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A few weeks into the Gaza war, the press of the world exploded with the story that Israel had bombed the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, with over 500 dead and countless wounded. The problem was that Israel had not done so. Rather, it was an errant missile launched from Gaza that hit the hospital, but that didn’t matter. The damage was done, and the world was convinced of Israeli barbarism. Second case in point. Many of you have seen images of an emaciated boy from Gaza, who became the poster child for the mass starvation that is said to be occurring in Gaza. The problem is that the youth, who is said by some to suffer from several maladies, was airlifted out of Gaza by the Israelis in June and is receiving treatment in Italy, but that doesn’t matter either. The damage was done, and world is convinced of Israeli barbarism. 

I must be honest: I don’t know whom to believe. Do we believe the numbers of purported dead posted by the Gaza Health Ministry? Do we believe the Israeli military, who will understandably be equally likely not to offer the unvarnished truths? Do we believe UN administrators, officials and their related organizations, such as UNRWA, who have time and again demonstrated a clear bias towards Israel? As I spoke of this on Friday evening, I remarked that I am not there, so I cannot personally report on what I witnessed, nor do I know who can provide objective, reliable and accurate information on what is really happening in Gaza. But I am confident of the following. We know that Hamas’ modus operandi has been to utilize ordinary Gazans as not merely personal shields by imbedding within, under and adjacent to schools, hospitals and mosques. The greater the death and destruction in Gaza, the greater the hue and cry of supposed genocide, which was their cynical goal. Part two of their campaign is to maximize the media coverage of the conditions in Gaza. On both fronts Hamas has been successful, convincing the world based upon their word of what they claim as facts. In the absence of fact checkers, an apparently endangered species no longer employed by media, the world’s media accepts these reports at face value and declares them to be true. The IDF, long honored as the world’s most moral military, has been retitled as the world’s most immoral military. The State of Israel, long seen as “a light unto the nations”, has become a pariah to the nations. Whatever military gains may have been made in eliminating the daily threat towards Israel’s existence has been overshadowed by the perception that a genocide is occurring, that Israel is solely responsible for starving Gaza, and that only Israel can fix it. 

I don’t believe that the choices that the government of Israel makes reflect the desires of the people of Israel, who overwhelmingly want to end this and bring all of the hostages home. But I do understand the concerns that Gaza could potentially devolve once again into a Hamas enclave that threatens the lives of all those who live in Israel. I pray that voices of moderation arise both in Israel, in Gaza and in the Arab world, expressing a desire to move beyond this horrific existence which is unacceptable and unsustainable, to create a world where peace, cooperation and security for all reign, where the children of Abraham work together to heal ancient wounds to create a world that people of good will want for their children. May it be so speedily in our lifetime.