The black flag has already been raised
This is a war that is devoid of morality even before its first shot is fired, devoid of strategy and devoid of public support. Anyone who fights this war and comes out of it safely will have to bear this burden for the rest of their life. They can’t say they didn’t know.
By Moran Sharir • Translated by Sol Salbe
Israel is embarking on a new war. It has a name, it has goals, it has a certificate of approval from the Cabinet. The only thing its missing is moral justification. The new war will inevitably endanger (and probably kill) of the Israeli abductees held in Gaza. The new war will lead to unnecessary deaths of IDF soldiers and Physical & psychological injuries that will leave a mark on the country for generations to come. The new war will not improve Israel’s military-political situation. The new war will continue the wholesale killing, starvation and torture of innocent Gazans.
Yes, we have the right to talk about the killing and the famine in Gaza, without apologising and without fear of being perceived as “leftists” who support terrorism. The actual supporters of terrorism are the ones who have sold their loyalty to Qatar for money. We must not apologise for moral conscience. It is imperative to talk about the war. The media in general (not Haaretz) makes no mention of the starvation and killing in Gaza. They’re hiding from us. Like on Russian or Syrian television, we are not being told what the army is doing on our behalf.
The Iron Swords war, which was born as a justified response to the October 7 attack, gradually lost its justification and reasoning as it was dragged out for irrelevant reasons. We had a year and a half to eliminate Hamas and remove it from the Gaza Strip. That didn’t happen and it won’t happen any time soon. The war that the IDF will soon embark on is not a continuation of Iron Swords but a fiasco from the start. If Iron Swords was born of a sin of Hamas, “Chariots of Gideon” is an Israeli sin from the beginning. An immoral and unjustified war whose motives are unacceptable. Those who send soldiers into battle are bloodthirsty pyromaniacs, devoid of any care for human life in Israel or Gaza.
This war has two possible endings: an Israeli withdrawal under international pressure after the loss of dozens of soldiers and abductees and the killing of thousands of Gazans; Or military rule and civilian settlement in Gaza. Both of these possibilities are foolhardy and morally tainted. Anyone who fights this war and comes out of it safely will have to bear this burden for the rest of their life. They can’t say they didn’t know.
Many soldiers are aware of this, and they don’t want to participate in the forthcoming calamity. Contrary to the predictions of right-wing activist Amit Segal [Channel 12 political commentator], who fantasised about a 102 per cent turn out 0f fighters who’d joyfully storm into the Rafah death traps, the numbers are much lower. The fighters are fatigued, exhausted. They have gone through a lot of horrors in the past year and a half. With all the love and loyalty and uncomfortableness about letting down their mates in the unit — they are now in a war for keeping their families together and maintaining their livelihood. There is a tremendous lack of trust in the goals of the war and in the motives of the leaders. Why would anyone risk their lives so that abductees would be killed; or for Itamar Ben-Gvir’s TikTok, for Bezalel Smotrich’s bloodthirst or so that Netanyahu could complete a term?
This is a war that is devoid of morality even before its first shot is fired, devoid of strategy and devoid of public support. Whoever decided on it is a national criminal and whoever carries it out is a collaborator.
