Dear Friends,
Recently, one question has been posed to me repeatedly – why would Hamas do such a terrible thing?
The question appears to come from a perspective that things were calm and peaceful on October 6, and Hamas ripped the fabric of Israeli society without provocation. However, during “The Stones Cry Out” witness trip to Palestine in February and March of this year, we met with and heard from many human rights advocates and nonviolence peace activists who were and are able to answer that question, not to excuse or condone such violence, but to explain how life in an apartheid state, under a military occupation, with no control over your own life can push people to a precipice. The question would then be – who jumps and who does not. I am not sure any of us can answer that question. What would anyone do under the same circumstances of unspeakable duress?
I realize these phrases and terms used in this letter might be considered incendiary or even lies. I use them not to provoke, but to accurately describe what I have seen in my years of visiting the Holy Land, both Palestine and Israel proper, through study, and by talking to people who live there and to others here in the US. For some perspective:
Pre-October 7, Gaza was considered an open-air prison. Their borders closed, they had been subjected to Israeli government controls and military incursions, indiscriminate killings, high unemployment, suffering that we cannot comprehend. Their water and food are trucked in and rationed. They have been regularly bombed, buildings collapsed, tight populations bombed with white phosphorous, killed by snipers during peaceful protests. No one was safe.
Post-October 7, Gaza is a dead zone. We witness genocide in real time. The stark statistics are that approximately 38,000 people have been killed so far with thousands more under the rubble. Approximately 15,000 dead are children. It is the new killing field.
We cannot forget the hostages and those killed on October 7 in the brutal attack. Let us also not forget the tens of thousands of innocents who have been brutally killed since.
Where is the light in all this?
It is here, in you, in me, in our collective desire for peace. It is in our recognizing the humanity in everyone. It is in our attempt to understand, to learn, and to expand our understanding.
Westhope in Saratoga is embarking on a new program for providing educational experiences to the wider community. Our goal is to advocate for peace in the Middle East through films and speakers and other events. Our first offering is a screening of the film, Israelism. It will be held in our sanctuary, August 8, at 6:30. Time after the screening will be open for questions and discussion. We have invited a member of If Not Now for a Q&A session after the screening.
Please consider attending this important film.
Israelism
https://kinema.com/events/israelism-yalf71
Westhope Presbyterian
12850 Saratoga Ave
Saratoga, CA 95070
Doors open 6:30, screening starts 6:45
If you would like to be informed of future events at the Westhope Center for Peace & Social Justice, sign up here.
May Peace Be In Our Hearts,
Susan Brooksbank