by Jonathan Kuttab
| Water Stories by Jonathan Kuttab On July 13, Israel announced that due to “a technical malfunction” one of its missiles missed its target and fell “dozens of meters” away, striking a group of Palestinians gathered at a water supply post. The strike killed at least 8 people, 6 of them children, and wounded many others. Giving Israel and its armed forces every possible benefit of the doubt, I understand that mistakes and technical malfunctions occur. But, I would then expect an immediate cessation in the use of such a faulty missile system, allowing for an investigation to be carried out an, accountability enacted for those responsible for the error, a rethinking of the horrendous tactics and overall strategy that resulted in such a tragedy, a heartfelt apology, and an offer of compensation with a view to ensuring better provision of water to innocent civilians. It is almost laughable to say that none of these things were even considered by the Israeli army. That such measures were not taken leads one to the inevitable conclusion that there was indeed no technical malfunction but rather the implementation of a deliberate and cruel policy of denying drinking water to hapless civilians. Reports from humanitarian agencies state that water is sorely needed throughout Gaza. Water purification stations have been both deprived of fuel and bombed, and water reaches only about 50% of the population for drinking purposes, leaving little or nothing for washing or personal hygiene. Water deprivation is coupled with starvation as a powerful tool in Israel’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza. But this does not only pertain to drinking water. Apparently, even the waters of the sea are also now off limits. The very next day after the tragic events described above, Israel announced (I saw the notice in Arabic) that the huddled masses herded into camps on the shores of Gaza were now prohibited from entering or approaching the sea, on the pain of death. The notice informed those sweltering in the 90+ degree heat that anyone who tried to swim, dive, or fish in the water of Gaza’s shores would be shot immediately. The warning was clear, emphatic, and provided no explanation other than to inform the inhabitants that the water of the sea was no longer available to them. What are we to make of this development? Clearly, there is no war in Gaza. The masses herded into the Al-Mawasi area and elsewhere on the shores of Gaza have no tunnels or buildings to protect them. There is no plausible claim to self-defense, just an open policy of extermination as approximately 100 are killed every single day. It is a policy of intentional starvation, the denial of food, medical supplies, fuel, and now water, the systematic destruction of all that constitutes life and society with no end in sight. The world must stop giving Israel the benefit of the doubt. While we may be individually powerless to put an end to its atrocities, at the very least we can name the atrocities for what they are. We are long past the need for politely nuanced and carefully structured comments. Any person, organization, media outlet, or church that still hesitates to use the word genocide is only doing so in bad faith. As a final resort, one may be asked to read genocide scholar Omer Bartov’s New York Times article, “I’m a Genocide Scholar: I Know It When I See It.” But afterwards, they must be called out, shamed, and perhaps even given the “intifada treatment” suggested by Scripture: to “shake off the dust of our feet,” shun them, and treat them as the moral retrogrades that they are—while pitying and praying for their souls. In the Bible, the word “intifada” refers to Jesus’ commandment to the disciples that if a village or town refuses to hear their message, they should “intifada” (shake off) the dust from their feet and leave that village to their spiritual destiny, having heard the message but refused to heed it. This is not an easy thing for me to say. I have often worked hard to reach out to those with differing opinions, to seek out those “outside the choir,” but at some point we must realize that, in addition to providing a powerful prophetic voice that challenges and calls people to moral integrity, there comes a time when we need to proclaim our truth harshly and move on. There comes a time to cut off relations with those who insist on ignoring glaring truths and refuse to listen to our message. Again, this should not be done lightly and we need to exhaust all opportunities to reach people with our message, but we have to admit that there are also those who do not want to hear and persist in their views despite overwhelming evidence. Those, perhaps, we must shun. |
