Letter to the Editor: Professor Responds to Price's Editorial on Gaza, American Discourse

In his editorial last Friday "American Discourse Distorts Gaza Conflict," Charlie Price characterizes supporters of Israel as either an "inadequate or crafty storyteller" or "a duped or vulgar propagandist." As a supporter of Israel, I may be one or all of these things. Perhaps Price or the readership of the Wheel can help me sort these things out. Possibly, it is my experience that has converted me into a vulgar propagandist, in that I am opposing Price's narrative of "Hamas good, Israel bad." During the summer of 2014, two of my sons and I were in Israel. I was working on cancer research, my oldest son Ethan was doing an internship in counterterrorism, and my middle son Adam was attending a high school program in Israel. Three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped on orders of a Hamas operative named al-Arouri living in Turkey. Apparently, the purpose of the kidnapping was to boost Hamas credibility in areas outside of Gaza, to give them "street credit." Tragically, the teenagers were murdered. My son Ethan attended their funeral, and I visited the house of mourning of Naftali Frenkel, a dual Israeli-American citizen. Hamas soon started firing rockets. My middle son Adam watched as Iron Dome took down a Hamas missile over his school. Had the missile hit Adam's school killing large numbers of American teens, it would have been regarded as a great victory for Hamas. Candy would be passed out by kids on the street of Gaza.

Operation Defensive Edge did cause civilian casualties in Gaza. No army as yet has been successful in minimizing civilian casu- alties to zero. As opposed to the reaction in Gaza whenever Jews are killed (because no Jew is a civilian), there is no joy over Gazan civilian casualties. Civilian casualties are inevitable when schools, hospitals and UN shelters are used as missile depots. Hamas general headquarters is the basement of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and the UN allowed Hamas missiles to be stored in shelters.

I suspect Price knows all of this, but doesn't want these inconvenient facts to spoil the narrative of "Hamas good, Israel bad." Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has sent the U.S. military to learn from Israel how to minimize civilian casualties in urban warfare. Forbes has ranked Hamas the second wealthiest terrorist organization in the world, just behind ISIS and ahead of Hezbollah.

The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, has had his daughter, sister, granddaughter and mother-in-law obtain medical care in Israeli hospitals, despite the fact that Hamas wants Israel eliminated. When I visited Chaim Sheba Hospital in 2010, I learned that it is the leading provider of dialysis to patients from Gaza. The sister of Abu Marzouk, another Hamas leader, is having her cancer treated in Israeli hospitals.

I have been watching the anti-Israel scene since before Price was born, and can offer some observations. First, he is late to the party, which will make it more difficult to stand out. Second, there is a unique property about being an anti-Israel activist. It takes over your life, like an itch that requires more and more vigorous scratching to obtain relief. I can spend most of my time doing cancer research and treating patients, and just a fraction of my time generating "vulgar propaganda."

As an example, an anti-Israel activist, Max Blumenthal, was found chasing a German politician into the restroom, attacking him for not being anti-Israel. This episode has been labeled "Toiletgate" in the German media. Finally, who is the unseen hand that Price implies that is preventing discourse in America?

– Jack Arbiser, Thomas J. Lawley Professor of Dermatology, Emory University School of Medicine, Winship Cancer Institute

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