[Marxism] [Paul Woodward] Israel will lose its war against Hamas

[Nestor Gorojovsky]

Courtesy of Bob Weiss, a Venezuelan friend

[When I read this text, I was reminded of Corleone Jr. in Havanna, 
stating that the "revolutionaries" (that is, the "Castroite gang") might 
well win _because they did not fear death for their cause_.]

WAR in CONTEXT – USA – Jabuary 5, 2008
EDITORIAL:

Wars against ideas always fail
By Paul Woodward, War in Context, January 5, 2009

Israel will lose its war against Hamas.
How do I know?
Because Hamas is a movement which even if it has highly destructible 
physical nodes is nevertheless tied together within a missile-proof 
conceptual space.
The only things that bombs and bullets can destroy are human lives and 
property. That’s why the Israeli-American claim that this war is being 
fought against Hamas and not the people of Gaza is a shallow lie — it is 
plainly evident that Gaza itself is under attack.
The so-called “terrorist infrastructure” also happens to be a 
governmental infrastructure. The effort to topple Hamas (an effort that 
the Israeli government in its duplicity and double-talk continues to 
deny it is making — witness Shimon Peres claiming that Israel does not 
want to crush Hamas, merely teach it a lesson) is in serious jeopardy of 
making Gaza completely ungovernable.
Once this is over, will the residents of Sderot be able to slumber 
peacefully knowing that they live on the doorstep of anarchy?
And when Hamas has finished counting its dead, will those in its ranks 
who until recently were voices of pragmatism, favoring political 
engagement, be capable of or even willing to try and make themselves heard?
Israel’s drive to annihilate its enemies is borne out of a seemingly 
irrepressible arrogance. Yet ultimately nothing gets destroyed — it 
merely goes through a process of transformation.
The question Israelis should now be asking themselves is this: What are 
we helping Hamas become?
Israel demands that Hamas recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist. 
It is a farcical demand.
Someone has you pinned to the ground, is pressing the barrel of a gun 
against your head and says to you: “I’ll talk to you, but only if you 
recognize my right to exist.” At this moment, who is challenging whose 
right to exist?
Israel presents an existential threat to Hamas — not the other way 
around. It’s plain for the world to see.
However, the difference between Israel and Hamas is that Hamas does not 
fear its annihilation. That has nothing to do with glorifying 
“martyrdom”; it’s because the movement is much more durable than its 
constituent parts.