On living the life of Amsterdam – Ari Shavit in TLS:

‘But the situation goes far deeper, of course. Throughout the twenty-first century Israel has been struck by wilful blindness. It became a victim of its own technological-economic success. As it revelled in its status as the world’s leading start-up nation, this new member of the OECD (it joined in 2010) closed its eyes to the historic reality of its surroundings. This blindness affected Israel in two ways. On the one hand Israelis ignored the millions of Palestinians living alongside them in abject poverty and hopelessness, even as successive elected governments under Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged rampant settlement-building in the West Bank, heaping further misery on their neighbours. On the other hand they ignored the fact that, beyond the electronic fences that its government had installed on its borders, the murderous extremists of Hezbollah (in the north) and Hamas (in the south) continued to grow in strength – in the latter case tacitly tolerated by Netanyahu himself, who has allowed vast quantities of Qatari money to flow through to the organization. As anger and resentment rose in both Gaza and the West Bank, arrogant complacency in Israel led a nation whose GDP per capita had surpassed those of France and the UK to neglect its army and forsake its basic values, military and moral. The Israelis of the third millennium had somehow convinced themselves that, between Beirut and Gaza, they could live the life of Amsterdam. Within one day everything changed.’

(…)

‘There are three reasons Biden acted as he did: the true love of an elderly Democrat for the Jewish state; his determination to block the Chinese-Russian-Iranian axis; and the understanding that, if Israel’s national security collapses, western national security may also rupture. The White House understands what many in the West do not: the fight for Israel is not only a fight for Israel. This is because Hamas’s ingenious strategy of October 7 undermined not only Israel’s defensive doctrine – its reliance on high-tech security – but also the West’s overarching military thinking. Following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan western democracies became averse to boots-on-ground campaigns. Instead they put their faith in security based on technological, intelligence and aerial superiority.’

(…)

‘Israel now needs to be both forceful and moral, humane and generous, relentless and resolute. And it must once again be redefined. It is time to rehabilitate the state, unite its people, change its leadership, renew the Jewish democratic ethos and offer a horizon of peace. Even while waging war Israelis must undergo a profound ideological, emotional and political transformation. There is no other choice.’

Read the article here.

The West’s overarching military thinking is questioned, I agree. No more boots on the ground, technology on the ground. The limits of that strategy have become clear, once again.

Perhaps the West will be able to buy some time, I hope it. I’m slightly less hopeful about the renewal of the Jewish democratic ethos.

I believe that those who want to live the life of Amsterdam and reach the conclusion that it cannot be done between Gaza and Beirut will move to Amsterdam, or Berlin.

Also, violence is contagious.