On October 7 I was shattered by the news of Hamas's murderous attack on Israeli Jews. I have friends, family, and colleagues in Israel, and many Jewish friends here. I share their anguish. I long to see the hostages returned safely.
I am also shattered by Israel's savage response. As I write, over 7000 Gazans have been killed, nearly 1.5 million displaced. Half of them are children. Israel has cut off water, food, and fuel. People are dying of dehydration. Families are forced to leave Gaza City and then bombed as they try to walk to safety. Palestinians in the West Bank--who are not represented by Hamas--are also being murdered, their villages torched by Jewish settlers while the Israeli army stands by.
Please, people, especially those whose post-trauma response makes you demand revenge, please try to hold these complicated but not incompatible truths in your heart:
- Murder of civilians is unjustifiable, no matter their ethnicity.
- Revenge makes nobody safe.
- What Hamas did was an atrocity.
- It did not come out of nowhere.
- Resistance to occupation is inevitable, and permissible under international law.
- When Israel and the world ignores or outlaws peaceful resistance, it is tragically predictable that some will resort to violence. This is not a justification.
- If we do not look at root causes we will never understand or change.
- The only way to build peace in Israel/Palestine is for Palestinians to have the same rights as Israeli Jews, including the vote.
The United States is entirely complicit in the genocide now taking place. The US could end this horror overnight by withdrawing military aid to Israel. The refusal of Biden and almost all of Congress to insist on restraint is a disgrace. I salute the few who speak out.
Jo Salas