Peter your sense of what you "should have done" spoke clearly to me. NONE of us ever do "all" we could do and sometimes that becomes a comfort --- since we "all" fail, it's "okay" to fail. You make the point that we must (MUST) strive to do better and to do more. I take your admonition to heart. Thank you for sharing your feelings --- and especially thank you for quoting Noam Chomsky who I consider the modern version of the prophets!
Can you ever have a discussion with the author Viet Thanh Nguyen? He speaks/posts regularly about the connection between The USA's policies towards Vietnam during that war and The current USA- Israel policy in the Middle East. He teaches Literature at Berkeley. I assume he is mostly focused on his writing career since his novel The Sympathizer won the Pulitzer.
In this new year, I hope to live up to even a small degree of the humanity, clarity, and humility Peter brings to all that he does and thinks. My gratitude knows no bounds.
So deeply moved by your statement of atonement, Peter. You make me think how I too--despite being in action, in the streets, getting arrested--have used my US anti-zionist Jewishness as a badge of honor making me superior to Israeli Jews and failing to acknowledge and feel their pain. I pray on Yom Kippur that these self-reflections will lead us to build a much bigger, more powerful antiwar coalition--against the ways that war dehumanizes us all.
Donna Baranski-Walker, the founder and executive director, is persistent in the most constructive of ways. Never taking "no" for an answer she manages to go on supporting the people of Gaza despite the current horrors.
I am moved by your profound humanity. But Peter, you have done so much good, you have so much courage, wisdom, and honesty, that I am quite sure the Lord has inscribed you in the Book of Life for a year of health and, I hope, joy.
Regarding your other concern, if not having empathised with Israelis’ pain enough, I feel ambiguous about it.
I am neither Jewish nor Israeli so I can’t say I feel or understand what October 7th would’ve been like for ‘them’ (i.e. not a homogenous block but still different to people not directly affected), nevertheless my original reflex was to do self-introspection and acknowledge my own ancestors’ (Belgian) likely contribution to the Jewish trauma (statistically speaking, it likely some were collaborators), hoping to acknowledge my own 'collective responsibility and sin' as well as acknowledge real trauma.
And yet, at the same time, it felt like the transcendental ethics timeline and the immanent ethics timeline was split. That is, no one got time to grieve with Israelis and the Jewish community as a whole because the event was instantly instrumentalised by a murderous regime and vengeance became more important than grief and human connection.
The ethical priority became eminently pragmatic: first stop the killing, then grieve altogether. I am comforted in this view despite my own non-Jewish identity by some of the testimonies of the Israeli families of the hostages and victims of 10/7, related by +972, who straight away acknowledged that more killing would not solve anything, let alone allow for a return of the hostages or a space to grieve.
I now tend to think that the fascistic response to 10/7 in fact required the prevention of grieving space for Israelis and the 'global community', making it difficult to empathise when such empathy seems to at the same time serve as justification for annihilation.
What a beautiful and sincere self-reflection. Thank you for sharing your honest and genuine desire for atonement. I don't know how the concept of forgiveness fits into your tradition, but in mine, God has certainly forgiven you and I hope that you can likewise forgive yourself as you move into the new year.
Peter- Thank you so much for sharing so deeply. You're opennes and honesty and self-reflection is a lesson for me. Thank you. Shana Tova. You're a good man.
Thank you for this Peter, it was genuinely moving.
Your observation of the intellectualisation of the conflict being somewhat immoral and unethical has struck me too and I’m still unsure what to make of this.
I helped organise an exhibition here in Australia in partnership with the Gazan We Are Not Numbers Organisation. Working on the texts we presented was quite revealing for me. They were all very descriptive, there was no attempt of explanation or blame, just straight testimonies of what was happening to them, before and after October 7th.
I could tell that it was taking me out of my tendency to want to understand and it was humanising the authors of the texts as well as humanising me in the process.
I had not really come across such understanding of the dangers of intellectualisation and it is moving to hear you (and Chomsky) speak to that too.
Thanks again for such a beautiful self-introspection, it is inspiring us all to do the same.
Dear Peter. I’m not Jewish yet it is hard for me to think of you as someone who is “lacking” in any way in caring for others! And I was so surprised when a friend told me I should “listen to Peter Beinart who is Jewish and yet supports the Palestinian cause”. For me, you are an amazing young man and I pray for your continued support for Palestine and hope for a new Israeli government.
Peter your sense of what you "should have done" spoke clearly to me. NONE of us ever do "all" we could do and sometimes that becomes a comfort --- since we "all" fail, it's "okay" to fail. You make the point that we must (MUST) strive to do better and to do more. I take your admonition to heart. Thank you for sharing your feelings --- and especially thank you for quoting Noam Chomsky who I consider the modern version of the prophets!
this is deeply moving and I salute the courage and humanity behind the atonement
Can you ever have a discussion with the author Viet Thanh Nguyen? He speaks/posts regularly about the connection between The USA's policies towards Vietnam during that war and The current USA- Israel policy in the Middle East. He teaches Literature at Berkeley. I assume he is mostly focused on his writing career since his novel The Sympathizer won the Pulitzer.
In this new year, I hope to live up to even a small degree of the humanity, clarity, and humility Peter brings to all that he does and thinks. My gratitude knows no bounds.
So deeply moved by your statement of atonement, Peter. You make me think how I too--despite being in action, in the streets, getting arrested--have used my US anti-zionist Jewishness as a badge of honor making me superior to Israeli Jews and failing to acknowledge and feel their pain. I pray on Yom Kippur that these self-reflections will lead us to build a much bigger, more powerful antiwar coalition--against the ways that war dehumanizes us all.
Thank you for holding up a candle in the darkness and for modeling real self-examination. Gmar chatimah tovah.
thank you for your words your heart and wisdom.
For another charity working in Gaza, please consider Rebuilding Alliance https://www.rebuildingalliance.org/
Donna Baranski-Walker, the founder and executive director, is persistent in the most constructive of ways. Never taking "no" for an answer she manages to go on supporting the people of Gaza despite the current horrors.
Amen 🙏
I am moved by your profound humanity. But Peter, you have done so much good, you have so much courage, wisdom, and honesty, that I am quite sure the Lord has inscribed you in the Book of Life for a year of health and, I hope, joy.
Regarding your other concern, if not having empathised with Israelis’ pain enough, I feel ambiguous about it.
I am neither Jewish nor Israeli so I can’t say I feel or understand what October 7th would’ve been like for ‘them’ (i.e. not a homogenous block but still different to people not directly affected), nevertheless my original reflex was to do self-introspection and acknowledge my own ancestors’ (Belgian) likely contribution to the Jewish trauma (statistically speaking, it likely some were collaborators), hoping to acknowledge my own 'collective responsibility and sin' as well as acknowledge real trauma.
And yet, at the same time, it felt like the transcendental ethics timeline and the immanent ethics timeline was split. That is, no one got time to grieve with Israelis and the Jewish community as a whole because the event was instantly instrumentalised by a murderous regime and vengeance became more important than grief and human connection.
The ethical priority became eminently pragmatic: first stop the killing, then grieve altogether. I am comforted in this view despite my own non-Jewish identity by some of the testimonies of the Israeli families of the hostages and victims of 10/7, related by +972, who straight away acknowledged that more killing would not solve anything, let alone allow for a return of the hostages or a space to grieve.
I now tend to think that the fascistic response to 10/7 in fact required the prevention of grieving space for Israelis and the 'global community', making it difficult to empathise when such empathy seems to at the same time serve as justification for annihilation.
What a beautiful and sincere self-reflection. Thank you for sharing your honest and genuine desire for atonement. I don't know how the concept of forgiveness fits into your tradition, but in mine, God has certainly forgiven you and I hope that you can likewise forgive yourself as you move into the new year.
Peter- Thank you so much for sharing so deeply. You're opennes and honesty and self-reflection is a lesson for me. Thank you. Shana Tova. You're a good man.
Thank you for this Peter, it was genuinely moving.
Your observation of the intellectualisation of the conflict being somewhat immoral and unethical has struck me too and I’m still unsure what to make of this.
I helped organise an exhibition here in Australia in partnership with the Gazan We Are Not Numbers Organisation. Working on the texts we presented was quite revealing for me. They were all very descriptive, there was no attempt of explanation or blame, just straight testimonies of what was happening to them, before and after October 7th.
I could tell that it was taking me out of my tendency to want to understand and it was humanising the authors of the texts as well as humanising me in the process.
I had not really come across such understanding of the dangers of intellectualisation and it is moving to hear you (and Chomsky) speak to that too.
Thanks again for such a beautiful self-introspection, it is inspiring us all to do the same.
Thank you Peter
Dear Peter. I’m not Jewish yet it is hard for me to think of you as someone who is “lacking” in any way in caring for others! And I was so surprised when a friend told me I should “listen to Peter Beinart who is Jewish and yet supports the Palestinian cause”. For me, you are an amazing young man and I pray for your continued support for Palestine and hope for a new Israeli government.
Linda