How can we remain silent while the violence is escalating? What sense is there in being right and justifying our behavior? What is it that the leaders think that they will gain by encouraging the violence? An eye for an eye. Just what is the number of people who need to die before sense will prevail? Stop the violence.
How is it possible for us to allow for a whole nation of Israeli and Palestinian children living in the south of Israel and Gaza to be in a state of permanent fear? What sort of adults will they become? We have a responsibility for their future and for the trauma that they suffer. We must end the violence. These children are abused and surely will become damaged and possibly abusers themselves in the future. This is not a game that either side can win. We have to stop and think of ways to end this hatred, to respect each other and to understand the needs of both sides. Stop the violence.
Demonization of the "other" will only fuel the already-boiling cauldron. It all seems so helpless, like nothing can stop the madness and killing.
I say that it is possible. We can look at other countries where people thought that their conflict was totally impossible to solve. Something like the miracle of South Africa could happen. If you had told me when I came to live in Israel in 1967 after growing up in the terrible apartheid days that it would have been possible for there to be a solution without bloodshed, I would have said you were mad. And yet that is what happened. Yes, they had Mandela and Desmond Tutu, but the nation, both black and white, allowed it to happen. There is no such thing as instant reconciliation, and South Africa has a long way to go, but there is hope for a better future. Stop the violence.
What future lies ahead for our children and grandchildren? Will they grow up in fear, which leads to hatred and violence? Or can we give them a chance to see the humanity in the other and perhaps understand that this would be a good step in the direction of ending this bloody conflict? We owe them an opportunity for a future that will be free of violence and a normal life.
I, for one, will not keep silent, regardless of how many violent and angry responses I get whenever I speak or write. I know the consequences of the violence and have paid a very high price for these words.
David, my beloved son, who died as a result of the conflict -- David, who was a member of the peace movement -- should not have had to lose his life at a checkpoint that was removed the next day after he and another nine people were killed by a Palestinian sniper. Was this in the name of security? Surely there must be a better way to protect our children so that other mothers, both Israeli and Palestinian, will not have to suffer this endless pain and tearing of the heart. Surely we can be more original in looking for solutions and not continue with this dreadful cycle of violence.
Sanity must prevail. Inertia cannot take over. We must come out and demonstrate to the powers that be. Stop the violence.