Consequences

Think of those young men and women whose lives will be changed forever, once they don that khaki uniform. We send them off with ease to a war of destruction, dehumanization and barbaric killing. Keep going don’t stop slips easily off the tongues of those who have probably never served in the army. After all, it is not their sons and daughters or husbands and wives whose lives are at peril.

What wounds will these soldiers and reservists carry when, and if they come back.   How many nightmares will they suffer before they stand in the queue outside the trauma clinics run by the Ministry of Defense? Or will they join the ever growing list of suicides.

Put yourself in the shoes of a young conscript being exposed for the first time to bodies of the dead civilians in Gaza will someone take responsibility for this carnage. Picture these young soldiers some of whom have just begun to shave, imagine them looking into the eyes of a starving and emaciated child and thinking of their siblings who are more or less the same age. Imagine being exposed to the destruction of Gaza, to the homeless civilians wandering about in search of water.

What will these young men and women bring back to their communities when it ends. They have been part of the massacre of innocent women and children   Nothing, absolutely nothing can expiate their crimes. Can we not see what is happening in our society. The violence in the streets, the domestic abuse, the anger and fear. Try to imagine how this will affect the moral fiber of Israel. These young people have been given a license to carry weapons to kill and destroy what kind of traumatized behavior can we expect from them?

All the children, both Palestinian and Israeli are screaming from their graves “beware , you may be next. Just ask a bereaved mother like me, have the courage to ask what it feels like to lose a child. Just ask how life is never the same, how some die with their children, not physically they simply never function again. Just how many more families must experience the scar in their heart that never heals.

We are by now so accustomed to the army announcing the death of yet another soldier we barely take time to look at their name.

And what of the deaths of Palestinian innocent civilians and children do we even give pause to care for one minute? How accustomed we are to the violence we hardly bat an eyelid. How will the generations that follow cope with this terrible episode in our history. Will they also accept that we could not save the hostages and the disgrace of a war which should have ended long ago.

The world looks on with horror and we in our provincial ignorant bubble don’t even begin to understand the consequences for Israel and the Jews in the diaspora. We are fast becoming the pariahs in countries who have in the past supported and looked upon Israel as democratic and humane.

All eyes are on Gaza, but how about the West Bank. For how long will we also ignore the barbaric behavior of the settlers who are running rampant without any accountability, sometimes with the encouragement of Israeli soldiers. How long will the closure continue? Freedom of movement is a basic human right. The economic situation is dire. Children are not attending school on a regular bases. Gates outside villages are a new form of torture, just to add to the cruelty. Now people are forced to wait, sometimes for hours till a soldier will let them through. Palestinian mothers are in constant fear for the safety of their children, who will in turn grow up despising their neighbors. This is what we are creating for the future of our children. A life based on hatred and fear. Which will naturally lead to violence and death.

I have been a part of The Parents Circle Families Forum ever since I lost my beloved son, realizing that revenge would never be the answer.  Violence begets more violence. I have always wanted to prevent other families from experiencing the dreadful consequences of loss. I find it almost impossible to look into the eyes of our Palestinian bereaved partners in the forum. The sense of shame is boundless. Nevertheless we will all continue to work for an end to the madness which we have collectively allowed to happen.