Plenty of Shame to Go Around

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. To wit, the conflict between the Israelis and Hamas.

I do not pretend to understand all the nuances of this ages-old clash in the Middle East. Does anyone? But I don’t believe you have to be terribly nuanced when to grasp the level of mindless killing and destruction going on now in Gaza. And how many words have been wasted once again on who is to blame?

The answer to that is, obviously it would seem, both sides. Leaders on both sides through the years have demonstrated an appalling lack of vision, have turned a deaf ear to the needs of their people and have justified murderous rampages with rank platitudes. A plague on both of them.

Yes, Hamas has shown it cares nothing for the welfare of the people it claims it wants to protect and lead. It has shamelessly put those people at great risk and failed them time and again. It is a terrorist organization which shows no evidence of a sense of morality. And thousands of people have been killed and so many more made homeless solely by their failed, misguided actions.

And yes, Israel has a right to defend itself against violent attacks that deliberately target civilians. Israel is a democratic nation — something the warlords at Hamas can only imagine — and that merits respect. But precisely because it is a democratic nation, it must rise above the eye-for-an-eye tactics that diminish the nation in the world’s eyes. Israel says it does not target schools and hospitals and civilians. I can believe that. But when the result of your own militarism is attacks on schools and hospitals and the deaths of hundreds and thousands of civilians, what’s the difference? Residents of Gaza who have nothing to do with Hamas must wonder.

The leaders of Hamas and Israel jointly share responsibility for the horror now underway in Gaza. They seem unable and unwilling to move beyond their own hatreds. A lasting peace in the Middle East will forever elude these narrow-minded worshipers of chaos. And it is their people who will continue to suffer as a result. Shame on them. Shame on all of them who pursue paths of infinite pain, death and betrayal.