German philosopher and social theorist Jürgen Habermas shocked many, particularly academic figures, for defending Israel’s extremely disproportionate retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip following an attack on southern Israel by Hamas on October 7.

More than five months into the war, Israel has committed countless crimes, starting with cutting off food, water, and medicine to 2.3 million citizens in Gaza, bombarding people in homes, schools, churches, and mosques, displacing about 85 percent of Gazans, and many other indescribable atrocities.

In their statement issued on November 13, Habermas and his co-thinkers Nicole Deitelhoff, Rainer Forst, and Klaus Günther argued that Israel’s retaliation is “justified in principle.” 

However, it seems that the principle of proportionality in the war is unimportant for Habermas at least in the Israel-Hamas war.

Numerous remarks by United Nations officials affirm that Israel is committing war crimes and genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. The chief victims of these crimes are those who had no role in the surprising October 7 attacks. 

Even during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, extremist Serbs separated women, girls, and the elderly from men and boys above a certain age and then tortured or killed them.

However, Israel is killing indiscriminately and most of the victims are women and children.

In Israel’s war on Gaza, children are fainting and dying from starvation. Ramesh Rajasingham, the director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, warned late last month that about a quarter of the Gaza population are "one step away from famine". 

Also, some two weeks ago, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food accused Israel of deliberately starving Palestinians. “Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. In my view as a UN human rights expert, this is now a situation of genocide,” Michael Fakhri told the Guardian.

Even former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's goal is to bring about nothing less than Armageddon in Gaza and beyond.

According to some analyses, some two percent of Gazans have already been murdered as Israel has dropped some 70,000 tons of bombs on the inhabitants. Also, more than 60 percent of the housing in the strip has been destroyed or ruined.
 
Given these bitter facts, Habermas says, “The standards of judgment slip completely when genocidal intentions are attributed to Israel’s actions.”

Hamas’s attack on southern Israel led to the death of 1,139, but so far more than 31,000 people, mostly children and women, have been killed in the coastal enclave. Add to this the number of those who have been maimed for life or those buried under rubble.

Part of the statement by Habermas also says, “We believe that amidst all the conflicting views being expressed, there are some principles that should not be disputed. They are the basis of a rightly understood solidarity with Israel and Jews in Germany.”

There is no question that there must be no discrimination against Jews whether in Germany or anywhere else. But should Israel’s atrocious behaviors in the Gaza Strip and decades-long apartheid policy against Palestinians be labeled as anti-Semitism? 

It seems that from Habermas’s viewpoint “solidarity” with Israel means that Tel Aviv has the right to commit any criminal act it wishes. Also, it seems that weekly protests in the Western world and by pro-peace Jews in Israel who demand an immediate end to the Gaza war carry no meaning for the German philosopher. 

The statement by Habermas also states, “The democratic ethos of the Federal Republic of Germany, which is orientated towards the obligation to respect human dignity, is linked to a political culture for which Jewish life and Israel’s right to exist are central elements worthy of special protection in light of the mass crimes of the Nazi era.”

Contrary to what is claimed, Germany does not respect “human dignity” when it comes to Palestinians or probably non-Westerners, otherwise Habermas would have released a statement backing down from his position, softening his language, or telling Israeli rulers to stop these inhumane acts. People, particularly scholars, are wondering how much more Israel must commit brutal acts that Habermas open his mouth and express worry about the agonies of the Palestinians.

Also, contrary to what the German philosopher claims nobody questions “Israel’s right to exist”. Excluding the bigoted Zionist-minded persons, figures, and officials who have closed their eyes to Israel’s cruel and illegal behaviors over decades, almost the entire world wants Israel to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions and end the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

The root cause of the problem is that Israel is continuously annexing Palestinian lands in violation of international law but this issue goes unheeded by Habermas. The philosopher is ignoring the fact that the core of the problem is “occupation”. 

Moreover, the “mass crimes” against Jews during the Nazi rule in Germany don’t justify Israel imprisoning about 2.3 million population in the tiny coastal enclave of Gaza, stealing Palestinian lands in the West Bank, and depriving an entire nation of their right to have their own state.

Habermas must also be reminded that every life, not just those of Jews, entails “special protection”. 
By justifying the crimes against the Palestinians, Habermas is replacing “never again” Hitlerite Nazism with a new version that is Zionist Nazism.