Barack Obama’s full statement

It has been 17 days since Hamas launched its horrific attack on Israel, killing more than 1,400 Israeli citizens, including defenseless women, children and the elderly. In the wake of such unspeakable cruelty, the American government and people shared the families’ pain, prayed for the return of their loved ones, and rightly declared their solidarity with the Israeli people.

As I stated in a previous post, Israel has the right to protect its citizens from such unjustified violence, and I fully support President Biden’s call for the United States to support our longtime ally in pursuing Hamas, dismantling its military capabilities, and facilitating the safe return of hundreds of hostages to their families.

But while we support Israel, we must also be clear that how Israel deals with Hamas matters. In particular, it is important, as President Biden has repeatedly emphasized, that Israel’s military strategy respects international law, including laws that seek to prevent, to the extent possible, civilian death or suffering. Upholding these values ​​is important in itself because it is morally just and reflects our belief in the inherent value of all human life. Upholding these values ​​is also vital to building alliances and shaping international opinion, all of which are critical to Israel’s long-term security.

This is an extremely difficult task. War is always tragic, and even the most carefully planned military operations often endanger civilians. As President Biden noted during his recent visit to Israel, the United States itself sometimes fails to live up to our highest values ​​when embroiled in war, and since 9/11 the American government has had no interest in doing so. even heed the advice of our allies when it comes to the measures we have taken to protect ourselves from Al Qaeda. Now, after the systematic massacre of Israeli citizens, a massacre that evokes the darkest memories of the persecution of the Jewish people, it is understandable that many Israelis have demanded that their government do whatever is necessary to eradicate Hamas and ensure that such attacks do not happen again. Moreover, Hamas’s military operations are deeply rooted in the Gaza Strip, and its leaders appear to be deliberately hiding among the civilian population, thereby endangering the very people they claim to represent.

However, the world is closely watching developments in the region, and any Israeli military strategy that ignores human casualties could ultimately backfire. Thousands of Palestinians have already died in the bombing of Gaza, many of them children. Hundreds of thousands were forced to flee their homes. The Israeli government’s decision to cut off food, water and electricity to captive civilians threatens to not only worsen the growing humanitarian crisis; could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, undermine global support for Israel, play into the hands of Israel’s enemies, and undermine long-term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.

It is therefore important that those of us who support Israel at this difficult time develop a strategy that can disable Hamas while minimizing civilian casualties. Israel’s recent decision to allow aid trucks into Gaza, prompted in part by the Biden administration’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy, is an encouraging step, but we must continue to lead the international community to speed the arrival of aid and critical supplies to Gaza’s increasingly desperate population. And while the prospects for future peace seem more distant than ever, we must call on all key players in the region to engage with Palestinian leaders and organizations that recognize Israel’s right to exist to begin to articulate a viable path through which Palestinians can realize their legitimate aspirations . self-determination because it is the best and perhaps only way to achieve the lasting peace and security that most Israeli and Palestinian families desire.

Finally, in an extremely difficult situation in which so many people are suffering and passions are understandably high, we must all do our best to identify our best values ​​rather than our worst fears.

This means actively opposing anti-Semitism in all its forms, everywhere. This means abandoning attempts to minimize the terrible tragedy that the Israeli people have just endured, as well as the morally destructive assumption that any reason can somehow justify the deliberate killing of innocent people.

This means rejecting anti-Muslim, anti-Arab or anti-Palestinian sentiments. This means refusing to conflate all Palestinians with Hamas or other terrorist groups. This means avoiding dehumanizing language about the people of Gaza or downplaying the suffering of Palestinians—whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank—as irrelevant or illegitimate.

This means recognizing that Israel has every right to exist; that the Jewish people have the right to a secure homeland in which they have ancient historical roots; and that there have been instances where previous Israeli governments made significant efforts to resolve the conflict and proposed a path to a two-state solution, efforts that were ultimately rejected by the other side.

This means recognizing that Palestinians have also lived in the disputed territories for generations; that many of them were not only displaced during the formation of Israel, but continue to be forcibly displaced by the settlement movement, which has too often received tacit or explicit support from the Israeli government; while Palestinian leaders who were willing to make concessions in favor of a two-state solution too often had little to show for their efforts; and that people of good will can defend Palestinian rights and oppose certain Israeli government policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip without being anti-Semitic.

But above all, it means that we must decide not to always assume the worst about those with whom we disagree. In times of constant grievances, trolls and misinformation on social media, at a time when so many politicians and attention seekers believe it is more profitable to radiate heat than light, it may be unrealistic to expect respectful dialogue on any topic, let alone an issue where so there’s a lot at stake, and after so much blood has been spilled. But if we care about preserving the possibility of peace, security and dignity for future generations of Israeli and Palestinian children, as well as for our own children, then we must all at least try to set an example, through our own words and actions, that the world we want them to inherit