Why Tears May Cause Peace… Or, at Least Delay the Pain

Electricity,
Filtered water,
Air conditioning,
Freshly prepared food:
The benefits of living in a Jerusalem hostel.

For those without the amenities I am lucky enough to experience, from the those living without electricity in parts of Gaza, to the parents who must attempt to explain to their crying children what death feels like, I salute you.

This is not a people’s war.
This is not “revenge” for four teens.

Perhaps, military intervention is necessary; as many have said, no other country would experience this level of terror without retaliation. However, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is rooted in decades of conflict and cannot end through violence.

Fire will never triumph over more fire.

While warfare is rarely a “perfect” response to any international controversy, until leaders of the Israeli and Gazan governments agree upon legitimate peace, violence will be a normality.

So, what to do?

Never forget the human emotion involved in all of this violence. Behind every Israeli soldier entering Gazan land is a family swimming through tears and friends wondering when their moments will arrive. For every missile aimed at Gaza is a community learning to accept “forever” as life in a bomb shelter.

For every article, there is blood.
For every essay, there are tears.

So, to every victim, I salute you.