On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization

by Douglas Murray

It is a statement of the obvious, of course, but it still needs to be said that all wars have at least two sides. That does not mean, as many Western journalists seem to think, that those sides are morally equal—any more than they will be militarily equal. One side starts a war and the other responds, though who started it can also be disputed. But it is somewhere in the melee of the response phase that many reporters and others become lost. If they cover the punch, they must also cover the counterpunch. And if the counterpunch is seen as being in some way excessive or even carrying horrors of its own, then it is perfectly possible to get lost yourself. Something that has dogged Israel in each of its recent conflicts is the idea of “proportionality” and “disproportionality.” It is a curious concept that has gained prominence almost solely in wars involving Israel. For years, whenever Israel had responded to an assault on its people, the world’s media has fallen into a debate on “proportionality.” By contrast, it is rare to hear a discussion of whether the Ukrainian response to Russian aggression is “proportionate” or not. Or whether the