It’s time to end the war

Last night, we Israelis got a quick reminder that we’re still at war. “Just” a missile from the Houthis, run to the shelter, come out ten minutes later, intercepted, all clear.

Meanwhile, there are still 50 hostages in Gaza. Day 635.

Meanwhile, our soldiers remain in Gaza, in danger. Each loss is unbearable; each serious injury is a life changed forever.

Meanwhile, reservists and their families endure hundreds of days apart.

More and more Israelis are recognizing that “total victory” will always be elusive, that hostages and soldiers are being sacrificed for a mirage.

And meanwhile, we continue to bomb Gaza. There aren’t so many buildings left. If a family finds a building to shelter in, they know they might be crushed without warning under its rubble. If they live in a tent, they aren’t safe either. We also bomb tents.

Whole families are annihilated, one after another. Babies, children, parents, grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. Erased. The official death toll is over 55,000. The real numbers are likely much higher. This isn’t counting the wounded, or the orphaned children, or the fact that every single person alive in Gaza now is a traumatized survivor.

And meanwhile, hungry Gazans continue to risk their lives at aid distribution points where people regularly get shot and killed, so they can bring back a bit of food to keep their families alive.

I know. Wars are always horrible. But by many accounts, the destruction Israel has wrought in Gaza goes far beyond what is normal even in warfare.

It is time to end this unbearable war, completely and immediately. Sign an agreement, get back the hostages, stop fighting, withdraw troops. The aftermath will be incredibly complicated and difficult. We pray for new and wiser leadership for both peoples, so that somehow we will be able to emerge from this and, with enormous effort, create a reality of peace, equality, and justice.