Mark Carney has condemned the trickle of aid and Israel and its supporters blame Hamas. B'nai Brith and the Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs has accused Carney of antisemitism and blame Hamas. This won't cut it if the pace of starvation continues to rise exponentially. The "kettling" approach to Gaza is making things worse and nothing going in or out is resulting in suffering with no discernible gains.
The Israeli military and Netanyahu say there is no starvation but interviews with a Canadian doctor on the ground indicates he and his staff are starving and his patients are doing worse and some are dying. Israel's own record of food into the territory is not supportive of the narrative that there is plenty. Hamas might be terrible and blocking aid but it is Israel's national security minister that is calling for all aid to be cut off. It is Israel's policy that everything is being squeezed. Is this is the policy of the B'nai Brith and CJIA? Is it anti-Semitic to say that hunger appears to be a weapon?
Canada has declared Hamas a terrorist organization and defends the right of Israel to defend itself. However, that doesn't mean criticism of Israeli policy is antisemitism. If it is then Trump hates Jews for wanting the war to end. Defenders of Israel should take note that the prime minister Netanyahu has as much opposition to how he is carrying out the war as he has support with Israel itself. Israel is very much divided on the man and an election is coming. Are the B'nai Brith and CJIA taking a political position of support for Netanyahu?
The Canadian government does not support terrorism and supports Israel. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz says that even Holocaust survivors who are critics of what is happening in the war putrid. However, the term is weaponized against anyone critical of Netanyahu policy. The fact that some Jewish organizations are looking for uncritical support of what is happening and naming Carney as anti-Semitic is likely not even supported by the majority of their own Jewish membership.
The fact that Israel is backing off shows they need international legitimacy to continue with the support that was fulsome 21 months ago. Even the Conservative Jerusalem Post has said Israel had to act. Calling all of it a hoax and a Hamas creation is not working. Even if Hamas is making propaganda up, they are not a rational actor and are prepared to hurt their own people by pushing them towards Israeli gunfire. Israel now knows this to be true so ramping up military incursions while cutting aid only makes Hamas take a harder line. They. Don't. Care. They will make their people die to serve their cause.
This bears repeating: Hamas is prepared for all 2 million Palestinians to die in the conflict. Israel should not fall into the trap of killing them all. Netanyahu needs to focus on getting the hostages back. Even Israelis are going to tire of the constant deployment and loss of their soldiers with zero results. If the war is to keep Netanyahu in power, it could come at a cost of Israel's support even from the United States. Trump won't be around in 3 1/2 years. Who can say a new President will be anywhere near as supportive?
As for Jewish groups supportive of Israel, stop throwing anti-Semitic labels around including at members of your own faith. It is 21 months since the attack. Rage against Hamas all you want but they are prepared to kill all their people. Don't be the hands that does it. Figure out how to end this.
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