The article of faith that unites all who condemn Israel’s response to Hamas rockets in the latest escalation with Gaza, from the most rabid Islamists to the hyper sophisticated (or so they think) pundits from the New York Times and dwellers of the ivory tower of academia, is captured by a single word “occupation.” We keep hearing from them that Gaza is occupied, that Gaza is an open-air prison, that Gaza is a “penal colony.” Gazans are oppressed, the theory goes, and Israel is the oppressor.
