Ever since WWII, the Jewish folks have, rightfully so, never allowed the world to forget the horrors they as a people suffered at the hands of the Nazis, along with other so-called ‘undesirables’; the disabled, mentally handicapped, the Romani, homosexuals, black people, native Americans, and so on. More than six million Jews and countless others perished at the hands of the third reich in concentration camps by means still too horrific to think about for too long.
But since then, people the world over have collectively taken some comfort in the fact that those dark days cannot possibly happen again; that evil of that magnitude and that well organized and powerful cannot possibly be allowed to take shape again. And for the longest time, they have been correct. The German people, especially, have taken great care to not allow the new version of that nationalist zeal to take over again, by hook or by crook.
That’s why the same people look at the humanitarian disaster taking place in Gaza since last year with great surprise, as well as utter heartbreak. While the Holocaust of WWII is not exactly the same; there is no systematic ethnic cleansing, and only one people are specific people are targeted, no one can dismiss the stark similarities between their certain aspects. The photos of children having literally turned into bags of skin and bones, weighing less than when he was born as they die spark memories of those photos of concentration camps showing men women and children with their ribs protruding from under their skins, their hollow helpless eyes staring into the camera, resigned to their cruel and unreasonable fates.
All that is why I find it beyond comprehension that what is happening in Gaza is done by the state of Israel against Palestinians in the area. The IDF has taken control over the food supplies and has made it near impossible for Palestinians to grab some. They have fired upon the desperate and hopeless Palestinians who run to these supply locations, killing many without any compunction. They have also used drones to fire on gatherings of women and children, killing many and blaming it on “operational error”, without batting an eye.
But why? The IDF has consistently used combatting Hamas as an excuse, saying, without proof, that Hamas fighters hide and move amongst the people and they have no choice to fire into crowds if they want to destroy Hamas and preserve Israel as a nation. And yet, destroying an entire people; forcing them into a corner of their land, starving them to death, and bombing their hospitals all seems like either lazy military tactics or a concentrated effort to wipe a people off the face of the earth, not defending your sovereignty and your nation.
Is this revenge for the Holocaust? A culturally rooted centuries old hatred for Arabs and Muslims? Do they not see what they’re doing to the Palestinians is heartbreakingly similar to what was done to them those many years ago by some of the most evil beings in history?
Are they okay with identified with them? Your guess, gentle reader, is as good as mine.