“What should it mean when we say “both sides” are responsible in the war between Israel and Hamas?”

It is important to correctly identify and label what is meant when we speak of both sides in the Israeli/Palestinian tragedy. The narrative is simple and clear to me, one side is good — innocent civilians — both Israeli Jews and Islamic Palestinians. On the other side, is evil — both the terrorist group Hamas, and the new, fascist, extremist government coalition led by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his thugs, who have committed senseless and inhumane acts such as goading Muslems praying in Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and encouraging and supporting West Bank Israeli settlements at the expense of Palestinians who live nearby and are frequently harassed and threatened by militant far-right Israelis.

On Oct 7, (the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War that pitted Israel against Egypt and Syria), Hamas committed the largest invasion and air attack on Israel in 50 years, firing more than 2,000 missiles into Israeli towns and cities. These targeted unarmed civilians. Hamas militants murdered, raped and tortured defenseless people and took many hostages who they have threatened to behead. Literally up to and until the day of the invasion by Hamas, tens of thousands of Israelis were continuously and actively protesting and marching in the streets of Israel daily against Netanyahu and his racist cronies, whose intent is to destroy democracy in Israel and create a fascist theocracy by removing the judicial guardrails that were in place. Netanyahu also has enacted the cruelties of Israeli apartheid violence toward Palestinians.

Both the horrific invasion of Israel by Hamas, and now, Netanyahu’s exponentially more lethal retaliatory response in Gaza, have assured a continuous blood bath, with no end anticipated. Gaza’s hospitals are overrun. Food, water, electricity, and medical supplies such as oxygen won’t be available to the captive, civilian population. Many will die.

More than 200 innocent young, mostly secular progressive Jews attending a music festival in southern Israel were murdered, raped and taken as captive hostages by Hamas to publicize their purposeful cruelty. The killers joyously videotaped acts of violence, often on the victim’s own cell phone, then posted these on the victim’s personal FB page so that the family would be subjected to witnessing their own relative’s murder. (If you have the stomach, you can see these videos openly posted online by Hamas).

I am horrified by all the evil being committed ‘on both sides’. Remember who is on each side. As a side note, I don’t know why Gaza’s border with Egypt still remains sealed, blocking off Cairo airport as an exit for Palestinians, without pressure being put on the government of Egypt (who the U.S. and other countries give aid to). I am heartbroken and feel powerless to watch these horrible events unfold, but we must keep clear on who is good, and what is evil, so that anger is not displaced, thereby pitting one ethnic group against another. Blame is ‘on both sides,’ but if allowed to be seen as Palestinians versus Jews, it deflects and obscures who the true evil parties are. Politicians, Islamic and Jewish, prey on their traumatized subjects, instilling dark, manipulative narratives.

We all know the meaning of the word Holocaust. I grew up with two parents who are survivors, and who lost their whole families, so I am painfully, exquisitely sensitive to the evil that can be perpetrated on innocent people, due to their ethnic origin. We absolutely need to see the harm “on both sides,” but must be careful not to obscure who behaves in a self-serving manner and who needlessly sheds blood for the glory of criminal leaders. Trump trivialized the equation of “both sides” in his comments regarding Charlottesville. We must be careful to define this term precisely now.

Let us all hope we can keep championing for human rights, and for peace. I hope this helps in some way.

Shelly Berkowitz lives in Northampton.