Israel & Palestine

I cannot stop thinking of my Israeli and Palestinian friends; of the trauma, death, casualties, and inhuman horror facing so many. I remember my visits to Israel and Gaza. I think of my mother, brought up in a Jewish family, arguing for years with my grandfather. My grandfather's parents were Jewish refugees, fleeing Hungary in fear of their lives following antisemitic pogroms. Antisemitism isn’t just a concept to me, it’s a reality that shaped my family’s life.?

My grandfather, in the British army during the Second World War, felt that if Hitler won, our Jewish family would be annihilated. Most likely true. This made him a passionate Zionist. And while my mother also wanted Jews to have the right to self-determination and freedom from persecution, she wanted exactly the same for Palestinians. For years I heard her say words to the effect "but Dad, if we inflict on Palestinians the same suffering inflicted on us, no one will ever live in peace." Her words echo through time to me. My mother took me and my brother around Holocaust museums before we could read. “You must never forget the depths of humanity,” she would say, “but also never forget there is humanity in all people.”?

The inhumanity and pain suffered by both Palestinian and Jewish people is devastating in its breadth and nature. The sheer brutality of the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct 7 that left over 1,400 innocents butchered, and hundreds more taken hostage, is unthinkable. And so too is the fact that since Oct 7th, thousands upon thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed by the Israeli military. While it is impossible to precisely verify the number of fatalities, the scale of carnage is undeniable. And it is being inflicted on innumerable innocent Palestinian families who have for decades been denied the freedoms most of us take for granted. Their pain and sorrow is traced directly to the Nakba, or 'catastrophe', of 1948 when the creation of Israel rendered Palestinians stateless refugees. As a visitor to Gaza on several occasions, I will never forget the brutality I saw with my own eyes inflicted on Palestinians.?

Today hate crime is surging globally against both communities. Since Oct 7th, advocacy groups report a 182% rise in reported incidents of Islamophobia, and a 388% rise in antisemitism. The FBI last week said antisemitism is reaching “historic” levels: Jews make up 2.4% of the US population but suffer 60% of religious hate crimes - and that was before Oct 7th. Antisemitism is never, ever acceptable. Nor is Islamophobia. Both peoples in Israel and Palestine must have the same safety, security, and economic opportunity. Without that, neither will be free from terror.?

Yet peace can only be achieved if, in the face of terror, both communities find the extraordinary and elusive courage to support moderate voices. This is probably asking too much amidst the current horror - because it’s hard for decent humans to respond to horror with moderation and restraint. But one thing is certain: extremism and death only beget more extremism and death. If we are to break the cycle that has forced families to flee persecution down the ages, we must anchor ourselves in moderation and toleration. We must recognise that all people have the inherent right to self-determination and freedom. We must actively support moderate voices in both communities. And above all, we must embrace our common humanity, not deny it.