Look, we all know that The Washington Post sucks, where "Democracy Dies in Darkness," along with logic, reason, and reality.
They've given us some whoppers over the years, but I honestly think this one from 2021 — a headline that's been going viral yet again — might be the worst one of all.
"Israel's Iron Dome defense system protects Israeli lives. It also perpetuates the Israel-Gaza conflict."
By refusing to let rockets rain down on them, those pesky Israeli Jews are refusing to fall victim to the never-ending attempted genocide of groups like Hamas. If only they'd just die peacefully, maybe the war would finally be over!
Here's the relevant excerpt from Yagil Levy, a professor of public policy and political sociology at the Open University of Israel:
Here's the ironic outcome: Even as Iron Dome enables devastating Israeli bombardment from the air, it protects Gazan civilians from potentially devastating outcomes of an Israeli ground offensive, which would be the likely alternative. The increasing legal scrutiny of Israel's wars, from the U.N. investigations that followed the earlier operations and the current attention from the International Criminal Court, gives Israel an interest in diminishing global pressure for military restraint and a political resolution.
Apparently, the escalating body count from Cast Lead (2008) to Protective Edge (2014) suggests that Israel is not so restrained. However, Israel was dragged into a ground operation in 2014 not because of the rockets fired from Gaza but because of the urgency to remove the threat of Hamas tunnels. Shifting risk from the ground forces to Gazan civilians, the land operation accounted for most of the civilian deaths. While Israel's leaders understood the limitations set forth in international law, it was the field command who liberally shaped the fire policy, as my research explains.
Iron Dome up to this point has saved Israeli lives from Gaza rocket attacks, while enabling air campaigns against Palestinian citizens. But the reduced pressure to resolve the conflict with Gaza also means Iron Dome gives Israelis a false sense of security, based on technological success — which isn't guaranteed forever — rather than political solutions.
There are a few problems here — most notably the naive idea that political solutions exist between Israel and a genocidal radical Islamic regime motivated by the destruction of Israel — but the real reason I'm bringing up this headline from 2021 is because it represents part of the problem today.
Don't forget, pro-Palestinian propagandists like Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar continue to complain about the Iron Dome — technology that prevents countless Israeli deaths every year by shooting down Palestinian rockets aimed indiscriminately at civilian targets.
For example, here she is praying for Gaza ON OCTOBER 7th:
Why doesn't Gaza have shelters or an Iron Dome? Well, because Hamas — who still have the support of the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza — chose to buy bombs and rockets and terror tunnels instead. But who cares when you can just blame the Jews for ... defending themselves?
All of this shows the stunning double standard at the heart of most anti-Israel rhetoric: the idea that Israel and Israel alone should be expected to play by completely different rules, including stopping the whole self-defense thing.
And when they refuse to stop defending themselves, they're blamed for Hamas's continued genocidal violence.
It's like blaming gun violence on the people desperately buying body armor to protect their families.
Anything to avoid holding Palestinians responsible for their own actions...
Follow Ian on Substack or X (@ighaworth).
