Will most likely kick myself later, as I really should know better, but here goes anyway,
First, I am a huge Sam Harris fan – have every one of his books- even though I do often find his hawkish almost watered down Pam Geller ”ish” islamophobia a tad tedious -not to mention his constant support of all things Dershowitz somewhat mystifying, yet understandable as Sam was at Harvard at the same time.
Secondly , I agree that the term genocide is overused in these discussions, is misused and of inappropriate usage.
So, lets break down and scrutinize just a few of the litany of Sam's comments.
Quote SH “What would the Jews do to the Palestinians if they could do anything they wanted?”.........
The implication being that Israel is all powerful and could easily smite the Gazans if it so wished yet it takes the “utmost care” to do as little harm as possible.
We don't condone the actions of South Africa during the apartheid era or of British rule during its time In India . They too did not wipe out the people they were oppressing- yet we do not condone and should not condone abhorrent acts of the oppressors. Here Israel is no different IMO.
Quote SH “The truth is that everything you need to know about the moral imbalance between Israel and her enemies can be understood on the topic of human shields. Who uses human shields? …....
The IDF has also shamefully used Gazan's as human shields and to the best of my knowledge not one IDF soldier has been imprisoned for these illegal acts (war crimes) Sam makes no mention of this even though I”m sure it is well known to him. To expect an improvised army such as Hamas has to stand out from the civilian crowd is simply not possible in such a squalidly tight space. No mater the “Higher scale of Israel's Moral authority” as Sam cites it, This in no way should condone the continued occupation & disproportionately heavy handed shelling,(Dahiya doctrine) that has become the norm.
In the end only when Israel can offer something that is quantifiably a better than "a shitty deal" will there be peace in the region. I have no doubt that Gazans want to live in peace juts as much as their Israeli cousins.
Perhaps the maxim that “if one stops treating people as animals they will stop behaving as animals” can one day come true. I certainly hope so, for everyone’s sake.
Sam, also equates Hamas to ISIS or Al-Qaeda. This is simply untrue. They re all abhorrent, but hardly on the same scale of evil. What did Israel get from its dealings with the PA? Nothing but land grabs and a worse enermy to deal with . Hopefully Israel will not have to face something worse than Hamas, but if history has any lesson, its very likely.
I agree with you Israel has a head and shoulder standing above its neighbours when it comes to “Democracy”. Like every democratic country it too faces democratic problems. Just witness the development of Sahonium Detention facility a few kilometers from Um Al Hitan in the Negev.
These developments by Isreali extremists (Shas party) surly do not make for what a democracy should be and do not bode well for the future.
Lastly the idea that “the international media agencies spoon feed you their one sided stories with a clear and boring narrative” is also well narrated in the Israeli press by such notable and worthy journalists like Amira Hass & Gideon Levy not to mention The human rights groups in Israel like Bet' Selem and others, who daily work at providing a less jaundiced look at what is really going on in the area.
Hope this finds you in good spirits, I wish you and all your loved ones all the best for the future as well as all your Not -so- distant- cousins (Gazans)
Shalom,
Rashad
A nuanced conversation between Sam Harris and andrew sullivan well worthy of anyone’s time.
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/08/14/gazing-at-gaza-a-conversation-with-sam-harris/