Nov 15th, 2023

​Evil
I don’t like using the word ‘evil’ towards any person, group of people, or country. I think it puts us in danger of channelling the intolerance we are speaking up against, by dehumanising others because their life perspective is different to ours. Of course, varying perspectives can lead to extreme and life-threatening clashes, I am not belittling this effect.
Most people will acknowledge that this war, at least in some respects, is different to the other wars Israel has faced since its establishment. It has been different for me as well, in one very specific way. In the past, when thinking about our aggressors and what they have done (including the Nazis), I have often felt that death is too good for them. An easy out. They should be made to pay for what they have done; they should be made to suffer, like they made us suffer! For the first time, I don’t feel that way. I don’t feel much for Hamas at all.
Punishment is driven by revenge and/or a hope for a lesson inflicted on your enemy. By trying to achieve that, we are aiming to cause them pain and suffering, at least as bad as they have inflicted on us. There is sometimes a hope that within the infliction of such pain on them, they may learn what they have done, and maybe even feel some kind of remorse.
​With Hamas, nothing I have witnessed allows me to believe this is possible. If there is any kind of humane element somewhere in a very well-hidden soul, I have not seen evidence to that effect. As such, I have no drive within me whatsoever, to target the ‘better nature’ of this group, in the aim of teaching them some moral lesson, or causing anguish for the sake of revenge. When it comes to Hamas, all that is left to be done is get rid of them, neutralise them. When a person has cancer, you target the cancer to save the patient. You don’t try to punish the cancer, or teach it a lesson. You merely aim to eliminate it, and in so doing, allow your patient to recover and live a healthy life, safe from this terrible disease.
Israel needs to recover its hostages to the best of its ability, and eliminate Hamas and its threat once and for all. It is the only chance Israelis have to live a safe life in their own country, as they start collecting the pieces of their broken lives, and with time, begin to heal.
If ever I were to use the word ‘evil’, when relating to a group of people, this is such a time.