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OCTOBER 30, 2023
On the Prospect website
*
**Harold Meyerson** explores the generational split on Israel/Palestine
and its effects on the American left
*
**Jeffrey C. Isaac** warns against silencing dissent in Congress
as Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces censure
*
**Ryan Cooper** looks at Republican resistance to electric vehicles
Dayen on TAP
The Agonizing Drift Toward Cease-Fire
Reading between the lines, the mainstream of the Democratic Party is
moving away from unconditional support for a ground invasion in Gaza.
Depending on where you start the clock, the Arab-Israeli conflict has
been argued over for either 76 or 1,400 years, and I'd put the last
month as a low point in moving toward a resolution. I don't like
writing about things that are intractable, combined with the fact that
this conflict brings out the worst in everyone, as impossible situations
often do.
But silence is hardly a legitimate response in the face of the "second
stage
"
of the war in Gaza, with Israel moving infantry and tanks toward Gaza
City amid stepped-up aerial bombardment. The death toll has hit over
8,300
according to the Gaza Ministry of Health (which has been accurate and
aligned with U.N. figures in past conflicts). While Israel's stated
intent is to eliminate terrorist activity in Gaza, there have been
reports
of tanks firing on taxicabs waving white flags, with an IDF spokesperson
justifying it by saying, "Terrorists use civilian infrastructure like
cars."
For anyone with a universal sense of shared humanity, the tragedies to
come simply loom larger than the tragedies in the rearview mirror,
because they are the only ones that can be stopped. The horrors of
October 7 were unspeakable; accountability for that loss cannot come in
the form of recreating it.
Politics often subsumes these impulses in favor of realpolitik. But I
tend to sense when Democratic policymakers are getting more
uncomfortable with what their leadership is facilitating, or at least
failing to prevent.
I'm not talking about the lonely few
who have urged a cease-fire for weeks. I'm referring to people like
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who has been groomed to lead Democrats on
foreign-policy issues. When he starts arguing against
a
full-scale ground invasion, on the reasonable grounds that it will
create a power vacuum in Gaza, recapitulate the failed U.S.
counterinsurgency missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and recruit more
militants overall, we should take notice.
Patrick Gaspard, the head of the Center for American Progress, is
squarely in the center of Democratic thought. When he says
,
correctly, that "there is nothing complicated about being able to say
killing innocent people is wrong and needs to stop," we should take
notice.
The White House does appear to be taking notice. When internet and phone
service to Gaza was cut off over the weekend, U.S. pressure reportedly
got it turned back on
.
The U.S. has also been critical to accelerating the delivery of
humanitarian aid trucks. President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend that the offensive must "prioritize
the protection of civilians
."
Previously, the U.S. counseled Israel to conduct a "surgical" operation
that would minimize civilian casualties. National security adviser Jake
Sullivan has made oblique reference
to "conversations" aimed at restraint.
But all of that falls short of a cease-fire, with international outcry
(from Pope Francis on down
) raging. My
former colleague Jonathan Guyer made the case
this weekend that the world increasingly views this as Biden's war,
citing the billions in annual aid
,
veto of a U.N. resolution
for a humanitarian pause, and rhetorical assistance, rooted in Biden's
half-century of deep support
for Israel.
As Franklin Foer recounts in his presidential history
**The Last Politician**, which I reviewed for this magazine
,
a 2021 flare-up in Gaza that included an airstrike on an Associated
Press building ended when Biden told Netanyahu, "We're out of runway
here. It's over." And an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire was put into
place. So there's little question that the U.S. has the ability to
impact events, even in tumultuous times like this.
The political implications of Biden's Israel bear hug may be damaging
,
but common humanity, not gamed-out impacts on base voters in swing
states, can suffice as a reason to endorse an end to the destruction of
innocent lives. It is not only unsustainable-especially as the U.S.
attempts to condemn the same violations of international law
when carried out by Russia on Ukraine-it's counterproductive to
Israel's security. And eventually, the time will come when the U.S.
must say enough to the killing. Every second lost from that moment is a
calamity.
~ DAVID DAYEN
Follow David Dayen on Twitter
or Bluesky Social
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Israel, Palestine and the Generational Rift Among American Progressives
And how we might keep it from undermining progressive prospects BY
HAROLD MEYERSON
To Censure Rashida Tlaib Would Be to Censure Democracy Itself
Which would be no surprise coming from Republicans-but from Democrats,
too? BY JEFFREY C. ISAAC
The Republican Electric Vehicle Tantrum
Better technology that helps America fight climate change? No thanks,
say conservatives. BY RYAN COOPER
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