I much prefer to write about the silly, inane, comical mishaps and missteps of life, like attacking acorns, or the dog eating my ballot, or the joys of husbanding; but today my head and my heart are filled with such a deep sadness over the pervasive hatred of one people against another, that I find it necessary for my own mental/emotional health to put on paper what I am feeling. What is the end game for this war of terror between Israel and Palestine? How can peace possibly be achieved from the slaughter of children? The interview of the 57 year old Palestinian grandmother who angrily declared that it was perfectly alright to kill Jewish children so that they did not grow up to kill Palestinian children shocked me, saddened me, and angered me. How could any grandparent feel this way? How can such vile hatred be felt and expressed?
The reactions around the world generating hate crimes toward Jews and Palestinians alike are sickening. Some blame it on religion, yet the God of Abraham is the same for Muslim, Jew, Christian, Baha’i, Samaritanism, Druze, and Rastafari. Some blame it on Great Britain who controlled the Palestinian mandate until it was divided by the UN into Jewish and Arab states in 1948. Some blame the UN. Some blame the Romans for their massacre of Jews in 73 CE and the subsequent siege of Masada. Some blame the Nazis for the holocaust and their attempt to exterminate the Jews. Some blame the Jewish state for their disproportional response to Palestinian terrorist attacks. Some blame Hamas for their campaign of terror. The blame. The shame. The violence is circular. Who wins?
Why would Hamas attack Israel in such a savage way, knowing how Israel would respond? The Hamas attack was carefully planned for months and the savagery was intentional. What would such a brutal attack accomplish? Was it to shore up support from Palestinian citizens to show that the mass investment in weapons and tunnels was worth the sacrifice of the people? Assets that could have gone to building homes, businesses, and schools? Was it to deter Saudi Arabia from normalizing relations with Israel, which might further isolate Gaza from the rest of the Muslim world? What is their end game?
Husbandry 