The brutal totality of Israel’s assault on the people of Gaza has shocked the world. In the wake of Hamas’ vicious attack on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and kidnapping over 200, most of them civilians, global sympathy and support for Israel was overflowing.
Understandably so. The sheer horror of that day was a traumatic reminder to Israelis and many in the broader Jewish diaspora that their safety was far from secure. Tragically, far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly squandered this goodwill by launching a punishing siege of Gaza.
With the full backing of US President Joe Biden, Netanyahu’s Israeli Defense Forces began bombing Palestinian society into the Stone Age, while cutting off food, water, aid, and energy. Any distinction between the 2 million-plus Palestinian civilians and the tens of thousands of known Hamas fighters evaporated in the fog of war. Within days, the “open air prison” of Gaza became a literal hellscape, shattering those whose lives had already been impoverished by Israel’s 16-year blockade.
Week by week, the number of Palestinian civilians incinerated by bombs, crushed under the rubble of apartment buildings, or otherwise caught in the crossfire grew by the thousands. As the world watched in horror, the Middle East’s much-vaunted “only democracy” lashed out in maniacal fury, seemingly unconcerned with the devastation left in its wake. Although the mantra coming out of Tel Aviv was that Israel’s goal was to rid Gaza of Hamas, growing efforts to render the strip uninhabitable and push Palestinians from their homes (yet again) seemed to indicate another, more pernicious agenda. Some Israeli officials let it slip that they saw Palestinians as “human animals” and that Gaza should be “flattened” to serve as collective punishment for the rampage committed by Hamas.
In response, millions of concerned people in capitals throughout the world took to the streets in solidarity with the Palestinians. Jews, Christians, Muslims, and people of varying faiths joined together calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of all hostages. Aid agencies and human rights organizations sounded the alarm over the growing “humanitarian catastrophe” unfolding in Gaza, warning that mass starvation, displacement, and the spread of deadly diseases would soon eclipse the loss of lives caused by IDF bombing raids.
Israel’s reaction? Tarnish all critics as naive anti-semites at best, or as Hamas terrorist sympathizers at worst. Biden and his spokespeople followed their lead by digging in their heels, reiterating Israel’s “right to defend itself” and calling on Congress to sell additional arms to the IDF, human rights be damned.
By early November, growing international pressure against Israel’s onslaught had grown to a fever pitch. Showing how it truly values human rights, the US vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and safe passage for aid convoys into Gaza. Subsequent resolutions by the UN General Assembly followed, with the vast majority of countries around the world calling for a “humanitarian truce,” with only the US, Israel, and their staunchest allies voting against. Although providing diplomatic cover for Israel has been a long-standing tradition for America, this time the US was practically alone in its steadfast backing, deeply undermining its credibility as the world’s “indispensable” nation and supposed defender of human rights. Cracks in the US empire’s facade grew.
As early as mid-November, Israel began asking Western and Arab nations if they could take in Palestinian refugees, hundreds of thousands of whom were made homeless by its relentless bombing of Gaza. After previously telling displaced Palestinians to move south for safety, the IDF began warning those who already fled to flee once again. Clearly, Israel’s objectives were no longer about Hamas. Netanyahu had already indicated that Israel planned to militarily control Gaza after the war, so the continued forced expulsion of Palestinians from central Gaza came as little surprise.
Indeed, with the level of destruction visited upon Palestinian society — at least 70% of homes destroyed after months of bombing — Israel’s assault on Gaza amounts to the most devastating land grab and ethnic cleansing operation of the 21st century, all made possible by US tax dollars. Despite being opposed by most Americans, Biden and his allies remain committed to this atrocity (as of early January 2024), and continue to send hundreds of millions in weaponry to Israel. No strings attached.
Given Biden’s iron-clad support for Israel, many in the peace movement began to worry that their efforts were in vain. Thanks to US mobilizations, however, Biden was forced to push Israel to accept more aid into Gaza and to take greater care in reducing civilian casualties (or at least state so publicly). Ceasefire activism also helped build global solidarity with the Palestinian people for a homeland of their own, and organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace helped counter the false notion that criticism of Israel equals antisemitism. The most recent wave of ceasefire activism has also educated and activated millions of young people to the cause of Palestinian liberation. Perhaps most importantly, it’s showing the besieged Palestinians that people truly care and stand with them in their struggle to be free.
Still, the question remains: why does the United States remain unwavering in its support of Israel? As the Israeli government increasingly flaunts international law with its devastating bombardment and ethnic cleansing of Gaza, US credibility in the region is cratering. In a November piece in the Washington Post, Hannah Allam and Mohamad El Chamaa write: “The prevailing view throughout the Middle East is that while Israel is doing the fighting, this is an American war. Without the diplomatic cover and high-tech munitions provided by the United States … Israel wouldn’t be able to carry out the massive operation … that a U.N. official this week said has caused ‘complete and utter carnage‘.”
Increasingly isolated and increasingly vilified in the court of global public opinion, the siege of Gaza may well be the straw that breaks the US empire’s back. As the divide between the haves and have-nots in America has grown, government and corporate elites have become increasingly disconnected from everyday peoples’ lives, preferring to distract the public with culture wars and entertainment rather than address our collapsing infrastructure, skyrocketing debt load, and declining civilian manufacturing base. What’s worse, those same elites seem perfectly content maintaining hundreds of US military bases overseas at a cost of hundreds of billions annually while all of these vital challenges fester. As tensions rise, American service members stationed abroad will face increasing dangers and likely, increasing losses.
Some have rightly critiqued the undue influence of lobbying groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and merchants of death like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, all of whom benefit handsomely from US tax dollars spent on endless wars in the Middle East. But the appetite for overseas military misadventures is waning. A recent NewsNation poll showed most Americans prefer keeping US troops out of foreign wars, with nearly 70% of Democrats and independents, as well as two-thirds of Republicans opposing sending troops to the Middle East.
It’s worth recalling that former US Senator Joe Biden once remarked that were there no Israel, “America would have to invent an Israel to protect our interests in the region.” In other words, far from being an honest ally of the Jewish people seeking a safe haven in the aftermath of the Holocaust, US support for Israel is contingent, a strategic requirement for the maintenance of American imperial influence. And given that the greater Middle East is home to the majority of proven oil reserves on the planet, upon which the US remains woefully dependent, the empire will expend its political capital, its treasure, and likely the lives of its citizens (or at least those too poor to resist) in defense of its outpost.
Unfortunately for US empire, what’s changed in recent decades is that Israel’s founding settler ideology of Zionism has metastasized into a genocidal mindset that views most of its neighbors as subhuman — blocking the possibility of a peaceful resolution. Robbed of any human connection by an apartheid regime that keeps Palestinians in completely separate spaces and depicts them as terrorists hell-bent on destroying Israel, most Israelis overwhelmingly support Netanyahu’s brutal approach to Gaza. Sadly, this catastrophic siege will only enrage and radicalize far more Palestinians and others, leading to further regional strife and misery for all sides. Already, multiple attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and other actors in the region are threatening to widen the conflict.
Americans, indeed all of us, stand at a historic crossroads. Either we persist with the pursuit of narrow, imperial aims, risking the lives of millions in an ever-escalating war over resources and control; or we join the world community as partners for peace, dedicating ourselves anew to democracy and human rights for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Domestically, US progressives, young voters, and anti-war conservatives have an opportunity to come together and demand that our leaders stop this madness, and redirect our overstretched imperial outlays toward reinvestment in our own national well-being. In the process, we must make genuine overtures toward joint security arrangements and the rebuilding of those regions that have been devastated from past wars and invasions.
It’s not too late to step back from the abyss. But it will take courage and goodwill to turn the tide.
Aaron Lehmer is the digital communications lead with the City of Oakland’s Planning & Building Department. He is a co-founder of the California Trade Justice Coalition and the Local Clean Energy Alliance.
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