I sat and cried this morning. I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a picture of buildings in Tel Aviv burning. People in the comments were gleeful about it.
Here's the thing.
Hamas, which has backing from Iran, did horrific things during the October 7th attacks. Terrible things, things. And they have hostages, after all this time with families who anxiously wonder if they'll see their loved ones again, hostages of different ages and backgrounds, innocent civilians who were going about their day like any of us would, several at a music festival.
Netanyahu and his government's reaction was brutal, and it was not aimed not at Hamas, but at the Palestinian people themselves, all in the name of seeking to root out those who planned the attack, but trying to displace as many as they can so they can take back as much territory as possible, in the belief that they are chosen by God and therefore deserve it So many Palestinians have died because of this. Innocents uprooted. So many who had been going about their everyday lives, seeking to raise families, work to make a better life, and better the world, just like most of us. All lost, all turned to dust and blood.
Now they've turned to Iran's potential nuclear capability, which has hung over Israel and the Middle East for decades. I have no doubt that if Iran ever manages to build a bomb they will try to obliterate Israel, even though it will blowback on them and cause a greater conflict. There is a madness in the Middle East, and it's catching. When I heard of the attack, all I could think is that Netanyahu will spark the last war we will ever see, the one that will end it all. Countries will condemn, then take sides, and millions will die, and all from one missile attack. I get the need and belief to be proactive, and the fear, but the fact of the matter is that he (and Ali Khamenei, the Iranian head of state) will have so much blood on their hands by the end of this all, as will the leaders of Hamas.
All of these are war criminals. But to take glee in the death and suffering of the average Palestinian, Israeli, or Iranian--that is horrible to me, and that is the whole problem with how we get to this situation, by dehumanising the Other. We need to feel for others. To recognise that they're just like us, that they want a lot of the same, simple things: a safe place to raise their families, number one. Some are greedy bastards, true. But overall, I believe most people are good. I'm not so sure about the people who liked what they saw in Tel Aviv. I'm sure there are others who felt the same about pictures of Iranian sites and Palestinian ones. It's because they think in black and white, and that's not how the world works. It never has; it never will.
What do I hope to see? Peace. I hope this will end, that it will deesccalate before the world burns, or at least the region. One can hope. But I studied the Arab-Israeli conflict in school (the history of it, and let me tell you, it goes back to a lot of colonial bull crap and doesn't go back to ancient Biblical times, really), and I'm not sure it will ever come to an end. There's something called Jerusalem Syndrome where people who are otherwise rational go there and suddenly become zealots, regardless of whatever side they wind up being on. It's crazy. It's all crazy.
Bring the hostages home. Stop the campaign in Gaza and let people go home. Stop the missile attacks. Sanction and cut off the supply of urananium. Stop it all. Try the aggressors for war crimes and stop the madness. Please, just stop.