“The world grows during peacetime and shrinks in its humanity during war. Our choice is between the soothing balm of peace and the stinging bites of bullets, bombs, and booby traps of war.”
On October 7, blazing guns from the Gaza Strip, Palestine fell over the border towns of Southern Israel. These ruthless guns didn’t distinguish between foreigners and Israelis, men and women, children and older people, soldiers and non-soldiers. Instead, the engines of death cut down almost everyone in their line of sight. Indeed, guns fired blindly and heartlessly, killing many. The casualties are still being tallied, but they already run into hundreds. Many more people, men, women, and children, are still missing after the brutal terror attacks, some of the most vicious atrocities in the civilized world’s history.
But there are pertinent questions in the shadows of these inhumane carnages. And we are permitted to throw up these questions because Israel has responded in the most vicious way possible, flying supersonic war jets over Gaza and dropping bombs like party confetti. Survivors are still counting the dead and wounded. But the figures are climbing scarily by the day. A wounded State of Israel is prepared to exact revenge until they have had their fill. But two wrongs don’t and will never make a right, and we must always remember this in our shared humanity. The fantasy of immediate peace between these perpetually warring neighbors is real. That is why the whole world must work assiduously to erase the impediments to reconciliation and ensure close, harmonious coexistence between Israel and all those at war with her. The world grows during peacetime and shrinks in its humanity during war. Our choice is between the soothing balm of peace and the stinging bites of bullets, bombs, and booby traps of war.
The current war between Israel and Hamas is a long and historical struggle provoked partly by a conflict of claims. For how long will Hamas, Palestine, or any other adversary keep on fighting the State of Israel? We may even ask how long Israel will keep fighting its enemies. Will peace ever come between Israel and the Arab world, between neighbors whose histories and civilizations are shared in more ways than one? The questions are endless in light of the historical nature of these battles between Israel and Palestine. Many mischievous historians have attempted to mutilate history. But each side in the conflict has its formidable schools of theories and histories, theorists and historians, who have advocated ownership of disputed lands and territories in many ways that are tough to ignore for their armadas of passionate supporters.
Indeed, this article concludes as a spirited open letter to Israel and Palestine. Dear Israel, stop fighting Palestine. Beloved Palestine, stop fighting Israel. There is nothing left to say. There is no need for a long and winding letter to those in a time of war. Brevity is a golden virtue at times like this one. Ultimately, disputed lands may be shared or jointly utilized; if not, peace will never exist between warring parties in the Middle East. But the world will be better if there is absolute peace between Israel and those fighting her. It is not too much to ask all kind souls to seek peace because it is still within reach. It’s about time the guns of Gaza stopped blazing, and the jets of Jerusalem stopped flying.
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