Why Israel’s Brutality to Palestinians Endangers itself and Jews Worldwide

The extreme "brutality” against Palestinians in Gaza by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after Hamas-led armed incursions on October 7, 2023 will not only endanger the national security of Israel (and of its main supporter, the U. S.) but also the lives of Jews worldwide in another rising tide of anti-Semitism around the world. Is it wise for Israel to trade short-term gains for long-term losses?

First Consequence of Israel's Brutality — "Living Dangerously in an Ever Unsafe Neighborhood”

The first important consequence of Israel's brutality to Palestinians concerns what I call "living dangerously in an ever unsafe neighborhood.”

In only a few weeks after the Hamas-led armed incursions (which killed about 1,200 individuals), Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reduced "vast areas” of Gaza to "rubbles,” with more than 100,000 buildings destroyed or damaged in that small strip alone (as reported by the BBC on December 1), about 19,000 civilians killed (two-thirds of whom are women and children) and about 51,000 injured in that short span of time alone -- as well as "dire shortages” of food, fuel, electricity, water, and medicine for an alarming "83% of the population,” who have been displaced and have nowhere to go, resulting in a horrific "humanitarian crisis” on a scale not seen since WWII. Since mid-December (2023), Gaza has been facing growing "starvation” and "diseases” everywhere.

This utter destruction is so "brutal” to the Palestinians and so "disproportional” in scale, due to the "most asymmetric” power difference between the strong (Israel) and the weak (Hamas), that, for the first time in more than half a century, the United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres had to invoke "Article 99” (of the UN Charter) on December 6, 2023, to bring "urgent attention” to the "Security Council” on the "humanitarian crisis” in the Gaza strip, on a scale not seen since the utter destruction of European cities in WWII.

Thus is the "callous logic” of "Israel's right to defend itself,” which has dominated Western mass media, with little attention to the "Palestinian right to defend themselves” under Israeli occupation (or what ex-President Jimmy Carter called a type of "apartheid,” or what other critics called an "open-air prison”) for decades without a "state,” while Israel enjoys its statehood since 1948, with additional ("Occupied Territories”) since the 1967 Six-Day War.

This "horrific” humanitarian crisis in the Israel-Hamas War leads to the grave consequence of "war crimes” committed by IDF (which have been ignored in Western mass media). Clive Baldwin, Senior Legal Adviser at Human Rights Watch, in a recent article for the OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Services (published on October 30, 2023), identified at least 5 "war crimes” committed by IDF.

1. War Crime on Collateral Damage -- as Baldwin wrote, "Israel has continuously bombarded the densely populated Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million….In some cases, bombs have turned entire blocks and even large parts of neighborhoods to rubble.” This violates one guiding principle of international humanitarian law, namely, the "principle of proportionality,” which prohibits "excessive” collateral damage to "civilians” in military campaigns.
2. War Crime on the Use of Chemical Weapons -- as Baldwin wrote, "Israeli forces have used white phosphorus [supplied by the U. S.], a chemical that ignites when in contact with oxygen, causing horrific and severe burns, on densely populated neighborhoods. White phosphorus can burn down to the bone, and burns to 10% of the human body are often fatal.” This violates "Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons,” against "incendiaries or the use of other substances to attack civilian populations,” even though Israel has so far refused to be a "signatory” to the protocol, as reported by Areesha Lodhi for Al Jazeera on October 13, 2023.
3. War Crime on Collective Punishment -- as Baldwin wrote, "Israel has also engaged in the collective punishment of Gaza's population through cutting off food, water, electricity, and fuel. This is a war crime, as is willfully blocking humanitarian relief from reaching civilians in need.” As ex-President Barack Obama pointed out on November 4, many of the civilians "have nothing to do with what Hamas did.” Yet, in a report by Isabel Debre and Wafaa Shurafa on December 14, 2023 for AP, "the Israeli military has rounded up…Palestinians across the northern Gaza Strip, separating families and forcing men to strip to their underwear before trucking some to a detention camp on the beach, where they spent hours, in some cases days, subjected to hunger and cold, according to human rights activists, distraught relatives and released detainees themselves.” And, in another report titled "Israeli Troops Filmed Setting Fire to Food Supplies in Gaza” on December 13, 2023, "Israeli soldiers have been filmed setting fire to food supplies and rummaging through private homes in Gaza.”
4. War Crime on Mass Displacement -- as Baldwin wrote, "there's also concern about Israel ordering the displacement of much of Gaza's civilian population [at the alarming rate of 83%].” This violates another guiding principle of international humanitarian law, which restricts "mass evacuation” except in very limited circumstances (e.g., the "right to return,” the "commitment” by the invading force to "rebuild” the destroyed area, etc.), but Israel has so far made no commitment whatsoever to rebuild Gaza and no guarantee to the Palestinians for their quick and safe return. On the contrary, Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu is already planning to create a "buffer zone” along the border with Gaza by emptying the Palestinian population there (or forcing them to leave permanently), in violation of international humanitarian law.
5. War Crime on Settlements in Occupied Territories -- as Baldwin wrote, "the Israeli occupying authorities have committed and continue to commit other international crimes,” like "West Bank settlements” and other settlements elsewhere (by destroying Palestinian homes and/or moving them to other locations).

It is important to stress that international humanitarian law, like many rules of law, is "non-reciprocal,” meaning that, as Baldwin wrote, "they apply irrespective of what the other side has done. Violations -- such as deliberately targeting civilians or imposing collective punishment -- can never be justified by claiming that another party [like Hamas] has committed violations, or that there are power imbalances or other injustices.” In other words, as the old saying goes, "two wrongs do not make a right.”

It is therefore not surprising that the subsequent anger in the Arab world against this Israeli "brutality” (as shown in the 5 "war crimes” above) is so widespread that even "moderate” governments in the region (like Jordan, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and the like) who have or want to maintain friendly relations with Israel find it hard to remain silent, however much they may have "second thoughts” about Hamas privately.

Henry Kissinger, shortly before his death on November 29, 2023, expressed his disillusion with the "two-state solution” in his last interview, precisely because he saw the subsequent danger that Israel would face in the aftermath of this war, with unsafe neighbors in the south (like Hamas in Gaza) and in the north (like Hezbollah in Lebanon), both backed by hostile states in the East (like Iran). But Kissinger allowed his Jewishness to blind him from recognizing the "root cause” of this "unsafe neighborhood” lying in the "self-defeating” policy of Israel's "brutal” occupation and subjugation of the Palestinians for decades in the Gaza strip and the West Bank.

As long as Israel and its main supporter, the U. S., refuse to accept this "self-defeating” policy of "brutality” (as shown in the 5 "war crimes” above), there will be no peace in the region, so Israel will continue to live "dangerously” (or even more so in the aftermath of this war). Is this what Israel "really” wants for its long-term security in the region?

This should not be surprising either, since both Israel and the U. S. have a "violent” colonial legacy in their foundation; the former had the First Arab-Israeli War (with the expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine in 1949), "Occupied Territories” in the 1967 Six-Day War (including Gaza and the West Bank), the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 5 Israel-Hamas wars since 2006, and so on; and the latter had its American War of Independence in 1776, the almost extermination of Native Indians, black slavery, the annexation of Hawaii, the conquest of territories (e.g., California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico) from Mexico, and "endless wars” since then.

This violent consequence will remain so — until there is a new world power (like China or else) which is willing to play a more "impartial” role as a peace broker (meaning "not favoring any side”) for the region in the "Asian century” (as already predicted in my 2007 book titled "Beyond the World of Titans, and the Remaking of World Order”).

Second Consequence of Israel's Brutality — "Living Dangerously in a World of Recurrent Anti-Semitism"

The second important consequence of Israel's brutality to Palestinians concerns what I call "living dangerously in a world of recurrent anti-Semitism.”

The violation of international humanitarian law by IDF (as shown in the 5 "war crimes” above) has broader implications outside the Middle East, as more and more countries show increasing outrage over Israel's "brutality,” which often spins off into recurrent "anti-Semitism” endangering the lives of Jews around the world.

Already, different countries have showed their outrage in different ways. For instance, in Latin America alone, Chile, Colombia and Honduras withdrew their ambassadors from Israel; Argentina, Brazil and Mexico condemned Israel's brutality; Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have long criticized Israel's treatment of the Palestinians for decades; and Bolivia cut off ties with Israel completely.

Then, on December 12, 2023, "the U. N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly…to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza in a strong demonstration of global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war. The vote also shows the growing isolation of the United States and Israel” on the world stage, with "153 members in favor, 10 against [including the U. S. and Israel] and 23 abstentions,” as reported by Edith Lederer for AP. This vote came after the U. S. cast the "sole” veto against the U. N. Security Council resolution calling for a temporary cease-fire only a few days earlier (on December 8), which angered so many other U. N. members that they initiated the second vote, this time in the General Assembly on December 12.

This growing isolation of the U. S. and Israel also "resulted in an alarming wave of anti-Semitism around the world, with a sharp increase of about 500 percent in hate crimes targeting Jews and Israelis,” as reported recently on ynet. news.com, as "`Jews have not felt so threatened since the Holocaust,' says Holocaust survivor Gabriela Karin, 92, born in Bratislava and currently living in Los Angeles.”

It does not help, even when Western societies have to cope with "Jewish influence or control” in different ways (like "campaign contributions,” "alumni donations,” "media ownership,” etc.). For example, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, himself a Jewish Democrat, called on the U Penn President Liz Magill to resign, after she, together with Harvard University President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, refused to say at a congressional hearing on December 5 whether "calling for the genocide of Jews,” in the context of the Israel-Hamas war, would violate a university's code of conduct, or alternatively, would be part of "free speech” instead — just as one Jewish university donor, Ross Stevens, threatened to withdraw a $100 million donation unless Magill resigned. Under pressure from the outside (like this "Jewish influence”), Magill resigned on December 9.

But the "double standard” behind this forced resignation (due to "Jewish influence”) — that is, to condemn "anti-Semitism” (against Jews) but to be silent on "Islamophobia” (against Palestinians) — reflects a wider phenomenon of "authoritarianism” in liberal democracies (as already predicted in my 2007 book titled "The Rise of Authoritarian Liberal Democracy”). And this only inflames the growing sentiment of anti-Semitism around the world; already, even in major countries like the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Britain, France, Germany, South Africa, Russia, and China, there have been a sharp rise of "anti-Semitism” (as reported by Reuters on October 31, 2023).

Individuals of Jewish descent around the world now live in fear, in this new round of anti-Semitism, in light of the 5 "war crimes” committed by IDF in the Israel-Hamas war. Is this what Israel "really” wants for the long-term well-being of Jews around the world?

The point here is that the recurrent cycle regarding the rise and fall of anti-Semitism does not occur randomly, for no historical reason -- and to understand this is already half of the problem solved.

Conclusion: The Curse of "Extremist Emotion,” and its Harm to "Human Security”

Israel's "brutality” to Palestinians (as shown in the 5 "war crimes” above) is based on an "extremist” form of emotion in reaction to Hamas-led armed incursions on October 7, 2023. But this is only the "tip of an iceberg,” as it is well-known that many Israelis have long regarded the "Palestinians” as "human animals” — and former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman recently spoke of Palestinians as "horrible, inhuman animals” in a TV interview with Britain's Sky News channel in late October, 2023.

Neve Gordon, an Israeli professor of law at Queen Mary University in London, recently explained to Anadolu on October 23, 2023 that "Israel is working hard to legitimize the war crimes it commits” in Gaza by using a "dehumanization” strategy to portray the "Palestinians” as "human animals.” After all, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant even said: "We are fighting against animals” — while "comparisons of Palestinians to `rats or snakes'” are often heard on "Israeli social media accounts.” As Gordon wrote, "Palestinians are presented as barbarian and as primitive and as people who do not understand the laws of war, people that do not make distinctions between civilians and combatants, and so forth, and therefore they are immoral, while Israel claims that it tries to protect civilians” (but in reality does just the opposite to the Palestinians).

In this sense, Israel's "brutality” to Palestinians is a "curse of extremist emotion,” which is not rational in policy evaluation; therefore, for this reason, it ends up being "self-defeating” by "harming” its own security (and also the security of its main supporter, the U. S.), as well as the security of Jews worldwide.

It is often said that life is "unfair” to those who are "weak” and suffer from "injustice,” especially in the "lower echelon” of power structure. But this saying is only "half-true,” because injustice (like this) can fight back with a "vengeance” against the "strong” in the "higher” echelon (as shown in the 2 consequences above). This recurrent struggle between the strong and the weak has long been a major historical tension between "hegemonic” structure and its "countervailing forces,” especially (though not exclusively) since the "Age of Western Imperialism,” as already explained in my 1999 book titled "The Future of Human Civilization” and my 2002 book titled "The Future of Capitalism and Democracy.”

About the author:

Dr. Peter Baofu is an American visionary and author of 180 scholarly books and numerous articles (as of July, 2023) to provide 146 visions (theories) of the human future in relation to the mind, nature, society, and culture -- and had been in 133 countries around the world (as of October, 2023) for his global research on humanity, besides knowing 10 languages with different degrees of fluency. His books are listed in top university libraries and national libraries around the world (including the Library of Congress in Washington, D. C.). He was interviewed on television and radio as well as by newspapers around the world about his original ideas and visions of the human future (search for "Peter Baofu” on YouTube). He was a U. S. Fulbright Scholar in the Far East and had taught as a professor at different universities in Western Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, South Asia, North America, and Southeast Asia. He received more than 5 academic degrees, including a Ph. D. from the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), was a summa cum laude graduate, and was awarded the Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key for being at the top of the class in the College of Business Administration, with another student.