Still trying to make sense of this, 109 days later
As we move past 109 days since Oct. 7, I keep waiting for my faith in humanity to be restored. “Maybe now, people will get it,” I think after each new piece of evidence is revealed. And yet, the protests, boycott threats, hateful comments and violence continues.
I often find myself going over the details in my head to try to make sense of it.
The elected leadership of Gaza invades another country and murders, beheads, rapes and kidnaps this country’s citizens and in response, young adults and others around the world are waving their flags in support and celebration of these barbaric actions. For 109 days some of these citizens - including a baby and toddler and civilians from other countries - have been kept as hostages among these terrorists. When the country’s military sends in its soldiers to try to find the hostages, they are condemned and accused of genocide (even as they send humanitarian aid into the region and drop leaflets and make phone calls to civilians to warn them to leave the buildings before they bomb the buildings). Why are the soldiers bombing these buildings, some of them residences, schools and hospitals? Because that’s where Gaza’s leaders prefer to house their military bases and weapons.
According to the testimonies of some of the hostages that were released during a brief cease-fire, some of the female hostages that remain in captivity were raped and in response, people comment on social media that that’s justified because, after all, these teenage girls were actually soldiers, as if sexual violence is justified because of that (and, by the way, because this country is so small and military service is mandatory, most of its citizens have to serve time in the military to help defend the country).
The released hostages have also spoken of witnessing the murder of family members, friends and neighbors by Hamas and then after being abducted and brought into Gaza, being beaten by Gazan civilians as they were driven through the streets. Some of the hostages said they were kept in the vast network of tunnels built under Gaza, while others were kept in civilian homes. Gaza civilians (including women and children) were caught on security cameras looting homes in the country’s communities near the border where residents were murdered.
Despite the fact that many of these barbaric actions on Oct. 7 were filmed - and posted online by the terrorists themselves - some people deny that this happened and ridiculously proclaim that the small country’s military committed the atrocious acts against their own people in order to justify attacking Gaza. As if the country wanted to spend the past 109 days at war, sending its men and women away from their families and jobs and into danger and attending funeral after funeral. As if this country, which is based on a society and culture that embraces life and survival and has a history of bringing innovation and help to the world, would do such a thing. It’s mind-boggling that people would even say that.
Protestors never seem to mention the thousands of rockets the terrorists have indiscriminately fired into this small country since Oct. 7 or since being elected to run Gaza in 2006. A generation of children who grew up in communities near the Gaza border live with the trauma of having rockets fired on them and spending their childhood running to bomb shelters. Also rarely mentioned are the billions of dollars Gaza’s leaders spent building a network of underground tunnels to store their weapons while their people lived in poverty. How all the resources the world sends to help Gazans doesn’t actually assist them, but their leaders take all the money, live as billionaires and blame Israel for the poverty in Gaza. (I realize it’s the first time I mention Israel by name, but you probably guessed by now who this small country is, right?)
Instead, groups of protesters encourage these leaders to continue their mission, calling, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” not even knowing what river and sea they are chanting about or that another country exists in that land where millions of people of multiple ethnicities and religions live. And the terrorist leaders openly state their mission to destroy that country - and kill its people - while their supporters wave their flag in support.
But it didn’t all start on Oct. 7, protestors claim, stating that it started 75 years ago, when the country first became a state. Never mind the details of history, because that doesn’t support their narrative of who the victims are. And nevermind that by saying that, they are justifying the brutal acts done on Oct. 7 and justifying any future attacks.
They are justifying rape, murder, beheading and kidnapping and they are doing so, they claim, because they are humanitarians. They care about the people of Gaza, they say, and think they should have their own country (despite never having their own country before.) They don’t consider that perhaps Egypt and Israel - the countries that border them - have border walls and strict security protocols because of past violence. They use words like “occupation” and “genocide” without considering what those words mean.
(For instance, Gaza was “occupied” by Israel after Israel was attacked by its neighbors and took over that land as a result of that war then in 2005 withdrew from the area, evicting its own citizens who had settled there. So if there was occupation, it ended 17 years ago.) And how is it “genocide” when genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of mistreatment of a large number of people from a particular national or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.Yet, there are Palestinians who live within the border of Israel and they have the same rights as all the other nations and ethnic groups that live there.
Yet, people seem to think that Israel should be responsible for the living conditions of Gazans, despite the Gazans having its own leadership that receives billions of dollars of aid from other countries?
Nothing seems to make sense anymore.
Am I denying that life in Gaza is horrible right now and the people deserve to live like that? No, of course not. Despite the fact that, from what is reported, children in Gaza are taught that Jews are evil and are indoctrinated from a young age that it’s a noble goal to kill them and become martyrs. I hope that’s just a minority. I hope that the youth in Gaza who aspire to do good in the world will get their opportunity to do so and that there’s no more loss of their loved ones and friends. I hope that those who don’t support Hamas’ mission are freed from their oppressors and can live a peaceful and productive life.
Is it devastating to see the destruction in Gaza? Yes. And it’s also devastating and heartbreaking to see what’s happening in Sudan, Congo, Syria, Ukraine and other places. There’s so much hatred and violence and suffering around the world.
And yet, I don’t recall seeing any U.S. protests for the humanitarian crisis in any of these places. Why the silence for those millions of people affected and so much noise for what’s happening in Gaza, where 130 hostages - men, women, children and elderly - have been held captive for 109 days? But the noise and fury isn’t directed at the captors and rapists, it’s aimed at the captives and those attempting - with hundreds being killed in their attempts - to rescue them.
I know I’m not the only one who feels that the world has turned upside down.