Even strong critics of the Israeli attack on Gaza have generally prefaced their criticism by saying, in essence, "of course Israel has every right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks, but its methods are disproportionate." Or, as it is sometimes put, "no country can ignore attacks on its territory and citizens."
There are two problems with these arguments. The first is that calling Israel's attack on Gaza "disproportionate" falls well short of revealing the full dimensions of its behavior: the Israeli way of war-including in most of its previous wars, not just in Gaza-is worse than merely "disproportional," or even "indiscriminate." Second, a nation does not have a "right" of self-defense if attacks on its soil are triggered by-or are acts of resistance against-its own aggression, colonialism, occupation, or repression.
On Monday, August 6, 1945, after six months of intense firebombing of 67 other Japanese cities,...
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