Posted by … or why I’m not angry at anyone
Day after day, I have read articles, editorials and letters to the editor concerning the new rounds of violence in Gaza. One side decries Israel’s actions, another side defends them. One side condemns Hamas, another side excuses them. Blame Hamas, Fatah or even Hezbollah. Blame Likud, Kadima or Labor. Blame Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran or Syria. Blame the Americans or the Europeans. Have we all become so polarized to one viewpoint that we cannot see the culpability of all sides?
I can already envision the same old retorts. Israel should defend itself from Hamas rockets because what would you do if bombs were falling on your town, your house, your family. The brutalization of the Palestinian people because of their leadership’s intransigence only further polarizes the ordinary populace and so Israel must stop its attacks.
Israel must finish the job because any pull-back will be interpreted by Hamas as a sign of weakness. Hamas must be brought into the peace process despite their refusal to recognize the very existence of the Jewish state because they have been duly elected by their constituency. And on and on and on. Ad infinitum.
There is a saying that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Well, in the lands of the Middle East, the man with the bombs purports to be king. Unfortunately, everyone in the Middle East appears to have bombs. And as Gandhi said, an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.
Like many others, I cannot offer a new solution because we all know the final solution (two states side-by-side, a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, pre-1967… yada, yada, yada). I am not trying to be overly clever or even original. I am only sad; sad for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. You are neither blind nor do you see. You are neither the eviscerated proletariat nor are you the all-powerful king. Until cooler heads on both sides prevail, your lot is the antithesis of those in America who voted for hope and change. You are without either and so you are dead; simply and tragically dead.
