I always find the Israel-Palestinian issue incredibly difficult to comprehend or write about in an intelligent way because I have deep, reflexive sympathy for both sides and yet so often abhor their behavior toward one another. This war is more complicated than any other war —religion, power imbalance, racism, territorial dispute, ancient historical animosity, oppression, colonialism all of it is present here. I’ve always thought it was the most difficult problem in the world and I have nothing enlightening to say about it.
The best I can do right now is offer for you some of the best best that I’m reading around the web and to try to see where American politics are going and guage as best I can what our government and its allies are doing in reaction.
Jill Filipovic in her newsletter today speaks for me.
I’ve been struggling with what to write today, because the news out of Israel and Palestine is so overwhelming, and so awful, and every time I open my laptop it feels silly to try to write about anything else. But I’m very, very far from an expert on this particular topic, and like a lot of people, I feel quite anxious wading into it — sure I will say the wrong thing, worried that there is no “right” thing to say. So I will just say this:
Human life is so precious, and so many people are so quick to disregard it when the lives in question differ from them in some key way that seems to put them outside the scope of humanity.
Many, many of the world’s most vulnerable people are treated as pawns in much larger power struggles, and sometimes they are a pretext for other people’s actions, and sometimes they pay with their lives for other people’s choices. Often that’s invisible. Right now, it’s painfully obvious.
There is never a justification for murdering, raping, kidnapping or attacking innocent civilians. There is never a justification for collective punishment. If you find yourself starting to justify or explain away war crimes, including the murder, rape, kidnapping or attack on innocent civilians — especially if you find yourself justifying it based on some principle of justice or anti-oppression — you’ve really lost the plot.
This moment is such a profound devastation. More than a thousand people have been killed. It seems guaranteed that those numbers will grow exponentially. Millions of people today are grieving lost loved ones; millions more are fearing for the future. Maybe you are one of them. Wherever you sit, remember that there is no limit to human empathy, and no cost to extending yours broadly.
If you are one of those people who is grieving today, or fearful today, I am sending you my love.
Now, some readings. These are from a range of perspectives, and I share them not to endorse every word, but to hopefully deepen our collective understanding.
A Message from Iran, by Kim Ghattas
A Massacre at a Music Festival in Israel, by Ruth Margalit
Could the attack on Israel spell the end of Hamas? an interview by Isaac Chotiner
How the Al-Aqsa Mosque became a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an NPR interview with Yousef Munayyer.
We feel fear, anger and helplessness: all of Israel is in a state of war. But revenge is not the answer, by Orly Noy.
In the midst of war, Benjamin Netanyahu is a liability who can only make things worse. He must go, by Simon Tisdall.
Why Hamas Attacked — And Why Israel Was Taken by Surprise, a conversation with Martin Indyk in Foreign Affairs.
All I know is that the footage of this terrorist nightmare — the killing and kidnapping of children is so shocking, so immediate, that it’s the only thing I’m seeing when I close my eyes.
Update: I just saw on television that Hamas says they will begin killing the hostages if Isre=ael continues to bomb civilian buildings in Gaza. Oh god.