There are more balanced and objective defences of Israel than those cited in the previous blogs in this series. However, balance in some sense is part of their problem. The other part of the problem is subjectivity, not objectivity, though there is plenty of distortion in the depiction of the events. These accounts focus on affects and moral tensions resulting from what took place in Gaza.

Using Yiddish to get the full flavour, there are what I dub the “verklepte kvetchers,” the emotional complainers, such as Rabbi Donniel Hartman in Jerusalem. These verklepte kvetchers express enormous compassion for the Palestinian victims while criticizing the Gazan government, identify with the pain of the soldiers who are forced to kill in defence of Israel, but issue a cri de coeur about Israeli government policies. But they do not undertake the analysis to link how policies produce those casualties and pain.

As Hartman wrote, perhaps in an attempt to be as poetic as Barghouti, “When we heard of the lives lost as protesters mixed with enemy combatants walked, or crept towards the thin wire keeping our cousins and uncles safe, we mourned: We mourned firstly for the lives lost, the youthful potential which was ended; We mourned for our Palestinian cousins, who are no closer to stability today than yesterday; And we mourned for the innocence of our soldiers, having to make life and death decisions – who had to aim to hurt and pray their shots were true.”

Quoting more fully from his essay written after 14 May and published in The Times of Israel,

“Gaza paralyzes me into silence.

“When I read reports or hear discourse about Israeli Army use of lethal force against demonstrators, I cringe. To call what is happening at the Gaza border a demonstration, is a perversion of reality as I know it…

“What is happening on the Gaza border is not a protest against the reality of life in Gaza, but an attack against the sovereignty of Israel and its right to exist. Palestinians have every right to view and experience the formation of Israel as their Nakba (catastrophe). They have every right to view the Six Day War and Israel’s reunification of Jerusalem as a deepening of this Nakba. When tens of thousands of people, civilians interspersed with thousands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, march on our border with the intent to destroy it, and penetrate into Israel, and allow the terrorists to murder Israelis, it is not only not a peace demonstration, it is not a demonstration at all. It is a battlefield, where anyone who approaches the fence is a combatant…

“The challenge is that when it comes to Gaza, for Israelis our moral conscience is by and large, silent. We argue that our unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, including its setting of the precedent of dismantling Jewish settlements, should have inspired Gazans to embrace or at the very least explore, the possibility of peace, instead of the path of war. It should have inspired the trade of goods and the fostering of economic ties, and instead it led to missile fire and the resulting partial blockade.

“We hold the Gaza population personally responsible for the choices they have made. We hold the leadership that they have chosen, a leadership that regularly declares its desire for my destruction and acts on it, as responsible both for the tragedy of Gaza and its rectification. And as a result, most Israelis believe that from this moment henceforth, our moral responsibilities are limited to our efforts at self-defense. The plight of Gazans is taken out of the equation of our moral discourse.

“Gaza paralyzes me into silence, for I am like most Israelis. I am not only saddened by the choices they have made and by the paths that they have chosen not to take, I am angry. I am a devout two-statist, who believes in the right of the Palestinian people to sovereignty in their own state, living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security for both of us. I am angry, because I believe that the hatred and violence spewing out of Gaza has possibly buried Israelis’ belief in the viability of the two-state solution in our lifetime. Any discourse about a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria is immediately rejected under the counter-argument: “It will just become another Gaza.” And this Gaza will be able to shut down all of Israel with mere mortar fire.

“But as my daughter’s phone call reminded me, we cannot allow ourselves to be paralyzed, and to create a moral black hole in our society. I do not believe that Israel is principally responsible for the reality which is Gaza, but it does bear some responsibility. I do not believe that our soldiers on the border of Gaza are firing on demonstrators but are engaged in a war. I do not believe that the Hamas-inspired action on the border poses an existential threat to the State of Israel. It does, however, pose a life-and-death danger for many Israelis. At the same time, 60 human beings were killed and thousands were injured in one day.

“While 60 human beings lost their lives, and Israeli soldiers were engaged in the horrific challenge of protecting our border, tens of thousands of Israelis converged on Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to sing and rejoice with Netta Barzilai on her and our victory in the Eurovision contest…

“We do not need to take moral responsibility for the reality which is Gaza, but at the same time we cannot allow our humanity and moral conscience to be so inert as to sit down and drink, not to speak of dancing in our city squares, when we are causing, justifiably or not, death and chaos.

“We can believe that the events in Gaza are a war against Israel, support our soldiers, and still desire a public debate over the means necessary to win this war. I don’t value Monday morning moral philosophers, nor expressions of ‘concern’ for loss of life. I do value serious moral reflection on how to ensure that we live up to our military moral code, which demands that even when force is used in self-defense, we only use the amount of force necessary and in proportion to the danger that we face, and that we do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties. I do desire an Israeli society which welcomes and engages in this discourse.

“I do not believe that our soldiers are violating international law, yet I am interested in a public discourse about what our soldiers on the front lines in Gaza are experiencing. I am interested in defending our soldiers from being placed in situations where their orders are not clear, and thus placing our soldiers in morally compromised situations.

“Gaza paralyzes me, because human beings are dying at my hands, and I do not know how to prevent it. Gaza frightens me, because it is so easy to forget it and sing, regardless of what is happening there. Gaza challenges us, for it is in Gaza that our commitment to the value of human life is and will be tested.

“We may not be principally responsible for the reality which is Gaza, but like all moral human beings, we must constantly ask ourselves whether and how we can be part of the solution. As Jews, we are commanded to walk in the way of God, a God who declares, ‘My creation is drowning, and what are you doing about it?’ ”

Though I agree that our responsibilities should not be limited to self-defence, the responses of fright, anger and cringing are also inappropriate. So is stewing in misplaced moral dilemmas. So is placing full responsibility on the political policy process and the military orders of the general staff. For those soldiers in the front lines also have moral responsibilities instilled in them by the IDF. But some of them may not have incorporated those norms as guides for their conduct. What is needed are:

1. More accurate depictions of what took place.
2. A more accurate definition of the real moral problem.
3. A more accurate analysis of the Palestinian objectives.
4. The real source of the moral tensions many Israelis experience while they continue to celebrate life and not that they continue that celebration.

Hartman links the possible use of lethal force by the IDF against the Palestinians by denying there were demonstrations. The action was one of militancy generally. But the behaviour of the Palestinians has to be dissected. The vast majority were engaged in peaceful demonstrations. Such a depiction is not “a perversion of reality” but a more accurate depiction. Others were engaged in an attack and not just a demonstration against Israeli sovereignty. IDF snipers did use lethal force, but they mainly targeted militants who attacked and tried to break through the fence.

Many of the attackers were unarmed in any military sense. Some who did not try to break through the fence were also wounded. There is a legitimate question about whether the IDF and/or individual soldiers followed international norms when engaged in conflict. At the same time, it is inaccurate to say that “tens of thousands of people, civilians [were] interspersed with thousands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.” It would be more accurate to write that Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants were undoubtedly mixed in with the peaceful demonstrators. But the focus of the IDF use of lethal force was not against the demonstration, but against militants who tried to break through the fence.

Further, though the Palestinian objective was said to be breaking through the fence to initiate the destruction of Israel, the real objective was to produce martyrs to win a public relations war. There was a peaceful demonstration. There was also a battlefield. They existed within a few hundred metres of each other. One does not have to affirm one (the militancy) by denying the other (the peaceful demonstration).

There is an additional problem. Hartman thinks that the problem for most Israelis is that they have pocketed their moral compass when it comes to Gaza. Why? Not because some soldiers may have wounded non-militants, but because many Israelis insisted on getting on with their lives and celebrating Netta Barzilai’s victory in the Eurovision contest. But it is Hartman who has misdirected part of his moral compass.

Why? Because he fails to acknowledge that some IDF soldiers may have possibly killed or wounded non-militants, not as collateral damage, but intentionally. That should be the focus, and I believe is the hidden concern of most Israelis. Hartman is simply wrong to direct his moral outrage against Israelis who celebrated Barzilai’s victory. Hartman is absolutely correct when he writes, “I do value serious moral reflection on how to ensure that we live up to our military moral code, which demands that even when force is used in self-defense, we only use the amount of force necessary and in proportion to the danger that we face, and that we do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties.”

Analyses that connect circumstances to policies and actions are required. This might prove that, indeed, little can be done. Or the analysis my point to openings that can be exploited. What we do not need is emotional paralysis.

With the help of Alex Zisman

The partisan defence of the Palestinian actions was clever. Marian Barghouti’s apologetic for the effort was directed at international public opinion. His 16 May statement was headlined: “IF YOU IGNORE THE DEATHS IN GAZA, YOU ARE COMPLICIT IN OUR SLAUGHTER.” The final demonstration was timed to take place at the same time the Trump move of the American embassy to Jerusalem was being celebrated. And Trump is widely loathed on the world stage, even if many Israelis and Jews around the world welcomed the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The distinction between a policy recognizing Jerusalem as the capital and recognizing a united Jerusalem as the capital remained suppressed. In contrast, the two main emotional issues for the Palestinians were linked – the insistence on Jerusalem as their capital and the return of refugees. The language was bathed in rights even more than on Palestinian suffering. The focus was placed on the complicity of the international community in rewarding Israel in untold ways, including allowing an Israeli entertainer, Netta Barzilai, to win the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon that was also being celebrated in Tel Aviv at the same time as the final Nakba Day demonstrations. After all, even Australian Jessica Mauboy, the runner up in the Eurovision contest, acknowledged Barzilai’s enormous power as an entertainer.

Barghouti wrote and published the following:

“On one side there is an occupying power that is incessantly rewarded by the international community, even as the Palestinians are being pushed ever further out of their lands. Those who remain live under the harshest conditions: The denial of a right to live in dignity and freedom. In this age of media and social platforms, there is no excuse to not see what is happening. As such, remaining complicit is a conscious and active decision to side with oppression and directly be a part of it.”

Simply put, the international community is either for us (as Palestinians) or against us in remaining silent and supporting Israel. In the latter case, the international community was complicit in the loss of further Palestinian lands and the terrible conditions under which Gazans lived. Hamas responsibility for those conditions was ignored. The goal of return, so pronounced in the purpose of the demonstrations, was deliberately placed on a back burner, but the gas was still left on for everyone to see the flame that animated them. The focus was on Palestinians as victims and their rights as well as Israelis as malevolent oppressors.

However, the bottom line for Palestinians, including those in Gaza, was an increased despondency. The vision of return is a forlorn hope. Even the dream of an independent Palestinian state seems to be receding. That is not only because of the militancy and incompetence of Hamas, but Mahmoud Abbas, now in the twilight of his leadership, did not help with his antisemitic outburst weeks earlier. The international political situation in the Middle East does not help the Palestinians either. Iranian support is feckless. The Turkish economy is imploding. Qatar has its own problems in the Gulf. The Saudis and Egyptians support the Palestinian political goals only nominally as they forge stronger economic, military, intelligence and backroom diplomatic ties with Israel.

When return was mentioned, it was linked simply with the desire to stand up in dignity and not be punished for being displaced. Freedom was contrasted with repression and repression was linked with a long history of colonization. Jews settling in Palestine were but the latest phase of that colonizing effort. Palestinians simply had fought a century-old defensive war. But the international community condemned that defence and rewarded the Zionists according to Barghouti.

“Our minds are turned into a space for psychological warfare to implant an image of inferiority into our core, to convince us that we are the lesser ones, destined to be either controlled or kicked out. Our bodies are objects—shot at, beaten, humiliated, assaulted, violated. Our ideas and dreams of liberation are swept into a corner because if we so much as dare to speak loudly and mobilize, we will find ourselves incarcerated or killed. Palestinians are wedged between a painful exile and a butchered land. This is the definition of ethnic cleansing.”

This war was being fought in a way to contrast Israeli strength, inhumanity and oppression with the valiant efforts at improvement of victims under unspeakable conditions. “Palestinians are brave enough to love life so much that they are willing to go out to the streets and protest, and when they are not protesting they are fighting in their daily life by merely echoing the word ‘Palestine’.” Not welcoming death! Not willing to be martyrs for return! Not trying to break through the Israeli security fence! Just protest. Just demonstrations. Just a love of life.

Contrast this poetic statement on behalf of the Palestinian cause with the apologetics of Shimon Fogel, the chief executive of the Ottawa-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) that I included in the initial blog of this series. First, Fogel attacked Prime Minister Trudeau who had demonstrated that he had been almost as supportive of Israel as Stephen Harper and had previously been stridently attacked by pro-Palestinian factions. What was the main failure of Trudeau’s statement on Gaza according to Fogel? Not distorting what Israel did, but omitting any mention of Hamas’ direct responsibility for the recent violence on the Israeli-Gaza border. The CIJA statement began: “We are deeply disappointed the government statement ignores Hamas’ direct responsibility for recent violence on the Israel-Gaza border.”

Trudeau’s statement focused on the wounded and the justice of so many wounded killed by Israeli soldiers. Hamas’ use of violence does not justify Israel breaking the norms and laws of international warfare if the IDF did. Fogel’s statement does not offer a justification. Sidestepping a thrust is not a defence, it is simply a poorly thought-out strategy for missing the point.

The war was not fought by Gazans in 2018 to inflict damage on Israel or kill Israeli soldiers – only one soldier was injured over 7 weeks on the final day of the series of battles. Palestinians from Gaza would have killed or maimed Israelis if they could. They could not and did not. They did do some relatively light property damage, albeit enough to give Israel a smidgen of justification for the tactics the Israelis adopted.

The war was fought primarily to win international public opinion to the Palestinian cause, the larger cause being a return of refugees to Israel and the displacement of Israel as a state. The more immediate cause, given the dire economic straits in Gaza, whatever the responsibility of Hamas for that, was to eliminate the fluctuating blockade without surrendering their long-term goals. Alternatively, or as a minimum goal, it was to open the Rafah crossing – a goal achieved. After all, before the 2018 war, Gazans could not even travel abroad unless it was for at least a year if they used the crossing to Israel. For some, protesting Trump’s move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem was a more immediate goal, but, considering all the evidence, that seemed more like an add-on which did exploit the even higher media presence than was usual..

As to tactics, Hamas had learned very well that international outrage was a product of apparent non-militant deaths on the Palestinian side rather than missiles, kidnapping of Israelis or damage to property. For Hamas, it was critical that its martyrs be counted as civilians rather than militants in the death totals even as it knew that there would be no martyrs if only peaceful demonstrations were conducted. The challenge was how to combine the two effectively. At the same time, such tactics would help restore Hamas’ image especially in the competition with the Palestinian Authority.

The target might also have been public opinion in the West Bank and Israel. If those were also goals, the exercise had some minor successes, especially in Israel, but overall seemed an abject failure. Israelis in particular have largely become apathetic towards Gaza, tired of Hamas’ swings between posturing and outright conflict. Further, they are well aware of Hamas’ record of suppression of rights – of women, of dissidents and gays – and of its ultimate and repeatedly stated goals of eliminating Israel. Across Israel, only hundreds protested Israeli use of live ammunition. (+972) One could note the same effect among Jews who associate with the Jewish community in the diaspora, including those organizations highly critical of Israeli policy. If this observation that the target was primarily public opinion is correct, the media report that Hezbollah refused a Hamas request to send missiles against Israel was probably false or, at least, misleading.

However, that was on the surface. In the Journal of Conflict Resolution (7 June 2016), Thomas Zeitzoff asked, “Does Social Media Influence Conflict? Evidence from the Gaza Conflict.” Note, he was not asking how the conflict affected public opinion in the Middle East or abroad, but how the use of social media affected the conflict, both that it took place and the extent. The most interesting finding was that it did. It did so within Israel to reduce public support for conflict intensity. International pressure on Israel had a much smaller effect.

In the 2012 conflict, Hamas had primarily employed traditional mechanisms of war available to it. This time, it primarily emphasized the peaceful nature of the demonstrations even as it sent small groups of militants to attack the fence. In that case, though proof is not yet in, one might expect public support for the use of live ammunition against those who attacked the fence to reduce the support for the Israeli response even more than open war did. I suspect public support in Israel for the use of live ammunition decreased as Israelis became conflicted over the number of casualties. Was a prime target of Hamas’ media war public opinion in Israel?

Actual protests by critical Jewish groups on the ground decreased. IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, J Street and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice protested against the use of live ammunition, even against Hamas members who neared the fence but were unarmed. But the protests were not very loud and the backing seemed muted. For example, J Street expressed mostly a “sickening sense of frustration.” In contrast, in 2008, J Street had taken a very hard line against Operation Cast Lead.

Ethan Miller, a spokesman for IfNotNow that had been formed in the first place to protest American Jewish institutional support against Operation Protective Shield in 2012, promised action this time with the intent of building a stronger protest movement. However, only 100 protesters showed up on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington to participate in the IfNotNow demonstration; nevertheless, they had sufficient participation to block Pennsylvania Avenue for two hours in front of the Trump International Hotel between the White House and the domed Capitol.

In Boston, eight IfNotNow members of that chapter chained themselves to the doors of the Israeli consulate and were arrested before the consulate could reopen. In Minneapolis, other members were arrested outside that city’s Jewish Community Relations Council. Small protests were held at almost two dozen other sites across America.  The Jewish Voice for Peace protested in 45 different locations across America, but those demonstrations were also small. In the general hubbub, these voices were drowned out.

More attention was paid to J Street. They held a rally addressed by Bernie Sanders on 16 April. He accused Israel of “massively overreacting” while insisting that “when Israeli soldiers are in danger, we can all agree that they have a right to defend themselves.” He went on to condemn “Hamas’s use of terrorist violence…but that violence cannot excuse the shooting of unarmed protesters and it cannot excuse trapping almost two million people inside of Gaza.”

I suspect, however, that among unaffiliated Jews in America, the majority followed a general trend and felt considerable sympathy for the Palestinians in Gaza and became further alienated from Israel. In any case, they were generally inactive even as their inner ethical tensions increased.

Internationally, the results were mixed. Iran and Turkey offered a full-throated denunciation of Israel. South Africa withdrew its ambassador. Saudi Arabia and Egypt denounced the killing, but seemingly more as a matter of course than a deep-seated outrage. Federica Mogherini of the EU called for “restraint” by both sides. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in spite of the growing divide between them and Trump’s America, did focus on Israel and urged a more gentle approach, but, at the same time, insisted that Israel has a right to defend itself. Almost certainly because a Canadian doctor treating Palestinian casualties was shot in the legs, Justin Trudeau issued an unusually strong implied criticism of Israel. (See the first blog in this series.) UN Secretary-General expressed his “profound concern,” while Zeid Ra’ad, the head of the United Nations Human Rights Council, typically denounced the Israeli use of force as “wholly disproportionate.”

Of course, the U.S. was unequivocal in its backing of Israel. UN Ambassador Nick Haley asked the General Assembly, “Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border? No one would…No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.” After his 9 May meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the same explanation for the Israeli response to the Gaza protesters: “it is the right of every state, certainly it is Israel’s right, to take such steps as are necessary to defend itself against this aggression.” The question, of course, for most was not the issue of the right of self-defence, but the means used.

How does a belligerent conduct an international media war? Hamas could have led Gaza into a fourth Gaza War in which Gaza sustained enormous physical damage and even a much higher sacrifice of lives. In the past, that did have a temporary international public opinion advantage, but the costs were enormous. Further, Gaza fought those wars inevitably behind the backs of civilians, often using hospitals as shields.

This time, the war was not openly led by Hamas but by an independent civilian group helped and backed by Hamas with Hamas and other militants out front openly risking their lives to cut and damage the widely hated fence. The war was one based on a coalition of forces, including supporters of the Palestinian Authority. This had at least four domestic purposes. It helped unite rather than divide the Palestinians. The means deployed distracted from the fact that the domestic policies of Hamas in running Gaza had failed and the military policies utilized in the past – open warfare and underground tunnels – had proven to be an unmitigated disaster. At the same time, the martyrs and the larger Hamas message won the attention of the international community while the Palestinian relatively weak rhetorical and diplomatic protest of the American embassy move was swamped in the media by the events in Gaza. Most importantly, the effort allowed Palestinians the choice of how to be involved. But incentives and deceit were both used to get some to attack the fence and try to break through.

Instructions on the internet in Arabic previously had suggested that protesters bring knives, daggers and guns in order to breach the Israeli border and kidnap civilians. As the New York Times wrote, “After midday prayers, clerics and leaders of militant factions in Gaza, led by Hamas, urged thousands of worshipers to join the protests. The fence had already been breached, they said falsely, claiming Palestinians were flooding into Israel.” The Washington Post described organizers as urging “protesters over loudspeakers to burst through the fence, telling them Israeli soldiers were fleeing their positions, even as they were reinforcing them.”

Nevertheless, in spite of these deceptions, Hamas retained effective control of the Great March of Return. At 5:30 pm local time on 14 May, Hamas ordered the protesters to move away from the fence. They had enough martyrs by this point – 55 – though more would die in hospital later – to make their point to the international community. Media coverage already had established their PR “success.” Further, the hospitals in Gaza could not cope with the 100 who were critically injured and an additional 2,500 being treated for injuries. Third, as the peaceful protesters drifted home, Hamas did not want to lose either control or attract attention to how small the Great March of Return had really been compared to the original ambitions. Fourth, Hamas’ precarious control of Gaza had now been reinforced. Finally, Hamas had demonstrated to Egypt, which two days earlier had summoned Hamas to Cairo to try to persuade the organization to discontinue the demonstrations, that it would not bow to Egyptian pressure.

The Hamas political bureau head, Ismail Haniyeh, his deputy, Khalil al-Hayya, and Politburo member, Rouhi Mushtaha, flew to Cairo and met with Abbas Kamel, the Egyptian intelligence chief. The Hamas representatives not only refused Egypt’s offer to open the Rafah crossing in exchange, but won that opening anyway, at least for Ramadan, without any evident concessions to Egypt.

Perhaps the most important target of the Hamas media war was public opinion in Egypt and in Israel. In Israel, if my few interviews are any indication, the recent Hamas tactics may have led to increased ethical post-traumatic stress disorder (E-PTSD) as Israelis were perhaps even more affected by the combination of peaceful demonstrations and relatively poorly armed militants who martyred themselves in attacking the fence (what Matti Friedman in the New York Times 16 May 2018 called the Split-Screen tactic) even as Israelis appeared sublimely indifferent as they continued to go about their daily lives over the 7 weeks of violence. Psychological ethical distress might have been the main tool of warfare used by the Gazans since Israelis did not really need to worry about missiles, even if the Iron Dome intercepted them. Israelis did not have to seek shelter when sirens sounded.

However, they could hide from but not escape the ethical dilemmas they faced.

Clearly, the debate over an investigation into the recent Gaza violence is leagues away from the differences over what occurred. But there seems to be little debate over the fact that Dr. Loubani, who had invented both a 3D printed stethoscope and was testing a 3D printed tourniquet, was engaged in medical work. He is known world-wide for his voluntary engagement in medical treatment and training in such crises, but Canadians might remember him best as one of the duo (John Greyson, the documentary filmmaker, was the other) who, on route to Gaza, was detained by the Egyptians in 2013 and incarcerated for seven weeks in Egypt’s Tora prison. Neither was ever charged. The question, therefore, is why was Loubani shot in the legs even if Musa Abuhassanin was killed by a sniper’s bullet and buried in the green and white flag of Hamas as a “holy warrior”?

A second major question raised by Justin Trudeau’s statement was his sentence: “Reported use of excessive force and live ammunition is inexcusable.” He undoubtedly meant to write, “Use of excessive force and live ammunition as reported is inexcusable.” What was reported, however inaccurate or inadequate, whatever else it may be, is unlikely to be inexcusable. As written, Trudeau seems to have endorsed the interpretation of the response to the Gaza protests that “excessive force” has been used and that the “use of live ammunition is inexcusable.” Further, he had first stated that, many unarmed people, including civilians, members of the media, first responders, and children were killed. Calling for an inquiry to establish the facts after the facts have already been presumed seems ingenuous.

Presumably, after establishing the facts as accurately as possible, two objectives of an independent investigation would determine whether Israeli use of force was excessive and whether the use of live ammunition was appropriate, let alone excusable or inexcusable. It is difficult to argue that an independent investigation is needed to “establish the facts” when two of the major “facts” have already been presumed.

Though, Justin’s statements seemed to run contrary to his previous support for Israel that had met such wide criticisms from critics of Israel, this statement was suddenly welcomed by his previous critics. However, the issue is not whether the statement was justified, but whether the statement as distributed begged the question. And that question is a legitimate one without any presumptions.

However, the original statement is clearer and more relevant compared to either the critiques or the defences of it. “CJPME [a defender of the statement] looks forward to watching the Canadian government continue to ensure that Israel is held to account for its human rights abuses and violations of international law.” CJPME does not ask that Hamas be held to account for its human rights abuses and violations of international law. Neither does the Prime Minister’s statement ask that of Israel. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau never claimed that either human rights laws or international humanitarian law were breached. He primarily called for an investigation.

Are these bystanders, who went from severe critics of Trudeau to defenders, now guilty of distorting what he said? Further, they do not indicate what international law was allegedly breached let alone applicable, though in other writings they do make those references. Nor do they indicate in his defence how human rights norms are applicable to a situation of international conflict. They simply presume they are.

Critics, on the other hand, focused on the bias of the statement because it omitted any explicit reference to Hamas. In the case of Hamas, Trudeau’s criticism was implied rather than direct in including the word “incitement.” Further, any Hamas responsibility itself had actually been indirect for the demonstrations were ostensibly organized by a civil society group. Third, highlighting Hamas by the critics only emphasized that the united Palestinian leadership in Gaza had emphasized the peaceful nature of the protests. Fourth, the criticisms of Trudeau ignored that the overwhelming numbers of demonstrators were involved in peaceful protests. Finally, on this occasion, there was little evidence that I could find that Hamas used innocent civilians as shields in the violent conflict.

The issue was not that Israel had lost Canada’s support when its security was threatened. That has been and remains unequivocal. The Canadian government supports Israel and its right to defend itself. The issue was whether and to what degree Israel, in that defence, had injured or killed innocents and did so to such an extent that norms of international law were breached.

A more appropriate response of Jewish organizations might have included the following:

1. Jews in Canada have been proud of the Canadian government’s defence of the right of Israel to defend itself.
2. Jews in Canada also recognize that Prime Minister Trudeau cannot be expected to defend Israel if some Israeli actions appear to be inappropriate.
3. Canadian Jews welcome Trudeau’s call for an independent inquiry and can assure our fellow Canadians that the IDF does conduct independent inquiries when actions by the IDF may appear to go amiss.
4. All Canadians, including all Jews, are proud of the humanitarian work of Dr. Tarek Loubani and hope that he was not involved in militant political as well as humanitarian work. We express our concern for his injuries and wish him a speedy recovery. We are also convinced that an independent IDF inquiry will reveal whether Dr. Loubani’s leg wounds were intentional or not, and, if intentional, why.
5. We are also confident that the independent inquiries already underway by the IDF will establish that the widely reported charges of use of excessive force are unjustified and that the use of live ammunition did not contravene the norms of just war.
6. We are also pleased that only a small minority of those killed – the collateral damage – were non-militants.
7. We agree with Prime Minister Trudeau’s call for an end to violence and his support for a two-state solution through direct negotiations and mutual agreements, contrary to the objectives of Hamas in general and of the Gazan Political actions more recently. The latter undermine that goal and instead continue to aim for the elimination of the Jewish state.

One seems forced to conclude that the organized Jewish community is no better at engaging in a media war than the Israeli government. The next blog takes up the latter issue.

Tomorrow: 2 (a) The Media War: Effects

I cannot comment on the recent events in Gaza in one blog. Or even two. I will write a series. But I first have to make abundantly clear that these are not op-eds. The vast majority of the material on the Gaza clashes have been op-eds of various types. This series is intended to be an analysis of what happened, the context, the motives and the significance. The initial focus on Canada is merely an entry point. My current intention is to write six blogs, but, as with today, I may not be able to fit the topic in a single blog. In that case, I will divide the blog into (a) and (b).

The planned blogs are:

1. Gaza 2018: Introduction

(a) Gaza 2018: Canadian Responses

(b) A Preliminary Evaluation

2. Gaza 2018: The Media War

(a) Responses

(b) Emotive Appeals

(c) Jewish Handwringing

3. Gaza 2018: The War on the Ground – Casualties
4. Gaza 2018: Political Effects
5. Gaza 2018: Human Rights
6. Gaza 2018: International Norms

The clashes formally began on 30 March 2018 and large demonstrations were held every Friday subsequently for six weeks with the intention of culminating in a million-strong march in mid-May to coincide with Israel’s 70th Independence Day, the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem and Nakba Day. Protesters were killed each week, mostly by live ammunition from Israeli snipers. The numbers killed and maimed more than doubled in the 14 May demonstration when 62 were killed on that day alone. On 16 May 2018, Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement on the violence in the Gaza Strip:

“Canada deplores and is gravely concerned by the violence in the Gaza Strip that has led to a tragic loss of life and injured countless people. We are appalled that Dr. Tarek Loubani, a Canadian citizen, is among the wounded – along with so many unarmed people, including civilians, members of the media, first responders, and children.

“We are doing everything we can to assist Dr. Loubani and his family, and to determine how a Canadian citizen came to be injured. We are engaging with Israeli officials to get to the bottom of these events.

“Reported use of excessive force and live ammunition is inexcusable. It is imperative we establish the facts of what is happening in Gaza. Canada calls for an immediate independent investigation to thoroughly examine the facts on the ground – including any incitement, violence, and the excessive use of force.

“Canada stands ready to assist in such an endeavour. We will work closely with our international partners and through international institutions to address this serious situation.”

Canada was not the only government to call for an independent investigation. British Prime Minister Theresa May and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also called for an immediate independent investigation. In response, The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the advocacy agent of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, distributed the following:

“We are deeply disappointed the government’s statement ignores Hamas’ direct responsibility for recent violence on the Israel-Gaza border. This contradicts the government’s long-stated position that, as a close ally and fellow liberal democracy, Israel can count on Canada’s support when its security is threatened. It also disregards Hamas’ claim today that 50 of 62 fatalities in the latest attempts to breach the border were Hamas members.

Hamas has left Israel no choice but to use force to protect the tens of thousands of Israelis who live close to Gaza. We are outraged and saddened that Hamas is again using civilian human shields. For Israelis and the Jewish community, Palestinian casualties are painful tragedies. For Hamas, Palestinian casualties are sickening public relations achievements. Shifting the blame to Israel risks encouraging Hamas to further fuel violence, make peace harder to reach, and impose additional hardships on Gazans – who are the primary victims of Hamas’ tactics.”

Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) also expressed its disappointment in: “the strong and unbalanced statement issued by Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. The prime minister’s statement does not condemn Hamas for inciting violence and its armed struggle to invade Israel. Hamas, recognized by Canada as a terrorist group, is determined to enter Israel in order to harm civilians by breaching the security fence and through tunnels.

“While we despair about loss of life, Canada should steadfastly condemn Hamas for inciting violence and for attempting to enter a sovereign nation to carry out terrorism. It’s disappointing that our prime minister did not condemn Hamas in his statement,’ said Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of FSWC.

“US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told the Security Council yesterday: ‘Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border?…No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.’

“Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said at yesterday’s UN Security Council Meeting: ‘Hamas has committed war crimes not only against Israeli civilians but also against its own people – turning them into human shields for their own cynical gain. Every casualty that has resulted from the recent violence is a victim of Hamas’s war crimes.’

“Israel shares Canada’s values of freedom, democracy and human rights. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies will continue promoting a peaceful conclusion to this conflict, including a two-state solution. We look to Canada to be an honest broker in this process and to support the safety and security of Israeli citizens.”

On the other hand, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) issued the following statement:

“Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) supports Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement on Gaza. Yesterday, PM Trudeau expressed grave concern with the outbreak of violence against unarmed Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, and called for an ‘immediate independent investigation to thoroughly examine facts on the ground – any incitement, violence and the use of excessive force.’ ‘CJPME calls on the government to keep its promise to Canadians in investigating Israel’s actions in Gaza.’

“Over the past several weeks, thousands of unarmed Palestinians in Gaza have been injured, and many killed by Israeli sharpshooters, simply for protesting Israel’s violations of international law. Yesterday, Trudeau finally broke his silence, calling Israel’s use of excessive force and live ammunition ‘inexcusable.’ Indeed, Israel’s shootings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza are ‘inexcusable,’ as they constitute a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the targeting of civilians. CJPME points out that the Prime Minister’s statement comes amidst the shooting of Dr.Tarek Loubani, a Canadian citizen that was providing medical treatment to Palestinians injured by Israeli snipers in Gaza.

“CJPME President Thomas Woodley remarked, ‘We are happy that the Trudeau government has finally condemned the shooting of Dr. Loubani and dozens of other innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Like many Canadians, we have been appalled for a long-time by Israel’s grave human rights abuses against Palestinians, and Canada’s muted reactions.’  CJPME looks forward to watching the Canadian government continue to ensure that Israel is held to account for its human rights abuses and violations of international law.

“Since March 30^th, Palestinians have held a series of weekly protests at Gaza’s border with Israel, calling for the right to return to their homeland. CJPME notes that so far, Israeli sharpshooters have killed over 100 unarmed Palestinians, and injured thousands of others. CJPME calls on the government to ensure that Canadians receive an explanation as to why a Canadian doctor would be targeted by the Israeli military. Moreover, CJPME calls on PM Trudeau to keep his promise to Canadians and follow through with an immediate independent investigation into Israel’s violent actions in Gaza.”

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu phoned Trudeau after the latter issued his statement on Gaza and, in addition to defending Israeli actions generally, stated unequivocally the following:

1. Israel would not cooperate with an international investigation;
2. The IDF would investigate the wounding of Dr. Tarek Loubani by conducting an independent and impartial fact-finding inquiry into the incident.
3. Earlier, the IDF had already launched two independent investigations, the first by the Southern Command on those killed on or before 5 April, and a second later by Brigadier General Moti Baruch.

Most of the international community rejected an IDF investigation of its own forces as not independent. Given past performances, Israel could not conceive of any investigation under the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as independent either.

Without taking any stand one way or the other yet on Trudeau’s statement, the following at the very least can be agreed upon:

1. Most (not all) people, including most Israelis and supporters of Israel, are appalled and upset at the number killed (over 100) and the very large number of civilians wounded (from 2,500 to 3,500 if those who inhale tear gas are also considered injured).
2. Justin Trudeau’s focus was on the wounded, not those killed, presumably, or at least possibly, because of the 62 killed in the enormous casualty rate on 14 May 2018, according to a Hamas spokesperson, 50 were Hamas members; 3 were members of an even more radical faction of Palestinians. These figures are consistent with the earlier analysis of the Meir Amit Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre of the 40 previously killed: 13 were members of Palestinian military and security organizations and 19 were members of Hamas. In other words, with some minor discrepancies, the vast majority of those killed as claimed by both sides were militants.
3. According to Loubani, himself a descendant of Palestinian refugees and an emergency physician at Ontario’s London Health Sciences Centre and at Shifa Hospital in Gaza, he was wearing his green scrubs; members of his medical team around him were wearing high-visibility medical vests.
4. 18 other medical team members wearing clearly identifiable vests were also reportedly wounded on 14 May 2018; Musa Abuhassanin, supposedly another member of the team wearing the bright medical vest and, the first to treat Loubani, was, according to Loubani, a “great guy”; Abuhassanin was shot in the chest later that day and died while allegedly treating another wounded Palestinian. Israeli sources and B’nai Brith Canada have both offered “proof” in a poster released by Hamas and data from the Gaza-based Palestinian Information Centre that Musa Abuhassanin, aka Musa Jabr Abu Hasanin, was a Hamas militant, a 36-year-old Captain of the Gazan Civil Defence and not simply an innocent paramedic as Loubani claimed.
5. Justin Trudeau said that the wounded consisted of “many unarmed people, including civilians, members of the media, first responders, and children.” Among the over 100 dead over the six-week course of the protests, there were evidently 24 “children” between 14-16 years of age killed; this number included a 14-year-old girl, Wissal Abu Ermana, killed while trying to cut through the security fence with wire cutters, and Mariam Marouf, the daughter of Hassan Marouf, following airborne raids and a missile attack by the IDF targeting Marouf in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza who led a group of armed militants who had allegedly been shooting machine gun fire into Israel.
6. Trudeau seemed to be correct that the vast majority in the protest were unarmed.
7. Two journalists, Yaser Murtaja and Ahma d Abu Hussein, were killed: the first died on the day of the first protest on 30 March; the second was wounded and died on 25 April 2018.
8. Trudeau did not call for an international investigation but for an independent one and left open the possibility that an Israeli-based inquiry would be independent.
9. It seems incorrect that Trudeau omitted any reference to Hamas, though the reference seemed indirect when he asked that the investigation include incitement as well as violence and excessive use of force; however, Justin Trudeau’s criticism was stronger than that of Bernie Sanders who insisted that there was plenty of “blame to go around” for the situation in Gaza and specifically targeted Hamas and other regional leaders as well as the leaders of the Gulf states while chastising Israel.
10. The call for a fact-finding mission seems at least odd since it followed a statement of moral judgment based on a presumption of fact seemingly clearly aimed at Israel.

Tomorrow: 1. (b) A Preliminary Evaluation of the Canadian Response

There are just under 7,000 Canadians who have received the award since 1967. Probably only about 2500 of them are still alive. You wonder what you did to receive such an honour. The depiction they read out states:

“Howard Adelman’s work on behalf of refugees embodies the Canadian spirit of inclusivity and generosity. Professor Emeritus at York University, he helped catalyze Canadians to privately sponsor thousands of refugees from Southeast Asia when he founded Operation Lifeline in 1979. From those efforts, he later created the Centre for Refugee Studies, the leading research centre in North America for forced migration studies. In addition, he is also recognized for his writings on the Rwandan genocide.”

itations are, of necessity, simplifications. The above was changed at my suggestion from the original draft citation that I had been sent. In that draft, it said that I laid the groundwork for the private sponsorship of refugees. I did not. As I wrote, “The Liberal and then Tory governments, the civil servants in the Department of Immigration and, in the private sector, the Mennonite Church and the Christian Reformed Church, did that job. They deserve those accolades, not I.” This is not modesty; it is the truth.

I was pleased that the draft had been changed to indicate that I was a symbol of a Canadian trait – the celebration of diversity and inclusivity. I am very proud of that. But there were so many others who worked for years on behalf of refugees, such as the Solgers in Hamilton and Professor Rajagopal. I did serve as a catalyst even though there many far more important players, including many civil servants such as Mike Molloy. I was also sorry that, because of strictures on length, they did not reference my other work on ethnic conflict and early warning.

Below, please find the picture of myself with Julie Payette, the Governor-General.

One does not have to be modest to recognize the illustrious company in which one has been included. The appointees include scientists, musicians, politicians, artists, athletes, business people, film stars, benefactors, and others. For example, Margaret MacMillan, my colleague as a Senior Fellow at Massey College and pictured below, was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in last week’s investiture ceremony. She is a world-renowned modern international historian whose books, like her recent one, The War that Ended the Peace, demonstrated what a turning point in history WWI was.  The fact that her histories are readable by the layman is an important bonus.

At dinner, we sat with Marguerite Mendell, an economist at Concordia at the School of Community and Public Affairs who in 2013 was awarded Prix Marie-Andrée-Bertrand. As David Lametti (LaSalle—Émard—Verdun) said in Parliament that morning, Mendell challenged the free market model in favour of a social economy model for economics that tries to reconcile market economic activity with social justice. She has written essays and volumes in the tradition of Albert Hirschman (whom we discussed at length since she knew him and my son, Jeremy, an historian at Princeton University, wrote a biography on him). She is also an expert on Karl Polanyi and co-founded the Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy at Concordia. She has been an activist, not only in the effort to reduce poverty and foster social inclusion through innovative policy tools, but in creating institutions like the Chantier de l’économie sociale Trust. She has also worked tirelessly to free prisoners of conscience, such as Homa Hoodfar who spent over 100 days in solitary confinement in an Iran prison perhaps for having written on sexual diversity in Muslim contexts. My wife sat beside her husband, a very prominent Montreal lawyer in his own right.

Hoodbar had been released in Muscat, Oman. Ironically, our other dinner companions were from Oman. Another Senior Fellow at Massey College, Dr Abdallah Daar, was raised in status to become an Officer of the Order of Canada. Cross appointed in surgery (he noticed the traces of edema in my feet, but he is most famous for his work on organ transplant immunology), he is a Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto and researcher at the Toronto General Research Institute. He is also Director of Ethics and Commercialization at the Sandra Rotman Centre of the University Health Network and was the founding Chair of the Board of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases and an adviser to the UN. Internationally renowned for his promotion of global public health initiatives and research into non-communicable disease, he also played an important role in creating Grand Challenges Canada.

His wife, who sat beside me, was certainly no slouch either. Dr. Shahina Daar is a very accomplished scientist in her own right. She has authored and co-authored numerous scientific papers. When I got home, I read two recent ones, a paper on “Hypogonadism in male thalassemia major patients: Pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment,” that dealt with the failure of pubertal growth, delay or absence of sexual development, infertility and sexual dysfunction due to hypogonadism and defective spermatogenesis. Another dealt with β-thalassemia, a hemoglobinopathy that affect transfusions. She is not just a renowned haematologist. We also had a minor tiff over Kofi Annan. Most importantly, she wore a traditional Omani long dress that was one of the beautiful dresses that I had ever seen.

There were also lighter moments – as when my grandchildren and one of my sons thought this was one of the greatest events they had ever attended, not because of what I received, but because they could take a picture standing next to the NHL legend and all-time hockey great, Mark Messier, who was made an Officer of the Order, not only for his hockey skills, but for his years of charitable work.

There were very much lighter moments, as when Julie Payette spontaneously called up two recipients to perform, Howard Shore, the celebrated composer of concert works and film scores, including the score for Lord of the Rings, and the famous Newfoundlander and folk music populizer, the lead singer of the Great Big Sea, Alan Doyle.

IT WAS A TERRIFIC DAY!