At the top here, we'll say that this may be a short column because frankly we're fed up with discussing the plights of the Republican party. Whitewashing what the party has said about the election and what happened on January 6, 2021 means that it can not be trust to negotiate in good faith on any issue facing the American people. Colloquially, they have no cred.
During the panel discussion, Chuck Todd ticked off a series of issues facing the Biden Administration to NBC's Kristen Welker and rightly, maybe to the chagrin of Mr. Todd, she reported that the top issue right now is the violence going on in between the Palestinians and the Israelis, which has taken a disturbing turn in this latest conflict.
Not only are Hamas and the Israeli military exchanging missile fire, but Arab Israelis and Jewish Israelis are clashing in city streets as well. This means the shared desire for peace is breaking on such levels that there will be damaging costs to civil society in the long term - the social fabric is torn.
As with history, there is plenty of poor judgement to assess this time starting with the poor decision on the part of the Israeli police in Jerusalem to crack down on Palestinians gathering during a time of worship outside a mosque. Prime Minister Netanyahu embrace of the hard right in his country has emboldened such groups to push against the balance of the shared city. That's a lot to put out there... We know.
There's no mistake that Hamas initiated the military conflict firing missiles indiscriminately into Israel from Gaza, over 2,000 at this point. No government in their right mind is going to let that go without counter-punching and they would be stupid no to because if they didn't it would only give license for more missiles. Israel definitely has the right to defend itself and give consideration to the civil population when retaliating unlike Hamas.
And what is the world supposed to think when a Hamas commander is quoted as saying that for Hamas bombing Israel is easier than drinking water.
The most dangerous aspect of this conflict, ultimately more lethal than the bombs, that NBC's Richard Engel touched on in his report citing its danger, which is the utter hopelessness as a collective state of mind in the Palestinians of Gaza. Mr. Engel explained that he spoke to one woman that asked 'why should I start a business or plan for the future when in 3 years it will all be blown up in conflict and its day one all over again.'
The responsibility for this lethal dose to civil population of Gaza falls squarely on Hamas. It controls Gaza but it doesn't administer to it, which is easily evidenced by the state of its basic infrastructure such as water and electricity. It is not because of Israeli bombs that those basic needs are in short supply, but rather Hamas' bombs, which it funds over infrastructure.
But Hamas capitalizes on this state of hopelessness giving it the license to keep pouring money into destroying people instead building up its own. Compounding this nihilistic approach, Hamas builds it's weapons depots and command centers under schools, hospitals and hotels. If you work in one of those places are you thinking about the future? Yes, if you define the future in two hour intervals.
One can not expect for Israelis at this moment to have hope for societal civility and living peacefully among one another but it is there because the people have experienced it. There just have to be leaders on both sides willing step up with that approach. With that said, both sides have been looking for an exit ramp as Mr. Engel reported, but of course both sides need to look victorious whatever that means at this point.
As for Hamas, there is no hope or future in nihilism and this is the plain from which we see Hamas operating. The tragic consequences of this manifest themselves in the horrific plight of the Gazan people. It's an approach that always ends in self-destruction and if that's the case then you have to question the motivations of one's cause.
A population state of hopelessness is unsustainable and ultimately will come undone.
Panel: Kristen Welker, NBC News, Donna Edwards, fmr. Congresswoman (D-MD); Brendan Buck, Republican Strategist; Peter Baker, The New York Times
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