Hamas gets its way

A number of countries have cut off diplomatic relations with Israel; splits have riven the American Jewish community and the Democratic Party; and antisemitic incidents have soared around the world.

In short, Hamas has sowed more chaos, more hatred of Jews and Israel, than it could reasonably have hoped. Indeed, in a haunting echo of the U.S. response to 9/11, which did untold damage to American credibility and to American and Middle Eastern lives and resources, Israel has unleashed its own brutality on non-Hamas Palestinians disproportionate in magnitude to the unspeakable horror that provoked it.

At this point, it may take generations to undo the new levels of hatred the Israeli-Gazan war has spurred. But we as Americans have a responsibility to keep Hamas from getting its way, by pressing our government to call for a ceasefire as well as the return of Hamas’ hostages, and to renew efforts to achieve a two-state solution — a solution that recognizes both Israel’s right to exist and the Palestinians’ right to their own homeland, with a fair and lasting resolution of such related issues as Israel’s unlawful settlements in the West Bank.

Elliot Burg

North Middlesex