General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Because I can't stand it any more [View all]Richard D
(9,163 posts)It is almost impossible to understand the pain so many Jews and Israelis are experiencing now.
While I do not know anyone who was murdered on Oct 7, I have friends who have lost loved ones. Many.
One friend has to live the rest of his life knowing that his beloved was sexually tortured and gang-raped before she was murdered. Imagin that.
I applaud the small anti-Hamas movement in Gaza. Sadly, from what I have heard, it is small, either because of widespread support for Hamas or out of fear of the repercussions of speaking up. Or both.
After over 20 years here, it burns to become aware of the unconscious and accepted antisemitism that I see too often. It hurts.
There is a widespread belief that Israelis are not to be trusted and are liars. Yet all information from Hamas is believed without much, if any, questioning,
I saw the videos of how Gazans spit upon poor 23-year-old Shani Louk. They cut off her breasts and played with them. All that was found of her was a small fragment of her skull. This is not far from me, and it lives in my heart. It is excruciating, yet I must bear witness, times the rest of the 1200. Though they may have happened, I have not heard of even the Nazis doing stuff like that.
And Hamas did all of this on purpose and with great planning. They knew where to strike to cause the most pain: our children, women, and parents. They knew and planned that Israel would counter-attack with ferocity, as is their right, and they knew that there would be civilians killed in the attack. They planned it. They did not care. In fact, they want such a death toll.
In other words, this is not theoretical. There are not many of us in this world. Every single death would proportionately be thousands of deaths of another people. Or more.