I imagine that I am like everyone else, horrified by the inconceivable action of Hamas against Israeli civilians on October 7. I imagine that my fear of a possible extension of the “conflict” and my dread of the living conditions imposed on the citizens of Gaza are the same as those of everyone. I want to side with both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
In fact, I feel torn by this conflict which today takes on a warlike face. I’ve been hearing about it for decades, in fact forever. Probably like many people, I don’t know what to think, who to give my allegiance to, who to pray for, who to curse, who to direct my anger towards.
But today, the words of an Israeli woman I met in Paris a long time ago come back to me and, today, these words seem intolerable to me. What did this woman, who had everything of an ordinary woman, say? That Palestinians were sub-men, sub-women who only thought about having children. Words that echo those of the current Minister of Defense in Israel, Yoav Galant: “We are fighting human animals. »
Such a statement is enough to silence my prayers. I am willing to mourn the victims of the terrorists who make up Hamas, but I will never side with those who dehumanize their opponents, who call for help even as they deny all humanity to their adversaries.
I am just a Canadian citizen who was lucky enough to be born and raised in a democratic country, where everyone has the right to express a divergent opinion.
What Israelis and Palestinians are going through is largely beyond me, but what I understand from the words of the so-called Israeli Defense Minister and this woman I met in Paris is that the hatred of the other is shared on both sides. and other. It is neither the work of Hamas nor that of Israel; it is shared and so strong that it makes you blind.
And even if we resurrect the two-state solution today, it may no longer even be a question of territory, but of the right to exist.
Is there even a possibility of peace?