Life is complicated.
As much as we’d like them to be, circumstances are rarely simple or clean. The complexities we find ourselves surrounded by cannot be easily summed up in a clever meme or three hundred-word tweet. Resolution to generational geographic conflicts rarely comes in a 90-second video clip.
Since October 7th, 2023, many of us have watched in disbelief and horror as violence between the terrorist group Hamas and the Israeli government escalated to something we haven’t seen in our lifetimes. The videos and images and reports eclipsed all comprehension.
And as decent people with working empathy, we all found ourselves trying to internally process suffering that is impossible for the human mind and heart to hold.
Like many Americans, I have tried to find a way to responsibly carry the human lives of both the innocent people of Israel and of Gaza; to affirm their humanity, to grieve their losses, long believing that this is a conflict of governments, groups, and factions—not civilians, who are the most defenseless and vulnerable.
That effort at balance by compassionate, well-meaning people has often proven to draw the wrath of one side or another, whenever they feel those they advocate for have been overlooked or diminished. People who have spent years or decades fighting in the trenches of activism, understandably feel the muscle-memory of so much bloodshed, bigotry, and senseless death and they push back hard against it. The accusations of anti-Semitism or anti-Muslim bias explode into comment sections almost immediately.
This fierce reaction isn’t unexpected, as the heart of the worst of the seemingly never-ending violence in and around Israel seems to ultimately be about the capacity for dehumanization of the other: of vilifying them and demonizing them until atrocities against them become acceptable collateral damage.
And along the way, as social media so easily does, this latest outbreak in a long, convoluted, and ugly war sent many of us to opposing sides in some virtual, long-distance battle with would-be allies: a fierce verbal fight that has been long on rhetoric and character attacks, and short on empathy and understanding. Our best efforts to find a way to defend all humanity, have come with charges of both-side’ing the tragedy, whether fair or not.
And complicating all of this, is that America is just a few months away from the most consequential election of our lifetimes. This has muddied the waters for tens of millions of Americans trying to navigate the existential crisis here and the wide-scale death beyond our borders, simultaneously.
I have always believed and still believe that a second Trump Administration would be more devastating to the Palestinian people, to the Middle East, to Muslims, and to refugees and immigrants than anything we could fathom. (The Republican nominee has promised as much regarding the violence in Gaza.)
I do sincerely believe that the most pressing agenda we as Americans have is defeating Trumpism and securing this nation in November, as the ripples here and abroad will be massive.
For this reason, I am fighting fully and unapologetically for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and for Democrats up and down the ballot, and encouraging everyone to do the same.
And while that is true, I can admit that President Biden and the Democratic Party have fallen terribly short in bringing peace to the people of Gaza and deescalating the violence in and around Israel.
Yes, the Biden/Harris Administration has been working tirelessly along bureaucratic lines to resolve the conflict, which often happens away from the public eye and doesn’t easily produce something tangible or quantifiable. And yes, at times both Hamas and Netanyahu have repeatedly refused a cease-fire since October, whether due to agenda or to political pressure. But that doesn’t change the fact that we can and should do better here in this country. We should at the very least, allow every voice to be heard.
During the Democratic National Convention, as a disparate coalition assembled to joyfully support the Harris/Walz campaign, nearly all of these demographic affinity groups were given time to publicly share their perspectives, including the parents of an Israeli-American hostage (as well as many from the Republican Party).
However, despite repeated requests to the DNC, the Uncommitted movement was denied the platform, so that Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman could offer her perspective as a Palestinian-American.
This was a terrible mistake.
Representative Romman and those she represents should have been given a moment on the platform. It wouldn’t have completely bridged the divide many pro-Palestinian activists and advocates feel with the Democratic National Committee, but it would have sent the message that they are being heard and that the Palestinian people matter.I was glad to see and hear Vice President Harris mention Gaza in her acceptance speech and that she shared her commitment to bring a cease-fire, but this declaration cannot ring fully true while the United States contributes weapons to Israel and that is something we should be OK saying. That tension is real. The conflict between sentiment and policy exists.
I know this piece will fail to some degree. It is limited by space and language. It is impossible to adequately contain the intricacies, conflicts, inconsistencies, and frustrations of these days—which is the point.
There will be thoughts or arguments absent here. There will be words parsed out and seen as favoring one group and discounting another. That is the challenge of trying find words for something for which words fail.I have a deep respect and love for my Jewish and my Muslim friends, and for the people of Israel and Palestine. I know how each has suffered so tremendously and the discrimination they have faced and still face, here in this country. I am fighting for a nation and a world where bigotry is banished.
Here’s what I believe about the vast majority of Americans, regardless of party and worldview:We want violence in Gaza and in Israel to cease.We want to see people laying down their weapons no matter their justifications.We want every human being to be born into a place of peace where they can experience the fullness of humanity free from fear and violence.We want an America where fascism is no longer a threat.And on the way there, we will be forever immersed in the messiness of being human and imperfectly trying to comprehend and respond to staggering inhumanity.The best we can do is admit that this is the most difficult but meaningful work we have to do while we are here.
May we all keep trying.The people of America and Israel and Gaza are worth it.
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