Choices about being human

I've lost touch with the day to day stuff of world affairs here, simply checking the headlines every few days. But events in Palestine and the attacks on Gaza - that's something different. When I read the live factual report from the Ma'an news agency on the ground, my heart just breaks. I'm not normally given to joining demonstrations, but if I were in England today, I would be demonstrating in London against the calculated Israeli aggression at the very time that a truce was about to be signed.

All military aggression is a sign of tragic failure of will to resolve human and political affairs in a manner that avoids unnecessary suffering. It is a statement of who we believe ourselves to be and a failure to recognise that what we do to others, we do to ourselves.

The suffering of the people of Palestine feels personal because of my cousin Palden Jenkins' involvement in peace work there over 20 years. In the face of current events, I can do little better than to quote from an entry in Palden's blog:

'The current outbreak of violence in Gaza is just classic, an eruption of the same old stuff in the same old way. Yet amidst the propaganda there’s one fact everyone studiously misses. The sides are not equal. One side, Israel, has military, diplomatic and financial power and sovereignty, plus a powerful ally, USA, supporting its case. Israel is militarily occupying Palestine. 

The other side, the Palestinians, do not have these strengths. Every time an Israeli dies, ten Palestinians die – this has been the case for sixty years. So one side gets its way and the other side is faced with a painful choice of lying down and accepting it or of somehow fighting back.'

 

Palden has also sent a letter to the British Foreign Office about the UK's involvement.

You can read the full letter and much more at the blog, Palden in the Middle East, and for a really vivid account of life in Palestine, insights into Palestinian culture and beliefs and wisdom about the historical, modern and possible future relationship between Israel and Palestine, I wholeheartedly recommend his book, Pictures of Palestine. It's not only a real eye-opener but also a jolly good read.

You can see more about the book and order a copy at the website devoted to Pictures of Palestine

Of course, the past suffering of the Jewish people who founded the nation of Israel and set its character after World War 2 cannot be denied. But everyone has a choice and can take responsibility for how they respond to suffering and who they want to be. We all have fears and are capable of lies and aggression - and we can all be filled with love and the mystery of life, determined to see the good in the world and hold the highest vision for the future of humanity - the future for ourselves.

Alice Somer Herz is a 108 year old woman who was a concert pianist and lost all her family in the Holocaust - in fact she is the world's oldest Holocaust survivor. What could be more inspiring than this video where she talks of the secret of her long life. I am captivated by the bright light in her eyes and her continued assertion that 'life is beautiful'.