By Nejoud Al-Yagout
One does not have to be Arab or Muslim to feel utter distress at the plight of Gazans and Palestinians (lest we forget that Palestine is home to Christians and Jews and other faiths as well). You refer to the conflict as a war on Gaza, but the paradox is that it is not confined to Gaza, and it is neither a conflict nor a war: it is a full-scale occupation. As you already know, the IDF (Zionist Defense Forces) has spread its tentacles to Rafah, and the fact that West Bank residents’ homes are prey to bulldozers or settlers is further evidence that the conflict is not a conflict but an invasion, a manifestation of an expansionist scheme where lives or homes in the way are obstacles and bloodshed is considered noble.
What we are witnessing may seem like a scenario from the Dark Ages, but the fact that it is happening in the 21st century and on our screens to boot is horrifying and shocking, to say the least. It’s almost as though you no longer make an attempt to hide atrocities since you are getting away with one atrocity after another. How many more images do you have to see of mothers and fathers holding the corpses of their babies for you to wake up and say: OK, Enough! How many more buildings are to be bombed? How many more hospitals?
You keep reverting to October 7th. Yes, of course, elderly women and babies and women and people uninvolved in the conflict are victims as well. You see, some people have hearts. And our hearts bleed for any member of the human race. We were dismayed by the attack on civilians, because some of us hold the view that human beings are human beings, wherever we hail from, whether a person in danger is considered a friend or an enemy, and whatever the circumstances that led to bloodshed are.
Unfortunately, there are not enough of us on the planet who feel this way; but, still, we exist. And we ask you to join us, since you are the ones in power, not us. You are the ones that can inspire people to let go of grievances and focus on uniting the world for once. Once and for all! This is not a pipe-dream. If you were able to galvanize people to hate, you can galvanize people to love. We are not here to discuss the reasons or pretexts for attacks nor to justify them. How many decades have been wasted through debates, pointing fingers, analyses and closed-door meetings, only to come up with futile proposals that "pave the way for peace?”
How much longer will we wait to let go of grievances and focus on what is happening now, at this moment in time? What we are living through is a horrendous retaliation, a retaliation that has shocked even your allies, a retaliation that has shocked even activists across the globe who rooted for peace, a retaliation that has shocked even supporters of the Abrahamic accords.
For the first time, countries around the world are standing up and recognizing the state of Palestine, but their stance is only met with your accusations of anti-semitism or support of terrorists. But how can rabbis be anti-semitic? How can Jews who are asking that the Zionist entity be held into account for its war crimes be anti-semitic?
How can former IDF soldiers who have changed their stance be considered anti-semitic? And why is it anti-semitism when Palestinians want a country, a home they can call home just like the rest of the world - a home their ancestors called home for eons? And speaking of terrorists: When did pregnant women and babies and children become known as terrorists? When did patients in hospitals become known as threats to the security of another nation? When are assaults on journalists acceptable? When is it ever justified to support the raid of a hospital, even when suspected hostage takers are inside?
The excessive violence of the IDF, the excruciating pain of watching settlers abuse residents, the viral videos where soldiers laugh with impunity as they take over homes, or the humiliation endured by Palestinians as they are forced to leave their homes, make even a peacemaker shudder. In what world is this considered okay for you? And if it is okay with you, then no wonder the world is in such danger! But then, of course, gaslighting occurs because nobody in a position of power wants to be accused of expansionist and vindictive agendas that are detrimental to humanity, even when their actions prove otherwise.
What is happening in Palestine, to both Palestinians and the inhabitants of Palestine, is heartbreaking, beyond unjust, and shocking. The lack of control we have as you seek to polarize us and even make money while doing so is nail-bitingly frustrating. No protests, no articles, no speeches, no resolutions, no peace proposals, no boycotts, no insistence for an immediate ceasefire, no one-state/two-state debates, no proof that the land was called this or that, have brought or will bring peace. These attempts have become farcical at best (including the writing of this open letter). Peace can never come through these routes.
What will bring peace is when you choose to rule from the heart rather than the ego, when you create laws that are free from prejudices and polarizing principles, when you realize that power trips are a manifestation of the evil that lurks within each of us, when you recognize that violence breeds violence, hatred breeds hatred, when you acknowledge that defending yourself by using extreme measures creates instability and further enmity, when you stop selling and buying arms and focus on building a planet that is beneficial to all of us, not just to you.
What we need now are less of you jet-setting to meetings in expensive designer suits to discuss peace and more of you willing to join hands rather than galvanize those who voted for you to kill and hate. Enough! Wake up! We are a part of this world too. And if money is your game, if you will lose billions when peace is made, then we, the people, will give you all the money in the world in exchange for peace, in exchange for one humanity, one world. When you experience the otherworldly vibrations of peace, you will give up warmongering and greed too. This is a promise. Try it. It won’t hurt.
As for us, we want peace. We want peace now. Here’s to peace in the world, even for those of us who are disillusioned and dismayed by the brutality we are forced to witness as you engage in war games at the expense of life, security, and peace of mind. Here’s to true peace, a peace that can only be achieved when we transcend borders and nationality. That’s what has gotten all of us into this worldly mess. Can’t you see that? But that’s a whole other article and a whole other era! Viva l’amore! (Long live love) With more frustration and pain that even the pen can fathom and on behalf of all the people in the world who choose peace.
local@kuwaittimes.com