Should we have empathy with the people in Gaza?

Gaza is a humanitarian disaster. Should Israelis and others feel bad for them?

On the one hand, I don’t feel good about the question at all. How could we not feel for any human in (serious) pain? On the other hand, how can we be soft-hearted with people who elected a government that tries to kill all neighboring Jews even more than giving themselves a good life – a people that hates us more than it loves itself? (I know that the junta in Gaza oppresses the people, but, just like Hitler, in the first place it was democratically elected and in the second place, opinion polls there reveal that the population greatly supports the goal of genocide of the Jews in Israel.) And then, how full of self-hate must we be to overlook hate against ourselves? But then, is that not what Jews should do anyway?

In any case, Israelis are collectively proud of our military and health system aiding Syrian victims of the civil war there. This is similar to our health system completely not distinguishing between Arabs and Jews. (Unfortunately, Arabs need to do better than Jews to make it as a doctor, but this is as regrettable as true in every country for women, transgenders and everyone else as far as they don’t belong to the privileged groups of those societies.) Of course, this eagerness and pride to help civilians of enemy countries is hard to reconcile with the idea that Israelis are monsters. It does say something about the Israeli mindset – to help without asking ourselves if these victims would ever help us when needed.

Helping innocent people is not a question for simple nice people. I hope you’re a nice person, but if you’re also simple, may I try to cure you from that condition by presenting you the following three stories. Do they resemble some of the situation in Gaza?

1. A good husband, excellent father and exemplary employee commits mass murder. He’s caught, brought to trial and convicted. His wife, children en employer suffer tremendously from missing him while they are completely innocent. How can a just judicial system hurt the innocent?

2. After WW II, Germany cities lied in ruins. Many people had died and been killed. Should we feel bad for the Germans? Well, they did vote Hitler into power. They hardly protested the humiliation, criminalization, removal and murder of their Jews. Many had just been bystanders, but who says that that makes them innocent? Many of them had cooperated with, perpetrated and profited from crimes against humanity. Some 50 million people died in WW II. Should we feel for the misfortune of the citizens of the nation who started all this?

3. Should we feel bad for a suicide bomber? He sets out to murder. But often he’s just a kid, brainwashed into hatred. I feel bad for someone who does not only waste his life in silliness but even in wickedness.

The people in Gaza did vote for Hamas. They are now oppressed by its hatred against women, homosexuals and independent thinkers. But they also still hate Israel more than they love their own children. The economic blockade of Gaza would not exist if they had not set their mind on genocide of the Jews or if they had repented.

This is my take:

They, as so many Arabs, caused their own misfortune by fighting the Jews and losing.
As long as they have not repented their stand, their self-inflicted suffering will continue.
I feel bad for people wasting their life in hate and suffering, even when self-inflicted.
That cannot mean that we should give them relief by letting them kill us.
Most power players that permit their continued silliness to fight us are not from this region. They are the real villains. Jew-hating powerful and simple people.
Most Arab countries do not care about Gazans. Most Israelis have no pleasure in seeing them suffer. But how to help them is not simple. It’s hard to give a mean dog a good life. Gazans are not dogs, but they are mean for us – so far. They play the victim, but in fact they are the villains. They’d better start praying for the right stuff, because I see no solution for them presently.
The crisis in Gaza is self-inflicted and it seems that only Gazans may change their fate. If one Nation (Germans) did it, everyone can.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1