Kevin Duffy responds to Roger Waters interview about Israel-Palestine conflict

You had me hanging on every word (in agreement) until you got to the word "profit."  This is a strange criticism coming from a man who has profited handsomely from the free market.  What were the means to those millions you and your band mates earned in profit?  It wasn't through violence.  You didn't screw anybody.  In fact, you served millions of consumers.  Your fans (myself included) were happy to hand over a few of their hard earned dollars for a record album or concert ticket.  In return we were not only treated to incredible music, but lyrics that touched deep emotions and got us to think critically.  Pink Floyd became part of the soundtrack and conscience of our lives.  What is that worth?  There's a lesson here: Trade is not exploitation, it is win-win. 

Trade is also the key to the Israelis and Palestinians ending their century long blood feud.  Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2006, cutting off the mutually beneficial economic bonds that tie people together, especially people who hate each other.  That blockade is nothing more than an act of war, hitting civilians the hardest.  The West Bank Palestinians, led by Omar Barghouti, responded with their own boycotts and sanctions (the BDS movement). While some of their efforts are targeted and justified (e.g., against Boeing selling weapons to the Israelis), they run the risk of declaring economic war on Israeli civilians AS WELL AS their own people.

What is the result of these trade wars?  Those in power - Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, the Netanyahu administration - get stronger as their people suffer under crushing sanctions which create the ideal external enemy.  Foreign aid only makes matters worse, being syphoned off by the political class and further subverting the free market. 

There is an ironclad law of economics: Where goods are not allowed to cross borders, armies will.  Gaza and the West Bank are just the latest in a long, tragic list of examples.

~ Kevin Duffy, reply to TRT World interview of Roger Waters, December 9, 2023