Anti-Zionist rhetoric is becoming increasingly shrill as Israel attempts to defend itself against an ongoing barrage of missiles fired by Hamas from residential areas in Gaza. Some of the claims being made about Israel’s maneuvers are implausible and even bizarre, especially given the unpopularity of Hamas among Palestinians, their history of uncooperative dealings, and their recent refusal to accept cease-fire terms brokered by Egypt. “Understanding What Hamas Wants” is a good assessment of the situation and, on a complete reading, provides a balanced viewpoint, offering criticisms of actions of both sides in the conflict. The piece does not question Israeli’s right of self-determination or to defend themselves. An example:

An alternative to this current horrible reality presented itself in 2005, when the Israeli government—after years of foolish and destructive colonization—expelled thousands of Jewish settlers from Gaza and then withdrew its army. The Palestinian leadership could have taken the opportunity created by the Israeli withdrawal to build the nucleus of a state. Instead, Gaza was converted into a rocket-manufacturing and -launching facility. But here’s a bit of good news: The people of Gaza, who suffer from Hamas rule, appear to be tired of it.

It’s unfortunate that so much anti-Zionist rhetoric relies on the genocide lie, as described at the link by Jonah Goldberg. In another good piece, Charles Krauthammer covers the ethics of the actions taken by Hamas and Israel. Yet the propagandized version of events repeated by anti-Zionist parrots ignores the obvious. And they keep repeating the words of certain Israeli hawks as if they are representative of an actual defensive strategy.