It is time for Jews to make a historic gesture
The Israeli army's air strikes on Gaza, which began on July 7, 2014, are ongoing despite rumors of a cease-fire. According to data compiled by the U.N., almost all the Palestinians who have been killed in Israeli attacks were civilians and children. EU countries and the U.S are keeping silent about the massacre while some officials, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, support this bloodbath. The third-party countries that amplify this chronic problem with their silence as well as with their support give courage to Israel. It is a tragedy that these countries justify their stance by referring to "Israel's right to defend itself."Israel, just like the war in 1967, aims at long-term annihilation instead of parrying or preventing a severe threat through operation"Protective Edge." Isareli statements that the operation is aiming to prevent Hamas' missile attacks on the south conflict with the reality on the ground. The Israelis are targeting homes belonging to Palestinian activists, administration buildings, civil training camps and Gaza's dilapidated infrastructure. Experts in the region agree that Israel has been trying to make Gaza an uninhabitable pile of debris through its intelligence activities since 2012. There is no moral or reasonable explanation for talking about potential violence targeting civilians while Israel carries out a campaign of state terror that aims to kill elected officials along with children and civilians. This is neither a first not the last. The West, U.S. and Russia have never put aside their Islamaphobic and orientalist perspective when it comes to the Palestine Problem. The shameful stance of these countries against universal values does not release the citizens of these countries from responsibility. There is no doubt that the responsibility falls to the Jewish diaspora and Israel at this point. Moreover, this expectation is a reasonable obligation as well as a moral one for Jews. Operation Protective Edge and physical isolation have not given peace to the Jews since the 1967 war. They have become a target of terror both in Israel and in the world. The last air strikes launched by the Israeli state, like ones before, have increased anti-Semitism in the region as well as in the world. Unfortunately, this wave, will negatively affect all Jewish people as they are not a homogeneous nation, like any other nation on the planet. Hence, nationalist Jews as well as the humanist and anti-war Jews have to calculate the situation. Military experts point out that Israel did not get what it wanted from the last airborne operation and put the land operation on the table for a long-term and effective result. Calling 40,000 reserved soldiers to active duty and bombing Gaza in order to open an easy passage for infantry, armed vehicles and tanks shows that a land operation is a possibility for Israel. Obviously, this "worst case scenario " will lead to destructive results and irreversible consequences for both sides. Yes, it is too late, even now. There are more than 170 people dead, broken homes, sharpened revenge blades…A loud positive reaction from Jews will make a difference on the collective memories of both nations. If this reaction comes during Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims, the effects will be greater. This positive reaction from Jews will most likely affect the Israeli state as well. Yet, even if the outcome does not change the situation at all, it will contribute to Muslim public opinion's embracement of the difference between Israeli state and the Jewish people.