Sharing Is What I Can Do

And worry

It’s not clear to me what this post today is about, except a lot of worry. I feel compelled to share a few things. I am continuously reading about the events in the Middle East following the horrid, inhumane attacks by Hamas on Jewish citizens last weekend, and I am consuming news and opinion about the Israel government’s proposed response. Everywhere, I hear calls for revenge, calls for peace, I hear about contentious protests in New York, which has the world’s second highest Jewish population. Passions are running very high.

I believe my opinion has no place here-I cannot speak other than from my heart. I am not an expert, I am not Jewish nor Palestinian. My heart hurts for the families who lost loved ones, for the pain of the brutality experienced. I worry about the pain yet to come — for Palestinians and for Israelis. I read and hear about such hate on social media and in US protest gatherings. My relatives in Tel Aviv share photos, videos, fears, and I worry about them. When will it stop?

But I can share things I’ve read. Below is part of what Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times wrote today, in which he writes some of what I am feeling:

”Israel has suffered a staggering blow and is now forced into a morally impossible war to outcrazy Hamas and deter Iran and Hezbollah at the same time. I weep for…