It’s as if the rest of the world can’t comment on what’s going on in the Middle East. We can’t possibly know the trouble Jews have seen in their long, tortured history. So, for the rest of the world, it’s hands off– we best keep our opinions to ourselves. Sometimes it feels like we’re not allowed to understand.
There’s no getting up to speed. The rest of us need have nothing to say about Israel’s single-minded response to the events of October 7, even as thousands of Gazans suffer beyond imagining.
Of course it’s difficult to show restraint when your citizens are butchered and the perpetrators react as if God is pleased by the ruthlessness and bloodshed! Israel has responded with understandable, unapologetic, determined, even disciplined rage. But the collateral damage is a weight Israel must bear. How can it not consider the welfare of those who are caught in the middle?
It must be difficult to pick your fight, or take the time to be careful, when things are this raw and messed up. War is war. There’s nothing fair about it. And yet, restraint must be shown.
Israel seems to have given up on restraint. But it’s hard to know for sure, because no one can walk a mile in their shoes.
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