“If Hamas is not destroyed, or at least its capacity to attack Israel eliminated, then it will attack again. Hamas has made clear that it intends to do so, over and over. Until Hamas is destroyed, there can be no peace as Hamas has no interest in peace. There can be no “two-state solution” with one state controlled by terrorists bent on destroying the other state. For those anti-colonialists whose solution is the eradication of Israel, they will be surprised to learn that Israel is not inclined to commit suicide and disappear.”

—-Scott Greenfield, explaining in no uncertain terms why the progressive Left’s support for Gaza and condemnation of Israel is based on its determination to refuse to face facts

There are so many articles, grandstanding declarations and bad punditry bemoaning the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza—Jonathan Glazer’s fatuous speech at the Oscars being the most obnoxious recent example—that when an intelligent voice from the Left points out that the “Give Peace a Chance” whining is utter bunk, attention must be paid. I highlighted Hillary Clinton’s spot on and clear explanation of reality for the cement-headed ladies of “The View,” and now criminal defense lawyer and eloquent blogger Scott Greenfield has performed the same service in print. Bravo. Having read Greenfield for many years, I regard him as a traditional liberal but stubbornly unwoke. Like Althouse, bias seldom makes him stupid.

In an essay beginning with Biden’s foolish “red line” comment (what is it about Democratic Presidents that they think they can assert “red lines” when they have no intention of doing anything should their bluff be called?), Greenfield, like the good Democrat he almost surely is, briefly tries to mitigate President Biden’s cowardly and cynical attempts to mollify his anti-Semite base while still insisting that he supports Israel, recently highlighted as he ordered aid to Gaza while the US supports the Israeli attacks that make the aid necessary. But Greenfield still writes,

But in the battle for Israel’s security, for the lives of its citizens to not be under threat of mass terrorist attack by the ruling junta of Gaza, there is no solution that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza and capable of attacking over and over, while it hides behind children and the elderly, in hospitals, schools and mosques, and relishes every innocent death of a “martyr” that further enrages the unduly passionate to hate Israel, to hate Jews, and creates the gloss of terrorists as “freedom fighters” for the oppressed.

..and concludes,

So what do people…like President Biden, want Israel to do? Ride into battle on unicorns? Shoot magic bullets and drop magic bombs that only harm Hamas soldiers? Walk the streets of Gaza as Hamas fighters shoot them, then blend back into the crowd, and ask politely whether someone is innocent or guilty before taking them captive so they can be exchanged for Israelis held hostage by Hamas?

What’s happening in Gaza is horrible, but no one has offered a better way of dealing with Hamas. Plenty of platitudes. Plenty of pearl clutching and clothing rended, but no actual way to deal with Hamas that will be effective and not put Israel in a disastrous position. It is not Israel’s responsibility to put the welfare of Gazans ahead of its own citizens, including its soldiers.

Or there is the solution of ending the war now, a permanent ceasefire, leaving Hamas in control of Gaza, giving Iran plenty of time to rearm and organize Hamas’ terrorist activities, and then the next October 7th, the next rape, burn, behead and murder, of Israeli citizens by the resistance fighters of the oppressed Gazans, whose territory Israel left in 2005 so they could govern themselves and create whatever society they chose.

This is what they chose, and Israel is left to deal with it. If you’ve got a better solution, we’d all love to hear the plan. So far, nobody has offered any alternative of specific things to be done that would be better for Gaza. And that includes President Biden, and why he’s now caught in a dilemma of what he demands of Israel and what is actually doable.

Israel is not going to sacrifice the lives of its citizens so Biden can play nice with the left wing of his party to win an election. No country would, no matter how much you hate Bibi Netanyahu. So what, President Biden, should Israel do with your red line?

Exactly. This is the only ethical analysis, the logical analysis, and the single analysis that prioritizes fact and history over that favored false compass of the tender, feelings. Greenfield writes elsewhere in his essay, “The deaths of innocent people, even if they had a hand in making or tolerating Hamas as their government and agree with its goal of destroying Israel and murdering Jews, innocent or not, by terrorism, is a tragedy. But whose tragedy?”

As Mr. Rogers might say, “Can you say ‘accountability’? Sure you can.” The Palestinian shills on the Left can; they just don’t want to.