One of my favorite lines used by a number of pro-Palestinians I have debated over the years is a clever appeal to fairness; it’s primary usage is when they say, “well, wouldn’t you agree that the force Israel possesses as a state is widely disproportionate to that of any of its surrounding states?” They proceed from this rather banal premise to then attack Israel for abusing its power in any number of ways — assuming that it is this power, this lack of proportionality, is the driving force behind much of the conflict in the region. In other words, a core foundational problem many pro-palestinians have is that there is some inherent unfairness in Israel’s superior military might… or that the situation could be improved if only each side had more to fear from the other…. if they approached each other as equals. And to be clear, I am not arguing that they are wrong here… and I am not claiming Israel is an innocent party… I’m just relating how the arguments I hear are often structured.
My answer is always, “Ya, so what’s your point?” Of COURSE Israel is a stronger Nation… it wouldn’t exist if it didn’t have the power it has. It’s superiority in the region is the only thing keeping it in the region… the only thing preventing it’s destruction. In other words, how disproportionate Israel’s power is in comparison to its neighbors really is irrelevant to the discussion… what matters is what is done with the power you have… and whether that power was justifiably or unjustifiably exercised.
But let’s just say that my Palestinian friends are right… we need a greater sense of proportionality in the region. What should that look like? Fortunately, Victor Davis Hanson has come up with a few of his own suggestions:
1) Request that 50% of Israel’s air-to-ground missiles be duds to ensure greater proportionality.
2) Allow Hamas another 1,000 free rocket launches to see if they can catch up with the body count.
3) Have Israeli soldiers congregate in border barracks so that Hamas’s random rockets have a better chance of killing military personnel, to ensure it can claim at least a few military targets.
4) Redefine “holocaust” to refer to deaths of terrorists in numbers under 400 to give greater credence to Hamas’s current claims.
5) In the interest of fairness, allow Hamas to establish both the date that war is supposed to begin and the date when it must end.
6) Send Israeli military advisers to Hamas to improve the accuracy of their missiles.
7) Take down the barriers to return to Hamas a fair chance of getting suicide bombers back inside Israel.
Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments.
For further reading/discussion on this topic, you might also enjoy the discussion board hosted by Ramesh Ponnuru over at The Washington Post. My favorite quote from the page: “this is just one of the themes that the muslims use when they are getting their butts kicked.”
