The terrible and convenient utility of extremism
As someone who tries as scrupulously as I can, to be morally consistent I have been thinking a lot about a curious (and deeply frustrating) similarity between both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which might best be described as “The Terrible and Convenient Utility of Extremism as a Shield”
Specifically, both sides have found a peculiar utility using their respective extremes as a pass against self-examination.
For Israelis, the extreme-right policies of Bibi, Ben Gvir, and Smotrich et al. provide a convenient scapegoat, and for Palestinians, Hamas, Sirdar, and Haniyeh serve a similar purpose.
These extremes allow some to virtue-signal something like “evenhandedness” by critiquing their own side.
But this focus can (and does) get used as a way for moderates to feel better, while ignoring the broader, more insidious mainstream forces of intolerance and hatred that persist on both sides.
Criticizing the extremes allows folks to distance themselves from the worst of their chosen side.
For example, pro-Israeli folks pointing to the settlements in the West Bank or the aggressive rhetoric of figures like Netanyahu or Itamar Ben-Gvir as examples of policies they oppose.
For example, pro-Palestinian folks denouncing Hamas to show that they do not support terrorism or criticizing the rocket attacks on Israeli civilians as counterproductive and harmful to the Palestinian cause.
For both groups, this ability to point to their own side’s extreme elements enables them to present themselves as reasonable, moderate, and able to critique one’s own side.
And that’s awesome.
But it often (painfully often, in my experience) stops there.
Why?
Because it’s WAAAAY easier to stop there.
It’s WAAAAY easier to not acknowledge or examine the reality that the extremes (in both cases) have significant support in both societies.
It’s performatively obtuse or naïve to refuse to acknowledge that extremists and their ideas (on both sides and in both cultures) are not in fact all that far removed from the mainstream.
There are deeply disturbing and ingrained issues of hatred, racism, erasure, and intolerance within the dead-center of each culture.
And criticizing the extremes is, in my opinion, performative if one doesn’t look to explore and eliminate the very real reasons that drive and empower those extremes.
For me, engaging with folks who take this approach is incredibly frustrating and more than a little disappointing.
I see people jump in to toss out some version of “Bibi bad” or “Hamas bad,” but scratching the surface of that perspective often reveals a nanometer-thin veneer of self-awareness and self-reflection.
You quickly discover that these folks aren’t really focused on helping move the conflict towards resolution; they’re temporarily embarrassed by some facet of their side’s extremism and seeking to hide behind an “easy” critique.
It’s so incredibly disappointing to find that even some friends whom you know should — and probably do — know better are unwilling to engage in deeper, more meaningful self-reflection.
Yes, saying “I don’t agree with what is being done in my name” is a step towards introspection and self-awareness, but more often than not, it’s a talisman of absolution that lets you say, “I’m not like those people and that’s all I have to say”.
It’s not enough.
It’s essential for Israelis, Palestinians (and those of us in their respective diasporas who support them) to learn to sit in a greater and more fruitful discomfort.
There are insidious & deeply rooted causations & currents in the cultures that drive these attitudes.
Avoiding addressing the systemic and everyday sources for the extremism might feel better, but it doesn’t move us forward.
Honest moral clarity requires us to recognize that the forces of hatred and division are not limited to the extremes.
Mainstreamed Israeli perspectives that continue to support the occupation, racist treatment, and settlement expansion go unchallenged and become all the more ingrained.
Mainstreamed Palestinian perspectives that glorify indiscriminate resistance, martyrdom, and normalize both violence and antisemitism go unchallenged and become all the more ingrained.
In Israel, mainstream political parties have adopted increasingly hardline stances, normalizing discriminatory practices.
Laws that limit the rights of Arab citizens of Israel and policies that restrict Palestinian movement in the West Bank are widely accepted.
These are not solely the domain of the extreme-right wing but are embedded in the broader political landscape.
In Palestine, while Hamas is often the focal point of criticism, other factions and societal norms also perpetuate conflict.
The Palestinian Authority, despite its opposition to Hamas, is a shit show kakistocracy that has been rightly accused of human rights abuses and corruption.
And the normalization of resistance through violent means is a broader cultural issue, glorifying combatants and contributing to an acceptance of violence as a legitimate form of resistance.
For both peoples to move meaningfully towards a genuine resolution, it’s essential for Israelis, Palestinians (and those of us in their respective diasporas who support them) to learn to sit in a greater and more fruitful discomfort while we shift a clear-eyed gaze inward.
A gaze that critically examines and challenges the mainstreaming of hatred, intolerance, dehumanization, and discrimination in each society.
For Israelis and those who support them, this must at the very least involve confronting the normalization of the occupation, the brutalization of the Palestinian people, the insanity of the illegal settlement projects, the systemic enshrinement of discrimination against Palestinians, and the stubborn refusal of many to move the peace process forward.
For Palestinians and those who support them, this must at the very least confront a culture of glorifying violent resistance, the erasure and refusal to accept the reality of the state of Israel, the insanity of terrorist attacks on civilians, and the holding of our own leaders to account for corruption, human rights abuses, and a failure to move the peace process forward.
By honestly examining our collective actions and the underlying norms that support them, we can begin to move towards addressing the conflict.
Moral clarity and a sense of justice must push us towards confronting uncomfortable truths and must drive us to strive for more just societies, even when it means challenging the sacred accretions of long-held stereotypes, hatreds, and aggressions.
In the end, the utility of using the extremes as scapegoats is clear, but it’s also clear that unless we are prepared to dig deeper, we will likely be distracted by more critical and insidious failings.
We will miss the opportunity to address the broader, systemic, and far more foundational problems that fuel the conflict.
Progress will come ONLY when both Israelis, Palestinians, and their supporters are willing to look beyond the easy win of condemning extremism to confront the uncomfortable truths within their own societies.
This means acknowledging and addressing the mainstreamed forces of hatred and division that persist on both sides and paving the way for a more just and equitable future but acknowledging the errors everywhere that have perpetuated this cycle of violence and hatred.