I absolutely agree that living there could well make one view things differently. I certainly would never claim to understand the situation as a native (of either side) would. I also understand what you're saying about the 'closeness' -- it was the same for my Irish relatives who lived through the Rising (I've spoken to several of them who lived through those years about it). One side of Denise's family is Syrian, and family is very important to them, also.
But... it's the same on the other side. It's their cousins and their sisters and their uncles and aunts who are dying in the retaliatory raids. TO them, as to you, every death feels like it's their relatives, also. Until there's empathy on both sides for each other, until both sides see each other as human beings who are undergoing the same suffering, it's just going to continue. Until the Palestinians are as important as the Israelis, and the Israelis are as important as the Palestinians, nothing will change.
"We have to respond, and we can't back down and we can't be soft, because that only leads to more deaths on our side." Respond, yes, but (in my opinion) "an eye for an eye" is only going to lead to escalation of the violence, not an end to it, with more deaths on both sides.
I do understand. I know it's easy for me to say that from a distance. I wish I could say "here's a solution that will work." I don't have one. I believe, however, that it's been amply demonstrated that retaliation in kind has not worked and most likely will never work.
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Date: 2008-12-30 08:16 pm (UTC)But... it's the same on the other side. It's their cousins and their sisters and their uncles and aunts who are dying in the retaliatory raids. TO them, as to you, every death feels like it's their relatives, also. Until there's empathy on both sides for each other, until both sides see each other as human beings who are undergoing the same suffering, it's just going to continue. Until the Palestinians are as important as the Israelis, and the Israelis are as important as the Palestinians, nothing will change.
"We have to respond, and we can't back down and we can't be soft, because that only leads to more deaths on our side." Respond, yes, but (in my opinion) "an eye for an eye" is only going to lead to escalation of the violence, not an end to it, with more deaths on both sides.
I do understand. I know it's easy for me to say that from a distance. I wish I could say "here's a solution that will work." I don't have one. I believe, however, that it's been amply demonstrated that retaliation in kind has not worked and most likely will never work.