Aymann Ismail in Slate:
Hamas’ attack on Israel this weekend—including the indiscriminate murder of Israelis—has led to a spiraling of an already dire situation in the region. The recent declaration of war, and the subsequent military actions in Gaza, has set off a crisis in an already calamitous conflict, particularly for the 2 million Gazans—half of whom are children—who have been living in one of the mostly densely populated places on Earth. The UN already deemed this 25-mile-long area “unlivable” five years ago due to the Israeli blockade. Civilian residents are now facing a “complete siege,” per Israel’s defense minister’s order, including the cutting of electricity and a total blockade on food, water, and fuel. They’re also being bombed in nonstop airstrikes with heavy munitions following the unprecedented incursion into Israel by Hamas, which left a trail of hundreds of innocent Israelis dead, thousands injured, and at least 100 more captured. Meanwhile, rocket attacks continue to set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
To help contextualize and understand what happened this weekend, and the decades before it, I reached out to Peter Beinart, a writer and editor at large of Jewish Currents, a progressive Jewish magazine. I wanted to know how Beinart was feeling as both a Jewish person and a critic of Israel’s far-right government, and what ripple effects he expects from its new war with Gaza. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
More here.