As a Jewish American I feel such horror over this entire situation and the murder of innocent Israelis and Palestinians alike. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. The Israeli government must do better.
Thank you for having the courage to write this and express what so many of us are feeling. As I scroll through my social media feed I see back-to-back, heartfelt pleas to stand with Palestinians against the horrific genocide happening or to stand with Jews against centuries of antisemitism, like these things must be mutually exclusive. It makes me so sad that two populations who are hurting so much can't see the hurt in the other, can't realize that they are mirrors of each other. The increasing lack of nuance in our public discourse, forcing everything into dichotomies must be resisted.
Well said, Brooke. Living in a world where everything is increasingly only seen in two ways is a tragedy. It undermines compassion, growth, creativity, thought, and the evolution of ideas that we are so capable of.
This was thoughtful and captured so much of the grief and dismay that I’m holding. It is hard to feel hopeful about the future given what I’ve seen all over social media in the last week.
I feel like this situation is a speed run version of what happened after 9/11 and it’s so horrible. Weirdly enough the thing that feels most resonant for me right now is during the DC sniper, there were rumors about the shooter being in a white van, and two coworkers who I had thought were good people were standing around talking about how the cops should just open fire on white vans or on the suspected white van (it’s been so long I don’t really remember how generally they were wanting destruction), but it was just like the minute they see it, they should try to destroy it, and I asked my coworkers, but what if that’s not even true? It’s just a rumor - what if it’s not even a white van? And they just looked at me like I was an idiot, and told me it didn’t matter. At that point, I realized that people can be really weak and really cruel if they feel even a little bit scared or helpless, and that broke my heart.
Thanks so much for speaking up. It feels surreal that we live in a world where expressing basic concern for human rights and condemning the destruction of the Palestinians is considered “brave.”
Proud of your courage, of speaking for many who think like this and do not dare to speak. I just want to send you a lot of empathy, understanding, gratitude and a lot of love.
Thank you for expressing a heartfelt nuanced opinion that looks at the unfolding human tragedy with much needed perspective . UN secretary general Guterrea editorial on the NYT yesterday had a wonderful quote of Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset: the man is one with his circumstances. Context is critical to any attempt to understand reality and the circumstances require us to see (and expect ... nah demand) humanity (and call out the lack thereof) in all parties. In articulating messages (more like sound bytes), Most leaders haven’t raised above the fray to educate because the discourse of hate appeals to the amygdala od their discrete stakeholders. Let’s not fail ourselves. This is not either or. This is “and”.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have perfectly expressed what I’ve been trying to put into words all week. Thank you so much for having the courage to post. We need to hear more from thoughtful and informed people such as yourself.
Thank you for articulating these critical truths. I’ve learned a lot about many I respected, many I had assumed shared the same value for all human lives and humanity, especially children - only to learn over the last week that they do not.
Thank you. This situation has been devastating and complicated for decades and no one seems to have an answer that works. People that are expressing knee jerk and callous opinions have taken no time to understand anything about the situation there. I’m so tired of ignorance surrounding world politics.
As a Jewish American I feel such horror over this entire situation and the murder of innocent Israelis and Palestinians alike. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. The Israeli government must do better.
Thank you. Beautifully expressed and thoughtful, you speak for many of us.
Thank you for having the courage to write this and express what so many of us are feeling. As I scroll through my social media feed I see back-to-back, heartfelt pleas to stand with Palestinians against the horrific genocide happening or to stand with Jews against centuries of antisemitism, like these things must be mutually exclusive. It makes me so sad that two populations who are hurting so much can't see the hurt in the other, can't realize that they are mirrors of each other. The increasing lack of nuance in our public discourse, forcing everything into dichotomies must be resisted.
Well said, Brooke. Living in a world where everything is increasingly only seen in two ways is a tragedy. It undermines compassion, growth, creativity, thought, and the evolution of ideas that we are so capable of.
This was thoughtful and captured so much of the grief and dismay that I’m holding. It is hard to feel hopeful about the future given what I’ve seen all over social media in the last week.
I have felt this way- but you were much more eloquent. Thank you for being brave and sharing your thoughts
I feel like this situation is a speed run version of what happened after 9/11 and it’s so horrible. Weirdly enough the thing that feels most resonant for me right now is during the DC sniper, there were rumors about the shooter being in a white van, and two coworkers who I had thought were good people were standing around talking about how the cops should just open fire on white vans or on the suspected white van (it’s been so long I don’t really remember how generally they were wanting destruction), but it was just like the minute they see it, they should try to destroy it, and I asked my coworkers, but what if that’s not even true? It’s just a rumor - what if it’s not even a white van? And they just looked at me like I was an idiot, and told me it didn’t matter. At that point, I realized that people can be really weak and really cruel if they feel even a little bit scared or helpless, and that broke my heart.
Thanks so much for speaking up. It feels surreal that we live in a world where expressing basic concern for human rights and condemning the destruction of the Palestinians is considered “brave.”
I have felt exactly this. Thank you for expressing it so well.
Proud of your courage, of speaking for many who think like this and do not dare to speak. I just want to send you a lot of empathy, understanding, gratitude and a lot of love.
Beautifully written. Thankyou. Just wanted to send you some love.
Thank you for expressing a heartfelt nuanced opinion that looks at the unfolding human tragedy with much needed perspective . UN secretary general Guterrea editorial on the NYT yesterday had a wonderful quote of Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset: the man is one with his circumstances. Context is critical to any attempt to understand reality and the circumstances require us to see (and expect ... nah demand) humanity (and call out the lack thereof) in all parties. In articulating messages (more like sound bytes), Most leaders haven’t raised above the fray to educate because the discourse of hate appeals to the amygdala od their discrete stakeholders. Let’s not fail ourselves. This is not either or. This is “and”.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have perfectly expressed what I’ve been trying to put into words all week. Thank you so much for having the courage to post. We need to hear more from thoughtful and informed people such as yourself.
Thank you, Clara, for speaking up and eloquently capturing what many of us are feeling.
Thank you for articulating these critical truths. I’ve learned a lot about many I respected, many I had assumed shared the same value for all human lives and humanity, especially children - only to learn over the last week that they do not.
Thank you for speaking up so eloquently. ❤️ it seems to not be heard when it is Palestinian voices so it is so very important when others share this.
Thank you. This situation has been devastating and complicated for decades and no one seems to have an answer that works. People that are expressing knee jerk and callous opinions have taken no time to understand anything about the situation there. I’m so tired of ignorance surrounding world politics.