Humanity's inhumanity

How has the world gone so wrong? Some ideas to fix it.

Checking my phone for the first time on that fateful Saturday evening was one of the most surreal moments of my life.

I looked as my father was FaceTiming me - nothing unusual after my 25-hour digital hiatus. It was his reaction upon my answering that was different. In tears, he told me he thought that my wife of one month and myself were dead. “What?” I answered him, as he told me to check the news.

The sights shocked me. My heart sank as the only thing that crossed my mind was that one of these crazed killers might be in my neighborhood, ready to inflict upon my wife and I the same brutality that they had carried out in the southern part of Israel.

—

Living in Jerusalem is one of the greatest blessings in the world. Religious or secular, the curiosity that fills the air in turn packs the streets with artists, technologists, and everything in between. I have been fortunate in a little over a year to have met many of them in this diverse microcosm of the world.

The “psyche” of Jerusalem is one that has created some of the world’s greatest innovations, dating back thousands of years to, for example, universal pre-K, which originated in the Biblical times in Jerusalem.

It is with the dream I had to live here, and the reality that shapes my life today, that not even for a second did the outbreak of the war make me consider leaving my new home.

And staying has only justified that. The streets are lively. The shops and restaurants bustling. Children are playing in the streets. In some uncertain reality, you would believe that there is no war waging just a few hours drive away - that young men and women are giving their lives to defend their homeland.

However, living in relative calm amid actual war, much has still changed, not less my perspectives about how change can be actualized in this troubled part of the world.

—

My greatest frustration is the role that international parties play in conflicts. This had always troubled me, to be honest. The concept that, in the conflict where I live, diplomats living in far out places such as Washington DC, Brussels, or Doha think they can formulate solutions they have not lived, nor will ever live, is completely unreasonable. To this end, it should be no surprise that there is still conflict.

But making suggestions or offering plans is one thing. Making demands is another.

Let’s take one demand voiced by the capitals of Western cities, one I believe should make supporters of both Israel and Palestinians in Gaza furious:

Not a single Palestinian in Gaza may be relocated from their homes.

This demand may be the most inhumane, immoral, and unjust policy ever implemented in the history of war.

Of course, displacement from home is never the most ideal solution for anyone, but it must be recognized that it is a common feature of war. Just looking in the past few years, more than six million Ukrainians and five million Syrians were allowed to leave their homes and resettle elsewhere. But Gazans? They must be forced to live among daily bombardment, lack of medical and basic food supplies, and cramped by the thousands.

I do not write this to say Israel’s actions are not justified. They are.

I am writing this to say that the blood of innocent Gazan civilians is staining the hands of political leaders in Washington and Europe.

Or another:

The US government and Europe refuse to pressure Qatar to hand over Hamas leaders.

This should have occurred on October 8, and the fact that it has not yet occurred seriously brings to question how genuine Biden and Co. are about returning the 136 hostages - men, women, elderly, and children from Israel, the US, and Europe - who remain holed up underground by Hamas terrorists.

If you are unaware, Hamas’ billionaire leaders currently live in Qatar and are protected by Qatar’s government. It is from their multi-million dollar villas and penthouses that they orchestrated the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and it is there that they live in luxury while their people suffer immensely.

The US government maintains a military base in the Middle Eastern monarchy (one they just renewed), and has serious leverage to pressure Doha to hand over Hamas’ leaders - or at the very least push them to hand over the hostages. Given that Doha is harboring these terror leaders, it should be obvious that they are not an honest broker, and even those families who have been forced to suffer since the war’s outbreak with their loved ones locked up should be screaming at Biden to force Doha’s hands. But he doesn’t. Why?

Maybe because the oil-rich state has invested more than $50 billion in the US since 2015. So much for the “Jewish Lobby”…?

Instead of this, Biden and Co. seek to commit the gravest sin: rewarding terror.

Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken have sought to push an unrealistic and undesirable two-state solution, one that would signal to the world that if you rape, murder, and burn alive men, women, and children, you can see yourself rewarded rather than punished. It is insane. Mass murder is not a legitimate means to achieving a political goal.

—

So what is there to do?

Jews living in America have once again shown themselves to be invaluable to Israel in their support. It is no surprise: Israel is the collective homeland of not just Israelis, but of Jews everywhere.

But I ask them to look at the weekly protests carried out by those supporting the other side and ask what is the difference. Of course, there are many, namely the open calls for violence by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

However, the main difference is their protests have clearly defined goals.

What do I mean?

If you look at their protests, they are calling for a clearly defined outcome: an end to the war in Gaza.

Agree or not, when policymakers hear their demands, they are certain what they are asking for.

On the side of pro-Israel demonstrations, there are no clearly defined goals.

While it is important to show unity, to bring facts to the table about the indigenous rights of Jews to the Land of Israel, to demonstrate the nearly insane methods the IDF has taken to protect civilians, and other points make clear Israel is just in this war, no minds are being changed, and no policy is being furthered.

Israel’s enemies will remain Israel’s enemies no matter how many facts are presented.

So, if change is to come - real change that is not just a temporary pause in fighting that will reemerge in a few years - there must be concrete action.

—

A concrete action that can bring an end to the more than decade of bloodshed is one that advocates for the voluntary resettlement of Gazan refugees to Muslim-majority countries, as well as other European or North/South American countries that wish to absorb those fleeing the war zone. Alongside this, the original sin that has led to the series of wars and deaths from Gaza - the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza - must be reversed.

Israel must apply sovereignty to the Gaza Strip, building Israeli cities.

A concrete action is calling on the US government to pressure Qatar to hand over Hamas’ murderous leaders or else face serious consequences. With this, all 136 hostages should be released with no pre-conditions. Anything less is wrong.

These clearly defined goals will demonstrate that mass murder is not rewarded.

To those in the US, advocating for these solutions, as opposed to ones being floated by the US government, can be the best way to showcase support and bring about real change for Israel, the region, and the world.

To a better future,

O