@Alon @JoshuaHolland @ChristoFBG there's no excuse for anyone to celebrate the Oct 7 massacres.

but the blood of 8000 and counting mostly innocents (beyond perhaps no-excuse sympathies) is a high price to pay for deterrence by punishment, and that deterrence may be countered by the resurgent hatred it has engendered among Palestinians and the risk to Israel of a larger war.

i think even on terms that consider only the long-term interests of Israel, the choices made thus far have been unwise.