As a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor, I have always been proud to be a Jew. I have no desire for that pride to diminish. However, a unique opportunity has been lost forever. The inhuman barbarism that Hamas released on Israel on Oct. 7 provided an ideal chance to show the world that Jewish values of life had developed from six years of death and destruction resulting from WWII. But our revengeful and destructive responses proves to be equally contemptible. Israel is now helping Hamas achieve Hitler’s ultimate goal: to breed worldwide hatred against all Jews. For me, the concept of God is a force, a belief, a trust in each of us for justice, fairness, and goodness. I would like to assume that this aspect of God is shared by most faiths. The destructive Jewish/Palestinian conflict is a highly complex issue among neighboring faiths. Now we desperately need a “time out” to focus on hostages and the prevention of more deaths and destruction. Possibly, it has become high time to understand and respect the faith of all our neighbors.
Paul Wolff
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Holiday Guide 2023.
Thank you Mr Wolfe for bringing a human and humane perspective to this very complex issue. Ultimately I see no winners in this conflict. You would think that after repeated round of injustice and retribution enough people would understand that the past is no blueprint for the future unless you wanted perpetual conflict. Yet here we are.
My mother in law gave the best advice I’ve ever received when I was struggling with some bad behaviors by my children.
“Bob, you’ll never change anybody except through love” It was so true.