More generally, what tools are "valid" for non-state actors in pursuit of becoming a state?

(these are genuine questions im curious to hear your answers to, not a gotcha attempt)

Here's how Haviv Rettig Gur answers this question:

You want to know if Zionist paramilitaries were justified using terrorism against the British.

The implication is clear: if they were justified, then is Hamas justified now?

But discussion of "justification" misses what actually matters and is a strategic reframing of the comparison you're suggesting.

Here's what we should compare:

1. Could the British leave?

Yes. They had England. They were occupiers by choice.

Can Israelis leave?

No. They literally have No Other Land. (Yes, that's where the line comes from - it was appropriated by the makers of the propaganda film)

This isn't "colonial power vs natives." It's two peoples, both with national claims, with nowhere else to go.

2. What did Zionist groups want?

To expel the British and create a state.

What does Hamas want?

To eliminate Israel. Not "end occupation," but to eliminate the state. Read the Hamas charter.

These are very different goals.

People keep reaching for "justification" because it's simple and clean. It gives you a good guy and a bad guy. You pick your side, you're done. You get to feel moral clarity. That's what the Free Palestine movement is about: emotional resonance.

The actual situation offers no clarity. You can argue about who's more wrong or who started it, but justification framing skips past the harder question: what do you actually do when neither of these two peoples is going anywhere?

Justification turns a political problem into a morality play. It lets you have an opinion without needing a solution.

"Justification" is what Hamas supporters rely on to rationalize, then excuse any Hamas atrocity.

"Justification" is a fundamentally broken way to evaluate terrorism.

Targeting civilians is always wrong, and never, ever justifiable.

The identity of the attacked doesn't matter. The identity of the attacker doesn't matter. The goals being pursued by the attack don't matter.

RATIONALIZATION, 02/25/2025

"Every time I close the door on Reality, it comes in through the window." Ashleigh Brilliant

Being on the receiving end of this is no fun. In a way, you always end up maintaining a degree of separation between yourself and the person who can't regulate their emotions. You just can't get close to them.

You find yourself wanting to be close to them, but you know that at any time, they may misconstrue something you say, even if what you say is not directed toward them in any way.

You try to get them to understand that what you were saying was just a generalized statement and had nothing to do with them, but they continue to recontextualize what you've said, making it 100% personal to how it made them feel when your words were not even related to them at all.

(Prev)

~

Bruising wasn’t just a pain at best, it was an inconvenience to the family at worst. Thanks to the swelling, the spatter pattern across Blobboid’s ribs was a lot bubblier now, each throb of pain creating a new leak for the towels and ice packs to catch before it made a mess of the kitchen floor.

C’mon, pull yourself together…This is exactly what Dad was talking about. Everybody’ll be itching to get their hands on you if they know a few lucky punches are all it takes for you to spill your guts.

Well, a few dozen lucky punches. But Dad was only so gung-ho about literally wiping the floor with him because Blob had such big gaps in his defense. He had to shape up, get serious like his brothers—like Grav’s expression as he stopped in the doorway. He stared at the sodden towels against his side for several seconds.

“Training?” he spat.

Uh-oh. Was Grav already mad at him for his embarrassing performance too? Had Dad already complained about him to the others?

“Uh…yeah…Probably best if you don’t ask to see my report card. Talk about a training dummy.” His halfhearted chuckle shook self-consciously with the stitch in his side and sludge promptly pitter-pattered onto the floor. “Ugh, sorry! Sorry, I-I’ll get that once I can—agh, actually bend down without busting a gut!”

“No, you go lie down, settle your stomach. I’ll deal with it.”

“You shouldn’t have to, bro. I’m the mess, it’s not your job to—”

“You’re not, it is, and I will. I’ll deal with it.”

“Okay! Okay, okay, if you—feel that strongly about it.” Blob swallowed thickly, another leak springing as his insides somersaulted. “I-I am sorry, though.”

“Don’t be. You’re not the one who should be apologizing.”

~