There are many politicians and public figures in Israel who are calling for an end to the war. There are many who are fighting for the release of the hostages. There are even more who care about the fall of this government. There are also those who worry about Israel's status as a pariah state. Many are also worried about the price that will be paid by the Israeli economy and society.
But in the public sphere, almost no one cares about the fate of the people of Gaza. There is not a single public figure who loses sleep over children screaming in terror and pain in hospitals, over old people huddled on donkey carts, and entire families disappearing. The pain over Gaza is a secondary voice in the public sphere, background noise in an entirely different discourse. Even the best among us worry only about the consequences of this war on Israel.
The voice of humanity has disappeared, humanism has died, disappeared from the political scene. Most intellectuals are silent about this war, not to mention the media. There is no Yeshayahu Leibovitz, Janusz Korczak or Bertrand Russell to cry out: enough at all costs, enough for Gaza. This is a society without a humanistic foundation that would be shaken by the suffering of the victims of Gaza.
The justified shock over what happened on October 7th last year in Israel will not be replaced by shock over what we are doing in Gaza. Why? Because we are Jews and they are not? Doesn't humanism transcend all boundaries and recognize no nationality? Don't disturb us, we are still on October 7th. But since then, a thousand October 7ths have happened, and not one has touched the hearts of Israelis. It is true that the pro-government media is doing everything they can to prevent citizens from seeing the truth, but even without them, it is clear to everyone that a catastrophe is happening in Gaza that we have caused. And there is no voice of protest about it. The reasons for this are numerous, but there is no justification. Every nation cares first for its compatriots. But like this? And for how long? When I showed my cousin one of the horrific videos from Gaza a few days ago, she mechanically asked: "Are you sure it's not fake?" The Israelis have built an impenetrable protective wall around themselves. There is no news from Gaza that would awaken a sense of guilt in them. There are no anti-war protests like those of the old Americans against the Vietnam War.
Take, for example, the brilliant article by Orna Rinat (Haaretz, May 23), perhaps the most harrowing article about the war published in Israel. Did it provoke any reactions? Where is the man who will come out and say to hell with all the calculations, these horrors must stop above all for the sake of the suffering of the people of Gaza. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, one of the most vocal opponents of this war, published another scathing article in Haaretz the day before yesterday on the need to end this conflict. I read it twice. I did not find a shred of sympathy for the suffering of Gaza. He is not interested in that. He gives numerous reasons for ending the war, even mentioning the need to provide “humanitarian aid,” but to appease the world. The article by another former Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, in the same issue is somewhat braver and more humane. He reminds us how white Jews fought side by side with black people against South African apartheid. They were killed, wounded, imprisoned. And in Israel today, no one sheds a tear for the victims of Gaza. The war must stop first and foremost because this is a war of destruction that is causing inhuman suffering in Gaza. But there is no one in Israel to say it loud and clear.
(Haaretz; Peščanik.net, translation from Hebrew: Alma Ferhat)
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