Tags
Ceasefire Now, IfNotNow Movement USA, Israel-Hamas-Gaza War 2023, Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City, PASSIA Map of The Gaza Strip 2007, US-Israel Strategic Alliance
Israel-Hamas-Gaza War Ignited October 7, 2023
Source Credit: PalestinePortal.Org
Two peoples
Israelis & Palestinians
Jews & Arabs
Oppressor & Oppressed
Trapped in an unending cycle of armed struggle
Seventy-five years of violent co-existence
over a piece of Earth
they both call Home.
An eye for an eye
The violence of men unleashed on
the largest open-air prison in the world
Thousands of women and children
slaughtered
Entire generations of families
buried beneath the rubble
No peace for either side
until the other is exterminated.
“Ceasefire Now!”
“Not in Our Name!”
demand members of the Jewish Voice for Peace
during sit-in protest
at New York City’s Grand Central Station
“Never again for anyone!” one sign read.
“No genocide in our name!”
“Ceasefire Now!”
demand members of the IfNotNow Movement
American Jews for equality & justice
A thriving future for all Palestinians & Israelis.
In Gaza, buried deep beneath the rubble, a baby cries.
I have come to appreciate the importance of understanding the rise and fall of empires, since they have shaped our world today. As a high school student of British History, I’ve a general knowledge of the fall of the British Empire and the rise of the United States of America within the Western Hemisphere, where I was born and grew up. The fall of the Ottoman Empire in the East in 1914 and its division between the British and French victors of World War I was not essential reading for us.
The master strategists of Empire have a way of making secret deals that affect our lives for generations to come. Such was the fate of Palestine and its inhabitants in 1923 when it became part of the British Mandate and later partitioned in 1948 between the Palestinians and Israelis. Now, here we are today facing the consequences of decisions that served the Western nations. United Nations Resolutions made over the years have failed to satisfy the demands of all parties involved. And so, the killings on both sides go on.
America’s strategic alliance with Israel remains firm. Solidarity (I dare to use that word) with the Palestinian people is viewed as a betrayal of the Israeli people. Great is the risk to one’s position as a government official or professional. Yet to be silent is to be complicit in the slaughter of innocent women and children in Gaza under siege. After several nights of awakening in distress, I can no longer remain silent. I join other Americans and 120 nations worldwide in demanding “Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations.”
Three Worlds One Vision 
Absolutely agreed, Rosaliene
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Thanks very much, Derrick. It’s a very sensitive issue here in the USA.
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I’m sure. Your stance is the right one all the same
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I appreciate your affirmation.
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In the USA it is seen as almost mandatory to pick a side or a team. One simply cannot be someone who can see both sides, for there is a demand to be loyal to one or to the other. This situation is so complex that simply picking a side isn’t good enough.
I see the strengths and weaknesses of both sides and their arguments, but ultimately, I believe that humanitarianism should be our primary focus.
There is no easy answer to this issue, but unless the land and self-governance issues are resolved, these killings and violent attacks are bound to continue. It is in the best interests of the future generations that decisions be made.
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Thanks for adding your thoughts, Tamara. I cannot understand how Americans cannot see the humanitarian crisis for what it is. The Palestinian civilian population in Gaza has no where to run for safety, regardless of what the Israeli military command would like us to believe.
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Indeed they populace is stuck, and now their homes are targets if the network of tunnels happens to run underneath where they live. Both sides want to wipe the other side out.
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Exactly my point in my poem, Tamara! And while they battle to exterminate each other, the military industrial complex continues to reap the profits.
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A heartbreaking situation for all concerned! The slaughter of civilians is unimaginable, yet, here it is! I have friends and in-laws, family of my late husband, who are Jewish. I taught some Palestinian students and got to know their families.
One of my students returned to Palestine after the death of her father. I don’t know whether they went to Gaza or the West Bank. She had been in my second-grade class and gave me a big hug when she learned I was to be her fourth-grade teacher.
She was looking forward to being in my class for a second year when her mother decided to leave. I remember her being very sad as she told me goodbye and described to me a wall that had been built near where she had lived. She would be in her early twenties now. Thoughts of her haunt me.
I appreciate this post, Rosaliene…the poignant poem and the map. The map details clarified many details. ❤
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Cheryl, thanks very much for sharing your own experience with Jews and Palestinians close to your heart ❤ I was hesitant to address this situation for similar reasons. I hope that I've made it clear that no side is innocent in this 75-year-old violent conflict.
I'm so glad that you've found the map helpful. It was a lucky find during my search for a map of the Ottoman Empire. As a geographer, I adore maps and had once considered becoming a cartographer 🙂
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Depressing, compelling post, Rosaliene. Yes, history almost always informs present-day events. And terrorism is terrorism, whether inflicted by a government or individuals. After decades of Palestinians being oppressed, the atrocious killings by Hamas didn’t occur in a vacuum, and the Israeli government’s response (backed by U.S. government words and arms) has been wildly and tragically disproportionate.
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Thanks very much, Dave. It is, indeed, a depressing topic but one I felt compelled to address. Our national leaders across the planet have allowed this conflict to go on for far too long. How many more Israeli and Palestinian civilians have to die before we say “Enough!”?
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I find this situation impossible to judge, with tragedy, mistakes, and brutality on all sides. Actors outside the field of battle, according to authoritative reports, also point to Iran’s support of Hamas’s assault and benefiting from the growing anti-Israel sentiment now present in the West. In the USA, attacks on Muslims and Jews proliferate. Innocent civilians are caught in a spider’s web. Heartbreak is all around.
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Dr. Stein, I can well imagine what a difficult situation this is for you. Know that you were foremost in my thoughts when I wrote this post ❤ In the convent, we were taught to love the sinner but hate the sin. Mind you, I had difficulty separating the two. As I see it, in this situation, we have to distant ourselves from the people we love and share a kinship with and focus on their/our actions: The brutality on all sides. Violent retaliation by both parties and their allies has been futile in resolving their contentions. Eradicating Hamas will not bring peace to Israel. Another resistance group will rise up, stronger than ever, from the rubble.
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While I appreciate your concern for me, Rosaliene, you may be assuming personal factors in my life about an attachment to Israel that is not based on any evidence I have offered. One of the skills therapists learn is the very distance you describe.
Any country subjected to the recent attack on Israel, murders, and taking of hostages would not sit quietly. The only relevant questions become what should such a country do and what can be done to defuse the situation.
Without an answer (and I don’t have one) we are in our own dilemma if we stand in a safe place and judge one side fully right and one unequivocally wrong.
I stand by what I wrote. We all should remember what Jesus taught — that only he who is without sin should cast the first stone.
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I stand corrected, Dr. Stein. You are not the first person to call out my tendency to make false assumptions about others and situations. Such is the nature of survival on the margins of society.
Jesus also said: Judge not and you shall not be judged. He must tire of my frequent lapses.
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You are a dear person, Rosaliene. That is one thing of which I am sure. The NY Times of the last couple of days, in opinion pieces by Nicholas Kristof and Michelle Goldberg demonstrate their own struggles in how to deal with this human catastrophe.
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Rosaliene,
I see nothing about forgiveness in any of the verbiage. Jesus was perceived as weak, back in his time, but he allowed himself to go down without a fight. I’m not advocating for either Palestinians or Jews, but I do wish those still alive could find a way to get along.
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Katherine, you raise several interesting points. Forgiveness is a tricky business. Powerful individuals and nations do not forgive those in weaker positions. For forgiveness to bring about real change for the weaker party, the other side must be willing to make concessions. In this case, only pressure from the international community has the power to end this violence and find a solution.
It’s interesting that you mention Jesus. According to the New Testament accounts of His life, Jesus was not born to free Ancient Palestine or Judea, then an Imperial Province of the Roman Empire (27 BC – 395 AD). It was also not part of His plan to take down Herod the Great, then the ruler of the Jewish people. His mission was to show the poor and disadvantaged people how to triumph over the conditions of life under the Empire.
What’s happening in modern-day Israel goes far beyond the descendants of the ancient Jews and Palestinians. What happened to them in 1948 was not of their making but decisions made by the Empire at the time. Think what it would be like if some people in our government have their way and there’s a Civil War in the USA at some future time. Should your state fall to the oppositional forces, you could be ordered to leave your beautiful home and find new lodgings elsewhere in some rundown neighborhood on the periphery. What then? How do you find a way to get along with the “occupiers” of your land and state?
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Rosaliene,
Times do change, but Jesus’ wisdom and common sense ring through the ages. I can’t say how I would react to unknowns of the future. I’ve lived by the seat of my pants, so to speak, and done what I’ve had to do to survive.
My personal priorities have changed over the years, as maybe anyone’s would as they age. I’ve let go of a lot, including old beliefs, interests, and attitudes that have served their purpose. Some things no longer seem worth the trouble.
My point is I can’t judge others without the memory of myself acting or believing similarly in various choice points in my life. I haven’t been in war or in crisis mode, nor do I choose that experience. I imagine I could live on the streets if I had to, but I hope it never comes to that.
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What a great and powerful article and I am 100% with you. An empire of lies is to collapse. BTW, you know I am Austrian and we once were among the most successful empires. Well, today we are less than 9 million – and it is a wonderful life here. Smaller in size does not necessarily mean less quality.
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Thanks very much, Friedrich 🙂 I know that you’re Austrian, but knew nothing about the Austrian Empire until my Google research earlier today. Imagine my surprise to be reminded that World War I was triggered by the assassination of the heir to the throne of the Austria-Hungry Empire on June 8, 1914, by a Bosnian student. By an amazing coincidence, Denzil’s November 5th post at Discovering Belgium presented “A timeline of the First World War in Belgium” (see link below).
Here’s hoping that the Israel-Hamas War ignited on October 7, 2023 does not lead to World War III.
https://www.discoveringbelgium.com/timeline-first-world-war-belgium/
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Great article Rosaliene, the decisions that are made by those in power make them for their benefit and it is always the people who suffer.
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Thanks very much, Maggie. Let us hope that pressures already underway from the international community of nations end this humanitarian crisis unfolding for the peoples of the world to see.
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Let’s hope.
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Well said Rosaliene. Somewhere high above, God is weeping, as he gets ready to hit Control-Alt-Delete on this failed human program. In the quest for money and might, so many humans have forgotten what is just and right.
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Thanks very much, Allan. We humans have truly messed up. God need not hit the Control-Alt-Delete button. He already knows that we humans have already set the process in motion for the next Great Flood.
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Is this the beginning of WW3; the build up of pressure by China, Russia & all the other totalitarian states, against the west?
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Ashley, I do believe we’re creating all conditions for the next World War. Check out Denzil’s “Time Line of the First World War in Belgium,” posted on November 5th on his blog Discovering Belgium. He sets out clearly the role of powerful allies on either side of the initial dispute between the Austria-Hungary Empire and Serbia that set the ball rolling towards a full out World War. Despite Belgium’s neutrality in this conflict, conditions on the ground forced them into the war.
https://www.discoveringbelgium.com/timeline-first-world-war-belgium/
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Thank you, Rosaliene, I will check the link.
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You’re welcome, Ashley 🙂
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It’s all so very sad, and I see the pain on both sides. Unfortunately, wounds are deep and so is their resentment, anger, hatred even. I was in Israel in 2019 and the dislike for everyone but each’s community was evident. Most surprising was even Christian sects don’t play nicely. Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholics don’t want to share spaces. One church had an alter for every Christian denomination. No one wanted to use the same alter.
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Mary, thanks for sharing your experience of visiting Israel. How could there be any cordiality among its diverse citizens under such volatile conditions? I’ve seen a VICE documentary about life on the West Bank and cannot comprehend how people could live under such restraining conditions. Gaza appears to be worse still.
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The world is a mess
And yet the distress
Of innocents quaking
In terror not of their making
Has been all but ignored by
Those too uncaring to cry
And too blind to see….
As in Ever thus, and ever will be.
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Well said, Mister Muse! You make an important point about being “too blind to see.” We fail to perceive that revenge blinds the avenger.
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As we all know, humankind is incredibly flawed.
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We are, indeed, Neil, and we all suffer as a consequence.
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Amen to this… war is inhumane and always has been – not matter who the warring factions may be.
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Thanks very much, Carol. Yet, we go on killing each other.
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It is a sad state of humanity that we keep on killing one another. I pray for peace all over this world.
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I join you in praying for peace, Carol ❤
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Oh that men may know peace and embrace peace with a kiss of humanity.
Abimelech was the king of Gaza during Abraham’s soujourn, almost countless millennials has gone with time, both Patriarchs died leaving the parcel of land behind. In a century after now if Jesus tarries, none of those fighting to have Gaza will be alive to tell the story.
Fighting and killing over vain thing (land) that has no eternal value.
I only wish that men will have a change of mind.
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Abiobaolushola, thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. I agree that a time for peace has come ❤
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In this Palestine-Israeli war, I’ve learned there are nations that lust for blood, those gruesome images of bombed infants mean nothing to them because their consciences seem dead. They are hypocrites because they claim to be what they are not. They are conceited by behaving as if they are holier than thou and superior to everyone. They are not ashamed to spread lies and promote propaganda. They are biased and inconsistent because humanity they preach about, is applied to certain nations and not others.
On the other hand, there are nations that long for peace, nations that rely on truth, that are just and humble.
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Zet Ar, I believe that over the centuries the men of our world have become hardened to acts of violence. As you mention, there are nations that long for peace. Tragically, these leaders lack the power and military might to change course. Alliances matter for one’s survival.
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Thank you for this, Rosaliene. I found this especially powerful: “The master strategists of Empire have a way of making secret deals that affect our lives for generations to come.” I’m sorry you’re waking in distress (as am I), but believe that in speaking out and taking action, we can find some sense of guiding purpose in all this.
My spouse and I attended the Denver rally and march today in solidarity with Palestine, and I wept listening to the various speakers with their mentions of the millions and millions across the globe who recognize the oppressive situation and feel a kinship.
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Thanks very much, Tracy. I could no longer remain silent. I am heartened that you and your spouse joined the Denver rally in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. These peaceful protests are essential in letting our leaders know that we are stand against the atrocities being committed in our name. Solidarity!
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Having been quietly confused and horrified by what I have read about this mess, I appreciate your perspective and explanations. There is NO excuse for killing children. It baffles me that humans can still be so barbaric. Yet, we can care about and pray for all sides, praying for peace.
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JoAnna, I’m also baffled by our barbarity towards each other. We’ve build great cities across our planet. We’ve landed a probe on Mars. Yet, our inner being that determines our moral compass has not managed to evolve at the same pace. I join you in praying for peace.
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True.
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It’s all very tragic.
(As is that misspelling of Egypt.)
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It is, indeed, Betsy. Our men in power have lost their way.
I didn’t notice the misspelling of Egypt on the Gaza map.
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A powerful piece Rosaliene and thanks for your courage in writing it. I agree with you completely. I am amazed at the silence from many international leaders. As you know, I have just posted a timeline of the First World War. My overwhelming takeaway from my post and yours is not meant to be a light throwaway comment but a serious observation. How different would the history of the world have been if there had been more women in power?
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Thanks very much, Denzil. We appear to be on the same page in taking a critical look at the wars of Empire. The male dominator system of world governance, enforced by fear and violence, now threatens to escalate tensions in an already unstable region. The need grows greater for a male-female partnership system of decision-making, based on equality and justice for all, at all levels of government.
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Thank you for your brave stand for peace. Colonialism continues to sow the seeds of division.
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I appreciate your support, Rebecca. As a student of Latin American history, you are also aware that the legacy of colonialism is still very much evident across the region and worldwide.
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Yes, the history of the Americas is one of colonialism, both the initial forays around the 1500s and the last century with the US hegemony. The displacement of original inhabitants here in the US mirrors the Middle East situation.
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Rebecca, all that has changed is the weaponry which is a thousand times more destructive of life and property.
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Oh Rosaliene, thank you for this post. We are all changed by this tragedy. The propaganda and the duplicity of the powerful has been truly frightening. We must keep speaking out.
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I appreciate your solidarity, Kim. Dehumanizing the enemy is a centuries-old, effective strategy of the powerful. The struggle goes on.
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Yours is a thoughtful, strong, and informed voice. Thank you for sharing it!
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Thanks very much, Michele. You’re welcome!
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Thank you for sharing!!.. there is no justification for what is transpiring in Gaza, or anywhere else for that matter, all they are doing is sowing the seeds of hate and anger… under the circumstances at the time, it were only a matter of time before a explosion would occur… if all parties in the past would have gathered together with wisdom and understanding, instead of closed minded prejudice, getting a solution that were good for all, none of what is happening today would have occurred… and, of course, I believe that America’s ( and Europe) loyalty to Israel is based on religion.. I often wondered how loyal America would be if the events following 5 BC happened in another country or part of the world…. 🙂
Hope all is well in your part of the universe and until we meet again..
May your day be touched
by a bit of Irish luck,
Brightened by a song
in your heart,
And warmed by the smiles
of people you love.
(Irish Saying)
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Dutch, I agree that this latest renewal of violence is “sowing the seeds of hate and anger.” I’ve come to the conclusion that this explosive quagmire persists because it serves the powers that be.
I wish you all the best this Veterans Day as we remember those who were lost on the frontlines of humanity’s wars ❤
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I enjoyed your verse, Rosaliene, and appreciate your brave voice in the write-up. I find it so disheartening that war goes on and on and on, whether it is big enough to be considered newsworthy, or if it’s done quietly on a smaller scale, but always at the behest of a few. Thank you for voicing your concern & sharing with all of us. (Are you aware of the upcoming 10,000 for world peace event? If not, check out worldpeace10000.org.)
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Thanks very much, Lisa. Thanks, too, for sharing the link to the World Peace event. I’ve practiced TM for several years.
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This situation is one of the more horrific ones the world has ever seen, and you present it very well. Addressing this situation is so difficult these days, as the reactions from supporters of both sides can be very emotional… and you artfully made it clear that no side is innocent in this 75-year-old violent conflict. It is simply heartbreaking. An amazingly well written post, Rosaliene.
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Thanks very much, Randall. The time has come for a resolution.
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