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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   35324 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 16, 2025

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Which is to say, Israel postures like it is responding to an existential threat, but it isn't.

Hamas alone does not present an existential threat to Israel, agreed. But for most of Israel's history, they weren't just facing a threat from Palestinians, but from the entire Arab world; and even today, as little as two years ago they were facing a combined threat from Hamas, Hezbollah, Qatar and Iran. I think it's fair to say these four belligerents combined constitute an existential threat to Israel.

I think it's fair to say these four belligerents combined constitute an existential threat to Israel.

I think this is true, but only because Iran is on that list. Hamas and Hezbollah are occasionally deadly nuisances, but even that is substantially attributable to Iranian support. The actual existential threat to Israel is a nuclear-armed Iran, and that is not a problem remedied by bombing Gazan apartment buildings.

Yeah, that's fair.

There is no law of war which says you can't make war unless you're faced with an existential threat. Israel is not obliged to merely ignore rocket attacks (which in fact they were doing), let alone raids, simply because those attacks do not present an existential threat.

Proportionality is a principle in the conduct of war, as are injunctions against reprisals and collective punishment.

Israel is not obliged to merely ignore rocket attacks (which in fact they were doing), let alone raids, simply because those attacks do not present an existential threat.

I didn't suggest that they were. I am suggesting that Israel is pursuing what amount to reprisals against Palestinian civilians.

If Hamas was an existential threat to Israel, matters might be different, but Hamas isn't an existential threat and is exceedingly unlikely to become one. (It still wouldn't justify reprisals, but it would at least change the calculations on proportional use of force).

Proportionality is a principle in the conduct of war, as are injunctions against reprisals and collective punishment.

It doesn't mean what you imply it means. Proportionality does not mean you must ignore attacks if they aren't too damaging; it means when making your own attacks, the expected collateral damage must be justified by the military advantage expected to be gained.

Israel, of course, claims it is not engaging in reprisals. But even if they were reprisals against civilians are not entirely forbidden by treaties Israel and the US have agreed to; Israel never signed and the US never ratified Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions. (the UK did ratify that protocol, but notably with the reservation that attacks on civilians were justified as reprisals if the enemy committed such attacks first)

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