An Unlikely Defender of Israel: Sam Harris?

Sam Harris is part of the modern wave of militant atheists, and an avowed opponent of the whole concept of a "Jewish state". Having said that, and perhaps even because of that, I think this Salon piece on his position regarding the war in Gaza is a worthwhile read.

Here's an excerpt:
[T]his gets to the heart of the moral difference between Israel and her enemies. And this is something I discussed in The End of Faith. To see this moral difference, you have to ask what each side would do if they had the power to do it.

What would the Jews do to the Palestinians if they could do anything they wanted? Well, we know the answer to that question, because they can do more or less anything they want. The Israeli army could kill everyone in Gaza tomorrow. So what does that mean? Well, it means that, when they drop a bomb on a beach and kill four Palestinian children, as happened last week, this is almost certainly an accident. They’re not targeting children.

Go here to read more.