Thursday, August 21, 2014

More Gideon Levy Snide Malevolence

Here's yet another irrational, illiogical and "in-your-face" Gideon Levy spiteful and malevolently snide formulation:

Think of a terrible scenario: Hamas, heaven forbid, kills Sara and Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife and son. Another scenario, no less terrible: the targets are Revital and Nadav Gantz, the IDF chief of staff’s wife and son. What would Hamas have gotten out of such horrific murders? And how would Israel have reacted? Submitted to its demands? Would public opinion have moderated? Would Israel ever forgive?

And what would Hamas benefit if it succeeded, heaven forbid, to kill the prime minister or the chief of staff? Wouldn’t we have found substitutes? Would Israel have renounced its leadership? Bowed its head to its leaders’ assassins? Would Israel have hastened to build them a deep-water seaport and airport in Gaza?

Whoever decided to try to assassinate Mohammed Deif and succeeded in killing Vidad, his wife, and Ali, his son (an 8-month-old infant), didn’t think in those terms. Israelis are never willing to play the opposite-role game and consider what would have happened if we were in their place. It’s part of our dehumanization and demonization of the Palestinians. Murdering their leaders and commanders? Legitimate. Murdering ours? Monstrous horror. How can you even compare?

The point is not that Israel would react similarly to Hamas (and therefore, a la Levy, Hamas is justified in attcking Israeli civilians) but that Hamas is in no way justified a priori in engaging in terror.  Moreover, since it defines itself as group dedicated to eradicating Jews per se, his argumentation is disconnected from whatever morality he attempts to inject into the narrative.

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