In Israel and Gaza, I choose the side of humanity

Hundreds of thousands of people descended on Washington this week in support of Israel. As a long-time peace advocate, Israeli American, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) veteran and critic of the Israeli occupation, I struggled with the decision of whether to go and what it means to “pick sides” at this moment.

I decided to go to the rally and stand alongside friends and colleagues in a peace bloc. I picked the side of humanity.

Israel has always been at the center of my life. I was born in Jerusalem just before the 1973 Yom Kippur War. As the doctor handed me to my mother for the first time, he exclaimed, “What a fine soldier you’ve made.”

Those words came true years later as I flew from New York to Tel Aviv and enlisted in the IDF. For the 25 years since, I have worked at Jewish organizations and focused on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Indeed, I am the only president of an organization in the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations that has been to Gaza while serving in the IDF — and, perhaps not coincidentally, the loudest voice calling for an end to the bombing and an equitable political solution.

I, along with the rest of the world, watched with horror as Hamas brutally and senselessly murdered civilians on Oct. 7. The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians and the taking of hostages is morally indefensible and a war crime. Their safe return must be the top priority for Israel, the United States and allied nations.

Hamas’s attack set the tectonic plates of politics and society in motion, pushing people to extremes and blurring traditional fault lines. Antisemitism has skyrocketed, as have acts of hatred against Arabs and Muslims. Conversation requires credentials: If you support a cease-fire, you’re pro-Hamas. If you support Israel, you’re pro-genocide. If you called for a cease-fire but not to release the hostages, you’re an antisemite. Those may be good bumper sticker slogans and hashtags, but they are extremely poor policies. 

Sloganeering and virtue signaling do little to educate and unite; instead, they are designed to divide. Unfortunately, the thirst for moral superiority polarizes the moment and fails to address what is really needed to move forward. 

If you’re just trying to “score points” for your team, facts on the ground are irrelevant, effects on real people are left unconsidered and morality, much less international law, is no more than an irritant. 

As a moral society, our time and treasure must work to alleviate human suffering. Even in the most challenging of moments, we must be able to channel compassion and empathy and insist that our leaders imbue American policy with the inherent dignity and worth of every human, regardless of background or nationality. 

I have been dismayed by the unwillingness of many leaders in the Jewish community to articulate support for Palestinian lives. No matter your opinion on the righteousness of Israel’s response, we cannot look away from the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.

Rage is an understandable emotion in the face of what Israelis have suffered, but it is not a policy, and we deserve to hear from Israeli and American leaders that they have a strategic plan to hold Hamas accountable while also taking every precaution possible to avoid civilian deaths. So far, that has not happened. 

I continue to urge the Biden administration to do more to prevent civilian deaths and expedite the delivery of additional humanitarian assistance, including fuel, which is at the heart of the humanitarian crisis. The absence of fuel means hospitals cannot function properly and water sanitation plants cannot produce clean water.

I recognize Israel’s concern that sending fuel risks it being diverted to Hamas. But let’s be clear: Hamas does not lack fuel. Yes, they should give it to the people of Gaza, to the hospitals and desalination plants. They should care about human life. But they will not. The only question for us is whether or not we will take the same position as Hamas. And I, for one, will not. 

Call it a cease-fire or a humanitarian pause, what matters is that the hostages must be released and the bombing and rockets must stop. We must rise above rage and pain and think about tomorrow. 

Israel and the United States must consider what the “day after” looks like. An Israeli occupation of Gaza is neither moral nor strategic. Recent polling in Gaza, conducted before Oct. 7, suggested that Hamas wasn’t popular with most Palestinians. Those numbers have clearly changed since the war began, but Gaza is ripe for new leadership, and while Israel cannot establish a civil society within Gaza, it can help create conditions in which the Palestinians have options beyond Hamas.

Similarly, Israel has a choice to make about its future. Netanyahu has failed Israel in more ways than we thought possible. It is clear that his time leading the nation has come to an end. 

Israel must decide what kind of society it wants. And the U.S. must decide who and what it is willing to support. 

Jewish tradition teaches, “It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.” Oct. 7 changed the world, but my hope for peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians endures.

Hadar Susskind is the president and CEO of Americans for Peace Now.