Since October 7, the war in Gaza has raged on leaving nothing but death and destruction of both the Gaza Strip and Israel in its path. Leaders of the regions show no intention of a path towards peace and partake in a cycle of violence and trauma, leaving their citizens to suffer and die. 

I am a Jewish American Woman. When I turn on the TV and see nothing but sorrow, war, and destruction in my homeland of Israel, I turn to my faith first. Judaism guides me with various pillars applicable to the war right now. For one, Judaism values the preservation of life, or פיקוח נפש in Hebrew. Essentially, preserving human life overrides any other rule of Judaism. I have seen nothing but death on both sides as this war reaches a half-year in length. I don’t believe Israel’s approach to the war is sustainable, smart, or aligned with and rooted in Jewish values.

The terrorist group Hamas has repeatedly stated that they intend to repeat the actions of October 7, to eliminate Israel, and by extension, Jews everywhere. The citizens of Gaza do not support their fascist leaders and are oppressed by hunger and pain as the leaders of Hamas sit comfortably in their mansions in Qatar. Benjamin Netanyahu, the right-wing extremist criminal Prime minister of Israel, has also shown no signs of intention toward a path to peace. The Gaza Strip has been bombarded by violence and hunger since October 7. 

Before I continue, let me make it very clear: I am not drawing a moral comparison between a terrorist group and the Israeli government. Hamas’s stated purpose is to eradicate the Jewish people. Hamas exists solely to cause terror and death to Jewish people everywhere. The state of Israel’s government exists to provide order and govern the state fairly. But has it been overrun by corruption and extremism? Yes. 

As a Jew, I hate Netanyahu. I criticize the Israeli government consistently. So does almost every other Jew in the world. It is truly disheartening that it is a criminal that represents the State of Israel on the global stage. Before October 7, Israel saw mass civilian protests against its government. Even today, civilians along with families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are consistently protesting the Israeli government’s approach to the war. With all that being said, it is blatantly antisemitic to believe there is any sort of comparison between the purpose of Israel’s government versus the purpose of a terrorist group. 

However, I do believe that the Right-wing leaders of the state of Israel participate in a vicious cycle of trauma and violence. One that is thousands of years old. Israel’s military bombardment of Gaza is essentially retraumatizing an entire generation of young Gazans. With trauma comes pain, with pain comes anger, and with anger comes violence. While Israel didn’t start this war, the way they are fighting it will not bring justice to anyone involved and won’t bring the region any closer to a future of peace. Israel has a fundamental right to defend itself and protect its citizens. And, bombing innocent civilians doesn’t bring our hostages home. These opposing truths reflect the key aspect of nuance needed when discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It’s important to establish numerous opposing truths when discussing as nuanced a topic as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This conflict is complicated and complex, and it didn’t start on October 7, as many of the Instagram social justice warriors may want you to believe. It didn’t even start 100 years ago. This conflict is deep-rooted in the entirety of the existence of both the Israeli/Jewish and Palestinian people. It isn’t simple or easy to learn about. Here are a few numerous opposing truths in this conflict:

• Israel has a right to defend itself. And a responsibility to protect innocent civilians.
• Killing innocent civilians is wrong. And Hamas hides among their civilians purposefully and uses civilians as human shields.
• Israel warns civilians in Gaza when an air strike is going to happen. And people in Gaza don’t really have anywhere safe to escape to.

If you cannot hold two opposing truths together, you aren’t in the position to form an opinion on this conflict. We cannot paint this conflict as black and white. We need to focus on nuance: the grays in between. To minimize or attempt to simplify this conflict does a grave injustice to all parties involved, even if you intend to amplify unheard voices. You should never assume someone’s beliefs based on their ethnicity, religion, race, etc. Additionally, you cannot speak on this issue if you refuse to infuse nuance in your arguments. You cannot speak on this issue if you have not done adequate research.

My favorite opposing truth is that Israeli independence and Palestinian freedom are causes that are intertwined and interdependent. Pitting them against each other causes a further rift in the path to productively collaborate. To get anywhere, we need each other. While I don’t know what the future looks like for the region, we should strive to make it a future where everyone feels safe and welcome. To move forward, we must acknowledge the trauma each side has faced, sit in it together, and try to collectively heal rather than retaliate with inhumane violence against one another.