Israel and Genocide, Part 1: “Genghis Khan With a Computer”?

MIGHT ISRAEL BE an evil nation? It is a question I admit to asking myself. Am I on the wrong side of history? Liberals tend to question themselves — they question their ideas and their allies. I have always considered Israel a friend. Might I be wrong?

Well-meaning people have been wrong before. Peter Handke, a writer whose early work was important to me, somehow convinced himself that Slobodan Milosevic was falsely accused of war crimes in Bosnia.

Israel and Genocide, Part 2: Murder by Numbers

THE TOTAL NUMBER of Israelis and Palestinians killed, in over half a century of conflict, is approximately 15,000. This includes all of the fatalities on both sides. The great majority of these have been armed enemy combatants.

I urge you to check these numbers for yourself. They are academically sound — we have nowhere near the uncertainty that we have regarding, for instance, Stalinist Russia. 

Israel and Genocide, Part 3: A Matter of Lies and Death

GENGIS KHAN IS in fact an interesting choice. He is not just any murderous figure. Even among the most homicidal rulers, he occupies a special position. We know that Stalin admired him immensely, and for good reason: Until Stalin arrived, Genghis Khan was almost certainly the most prolific murderer in history. He may still be. If you discount the famine under Mao, Genghis Khan may be responsible for more deaths than Mao and Stalin combined: some say 40 million people.

Israel and Genocide, Part 4: Hatred Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry

THE GENOCIDE LIBEL can be innocent. I truly believe this. Many people simply do not have the relevant information. Not everyone can be expected to do historical research, and when quasi-respectable historians promote a lie, it is hardly a sin to believe them. An appalling number of decent people truly believe that Israel is committing genocide.

Should Israelis Care About Innocent Creatures?

Jews aren’t allowed to worry about their pets suffering. That would be shallow. In particular, Jews aren’t allowed to worry about their pets being hurt by Hamas, because that would be truly shallow. God knows, Israelis deserve to be targeted, so if Hamas causes their beloved cats or dogs to suffer, that’s just fine.

Though I find this premise appalling, it seems to be the conventional wisdom.

Sorry, Dr. King Did Not Consider You An Enlightened Anti-Zionist. Deal With It.

IT IS PAINFUL to be called an anti-Semite by a deceased saint. Yet the dead speak, even when we wish they’d keep their thoughts to themselves. There is a tremendous effort to deny that Martin Luther King ever said these words: “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism.”

Unfortunately, he did.