Dear Brian and friends,

I am writing to respond to your note about Gaza and how America is responding. It deserves a response.

My feelings and the actual realities are complex on several levels; the realities of the Arab-Israeli history and conflicts, global politics and modern American history/demographics. All three levels interact to create the current situation. And to understand the US posture you have to consider the history.

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Let me say, that, as you know, I am an immigrant and child of Holocaust survivors. I am culturally Jewish, but with no religious or spiritual inclinations, an atheist. And I believe that creating the Jewish state of Israel was a historic mistake that is likely to destroy the religion behind it. The actions nation states take to assure their survival are usually in contradiction to any moral values that a religion might espouse. And that contradiction is now very evident in Israel’s behaviour. Israel will destroy Judaism.

First, the history has two important intersecting threads, Zionism and the end of the Ottoman Empire. Zionism began near the end of the 19th century as a response to a millennium of anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe. An end to the diaspora and a return to the biblical homeland were seen as the only hope of escaping the persistent repression of places such as Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, etc. The British government with its Balfour declaration (1917) and the League of Nations Palestine Mandate (1922) gave impetus to that hope. And of course, the Second World War and the Holocaust sealed the deal.

The murder of six million Jews was seen as sufficient reason to pursue a Jewish state, and the UN granted that wish with the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1947. The seven Arab states declared war and urged the Palestinians to flee. After defeating the Arab armies, Israel made it very hard for them return. Hence we ended up with a large Palestinian refugee population.

Those Arab states themselves were the result of a combination of British/French artistry in drawing the maps of the post-Ottoman world as well as the subsequent tribal military campaigns that left the Saudis in charge of the Arabian peninsula (vast oil wealth soon to be found) and the Hashemites driven up into Transjordan. Other than the war with Israel, the conflicts and rivalries among the various Arab and Persian factions have shaped Middle Eastern and North African politics ever since then.

Over the subsequent decades following the 1948 war, there was a persistent Arab bombing campaign and two more large-scale Arab attacks on Israel, 1967 and 1973. Until the mid-1970s, Israel was seen as having the moral high ground based on the Holocaust and Arab behaviour. But beginning with the Israeli incursion into Lebanon in the early 1980s, that moral position began to erode.

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict Show all 124 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict 1/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian boy peaks from behind Palestinian militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, during a rally to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Islamist movement's creation AFP 2/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries the body of his daughter, who was killed during Israeli shelling, outside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City AFP/Getty 3/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian girls play inside their school which was destroyed during the 50 days of conflict between Israel and Hamas last summer, in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City AFP 4/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Members of Hamas security forces march during their graduation ceremony at the fisherman's port in Gaza City AP 5/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier gestures in relief as he walks with comrades near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip after returning from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian coastal enclave AFP 6/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli Merkava tank moves along a road near the border with the Gaza Strip, Southern Israel EPA 7/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers next to a destroyed mosque was hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza City AP 8/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City, as Israel and Gaza militants resumed cross-border attacks after a three-day truce expired and Egyptian-brokered talks on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock AP Photo 9/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in the shadow of a toppled minaret at a mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza City, as Israel and Gaza militants resumed cross-border attacks after a three-day truce expired and Egyptian-brokered talks on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock AP 10/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Relatives mourn during the funeral of 10-year old Ibraheem al-Dawawsa. According to medics the child died in an Israeli airstrike on a mosque which is under construction. The boy is the first dead in Gaza after a 72-hours ceasefire EPA 11/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of Palestinian boy Ibrahim Al-Dawawsa, 12, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, grieves during his funeral in Gaza City AP Photo 12/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City AP 13/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza City. The Israeli army hit targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, after a three-day ceasefire ended and Egypt-mediated indirect talks failed to secure a longer truce EPA 14/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man stands on the rubble of a home destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Rafah Getty Images 15/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers embrace each other as they sing at a staging area at an unspecified location near the Gaza border EPA 16/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A shell lies on the ground at the heavily damaged Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City Getty Images 17/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A shrapnel-holed wall in the Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City’s al-Shejaea neighbourhood Getty Images 18/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers celebrate after returning to Israel from Gaza Reuters 19/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian men ride a donkey cart past destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip Getty Images 20/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian inspects destroyed houses and the area where the Al-Wafaa hospital used to stand Getty Images 21/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man holds his child in his destroyed home in Beit Hanoun EPA 22/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian brothers sit on the rubble of their house in front of an apartment block in part of the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip after a 72-hour truce accepted by Israel and Hamas came into effect AFP/Getty 23/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A general view shows destruction in part of the northern Beit Hanun district of Gaza Strip at the beginning of a 72-hour truce accepted by Israel and Hamas AFP/Getty Images 24/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian carries his belongings from rubble of his destroyed house in Khoza-a neighbourhood in the east of Khanyounis town in the southern Gaza Strip EPA 25/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Backdropped by the damaged minaret of the Al-Azba mosque, Palestinians inspect the damage to the Nada Towers residential neighborhood in the town of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip AP 26/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians used pieces of cardboard as protection from the sun while queuing up in front of a bakery in Gaza City. A seven-hour humanitarian ceasefire called by Israel went into effect in most of the Gaza Strip, after an attack that killed 10 people at a UN-run school EPA 27/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier rides an armoured personnel carrier (APC) towards a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip. Palestinians accused Israel of breaking its own ceasefire on Monday by launching a bomb attack on a refugee camp in Gaza City that killed an eight-year-old girl and wounded 29 other people REUTERS 28/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians carry bags as they return to check on what is left of their homes and businesses following the Israeli military offensive, close to the Rafah refugee camp, in southern Gaza Strip AFP/Getty Images 29/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Civil defence workers and medics are searching the neighborhood looking for victims of the ongoing Israeli military operation which has killed some 1,829 Palestinians, mainly civilians in nearly one month AFP 30/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man picks through rubble in a classroom inside a UN school that was hit by shelling Getty Images 31/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man inspects the damage at a UN school at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip Getty Images 32/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian civilians wounded during Israeli shelling in a UN school wait at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia Getty Images 33/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Damage inside a classroom caused by Israeli shelling of the Abu Hussein UN school AP 34/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians walk next to the collapsed minaret of a destroyed mosque in Gaza City. It was destroyed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on Tuesday EPA 35/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians who lost relatives in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, mourn outside the Kamal Edwin hospital in Beit Lahia where victims from the attack were brought AFP/Getty Images 36/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City amid Israel's heaviest air and artillery assault in more than three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting AP Photo 37/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians who lost relatives in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, mourn outside the Kamal Edwin hospital in Beit Lahia AFP 38/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Flames engulf the fuel tanks of the only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip after it was hit by overnight Israeli shelling, in the south of Gaza City Getty Images 39/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians from a damaged apartment building inspect the damage to a neighboring building, the offices of the Hamas movement's Al-Aqsa satellite TV station, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, destroyed by an Israeli strike AP 40/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier prays on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip as smoke billows from a power plant following overnight Israeli shelling in the coastal Palestinian enclave. The only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip was knocked out of commission by Israeli shelling, deputy director of the energy authority in the Palestinian territory said AFP 41/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A building within the Gaza port is seen on fire after several strikes Getty Images 42/124 Israel-Gaza conflict The rubble of the house of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, – pictured in the poster, hit by a pre-dawn Israeli strike, in Gaza City AP 43/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke rises from Tuffah neighbourhood after Israeli air strikes in the east of Gaza City. Relentless bombardment has crippled the city’s infrastructure EPA 44/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A woman wounded in an Israeli strike is taken to hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza Getty Images 45/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man walks in front of a fire raging at the Gaza's main power plant following an overnight Israeli airstrike, south of Gaza City EPA 46/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Horses belonging to internally displaced Palestinians look for eatable things in the rubbish outside a UN school, which was transformed into a shelter in the Jabalia district, northern Gaza Strip EPA 47/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian girl poses while playing during the first day of Eid al-Fitr in a United Nations school.Muslims usually start the day by visiting cemeteries, to pay their respects to the dead, and then exchange family visits AP 48/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian Abir Shamaleh, left, sits next to the grave of her son Saher, a civilian according to the family, who was killed in an Israeli strike during the war, as members of the family visit a cemetery in Gaza City. Monday marked the beginning of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan AP 49/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli army Merkava tank rolls along the border between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The UN Security Council joined US President Barack Obama in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel and Hamas ignored calls for a truce despite mounting civilian casualties AFP 50/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A wounded Palestinian woman runs in the street after Israeli airstrikes in Al Tufah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City 51/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man cries after identifying the body of his loved one, killed in an Israeli strike, inside the morgue of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip 52/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian Ahmed Jadallah, center, 75, prepares a body for burial at the morgue of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip 53/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian mother mourns over the body of her son, Abd al-Karim al-Shibari, who was killed after a UN school in the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli shell, at the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 54/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian medics run carrying children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 55/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, flashes the V-sign for "Victory" as he arrives on a stretcher at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City 56/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian helps a relative, wounded in an Israeli strike in Gaza City 57/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians inspect the rubble of a destroyed house after Israeli airstrikes in Al Tufah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City 58/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Members of the El Ajramy family salvage some of their belongings from their house, which was destroyed by an overnight Israeli strike in the Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip 59/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians inspect the wreckage of a car following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 60/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian helps his son who got injured when a UN school for refugees was allegedly hit by an Israeli tank shell in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip 61/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries a child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 62/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian girls cry after their father was killed in a UN-operated school after an alleged Israeli attack in Beit Hanun town, northern Gaza strip 63/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, cry as they lay on the floor at the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 64/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man cries over the body of his son who died when a UN school for refugees was, according to medics, hit by an Israeli tank shell in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip 65/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian youth carries a child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 66/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A pool of blood in a UN-operated school after an Israeli air strikes in Beit Hanun town, northern Gaza strip 67/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian medic carries a wounded injured to a treatment room of Nasser hospital, following an Israeli airstrike at their family house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip 68/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of two-year old Palestinian Salma Radiya killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip holds her body at the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia 69/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries his father as he and others run to take cover during an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip 70/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians paramedics run for cover from Israeli air strike during their search for injured people in the damaged area in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during an Israeli military operation in the east Gaza City 71/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians flee during a two hour temporary ceasefire in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood 72/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man holds a copy of the Koran, Islam's holy book, near a heavily damaged mosque following an Israeli military strike in Gaza city 73/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian relatives of Tawfiq al -Aga, who medics said was killed in Israeli shelling, mourn during his funeral in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip 74/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Red cross staff arrive to the damaged area in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during an Israeli military operation in the east Gaza City 75/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian mother lies on the ground as she mourns the death of her son, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, at a hospital in Gaza City 76/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of two-year old Palestinian Salma Radiya who was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip holds her body in the street outside the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia 77/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A mourner touches a wreath placed on the grave of fallen Israeli soldier Natan Cohen, killed during fighting in Gaza, during his funeral in the town of Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 78/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A mourner reacts during the funeral for Israeli soldier Natan Cohen, killed during fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, in the town of Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 79/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Soldiers carry the coffin of Sergeant Max Steinberg during his funeral in Jerusalem, Israel 80/124 Israel-Gaza conflict The parents of Sergeant Max Steinberg grieve at his coffin during his funeral in Jerusalem, Israel 81/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Jewish worshipper takes part in a special prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City for the well-being of Israeli soldiers in Gaza 82/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A banner depicting the names of Palestinians killed in Israel's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip hangs on the landmark Pigeon Rock in Beirut's Rawshe seafront 83/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israel officer with a bird on his shoulder speaks to his soldiers after they returned from a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the besieged Palestinian territory, as the conflict entered its third week with neither side showing any sign of willingness to pull back 84/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian families who fled their homes from east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip ride on a car in their way to the city of Khan Younis AP 85/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke from an Israeli strike rises over Gaza City AP 86/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli 155mm self-propelled howitzer fires from southern Israeli into the Gaza Strip EPA 87/124 Israel-Gaza conflict The morgue attendant hands over the body to a relative of two-year-old Palestinian Lamar Radiya killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip Getty Images 88/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man, in clothes stained with the blood of his father, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, mourns as he disembarks an ambulance transporting his father's body, at a hospital in Khan Younis Reuters 89/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of Sgt. Max Steinberg, during his funeral at the Mount Herzel military cemetery in Jerusalem. Steinberg, a 24-year-old American citizen who grew up in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, was killed while fighting in Gaza AP 90/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian paramedics carry a six-month-old baby into the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia after he was injured in an Israeli strike in the norhtern Gaza Strip 91/124 Southern Gaza Strip A relative of Shahed Qishtah, a nine-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in an Israeli strike while playing, left the Kamal Adwan hospital where he brought her in Beit Lahia in the norhtern Gaza Strip 92/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian child screams in pain at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip after she was hit by shrapnel during an Israeli military strike near her family house Getty 93/124 Southern Gaza Strip The father of a nine-year-old girl, Shahed Qishtah, leads a relative carrying her to hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza; she died of her injuries AFP/Getty Images 94/124 Southern Gaza Strip An injured Palestinian at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah 95/124 Southern Gaza Strip Mourning relatives of the Kelani family cry as they attend the funeral in Beit Lahiya, Gaza EPA 96/124 Southern Gaza Strip Brothers and family members of Ibrahim al-Kelani, the father and husband of a family of seven with dual Palestinian-German citizenship, attend his funeral in Beit Lahiya town in the northern Gaza Strip 97/124 Southern Gaza Strip Relatives of Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant Abduallah El-Buhasi, who medics said was killed in an Israeli air strike, mourn during his funeral in Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip 98/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian woman runs to seek cover from tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes at a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip, at Howwara checkpoint near the west bank city of Nablus 99/124 Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood during a military operation in eastern Gaza City 100/124 Southern Gaza Strip A member of Palestinian Selam family is rescued under the wreckage of their house, destroyed by an Israeli airstrike within the 'Operation Protective Edge' Getty Images 101/124 Southern Gaza Strip Firemen cut Palestinians free from the wreckage of the building, in which 11 Palestinians died and others injured following an Israel assault in Rimal, in Gaza City 102/124 Southern Gaza Strip One member of Palestinian Selam family is is killed and 8 others get wounded after an Israeli airstrike, hit their hose and destroyed it within the 'Operation Protective Edge' 103/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man is helped to flee Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood, after an Israeli strike in the area 104/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect the rubble of the destroyed Al Aqsa Martyrs' mosque in Gaza City 105/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian rescuers inspect the damage of Al-Shalam (Peace) tower, destroyed by an Israeli strike 106/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian inspects the damage of the Al-Shalam (Peace) tower, destroyed by an Israeli strike 107/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian walks inside the Al Aqsa Martyrs mosque destroyed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City 108/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians look at the remains of a mosque, which police said was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip 109/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire at a house destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 110/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man stands on the wreckage of a car as he searches the rubble of his destroyed apartment for belongings following an Israeli air strike in the center of Gaza City 111/124 Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises as flames spread across buildings after Israeli strikes in the Shijaiyah neighborhood in Gaza City 112/124 Northern city of Nazareth Israeli riot police arrest an Arab Israeli man during clashes that followed a protest against Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, in the northern city of Nazareth 113/124 Northern city of Nazareth Israeli riot police keep watch during clashes that followed a protest against Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, in the northern city of Nazareth 114/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in the Gaza City 115/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian medics tend to a boy who they said was wounded in an Israeli shelling, at a hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip 116/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian medics from Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital react while body bags with the remain of ten children arrive after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 117/124 Sderot, Israel Israeli soldiers stand near their tank while smoke due to airstrikes and shelling rises from Gaza near Sderot 118/124 Israel-Gaza border Israeli soldiers of the 155mm artillery cannons unit fire towards the Gaza Strip from their position near Israel's border with the coastal Palestinian enclave 119/124 Israel-Gaza border An Israeli tank manoeuvres outside the northern Gaza Strip 120/124 Israel-Gaza border Israeli cannon fires artillery shells from an artillery unit near the Israeli border with Gaza 121/124 Holon, near Tel Aviv The parents of 32-year-old Israeli army captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander of the Golani Brigade killed the previous day fighting a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, mourn over his coffin during his funeral in the central town of Holon, near Tel Aviv 122/124 Holon, near Tel Aviv An Israeli female soldier mourns during the funeral of 32-year-old Israeli army captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander of the Golani Brigade killed the previous day fighting a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in the central town of Holon, near Tel Aviv 123/124 Holon, near Tel Aviv Family members of Major Tsafrir Bar-Or mourn and cry during his funeral in Holon. Major Tsafrir was killed during the operation 'Protective Edge' 124/124 Israel An Israeli soldier inspects an Israeli home allegedly hit by a Hamas rocket in Sderot 1/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian boy peaks from behind Palestinian militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, during a rally to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Islamist movement's creation AFP 2/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries the body of his daughter, who was killed during Israeli shelling, outside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City AFP/Getty 3/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian girls play inside their school which was destroyed during the 50 days of conflict between Israel and Hamas last summer, in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City AFP 4/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Members of Hamas security forces march during their graduation ceremony at the fisherman's port in Gaza City AP 5/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier gestures in relief as he walks with comrades near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip after returning from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian coastal enclave AFP 6/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli Merkava tank moves along a road near the border with the Gaza Strip, Southern Israel EPA 7/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers next to a destroyed mosque was hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza City AP 8/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City, as Israel and Gaza militants resumed cross-border attacks after a three-day truce expired and Egyptian-brokered talks on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock AP Photo 9/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in the shadow of a toppled minaret at a mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza City, as Israel and Gaza militants resumed cross-border attacks after a three-day truce expired and Egyptian-brokered talks on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock AP 10/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Relatives mourn during the funeral of 10-year old Ibraheem al-Dawawsa. According to medics the child died in an Israeli airstrike on a mosque which is under construction. The boy is the first dead in Gaza after a 72-hours ceasefire EPA 11/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of Palestinian boy Ibrahim Al-Dawawsa, 12, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, grieves during his funeral in Gaza City AP Photo 12/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians attend Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City AP 13/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke rises following Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza City. The Israeli army hit targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, after a three-day ceasefire ended and Egypt-mediated indirect talks failed to secure a longer truce EPA 14/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man stands on the rubble of a home destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Rafah Getty Images 15/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers embrace each other as they sing at a staging area at an unspecified location near the Gaza border EPA 16/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A shell lies on the ground at the heavily damaged Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City Getty Images 17/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A shrapnel-holed wall in the Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City’s al-Shejaea neighbourhood Getty Images 18/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers celebrate after returning to Israel from Gaza Reuters 19/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian men ride a donkey cart past destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip Getty Images 20/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian inspects destroyed houses and the area where the Al-Wafaa hospital used to stand Getty Images 21/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man holds his child in his destroyed home in Beit Hanoun EPA 22/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian brothers sit on the rubble of their house in front of an apartment block in part of the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip after a 72-hour truce accepted by Israel and Hamas came into effect AFP/Getty 23/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A general view shows destruction in part of the northern Beit Hanun district of Gaza Strip at the beginning of a 72-hour truce accepted by Israel and Hamas AFP/Getty Images 24/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian carries his belongings from rubble of his destroyed house in Khoza-a neighbourhood in the east of Khanyounis town in the southern Gaza Strip EPA 25/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Backdropped by the damaged minaret of the Al-Azba mosque, Palestinians inspect the damage to the Nada Towers residential neighborhood in the town of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip AP 26/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians used pieces of cardboard as protection from the sun while queuing up in front of a bakery in Gaza City. A seven-hour humanitarian ceasefire called by Israel went into effect in most of the Gaza Strip, after an attack that killed 10 people at a UN-run school EPA 27/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier rides an armoured personnel carrier (APC) towards a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip. Palestinians accused Israel of breaking its own ceasefire on Monday by launching a bomb attack on a refugee camp in Gaza City that killed an eight-year-old girl and wounded 29 other people REUTERS 28/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians carry bags as they return to check on what is left of their homes and businesses following the Israeli military offensive, close to the Rafah refugee camp, in southern Gaza Strip AFP/Getty Images 29/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Civil defence workers and medics are searching the neighborhood looking for victims of the ongoing Israeli military operation which has killed some 1,829 Palestinians, mainly civilians in nearly one month AFP 30/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man picks through rubble in a classroom inside a UN school that was hit by shelling Getty Images 31/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man inspects the damage at a UN school at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip Getty Images 32/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian civilians wounded during Israeli shelling in a UN school wait at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia Getty Images 33/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Damage inside a classroom caused by Israeli shelling of the Abu Hussein UN school AP 34/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians walk next to the collapsed minaret of a destroyed mosque in Gaza City. It was destroyed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on Tuesday EPA 35/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians who lost relatives in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, mourn outside the Kamal Edwin hospital in Beit Lahia where victims from the attack were brought AFP/Getty Images 36/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City amid Israel's heaviest air and artillery assault in more than three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting AP Photo 37/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians who lost relatives in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, mourn outside the Kamal Edwin hospital in Beit Lahia AFP 38/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Flames engulf the fuel tanks of the only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip after it was hit by overnight Israeli shelling, in the south of Gaza City Getty Images 39/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians from a damaged apartment building inspect the damage to a neighboring building, the offices of the Hamas movement's Al-Aqsa satellite TV station, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, destroyed by an Israeli strike AP 40/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli soldier prays on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip as smoke billows from a power plant following overnight Israeli shelling in the coastal Palestinian enclave. The only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip was knocked out of commission by Israeli shelling, deputy director of the energy authority in the Palestinian territory said AFP 41/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A building within the Gaza port is seen on fire after several strikes Getty Images 42/124 Israel-Gaza conflict The rubble of the house of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, – pictured in the poster, hit by a pre-dawn Israeli strike, in Gaza City AP 43/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke rises from Tuffah neighbourhood after Israeli air strikes in the east of Gaza City. Relentless bombardment has crippled the city’s infrastructure EPA 44/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A woman wounded in an Israeli strike is taken to hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza Getty Images 45/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man walks in front of a fire raging at the Gaza's main power plant following an overnight Israeli airstrike, south of Gaza City EPA 46/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Horses belonging to internally displaced Palestinians look for eatable things in the rubbish outside a UN school, which was transformed into a shelter in the Jabalia district, northern Gaza Strip EPA 47/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian girl poses while playing during the first day of Eid al-Fitr in a United Nations school.Muslims usually start the day by visiting cemeteries, to pay their respects to the dead, and then exchange family visits AP 48/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian Abir Shamaleh, left, sits next to the grave of her son Saher, a civilian according to the family, who was killed in an Israeli strike during the war, as members of the family visit a cemetery in Gaza City. Monday marked the beginning of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan AP 49/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli army Merkava tank rolls along the border between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The UN Security Council joined US President Barack Obama in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel and Hamas ignored calls for a truce despite mounting civilian casualties AFP 50/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A wounded Palestinian woman runs in the street after Israeli airstrikes in Al Tufah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City 51/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man cries after identifying the body of his loved one, killed in an Israeli strike, inside the morgue of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip 52/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian Ahmed Jadallah, center, 75, prepares a body for burial at the morgue of Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip 53/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian mother mourns over the body of her son, Abd al-Karim al-Shibari, who was killed after a UN school in the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli shell, at the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 54/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian medics run carrying children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 55/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a UN school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, flashes the V-sign for "Victory" as he arrives on a stretcher at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City 56/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian helps a relative, wounded in an Israeli strike in Gaza City 57/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians inspect the rubble of a destroyed house after Israeli airstrikes in Al Tufah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City 58/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Members of the El Ajramy family salvage some of their belongings from their house, which was destroyed by an overnight Israeli strike in the Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip 59/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians inspect the wreckage of a car following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 60/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian helps his son who got injured when a UN school for refugees was allegedly hit by an Israeli tank shell in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip 61/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries a child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 62/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian girls cry after their father was killed in a UN-operated school after an alleged Israeli attack in Beit Hanun town, northern Gaza strip 63/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian children, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, cry as they lay on the floor at the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 64/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man cries over the body of his son who died when a UN school for refugees was, according to medics, hit by an Israeli tank shell in the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip 65/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian youth carries a child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a compound housing a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, into the emergency room of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya 66/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A pool of blood in a UN-operated school after an Israeli air strikes in Beit Hanun town, northern Gaza strip 67/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian medic carries a wounded injured to a treatment room of Nasser hospital, following an Israeli airstrike at their family house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip 68/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of two-year old Palestinian Salma Radiya killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip holds her body at the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia 69/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man carries his father as he and others run to take cover during an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip 70/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians paramedics run for cover from Israeli air strike during their search for injured people in the damaged area in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during an Israeli military operation in the east Gaza City 71/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinians flee during a two hour temporary ceasefire in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood 72/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man holds a copy of the Koran, Islam's holy book, near a heavily damaged mosque following an Israeli military strike in Gaza city 73/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian relatives of Tawfiq al -Aga, who medics said was killed in Israeli shelling, mourn during his funeral in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip 74/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Red cross staff arrive to the damaged area in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood, during an Israeli military operation in the east Gaza City 75/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian mother lies on the ground as she mourns the death of her son, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, at a hospital in Gaza City 76/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A relative of two-year old Palestinian Salma Radiya who was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip holds her body in the street outside the morgue of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia 77/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A mourner touches a wreath placed on the grave of fallen Israeli soldier Natan Cohen, killed during fighting in Gaza, during his funeral in the town of Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 78/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A mourner reacts during the funeral for Israeli soldier Natan Cohen, killed during fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, in the town of Modi'in, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 79/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Soldiers carry the coffin of Sergeant Max Steinberg during his funeral in Jerusalem, Israel 80/124 Israel-Gaza conflict The parents of Sergeant Max Steinberg grieve at his coffin during his funeral in Jerusalem, Israel 81/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Jewish worshipper takes part in a special prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City for the well-being of Israeli soldiers in Gaza 82/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A banner depicting the names of Palestinians killed in Israel's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip hangs on the landmark Pigeon Rock in Beirut's Rawshe seafront 83/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israel officer with a bird on his shoulder speaks to his soldiers after they returned from a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the besieged Palestinian territory, as the conflict entered its third week with neither side showing any sign of willingness to pull back 84/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Palestinian families who fled their homes from east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip ride on a car in their way to the city of Khan Younis AP 85/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Smoke from an Israeli strike rises over Gaza City AP 86/124 Israel-Gaza conflict An Israeli 155mm self-propelled howitzer fires from southern Israeli into the Gaza Strip EPA 87/124 Israel-Gaza conflict The morgue attendant hands over the body to a relative of two-year-old Palestinian Lamar Radiya killed by shrapnel from an Israeli tank shell in the north of the Gaza Strip Getty Images 88/124 Israel-Gaza conflict A Palestinian man, in clothes stained with the blood of his father, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, mourns as he disembarks an ambulance transporting his father's body, at a hospital in Khan Younis Reuters 89/124 Israel-Gaza conflict Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of Sgt. Max Steinberg, during his funeral at the Mount Herzel military cemetery in Jerusalem. Steinberg, a 24-year-old American citizen who grew up in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, was killed while fighting in Gaza AP 90/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian paramedics carry a six-month-old baby into the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia after he was injured in an Israeli strike in the norhtern Gaza Strip 91/124 Southern Gaza Strip A relative of Shahed Qishtah, a nine-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in an Israeli strike while playing, left the Kamal Adwan hospital where he brought her in Beit Lahia in the norhtern Gaza Strip 92/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian child screams in pain at the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip after she was hit by shrapnel during an Israeli military strike near her family house Getty 93/124 Southern Gaza Strip The father of a nine-year-old girl, Shahed Qishtah, leads a relative carrying her to hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza; she died of her injuries AFP/Getty Images 94/124 Southern Gaza Strip An injured Palestinian at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah 95/124 Southern Gaza Strip Mourning relatives of the Kelani family cry as they attend the funeral in Beit Lahiya, Gaza EPA 96/124 Southern Gaza Strip Brothers and family members of Ibrahim al-Kelani, the father and husband of a family of seven with dual Palestinian-German citizenship, attend his funeral in Beit Lahiya town in the northern Gaza Strip 97/124 Southern Gaza Strip Relatives of Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant Abduallah El-Buhasi, who medics said was killed in an Israeli air strike, mourn during his funeral in Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip 98/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian woman runs to seek cover from tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes at a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip, at Howwara checkpoint near the west bank city of Nablus 99/124 Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Al Shejaeiya neighbourhood during a military operation in eastern Gaza City 100/124 Southern Gaza Strip A member of Palestinian Selam family is rescued under the wreckage of their house, destroyed by an Israeli airstrike within the 'Operation Protective Edge' Getty Images 101/124 Southern Gaza Strip Firemen cut Palestinians free from the wreckage of the building, in which 11 Palestinians died and others injured following an Israel assault in Rimal, in Gaza City 102/124 Southern Gaza Strip One member of Palestinian Selam family is is killed and 8 others get wounded after an Israeli airstrike, hit their hose and destroyed it within the 'Operation Protective Edge' 103/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man is helped to flee Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood, after an Israeli strike in the area 104/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect the rubble of the destroyed Al Aqsa Martyrs' mosque in Gaza City 105/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian rescuers inspect the damage of Al-Shalam (Peace) tower, destroyed by an Israeli strike 106/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian inspects the damage of the Al-Shalam (Peace) tower, destroyed by an Israeli strike 107/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian walks inside the Al Aqsa Martyrs mosque destroyed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City 108/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians look at the remains of a mosque, which police said was hit in an Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip 109/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire at a house destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 110/124 Southern Gaza Strip A Palestinian man stands on the wreckage of a car as he searches the rubble of his destroyed apartment for belongings following an Israeli air strike in the center of Gaza City 111/124 Southern Gaza Strip Smoke rises as flames spread across buildings after Israeli strikes in the Shijaiyah neighborhood in Gaza City 112/124 Northern city of Nazareth Israeli riot police arrest an Arab Israeli man during clashes that followed a protest against Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, in the northern city of Nazareth 113/124 Northern city of Nazareth Israeli riot police keep watch during clashes that followed a protest against Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, in the northern city of Nazareth 114/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in the Gaza City 115/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian medics tend to a boy who they said was wounded in an Israeli shelling, at a hospital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip 116/124 Southern Gaza Strip Palestinian medics from Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital react while body bags with the remain of ten children arrive after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 117/124 Sderot, Israel Israeli soldiers stand near their tank while smoke due to airstrikes and shelling rises from Gaza near Sderot 118/124 Israel-Gaza border Israeli soldiers of the 155mm artillery cannons unit fire towards the Gaza Strip from their position near Israel's border with the coastal Palestinian enclave 119/124 Israel-Gaza border An Israeli tank manoeuvres outside the northern Gaza Strip 120/124 Israel-Gaza border Israeli cannon fires artillery shells from an artillery unit near the Israeli border with Gaza 121/124 Holon, near Tel Aviv The parents of 32-year-old Israeli army captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander of the Golani Brigade killed the previous day fighting a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, mourn over his coffin during his funeral in the central town of Holon, near Tel Aviv 122/124 Holon, near Tel Aviv An Israeli female soldier mourns during the funeral of 32-year-old Israeli army captain Tzafrir Bar-Or, a commander of the Golani Brigade killed the previous day fighting a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in the central town of Holon, near Tel Aviv 123/124 Holon, near Tel Aviv Family members of Major Tsafrir Bar-Or mourn and cry during his funeral in Holon. Major Tsafrir was killed during the operation 'Protective Edge' 124/124 Israel An Israeli soldier inspects an Israeli home allegedly hit by a Hamas rocket in Sderot

Israel’s behaviour in Lebanon was the first major example of aggressive action and attacks against vulnerable populations. Israel began to develop a more right-wing and aggressive political faction of which Netanyahu is the worst current example. The settlements in Arab territory in the West Bank are the direct result of that evolution (and, of course, the mass migration of the 1990s mainly from Russia). Suicide bombings and missile attacks were the Arab response. Walling themselves in was yet another ironic Israeli response. Today’s horrors are a continuing extension of those conflicts following a ceasefire of a few years.

Video: The latest from Gaza

Once Israel declared itself a Jewish state in 1948, the Palestinians had only three options: accept a division of the land into two states, accept being second-class citizens in the Israeli state or perpetual conflict because they could not win. The Arab states chose the third option because it is in their interest to maintain unity against their common enemy, Israel. They could even share a common enemy with the hated Persian Shia in Iran. So rather than helping the Palestinians to develop by investing in education, healthcare, jobs and infrastructure, etc. the Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, help to keep them poor but well armed. Palestinian refugees would remain a festering sore in the Middle East to remind the world of Israel’s perfidy. And any aid that did come ended up in corrupt pockets, not in helping development.

The obvious counter example was Jordan, which developed itself, with little help from its Arab brethren and eventually made grudging peace with Israel. The difference in Jordan was good Arab leadership that recognised that Israel was not going way and war for ever was not a good development policy.

At the geopolitical level, several threads played out. The UN became a place where the Israel and Arab conflicts became a symbolic pawn in the Cold War, especially in the Security Council with the US on the Israeli side and the USSR on the Arab side (with exceptions, ie the Saudis). That hardened the US position and associated in American minds Israel with our side and the Arabs with the other guys.

Even though I have no support for the Israeli position, I find the opposition to Israel questionable in its failure to be similarly outraged by a vast number of other moral horrors in the recent past and currently active. Just to name a few: Cambodia, Tibet, Sudan, Somalia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Argentina, Liberia, Central African Republic, Uganda, North Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo, Venezuela, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Zimbabwe and, especially right now, Nigeria.

The Arab Spring, which has become a dark winter for most Arabs and the large-scale slaughter now under way along the borders of Iraq and Syria, are good examples of what they do to themselves. And our nations, the US, the Brits, the Dutch, the Russians and the French have all played their parts in these other moral outrages. The gruesome body count and social destruction left behind dwarf anything that the Israelis have done. The only difference with the Israelis is their claim to a moral high ground, which they long ago left behind in the refugee camps of Lebanon. They are now just a nation, like any other, trying to survive in a hostile sea of hate.

We should be clear that, given the opportunity, the Arabs would drive the Jews into the sea and that was true from day one. There was no way back from war once a religious state was declared. So Israel, once committed to a nation state in that location and granted that right by other nations, has had no choice but to fight. In my view, therefore, neither side has any shred of moral standing left, nor have the nations that supported both sides.

So now let’s at look at why the US behaves as it does with a nearly uncritical support of Israel. You are right to criticise our media in so many ways, but that only makes things worse. It does not really explain why. They are simply doing what they think their audiences want to hear. And they are mostly right.

Part of it has to do with post-war American evolution and perceptions of Israel and the Arabs. When I was a boy in the 1950s, through my teenage years anti-Semitism was still common in America. If you were Jewish you did not go to work for IBM or GE. You did not join the navy. You did not go to Harvard, Princeton or Yale. I could not play tennis at my local country club. I regularly heard derisive, anti-Semitic comments from some of my classmates. But by the mid-1960s along with the civil rights movement, toleration in general increased and anti-Semitism declined, almost vanishing. Support of Israel was part of that tolerance and was seen as a noble response to the Holocaust.

The Arabs were seen as the oppressors and enemies of the US. That perception was given particular impetus by the oil embargo of 1973 and the Iranian revolution, even though it was Persians not Arabs, because Americans don’t see that distinction. (We should never forget that we have a Republican-dominated Congress, half of whom do not own a passport and see ignorance as a virtue.)

The Israelis were seen as innovative and benign, people who made the desert bloom. To this was added the growing and ironic support from the US religious right who saw the route to salvation as the Israeli defeat of the Arabs leading to a second coming of Christ. (Of course, we Jews would have to convert to Christianity to survive the second coming.) The attacks of 9/11 amplified the American antipathy to the Arab world. Seeing the delight throughout the Arab world at the fall of the twin towers did not endear the Arabs to the American people. We can add Saddam, Gaddafi and Osama bin Laden to the pantheon of American villains. The UN is no longer seen as legitimate and almost always acting against US interests.

So my generation and most of today’s American leadership grew up with the Israelis as heroic good guys and Arabs/Persians as greedy bad guys. Those of the younger generation, my son Ben’s age (24), have a much more balanced view. Israel’s behaviour in their youth, the past two decades, has destroyed whatever moral standing the Israelis had with them. In addition, the pro-Israeli lobby in America has been very effective in the political arena and their Arab counterparts have been counterproductive.

So our leaders who grew up with noble Israel and evil Arabs and supported by Jewish political contributions are unequivocally pro-Israeli while young people are more divided, as is at least some of the Jewish community. Eventually demography will win out as a new more sceptical generation comes to power, a generation for whom Israel will not carry the same moral weight as it did for their parents.

I don’t think there is any honour to go around here. Israel has lost its way and commits horrors in the interest of its own survival. And the Arabs and Persians perpetuate a conflict-ridden neighbourhood with almost no exceptions, fighting against each other and with hate of Israel the only thing that they share.

It is also worth noting that the largest Muslim populations are not Arab and the largest, Indonesia, is fairly peaceful. So it is not about religion. The Arabs have been engaged in tribal conflicts for centuries that from time to time have been quelled by imperial powers such as the Ottomans and strong men such as Saddam and Ibn Saud. And in those wars they have committed horrors on their own people. Observe the genocidal destruction of Homs by Hafez Assad, just to point to a recent example.

The Zionists brought another tribe to the war. It is a tribe that is also divided, like the Arabs, into factions, some of which are fanatical and war like and others more moderate. The comments about the racism of the Zionists are fair, but the Arab world does not lack for similar attitudes. One need only see how the vast number of South Asian, Philippine and African near-slaves are treated even in the more benign countries such as the UAE.

Given that history and current reality, and even though I believe the creation of Israel was a historic disaster, I am a member of the tribe (perhaps its more pacifist, atheist wing). I find objectionable the unique singling out of Israel for condemnation. So if we are prepared to boycott, condemn and shame the Saudis, the Qataris, the Iranians, the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Russians, the Nigerians, the Taliban, the Venezuelans, the Zimbabweans, the Sudanese, the South Sudanese, the Central African Republicans, and let’s not forget the Americans and the British, all of whom are as guilty as Israel, then I will join the demonstration. (Two small things that might help would be if the rich Arab states provided some funding and development assistance for the Palestinians and if the Palestinian government didn’t steal all the aid.)

We find ourselves at a historic impasse. There is no way back. Israel will do whatever it takes to survive. They will not leave. And the Arab identity has become opposition to Israel. It will be centuries, if ever, before they accept the existence of Israel. So both sides will always rightly feel threatened. There will be no other state there but perpetual tribal war with an occasional truce. And in that perpetual state of tribal war there be ample opportunity for horrors on both sides. We can only hope to lower the level of violence, but true peace will remain elusive.