Israeli kids, Gazan kids, and George Eliot    

Let’s start with George Eliot.  In “Daniel Deronda”, a 19th-century Zionist-inclined novel by a non-Jew, she wrote:

“A human life, I think, should be well rooted in some spot of a native land, where it may get the love of tender kinship for the face of the earth, for the labours men go forth to, for the sounds and accents that haunt it, for whatever will give that early home a familiar unmistakable difference amidst the future widening of knowledge: a spot where the definiteness of early memories may be inwrought with affection, and kindly acquaintance with all neighbours, even to the dogs and donkeys, may spread not by sentimental effort and reflection, but as a sweet habit of the blood. At five years old, mortals are not prepared to be citizens of the world, to be stimulated by abstract nouns,”

Reading these beautifully crafted words by one of the greatest word sculptors in the English language, I thought of kids in Israel and Gaza.

An Israeli 5-year-old growing up in a beachside suburb of Tel-Aviv and enjoying the sun, surf, and sand,  Such happy memories.  Another 5-year-old Israeli kid in a West Bank settlement with fine homes, a friendly community, space, and fresh air.  A 5-year-old in a kibbutz near Gaza, who lived in a fine, happy environment until October 7th but did not live beyond October 7th.  A 5-year-old growing up in Kibbutz Ein Gedi may have wonderful memories of the beauty of his home and community.  Eitan Kapshetar, aged 5, from Dimona, was killed on October 7th.  I hope he had a happy life until his tragic death.  And I hope that all of these and other unnamed, putative Israeli kids have had and will continue to have a “be well rooted in some spot of a native land, where it may get the love of tender kinship for the face of the earth”.

Youssef Rami Muhammad Fadl Hassouna, aged 5, grew up in the poverty and misery of Gaza before October 7th.  He never saw anything else.  He probably did not have much of a “be well rooted in some spot of a native land, where it may get the love of tender kinship for the face of the earth” before October 7th.  After October 7th, none.  He was dead by October 26th.