When It Comes To The Atrocities In Israel And Gaza — There Is No Victory In Causing The Suffering Of Others
The extremities of loss are felt by all people, on both sides of this unbearably heavy conflict.
Nomad_Soul / Shutterstock I want to start by saying there’s no way for one singular person to fully capture the complex, deeply-rooted nuances that have paved the spiraling pathway to the Israel-Hamas War that’s unfolded this past week, that has been unfolding for centuries.
I want to say my identity as an American Jew with limited familial ties to Israel means that I’m so very far from being an expert on this subject.
I hear my grandparents' voices in my mind, the ones who survived the Holocaust, whispering how displaced people surviving a genocide needed a place to call home.
I witness how history has twisted this narrative and others, to deny the lived realities of Palestinian people, who are also seeking a safe haven, a homeland, a place to exist.
What’s happening between Israel and Hamas is a massive philosophical issue, an existential crisis playing out in people’s daily lives.
There are variances of truth that depend on which side of the narrative we’re looking at. There’s no simple answer to how this violence started. There’s no simple answer on how this violence ends.
That violence begets violence is the sole truth here.
This is about how people are living through atrocities. The atrocity of kidnappings, shootings, and rape. The atrocity of bombings. The atrocity of electricity, fuel, and food being cut off from people who are solely trying to survive.
In a statement regarding the Israeli government’s plan for a full siege of Gaza, a tiny strip of land that over 2 million Palestinians call home, 1.7 million of whom are Palestinian refugees, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, "We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly."
Yet I take issue with that categorization, defining people living in Gaza as "human animals." The violence that Hamas is helming doesn’t represent what Palestinian people want; it only represents what Hamas, itself, wants.
The humanitarian organization Save The Children reported that 47% of Gaza’s population consists of children. Over 800,000 have never known life outside of 15 years of a blockade.
Are those children human animals? Do they not deserve the right to live until tomorrow? It doesn’t matter what side of the political spectrum anyone falls on.
But don't be mistaken, Defense Minister Gallant's statements are just an example of the dehumanization of the victims on both sides of the conflict. Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, has been urging violence instead of peace among followers and other Muslim nations — further proof that the innocent civilians are lost amidst the rage of war and anger.
Palestinian children, children in Israel, and any innocent civilian in either landscape all deserve to walk their streets without fear of dying. They deserve the right to breathe freely.
Sarah Tuttle-Singer, an editor at The Times Of Israel, shared a post on Instagram from her friend, Aziz Abu Sarah, speaking to the pain felt by people on all sides of the issue. “I am a Palestinian who doesn’t support Hamas’ actions. It’s personal, it’s my Jewish friends hurt. I am terrified for my family and friends in Gaza and [the] West Bank.”
“This US vs. THEM paradigm is wrong,” he continued. “This isn’t Arabs vs. Jews. Many of us [are] on the same side of peace and justice.”
Abu Sarah captured how the extremities of loss are felt by all people, on both sides of this unbearably heavy conflict.
He said, “In the last 48 hours, I have Jewish friends who lost family members, I have Jewish friends who were taken hostage, and I have Palestinian friends who lost family members… There is no victory in causing others to suffer, or in seeking revenge.”
The reality is that people are being killed. Violence is being sown across all sides. All that violence does is create harm and generations of trauma — trauma carried in cells, in memory, in whatever narrative someone tells.
Palestinians and Israelis deserve safety. They deserve life, futures, and freedom. They all deserve to breathe.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social justice issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.