There’s a photo from the October 7 attacks in Israel that shows a female hostage with blood covering the seat of her pants, suggesting she endured profound sexual trauma. I didn’t have the courage or the stomach to look at the image myself, but I was on the phone with a friend on Saturday and she described it to me. My friend spoke of how the photo made her think of her own daughters and how she hasn’t been able to shake the image from her mind. She said this as I cried. In part, I cried because of the obvious brutality of it all. But my tears were in part because I have struggled with how to reconcile the attacks with my own sense of the world.
Nov 3, 2023·edited Nov 3, 2023Liked by Ilana Redstone
Thanks for writing this piece, Ilana. The pressure to simply "pick a side!" (and do it instantly!) is intense. This is true not just for the above but for *any* issue (or person) we choose to affix our brief but rabid attention spans on (vaccines, lockdowns, critical social justice, Russia-Ukraine, Trump, Greta Thunberg, etc. the list goes on and on). Pausing to think, ask questions, be skeptical, explore nuance, and build the necessary context to even have a somewhat informed opinion about something one (probably) knows very little about is daunting. The "woke" mantra "Silence is Violence" seems to have solidified into dogma for a majority of people active on social media regardless of political leaning (coincidence?). The kind of public discussion that helps individuals engage in more careful analysis/thinking process is conspicuously absent. The bottom line is that it it has is becoming increasingly difficult for me to trust people who make rapid conclusions about complex issues. I am sure I am not alone in this regard.
Here's a question I didn't see in your list (and to me it's significant):
Which political body in the region does the best job of respecting the rights and civil liberties of all it's citizens? To me, it's pretty clear the answer is Israel. And to me, that gives it a measure of moral superiority. Yeah, there's no clear solutions; both sides have blood on their hands.
I don't know. There was an historic opportunity lost when the Oslo Accords and the Camp David summit under Pres. Clinton broke down. As much as I'd like to say "can't we just talk about this?", I'm not sure either side is ready for good-faith negotiations. I'm pretty sure Hamas -- the current govt. of Gaza -- isn't.
And finally, you ask the right question: What should Israel do next? There doesn't seem to be ANY reasonable answer to that one.
Thanks for writing this piece, Ilana. The pressure to simply "pick a side!" (and do it instantly!) is intense. This is true not just for the above but for *any* issue (or person) we choose to affix our brief but rabid attention spans on (vaccines, lockdowns, critical social justice, Russia-Ukraine, Trump, Greta Thunberg, etc. the list goes on and on). Pausing to think, ask questions, be skeptical, explore nuance, and build the necessary context to even have a somewhat informed opinion about something one (probably) knows very little about is daunting. The "woke" mantra "Silence is Violence" seems to have solidified into dogma for a majority of people active on social media regardless of political leaning (coincidence?). The kind of public discussion that helps individuals engage in more careful analysis/thinking process is conspicuously absent. The bottom line is that it it has is becoming increasingly difficult for me to trust people who make rapid conclusions about complex issues. I am sure I am not alone in this regard.
Here's a question I didn't see in your list (and to me it's significant):
Which political body in the region does the best job of respecting the rights and civil liberties of all it's citizens? To me, it's pretty clear the answer is Israel. And to me, that gives it a measure of moral superiority. Yeah, there's no clear solutions; both sides have blood on their hands.
I don't know. There was an historic opportunity lost when the Oslo Accords and the Camp David summit under Pres. Clinton broke down. As much as I'd like to say "can't we just talk about this?", I'm not sure either side is ready for good-faith negotiations. I'm pretty sure Hamas -- the current govt. of Gaza -- isn't.
And finally, you ask the right question: What should Israel do next? There doesn't seem to be ANY reasonable answer to that one.