably outraged over continued military occupation by Israel under conditions that some have likened to concentration camps (as Ron Paul put it in his recent video statement).
The truth is that the situation with Israel and Palestine is not so black-and-white as many on both sides of the conflict tend to portray it. It is really a very complex situation that is extremely difficult for most people to understand or grasp, and it is rooted in fighting that has been taking place for hundreds, if not thousands of years. It is extremely difficult to comprehend the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics, and it is even more dangerous for the U.S. to continue its policies of intervention into Middle Eastern affairs as if somehow it could change these realties. The U.S. is almost certain to be blamed, rightly or wrongly, for Israel’s recent actions, not the least on account of the weapons used having been provided to Israel by the U.S. Our “special relationship” with Israel does not come without consequences, as we learned on September 11, 2001. The likelihood of another major terrorist attack on our own land has been substantially increased by Israel’s recent actions. We can only ignore this fact at our own peril.
This writer accepts the view that Israel has the right defend itself from attack by radical Islamists (or any other attackers). However, it must be kept in mind that it is weaponry paid for by taxpayers here in the U.S. that gets used in Israeli military actions. When Israel responds to attack (or attacks preemptively) in such a way as to inflame its enemies to perpetrate more violence, it cannot happen without some sort of consequence to the U.S. We imperil ourselves by attempting to take one side or the other, or even worse, attempting to play both sides of the conflict, as we have done at various times. Our on-again, off-again policy has essentially jerked people around who should be left alone to try to resolve their own problems and conflicts. The more we interfere, the more inflamed tensions and passions become. It’s rather like pouring gasoline on a fire.
It especially bothers this writer that some of the most vociferously blind supporters of Israel’s actions are those who identify themselves as religious conservatives or evangelicals. Where is the Christian gospel to be found in a policy that pretends that a certain subset of people are somewhat less than fully human, and that advocates acts of violence? How can religiously conservative columnists, such as Cal Thomas, suggest that the rants of radicals in Hamas amount to anti-semitism on the level of the Nazis while ignoring the boulder in the eyes of those who would view Palestinians en masse as barbarian and sub-human? It all boils down to a kind of relativism that suggests certain acts of violence are acceptable, depending on who is committing the violence. Therefore, violent acts by radical Palestinians are roundly condemned (as they should be), while violent acts by radical (what other word can we use?) Israelis (i.e., the Israeli state) are somehow justified.
Especially disturbing and dangerous is the use by many evangelical Christians of certain theological views of the role of Israel in God’s plan for the end times as a justification for policies which blindly support every action taken by Israel, and which encourage the waging of preemptive war. This approach has led many in the religious right to support a preemptive strategy against Iran, which possesses no nuclear weapons and poses no threat to Israel or any other country (and is incapable of doing so). The alleged threat seems rooted in the inflammatory rhetoric used by Iran’s rulers, rather than having any basis in reality. In other words, it’s a phantom threat that serves the purposes of war propagandists. The danger of such a policy to the U.S. should be clear. Any preemptive attack on Iran would surely inflame the Arab world in ways perhaps unseen before, and there would be considerable blowback in the form of terrorist attacks on our own land, and certainly on our citizens abroad.
Violence and killing are unacceptable and immoral, no matter who commits the acts. There is nothing Christian about preemptive, preventive war as a means of countering some supposed future threat. The violent acts by some members of Hamas should be dealt with as criminal acts, and not responded to in the form of killing innocent civilians as we’ve seen in Gaza. It would do Israel a world of good to understand what it is that motivates those who have become radicalized, and to bring to an end the occupation and militarization of the lands of people who have lived there for thousands of years. Israel and its neighbors should talk to each other and find some way to peacefully co-exist.
How might such a peaceful coexistence be even remotely possible? This writer would suggest that a first step the U.S. could take towards such a goal would be to adopt a policy of non-intervention and neutrality, and to end the special relationship it has with Israel. This is not to say that we should not be friends with Israel or turn to an adversarial relationship. Rather, this is to say that we should treat Israel and its neighbors equally, allowing for trade and travel but providing nothing in the way of taxpayer-funded foreign aid. Israel and its neighbors would have a far greater incentive to settle their own affairs without U.S. foreign aid and the strings that come attached.
Finally, a most important consideration in returning to a foreign policy of non-intervention and peaceful commerce and trade is that our interventionist foreign policy comes at a tremendous cost, financially speaking. Ron Paul has correctly tied the cost of our foreign policy with the current financial crisis, which is being driven by debt and the destruction (devaluation) of our money. We can save billions of dollars by bringing our troops home from around the world, and in the process of doing so, we can earn the tremendous gratitude of the people of nations who are weary of being directed in their affairs by the U.S. It is time to end our empire around the world, to stop pretending to be an almighty superpower, and to return to being a land where liberty can flourish and where we can set a good example for the rest of the world to emulate.
Please 
Excellent article, Charles.
One thing that many Americans fail to see is the long view that people in the Middle East take. For us the Civil War and the Revolutionary War seem like ancient history. For them the Crusades may as well have happened last year. Saladin is revered in the same way we look up towards Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan. Since our history is so short, it’s understandable that we would take a shorter view. However, our view of history is the core fallacy of telling them what to do.
“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.” - Thomas Jefferson
Totally agree with your comments and point of view
I can tell from all of these comments that we as human beings have a solid understanding of what’s happening.
Oh wait, we don’t.
Israel isn’t letting reporters in, so who the hell are you to tell me what is and isn’t happening? (Aimed at people saying the author is a close-minded idiot)
You sir, are not only completely off base, but need to take your head out of your own ass. Stop standing on other peoples shoulders and go back to bagging groceries or whatever non-commital job you used to carry before trying to pervade peoples minds with your slop.
I believe it should be the policy of the USA to support democratic states thruout the world.Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East
Israel is a socialist theocracy. What you think we should be doing however is pretty irrelevant. American foreign policy officials support fascist dictators, as well as “democracies” around the globe and have even trained these dictators how to torture and control their populations. They’ve done this with or without your consent. They don’t care what you think.
The horrors of the Middle East conflict exist for one simple reason. Two nations want the same land period. The machinations of the Arab and Palestinian leaders who use Israel as the boogy man in order to hide their own despotic rule are without a doubt the major factor in the continuing blood letting.
Dr. Kennedy how can you even remotely suggest that Hamas and Israel stand on the same moral ground when Hamas’ sole justification for existing is to wipe Israel off the map. If left unchecked, Hamas leaders would kill every man, woman and child in Israel if given the chance. Hamas does not seek to co-exist with Israel and they purposely put the lives of Palestinian children in danger by launching rockets into Israel from mosques, hospitals and homes.
Hamas leaders do this for two reasons. First, they know that if Palestinian children are killed by retaliatory fire from Israel, Hamas will gain more radicalized supporters due to the overwhelming grief of survivors and second, the world will condem Israel.
Where was the world outrage when Hamas sent over 3000 missiles into Israel in the past three years and over a 1000 missiles during the so-called “cease fire” that Hamas agreed to with Israel and Egypt. There was not one demonstration in any European or US city against Hamas.
from the get go your pro hamas, pro terrorist or shall i say anti israel sentiments are evident thruout your article
as a journalist trying to portray the truth and facts on the ground its surprising that you distort and prevert the truth and facts to such a degree that anyone who is following the mideast conflict knows not to take your article serious
based on your article i would lable you an anti semite but then again i dont know you personally but your article is definatley anti israel and its existence
may you be exposed for what you truely are !
Some European terrorist went to a land in north America that belonged to some other people. The European terrorists killed the land owners by committing holocausts, and terrifying the land owners in the name of freedom democracy and civilization. They brought up a nation based on terrorist principles and called it USA. That happened more than 230 years ago, when the world was supposed to be uncivilized.
Now the so called civilized people (who don’t even have the slightest idea of what the real civilization is) from this terrorist nation (USA) and other European terrorists went to the middle east and invaded a country that has always belonged to Palestine people and claimed to be the owners of the land in less than a century. They are repeating what the so called “civilized people” in North America did, and call those blood thrust terrorists like sharks call themselves “peace lovers”. All of them were not even born their. Backed by the terrorists of North American Nation and Terrorist nation from Europe they created a nation million times worst than Nazi’s and called it Zionist nation. (Zionism>Nazism) What is happening is Gaza doesn’t surprise those who know what Zionism is. The civilized people don’t kill the children and woman civilians and they follow international laws but the terrorist have only one law and that is their guns. Those terrorists in the so called state of Israel are not semitics. It is the Arabs who are semitics. Those Zionist terrorists are anti semitics.
As a Negro girl from the USA stated in a poem in late 60’s:
Hey there jew boy
with yomoka on your head
I hate you Jew boy
I wish you were dead.
Actually, Hamas rocket attacks giving Israeli Kindergarteners in Sderot, Netivot, and Ashkelon, 15 seconds to run for cover, have been going on since before Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Therefore, Dr. Kennedy, you are a liar for accusing Israel of following the Bush doctrine.
This article is so ridiculous and naive that it isn’t worth reading beyond the scope of thinking “under what rock does this author live”. How can one be so inaccurate. If we brought all of our troops home what would happen to countries such as South Korea. All stability in certain areas of the world would fail. Israel is responding to toally unprovoked attacks against its citizenry. Arab terrorists are not striking at military bases but the civilian population. Israel is the only democracy in the entire middle east. Should we just support the despots or allow military and religious fanatics to control the region and also the oil supply. How can one equate the equzlity of all of the arab oil income against one democracy. Without our support Israel would heave even more serious problems.
With regards to Iran and its nuclear program. How can any rational person feel that their having a nuclear weapon would have no effect upon the US. Once nuclear weapons become available to a terrorist state or even a state with ostile speaches it endangers the entire world. We can not become isolationists again. The world is currently too small for us to think that we can hide behind an ocean and survive.
How do you communicate and/or negotiate with a person or government when their objective is to kill you and all of your women and children and/or destroy your country. You are trying to rationalize things with a western cultural philosophy. Middle Eastern religious fanatics do not think like you do. You are being closed minded and foolish
Dr. Kennedy would be wise to select an adjective more appropriate than “preemptive” to describe Israel’s current military action in Gaza. The translation clearly points to actions aimed at preventing an anticipated action rather than a reaction to events already underway. Hamas’ stated objective of destroying Israel in addition to its constant if inept missile launches against Israel provides more than ample reason for retaliation. If by preemptive he means preventing that annihilation then the word might be suitable. Although I think most would agree that semantics hold little importance while rockets threaten one’s life. How long would we sit idle if Canada lobbed explosives at Detroit?
Israel’s actions were pre-emptive. They just weren’t reported in the American press. Israel violated the cease fire by attacking with tanks and mortars on November 4th. You just haven’t heard about it because Fox news doesn’t think it’s important for you to know.Gaza truce broken as Israeli raid kills six Hamas gunmen.
bottom line is every one of these terriost israel kills is one that we don’t have to deal with
great article Dr. Kennedy.
who wants peace ?
time to change the rules of this game……….
Dr. Kennedy; doctor of what? Proctology. Could he actually be more stupid than Jimmy Carter? He should read “Power, Faith and Fantasy” by Michael Orin, for starters. Maybe then read the Koran. Then question why the Si’ites and Sunnis choose to also murder each other, and seek to murder anyone else who dares to speak the moral truth - Tell it like it really is.
This is one of the few truly pragmatic articles that I have read on this complicated and explosive situation. I completely fail to understand why people cannot see that our actions in the Middle East only strengthen the terrorists’ resolve to strike us and our allies. Anybody ever read about the history of early Christianity?
Israel has occupied Arab land, illegaly and kept the occupation going for 60 years with US’s help. US has blocked tens, if not hundreds of UN resolutions and there are more than 67 of them on UN books that Israel has brushed off, yet Saddam was attacked for supposedly not complying with 1 or 2….
What gets me is here, Jews run around the world still after 65 years since Hitler died and ask for money and build Holocost memorials and make movies and sue and collect money from Germans and other European countries, but at the same time they are doing what Nazi did to them to Palestinians… Do the Palestinians have their own shelters? Continues US aid, military help, Inteligence help? No…… I agree with the columnist, we here in US pay for and help Israel to act as a bully and support it, and for most of us it is to promore the end of the world as Jesus’s church has predicted…. Such a hurry to end the world and die…. So sad!
Like hitler? yea there rounding palestinians up and gassing and torchering people get your facts…..with people like running thts country we would nt have a country to live in or your kids you probably hate evevry thing and people dont like to be around you anyway. There is a reason you can walk around and talk your cr-p somebody already died for you
Yes, Israel gets its weaponry from the USA. Your point being? Where does Hamas get its weapons from….Walmart? This pro-terrorist garbage has to stop. Peace is the LAST thing on the mind of Hamas, they openly state that. Time and time again, in public and on the nightly news, they clearly state that their mission in life is the total destruction of Israel and its people. So you, Ron Paul, and all the pro-terrorist radical left wingers (and yes I know RP is a republican) can keep living with your heads in the sand and deny the obvious facts starting you right in the face. I’m sure that if 25 missles a day were lobbed into your town you would just turn the other cheek and roll over. Thankfully the people of Israel havent.
It appears that my opinion piece has provoked quite a reaction from a lot of readers, some of it quite emotional. I have been accused in some cases of being pro-terrorist, pro-Palestinian, anit-semitic, leftist, radical, “more stupid than Jimmy Carter”, and any number of other epithets. None of these things are true (though I’ll leave it to individual readers to decide how I compare with Jimmy Carter). For one thing, I do not oppose the existence of the state of Israel, nor do I in any way condone the tactics used by radical islamists. I would never support a government led by Hamas were I living in Gaza. The actions committed by Hamas are deplorable. I sympathize with the people of Israel, and also the people of Palestine, both of whom have legitimate grievances.
The point of what I wrote is not to condone or legitimize any violence committed by Hamas or any other radical Islamist group, but to point out the fallacies in the militaristic policies being carried out by Israel, as well as the dangers to the United States of continuing to be so involved in internal Middle Eastern politics. Certainly Israel has a right to defend itself when attacked, but what we are seeing in Gaza goes clearly beyond defense. In fact there are many Israeli Jews who are refusing to go along with the aggressive military strategy in Gaza, and whose consciences are appalled at the deaths of innocent civiilians (including women and children). It is true that radical Islamist terrorists have committed terrible atrocities along these lines, but responding to these attacks by having the Israeli military turn around and do what is, morally speaking, essentially the same thing (but by different means) brings to mind the old saying, “Two wrongs do not make a right”.
The greatest mistake Israel makes is in not recognizing or foreseeing the consequences of its military actions. It is certainly true, as one of the commenters (not favorable to me) points out, that radical Islamists do not think they way we do: that is, they are not rational. This is precisely my point in criticizing the military invasion and occupation of Gaza. As horrible as Hamas and other such radical groups are, Palestinians who resent the occupation by Israel over what they consider to be their land have deep-seated feelings that go back centuries. Perhaps Israel does have a rightful claim to some of these disputed lands, but the fact remains that there are those who feel exactly the opposite, who have been driven to the point of anger by many of the actions they’ve seen by an overbearing state. The more the government of Israel fails to try to understand this, and the more heavy-handed and militaristic the strategy taken, the more it is that many Palestinians find the radical Islamist position attractive. This is how the radicalization occurs.
As for where the United States fits into this, my point is that this is none of the businness of the U.S., period. We have absolutely no right to insert ourselves into these conflicts in any official capacity, and to presume to know how Israelis and Palestinians should govern themselves. The truth is, we have been playing both sides of this conflict and many other conflicts around the world for a very long time. We have provided billions in foreign aid to Israel, as well as to many other Middle Eastern Arab countries (see John Killian’s article for more specific numbers). There is the perception (certainly at least partly correct) of the policies on the part of Israel and other countries deemed friendly to the U.S. as being directed by the U.S. Resentment over this is what fuels the radicalism that leads to terrorist acts committed against U.S. citizens around the world and even here at home. If we do not wake up to this fact and recognize the wisdom of a non-interventionist foreign policy, we can expect to see more attacks on our people in the future.
Here, here, Charles! Well said.
Israel is not fighting for a right to land. Israel is fighting for a right to live without being attacked.
Thank you Charles, I have been called every name you mentioned and been accused of the same things, despite being part Jewish. Keep it up, great work.
I have revised the third paragraph of the article to state my position more clearly on Israel’s right to defend itself, while pointing out the consequences that result when Israel goes beyond what is appropriate (that is, anything that violates the principles of a just war, such as “preventive” attacks and deliberate killing of innocent civilians).
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123154826952369919.html
Israel Is Committing War Crimes
Hamas’s violations are no justification for Israel’s actions.
Background & key issues behind Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza:
http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Israel_at…
Say what you will about Israel (have you ever been to Israel?) and the Jewish people (do you personally know any Jewish people living in Israel?), but the Nazi comparison is more than a bit ridiculous. The Nazis wanted to exterminate the Jewish people and they systematically set out to do just that (they didn’t know that they can never do that—the Jews will always be here; they have always survived, and they always will). The Jews want to do no such thing to the Arabs. The Jews just want to live in peace without being attacked. If you are going to go with Nazi comparisons, perhaps you should use this label for the (Arab) groups whose sole intention seems to be to eradicate the Jewish people from the planet. Now this label fits, though it’s unnecessary—just call them Arabs, not Nazis; we know what they want.
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