Fictions and forgeries

To the editor:

Statecraft is a hall of mirrors in a fun house. Nothing is what it seems and trusting leaders is a fool’s errand. Governments lie, tell half-truths and contradict themselves to legitimize questionable policies.  An example is the Israel-Palestinian war that began on Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.

Israel, in its military response, claims it tries to limit civilian casualties. Yet in 70 days of air strikes and a ground invasion, nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, including thousands of women and children, with 50,000 wounded. In addition, 135 United Nations staff members and 64 journalists and news media workers have been killed, both unprecedented numbers.

According to the U.N., massive destruction in Gaza of infrastructure and a siege have led to “chaos, starvation and utter despair” for 2.3 million Palestinians, approximately 85 percent of whom have been displaced. The World Food Program reports half of Gaza’s population is starving, while nine out of 10 are not eating enough and suffer from food insecurity. 

Meanwhile, the Biden administration insists that Israel’s response is justified because it has a right to defend itself. Washington’s advice is that the Israel Defense Forces should just change its tactics to minimize civilian casualties (thus far, advice rejected). President Biden finally criticized the Netanyahu government for its “indiscriminate bombing” and settler violence in the West Bank, both unmentioned potential war crimes.  

At the same time, however, the U.S. was the only country to veto a humanitarian cease-fire resolution in the U.N. Security Council, and one of only 10 countries to vote against that resolution in the General Assembly. Furthermore, the administration requested an additional $14 billion in military aid for Israel, and it has also bypassed Congress, approving an “emergency” sale of over $100 million for tank ammunition.

Howard Elterman