Weekly Commentary: Gaza Policy Debate Not Driven By Petty Politics
Dr. Aaron Lerner 11 July 2024

I have extremely strong criticism of the policy recommendations by those who advocate a "deal at any cost" with Hamas but I'm not going to claim that they are driven by political considerations rather than what they genuinely believe best serves the Jewish State.

The very same can be said regarding those who oppose the deal.

Yes. It pains me greatly to observe that there are important matters where political considerations take priority over the needs of the country.
But this isn't one of them.

This policy debate is too important to ignore views by labeling them "politically driven".

We cannot afford a policy debate limited to slogans.

And that's pretty much all the popular media has been serving up since October 7th.

The "deal at any cost" advocates haven't essentially gone beyond proclaiming "yihyeh bseder" (it will okay) after a "deal at any cost" is implemented.

Many opponents of having a third party take responsibility for Gaza also oppose having an Israeli administration, such as COGAT, take overarching responsibility for the civil administration of the Gaza Strip.

Good policymaking requires more than a shouting match.
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