Rashid Tlaib’s censure demonstrates just how complicated the Israel-Hamas war is. What should we make of Tlaib’s statement, “From the River to the Sea”? Is it anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian?
The problem is not that both sides are right, it is that both sides are wrong–equally wrong. It has become pointless to argue who is more in the wrong. Both sides are increasingly distanced from reality. The Gazan Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, talks about civilian casualties. Meanwhile, its armed wing uses hospitals as human shields. Israel, blinded by rage, refuses to understand that it has nothing to gain by allowing premature babies to die from the cold.
Both parties ask ridiculous things of one another, to no avail. Hamas cannot expect Israel to just not respond to the barbaric terrorist attack of Oct. 7th. Israel cannot expect to be allowed to kill an infinite number of civilians in the name of eradicating something that cannot be eradicated with military might in the first place. And more importantly, Israel cannot expect the world community to allow it to continue to deny food, water, medicine and fuel to innocent Palestinians, only half of whom have a favorable view of Hamas.
As much as I feel for the families of the innocent victims and hostages from Hamas’ terrorist attack, Israel needs to accept its role in creating the underlying conditions which have led to the growth of Hamas as a movement. Conditions that will continue to fuel the growth of Hamas if Israel’s actions go unchanged. The Palestinians, for their part, need to come to grips with the fact that terrorism will not bring them the freedom they want and desperately need. Somehow they must come to understand that denying Israel’s right to exist will never give them a homeland of their own.
Ultimately, “From the River to the Sea” is anti-Israel, and I personally feel very strongly about the phrase. It is good that action was taken against Tlaib in congress. But I am cautious about allowing her to be censured. No one has anything to gain by having her voice silenced. We need to hear what she has to say. We need to understand what lies behind the hatred that she and so many Palestininans and Palestinian-Americans are expressing in the face of this brutal terrorist attack that was done in their name. Simply squelching opposition is not an answer, because at the heart of the problem is the inability or unwillingness of Israel to respect the basic rights of their neighbors. Let Tlaib speak. Let her have her say. Let us come to understand her hatred.
This, ironically, is the first step in any peace process. No one can move forward until the international community hears the pain of the Palestinian people. Lost amidst the screaming on both sides is the answer to a simple but potent question: why do Palestinians want to wipe Israel off the map? Only when we address this question will this war end.
Progressive Without Apology 