Bombing and killings in Gaza have not stopped, despite the ceasefire agreement. About 100 violent deaths per week. Violence in the West Bank has increased since the ceasefire, with Israeli settlers burning olive orchards, scaring people away, and occupying land.
The ceasefire seems to have achieved two main results: redirecting the Israeli violence against the inhabitants of the West Bank, and giving time to the Israeli Army to flush out and exterminate their enemies trapped in the tunnels in Gaza.
On November 27, the Israeli army entered the West Bank for an “anti-terrorist operation,” which resulted in beating and wounding people indiscriminately. On the same day, the video of two Palestinian men being executed minutes after having raised their hands has drawn a formal condemnation from several European governments.
The level of violence in Israel/Palestine is so obscene that news like this usually becomes unimportant. The fact that this horrifying event has been noticed is therefore little sign of hope. But the images of dead Palestinian men returned to their families from Israeli prisons with clear signs of torture on their bodies should also horrify the world. Instead, the lack of reaction to this news makes me think that, after all, it was “good” for those two to be executed on the spot.
The violent potential of Hamas is basically reduced to zero at this time, but obviously, violence breeds violence, and with more than 60% of the inhabitants of Gaza having lost at least one family member in the last two years, anybody understands that unless Gazans are completely exterminated, or the Israeli occupation ends, new “terrorists” are on their way.
In such a desperate situation, I am trying to take a step back and look at the whole of Israeli and Palestinian societies, and the trails of blood and hope that have accompanied them for about a century. It’s not easy, and surely I can’t blame one or the other society as a whole, as most people seem to do, thus contributing to the atmosphere of violence and hatred.
I look, for example, at remarkable nonviolent groups such as Rabbis for Human Rights — which for many years has tried to stop demolitions of Arab and Bedouin villages and the illegal appropriation of olive orchards, and the organization of ex-members of the Israeli army, Breaking the Silence — which since 2004 has worked to bring the occupation to an end by bringing attention to the testimonies of young soldiers charged with controlling Palestinians.
But I also see the “counter protests” by Israeli citizens who tried to block humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza, with the stated intent of starving the population. Such a level of cruelty is mind-boggling, but it is also revealing of the truth expressed by many enlightened Israelis.
In recent months: “Historically, we are the only colonizers with the identity of victims.” If I look attentively at this statement, I see that it truly encapsulates the tragedy on which the state of Israel has been built. And I wonder how long such an inherently paradoxical identity can continue.
There are signs pointing to a crack. The mental health of the Israeli population has worsened dramatically, with staggering statistics of deaths by suicide and clinical depression. The number of Israelis resettling in European countries — and to a smaller degree in North America — is rising, especially among left-leaning groups. Sad as these trends are for the well-being of the Israeli society at large, they might represent a sign that the victim/colonizer identity is no longer tenable. Truth is bubbling up from the ashes of Gaza.
Perhaps the unflinching engagement of Rabbis for Human Rights, Breaking the Silence, and many other organizations from within Israeli and Palestinian societies have prepared the ground for a radical change. The violence of these days does not indicate that any change at all is underway, but we must hope that the cracking point will soon be reached and the difficult work of justice will begin.
Banner image: “A silent march for Gaza” in Sheffield, England. July 26, 2025. Photo by Tim Dennell on Flickr. Creative Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
How much time do you spend searching for reliable sources on Israel/Palestine, and how much time do you devote to spread the truth you have found? How does this conflict affect your spiritual life?
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6 thoughts on “Victims/Colonizers”
Thank you GG and truthful media sources (like Al Jazeera and ‘Democracy Now!’) and international journalists who continue to keep the world and the UN informed of the constant genocide and daily suffering of the Palestinian people! Hopefully the UN and humanity will vote to send a UN Peace Force once and for all to stop the genocide, increase the humanitarian aid, and facilitate a political, just, and lasting political peace process between Palestine and Israel!!! I’m sure many spiritual persons, humanitarian groups, and compassionate religious people around the world are praying with broken hearts for the end to the daily suffering/grieving of Palestinians and other sisters and brothers affected by other conflicts around the world (like Sudan and Ukraine). We pray for world leaders and all humanity to be emboldened to act justly and compassionately with-in GOD’S SPIRIT of LOVE, WISDOM, TRUTH, PEACE, JUSTICE, HEALING, TRANSFORMATION… for Our sisters and brothers around the world to help bring about Our Source Co-Creator’s Divine Will and QUEENDOM~KINGDOM on Earth as It Is in HEAVEN….
Until Israel renounces and stops the utterly vile actions of Israeli settlers, until they stop bombing innocent Palestinians, until they fully allow and support humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, until they stop intentionally killing journalists and aid workers, until they stop bombing hospitals and schools, until they stop intentionally targeting civilians, refugees and children, and until they prosecute Netanyahu and his cabinet for war crimes and vote in a civilized government, and until they support the two state peace solution – I cannot support Israel. This does not mean I support Hamas whose despicable cruelty, violence, and stupidity caused this whole thing; and it does not mean I don’t realize there are Israelis who are courageously working for peace, who do not support Netanyahu and Israelis settlers. But it is clear that all Israelis who are enacting or supporting Netanyahu, or “are not troubled” by the war crimes against Palestinians, have literally become the Nazis that persecuted and murdered their ancestors. They have become the monster.
Vivian,
Totally agree with you! Could not have said it better! Thank you!
Thank you for your thoughts. I would like to know the source of the quote, “Historically, we are the only colonizers with the identity of victims.” Being a Christian clergy person I see a similar victimhood here in the U.S. South among white people of all social classes. It is a curious phenomenon especially when it plays into religious identity.
This is being currently said by several prominent Israelis, so it is hard to trace the quote as such. This article might be helpful for the study of the topic: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pops.12690
“Historically, we are the only colonizers with the identity of victims”: the truth that harming “others” is a form of self-destruction has never been said so clearly; however, the concept of “truth” is quickly becoming a random variable of the general relativity theory. And it is not the only one. After Trump’s God Bless The USA Bible Limited Gold Edition, are we going to see a Limited Gold Edition Dictionary with updated definitions like:
TRUth: a trademark; formerly antonym of “lie,” now often synonym.
Terrorist: a person who does not kowtow to the powers that be, including a child who may, later on, refuse to do so.
Ceasefire: An announcement worth the Nobel Peace Prize, whether fire has ceased or not.
Debt reduction: A metaphor based on an extrapolation of the I Ching principle that “what goes up must eventually come down.”
This Daily Meditation has become my spiritual breakfast, thank you Gianluigi, Matthew and the editorial team.