Love for Israel has overtaken mainstream American politics. In both parties, Republican and Democrat, too many leaders appear more committed to defending the interests of a foreign state than the well-being of their own people.

Like so many other modern issues, ordinary people feel confounded by the options presented. Most do not wish any harm upon Israel and have no desire to see the state destroyed. But they also do not wish to support, explicitly or implicitly, all the policies and wars of the Israeli government. Yet this is the false dichotomy with which we are constantly presented.

And let us be clear: unconditional support for Israel is not the clear moral stance it is made out to be.

Israel’s decision to cut off the electricity in Gaza, which also effectively cuts of the water supply, is a clear example of collective punishment and almost certainly a violation of international law. The indiscriminate bombing of the strip has resulted in piles of rubble where cities once stood, and the resulting drone footage looks more reminiscent of World War II than it does conventional modern warfare. The people of Gaza have suffered terribly, not just Hamas combatants, and the civilian death toll is deeply disturbing.

It takes a great deal of propaganda to be convinced that children gasping for air under collapsed buildings is just the cost of war. We ought not to care when we see mothers and babies lying dead in the midst of destroyed civilian centres, at least according to the messaging we hear from much of mainstream media. All the people of Gaza are indicted for one reason or another, and there has been a deliberate attempt to blur the line between civilians and combatants.

Acknowledging this reality does not mean denying Israel’s rights to exist or defend itself. But these rights do not bestow upon Israel exemptions from international conventions and humanitarian law.

Most Americans do not want Jewish people to suffer, nor do they wish to see Israel destroyed. But more and more Americans are tired of funding endless wars abroad, tired of sending billions to a foreign country, tired of watching their leaders bow to a foreign lobby, and tired of seeing Palestinians dehumanized and killed in the process.

The first step toward an honest debate is abandoning the false choice: unconditional support for Israel on one side or accusations of antisemitism on the other.

Only then can we begin to move forward with a meaningful foreign policy debate.