Power of kindness to deal with the Israeli and Palestinian tragedy - including kindness towards yourself - you need to look after yourself
- a post based on the humanitarian positions of UNRWA, UNICEF, MSF, WHO etc
Are you just so upset by all this it is hard for you to function because of the suffering of the ordinary folk in Gaza Strip? Or in Israel?
So many feel like you. I do too. But do look after yourself. This post is about the need to relate to kindness in our lives, including kind to ourselves. Therapists can do a lot to help and there is much you can do yourself if you are experiencing a lot of distress and finding it hard to cope and can’t access a therapist.
See my BLOG: Seven tips for dealing with doomsday fears
BTW this post is very likely to attract people who attack me for supposedly supporting Hamas. Of course I’m not but some people are just so traumatized by the Hamas atrocities that they have lost the ability to see the ordinary Palestinian civilians in Gaza strip as humans any more.
I am a Buddhist. Although not all Buddhists do, I’ve taken a vow of non killing. I talk about that here:
As a Buddhist who chose the path of taking a vow of not killing, I couldn’t even serve in an army except as a medical worker to treat the wounded if I had the capabilities. Of course I do not in any way support terrorism! It is absurd that I would. But just to talk about kindness and compassion for Palestinians can lead to people calling you a supporter of terrorism. It is so sad.
My message for you if you are one of those is:
"Don't let the Hamas terrorists destroy your own humanity and empathy for fellow humans in distress".
And for everyone else, kindness means kindness towards traumatized Israelis too, the hostages of course, the Israeli families attacked by Hamas, and also though the ordinary Israelis and the trauma these events mean for them too, psychological trauma.
I will first share my main graphic and summary of the message of this post, but before I get to the details, I need to explain the background for readers who haven’t read my earlier blog posts and may be living in countries where there has been little media attention to the plight of the ordinary Palestinian civilians.
This is a humanitarian post, aligned with the WHO, UNRWA, UNICEF, MCF etc and not political. So I spend a few sections explaining this. Those of you who follow my blog posts will know a lot of that already but I often get people come to these posts that haven’t seen any of the others so I need it to work for them too.
Israel has blocked this tiny country.
The Ukrainian war is in the South and East of Ukraine with the rest now much better protected than last year.
There are other conflicts going on
But most of the world is at peace.
We are surrounded by peace and kindness in most countries. It helps nobody to be depressed and miserable.
Even in Gaza Strip there is much kindness, self-sacrifice, doctors risking their lives for their patients, relief workers risking their lives for refugees etc. Kindness is everywhere.
SETTING THE SCENE - THIS IS ALIGNED WITH HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE WHO, UNICEF, UNRWA ETC - OF COURSE NOT IN ANY WAY SUPPORTING TERRORISM
First I need to set the scene and explain for those who don’t understand why anyone is concerned about what happens to the Palestinians, as if I don’t I’ll get comments from people saying I am supporting Hamas which of course I am not. This is a humanitarian post not a political one. It is aligned with UNICEF, UNRWA, the WHO, Oxfam etc. NOT Hamas.
What Hamas did is horrific but the ordUNRWAinary Gaza civilians are non combatants. I think the main message from the humanitarian organizations is "Don't let the Hamas terrorists destroy your own humanity and empathy for fellow humans in distress".
THIS IS A MESSAGE ABOUT EMPATHY FOR EVERYONE PALESTINIANS, ISRAELIS, FRIENDS OF CIVILIANS DOCTORS, AID WORKERS ETC ON BOTH SIDES
It is a message they have for everyone, Palestinians, Israelis, the friends of both sides, all humans globally. This is a young Israeli girl sharing the same message, which hopefully helps make it clear this is a message about empathy and humanity and not political.
See my blog post here where hopefully it is now explained better than when I first posted it on Quora, this is on Substack because the YouTube videos are embedded properly there and the Instagram posts embedded properly:
I summarize some of the background at the end of that blog post, for those who haven’t read the posts I did here about it and need a bit more background.
MANY ORDINARY FOLK OF THE UK ARE GREATLY AFFECTED BY THE SUFFERING AND WANT IT TO STOP - FOR INSTANCE THE MOTHER-IN-LAW AND BROTHER-IN-LAW OF OUR FIRST MINISTER OF SCOTLAND ARE BOTH TRAPPED IN GAZA STRIP, HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW IS A DOCTOR WORKING IN A HOSPITAL THERE
Where I live in the UK a lot of people are really upset by the distressing scenes we see every day of the plights of ordinary civilians in Gaza Strip. You can get an idea of it from this poll that was taken over a week ago. The percentage who want an immediate ceasefire would be far greater now.
Details here: . From what you’ve read and heard, do you think there should or should not be an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine? | Daily Question
In my case I’m in Scotland and HumzaE Yousaf, first minister (head) of the devolved government in Scotland talks about is mother-in-law, a Dundee nurse, who has been trapped in Gaza STrip now for there weeks, along with his brother-in-law, a doctor, and his family and elderly 92 year mother of his wife’s father, who is unwell, all unable to leave and her neighbourhood bombed.
His three cousins all got hit by shrapnel from a bomb that exploded nearby and his mother-in-law removed it with tweezers.
“I’m still trying to seek clarity from my mum about this, because she was so upset, but she said they got hit when a missile drone hit off metal. So thankfully it didn’t hit them directly, but the kids – especially the two-year-old – have a lot of shrapnel under their skin.”
El-Nakla said her mother, a former nurse, was now trying to treat the children using tweezers that she had in her holiday packing, and she was concerned about the risk of infection.
She talks about it in this video he tweeted, shared using the nitter interface for those who don’t want to take part in Twitter: nitter.net/HumzaYousaf/status/1712744173126750323
She is a retired nurse from Dundee, and was there for a few days visiting his brother-in-law's family (he's a doctor) and her husband's 92 mother. Details: Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf tells of war’s impact on in-laws in Gaza
Our first minister’s brother-in-law is a doctor working in a hospital in Gaza strip and he refuses to leave the hospital to go home to his home in Gaza because he is so needed there.
My brother-in-law, a doctor in Gaza, is spending his seventh consecutive day in hospital. Nadia spoke to him & said he should go home to rest, his response "I can't leave my people when they need me." Health workers in Gaza are heroes. (video shared with family's permission)
You can see the video of his brother-in-law working here.
. HumzaYousaf/status/1714926781625405942
As for our first minister’s wife, she is also an SNP politician. She is a psychotherapist born in Dundee to a Palestinian father. Her father's mother lives in Gaza strip and her brother serves there as a doctor.
See: Who is Humza Yousaf's wife Nadia El-Nakla?
She was in the news a while back because she wore a black and red Palestinian Thobe. Wife of Scotland's new First Minister wears Palestinian thobe to parliament
That does NOT MEAN HAMAS. It is about Palestinian rights to continue with their culture under Jewish rule.
Young Palestinian women have kept original thobes inherited from their mothers and grandmothers and almost every girl has a traditional thobe and Palestinian embroidery stitched to their modern clothes, or at least an accessory that connects them to their heritage.
“We, at the Palestinian Women Union in Gaza, encourage new generations to grasp our beautiful culture, support handmade embroidery projects and organise continuously relevant exhibitions,” said Alghosain.
“Embroidery work is a way of expression for many women in besieged Gaza for relief from hard social and economic conditions.”
Recently, UNESCO added the art of Palestinian embroidery, an integral part of the thobe, to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Palestinians welcomed the listing, which was announced in an annual gathering of governments, NGOs and cultural institutions.
“UNESCO listing is a beautiful move in the right place. However, it’s a small step in our struggle because the occupation doesn’t recognise or consider international resolutions. We need to be cautious and awake to attempts of stealing our heritage,” Hijazi warned.
It is very sad when wearing a traditional dress of your own culture is misintepreted as supporting terrorism!
She is an advocate for peace.
Nadia El-Nakla: "Let us survive. Let us live in peace. This can only happen when the world leaders use diplomacy instead of weaponizing and strive for peace over war. This can stop if those in power want it to"
Video: Nadia El-Nakla: Give peace a chance
When the blackouts of the Gaza internet started, on October 27th, our first minister tweeted that his family can’t get in touch with his family in Gaza strip - his kids granny, brother in law, cousins etc.
Gaza is under intense bombing. Telecommunications have been cut. We can't get through to our family who have been trapped in this war zone for almost 3 weeks. We can only pray they survive the night. How many more children have to die before the world says enough?
In reply professor Nisreen Alwan, professor of public health in Southhampton University who I also follow tweeted:
We feel so helpless but we can all at least say to our government supporting this: NOT IN MY NAME
They did survive the night thankfully. But they are out of fresh water. His tweet:
We heard from my in-laws in Gaza this morning, they are alive, thank God. However, they have run out of clean drinking water. The UN resolution must be implemented. We need the violence to stop, and for significant amounts of aid to get through without delay. # CeasefireNow
It is sadly a realistic possibility, for us in Scotland, that our first Minister’s mother-in-law, brother-in-law and their kids and 92 year old mother of his sister-in-law all die if an Israeli bomb happens to fall on them in this intense bombardment that is going on. Or if not tonight, in the near future. They have that risk every time they go to sleep since Israel doesn’t give warnings of most of the air strikes.
There is also a possibility that they die of thirst / dehydration if they can’t access water. Humans can last several weeks without food but only 3 days without water.
Imagine if Biden’s mother-in-law, and brother-in-law were trapped in Gaza Strip with his brother-in-law a doctor who refused to leave his post in the hospital there? And his brother-in-law committed to stay there and his mother-in-law unable to leave because of the blockade and his nephews and neices had been hit by shrapnel from an Israeli bomb, and that the 92 year old granny of his wife was also trapped and unwell in Gaza Strip?
There is no requirement on a president of the USA to marry an American all of whose family lives in America. A president could have a brother-in-law that’s a doctor, or aid worker working in a conflict area. A president could also marry a woman whose elderly granny lives in Gaza Strip like our first minister. Biden didn’t do that but it is not a requirement on a president. So it’s a realistic question to ask.
That would have rather changed Biden’s stance on the urgency for a humanitarian corridor I think. It just naturally gives someone a different perspective when their own close family is caught up in a tragedy. I’m not blaming Biden in any way. Just explaining how this gives us a different perspective in Scotland.
This is what Humza Yousaf leader of the devolved Scottish government wrote to the UK government, and the prime minister Rishi Sunak asking him to take a stronger stance in his dealings with Israel. He hasn’t had a response from these requests.
QUOTE We should stand together and united in unequivocally calling on all parties to commit to an immediate ceasefire to allow a humanitarian corridor to be opened, so that lifesaving supplies can get into Gaza and innocent civilians who want to leave be given safe passage out. Letter here: First Minister calls for immediate ceasefire in GazaAbout it here: Ceasefire in Gaza: First Minister writes to UK political leaders
So that’s the background and the many tragic things we’ve seen on our TV screens in the UK in Gaza Strip in the last three weeks, with a BBC reporter on the scene reporting back live who is also trapped there, and doctors and relief workers from UNRWA working there who have talked to us live via TV. I think the USA gives much less coverage of this.
Same call from UK charities. Urgent-statement-uk-charities-call-for-immediate-ceasefire-humanitarian-aid-and-lifting-siege-on-gaza
Same also from UK lawyers, they don't specifically say ceasefire but call on UK to fulfill its international legal obligations, which would include calling for a ceasefire. . UK Lawyer's Letter - Lawyer's Letter UK
Then as I said in my previous post, 2/3 of the countries in the world have voted for an immediate ceasefire. 675. Only 8% voted against the motion.
TEXT ON GRAPHIC: Voting for immediate and sustained ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian supplies: Nuclear states: China, Pakiistan, Russia,(India abstained). In Europe: Belgium, Ireland, Lechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey. In Middle East: Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar. Mexico. Most of Central and Southern America. Most of Africa. Most of Asia (except India abstained)
This analogy helps explain why for those who find it puzzling that anyone wants to be kind to the inhabitants of Gaza Strip
TEXT ON GRAPHIC Imagine a block of flats with 100 people in it - and 2 are terrorists who did horrific crimes, but even most of the people there don't know who they are. The terrorists have a hostage hidden somewhere, nobody else knows where. Is it right to cut off food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel from all 100 people until the terrorists either release the hostage or they all die? Is it right to bomb the block of flats to kill the terrorists if many of the 98 innocents will be killed before both of them die? Israel says YES. WAS legal in WW2. Been illegal since 1949 and most of the world says NO.
For details see:
THE CIVILIANS SUFFERED GREATLY ON BOTH SIDES DURING WORLD WAR II THE MAIN THING IS WE HAVE NOW MOVED FORWARD FROM THOSE TIMES SINCE THE GENEVA CONVENTION IN 1949
There have been far worse events in the past, we have actually moved forward in human rights. It was really only with World War II that the world finally had weapons that could cause massive casualties for civilians at a distance with bombing campaigns. There had been massacres before, e.g. the many times Damascus was raised to the ground by one or other occupying power. But World War II really brought it to everyone’s attention and we have moved on from those times now.
Israel is not doing targeted torture of civilians like Hamas. But for most of us what it is doing is no longer acceptable in warfare. Part of that is actually being so closely connected via the internet to the sufferings of ordinary folk in Palestine. That is perhaps the main thing that is so new this time compared to previous times when Israel attacked Palestinians in similar ways. Though this is also the most intense for a long time.
This is about the legal situation and why Israel thinks what it does is legal under international humanitarian law while ALL the humanitarian aid agencies, doctors, international law experts etc say that Israel’s interpretation of the law is incorrect.
So - many Israelis do genuinely believe that what they are doing is legal and justified and they are puzzled by the reaction of the rest of the world.
Israel is used to getting no criticism from the USA no matter how it treats Palestinians and it’s going to be a big change for the USA to criticise it but I think we’ll begin to see this in the near future.
I believe that at some point, the amount of suffering will just be too great even for the USA to support it.
Perhaps it will come first from the UK. The UK actually was in charge of Palestine before it was divided into Israel and Paletsine in 1967. So we have a historical connection. Back then before 1967 we tried to treat Jews and Palestinians equally But in recent years we have come down very strongly on the side of the Israelis.
So - for the UK it is a bit different from the USA who have always been very strongly behind the Israelis whatever they do.
So - maybe that history too may be a factor in the different perception between the UK and the USA in some way?
LOOKING FOR HELPERS WHENEVER THERE IS TRAGEDY
There is nothing we can do personally for them except pray to them for strength and support in their suffering.
This is a video someone shared in Twitter, may help
QUOTE STARTS
Fred Rogers: You know my mother used to say long time ago whenever there would be any really catastrophe that was on the in the movies or or on the air she would say "Always look for the helpers".
There were there will always be helpers you know even just on the sidelines.
That's why I think that if news programs could make a conscious effort of showing rescue teams or showing who medical people, anybody who
is coming into a place where there's a tragedy, to be sure that they include that because if you look for the helpers you'll know that there's hope.fRE
What he says there, about how there are always helpers around - you might wonder, “how can that be in Gaza Strip when even the doctors, nurses, and international aid agencies just don’t have the supplies they need to function properly”?
But the helpers and the kindness are actually there especially so in a war, amongst all the tragedy, even now, cut off from the internet, only 10 trucks of aid got in, running out of water, hardly any fuel, Gaza Strip will be full of numerous helpers doing whatever little they can do to help with whatever supplies they can find, anything to hand to help the people who are suffering. Finding ways to help people with the small amounts of water they may have, or a little food, or some medicine they have found they can spare, or a small amount of fuel.
There will be mischievous people, too, always are. But most people respond to disasters with kindness. Movies often paint a very inaccurate picture of what happens in real life tragedies.
Even when hospitals are destroyed (damaged to the point they can no longer function) as sadly many have been now, people like Humza Yousaf’s brother-in-law will be working flat out, with whatever tools they can find, improvising bandages or surgical instruments from anything they can find, to do what they can for the suffering people around them.
UNRWA the UN Relief agency say they still have some water available which they are making the most of and they are managing to do some collection of solid wastes from the camps with the last update and they continue to provide medical care in their centers as best they can:
Health
On 26 October, the eight UNRWA health centres still operational in the South recorded 3,950 patient visits, including refugees and non-refugees.
Health-care services were maintained in the UNRWA shelters, with the support of 95 mobile medical units and medical teams, serving 9,900 cases in shelters.
Medicines and fuel stocks are critically decreasing putting at risk the continuity of essential healthcare services.
Psychosocial support
UNRWA has counsellors and social workers in the shelters, who provide psychological first aid and other specialized protection services. Since the beginning of the crisis, UNRWA social workers provided 10,900 people with psychosocial support and social work services. These include cases that are referred for medication and other specialized mental health and psychosocial support interventions.
Water and Sanitation Services (WASH)
On 26 October, the eight UNRWA health centres still operational in the South recorded 3,950 patient visits, including refugees and non-refugees.
Health-care services were maintained in the UNRWA shelters, with the support of 95 mobile medical units and medical teams, serving 9,900 cases in shelters.
Medicines and fuel stocks are critically decreasing putting at risk the continuity of essential healthcare services.
…
Some solid waste collection from the camps and from emergency shelters and transfer to landfills continues in Middle, Khan Younis and Rafah areas with difficulties due to the scarcity of fuel and staff.
Water wells in Jabalia, Khan Younis and Rafah are functional with about 11,000 m3 being pumped from nine water wells.
Despite the limited availability of fuel, desalination plants continue to operate in the shelters for the provision of potable water. Water trucking operations in shelters in Rafah and Khan Younis also continue; however, the potable water provided is not enough to meet all needs.
. unrwa-situation-report-16-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-Jerusalem
They are sad times for them, but as always humans rise to the occasion in tragedy.
And then all the time there’s the pressure on the US and UK government who are the two countries with most influence on Israel, because of historical connections and many others, to take a stronger stance, and at the least humanitarian pauses and allowing unrestricted provisions of humanitarian aid and fuel.
I do think at some point this will have an effect.
Meanwhile as professor Nisreen Alwan, professor of public health in Southhampton University w tweeted:
We feel so helpless but we can all at least say to our government supporting this: NOT IN MY NAME
Sadly for most of us outside Gaza Strip there is little we can do personally to help directly.
You can donate to UNRWA, Unicef, Oxfam, the Red Cross or Red Crescent, or MSF (Medicin sans frontiers) all of which have a presence there and have appeals for funding.
They can’t deliver the aid right now but they are all facing major demands on their funding for the crisis and your donation can help for when finally aid can get in. Some of them have special appeals for Gaza Strip humanitarian supplies.
There are many others of course make sure it’s a reputable organization and that you are using the official website of the organization.
TALKING TO TERRORISTS - THEY ARE HUMANS TOO NOT ACTUALLY ANIMALS - THEY CAN COME TO REGRET WHAT THEY DID JUST AS MASS MURDERS CAN AND OTHERS THAT COMMIT HORRIFIC ACTS OF VIOLENCE - THE EXAMPLE OF BUDDHA MEETING THE TERRORIST ANGULIMALA WHO KILLED PEOPLE TO MAKE A NECKLACE OF THEIR FINGERS AND THEN THROUGH HIS TEACHINGS BECAME
It’s important to realize that terrorist organizations are not actually fixed on terror for all time. Fatah originally was seen as terrorist but it renounced violence 30 years ago.
There’s a message here may be of interest, By the Jain teacher and Indian Peace Activist Satish Kumar.
Jains are like Buddhists but go even further, they try to reduce harm not only to animals and insects but even to plants. They have the belief that a human can actually be reborn as a plant.
QUOTE STARTS
“The current political leaders usually say they won’t talk to men of violence, that talking to terrorists only encourages them. “We on’t talk to terrorists until they have reounced violence and given up their weapons” proclaim the politicians.
The Buddha’s point of view was just the opposite. He said that it is easy to engage in dialogue with those who are friendly and those who pose no threat. The real challenge is to talk to those who are violent, those who disagree, those who oppose and who intend to harm. External violence is only a symptom, a manifestation of some deeper cause. Only in dialogue can the perpetrators of violence and the victims of violence discover its root cause. And find ways to heal the discord.”
QUOTE ENDS
This quote is from his foreword to his retelling of the story of the encounter of Buddha with the mass murderer / terrorist Angulimala who later of course became the monk Ahimsaka, the non violent one.
Screenshots from this kindle book: The Buddha and the Terrorist: The Story of Angulimala
Here is a short summary of this famous Buddhist story, which Buddhist chaplains often use when working with murderers and others who have committed horrific crimes in prison.
He was a wanted criminal by the state, killer of 999 people. He was someone who was viewed as irredeemable evil, with no hope that he could become better. The Buddha refused to believe this and went to talk to Angulimala, even though he was warned by almost everyone not to do so. Angulimala saw the Buddha coming and ran towards him in waving a knife. However, no matter how fast he ran, and even though the Buddha was walking at his normal pace, Angulimala couldn’t catch up to the him. He eventually called out to the Buddha to stop.
“I have stopped Angulimala, you stop too,” Buddha replied.
Angulimala asked how it was possible since the Buddha was still walking. Buddha famously replies:
“Angulimala, I have stopped forever, I abstain from violence towards living beings. But you have no restraint towards things that live. That is why I have stopped and you have not”.
Angulimala relents and realising the error of his ways, he takes refuge in Buddha, and becomes a monk. He changed his name to “Ahimsaka” (non-violent one) to reflect his new identity and change of heart.
Shakyamuni saves Angulimala from himself. The mass murderer tries to take Buddha as his 1000th victim. When he fails, he falls to Buddha’ feet and asks to be taken as a monk. Although Buddha agrees, Angulimala must endure endless beatings at the hands of his victim’s families.
[I have replaced the picture used in the source by one that I can share under a creative commons license from The Defeat of Angulimala (9022049172).jpg - Wikimedia Commons from Sadao, Thailand
Story retold from Buddha Weekly: Peacemaking Buddhism: importance of Ahimsa "Non-Harm" in Buddhism — "Nonviolence is the weapon of the strong." - Buddha Weekly: Buddhist Practices, Mindfulness, Meditation
About the author:
Satish Kumar is an Indian, currently living in England, who has been a Jain monk and a nuclear disarmament advocate, and is the current editor of the magazine Resurgence, founder and Director of Programmes of the Schumacher College international centre for ecological studies and of The Small School. His most notable accomplishment is a "peace walk" with a companion to the capitals of four of the nuclear-armed countries-- Washington, London, Paris and Moscow-- a trip of over 8,000 miles. He insists that reverence for nature should be at the heart of every political and social debate. Defending criticism that his goals are unrealistic, he has said, "Look at what realists have done for us. They have led us to war and climate change, poverty on an unimaginable scale, and wholesale ecological destruction. Half of humanity goes to bed hungry because of all the realistic leaders in the world. I tell people who call me 'unrealistic' to show me what their realism has done. Realism is an outdated, overplayed and wholly exaggerated concept."
Interview with him.
I would say the universe is benevolent. A battleground is an aberration. For me, there is nothing in the world that is bad. The challenge for humanity is to find a balance between what we call ‘bad’ and what we call ‘good’ – and when you find it, all is just right, appropriate.
There is no evil – evil is only in ignorance. We have the potential within us to be in a place of harmony. Harmony is the basic principle of the universe: the sun and the rain are in harmony with the soil, and the soil with the seed. The mother is in harmony with the baby, so she produces milk the moment the baby is born. And so I would say: Focus on the natural state of the universe.
A little bit of anger, a little bit of fear, a little bit of doubt – these things are really a protection mechanism and they have a place. Don’t discard them but see what is their place. We need water but we don’t want water everywhere. In the same way, it is a matter of finding how much anger, how much fear, how much trust and how much love you should have in your life – you need everything, and so there is no battle, no fight. But when you think, ‘That is bad and that is good,’ then you create war, you create poverty, you create injustice, you create domination. All these are burdens we create for ourselves, and we don’t need to create them.
Buddhists aren’t total pacifists. Some take the vow of not killing, no intentional harm to any being with sentience, including animals and even insects, with especial attention of course to humans, like I did.
But others with a different path in life become Buddhist soldiers such as the famous Gurkas who are renowned for their bravery in battle, fought with the allies in WW2, and are for the most part Buddhist.
Buddha taught non harm. But he also taught kings and soldiers of his time, and his teachings on nonharming for a king or soldier are very similar to modern ideas about humanitarian conduct of warfare. Well ahead of his time on that topic.
See also: The Buddha Taught Nonviolence, Not Pacifism
I talk about that here:
You can still relate to kindness, humanity, compassion, care even for wounded soldiers of the enemy and so on as a soldier, even a soldier fighting terrorists like ISIS.
And as with Buddha and Angulimala it is also possible to NOT kill terrorists if you can capture them unarmed. For countries without the death penalty such as the UK then that would mean life-long imprisonment. From a Buddhist point of view that is a lifetime during which they could come to genuinely regret what they did just as Angulimala did, and if we can, we need to give them that opportunity even if it takes them decades.
Tolkien, himself a Catholic, expressed this point of view in the Lord of the Rings in the discussion of Gollum who was also a mass murderer though this is not elaborated on very much but the things he does in the book such as eating babies are awful.
Gandalf says
“Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
In context:
“Frodo: 'It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance.'
Gandalf: 'Pity? It's a pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.' Frodo: 'I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.'
Gandalf: 'So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides that of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.”
Many were very critical of Obama when US special forces under his command killed Osama Bin Laden, head of Al Quaeda, especially in Europe. They wanted him to be brought to justice if at all possible rather than killed.
Not criticising capturing him obviously. The issue was that he was unarmed at the time and that the US commandos who found him could have captured him and instead killed him.
Here is the US announcement of the death:
Alarm bells began ringing on Tuesday when Leon Panetta, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) claimed that the SEAL team who shot bin Laden had orders to capture him if he hadn't posed a threat. "Under the rules of engagement, if he had in fact thrown up his hands, surrendered and didn't appear to be representing any kind of threat, then they were to capture him," Panetta told PBS television before adding that he did not believe bin Laden had a chance to speak before he was shot in the head.
Counter-terrorism chief John Brennan then argued that bin Laden would have had to have been naked for the SEALs to have taken him alive - the only way they could have been sure that he did not have any hidden weapons or explosive devices on his person.
US Attorney General Eric Holder responded to the growing concern by defending the action as lawful when he told the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that the mission was "lawful, legitimate and appropriate in every way" and that everyone involved, from the decision-makers in Washington to the Special Forces troops on the ground in Pakistan, had "handled themselves well."
…
A host of European figures - including former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt who called the actions "a clear violation of international law" - have made it clear that they would have preferred to have seen bin Laden put in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
However, capturing bin Laden and bringing him before a court to be tried would have created their own set of problems.
"Conceivably the Security Council could have set up a special tribunal to try him for crimes against humanity," Dworkin said. "Otherwise he could have been prosecuted in the US under US criminal law or before the US military commissions although this would be a much worse and complicated option."
However Human Rights Watch's Hasan said it would have been a viable alternative.
"Putting bin Laden on trial before a court that met international fair trial standards, such as in US federal courts, would have served justice in a manner that cannot now be achieved," he said.
More details:
Some of it is classified information. We may not know all the details for a long time in the future. But if Obama’s team did indeed have the opportunity to capture him and take him to trial, even as a terrorist, then many would say that is what he should have done, as with what happened to Saddam Hussain, who was found in a foxhole and brought to justice.
… on December 13, 2003, U.S. soldiers found Saddam Hussein hiding in a six-to-eight-foot deep hole, nine miles outside his hometown of Tikrit. The man once obsessed with hygiene was found to be unkempt, with a bushy beard and matted hair. He did not resist and was uninjured during the arrest. A soldier at the scene described him as “a man resigned to his fate.”
After standing trial, he was executed on December 30, 2006. Despite a prolonged search, weapons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq.
Actually the modern US policy of not talking to terrorists according to Chatham house came about by chance.
The doctrine of not negotiating with terrorists came about by chance. In March 1973, members of a Palestinian militant organization took a group of hostages in the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, among them three Westerners.
Asked at a press conference how his government would respond, US president Richard Nixon replied, seemingly off the cuff, that there could be no negotiation with terrorists.
The following day the Western hostages were killed. Since then, the policy has become all but impossible to row back from, becoming integral to US and UK foreign policy doctrine.
In this case though USA and Israel won’t negotiate with Hamas, Quatar do and that is how the four hostages were released so far.
In this case also the political wing of Hamas, although they of course support and finance terrorism, are not themselves combatants and they have on occasion discussed a possible two state solution. In their proposed solution they wouldn’t recognized Israel’s claim over the rest of former Palestine but would be willing to accept a situation here the boundary of Palestine is restricted to the 1967 internationally agreed boundaries. This is not likely to ever be accepted by Israel as they would have to give up large areas of what they now consider to be Israel to Palestine, but it does show a possibility of movement for the political branch of Hamas.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/5/2/hamas-accepts-palestinian-state-with-1967-borders
They are clearly very far from it at present but it’s not impossible for the political wing of Hamas to renounce violence like Fatah did in a future where the Palestinians are given equal rights over at least part of the land of former Palestine.
Fatah renounced violence 3 decades ago. The PLO’s president Abbas effectively governs by decree under the Palestinian constitution. In Gaza Strip several districts were won by Fatah in the 2006 election and the southern half fo Gaza Strip was majority Fatah.
We don’t know the current views of the population of Gaza Strip because half the population weren’t even born at the time of the 2006 election. They certainly didn’t vote in Hamas, they took over in a military coup in 2007.
I go into this towards the end of:
BIDEN SAYING THAT THIS MUST LEAD TO A TWO STATE SOLUTION, A FORMULA FOR PEACE AT THE END
Biden shared his vision for the future after this conflict. Of course he talks about ending Hamas.
He stressed the importance of keeping to international humanitarian law in the conflict. He reminded Israel that Hamas doesn’t represent the vast majority of civilians in Gaza Strip or anywhere else and it is hiding behind Palestinian civilians. He says Israel has to do everything in its power, difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians.
The anger, the hurt, the sense of outrage that the Israeli people are feeling after the brutally inflicted devastation by Hamas is completely understandable.
Israel has the right, and I would add responsibility, to respond to the slaughter of their people. And we will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against these terrorists. That's a guarantee.
We also have to remember that Hamas does not represent, let me say it again, Hamas does not represent the vast majority of the Palestinian people on the Gaza Strip or anywhere else. Hamas is hiding behind Palestinian civilians. And it's despicable and, not surprisingly, cowardly as well.
This also puts an added burden on Israel while they go after Hamas. But that does not lessen the need to operate and align with the laws of war. For Israel has to do everything in its power. Israel has to do everything in its power, as difficult as it is, to protect innocent civilians. It's difficult.
I want to thank the Israelis and the Palestinians and President Sisi of Egypt for working with the United States to make sure that food, water and medical supplies are getting through to innocent people in Gaza.
The flow needs to increase, and we're working very hard with our partners to make that happen.
We're also working around the clock together with our partners in the region to secure the release of hostages and including American citizens left behind and held by Hamas. And the safe passage of foreign nationals out of Gaza. Not just Americans, but Australians and whole range of people who are trapped Gaza.
It has to be work towards peace not restoring the status quo before October 6th. In his view it has to be a genuine two state solution. He also said that the violence of the Israeli settlers killing Palestinians in territories that the Palestinians were told is theirs has to stop.
I also want to take a moment to look ahead toward the future that we seek.
Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity and peace.
There's no going back to the status quo as it stood on October 6.
That means ensuring Hamas can no longer terrorise Israel and use Palestinian civilians as human shields.
It also means that when this crisis is over, there has to be vision of what comes next.
And in our view, it has to be a two state solution.
It means a concentrated effort for all the parties, Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders to put us on a path toward peace.
In the past few weeks, I've spoken to leaders throughout the region, including King Abdullah of Jordan, President Sisi of Egypt, President of Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and just yesterday with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia about making sure there is hope in the region for a better future.
About the need, and I mean this sincerely, about the need to work toward a greater integration for Israel while insisting that the aspirations of the Palestinian people will be part of that future as well.
I'm convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did, I have no proof of this, just my instinct tells me, is because of the progress we were making towards regional integration for Israel and regional integration overall.
And we can't leave that work behind.
And one more word on this. I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, that pouring gasoline on fire is what it's like.
This was a deal. The deal was made. And they're attacking Palestinians in places that they're entitled to be. It has to stop. They have to be held accountable. And it has to stop now.
He says all the right things there. The main issue many find with the Biden administration so far is that while calling out for Israel over and over to keep to international humanitarian law, they never say that the complete blockade and forced evacuation orders and indiscriminate bombing are breaches of humanitarian war as the humanitarian organizations and international legal groups have said many times in the conflict.
Biden and the USA are not in any way responsible for Israel’s decisions as a country but they are in a position where they can do a lot by way of external influence on Israel’s decisions and some say they are not yet doing enough.
RELATING TO KINDNESS AROUND US WHEREVER WE ARE AND VALUING THE LITTLE THINGS YOU CAN DO, AS IMPORTANT AS THE BIG THINGS - WE AREN’T ISOLATED AND SO AREN’T LIMITED TO WHAT WE OURSELVES CAN DO IN AN OBVIOUS WAY
But we can relate to the kindness around us everywhere and the little things you can do, helping people around you with what may seem relatively minor issues, anything you can do to help others is positive even if you can’t do anything for these suffering people in Gaza city.
This is a teaching that one of my Buddhist teachers gave.
You can give a glass of water to someone who is thirsty, a simple act of kindness but if done out of kindness the benefits may be vast without measure. You can’t even see it. So you should never think that what you can do is limited, it’s always vast without measure in every moment.
The basic idea is that what you do is no longer restricted to you and what you see as your limited ideas and vision and goals, if you do it out of simple kindness and that wish to help others.
The Dalai Lama's advice:
TRANSCRIPT "When we face some problem, if there is a way to work on it, then make effort. If the situation is such that there is no way to overcome it, then there is no use in much worry." [Dalai Lama's comment on the quote] A very realistic and very scientific way of thinking.
Dalai Lama. 1:17:40 into this video (Compassion and Love | His Holiness the Dalai Lama will give a talk on Compassion and Love followed by a question and answer session online from his residence in Dharamsala,... | By Dalai Lama | Facebook):
He in turn is quoting the 8th Century Indian sage Shantideva:
He goes on to talk about how he applied this advice to his exile from Tibet and his interactions with China and the Chinese people.
Those were awful times for the Tibetans, their way of life destroyed by invading Chinese. But "There is no use in much worry"
When you can do something then make effort
If the situation is such that there is no way to overcome it, there is no use in much worry
It is a very practical way of dealing with things.
Also geographically I did this graphic may help.
WORLD IS FOR THE MOST PART AT PEACE - SURROUNDED BY KINDNESS
This is for any of these panics. Try to remind yourself how tiny these areas are compared to the size of the world. This is Gaza Strip.
Israel has blocked this tiny country.
The Ukrainian war is in the South and East of Ukraine with the rest now much better protected than last year.
There are other conflicts going on
But most of the world is at peace.
We are surrounded by peace and kindness in most countries. It helps nobody to be depressed and miserable.
Even in Gaza Strip there is much kindness, self-sacrifice, doctors risking their lives for their patients, relief workers risking their lives for refugees etc. Kindness is everywhere.
WHAT WE CAN DO AT A PERSONAL LEVEL - RELATE TO KINDNESS IN THE WORLD
It does no-one any good to spiral into despair or hopelessness.
The world as a whole is largely at peace. Most of the people who read my blog are not in countries at war. They are experiencing peace. Even most people in Ukraine are experiencing peace. There is beauty and kindness everywhere.
If you see a horrible world, this is a perception that's mainly shaped by the amount of time people spend online nowadays. It depends on what you do online but if you spend it watching scary videos and political posts and media stories the world can seem a very dangerous place.
If you spend it on peaceful activities connecting with others who are doing the same it can seem very peaceful. It may help to join groups online that are not involved in discussing politics at all, have a no politics rule?
Any interest you have there is likely to be an online group somewhere devoted to it, and if they have a no politics / no news rule then that's an online environment without any of this.
Or connecting to your real world life more. Finding activities you can do in real life that connect to the peace around you. Unless living in Ukraine or in the Gaza strip or neighbouring regions of Israel your life is not at risk from any war. Even in Ukraine over most of the country they no longer need to even use bomb shelters much because their air defence is so effective unless close to the front lines.
But most of the world is at peace. So if you relate to the real world rather than the media or online world then nearly everywhere you find people at peace who are not injuring harming or killing each other in war or damaging each others' property or the civilian infrastructure with missiles.
If you ground yourself in what is around you you can find kindness everywhere.
See my blog post:
BLOG: Looking for kindness - Far healthier than looking for hostility especially if easily scared
. Looking for kindness - Far healthier than looking for hostility especially if easily scared
EXAMPLE OF A UKRAINIAN PHOTOGRAPHER SHOWING THE BEAUTY OF HER COUNTRY AND AREAS AT PEACE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR
Most of Ukraine is far from the fighting. They still get the long range missile strikes but most get shot down and especially Kyiv is very well protected by the Patriot air defences now.
I discovered a Ukrainian photographer who does photos and videos from Ukraine, showing the beauty of her country in the middle of the war.
This is her latest: Letters from Ukraine. Breaking the silence — Yaroslava
From: Posts | Yaroslava
BEAUTIFUL VIDEO AND PHOTOS FROM GAZA CITY BEFORE THE BOMBING - THEY CAN RESTORE IT AS THEY HAVE DONE SO MANY TIMES BEFORE
The many who have died can’t be restored. But Gaza Strip and Gaza city can be rebuilt. It is a very ancient city. It’s been inhabited since the times of the ancient Egyptians back in 15th century BC. It has been raised to the ground several times, for instance by the Mongols in 1299, after first being destroyed by an earthquake in 1294. Then it’s risen again many times and become a flourishing city again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_City
Gaza was just one year into creating its first nature reserve restoring the Wadi Gaza and its wetlands, which is a world heritage site, when the war started. They have ambitious plans for how to restore it based on cleaning it up and using the treated water from the water treatment plant for Gaza city to supply it with clean water.
I share some photos and video from the Wadi Gaza project as well as photos by an Instagrammer from Gazi city who has shared many wonderful videos and photos of “My beautiful Gaza”. Of course much of what she photographed is now in ruins and many around her have died. She was able to post a couple of photos from the strip after the bombing.
But it gives an idea of what can be restored. She asks us to pray for them (the civilians) for steadfastness in their long night.
HELPING YOURSELF
If your empathic response is severely impacting on your own life then you may need help from a therapist. There are many things they can do.
As much as you can, try to keep your body healthy, good food, exercise as appropriate, keeping up ordinary life, help to improve your sleep quality, destress activities etc.
See my BLOG: Seven tips for dealing with doomsday fears
BLOG: Breathe in and out slowly and deeply and other ways to calm a panic attack
THIS CONFLICT WILL END - AT MOST MONTHS NOT YEARS - THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF THIS TRAGEDY LEADING TO MOVEMENT TOWARDS MORE RIGHTS FOR PALESTINIANS ONCE THE CONFLICT IS OVER
This was a good interview on the BBC for on "Unspun World" to do with removing the “spin” from the news. On Saturday 25th October.
It points to one positive side of all this. First the far right under Netanyahu has been seen as failing to prevent this. Also once it is over this whole episode will make it clear to Israelis, having seen what doing nothing creates, that there may be a move such as has never happened before to do something about it.
This is just a paraphrase typed as he talked. I can do a proper transcript since it is available for anyone in the UK to watch again on the BBC iPlayer website. If you live in the UK then you can watch it, probably not outside the UK.
Sebasitain Usher BBC World Service Middle East editor.
Egypt humanitarian aid into Gaza, not going to accept a large number leaving. Don't want to facilitate a mass exodus of people never able to return.
Also economically in a terrible state. Election in Egypt in December. Politically much more stable under Sisi but far more repression of free speech.
Part of that, fading of issues of Palestine.
Lebanon: Hezbollah don't want a war, Israel doesn't and Iran doens't quite want it.
Every slight day very slight escalation of skirmishese but remain within rules of engagement "we fire you fire back"
Lebanese government - spectators liek we are. TErrible economic collapse. Caretaker government. Hezbollah is far more a weapon of Iran. Unless things spiral in a desparate way in Gaza, - they would be next thing after Gaza not as well as Gaza.
General feeling was in planning for years, at least month, predating the real momentum towards normalization between Suaid Arabia and Israel.
Right now Saudi Arabia can't do any deal with Israel.
But Saudi Arabia may have more of a role to play after.
This had been left to rot with no momentum. Under Trump the two state solution disappeared. Almost like a myth.
Having seen the abyss, what doing nothing creates, there could be a move like we haven't seen for a very long time and Saudi Arabia could play a much wider role.
Isn't an appetite in governments Not going to see a Yong Kippur, not Arab countries sending their armies as in 1967.
You can watch it on the BBC here: Unspun World with John Simpson - Series 3: 25/10/2023