Should the War Continue?

The different issues to consider

I do not believe that it is a moral crime against Palestinians to continue the war in Gaza until Hamas is totally destroyed.

It's easy to moralize against Israel when you're not actually faced with a genocidal terror state on your border. Hamas is sworn to destroy Israel and started the war by launching a horrifically savage attack. Were it to survive to continue to rule Gaza, the ramifications would be immensely damaging to Israel (as well as to the population of Gaza), and nobody aside from Israel is going to stop that from happening.

It is perfectly legitimate for Israel to do whatever it takes to destroy Hamas. There are innocent people in Gaza who are suffering terribly. But the responsibility for that lies with Hamas, and with the useful idiots worldwide who reward their strategy of maximizing civilian harm on their own side in order to cause political damage to Israel.

But the issue of the morality of the war has no relevance to whether it is strategically wise. Something can simultaneously be perfectly morally appropriate but strategically unwise or even catastrophic.

Is it strategically wise to continue the war against Hamas? How do we weigh up the terrible matter of the hostages? Does this particular government have a good strategic plan? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? Are the dangers and harm posed by Hamas' continued existence sufficiently serious to justify the costs of further war?

I do not consider myself wise enough to answer these questions. But I do think that people need to be aware that there are serious military strategists who are strongly supportive of destroying Hamas but are of the view that the current government does not have a viable strategy to accomplish such an objective. In particular, the government's inability to define who will take over the control of Gaza (which includes the responsibility for civil administration) directly harms the ability to achieve victory.

In addition, the costs of war include not only the soldiers who lose their lives or limbs, but also the toll upon reservists and their families. They also include enormous financial costs. And they also include the consequences to Israel of continuing a war that is enormously unpopular worldwide, even in countries which are friendly to Israel. Saying that “everyone hates us anyway” is mistaken. To be sure, there is a rampant problem of pathological hatred of Israel that can no more be solved than the problem of antisemitism. But there are also many countries providing crucial economic and military benefits for Israel, which would be absolutely disastrous to lose.

Again, I am not saying that the war should end. Maybe these risks are necessary to take and maybe these costs are necessary to pay in order to ensure Israel's long-term benefit and survival. I do not consider myself to be in a position to make this judgment. But who is entitled to make a decision with such grave potential consequences? Surely an act of such magnitude and potential consequences requires clear national support - both for innate justification, and to ensure that there is broad strong morale.

This leads to the second issue. The fact that something is morally justifiable vis-a-vis the enemy does not necessarily mean that it is morally justifiable vis-a-vis one's own people. Is it legitimate (aside from the potential strategic harm) for Israel to engage in years of war without the support of the majority of the nation? And who counts as part of the nation for this decision?

The current government, which has demonstrated that it is only concerned with appealing to its supporters and does not care about national unity, came into existence by way of support from charedi parties representing communities that do not (with few exceptions) believe in civic duties and do not participate in the war. The decision to continue the war should only be taken with support from the majority of that part of Israel's population that actually participates in the war and pays the terrible costs of it.

Unfortunately, this does not appear to be happening. Bibi is barrelling on, with many serious figures warning that there is no good strategy, and without broad national support. This is a very grave situation.