Rabbi Lawrence S. Zierler seems to suffer from the same affliction as P.M. Netanyahu—being forced to reaction by others. In the rabbi’s case, he “cannot remain silent,” when that might have been the better course. 

Depending upon perspective, on October 7 either a force of terrorists attacked a group of Jewish settlers and security, or a group of partisans attempted to defend their territory from invading colonists. The casualties were roughly equal on both sides. So, Bibi could have let it stand (or fired a few rockets as a gesture). But instead he killed 40,000 people. It little matters that the majority were women and children; per IDF figures, fewer than one in over 200 Palestinians is a Hamas fighter, so among the male victims hardly any were military threats. 

The casualties were targeted because they were Palestinian. That’s genocide, a term offensive to Rabbi Zierler. But he need not concern himself, because “official” genocide is a political, rather than legal, determination. Complaining about the accusation, however, increases public scrutiny of the matter, so the rabbi may win the debate, but lose. 

The greater liability for Bibi and the boys lies in the concept of preemptive self-defense—can the Zionist state convince anyone that Hamas represents an imminent, existential threat to Israel? Unlikely, even in the post-9/11 era of non-state actors, when knowing the enemy has become a challenge. It makes peace a much simpler alternative.

John A. MacKinnon
Lackawaxen, PA