Pointing Fingers

I have no words to describe what I felt when I saw the photo of a baby in diapers, lying in a crib, punctured with bullet holes and covered in blood.  I’m not naïve enough to be shocked at the fact humans are capable of great evil but the murder of babies, the beheading and rape and burning to death of innocent people should never be defended—not on university campuses or anywhere else.

What happened at Harvard and other respected universities (reportedly Columbia University, University of Michigan Law School and Northwestern University are included) where student groups blamed Israel for what happened on October 7th, is unconscionable. I have come to believe there is a moral failure that has infected our brightest young people when they can conflate a morally indefensible terrorist act with the overall Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I do not intend to defend Israel’s far-right government or its policy in the Gaza strip. Even my father, who escaped the Nazi terror in Europe, believed the Palestinians should have self-determination and their own homeland free from Israeli occupation. I am terribly sad knowing innocent Palestinians will suffer and add to the death toll before this war is ended. I am also saddened by the ignorance and hate mongering that clouds reason and chokes the humanity needed to establish peace.

This war will create another refugee crisis, adding to those fleeing from persecution and from conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela, South Sudan and elsewhere. Climate change adds to the problem by reducing arable lands and adding to world hunger. The overarching issue should not be who to blame, but how to save the planet and ourselves before we cannot. I hope all young people, whether on university campuses or not, gain more insight, more empathy, and more tolerance to help make this a better world for future generations.  It might require an attitude shift.

October 13, 2023