Nuance has become one of the four letter words. We might as well skip it and move on with the rest of our lives. However, I’m a wild and crazy guy, so let’s give this a try. We have been told that if we mention anything somewhat bad about Israel that we are anti-Semitic and horrible horrible people. I know this is a risk, but I thought it was well worth the effort. Let’s start with a notion. Hamas is a terrorist organization. Hopefully we can all agree on that. While Hamas is made up of Palestinians and primarily Palestinians, it does not mean that all or even most Palestinians are a part of Hamas or even supportive of their efforts.

The Proud Boys and Klu Klux Klan are American groups, They are made up exclusively of Americans. However, no one in their right mind would argue that all or even most Americans are members or endorse their activities. I know this seems basic, but it should inform our thinking moving forward when dealing with groups like Hamas. So, when I tell you that nearly 6500 Palestinians have died in this conflict, our reaction should not be “well, those sorry bastards had it coming.” That kind of talk is grotesque and serves to exacerbate the problem. The ratio of Palestinians killed to Israelis killed is more than 20 to 1. This is fairly normal historically. Logic would clearly dictate that we should all find that to be somewhat troubling.

Governments have the right to respond disproportiately to threats, but those rights come with responsibilities and consequences. If your response is not proportional you might have some blowback around the globe when other rational actors consider your behavior. We have seen this in Europe as it pertains to Israel. Their opinions of Israel seem to differ from ours. We have long had a blind spot as far as Israel is concerned. They can do no wrong and have an absolute right to “defend themselves” even if that defense goes well beyond the normal bounds of self-defense.

We can say that we understand someone’s actions without approving of them. This is where many of our friends are in the case of Israel. We understand what the Palestinians are thinking and feeling. We understand what the Israelis are thinking and feeling. We understand their actions from a clinical perspective. When people feel threatened they act. Sometimes they act badly.

We can look at what Israeli leadership is doing and keep that separate from what the people are going through. No civilian should ever live in fear. This is a basic human right. We can assert this human right to all places around the world. We may hate the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and anyone else. Their people deserve basic human rights. Hell, most of the time our hatred for those governments stems from the fact that their people are not afforded those basic rights.

I can feel an affinity to the Israeli people. I can feel that same affinity for the Palestinians as well. No one deserves this. To bomb neighborhoods because someone in Hamas might live there is grotesque and horrific. Killing and threatening civilians is never okay. We absolutely have to say that without equivocation. Some Palestinians have done some very bad things. They should be punished as any other aggressor should. Some are minding their own business and trying to live their lives peaceably. If we are going to say they all deserve it because a few of them killed Israelis then that is the bigotry. If we don’t question Israel and their constant need to meter out extreme justice then we are guilty of the same bigotry that the pro-Israel crowd is accusing rational and sane people of containing.