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As we sit here in Maine, a world away from the Middle East, we realize that we have no special insight into the events in Israel and the Palestinian territories. We realize that, in the comfort of America, we have little tangible sense of what daily life was like in places like Gaza and Tel Aviv before the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7 and even less of what it is like now, a month after those attacks as Israel stepped up its bombardment and isolation of Gaza.
What we do know is that many reactions to the events of Oct. 7 and the month after, in the U.S. and elsewhere far from Israel, are far too simplistic and miss the vast complications of a conflict that has brewed for centuries.
Of course it is simplistic — and likely a faint hope — but we wish for an end to the fighting, terror and horror, for Palestinians and Israelis alike. We wish for innocent civilians on both sides of this conflict to stop paying a horrendous price for a terrorist group’s brutal attack and a government’s expected but nevertheless excessive response. We wish for safety, prosperity and hope for everyone caught in this tragic cycle of violence and hate.
We don’t know how to make any of these a reality.
But some of the things being done and said in response to the Oct. 7 attacks and the subsequent Israeli military operations are counterproductive and, sometimes, just plain insensitive.
Take those who are ripping down posters with photos of the more than 240 Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. We can criticize the Israeli government’s mistreatment of residents of Gaza, essentially barricading them in an impoverished city with sporadic electricity, few jobs and little hope (which Hamas has done little to alleviate) and, more recently, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which has displaced more than 1 million Palestinians and left thousands dead. At the same time, we can — and must — appreciate the humanity of the children, grandparents, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters ( some of whom are Arab) who are still being held captive by Hamas. We must advocate for their immediate and safe release, as should Israel’s neighbors in the Middle East who say they want a peaceful solution to the current situation.
We fully respect those who are protesting on behalf of more rights and dignity for Palestinians. Understand, however, that when someone carries posters that say “from the river to the sea,” or project this on a university building, these words are not just a catchy slogan and have long been a code for driving all Jews out of Israel, for wiping Israel off the map. Understand that the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state has long been a cornerstone of Hamas’ charter. The charter was moderated in 2017, but it still calls for the elimination of the state of Israel.
We have seen Israelis and Jews around the world speak out against the current government of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his party have been far too strident in their support of the continuation and expansion of settlement building in the Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu has also taken questionable steps to consolidate his power — and to diminish the chances that he is convicted on corruption and fraud charges — steps that have led to widespread protests in Israel.
Many have also argued that these controversial power grabs diverted attention away from the security needs of Israel, perhaps leading to the intelligence lapses that allowed the Hamas attacks to happen.
Like many prime ministers before him, Netanyahu’s primary response to Hamas and other Arab militant groups is through military strikes, including daily bombings of Gaza in recent weeks. Despite attempts to avoid civilian casualties, these Israeli operations have killed thousands of Palestinians, many of them children. In addition to the loss of innocent lives, these killings will surely radicalize another generation of Palestinians who will hate Israel.
Simply put, the cycle of killing must stop. Doing so, however, is far from simple.
In the short term, Hamas must quickly return the Israeli hostages it is holding. Israel (and Egypt) must speed the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, and plan for an end to the bombings, with consideration of periodic short humanitarian pauses if Israeli hostages are released unharmed.
Longer term, Israel and Palestinians should return to a focus on negotiations for a two-state solution. There are many reasons why such negotiations will be fraught and difficult, possibly fruitless. But continued killing cannot be the answer.
