I don’t know how we restore rational political debate. I’m increasingly convinced the internet helped destroy it, and the internet is here to stay. So perhaps the only way back is individually. Read people you disagree with. Accept inconvenient facts. Admit when your own side is wrong. Stop assuming everyone who disagrees with you is evil. And above all, remember that reality doesn’t change because your tribe finds it uncomfortable.

I’ve been reading feedback on my posts that mention Israel, and I still don’t understand the obsession it inspires in sections of the Western left. Don’t misunderstand me. There are figures in the Israeli government who appear to have lost their humanity. There are those on the Israeli side who seem every bit as soulless and nihilistic as the terrorists they have devoted their lives to fighting. October 7 was horrific, and Hamas knew that Israel’s response would be devastating, but that doesn’t automatically justify everything Israel has done since. The problem is that wishing the world were peaceful doesn’t make it peaceful. Of course I’d prefer an Israel without walls and checkpoints, without ethno-nationalists in government, where Israelis and Palestinians could wave peace flags, sing Kumbaya and live happily alongside one another. But what happens if one side acts as though that world already exists while its enemies don’t? Israel has foes who genuinely want it destroyed. Lowering its guard doesn’t make those enemies disappear. Tearing down a wall doesn’t remove the hatred on the other side of it. Good intentions are not much protection against somebody who wants you dead. I’m against wars, murder, militias and terrorist groups. Who isn’t? The difficult question is what you do when they exist anyway. And that’s where idealism collides with reality. Given the choice, I would rather Israel, a democratic country whose citizens have substantial political and civil rights, continued to exist than see it overrun by religious fanatics who have deliberately slaughtered civilians and celebrated doing so. What particularly horrifies me is seeing educated Westerners romanticise or excuse extremists with profoundly reactionary beliefs while treating ordinary Israelis as collectively responsible for everything their government does. Many of those murdered on October 7 were peace-loving Israelis living in kibbutzim who wanted coexistence with their Palestinian neighbours. Their ideals didn’t protect them when armed fanatics arrived intending to kill them. That is the terrible reality at the heart of this conflict. You can condemn Israel when it acts wrongly. You can condemn the killing of Palestinian civilians. You can desperately want peace. But wanting peace and being a useful idiot for death-cult fanaticism are two very different things.