One of the worst things in war is famine. Possibly the one civilization in this world that knows this better than any other nation is Israel. Going back as far as the ninth century BC, the Jews have suffered from the effects of famine in war. Back then, during the Siege of Samaria described in II Kings chapters 6-7, people were practicing cannibalism in order to survive that famine. Then, again, there was the famine that Jeremiah documents in his book, Lamentations, as Israel suffered and starved when Babylon attacked.
Likewise, when Imperator (General) Titus Caesar Vespasianus brought Jerusalem under siege in 70 AD with his Legio X Fretensis (Tenth Legion), famine drove the starving Jewish inhabitants to desperate measures once again. As the famous Jewish historian Josephus who wittnessed many of these events wrotes writes:
"As the famine became more severe, people began to eat the refuse and the dung of animals. The very sight of food was a source of great distress, and all were driven to madness as they fought over scraps. Those who had riches showed their wealth to be futile as they could not buy even the smallest morsel of food."
During the Crusades, Jews in various European cities were deprived of food in their ghettos, culminating in 1940 when 400,000 Jews were starved in the Warsaw Ghetto by the Nazis. By August 1941, Jews in Warsaw were down to 177 calories per day (at most). Calculations of the number of children and adults who starved to death vary, but 100,000 is generally considered the minimum number, with another 200,000 Jews dying in the ghetto in the following months.
Writer Jakob Gens who was there says:
"People in the ghetto have succumbed to madness and despair, and the struggle for food has driven them almost to the brink of insanity. In the streets, I see desperate souls willing to part with their dignity for a mere crust of bread."
Also, Adam Czerniaków who wrote in his diary
The hunger here is unbearable. We receive barely enough rations to survive, and the children are the hardest hit. I see them with sunken eyes, their innocence stripped away by starvation. Each day, I dread what the next will bring, as the lines for food grow longer and the portions dwindle.
And now, it is Israel that is starving children—the children of Gaza. How dare I compare Nazis Hans Frank who set the in motion the events that led to the deaths in the Warsaw Ghetto to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu you might ask? Certainly the difference between these two men is the difference between night and day though some would disagree. But the consequences of their policies are the same. You need only step back to see it.
Oh, I know the circumstances and the arguments. Whenever Israel allows aid convoys in, Hamas steals the food, and the children don’t get it anyway. That is true. There was a time when UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) would supervise any distribution of food that Israel and Egypt would allow into Gaza, but UNRWA has shown itself to be pro-Hamas to the extent that they cannot be trusted to do so. Also true. The U.S. attempted to assist and is currently supporting the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), but the GHF’s methods are controversial and its results are less than effective, or at least inadequate. True.
Famine in war
Starvation goes hand in hand with war. A belligerent wishes to make life as difficult as possible for its enemy, breaking their spirit and resolve if at all possible. During the Second World War, the German Wehrmacht, along with other Axis countries, was responsible for the deaths of four million Soviets in Leningrad, USSR, making it the deadliest siege and wartime-related famine in human history. The fact that it took place in winter, when braving the cold requires more than the usual amount of calories, only quickens the pace of dying. When all the pets, rats, cardboard, and sawdust in Leningrad had been eaten, city dwellers turned to cannibalism themselves. So, the catastrophe at Leningrad went according to Hitler’s plan in that regard.
Also, during war, shortages of food lead to the illegal siphoning of foodstuffs for sale on the black market. This creates additional shortages, and there is less to go around as people hoard food or counterfeit ration coupons. Moreover, the best food available in wartime is always reserved for the fighting forces of a nation, leaving civilians, particularly the aged and the young, to go without. Milk and cheese are particularly in short supply, and infants die from a lack of breast milk.
So, as a staunch supporter of Israel. I am also alarmed at how the war is annihilating not only innocent noncombatants, but any hope for the future. This makes me a bit of a unicorn in the U.S. today. A unicorn that believes children must not be starved by Israel any more than used as shields by Hamas. Feeding them is the “cost of doing business” if your business is destroying your enemy. Israel can do much better, and as her friend, the U.S. should enable her to do so.
#HungerinGaza
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Learn about the origin of the term “ghetto” and its history. Read about the notion today that the world is a city and Israel is the ghetto of the world, and what that means.
