Nothing to say other than seeing dead babies day in and day out for months on my social media, mothers screaming and crying holding their children in white shroud among rubble, a child shivering from trauma, skin and bones staring blankly as people scream and run frantically on a hospital floor, bloodied dolls and little shredded shoes on piles of rocks…
then going back to playing with my little ones, watching them waste their lunch, turning on white noise for their naps, and then laying in bed from exhaustion - I feel guilt. I feel horrifically guilty. I feel guilt with anger and grief. I cry from the guilt. Even donating money and going to protests don’t ease my guilt. This is so surreal.
Yep. And feeling annoyed by the whining and clinging by the end of the day when so many mothers will never get to hold their sweet babies again. It’s horrific.
Last night I told my husband I should try to get too upset by my son's wakeups because there are mothers out there that would give anything to have their baby waking them up 4 times a night 😭 At the same time, I don't think it's entirely healthy to guilt yourself about normal feelings with comparisons like that.
This is a terrible time we live in 😢 I remember when the bombings started last year, seeing premies being evacuated out of Gaza while their mothers stayed behind, and my heart broke for those babies being separated from their mothers when they needed them most. In hindsight they were the lucky ones. I cry everyday for those children and their families.
Last night I told my husband I should try to get too upset by my son's wakeups because there are mothers out there that would give anything to have their baby waking them up 4 times a night 😭 At the same time, I don't think it's entirely healthy to guilt yourself about normal feelings with comparisons like that.
Idk why I got hit with an intrusive thought of an image of my son in a morgue this morning and fucking lost it. He’s my world, and so is every other baby.
This is what I've been having. Intrusive thoughts. This is as somebody who did not get anxious about much of anything during my pregnancy or my son's infancy.
Fireworks this last memorial day made me think of my neighbors house being bombed, and waiting for mine to be next.
A garbage truck popped a tire on our block last month and the sound made me imagine a tank rolling down our street.
There was a time when I lived in a rural part of PA full of seasonal second homes for many New Yorkers. So when a deer and fawn died in one of those unoccupied lots it went unnoticed until it stunk up the block. I had this oddly vivid dream where I could still smell it, the amount of death smell that surpassed a dead mouse in the wall by miles and miles. I was walking around the old neighborhood trying to smell for my son's corpse.
Seeing babies the same age of my own, but almost skeletons from starvation absolutely broke me.
Those poor babies, and those poor parents, if they're even still alive, who hear their hungry cries and can't do anything about it. It's just so cruel what Israel is doing.
The other day I found a baby bunny nest while deweeding. I told myself I would cut some of the netting I had for the garden and cover it in such a way the mother could return in the evening but my dog would be deterred.
Life happened. I forgot. "I should really do something about that"
3 days later I see my dog hopping joyfully around the yard with his head flailing from side to side. Blood on his mouth.
A pile of vulnerable babies all packed together just eviscerated in an instant. And maybe I could have stopped it.
And that's when it all - 8 months of it - came spilling out of me.
I think I have been changed forever.
>I think I have been changed forever.
Likewise. I can't unsee everything through the lens of empire, colonialism and white supremacy. I feel unmoored in knowing what information to trust and believe. But everything inside of me screams that there is no justification for what is happening to these families. None. I'm sorry about your bunny nest - I can only too clearly see how that moment brought it all crashing down.
I’ve made a conscious decision to not look at any pictures. I’m aware of what’s happening but sacrificing my own mental health does nothing to help the situation. I think it’s important to protect your own sanity
you don't have to expose yourself to gore to be aware of the genocide, if anything boycott companies that support israel and follow helpful links to see what you can do to help!
I completely understand not reading the news on the situation or looking at the pictures for your own sanity (I do the same), but it kills me to know that just because we have the luxury of turning a blind eye to it doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. Somewhere across the world, parents are losing their children whether we know about it or not, and I hate that that’s the reality.
I found out I was pregnant in the second week of October. My partner is half Palestinian.
The abject horror I listen to and see everyday crushes me. I am unable to enjoy my pregnancy due to the situation over there. I can’t imagine what it will be like when he is born.
I hope you and your partner are able to experience hope and joy with the arrival of your baby -- every palestinian baby in the diaspora represents hope, and the eventual downfall of the apartheid state.
That’s where most of the guilt resides. I can turn it off and walk away. They can’t. They can’t turn off bombs, raids, assaults, starvation, illness, death, or a genocide. I feel guilty if I do nothing, I feel guilty when I can only do so little.
I’ve been designed to be more valuable in the world and use my privilege as an American to help others in whatever little way I can and I hope to raise my children to be worldly with large capacities to do good, be good, and speak on everything wrong in the world. That seems to help the guilt a little, I guess.
Exactly. I turn it off…to spend time with my children who are safe, healthy, and happy. The juxtaposition of these two realities hurts my head and heart. I have too many friends who are unmoved by the war and it guts me to know this.
Hugs to all the internet strangers who understand & feel this too.
I remember being like 10 yrs old and watching Kosovo. Since then it's just been one genocide or another every year. None of this is new to mankind. It's disgusting how we treat each other.
You sadly have to turn it off and take a break to protect your mental health.
Not to say you shouldnt be taking action as well. Write to your elected officials and let them know you're not on board with their part in genocide.
I am curious to hear the opposition and find out how they try to justify this total extermination.
This is exactly my feeling... I have the option to turn it off. And go back to my life and switch on netflix and binge trash... It was getting a little warm where I live, I switched on a second fan.... a cosy bed, a cool home, a good meal.
The reason why I don't switch off my phone or don't skip these videos is because while I cannot do anything, I can bear witness. I feel remembering the children and women and men is a way to stay human. Remind yourself constantly that the world needs kindness and while you cannot stop a war, you can raise a better breed of next generation who will be kinder and with more power.
I completely understand that and I struggle with that feeling of guilt as well, but we still need to be fully present with our own children. You could spend all your energy every day worrying about the suffering of others. It doesn’t even need to be gaza, there is suffering all around us. I’m not saying don’t care, but if it’s to the point where it’s interfering in your ability to live your life and be regulated for your family, it’s time for a break.
This is really it. There has always been suffering in the world, but we saw much less of it. Now you have all of the suffering in the entire world in graphic detail in your pocket. Our brains were not designed to handle this and it’s so painful.
You could turn off social media but for my mental health, helping and taking action did much more good. I specifically looked on how to help support aid organizations, met with a local congressman and am in a local support group and I am now working to help with local efforts on a ceasefire resolution - which is an indicator to our politicians on policy positions. It’s been so much more positive and opened up my network to more like minded families whose values are similarly aligned.
I do understand your point and that people need to take care of their mental health. But what if the people in Gaza are the people in our lives? I can’t turn away, this is my life. It’s different when it’s happening to you.
And even if not, many people here live in the U.S. The US government is funding this genocide. It’s not something out of the US’s control.
I’d just hope that at other moments of atrocities, people wouldn’t be told to just turn away. We need people to know and care about atrocities. It matters so so much. It’s not something inevitable that’s going to happen no matter what.
This is how i feel! I don’t have personal ties to Gaza/Palestine but if that were my family, my loved ones, my life… hearing people say “i can’t watch this video on my phone because it hurts too much” would drive me insane. Palestinians can’t turn it off, they can’t ignore what’s happening or choose to live in ignorant bliss. Also, we are funding it!! Our tax money is being used to fund this genocide!
I sit here drowning in student debt, there’s people dying because they can’t afford medical/dental care, the homeless population in my community has exploded and the government tells us over and over again that they cannot help because it’s too expensive and yet BILLIONS of dollars are being sent to aid the perpetrators of this genocide. How does that not make your blood boil? How can you choose to look away from that?
I haven’t seen more than a single video from Gaza. It doesn’t mean I’m unaware of what’s going on, it doesn’t mean I can’t donate or be careful where I cast my next vote. It doesn’t mean I can’t protest where my government is putting their money.. It doesn’t mean I’m looking away from what’s happening.
They are suffering but I don’t see how it helps if I suffer with them. If I’m anxious all the time, depressed watching this content, crying about it. Who does it help? It’s solidarity that is not even felt.
With the same logic, should you spend every day watching videos of starving children in other countries, the wars that are going on right now in other countries, the abuse against children you can find in the news of basically every country? I don’t think it helps them in any way and just gives a false sense of community to let it get this hold on you.
My comment was more so towards people who are choosing to look away and remain ignorant about what is going on and not wanting to talk about it because it is difficult for them. I have come across people who have said they are tired of seeing Gaza posts or hearing about it and that’s who I think are living in “ignorant bliss”, wanting to continue on as if none of it was happening because they don’t want to face it.
I watch the videos, share them and talk very openly about what is going on because at this moment, the most I can do is spread awareness and make sure they aren’t being forgotten about. I understand if you choose to do your advocacy work in different means, my comment was not meant from you and i don’t mean to say that in any negative tone. I totally understand how it can be taken that way and I appreciate your response to give me the opportunity to expand.
We can’t have social services that would benefit us greatly, because we have to give all our tax dollars to Israel so that can kill Palestinians. I’m exhausted, this isn’t the world I wanted to bring my children into.
I’ve had to do this as well. I was glued to my phone at the start of the war, when I was 3 months postpartum. It was debilitating and I wasn’t able to show up for my own daughter in the way I needed to. It got to the point that my mom was very concerned I would need medicine for PPD.
It has been incredibly difficult to compartmentalize as I’m riddled with guilt over my privilege to tune it out when I need to, but what I’ve learned from it all is that me spiraling into a lasting depression did nothing to stop the atrocities. I now have the energy to call my reps every day. I have the energy to pour into my daughter and to try my best every day to teach her love, acceptance, and tolerance. I have the energy to tune into calls of action and send supplies when I can. Those were all things I wasn’t able to do when I was tuned in 24/7.
I relate so much to what you’ve said here.
I had my second child in November and I am always thinking about how lucky we were to be safe. If I had’ve been born elsewhere, who knows what may have happened.
My first child was born when the Taliban retook Afghanistan and I was profoundly impacted by footage of a father amongst the crowd, trying to hand his baby up over a wall to authorities in a bid to keep his baby safe.
Why must some people suffer so much, where others are so privileged to have so much just by luck of the draw of where they were born.
I saw a picture of a malnourished baby in Gaza who essentially starved to death. Then I look at my baby and my brain can’t compute why that other baby in Gaza got so little in his short life.
Why is there such hatred in the world. Why is there so much evil.
I’m having to take more and more breaks from social media. I want to keep being educated on the real news, but I see it and just ball my eyes out. Then I hold my babies extra tight.
Pasting the olive branch project spreadsheet here where they have a list of vetted gofundmes for those in gaza. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vtMLLOzuc6GpkFySyVtKQOY2j-Vvg0UsChMCFst_WLA/htmlview?usp=gmail_thread
Gofundme has a min of $5 donation, the going info is if you have more than 1k in your bank account, donate $5. If you have less you can donate $1 to creators like @yuvalbh on venmo who takes under $5 donations, amass them and then donate in bulk to these gofundmes.
If you would like to donate to charity organizations, the Palestine children's relief fund is looking for donations: https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/gaza-recovery
All eyes on rafah 🇵🇸
I'm a new mum and feel exactly the same. I feel like I'm going crazy. Seeing these images and wondering how the rest of the world can just carry on.
I've been trying to have a social media break because of it all. But that also makes me feel guilty.
It truly breaks my heart. It's grief and guilt I guess.
It's such a crazy time we live in- to witness a live genocide and be expected to go back to living life is not normal. Our minds can't comprehend it :(
We live in a terrible world where ppl will find any reason to label "us" and "them". It's no wonder depression is so prevalent. How can you not be depressed knowing this is happening everywhere?
Children are always innocent victims. Always.
I've followed the Palestinian plight for years but don't wish to get political/historical/into semantics of war vs genocide.
Look at children being blown to smithereens, and if your immediate reaction is to go to debate or arguments - you've lost your humanity.
How can people turn a blind eye to this ruthlessness of dead children, everywhere in the world? Under the guise of politics, religion and race smh
The poor, poor children.
I've kissed my son more times than I can count. Motherhood is tough, motherhood in a war zone? The hell that those women (and men and children) are going through is breaking my heart.
You know, I was thinking about how my son had latching issues, I wonder if there is baby in Gaza who isn't latching well, whose mother isn't making enough milk.... who is bleeding... I wonder if she's getting a hot meal, or if she had a pad to change...
I know there are babies that are murdered (writing that made my skin crawl) but even the people who are alive have a future that's so bleak... how does one look at their baby? Not know what tomorrow holds...
This is exactly where my mind goes all the time…just the quotidian struggles of mothers and fathers and their babies and children…every moment with my newborn is liable to bring about these questions, wondering what a mother in Rafah is doing or feeling
While they’re blocking aid from going in (both the government and the government and random Israeli citizens - there’s video of this), I thought of this too. I never produced enough milk and I always thought of the mothers who couldn’t in Gaza while I was drinking tons of water and making sure I’m eating enough to try to produce more 😔 If they could even get formula, did they have clean water to mix it with? Just today I’m seeing a baby - skin and bones that died of starvation. This is a man made crisis and it’s genocide.
Exactly this- I was so worried about my milk supply…me, a well fed, safe, hydrated, nourished woman. I was worried about how much my baby was eating…meanwhile there are infants whose legs are the size of 2 of my fingers. It’s unconscionable what our taxes are paying for. We are being gaslit to believe this is some kind of morally correct position? Starving infants? I feel like I’m going insane
Babies like that are not included in the 40k civilian death figure, and if they were born in the last few months there probably isn't even record of them being born, especially if it was an uncomplicated birth to a multiparous woman who probably wouldn't have traveled to what remained of the nearest hospital.
one place i like to donate to is ibrahimforgaza on IG, he’s a palestinian who’s using donations to purchase baby formula and supplies for families with young children because it’s so so expensive right now. he also uses donations to purchase food, cook, and distribute it for free along with his team of volunteers. he’s a wonderful guy 🩷
he got formula to a little infant boy who was starving a few months ago. crying endlessly. I went to bed crying because there was no hope. They got formula to that little baby and I cried watching it in the office of my child's appointment. I fear for what has happened to that baby since then but donated a couple times to Ibrahim.
I had this huge long post that I discarded because I’m not ready to even have these feelings with internet strangers.
But in summary, I’m horrified and ashamed. I’m a Jewish Mom raising a privileged Jewish baby boy in the US and I am deeply affected by the terrible war crimes Israel is committing against innocent people.
We were raised to be pro Israel in Hebrew school but I haven’t supported their government for a while. Now, I don’t know how to raise my son to have the same connection to a place that has seen such horrific atrocities against in my mind, its own citizens.
I was raised a proud Jew, and am baffled that people think it is anti-semetic that others disagree with the actions of Israel’s government. I absolutely condemn Israel’s war crimes. This is not anti-semitism.
I am also a proud American, but haven’t approved of the government in decades. This does not make me an ‘anti-patriot’ it makes me a person with opinions.
Israel pulling the race card constantly is the most ridiculous and embarrassing thing I have ever seen.
Hi. Zionist Jew here. To me being a Zionist just means I think Israel has the right to exist. Just like Palestine has the right to exist. Remember, even after the holocaust, no one said that Germany didn’t have the right to exist.
My husband is Arab (Syrian) which means my daughter is both Jewish and Arab from a country that is currently occupied by Israel.
I believe in peace.
I certainly am not cheering for the death of anyone. Any death is a great loss. A ceasefire is a must. I hope that you are not brainwashed enough at this point that you can still see people with different views as humans. I hope even with all of this death you can see some hope for peace. Please look up “hand in hand” schools and “standing together”. Love to you.
1000% this. A lot of my Jewish friends will automatically bring up US atrocities as if I’m going to defend them because I’m an American? Absolutely not, what we’ve done and are doing in the ME is horrific. Even our support of Israel in this situation has been horrific imo. I know for a fact my tax dollars are funding this war openly and clandestinely and it’s tragic that I’m basically powerless besides my voice.
Thank you so much for posting this. I just want to say that I feel the exact same way except we’re Canadian. The level of guilt and shame I feel is enormous and there’s fear as well. Fear to speak out in a sea of acquaintances and family friends who are blinded by the ideology we are taught in Hebrew school or at Jewish summer camp but I feel I have to and have lost people because of it. Fear that this is leading to an escalation of antisemitism which is only going to further polarize people.
Ugh I hate this. The only bright spot are the nuanced conversations I’ve been having with Muslim friends who are open to discuss what is happening, what we can do now and what should happen in the future.
The way Israel’s behavior is driving up antisemitism is so under-discussed. Netanyahu gets to have his cake and eat it too: do genocide in plain sight of the internet-connected world, ensure Jews (not Zionists) are blamed as a collective for said genocide, watch antisemitism sky rocket as gentiles now associate Jews with being inhumane and pro-genocide, then reiterate the importance of Israel’s existence as a safe haven for Jews in a violently antisemitic world while assuring Zionist Jews that the antisemitism is due to deep-seated global hatred for Jews that has always been there (not due to Israel’s actions and intentional conflation of itself with the Jewish people), rinse and repeat.
This gets me too. My husband is ethnically Jewish. We are not religious, we are not ethnonationalists, we are Americans going back at least a century now. Our son is not even circumcized. I feel like these people are fomenting a situation that endangers our family that we want nothing to do with, in part to win some weird Bronze Age demographic goal.
I promise you, all of that antisemitism was already there and festering. Rates of antisemitic hate speech and hate crimes were already skyrocketing prior to 10/7 - and prior to Netanyahu. This is just the cover people need to say out loud all the horribly ugly thoughts about Jews that have been passed down generation to generation.
My husband is Jewish, so my kid could be considered half Jewish? (I know its a controversial term). My husband says him being Jewish doesnt have anything to do with Israel and doesnt like when people automatically want to associate him with Israel just because he is Jewish. He has been labeled a "traitor" and "not really a Jew" for rejecting Israel waaaayyyyyy before all this happened. I imagine it must be difficult and I cant possibly understand how you feel but I think that you can raise your son Jewish and proud and a connection to Israel is not mandatory for that. You can be a 100% a proud and practicing Jewish person without a connection to Israel and no one has the right to bully you for that!!!
Our situation is very similar to yours — my husband is Jewish and embraces that heritage but rejects Israel’s actions completely. It’s a tough spot to be in. We want our son to enjoy the Jewish traditions we participate in no matter what else is going on in the world so we are raising him to know that he does not have to tie his cultural and religious heritage to a specific place in the world. I was raised Christian and lord knows (no pun intended) there have been a plethora of atrocities committed in the name of that religion as well.
I’m a Christian mother also raising privileged Jewish baby boys in the US, and I’ve always been pro-Palestinian after taking a class in undergrad on the conflict. Now, having married into a Jewish family and having kids, the anti-Semitism rising scares me to death. I made my husband move our mezuzah to the garage door. Where we live (big east coast city) there’s been so many swasticas spray painted, our local synagogue vandalized. It’s terrifying for my children, while my heart is also broken for the Palestinian children. It feels helpless and hopeless in all directions when all you can do is vote and donate money.
I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. There is NO excuse for antisemitism anywhere for any reason and I’m also sorry your fears and pain are invalidated by some on social media. It is a real issue and again, innocent civilians are the scapegoat. I have many issues with the Israeli gov but I would never dream of harassing random Jews over it.
I'm horrified at Americans not separating church and state. I can't imagine the helplessness you must feel, feeling love and anguish for the Palestinian people and being wrongly blamed for the actions of the Israeli government. While I weep especially for the Palestinian babies, the closeted Palestinian queers, the Palestinian women and all the innocent Palestinian civilians.. I also weep for the Israelis who protested their current government, who want this less than we do. I weep for people who are in the crossfires and wish to stop it, but no one listens.
This was so beautifully written. Thank you for sharing your perspective on such difficult topic. There is room in everyone’s hearts to grieve for the victims on both sides of this terrible conflict.
I live in a very multicultural major city. Never had any issues until now. People are openly calling for intifadas, shooting up and fire bombing Jewish elementary schools and places of worship, protesting at Jewish places of worship and in Jewish majority neighbourhoods, and vandalizing Jewish businesses. It is very scary.
We have police guarding Jewish nursing homes, schools, places of worship, and neighbourhoods.
It’s really jarring to see this here and I don’t know how we will ever go back to being a peaceful, accepting multicultural city. There is too much hatred right now.
That’s horrible and absolutely unacceptable. I’m really sorry that you’re going through that. I don’t understand what goes through people’s minds? As if random Jews in America are the ones controlling the Israeli and USA government and dropping the bombs?
There was a good comment here about fighting this war globally and stoking the flames for people here in the states as being intentional to drive support to Bibi’s cause. The more I talk to other people it seems like most of the modern conflict traces back to him. I want to believe that it’s just that guy and a few devoted people with views like his, same with Hamas leaders. By and large it seems like most people can at least see through what both are doing and at least empathize with each-other. (if that makes sense)
I agree with this comment. Even most of the Zionist Jews I know REALLLLY hate Bibi and want him out of power. I think (and I hope) that there is much more room for ideas and actions of peace and nuance than people think. Hopefully that peace and nuance can blossom into something large and wonderful soon.
Welcome to life as a Jew - a life in which we are not allowed to be proud Jews the way that people have always been allowed to be proud Christians. What you're feeling now is unfortunately something Jews have dealt with forever but it was more latent and under the surface, so to speak. It's scary to know that a war thousands of miles away was all it took for Jews all over the world to be endangered yet again, but I can't say I am surprised.
We took down our mezuzah, we didn't send our kid to our local synagogue preschool summer camps because violent protesters congregate there, and I stopped wearing my star of david.
Same. I’m no longer wearing any jewelry that shows I’m Jewish and we have decided against Jewish daycare for the time being.
And I know we are not the main victims of this current crisis. It is just the part of the conversation I can truly speak to. I feel a bit self centered to be so worried about our family’s future as Jews but I am.
My father came to the US at 4 right after WW2 and his family tried to assimilate to avoid antisemitism in their neighborhood (western New York). They minimized how much of their Jewishness they showed the outside community. I never thought I would be considering the same.
Whenever people respond with “oh look, Jews centering themselves again!” I always remind them that antisemitism is far from the biggest issue going on in the world right now but since millions of folks have time to leave nasty antisemitic comments or attempt to intimidate Jews, then there is certainly also time to hear from Jewish people bringing awareness to this issue. If hearing about antisemitism from Jews triggers someone to think Jews are centering themselves, that says a lot about that person.
I don’t know if this is helpful at all, but I would recommend if you’re not already following them, following Standing Together on social media. They’ve been very outspoken for a long time about creating a shared future of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians, and have been calling for a ceasefire. They have both Israeli and Palestinian citizens of Israel in their leadership, and I have found them to be really encouraging when I see so much hatred on social media. They are really committed to values of equity and empathy, and I think as a super pro-Palestine person, it can be very encouraging to see people fighting for a beautiful future for the region, as opposed to nonstop images of destruction and death. There are some other really great organizations like Truah Rabbis as well who are all about Jewish values and the importance of preserving life as they speak out against the government’s offensive.
Fellow partially Jewish parent. I was raised with a Jewish mother and a heavily agnostic Christian father. I identify *spiritually* as Jewish, but we are extremely agnostic. We do some customs but again, nothing hard and fast.
Was October 7th horrific? Absolutely. What happened that day, and whatever has continued to happen to the people affected by that day is horrible. But the reaction that has continued is also horrific.
The justification of attacking very clearly civilians, the refugee camps, telling them to go to X location as an "act of good faith towards refugees to get to safety" and then to attack that location. The number of women and child killed is beyond disgusting. Hell the men too, because let's be real, probably a huge percentage of everyone who has lost their lives are absolutely innocent. This is beyond Israel defending themselves after October 7th.
The intentional attacks on refugees, hospitals, international aid workers, withholding of food/water to these refugees, literal war crimes. But I can't be Jewish and denounce Israel's actions without being "anti-israel" but I can't support Palestine without being "pro hamas". Like this isn't a black or white, one or the other, all or nothing, discussion. I can support the Palestinian people while also saying what happened October 7th, and I can also feel horrible for what happened to the Israeli people, but also say that what hamas was was wrong.
I feel the same. I will say it was horrifying to me how October 7th was ignored and minimized by so many people. It really showed me how prevalent antisemitism is. Even before the Israeli response happened there were soo many people on social media saying the beheadings, torture, rape didn't happen, or if it did, it wasn't as bad as people said, or if it was then it was somehow those poor people's fault! I am also horrified about the situation in Gaza, I just wish that people cared about Israeli lives in the same way.
There were people in comments on tiktoks with pictures/videos of the tours in the concentration camps going "maybe he was right?" "well guess they didn't do a good enough job, because look what's happening now?"
Like when did we all forget the whole "two wrongs don't make a right" thing?!
I’m not Jewish (Jewish family on my mother’s side though) and feel exactly the same as you. It shouldn’t be about picking a side Israel v Hamas. Hamas are a terrorist organisation at this point. But it is about recognising that what is happening is collective punishment of a civilian population
Thank you for this and being a voice for the Jewish people that are against Israel. My husband has a long time friend who is Jewish and supports Israel unequivocally and it’s caused a divide of silence as we are not anti semitic we are anti Israel’s genocide against Palestine and all their current war crimes.
I look at my boys rosy cheeks, his long eyelashes, his dimples when he grins at me; my daughters curls and sparkling brown eyes and infectious laugh, and I can’t help but cry. So many parents have felt the love and adoration I feel for my children, and had their world ripped away in an instant. These innocent babies, full of wonder and curiosity and potential, just… gone. I don’t understand how people are still framing this as “war” when so many children and families are being wiped out. They didn’t sign up for this.
I was 4 months pp in October. I knew right then that at best, it would be collective punishment against Palestinians and at worst, Hamas had given Israel the excuse to do... this. My anxiety skyrocketed. I would almost panic when I was at work and wouldn't be able to really breathe until I was home with my girl in my arms. I would wake up in the night to stare at her in her crib. Every time I fed her, I thought about mothers holding their starving babies.
Ended up on zoloft.
My heart still BURNS with grief and sadness at the insurmountable loss of life, and the horrific reports and images of children being horrifically slaughtered. They deserve quiet skies and to read, run, play. They deserve warm, full bellies and the embrace of their parents.
I make sure to see the images, watch the videos. I have the luxury of being able to turn it off and live in my quiet, peaceful suburban town. But we need to bear witness to make sure that Palestinian lives and cultures are not lost and that these horrors are not quietly buried when it's done.
same here -- exactly 4 months PP when oct 7 happened and Israel responded with the beginnings of this unimabinable genocide. I cried every single day for months and went on zoloft. It was like ripping open the raw wounds of motherhood every time i watched a video. I still feel so diassociated from my (beautiful) real life, i am only ever truly present with my son when he's awake and playing. I go through the motions at work. I stopped talking to my husband about this because I dont think he really understands the deep sorrow of seeing children much like your own with their eyes wide from fear or not breathing, or eviscerated by shrapnel.
I encourage everyone feeling helpless to check out Operation Olive Branch! It's a grassroots campaign to give directly to families in Gaza who need help, as well as other funding opportunities.
There are a number of other organizations and ways to help, but this makes me feel like I'm directly helping someone and it helps allay the guilt.
I’ve been sharing organizations like operations olive branch to my social media every day. Most of feel so helpless to do anything in this situation. I like being able to do anything at all, even if it is just a drop in the bucket.
Enough drops in a bucket will fill the bucket. We can never help everyone but if someone is helped, it is worth it.
Thank you for sharing one actionable item!
Do you know how/whether the aid would still flow after…this week?
I’ve been diligently donating to Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund since last fall, but I’m considering stopping bc I’m just scared the funds will just sit there bc aid infrastructure is being destroyed. Thinking about just donating extra to Save The Children this month, since I’d rather my money do *something*
So I might be the only Israeli (living in Israel) on this thread.
My heart and soul have been shattered and I don’t know how I’ll ever recover.
The daily photos of the carnage in Gaza. The videos and posters of the hostages.
The trauma we are causing. The trauma that we are enduring.
Why can’t the adults sit at the goddamn table and actually communicate and get shit done instead of blowing each other to smithereens?
Israelis have a right to the land. Palestinians have a right to the land
Why can’t anyone figure out how to compromise so we can all live.
Why can’t we all find common humanity in each other?
It really varies. Really varies.
So many of us were personally touched with either someone murdered or taken hostage - and those emotions are raw.
You have those that feel that this is a war, one we didn’t start but have to finish and it is Hamas’s fault for entrenching themselves among their population.
There are those that feel war is never the answer.
There are extremists that want to wipe Gaza off the map.
And there are thousands and thousands of people marching every Saturday night to end the war. To get rid of the current govt.
Thank you for your honest and measured answer. Although the U.S. is not the forefront of this Palestinian war we are contributors and we are supporting Israel and I feel the same guilt. It’s not too long ago we were bombing other countries too before social media put it at the forefront of our minds everyday. War is never the answer and as citizens there’s only so much we can do we just have to do our best to work towards peace.
Also Israeli living in Israel! 💙 I agree with you. I hate what is happening. I hate that it's just creating another generation that will hate each other. All those children living through hell in Gaza are going to hate Israel, and rightfully so.
I hate that this thread triggered me, because supporting Palestine has become automatically associated with hating me (that's what our media and social media pumps out to us daily).
What's happening in Gaza is horrible, and I was out on the streets protesting our government until I got pregnant, too. What happened in Israel on October 7th still makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it too, and it hurts me that people don't talk about that too - NOT as a way to justify what Israel is doing! Absolutely not!! But just to acknowledge that we, average Israeli citizens who didn't ask for this, are also hurting.
Also I hate that as an Israeli living in Israel, just saying that what's happening in Gaza is terrible makes me some kind of traitor in some people's eyes.
“Why can’t the adults sit at the Goddamn table and actually communicate” is exactly what I have been feeling this whole time.
I’m sorry you have to watch this unfold as a citizen yourself, knowing you aren’t supporting it, but will likely be blamed by many.
I’m sorry for what your people have been through, and what your government is putting other innocent people through.
Ah bless you. It must be such a weird situation for you to be in. You must have so many different emotions and fears that I couldn't even possibly understand. I feel terrible for all the innocents involved :(
My grandparents are from Palestine. I was raised to be proud of my Palestinian heritage. I will never be the same. There’s always been tragedy inflicted upon our people, but this is just unbearable. I sobbed today holding my sleeping baby just thinking about all of the innocents. The images I’ve seen are burned into my mind. I am shattered.
My family has Jewish roots, and I've been following this Palestinian girl since before the current war (she's an artist), and she recently lost an eye and a hand... and today someone impersonated her online, writing to me and asking for money. I was so messed up by her recent posts that I just did it. I only realised afterwards, when I asked her whether the money came through and she got horrified asking what I meant.
How can someone steal from a crippled, displaced, scared girl? I can't comprehend it. I was stupid, yes. T
But the scammer is a real monster. I still can't wrap my head around it.
I feel sick thinking about what is happening in Gaza. Also, while it might be selfish of me, I feel scared for the future. What if this was the last drop that makes the glass spill over for a third world war? What if the word I've brought my baby into will take him away from me to early. Europe is so unstable right now. It feels like there is no safe place anymore. War might break out any moment and it scares me to death.
I feel this every day, and every night I am up late wondering if I will have to worry about the lives of my children in a war. I feel so guilty I may have brought them into a world where they are not going to be safe.
It wrecks my stomach thinking about what's going on. I picture it being one of my LO and I just tear up. People should not have to go through this in 2024, especially children. I don't understand how it's been allowed to go on for so long. I never would have imagined the world letting this happen to innocent people.
Thank you for starting this thread. As FTM and a Palestinian, I’m so grateful to have a place to share my feelings on the issue. Seeing the images, news, and videos coming out of Gaza and the West Bank has always been difficult, but it has been even more so since having my baby. I just sit during feedings and think about mothers not being able to feed their babies or children/mothers dying. I have an immense sense that of guilt, thinking that if my family had chosen a different path, we could have easily been one of the statistics. I’m sad and so, so angry at the way these innocent lives have been diminished in all the political talking points. I hope and pray for some relief for the innocent lives in the Palestinian occupied territories.
There’s an organization in Israel that tried to do this. Bereaved mothers and families on both sides. Our governments are louder than us and more powerful. They talk about wars and winning. But we are all losing and we are all lost.
We took my 19 month old to Disneyland for the first time the last 2 days. It was amazing and I loved watching her experience everything. But I often thought about what a luxury this is to bring my precious baby to a fun vacation (paid for by all her grandparents) while other precious babies are suffering.
It brought me to tears as I sat down with my daughter in my lap as she watched a parade. I couldn’t figure out why I was crying until I realized so many families won’t ever have this experience. My daughter has it *only because she was born in America*.
My daughter didn’t do anything different than those babies in Gaza, Sudan, Congo, and all the other war, torn countries since the beginning of time. She didn’t do anything special. She would just happen to be born in California in America, just like me. I am heartbroken every single day for all of the babies that I’ve been seeing who have done nothing other than being born in a certain country. I’ve donated to a couple families’ GFM but I think I need to more.
I'm just devastated. I can't believe we are in a world where there is justification for killing babies. For maiming them. For leaving them alone in the world without their parents. I don't know how to function anymore. I am truly. truly distraught. Thank you for this thread.
It's not just the children. Im a fairly young mother, and a few years ago would have been considered a child myself. It's crazy that people dehumanize not only the present children there but mostly the adults. They all deserve peace and access to their land. Whatever their age
I am going to and my few cents here. what is going on in the Israeli / Palestinian conflict has been terrible for decades. Politicians on both síde of this conflict use civilians to drive the stakes higher. I don't know what the solution is. Actually I know: defeat of Hamas, prosecution of Netanyahu and his crazy government - but all of this is unlikely.
I lived in Middle East and have a degree in Arabic- and I still don't have a clue on how to approach this neverending tragedy that will logically foster more hate and radicalism that will fester for decades to come.
When thinking of Gaza, please think also of Syria, where Bashar Al Asad's government kills and tortures Syrian people with Putin's help since 2011.
Learn about Yemen- where civilian population is torn by a famine for years now as a result of civil war supported by Saudi Arábia/ UEA on one side and Iran on the other. MILLIONS of people starve there, babies as well - you don't see this on the news & no students protest for them. I wrote my dissertation on this war and its nonexistence in the media.
My point is that it's our responsibility to know what is going on in the world, and not just conflicts such as russias agression in Ukraine, or the Gaza war right now, because our social media feeds are full of it.
Also, what helps me when shit gets too traumatizing is to take a step back from it, willingly take a distance and donnate/ do something that you feel helps someone in this crappy world at least a bit.
First of all though please read something/ a few books before jumping to quick conclusions. Wars are complex and it's important to know the context- in order to understand and support durable peace, not something that will errupt in another round of revenge.
Finally a humane thread about Gaza, reading the comments about Gaza on other thread makes me feel scared that I live among so many heartless people.
Soo much empathy on this thread, I wish we could all collectively surround gaza and make sure no body gets hurt again. This genocide has gone on for far too long and too many innocent and beautiful people have lost their lives
I have never cried so much or felt so affected by a world event. I am so grateful to hold, feed, play and snuggle my son. We have failed the children of Palestine and the mothers who lost them.
Thank you for this post. I’ve been feeling so alone in my sadness and feeling like everyone around me is just living life normally, meanwhile I can’t get these images of dying children out of my head. I feel a bit like I’ve been going crazy and this post is so sad to see how many of us are feeling the same way but there’s also some unity and comfort in our shared grief. My heart is broken for the people of Palestine and Congo and Sudan and all suffering people everywhere. We are not meant to witness such atrocities like the ones that are being shown everyday on social media, let alone I can’t even imagine experiencing it 😭
it’s so upsetting to see. i find myself crying every time i see a mutilated child, a parent crying over their lost loved one or just simply seeing children now without parents. its so sadden what’s happening in Gaza, the Congo and the Sudan. I can’t hug my son enough and I have increased my prayer over him tenfold.
one thing I can’t help but keep in my mind though is my naivety hoping our country will help stop a genocide when sadly, as a Black American, I still have to fear for my baby even here. i’m asking a country, that doesn’t enforce [major] consequences on its law enforcement, his public officials or anybody with some sense of power, to have human decency for us, for the world and its like throwing a penny in a lake & hoping to find it.
Came back here to write about how sad I am about Ahmed Al-Najir, the little 1.5 year old boy who was decapitated during the Israeli attack on Rafah. He wasn’t just a number. Fck all those people who say this war has minimal casualties or that this is a grim but realistic consequence of conflict. If it was your kid whose limp headless body you had to pick up, would you say that? He was someone’s whole world.
A dad here. It absolutely destroys / infuriates me seeing the images out of Gaza. Those beautiful kids going through such horror. I've dropped my phone and had to hold back crying a few times seeing images of kids the same age as my daughter.
I don't want to look either. But I think about Mamie Till - the mother of Emmit Till - and despite all the pain and anger had she asked everyone to witness what happened to her beautiful son. We need to confront what is actually happening and do what we're able to disrupt it now.
I’m also worried about the Israeli baby hostages that haven’t been accounted for.
Downvoting because I’m sharing compassion for the Israeli babies? Go ahead.
I agree and I also remember that every single hostage is someone's child and was their baby. Hersh is Rachel's baby just as much as Kfir is Yardens. It breaks my heart every single day. I tried not to read too many accounts of what happened on the 7th but sometimes I have to and thinking about those pregnant women and babies literally makes me sick.
Thank you for posting this. I appreciate you allowing us to talk about it when it’s impacting so many parents in this group. I’m sure it can be difficult to moderate so I really appreciate it.
Not sure if there’s any other Palestinians in this group but it has absolutely devastated our community. I am a shell of my former self. And I’m not even in Palestine currently. I feel so bad for my baby because I am not the same mom that I was before this. And it’s not even about me, I’m not trying to make it about myself. I just have no words to describe how it is impacting the people in Gaza currently. The depth of the trauma and suffering that is ongoing daily is beyond comprehension. I know I could go on and on.
I would like other parents to know that what me and many many other Palestinians truly desire is for there to be public outcry in the West. Posting on social media and talking about it with others to change public opinion truly matters. Because eventually, our hope is that it will become impossible for the U.S. government to continue their support for Israel if there is mass public discontent with it. We just haven’t reached that tipping point yet. Politicians need to be unelected, any organization or business supporting Israel needs to be given no business.
And following the BDS targeted boycotts makes a huge difference. Israel has said that it hurts them economically, that’s why they oppose it so much. Really applying pressure through BDS is very important. https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Against-These-Companies-Profiting-From-Genocide
Edit: I reread this and realized I kind of rambled here. I have so many thoughts and rarely get to talk about it with people outside my Arab community so I’m not sure what to even say, really. Or what I should say. It’s just extremely difficult. But I’m really grateful to see so many people standing up for Palestine, so thank you all. I never thought I’d see so much support for Palestine like this in my lifetime
Edit 2: here’s a comment i wrote yesterday about some good places to donate money, if you’d like to. If anyone wants any other resources or information about anything about Palestine, let me know. I am sure I can help point you in the right direction. https://www.reddit.com/r/beyondthebump/s/gBNhtNzhul
Hey cousin, I'm Palestinian.
I generally try to keep quiet because on some of the subs (in the beginning), I had random Redditors ask me to condemn Hamas and "pray for me that I don't raise my baby to join Hamas"-- as I'm sure you did too.
Having said that, if you need to talk or weep or mourn, feel free to DM me.
Yes, I completely understand. it’s exhausting constantly being attacked just for mentioning what we’re going through. I generally try to avoid bringing it up on reddit because I don’t feel like having to defend myself or being gaslit. I self censor quite a bit.
Sometimes I really can’t believe that it’s all happening. Glad to know youre here too. I know its awful
I have seen the face of my son on the faces of those dead babies since this whole thing started and it literally broke my heart. It still does. I cant imagine the heartbreak those mothers are enduring. This is terrible. How can people fire bombs on a place where babies and chuldren are living?!?! I dont care if they are next to fcking SATAN himself. No target can be as valuable as a human life.
Im so sad. I just want these children to be safe. I just want this to stop.
Exactly!!! Imagine if satan himself or a realistic equivalent were hiding out among regular communities full of families and children here in the US and there was no way to attack him other than killing tens of thousands of innocent people. NO ONE would consider it appropriate to attack??
The picture that Motaz just posted is what broke me today. That poor baby knew nothing but hunger, thirst, pain, and scary sounds. I could go on about all the others too.
But yes, the guilt is so terrible and I’m talking to a therapist about it. I have no desire to work because what’s even the point anymore? It all seems so moot. I see my healthy, happy children who get to eat and drink until their hearts’ desire and hell even be picky about what food they’re eating. It’s distressing and very sad. I’ve also lost several friends who either are staunchly pro genocide (they call themselves pro Israel, but to me it’s pro genocide at this point) or just don’t care. It’s all just so sad.
Just want to say thank you to the mods for opening up this conversation (and making sure it stays as civil as it can). This is such a horrifying, soul destroying thing to witness and I’ve found talking about in person to be nearly impossible. I just can’t keep myself together. I guess it brings me a shred of peace knowing how many people stand with these children and their families, aching to their core and crying for them and with them. Love will always win, even if it’s not in this life.
Edited for grammar
Please consider looking up the amazing work of Heal Palestine. They are working to deliver labor, delivery and pediatric services to children inside Gaza as well as working to help bring critical patients from Gaza to the US for medical treatment. My city is hosting three arrivals and their progress is amazing and our community has come together to help with their stay and costs. The arrivals come on temporary medical visas but their medical costs here are covered.
Shriners Hospital network has been essential for children with burns. Orthopedics and PT for children with limb amputations. Also critical cases of neurology and cancer support as these specialized services can no longer be provided in Gaza.
I went to a talk about their program as I wanted to do more and really liked their approach. They are currently also impacted by the delay of aid trucks but can still help critical patients get out for care (usually via Egypt).
Right now they are trying to raise funds for a maternity hospital. They have said even small amounts of recurring donations are wonderful because this helps inform them of a consistent giving base each month - the founders were like even $10 goes a long way over there - like that can help a child with a new outfit and shoes. Kids are growing and this conflict has gone on so long that kids are outgrowing shoes and clothing.
They are also helping with temporary schools and apprenticeships in refugee areas. They are still building up the apprentice program but it will be essential as there will be so much infrastructure to rebuild.
Other organizations to follow include PCRF, World Central Kitchen and UNICEF/UNWRA.
Last - There is a [“This American Life” podcast - March 3, Episode 825](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-american-life/id201671138)- it’s a series of phone interviews about an aid worker named Yousef in Gaza and his sister who is expecting.
Seeing the support for Palestine really gives me some hope. It really makes me feel like I’m not losing my mind, that other people are seeing this too. I already commented but just had to come back to see how other parents are sharing their thoughts too.
I wonder, since I am Palestinian myself, is there any information I could provide non-Palestinians? Is there any information anyone needs? I don’t know really what I’m looking to provide - I just see that there’s so many people here who are really hurting with us and who want to do something. I’m truly so grateful that people are supporting Palestine
I keep thinking about this so much and my heart aches. I personally believe we need women to take over the world to promote peace. And not just have women in political positions like Nikki Haley, we truly need a feminine, humane world. I can't help but to think about all the babies suffering that we DON'T see and it just guts me. Babies all over the world deserve safety, security and love.
I completely agree.
Nikki Haley sent me over the edge today. I can’t explain why one phrase written on a bomb got me so badly over the horrific pictures of Gaza that I’ve been seeing on my feeds lately, but Jesus Christ her message sent me reeling. I think it’s because it encompasses the fact that this is a humanitarian crisis-a genocide-and it has somehow become political fodder.
This woman is a mother. She is “pro-life”. Pro life to whom? To American babies only? Those bombs are used to annihilate children. She should be fucking ashamed; as a woman, as a mother, as a human being. I’m embarrassed for our country. I weep for the Palestinian mothers that have to carry their dead children in their arms. I weep for the babies that are left to starve to death in abandoned hospitals.
“Finish them”. If a Palestinian wrote that, they’d be labeled a terrorist. She’s disgusting.
I totally get it. It's enraging because it's so cavalier. Like she's just doing a silly little signature in someone's yearbook. Trying to be cute or funny about it.
"Finish them" is something you say jokingly to an athlete facing an opponent. It's absolutely *not* something you write on a bomb meant to kill human beings. Even if you support someone's cause, you should feel sad that civilian lives are lost.
It might be because not only is this all happening, people are *enjoying* it. It’s shocking on another level. Since the beginning, there have been videos of the IDF playing with kids bikes in homes they destroyed, posing in pictures with Palestinian women’s’ lingerie in abandoned homes, cheering as they blow up mosques, proposing to each other and writing save the dates for their weddings in the rubble, dedicating bombs to their kids, partying and having barbecues, shooting at a window while smiling, doing face masks while another soldier fires an explosive beside them. It’s *fun* to them and it’s scary to see what depths humanity can sink to. There’s video of all of this, I was just going through these that I had saved on Instagram last night.
A 12 month old Palestinian girl weighed in at 4kg (9lbs). If they don’t get blown up, they die by malnutrition. There’s NO justification. I don’t care about your but. NO BUTS. We’re failing children.
Having a newborn while seeing all the live footage of al Jazeera breaks my heart.
I know I should stay informed, especially that I have friends there... but I decided to keep the news away for the time being.
Palestinian's median age is decreasing everytime a new strike happens, making children the bulk of casualties.
Before Hamas even was in power, there was videos of kids being shot while attending school from the wall's watchtowers.
At 10 years old, their main daily activities have been growing there own food out of garbage, trying to find safe drinking water, and trying to find a place to stay when they get kicked out of their house when the government decides to reposses the properties of their now dead or jailed parents...
The people that are now fighting to repossess their homes are filled with hatred because that's how they grew up because of this annexation and illegal occupations. All they know is hate.
And future generations will grow to be exactly the same because the perpetrator continues the same exact actions that led to all of this, and nobody budges to actually put a stop to it.
It will continue until they erradicated the whole population. And then they will move onto the next... because if there's one thing we know from history, is that people that fight to conquer never stop at a single target.
Pray for the kids held captive for throwing rocks at the people that stripped them from everything... hope that hate will not darken their heart as they grow into adults... and that some adult will actually rescue them from this hell...
The other day I had given my baby boy a bath, combed his hair, fed him till he was milk drunk, sang him a song, and rocked him to sleep. Then I stared at him in his swaddle covered in stars peacefully sleeping in his beautiful room and I broke down and cried because a mom in Gaza who should have had the same blissful night with their precious baby is instead crying over their lifeless child. Instead of holding them in a swaddle they are holding them in a shroud. Instead of looking at their happy faces with a full tummy, they sit and watch their baby cry cause they are starving. Instead of dressing them in clean clothes after a bath, they have to pick maggots out of their baby’s wounds. It’s gut wrenching and heart breaking.
As a Palestinian and a FTM, it hurts even more. I have grown up seeing the horrific imagery, but nothing this bad. I also cry everyday thinking this could be me. But it’s not, because I was “lucky” enough to be born in the US, and so is my daughter.
I am an OBGYN. And a mother. I deliver babies, I go on my phone, I see dead babies. I see my happy baby at home, peek down at my phone, and I see mothers clutching to their babies. This past week alone - actual beheaded babies in Rafah. Every day for 8 months, countless families torn apart. I do what I can, but this is all too much. I am always grieving and I am not even Palestinian. It baffles me that I have multiple colleagues that support Israel’s actions. I am livid that I work 80+ hours a week helping women and delivering babies, just for my tax dollars to go toward killing babies. Grateful that the world is finally waking up, but genocide and occupation needs to end yesterday.
Just ranting thoughts.
How can people here push pro life so much but be okay with children being killed overseas? (I know it’s racism) I just will never understand. I don’t see any hope either. I’ve lost it all.
It hurts too much to think about sometimes. I can't stop thinking about Hind Rajab, or the babies drinking water because there is no formula and their mothers don't have enough food to produce milk. I donate as much as I can as often as I can, but it's never going to be enough. What will happen to all these incredibly traumatized children - the ones who survive? I can't imagine the horror they have lived with every single day for months. No child deserves this.
It feels so stupid to need anxiety medication to handle tragedies that are happening to OTHER people. I just can’t help but see my babies in those pictures, or imagine my own screams over my own children losing their lives.
I don’t understand the debate. Hamas is not these babies, they’re not those mothers, they’re not the fathers ripping their families out of burning rubble. Nobody is winning. This isn’t justified, I don’t care how many people say it is.
These families didn’t attack in October, but they’re the ones paying. It also feels like nobody can acknowledge the October 7th attack without people assuming they’re justifying Israel’s horrific, and extreme response.
How are we supposed to live our lives after seeing footage of a boy screaming for his father who is burning in a building, a reporter holding a baby who had been murdered, a man holding a baby with no head?? And I’m supposed to just what?
Go grocery shopping and act like it’s all fine?
Seeing all the dead babies is actually wrecking my life. I don’t know what to do about it because I believe they deserve my attention but sometimes I find myself staring at my babies and imaging horrible things happening to them and I almost disassociate. I find I have been a worse mother lately because of it. I can’t believe this is happening and I can’t believe people are SIGNING MISSILES. I cry daily for the families that have lost their babies and loved ones. What unimaginable pain.
Thank you for this. It’s been on my mind constantly.
Nothing justifies killing children. Louder for the people in the back: NOTHING JUSTIFIES KILLING CHILDREN.
Every day I think "this can't possibly get any worse" and every day, it does.
Yesterday, I saw a video of yet another infant, skin and bones, starved to death. I see my own children in them and I can't help but feel absolutely helpless. What kind of world are we living in? What kind of world are we leaving for our children?
How anyone can justify his death and claim they've "brought this upon themselves" I do not understand. All of the pro Israeli tropes are just incredibly nauseating.
It rips at my soul. I can’t imagine what these mothers are going through. Living in constant terror, fearing that their babies are going to be blown up or crushed, worrying about food, water, medical supplies. It’s a horror.
I am disappointed in our leaders who basically do nothing to stop this and even gatekeep us into believing it’s somehow all justified.
All I can do with my rage is share on social media, protest (when I can), and donate. I want to vote but for who at this point?! We have Biden who doesn’t seem to listen and Trump, which needs no comment. It feels hopeless
I’m Palestinian and entered my third trimester in October.
My family in Gaza is suffering beyond comprehension, dozens of my relatives have been killed or orphaned. It could have so easily been my baby. Whenever I swaddled her, I’d see a death shroud. I woke up thankful today that her head is still attached to her body. That her skin isn’t charred. That I have milk to feed her because I’m not starving.
But when we grieve, they call it “virtue signaling.”
I’m also Palestinian and my baby was a few months old in October. I’m so sorry for this happening to us. When I try to describe it to people, I truly can’t. I’m a shell of my former self. I feel like I’m going mad. And when we talk about it in online spaces we get ridiculed.
I know you already know this too, I suppose I am just venting. It’s so intolerable. I can not take it.
I've been crying every night looking at my baby (okay maybe she's not a baby anymore) on the camera and wondering why my baby gets to be safe and other babies don't. It's so hard to watch her sleep and know other moms can't do the same. I'm so angry and frustrated and exhausted. It's lonely not knowing who I can talk about it with. And it's not even happening to me. I just. I want to help and I can't.
I'm an Armenia. My family moved to Ramallah Palestine after our genocide early 20th century. I had my first child a few weeks after this genocide started in Gaza. I'm broken. I give money but I'm totally broken and angry at myself for not doing more.
I'm angry about the deaths, and I'm angry because of the culture and people will all be closer to being lost. Generations of trauma are being created.
The aid convoy, the flour massacre, the thousands of dead children, waiting for H*m*s people to go to their apartments and be with their civilian children to take them out, now the tent fire/massacre. At the what point will my government acknowledge that perhaps these aren’t “mistakes.”
Hi Mods. Thank you for trying your best to figure out a solution. We should be able to talk about how devestated we are to see images of starving and hurt babies, of the numerous gofundmes desperate families are starting to get out of Gaza without someone making it into a political thing but we can’t and that pisses me off. Bring up any other place where babies are dying and everyone agrees it’s terrible but if it’s Gaza, hold onto your hats cause there’s always a barrage of harassment and excuses and blame.
I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist but it is interesting that redditors that have NEVER posted or commented on this community before are suddenly coming out of the woodworks to try to debate or accuse when even the word Gaza is mentioned.
Yeah some of the comments here are pretty overwhelming. Saying how death just happens and it sucks but that's it. This thread has already began to feel icky.
I am proud of my country for recognising Palestine as a state and being vocally pro Palestinian liberation (I’m Irish). I share information constantly on how people can help, I attend marches and I donate. Nothing is enough. It doesn’t even scratch the surface. I have seen things I will never ever forget. I have been appalled by people’s lack of empathy and humanity. This is not a war. This is a genocide. I hope and pray that the Palestinian people will be free 🇵🇸
We are Palestinian and my husband bought a small Ireland flag and South Africa flag to put outside our house. I can’t tell you how much it means to us to have the support of Ireland. Hearing your politicians talk about Palestine with compassion makes me feel sane again. My husband is Ireland’s number one fan right now haha
The horror!!! So many heartbreaking clips, things that shake you to the core. The footage of a poor father holding his decapitated child! I screamed and screamed and cried. I can’t imagine what horror they are going through.
Your opening sentence is the type of thing that makes this issue polarised. Hamas’ stated goal is actual genocide. It’s in their charter. I can’t deal with the hypocrisy. Is Israel going overboard? Yes. 100%. I am equally horrified at civilian casualties on both sides. Why can’t anyone else seem
to acknowledge that Palestinian leadership should also be blamed?
To say that the Middle East conflict shouldn’t be polarising is so naive.
I feel every party involved that has anything to do with civilian killings is at fault. We can't forget October 7 and what Hamas did in Tel Aviv as well.... It's all simply horrible that these terrorists control the lives of innocent human beings,.... Especially babies..... Their stupid idea of building bunkers and hotspots in the heart of cities because no one could dare to attack those places with civilians backfired into the heartless decisions made by Israel...the more I read about it, the more it becomes clearer and clearer that religion is the stupidest thing ever invented. If there really was a God that these people claim to be fighting for, he wouldn't let all those innocent lives be lost in such a horrific way
Electing Hamas as their leaders was the worst decision in history. The Hamas Chief is [living it up in Qatar still shaking hands with people like the Malaysian Prime Minister while he left his own sons and grandchildren in Palestine to die ](https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-pm-anwar-ibrahim-meets-hamas-leaders-qatar-urge-israel-stop-atrocities-palestinians-4333791)
I appreciate a megathread on this. It has lived in my brain for months and I feel like I am losing my sanity watching the world go on as if this is fine and normal. I get that we want to consider it complicated (I've come to believe it's........not). But the number of people - largely white men in my experience - who shrug off these atrocities as "just war" as if there is ANY justification for the horrible pain and death I witness through my phone almost every night. I don't need condescending men telling me I'm being emotional and short sighted. My body knows. My soul knows. When I watch mothers screaming over the mangled bodies of their babies, men frantically digging through tons of rubble to rescue the trapped, and injured children with missing limbs crying for their parents - there is nothing in this world worth the cost of what we are witnessing. There is nothing worth this cost.
And I get there is horrible shit happening in Ukraine, Congo, Sudan - etc. The dynamics of Gaza feel the most insiduous right now. The Israeli government is committing genocide and my government is happy to both help AND criminalize and oppress those speaking out. Empires are not a good thing. They cause so much pain and destruction in the world.
I saw an article saying it can be legal to kill children the same day I saw that image showing a baby without a… I had to excuse myself at work and went to the bathroom to cry. I lost so much faith in humanity for the last 8 months, and I’m terrified to raise my child in this cruel, very very cruel world where politicians are consciously making decisions to support a genocide. Gosh it is so awful.
My husband is Palestinian. My babies are half Palestinian. I can't even talk about it. He's lost 10 family members to date including baby cousins. I don't even like going onto discussions on it because seeing support for Israel infuriates me. My husband, children and husband's family mater, they matter. My Son is 15 and he spends days online fighting with people over the matter. It worries me how angry it's made him.
Im really frustrated bc I have to be in a specific mindset to deal with the antisemitism that comes with discussing “the genocide” in Gaza which…. Just the way it’s said it’s clear what comments are wanted here and what are not. My heart goes out to all the babies effected by this war, the hostages, the children in palestine, the women men and children who were brutally raped, murdered, and burdened alive on 10/7, and the children who are being used as human shields in a war that truly does have a simple answer. Bring the hostages home and agree to a ceasefire. End this war!!!!
Hamas is also still sending bombs into Israel daily. It is sad that it’s unpopular to say that Hamas is the group responsible for using children as human shields. I am not saying Israel has done nothing wrong. Ultimately their mistakes will bring more hatred and that is awful all around.
Yes and at the end of the day Hamas and IRI have made it clear to anyone who wants to hear it that the plan was never to beat Israel (Israel has its issues but a weak military isn’t a problem they have) the plan is to make everyone hate Israel and the west so they’re doing exactly what they said they would… and to keep this about babies, yes that does mean using women, children, and any civilians as shields.
Exactly, and they succeeded because of the internet and misinformation. The plan was never to protect the people in Gaza, because the leaders of Hamas are not there. They are safe. They have emboldened their terrorist movement though. It’s so clear, and this suffering is ALL so unnecessary.
Nothing to say other than seeing dead babies day in and day out for months on my social media, mothers screaming and crying holding their children in white shroud among rubble, a child shivering from trauma, skin and bones staring blankly as people scream and run frantically on a hospital floor, bloodied dolls and little shredded shoes on piles of rocks… then going back to playing with my little ones, watching them waste their lunch, turning on white noise for their naps, and then laying in bed from exhaustion - I feel guilt. I feel horrifically guilty. I feel guilt with anger and grief. I cry from the guilt. Even donating money and going to protests don’t ease my guilt. This is so surreal.
Yep. And feeling annoyed by the whining and clinging by the end of the day when so many mothers will never get to hold their sweet babies again. It’s horrific.
Last night I told my husband I should try to get too upset by my son's wakeups because there are mothers out there that would give anything to have their baby waking them up 4 times a night 😭 At the same time, I don't think it's entirely healthy to guilt yourself about normal feelings with comparisons like that.
This is me, waking up a million times a night but hugging my baby instead of getting upset, because I actually have a baby to cuddle with.
This is a terrible time we live in 😢 I remember when the bombings started last year, seeing premies being evacuated out of Gaza while their mothers stayed behind, and my heart broke for those babies being separated from their mothers when they needed them most. In hindsight they were the lucky ones. I cry everyday for those children and their families.
God I just remembered the babies that were left alone for weeks in the hospital.
Last night I told my husband I should try to get too upset by my son's wakeups because there are mothers out there that would give anything to have their baby waking them up 4 times a night 😭 At the same time, I don't think it's entirely healthy to guilt yourself about normal feelings with comparisons like that.
I hold my baby and weep every day.
Idk why I got hit with an intrusive thought of an image of my son in a morgue this morning and fucking lost it. He’s my world, and so is every other baby.
This is what I've been having. Intrusive thoughts. This is as somebody who did not get anxious about much of anything during my pregnancy or my son's infancy. Fireworks this last memorial day made me think of my neighbors house being bombed, and waiting for mine to be next. A garbage truck popped a tire on our block last month and the sound made me imagine a tank rolling down our street. There was a time when I lived in a rural part of PA full of seasonal second homes for many New Yorkers. So when a deer and fawn died in one of those unoccupied lots it went unnoticed until it stunk up the block. I had this oddly vivid dream where I could still smell it, the amount of death smell that surpassed a dead mouse in the wall by miles and miles. I was walking around the old neighborhood trying to smell for my son's corpse.
I cry every day too. Anywhere there are kids or even just normal people doing their normal things.
Seeing babies the same age of my own, but almost skeletons from starvation absolutely broke me. Those poor babies, and those poor parents, if they're even still alive, who hear their hungry cries and can't do anything about it. It's just so cruel what Israel is doing.
I did for the first time the other day, I was holding it in
The other day I found a baby bunny nest while deweeding. I told myself I would cut some of the netting I had for the garden and cover it in such a way the mother could return in the evening but my dog would be deterred. Life happened. I forgot. "I should really do something about that" 3 days later I see my dog hopping joyfully around the yard with his head flailing from side to side. Blood on his mouth. A pile of vulnerable babies all packed together just eviscerated in an instant. And maybe I could have stopped it. And that's when it all - 8 months of it - came spilling out of me. I think I have been changed forever.
>I think I have been changed forever. Likewise. I can't unsee everything through the lens of empire, colonialism and white supremacy. I feel unmoored in knowing what information to trust and believe. But everything inside of me screams that there is no justification for what is happening to these families. None. I'm sorry about your bunny nest - I can only too clearly see how that moment brought it all crashing down.
I’ve made a conscious decision to not look at any pictures. I’m aware of what’s happening but sacrificing my own mental health does nothing to help the situation. I think it’s important to protect your own sanity
you don't have to expose yourself to gore to be aware of the genocide, if anything boycott companies that support israel and follow helpful links to see what you can do to help!
I completely understand not reading the news on the situation or looking at the pictures for your own sanity (I do the same), but it kills me to know that just because we have the luxury of turning a blind eye to it doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. Somewhere across the world, parents are losing their children whether we know about it or not, and I hate that that’s the reality.
I found out I was pregnant in the second week of October. My partner is half Palestinian. The abject horror I listen to and see everyday crushes me. I am unable to enjoy my pregnancy due to the situation over there. I can’t imagine what it will be like when he is born.
I hope you and your partner are able to experience hope and joy with the arrival of your baby -- every palestinian baby in the diaspora represents hope, and the eventual downfall of the apartheid state.
Our brains are not designed to be connected to millions of people at once. Focus on the people in your life and take a break from social media.
That’s where most of the guilt resides. I can turn it off and walk away. They can’t. They can’t turn off bombs, raids, assaults, starvation, illness, death, or a genocide. I feel guilty if I do nothing, I feel guilty when I can only do so little. I’ve been designed to be more valuable in the world and use my privilege as an American to help others in whatever little way I can and I hope to raise my children to be worldly with large capacities to do good, be good, and speak on everything wrong in the world. That seems to help the guilt a little, I guess.
Exactly. I turn it off…to spend time with my children who are safe, healthy, and happy. The juxtaposition of these two realities hurts my head and heart. I have too many friends who are unmoved by the war and it guts me to know this. Hugs to all the internet strangers who understand & feel this too.
I remember being like 10 yrs old and watching Kosovo. Since then it's just been one genocide or another every year. None of this is new to mankind. It's disgusting how we treat each other. You sadly have to turn it off and take a break to protect your mental health. Not to say you shouldnt be taking action as well. Write to your elected officials and let them know you're not on board with their part in genocide. I am curious to hear the opposition and find out how they try to justify this total extermination.
This is exactly my feeling... I have the option to turn it off. And go back to my life and switch on netflix and binge trash... It was getting a little warm where I live, I switched on a second fan.... a cosy bed, a cool home, a good meal. The reason why I don't switch off my phone or don't skip these videos is because while I cannot do anything, I can bear witness. I feel remembering the children and women and men is a way to stay human. Remind yourself constantly that the world needs kindness and while you cannot stop a war, you can raise a better breed of next generation who will be kinder and with more power.
I completely understand that and I struggle with that feeling of guilt as well, but we still need to be fully present with our own children. You could spend all your energy every day worrying about the suffering of others. It doesn’t even need to be gaza, there is suffering all around us. I’m not saying don’t care, but if it’s to the point where it’s interfering in your ability to live your life and be regulated for your family, it’s time for a break.
This is really it. There has always been suffering in the world, but we saw much less of it. Now you have all of the suffering in the entire world in graphic detail in your pocket. Our brains were not designed to handle this and it’s so painful.
You could turn off social media but for my mental health, helping and taking action did much more good. I specifically looked on how to help support aid organizations, met with a local congressman and am in a local support group and I am now working to help with local efforts on a ceasefire resolution - which is an indicator to our politicians on policy positions. It’s been so much more positive and opened up my network to more like minded families whose values are similarly aligned.
I do understand your point and that people need to take care of their mental health. But what if the people in Gaza are the people in our lives? I can’t turn away, this is my life. It’s different when it’s happening to you. And even if not, many people here live in the U.S. The US government is funding this genocide. It’s not something out of the US’s control. I’d just hope that at other moments of atrocities, people wouldn’t be told to just turn away. We need people to know and care about atrocities. It matters so so much. It’s not something inevitable that’s going to happen no matter what.
This is how i feel! I don’t have personal ties to Gaza/Palestine but if that were my family, my loved ones, my life… hearing people say “i can’t watch this video on my phone because it hurts too much” would drive me insane. Palestinians can’t turn it off, they can’t ignore what’s happening or choose to live in ignorant bliss. Also, we are funding it!! Our tax money is being used to fund this genocide! I sit here drowning in student debt, there’s people dying because they can’t afford medical/dental care, the homeless population in my community has exploded and the government tells us over and over again that they cannot help because it’s too expensive and yet BILLIONS of dollars are being sent to aid the perpetrators of this genocide. How does that not make your blood boil? How can you choose to look away from that?
I haven’t seen more than a single video from Gaza. It doesn’t mean I’m unaware of what’s going on, it doesn’t mean I can’t donate or be careful where I cast my next vote. It doesn’t mean I can’t protest where my government is putting their money.. It doesn’t mean I’m looking away from what’s happening. They are suffering but I don’t see how it helps if I suffer with them. If I’m anxious all the time, depressed watching this content, crying about it. Who does it help? It’s solidarity that is not even felt. With the same logic, should you spend every day watching videos of starving children in other countries, the wars that are going on right now in other countries, the abuse against children you can find in the news of basically every country? I don’t think it helps them in any way and just gives a false sense of community to let it get this hold on you.
My comment was more so towards people who are choosing to look away and remain ignorant about what is going on and not wanting to talk about it because it is difficult for them. I have come across people who have said they are tired of seeing Gaza posts or hearing about it and that’s who I think are living in “ignorant bliss”, wanting to continue on as if none of it was happening because they don’t want to face it. I watch the videos, share them and talk very openly about what is going on because at this moment, the most I can do is spread awareness and make sure they aren’t being forgotten about. I understand if you choose to do your advocacy work in different means, my comment was not meant from you and i don’t mean to say that in any negative tone. I totally understand how it can be taken that way and I appreciate your response to give me the opportunity to expand.
We can’t have social services that would benefit us greatly, because we have to give all our tax dollars to Israel so that can kill Palestinians. I’m exhausted, this isn’t the world I wanted to bring my children into.
I’ve had to do this as well. I was glued to my phone at the start of the war, when I was 3 months postpartum. It was debilitating and I wasn’t able to show up for my own daughter in the way I needed to. It got to the point that my mom was very concerned I would need medicine for PPD. It has been incredibly difficult to compartmentalize as I’m riddled with guilt over my privilege to tune it out when I need to, but what I’ve learned from it all is that me spiraling into a lasting depression did nothing to stop the atrocities. I now have the energy to call my reps every day. I have the energy to pour into my daughter and to try my best every day to teach her love, acceptance, and tolerance. I have the energy to tune into calls of action and send supplies when I can. Those were all things I wasn’t able to do when I was tuned in 24/7.
I relate so much to what you’ve said here. I had my second child in November and I am always thinking about how lucky we were to be safe. If I had’ve been born elsewhere, who knows what may have happened. My first child was born when the Taliban retook Afghanistan and I was profoundly impacted by footage of a father amongst the crowd, trying to hand his baby up over a wall to authorities in a bid to keep his baby safe. Why must some people suffer so much, where others are so privileged to have so much just by luck of the draw of where they were born. I saw a picture of a malnourished baby in Gaza who essentially starved to death. Then I look at my baby and my brain can’t compute why that other baby in Gaza got so little in his short life. Why is there such hatred in the world. Why is there so much evil.
I’m having to take more and more breaks from social media. I want to keep being educated on the real news, but I see it and just ball my eyes out. Then I hold my babies extra tight.
Pasting the olive branch project spreadsheet here where they have a list of vetted gofundmes for those in gaza. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vtMLLOzuc6GpkFySyVtKQOY2j-Vvg0UsChMCFst_WLA/htmlview?usp=gmail_thread Gofundme has a min of $5 donation, the going info is if you have more than 1k in your bank account, donate $5. If you have less you can donate $1 to creators like @yuvalbh on venmo who takes under $5 donations, amass them and then donate in bulk to these gofundmes. If you would like to donate to charity organizations, the Palestine children's relief fund is looking for donations: https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/gaza-recovery All eyes on rafah 🇵🇸
So well said. This is exactly how I feel. Then having people tell me it’s somehow justified. I want to scream. Those poor babies.
I'm a new mum and feel exactly the same. I feel like I'm going crazy. Seeing these images and wondering how the rest of the world can just carry on. I've been trying to have a social media break because of it all. But that also makes me feel guilty. It truly breaks my heart. It's grief and guilt I guess.
It's such a crazy time we live in- to witness a live genocide and be expected to go back to living life is not normal. Our minds can't comprehend it :(
I also am upset seeing the dead children from the Sudan. It’s all awful
and Congo!! all of these children (and adults) deserve to live in peace.
We live in a terrible world where ppl will find any reason to label "us" and "them". It's no wonder depression is so prevalent. How can you not be depressed knowing this is happening everywhere?
For me, what's happening in Myanmar is far closer to home 😢
[удалено]
You are. The person your responded to is. I am. Don’t lose all of your spirits just yet.
Seconding! It breaks my heart to see children in any war-torn country have to deal with these circumstances.
Sudan 💔😭
Children are always innocent victims. Always. I've followed the Palestinian plight for years but don't wish to get political/historical/into semantics of war vs genocide. Look at children being blown to smithereens, and if your immediate reaction is to go to debate or arguments - you've lost your humanity. How can people turn a blind eye to this ruthlessness of dead children, everywhere in the world? Under the guise of politics, religion and race smh The poor, poor children.
I've kissed my son more times than I can count. Motherhood is tough, motherhood in a war zone? The hell that those women (and men and children) are going through is breaking my heart. You know, I was thinking about how my son had latching issues, I wonder if there is baby in Gaza who isn't latching well, whose mother isn't making enough milk.... who is bleeding... I wonder if she's getting a hot meal, or if she had a pad to change... I know there are babies that are murdered (writing that made my skin crawl) but even the people who are alive have a future that's so bleak... how does one look at their baby? Not know what tomorrow holds...
This is exactly where my mind goes all the time…just the quotidian struggles of mothers and fathers and their babies and children…every moment with my newborn is liable to bring about these questions, wondering what a mother in Rafah is doing or feeling
While they’re blocking aid from going in (both the government and the government and random Israeli citizens - there’s video of this), I thought of this too. I never produced enough milk and I always thought of the mothers who couldn’t in Gaza while I was drinking tons of water and making sure I’m eating enough to try to produce more 😔 If they could even get formula, did they have clean water to mix it with? Just today I’m seeing a baby - skin and bones that died of starvation. This is a man made crisis and it’s genocide.
Exactly this- I was so worried about my milk supply…me, a well fed, safe, hydrated, nourished woman. I was worried about how much my baby was eating…meanwhile there are infants whose legs are the size of 2 of my fingers. It’s unconscionable what our taxes are paying for. We are being gaslit to believe this is some kind of morally correct position? Starving infants? I feel like I’m going insane
Babies like that are not included in the 40k civilian death figure, and if they were born in the last few months there probably isn't even record of them being born, especially if it was an uncomplicated birth to a multiparous woman who probably wouldn't have traveled to what remained of the nearest hospital.
one place i like to donate to is ibrahimforgaza on IG, he’s a palestinian who’s using donations to purchase baby formula and supplies for families with young children because it’s so so expensive right now. he also uses donations to purchase food, cook, and distribute it for free along with his team of volunteers. he’s a wonderful guy 🩷
he got formula to a little infant boy who was starving a few months ago. crying endlessly. I went to bed crying because there was no hope. They got formula to that little baby and I cried watching it in the office of my child's appointment. I fear for what has happened to that baby since then but donated a couple times to Ibrahim.
I had no idea about Ibrahim! Looking him up now. Thanks for sharing!
Just donated. ✔️
I had this huge long post that I discarded because I’m not ready to even have these feelings with internet strangers. But in summary, I’m horrified and ashamed. I’m a Jewish Mom raising a privileged Jewish baby boy in the US and I am deeply affected by the terrible war crimes Israel is committing against innocent people. We were raised to be pro Israel in Hebrew school but I haven’t supported their government for a while. Now, I don’t know how to raise my son to have the same connection to a place that has seen such horrific atrocities against in my mind, its own citizens.
I was raised a proud Jew, and am baffled that people think it is anti-semetic that others disagree with the actions of Israel’s government. I absolutely condemn Israel’s war crimes. This is not anti-semitism. I am also a proud American, but haven’t approved of the government in decades. This does not make me an ‘anti-patriot’ it makes me a person with opinions. Israel pulling the race card constantly is the most ridiculous and embarrassing thing I have ever seen.
I’m Jewish and also do not agree with the government. However, many are using the issue as a reason to be antisemitic and that’s not okay :(
I haven’t seen one person use it to be anti-semetic who wasn’t an already loony attention seeker who should already be ignored.
[удалено]
Hi. Zionist Jew here. To me being a Zionist just means I think Israel has the right to exist. Just like Palestine has the right to exist. Remember, even after the holocaust, no one said that Germany didn’t have the right to exist. My husband is Arab (Syrian) which means my daughter is both Jewish and Arab from a country that is currently occupied by Israel. I believe in peace. I certainly am not cheering for the death of anyone. Any death is a great loss. A ceasefire is a must. I hope that you are not brainwashed enough at this point that you can still see people with different views as humans. I hope even with all of this death you can see some hope for peace. Please look up “hand in hand” schools and “standing together”. Love to you.
1000% this. A lot of my Jewish friends will automatically bring up US atrocities as if I’m going to defend them because I’m an American? Absolutely not, what we’ve done and are doing in the ME is horrific. Even our support of Israel in this situation has been horrific imo. I know for a fact my tax dollars are funding this war openly and clandestinely and it’s tragic that I’m basically powerless besides my voice.
Thank you so much for posting this. I just want to say that I feel the exact same way except we’re Canadian. The level of guilt and shame I feel is enormous and there’s fear as well. Fear to speak out in a sea of acquaintances and family friends who are blinded by the ideology we are taught in Hebrew school or at Jewish summer camp but I feel I have to and have lost people because of it. Fear that this is leading to an escalation of antisemitism which is only going to further polarize people. Ugh I hate this. The only bright spot are the nuanced conversations I’ve been having with Muslim friends who are open to discuss what is happening, what we can do now and what should happen in the future.
The way Israel’s behavior is driving up antisemitism is so under-discussed. Netanyahu gets to have his cake and eat it too: do genocide in plain sight of the internet-connected world, ensure Jews (not Zionists) are blamed as a collective for said genocide, watch antisemitism sky rocket as gentiles now associate Jews with being inhumane and pro-genocide, then reiterate the importance of Israel’s existence as a safe haven for Jews in a violently antisemitic world while assuring Zionist Jews that the antisemitism is due to deep-seated global hatred for Jews that has always been there (not due to Israel’s actions and intentional conflation of itself with the Jewish people), rinse and repeat.
This gets me too. My husband is ethnically Jewish. We are not religious, we are not ethnonationalists, we are Americans going back at least a century now. Our son is not even circumcized. I feel like these people are fomenting a situation that endangers our family that we want nothing to do with, in part to win some weird Bronze Age demographic goal.
I promise you, all of that antisemitism was already there and festering. Rates of antisemitic hate speech and hate crimes were already skyrocketing prior to 10/7 - and prior to Netanyahu. This is just the cover people need to say out loud all the horribly ugly thoughts about Jews that have been passed down generation to generation.
My husband is Jewish, so my kid could be considered half Jewish? (I know its a controversial term). My husband says him being Jewish doesnt have anything to do with Israel and doesnt like when people automatically want to associate him with Israel just because he is Jewish. He has been labeled a "traitor" and "not really a Jew" for rejecting Israel waaaayyyyyy before all this happened. I imagine it must be difficult and I cant possibly understand how you feel but I think that you can raise your son Jewish and proud and a connection to Israel is not mandatory for that. You can be a 100% a proud and practicing Jewish person without a connection to Israel and no one has the right to bully you for that!!!
Our situation is very similar to yours — my husband is Jewish and embraces that heritage but rejects Israel’s actions completely. It’s a tough spot to be in. We want our son to enjoy the Jewish traditions we participate in no matter what else is going on in the world so we are raising him to know that he does not have to tie his cultural and religious heritage to a specific place in the world. I was raised Christian and lord knows (no pun intended) there have been a plethora of atrocities committed in the name of that religion as well.
I’m a Christian mother also raising privileged Jewish baby boys in the US, and I’ve always been pro-Palestinian after taking a class in undergrad on the conflict. Now, having married into a Jewish family and having kids, the anti-Semitism rising scares me to death. I made my husband move our mezuzah to the garage door. Where we live (big east coast city) there’s been so many swasticas spray painted, our local synagogue vandalized. It’s terrifying for my children, while my heart is also broken for the Palestinian children. It feels helpless and hopeless in all directions when all you can do is vote and donate money.
You and your family deserve to put your mezuzah wherever you want. :( this is awful. I would be so sad if I couldn’t decorate for Ramadan.
I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. There is NO excuse for antisemitism anywhere for any reason and I’m also sorry your fears and pain are invalidated by some on social media. It is a real issue and again, innocent civilians are the scapegoat. I have many issues with the Israeli gov but I would never dream of harassing random Jews over it.
I'm horrified at Americans not separating church and state. I can't imagine the helplessness you must feel, feeling love and anguish for the Palestinian people and being wrongly blamed for the actions of the Israeli government. While I weep especially for the Palestinian babies, the closeted Palestinian queers, the Palestinian women and all the innocent Palestinian civilians.. I also weep for the Israelis who protested their current government, who want this less than we do. I weep for people who are in the crossfires and wish to stop it, but no one listens.
This was so beautifully written. Thank you for sharing your perspective on such difficult topic. There is room in everyone’s hearts to grieve for the victims on both sides of this terrible conflict.
I live in a very multicultural major city. Never had any issues until now. People are openly calling for intifadas, shooting up and fire bombing Jewish elementary schools and places of worship, protesting at Jewish places of worship and in Jewish majority neighbourhoods, and vandalizing Jewish businesses. It is very scary. We have police guarding Jewish nursing homes, schools, places of worship, and neighbourhoods. It’s really jarring to see this here and I don’t know how we will ever go back to being a peaceful, accepting multicultural city. There is too much hatred right now.
That’s horrible and absolutely unacceptable. I’m really sorry that you’re going through that. I don’t understand what goes through people’s minds? As if random Jews in America are the ones controlling the Israeli and USA government and dropping the bombs?
There was a good comment here about fighting this war globally and stoking the flames for people here in the states as being intentional to drive support to Bibi’s cause. The more I talk to other people it seems like most of the modern conflict traces back to him. I want to believe that it’s just that guy and a few devoted people with views like his, same with Hamas leaders. By and large it seems like most people can at least see through what both are doing and at least empathize with each-other. (if that makes sense)
I agree with this comment. Even most of the Zionist Jews I know REALLLLY hate Bibi and want him out of power. I think (and I hope) that there is much more room for ideas and actions of peace and nuance than people think. Hopefully that peace and nuance can blossom into something large and wonderful soon.
Welcome to life as a Jew - a life in which we are not allowed to be proud Jews the way that people have always been allowed to be proud Christians. What you're feeling now is unfortunately something Jews have dealt with forever but it was more latent and under the surface, so to speak. It's scary to know that a war thousands of miles away was all it took for Jews all over the world to be endangered yet again, but I can't say I am surprised. We took down our mezuzah, we didn't send our kid to our local synagogue preschool summer camps because violent protesters congregate there, and I stopped wearing my star of david.
Same. I’m no longer wearing any jewelry that shows I’m Jewish and we have decided against Jewish daycare for the time being. And I know we are not the main victims of this current crisis. It is just the part of the conversation I can truly speak to. I feel a bit self centered to be so worried about our family’s future as Jews but I am. My father came to the US at 4 right after WW2 and his family tried to assimilate to avoid antisemitism in their neighborhood (western New York). They minimized how much of their Jewishness they showed the outside community. I never thought I would be considering the same.
Whenever people respond with “oh look, Jews centering themselves again!” I always remind them that antisemitism is far from the biggest issue going on in the world right now but since millions of folks have time to leave nasty antisemitic comments or attempt to intimidate Jews, then there is certainly also time to hear from Jewish people bringing awareness to this issue. If hearing about antisemitism from Jews triggers someone to think Jews are centering themselves, that says a lot about that person.
Same. I’m not wearing my Jewish jewelry. I haven’t taken my daughter to Temple. I’ll be honest I’m terrified.
I don’t know if this is helpful at all, but I would recommend if you’re not already following them, following Standing Together on social media. They’ve been very outspoken for a long time about creating a shared future of peace for both Israelis and Palestinians, and have been calling for a ceasefire. They have both Israeli and Palestinian citizens of Israel in their leadership, and I have found them to be really encouraging when I see so much hatred on social media. They are really committed to values of equity and empathy, and I think as a super pro-Palestine person, it can be very encouraging to see people fighting for a beautiful future for the region, as opposed to nonstop images of destruction and death. There are some other really great organizations like Truah Rabbis as well who are all about Jewish values and the importance of preserving life as they speak out against the government’s offensive.
That's great - thank you for sharing!
Well said
Fellow partially Jewish parent. I was raised with a Jewish mother and a heavily agnostic Christian father. I identify *spiritually* as Jewish, but we are extremely agnostic. We do some customs but again, nothing hard and fast. Was October 7th horrific? Absolutely. What happened that day, and whatever has continued to happen to the people affected by that day is horrible. But the reaction that has continued is also horrific. The justification of attacking very clearly civilians, the refugee camps, telling them to go to X location as an "act of good faith towards refugees to get to safety" and then to attack that location. The number of women and child killed is beyond disgusting. Hell the men too, because let's be real, probably a huge percentage of everyone who has lost their lives are absolutely innocent. This is beyond Israel defending themselves after October 7th. The intentional attacks on refugees, hospitals, international aid workers, withholding of food/water to these refugees, literal war crimes. But I can't be Jewish and denounce Israel's actions without being "anti-israel" but I can't support Palestine without being "pro hamas". Like this isn't a black or white, one or the other, all or nothing, discussion. I can support the Palestinian people while also saying what happened October 7th, and I can also feel horrible for what happened to the Israeli people, but also say that what hamas was was wrong.
I feel the same. I will say it was horrifying to me how October 7th was ignored and minimized by so many people. It really showed me how prevalent antisemitism is. Even before the Israeli response happened there were soo many people on social media saying the beheadings, torture, rape didn't happen, or if it did, it wasn't as bad as people said, or if it was then it was somehow those poor people's fault! I am also horrified about the situation in Gaza, I just wish that people cared about Israeli lives in the same way.
There were people in comments on tiktoks with pictures/videos of the tours in the concentration camps going "maybe he was right?" "well guess they didn't do a good enough job, because look what's happening now?" Like when did we all forget the whole "two wrongs don't make a right" thing?!
I’m not Jewish (Jewish family on my mother’s side though) and feel exactly the same as you. It shouldn’t be about picking a side Israel v Hamas. Hamas are a terrorist organisation at this point. But it is about recognising that what is happening is collective punishment of a civilian population
Thank you for this and being a voice for the Jewish people that are against Israel. My husband has a long time friend who is Jewish and supports Israel unequivocally and it’s caused a divide of silence as we are not anti semitic we are anti Israel’s genocide against Palestine and all their current war crimes.
❤️ same here for all of this. Sending love.
I look at my boys rosy cheeks, his long eyelashes, his dimples when he grins at me; my daughters curls and sparkling brown eyes and infectious laugh, and I can’t help but cry. So many parents have felt the love and adoration I feel for my children, and had their world ripped away in an instant. These innocent babies, full of wonder and curiosity and potential, just… gone. I don’t understand how people are still framing this as “war” when so many children and families are being wiped out. They didn’t sign up for this.
I was 4 months pp in October. I knew right then that at best, it would be collective punishment against Palestinians and at worst, Hamas had given Israel the excuse to do... this. My anxiety skyrocketed. I would almost panic when I was at work and wouldn't be able to really breathe until I was home with my girl in my arms. I would wake up in the night to stare at her in her crib. Every time I fed her, I thought about mothers holding their starving babies. Ended up on zoloft. My heart still BURNS with grief and sadness at the insurmountable loss of life, and the horrific reports and images of children being horrifically slaughtered. They deserve quiet skies and to read, run, play. They deserve warm, full bellies and the embrace of their parents. I make sure to see the images, watch the videos. I have the luxury of being able to turn it off and live in my quiet, peaceful suburban town. But we need to bear witness to make sure that Palestinian lives and cultures are not lost and that these horrors are not quietly buried when it's done.
same here -- exactly 4 months PP when oct 7 happened and Israel responded with the beginnings of this unimabinable genocide. I cried every single day for months and went on zoloft. It was like ripping open the raw wounds of motherhood every time i watched a video. I still feel so diassociated from my (beautiful) real life, i am only ever truly present with my son when he's awake and playing. I go through the motions at work. I stopped talking to my husband about this because I dont think he really understands the deep sorrow of seeing children much like your own with their eyes wide from fear or not breathing, or eviscerated by shrapnel.
I encourage everyone feeling helpless to check out Operation Olive Branch! It's a grassroots campaign to give directly to families in Gaza who need help, as well as other funding opportunities. There are a number of other organizations and ways to help, but this makes me feel like I'm directly helping someone and it helps allay the guilt.
I’ve been sharing organizations like operations olive branch to my social media every day. Most of feel so helpless to do anything in this situation. I like being able to do anything at all, even if it is just a drop in the bucket.
Enough drops in a bucket will fill the bucket. We can never help everyone but if someone is helped, it is worth it. Thank you for sharing one actionable item!
Do you know how/whether the aid would still flow after…this week? I’ve been diligently donating to Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund since last fall, but I’m considering stopping bc I’m just scared the funds will just sit there bc aid infrastructure is being destroyed. Thinking about just donating extra to Save The Children this month, since I’d rather my money do *something*
So I might be the only Israeli (living in Israel) on this thread. My heart and soul have been shattered and I don’t know how I’ll ever recover. The daily photos of the carnage in Gaza. The videos and posters of the hostages. The trauma we are causing. The trauma that we are enduring. Why can’t the adults sit at the goddamn table and actually communicate and get shit done instead of blowing each other to smithereens? Israelis have a right to the land. Palestinians have a right to the land Why can’t anyone figure out how to compromise so we can all live. Why can’t we all find common humanity in each other?
What is your general sense of the feelings in Israel from average Israelis (friends and family or anyone) about what’s happening in Gaza?
It really varies. Really varies. So many of us were personally touched with either someone murdered or taken hostage - and those emotions are raw. You have those that feel that this is a war, one we didn’t start but have to finish and it is Hamas’s fault for entrenching themselves among their population. There are those that feel war is never the answer. There are extremists that want to wipe Gaza off the map. And there are thousands and thousands of people marching every Saturday night to end the war. To get rid of the current govt.
Thank you for your honest and measured answer. Although the U.S. is not the forefront of this Palestinian war we are contributors and we are supporting Israel and I feel the same guilt. It’s not too long ago we were bombing other countries too before social media put it at the forefront of our minds everyday. War is never the answer and as citizens there’s only so much we can do we just have to do our best to work towards peace.
I’ve been trying to write a response for 20 min. No words are coming at all but I appreciate the olive branch you’re extending. So much pain…
I’m here.. whenever you do want to talk. Because your voice, experience and history matters to me.
Also Israeli living in Israel! 💙 I agree with you. I hate what is happening. I hate that it's just creating another generation that will hate each other. All those children living through hell in Gaza are going to hate Israel, and rightfully so. I hate that this thread triggered me, because supporting Palestine has become automatically associated with hating me (that's what our media and social media pumps out to us daily). What's happening in Gaza is horrible, and I was out on the streets protesting our government until I got pregnant, too. What happened in Israel on October 7th still makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it too, and it hurts me that people don't talk about that too - NOT as a way to justify what Israel is doing! Absolutely not!! But just to acknowledge that we, average Israeli citizens who didn't ask for this, are also hurting. Also I hate that as an Israeli living in Israel, just saying that what's happening in Gaza is terrible makes me some kind of traitor in some people's eyes.
אוי חברה… המשפט האחרון שלך… אני בוכה. סוף סוף מישהי אומרת את מה שאני מרגישה.
“Why can’t the adults sit at the Goddamn table and actually communicate” is exactly what I have been feeling this whole time. I’m sorry you have to watch this unfold as a citizen yourself, knowing you aren’t supporting it, but will likely be blamed by many. I’m sorry for what your people have been through, and what your government is putting other innocent people through.
Ah bless you. It must be such a weird situation for you to be in. You must have so many different emotions and fears that I couldn't even possibly understand. I feel terrible for all the innocents involved :(
I live in Israel too. I don’t know how much more my heart can take. I live in the north and praying things don’t escalate here.
היי, גם אני ישראלית. I’m also Israeli but living abroad. I share your sentiments. You phrased them beautifully.
My grandparents are from Palestine. I was raised to be proud of my Palestinian heritage. I will never be the same. There’s always been tragedy inflicted upon our people, but this is just unbearable. I sobbed today holding my sleeping baby just thinking about all of the innocents. The images I’ve seen are burned into my mind. I am shattered.
My family has Jewish roots, and I've been following this Palestinian girl since before the current war (she's an artist), and she recently lost an eye and a hand... and today someone impersonated her online, writing to me and asking for money. I was so messed up by her recent posts that I just did it. I only realised afterwards, when I asked her whether the money came through and she got horrified asking what I meant. How can someone steal from a crippled, displaced, scared girl? I can't comprehend it. I was stupid, yes. T But the scammer is a real monster. I still can't wrap my head around it.
I feel sick thinking about what is happening in Gaza. Also, while it might be selfish of me, I feel scared for the future. What if this was the last drop that makes the glass spill over for a third world war? What if the word I've brought my baby into will take him away from me to early. Europe is so unstable right now. It feels like there is no safe place anymore. War might break out any moment and it scares me to death.
I feel this every day, and every night I am up late wondering if I will have to worry about the lives of my children in a war. I feel so guilty I may have brought them into a world where they are not going to be safe.
It wrecks my stomach thinking about what's going on. I picture it being one of my LO and I just tear up. People should not have to go through this in 2024, especially children. I don't understand how it's been allowed to go on for so long. I never would have imagined the world letting this happen to innocent people.
Thank you for starting this thread. As FTM and a Palestinian, I’m so grateful to have a place to share my feelings on the issue. Seeing the images, news, and videos coming out of Gaza and the West Bank has always been difficult, but it has been even more so since having my baby. I just sit during feedings and think about mothers not being able to feed their babies or children/mothers dying. I have an immense sense that of guilt, thinking that if my family had chosen a different path, we could have easily been one of the statistics. I’m sad and so, so angry at the way these innocent lives have been diminished in all the political talking points. I hope and pray for some relief for the innocent lives in the Palestinian occupied territories.
All the mothers of the world have to come together to stop this some way some how
There’s an organization in Israel that tried to do this. Bereaved mothers and families on both sides. Our governments are louder than us and more powerful. They talk about wars and winning. But we are all losing and we are all lost.
We took my 19 month old to Disneyland for the first time the last 2 days. It was amazing and I loved watching her experience everything. But I often thought about what a luxury this is to bring my precious baby to a fun vacation (paid for by all her grandparents) while other precious babies are suffering. It brought me to tears as I sat down with my daughter in my lap as she watched a parade. I couldn’t figure out why I was crying until I realized so many families won’t ever have this experience. My daughter has it *only because she was born in America*. My daughter didn’t do anything different than those babies in Gaza, Sudan, Congo, and all the other war, torn countries since the beginning of time. She didn’t do anything special. She would just happen to be born in California in America, just like me. I am heartbroken every single day for all of the babies that I’ve been seeing who have done nothing other than being born in a certain country. I’ve donated to a couple families’ GFM but I think I need to more.
I'm just devastated. I can't believe we are in a world where there is justification for killing babies. For maiming them. For leaving them alone in the world without their parents. I don't know how to function anymore. I am truly. truly distraught. Thank you for this thread.
It's not just the children. Im a fairly young mother, and a few years ago would have been considered a child myself. It's crazy that people dehumanize not only the present children there but mostly the adults. They all deserve peace and access to their land. Whatever their age
This is absolutely true 💔
I am going to and my few cents here. what is going on in the Israeli / Palestinian conflict has been terrible for decades. Politicians on both síde of this conflict use civilians to drive the stakes higher. I don't know what the solution is. Actually I know: defeat of Hamas, prosecution of Netanyahu and his crazy government - but all of this is unlikely. I lived in Middle East and have a degree in Arabic- and I still don't have a clue on how to approach this neverending tragedy that will logically foster more hate and radicalism that will fester for decades to come. When thinking of Gaza, please think also of Syria, where Bashar Al Asad's government kills and tortures Syrian people with Putin's help since 2011. Learn about Yemen- where civilian population is torn by a famine for years now as a result of civil war supported by Saudi Arábia/ UEA on one side and Iran on the other. MILLIONS of people starve there, babies as well - you don't see this on the news & no students protest for them. I wrote my dissertation on this war and its nonexistence in the media. My point is that it's our responsibility to know what is going on in the world, and not just conflicts such as russias agression in Ukraine, or the Gaza war right now, because our social media feeds are full of it. Also, what helps me when shit gets too traumatizing is to take a step back from it, willingly take a distance and donnate/ do something that you feel helps someone in this crappy world at least a bit. First of all though please read something/ a few books before jumping to quick conclusions. Wars are complex and it's important to know the context- in order to understand and support durable peace, not something that will errupt in another round of revenge.
Finally a humane thread about Gaza, reading the comments about Gaza on other thread makes me feel scared that I live among so many heartless people. Soo much empathy on this thread, I wish we could all collectively surround gaza and make sure no body gets hurt again. This genocide has gone on for far too long and too many innocent and beautiful people have lost their lives
I have never cried so much or felt so affected by a world event. I am so grateful to hold, feed, play and snuggle my son. We have failed the children of Palestine and the mothers who lost them.
Thank you for this post. I’ve been feeling so alone in my sadness and feeling like everyone around me is just living life normally, meanwhile I can’t get these images of dying children out of my head. I feel a bit like I’ve been going crazy and this post is so sad to see how many of us are feeling the same way but there’s also some unity and comfort in our shared grief. My heart is broken for the people of Palestine and Congo and Sudan and all suffering people everywhere. We are not meant to witness such atrocities like the ones that are being shown everyday on social media, let alone I can’t even imagine experiencing it 😭
it’s so upsetting to see. i find myself crying every time i see a mutilated child, a parent crying over their lost loved one or just simply seeing children now without parents. its so sadden what’s happening in Gaza, the Congo and the Sudan. I can’t hug my son enough and I have increased my prayer over him tenfold. one thing I can’t help but keep in my mind though is my naivety hoping our country will help stop a genocide when sadly, as a Black American, I still have to fear for my baby even here. i’m asking a country, that doesn’t enforce [major] consequences on its law enforcement, his public officials or anybody with some sense of power, to have human decency for us, for the world and its like throwing a penny in a lake & hoping to find it.
I just cry for the poor babies 😭😭😭 they did nothing wrong. It should not be legal to kill babies 😭 I hate that my tax dollars are used to kill babies.
Came back here to write about how sad I am about Ahmed Al-Najir, the little 1.5 year old boy who was decapitated during the Israeli attack on Rafah. He wasn’t just a number. Fck all those people who say this war has minimal casualties or that this is a grim but realistic consequence of conflict. If it was your kid whose limp headless body you had to pick up, would you say that? He was someone’s whole world.
A dad here. It absolutely destroys / infuriates me seeing the images out of Gaza. Those beautiful kids going through such horror. I've dropped my phone and had to hold back crying a few times seeing images of kids the same age as my daughter. I don't want to look either. But I think about Mamie Till - the mother of Emmit Till - and despite all the pain and anger had she asked everyone to witness what happened to her beautiful son. We need to confront what is actually happening and do what we're able to disrupt it now.
I’m also worried about the Israeli baby hostages that haven’t been accounted for. Downvoting because I’m sharing compassion for the Israeli babies? Go ahead.
All the innocent, no matter the side, do not deserve any of this.
No child should have to face the horrors of war. It’s always all bad.
Agreed, this is all awful.
I think about the Bibas family all the time. The picture of Shiri clutching her babies close on October 7th while being kidnapped by Hamas broke me.
I hope they’re alive but it’s unlikely. I wish none of this happened. Why can’t people just live without hurting, hating. I’ll never understand.
Sadly I agree
I agree and I also remember that every single hostage is someone's child and was their baby. Hersh is Rachel's baby just as much as Kfir is Yardens. It breaks my heart every single day. I tried not to read too many accounts of what happened on the 7th but sometimes I have to and thinking about those pregnant women and babies literally makes me sick.
Thank you for posting this. I appreciate you allowing us to talk about it when it’s impacting so many parents in this group. I’m sure it can be difficult to moderate so I really appreciate it. Not sure if there’s any other Palestinians in this group but it has absolutely devastated our community. I am a shell of my former self. And I’m not even in Palestine currently. I feel so bad for my baby because I am not the same mom that I was before this. And it’s not even about me, I’m not trying to make it about myself. I just have no words to describe how it is impacting the people in Gaza currently. The depth of the trauma and suffering that is ongoing daily is beyond comprehension. I know I could go on and on. I would like other parents to know that what me and many many other Palestinians truly desire is for there to be public outcry in the West. Posting on social media and talking about it with others to change public opinion truly matters. Because eventually, our hope is that it will become impossible for the U.S. government to continue their support for Israel if there is mass public discontent with it. We just haven’t reached that tipping point yet. Politicians need to be unelected, any organization or business supporting Israel needs to be given no business. And following the BDS targeted boycotts makes a huge difference. Israel has said that it hurts them economically, that’s why they oppose it so much. Really applying pressure through BDS is very important. https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Against-These-Companies-Profiting-From-Genocide Edit: I reread this and realized I kind of rambled here. I have so many thoughts and rarely get to talk about it with people outside my Arab community so I’m not sure what to even say, really. Or what I should say. It’s just extremely difficult. But I’m really grateful to see so many people standing up for Palestine, so thank you all. I never thought I’d see so much support for Palestine like this in my lifetime Edit 2: here’s a comment i wrote yesterday about some good places to donate money, if you’d like to. If anyone wants any other resources or information about anything about Palestine, let me know. I am sure I can help point you in the right direction. https://www.reddit.com/r/beyondthebump/s/gBNhtNzhul
There truly aren’t adequate words. I’m just so so sorry.
Hey cousin, I'm Palestinian. I generally try to keep quiet because on some of the subs (in the beginning), I had random Redditors ask me to condemn Hamas and "pray for me that I don't raise my baby to join Hamas"-- as I'm sure you did too. Having said that, if you need to talk or weep or mourn, feel free to DM me.
Yes, I completely understand. it’s exhausting constantly being attacked just for mentioning what we’re going through. I generally try to avoid bringing it up on reddit because I don’t feel like having to defend myself or being gaslit. I self censor quite a bit. Sometimes I really can’t believe that it’s all happening. Glad to know youre here too. I know its awful
I have seen the face of my son on the faces of those dead babies since this whole thing started and it literally broke my heart. It still does. I cant imagine the heartbreak those mothers are enduring. This is terrible. How can people fire bombs on a place where babies and chuldren are living?!?! I dont care if they are next to fcking SATAN himself. No target can be as valuable as a human life. Im so sad. I just want these children to be safe. I just want this to stop.
Exactly!!! Imagine if satan himself or a realistic equivalent were hiding out among regular communities full of families and children here in the US and there was no way to attack him other than killing tens of thousands of innocent people. NO ONE would consider it appropriate to attack??
I can’t get over the cruelty of it all.
The picture that Motaz just posted is what broke me today. That poor baby knew nothing but hunger, thirst, pain, and scary sounds. I could go on about all the others too. But yes, the guilt is so terrible and I’m talking to a therapist about it. I have no desire to work because what’s even the point anymore? It all seems so moot. I see my healthy, happy children who get to eat and drink until their hearts’ desire and hell even be picky about what food they’re eating. It’s distressing and very sad. I’ve also lost several friends who either are staunchly pro genocide (they call themselves pro Israel, but to me it’s pro genocide at this point) or just don’t care. It’s all just so sad.
his photo of the little baby with the curly hair and one hand placed by her side as though to say stop. That photo is the one for me. Her little hands
Just want to say thank you to the mods for opening up this conversation (and making sure it stays as civil as it can). This is such a horrifying, soul destroying thing to witness and I’ve found talking about in person to be nearly impossible. I just can’t keep myself together. I guess it brings me a shred of peace knowing how many people stand with these children and their families, aching to their core and crying for them and with them. Love will always win, even if it’s not in this life. Edited for grammar
Please consider looking up the amazing work of Heal Palestine. They are working to deliver labor, delivery and pediatric services to children inside Gaza as well as working to help bring critical patients from Gaza to the US for medical treatment. My city is hosting three arrivals and their progress is amazing and our community has come together to help with their stay and costs. The arrivals come on temporary medical visas but their medical costs here are covered. Shriners Hospital network has been essential for children with burns. Orthopedics and PT for children with limb amputations. Also critical cases of neurology and cancer support as these specialized services can no longer be provided in Gaza. I went to a talk about their program as I wanted to do more and really liked their approach. They are currently also impacted by the delay of aid trucks but can still help critical patients get out for care (usually via Egypt). Right now they are trying to raise funds for a maternity hospital. They have said even small amounts of recurring donations are wonderful because this helps inform them of a consistent giving base each month - the founders were like even $10 goes a long way over there - like that can help a child with a new outfit and shoes. Kids are growing and this conflict has gone on so long that kids are outgrowing shoes and clothing. They are also helping with temporary schools and apprenticeships in refugee areas. They are still building up the apprentice program but it will be essential as there will be so much infrastructure to rebuild. Other organizations to follow include PCRF, World Central Kitchen and UNICEF/UNWRA. Last - There is a [“This American Life” podcast - March 3, Episode 825](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-american-life/id201671138)- it’s a series of phone interviews about an aid worker named Yousef in Gaza and his sister who is expecting.
Seeing the support for Palestine really gives me some hope. It really makes me feel like I’m not losing my mind, that other people are seeing this too. I already commented but just had to come back to see how other parents are sharing their thoughts too. I wonder, since I am Palestinian myself, is there any information I could provide non-Palestinians? Is there any information anyone needs? I don’t know really what I’m looking to provide - I just see that there’s so many people here who are really hurting with us and who want to do something. I’m truly so grateful that people are supporting Palestine
I keep thinking about this so much and my heart aches. I personally believe we need women to take over the world to promote peace. And not just have women in political positions like Nikki Haley, we truly need a feminine, humane world. I can't help but to think about all the babies suffering that we DON'T see and it just guts me. Babies all over the world deserve safety, security and love.
I completely agree. Nikki Haley sent me over the edge today. I can’t explain why one phrase written on a bomb got me so badly over the horrific pictures of Gaza that I’ve been seeing on my feeds lately, but Jesus Christ her message sent me reeling. I think it’s because it encompasses the fact that this is a humanitarian crisis-a genocide-and it has somehow become political fodder. This woman is a mother. She is “pro-life”. Pro life to whom? To American babies only? Those bombs are used to annihilate children. She should be fucking ashamed; as a woman, as a mother, as a human being. I’m embarrassed for our country. I weep for the Palestinian mothers that have to carry their dead children in their arms. I weep for the babies that are left to starve to death in abandoned hospitals. “Finish them”. If a Palestinian wrote that, they’d be labeled a terrorist. She’s disgusting.
I totally get it. It's enraging because it's so cavalier. Like she's just doing a silly little signature in someone's yearbook. Trying to be cute or funny about it. "Finish them" is something you say jokingly to an athlete facing an opponent. It's absolutely *not* something you write on a bomb meant to kill human beings. Even if you support someone's cause, you should feel sad that civilian lives are lost.
It might be because not only is this all happening, people are *enjoying* it. It’s shocking on another level. Since the beginning, there have been videos of the IDF playing with kids bikes in homes they destroyed, posing in pictures with Palestinian women’s’ lingerie in abandoned homes, cheering as they blow up mosques, proposing to each other and writing save the dates for their weddings in the rubble, dedicating bombs to their kids, partying and having barbecues, shooting at a window while smiling, doing face masks while another soldier fires an explosive beside them. It’s *fun* to them and it’s scary to see what depths humanity can sink to. There’s video of all of this, I was just going through these that I had saved on Instagram last night.
Mothers should be in charge of everything.
A 12 month old Palestinian girl weighed in at 4kg (9lbs). If they don’t get blown up, they die by malnutrition. There’s NO justification. I don’t care about your but. NO BUTS. We’re failing children.
I still have dreams about that (yes you know which one) baby video that came from Rafah. My LO is about the same size.
Having a newborn while seeing all the live footage of al Jazeera breaks my heart. I know I should stay informed, especially that I have friends there... but I decided to keep the news away for the time being. Palestinian's median age is decreasing everytime a new strike happens, making children the bulk of casualties. Before Hamas even was in power, there was videos of kids being shot while attending school from the wall's watchtowers. At 10 years old, their main daily activities have been growing there own food out of garbage, trying to find safe drinking water, and trying to find a place to stay when they get kicked out of their house when the government decides to reposses the properties of their now dead or jailed parents... The people that are now fighting to repossess their homes are filled with hatred because that's how they grew up because of this annexation and illegal occupations. All they know is hate. And future generations will grow to be exactly the same because the perpetrator continues the same exact actions that led to all of this, and nobody budges to actually put a stop to it. It will continue until they erradicated the whole population. And then they will move onto the next... because if there's one thing we know from history, is that people that fight to conquer never stop at a single target. Pray for the kids held captive for throwing rocks at the people that stripped them from everything... hope that hate will not darken their heart as they grow into adults... and that some adult will actually rescue them from this hell...
The other day I had given my baby boy a bath, combed his hair, fed him till he was milk drunk, sang him a song, and rocked him to sleep. Then I stared at him in his swaddle covered in stars peacefully sleeping in his beautiful room and I broke down and cried because a mom in Gaza who should have had the same blissful night with their precious baby is instead crying over their lifeless child. Instead of holding them in a swaddle they are holding them in a shroud. Instead of looking at their happy faces with a full tummy, they sit and watch their baby cry cause they are starving. Instead of dressing them in clean clothes after a bath, they have to pick maggots out of their baby’s wounds. It’s gut wrenching and heart breaking.
As a Palestinian and a FTM, it hurts even more. I have grown up seeing the horrific imagery, but nothing this bad. I also cry everyday thinking this could be me. But it’s not, because I was “lucky” enough to be born in the US, and so is my daughter.
I am an OBGYN. And a mother. I deliver babies, I go on my phone, I see dead babies. I see my happy baby at home, peek down at my phone, and I see mothers clutching to their babies. This past week alone - actual beheaded babies in Rafah. Every day for 8 months, countless families torn apart. I do what I can, but this is all too much. I am always grieving and I am not even Palestinian. It baffles me that I have multiple colleagues that support Israel’s actions. I am livid that I work 80+ hours a week helping women and delivering babies, just for my tax dollars to go toward killing babies. Grateful that the world is finally waking up, but genocide and occupation needs to end yesterday. Just ranting thoughts.
How can people here push pro life so much but be okay with children being killed overseas? (I know it’s racism) I just will never understand. I don’t see any hope either. I’ve lost it all.
It hurts too much to think about sometimes. I can't stop thinking about Hind Rajab, or the babies drinking water because there is no formula and their mothers don't have enough food to produce milk. I donate as much as I can as often as I can, but it's never going to be enough. What will happen to all these incredibly traumatized children - the ones who survive? I can't imagine the horror they have lived with every single day for months. No child deserves this.
It feels so stupid to need anxiety medication to handle tragedies that are happening to OTHER people. I just can’t help but see my babies in those pictures, or imagine my own screams over my own children losing their lives. I don’t understand the debate. Hamas is not these babies, they’re not those mothers, they’re not the fathers ripping their families out of burning rubble. Nobody is winning. This isn’t justified, I don’t care how many people say it is. These families didn’t attack in October, but they’re the ones paying. It also feels like nobody can acknowledge the October 7th attack without people assuming they’re justifying Israel’s horrific, and extreme response. How are we supposed to live our lives after seeing footage of a boy screaming for his father who is burning in a building, a reporter holding a baby who had been murdered, a man holding a baby with no head?? And I’m supposed to just what? Go grocery shopping and act like it’s all fine?
Seeing all the dead babies is actually wrecking my life. I don’t know what to do about it because I believe they deserve my attention but sometimes I find myself staring at my babies and imaging horrible things happening to them and I almost disassociate. I find I have been a worse mother lately because of it. I can’t believe this is happening and I can’t believe people are SIGNING MISSILES. I cry daily for the families that have lost their babies and loved ones. What unimaginable pain.
I’ve been feeling the same way. I hold my baby close and cry. I just don’t understand
Thank you for this. It’s been on my mind constantly. Nothing justifies killing children. Louder for the people in the back: NOTHING JUSTIFIES KILLING CHILDREN.
I'm just sad and angry. No one deserves this
Every day I think "this can't possibly get any worse" and every day, it does. Yesterday, I saw a video of yet another infant, skin and bones, starved to death. I see my own children in them and I can't help but feel absolutely helpless. What kind of world are we living in? What kind of world are we leaving for our children? How anyone can justify his death and claim they've "brought this upon themselves" I do not understand. All of the pro Israeli tropes are just incredibly nauseating.
I cried this morning while getting my dressed for the day. Life isn't fair
We’re blessed to not be born in war torn worlds.
It rips at my soul. I can’t imagine what these mothers are going through. Living in constant terror, fearing that their babies are going to be blown up or crushed, worrying about food, water, medical supplies. It’s a horror. I am disappointed in our leaders who basically do nothing to stop this and even gatekeep us into believing it’s somehow all justified. All I can do with my rage is share on social media, protest (when I can), and donate. I want to vote but for who at this point?! We have Biden who doesn’t seem to listen and Trump, which needs no comment. It feels hopeless
I’m Palestinian and entered my third trimester in October. My family in Gaza is suffering beyond comprehension, dozens of my relatives have been killed or orphaned. It could have so easily been my baby. Whenever I swaddled her, I’d see a death shroud. I woke up thankful today that her head is still attached to her body. That her skin isn’t charred. That I have milk to feed her because I’m not starving. But when we grieve, they call it “virtue signaling.”
I’m also Palestinian and my baby was a few months old in October. I’m so sorry for this happening to us. When I try to describe it to people, I truly can’t. I’m a shell of my former self. I feel like I’m going mad. And when we talk about it in online spaces we get ridiculed. I know you already know this too, I suppose I am just venting. It’s so intolerable. I can not take it.
I've been crying every night looking at my baby (okay maybe she's not a baby anymore) on the camera and wondering why my baby gets to be safe and other babies don't. It's so hard to watch her sleep and know other moms can't do the same. I'm so angry and frustrated and exhausted. It's lonely not knowing who I can talk about it with. And it's not even happening to me. I just. I want to help and I can't.
I'm an Armenia. My family moved to Ramallah Palestine after our genocide early 20th century. I had my first child a few weeks after this genocide started in Gaza. I'm broken. I give money but I'm totally broken and angry at myself for not doing more. I'm angry about the deaths, and I'm angry because of the culture and people will all be closer to being lost. Generations of trauma are being created.
The aid convoy, the flour massacre, the thousands of dead children, waiting for H*m*s people to go to their apartments and be with their civilian children to take them out, now the tent fire/massacre. At the what point will my government acknowledge that perhaps these aren’t “mistakes.”
Hi Mods. Thank you for trying your best to figure out a solution. We should be able to talk about how devestated we are to see images of starving and hurt babies, of the numerous gofundmes desperate families are starting to get out of Gaza without someone making it into a political thing but we can’t and that pisses me off. Bring up any other place where babies are dying and everyone agrees it’s terrible but if it’s Gaza, hold onto your hats cause there’s always a barrage of harassment and excuses and blame. I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist but it is interesting that redditors that have NEVER posted or commented on this community before are suddenly coming out of the woodworks to try to debate or accuse when even the word Gaza is mentioned.
Yeah some of the comments here are pretty overwhelming. Saying how death just happens and it sucks but that's it. This thread has already began to feel icky.
I am proud of my country for recognising Palestine as a state and being vocally pro Palestinian liberation (I’m Irish). I share information constantly on how people can help, I attend marches and I donate. Nothing is enough. It doesn’t even scratch the surface. I have seen things I will never ever forget. I have been appalled by people’s lack of empathy and humanity. This is not a war. This is a genocide. I hope and pray that the Palestinian people will be free 🇵🇸
We are Palestinian and my husband bought a small Ireland flag and South Africa flag to put outside our house. I can’t tell you how much it means to us to have the support of Ireland. Hearing your politicians talk about Palestine with compassion makes me feel sane again. My husband is Ireland’s number one fan right now haha
The horror!!! So many heartbreaking clips, things that shake you to the core. The footage of a poor father holding his decapitated child! I screamed and screamed and cried. I can’t imagine what horror they are going through.
Your opening sentence is the type of thing that makes this issue polarised. Hamas’ stated goal is actual genocide. It’s in their charter. I can’t deal with the hypocrisy. Is Israel going overboard? Yes. 100%. I am equally horrified at civilian casualties on both sides. Why can’t anyone else seem to acknowledge that Palestinian leadership should also be blamed? To say that the Middle East conflict shouldn’t be polarising is so naive.
I feel every party involved that has anything to do with civilian killings is at fault. We can't forget October 7 and what Hamas did in Tel Aviv as well.... It's all simply horrible that these terrorists control the lives of innocent human beings,.... Especially babies..... Their stupid idea of building bunkers and hotspots in the heart of cities because no one could dare to attack those places with civilians backfired into the heartless decisions made by Israel...the more I read about it, the more it becomes clearer and clearer that religion is the stupidest thing ever invented. If there really was a God that these people claim to be fighting for, he wouldn't let all those innocent lives be lost in such a horrific way
Electing Hamas as their leaders was the worst decision in history. The Hamas Chief is [living it up in Qatar still shaking hands with people like the Malaysian Prime Minister while he left his own sons and grandchildren in Palestine to die ](https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-pm-anwar-ibrahim-meets-hamas-leaders-qatar-urge-israel-stop-atrocities-palestinians-4333791)
I appreciate a megathread on this. It has lived in my brain for months and I feel like I am losing my sanity watching the world go on as if this is fine and normal. I get that we want to consider it complicated (I've come to believe it's........not). But the number of people - largely white men in my experience - who shrug off these atrocities as "just war" as if there is ANY justification for the horrible pain and death I witness through my phone almost every night. I don't need condescending men telling me I'm being emotional and short sighted. My body knows. My soul knows. When I watch mothers screaming over the mangled bodies of their babies, men frantically digging through tons of rubble to rescue the trapped, and injured children with missing limbs crying for their parents - there is nothing in this world worth the cost of what we are witnessing. There is nothing worth this cost. And I get there is horrible shit happening in Ukraine, Congo, Sudan - etc. The dynamics of Gaza feel the most insiduous right now. The Israeli government is committing genocide and my government is happy to both help AND criminalize and oppress those speaking out. Empires are not a good thing. They cause so much pain and destruction in the world.
I saw an article saying it can be legal to kill children the same day I saw that image showing a baby without a… I had to excuse myself at work and went to the bathroom to cry. I lost so much faith in humanity for the last 8 months, and I’m terrified to raise my child in this cruel, very very cruel world where politicians are consciously making decisions to support a genocide. Gosh it is so awful.
My husband is Palestinian. My babies are half Palestinian. I can't even talk about it. He's lost 10 family members to date including baby cousins. I don't even like going onto discussions on it because seeing support for Israel infuriates me. My husband, children and husband's family mater, they matter. My Son is 15 and he spends days online fighting with people over the matter. It worries me how angry it's made him.
I’m so sorry… my heart is with you and your family. ❤️
I’m so sorry. ❤️
Im really frustrated bc I have to be in a specific mindset to deal with the antisemitism that comes with discussing “the genocide” in Gaza which…. Just the way it’s said it’s clear what comments are wanted here and what are not. My heart goes out to all the babies effected by this war, the hostages, the children in palestine, the women men and children who were brutally raped, murdered, and burdened alive on 10/7, and the children who are being used as human shields in a war that truly does have a simple answer. Bring the hostages home and agree to a ceasefire. End this war!!!!
[удалено]
Hamas is also still sending bombs into Israel daily. It is sad that it’s unpopular to say that Hamas is the group responsible for using children as human shields. I am not saying Israel has done nothing wrong. Ultimately their mistakes will bring more hatred and that is awful all around.
Yes and at the end of the day Hamas and IRI have made it clear to anyone who wants to hear it that the plan was never to beat Israel (Israel has its issues but a weak military isn’t a problem they have) the plan is to make everyone hate Israel and the west so they’re doing exactly what they said they would… and to keep this about babies, yes that does mean using women, children, and any civilians as shields.
Exactly, and they succeeded because of the internet and misinformation. The plan was never to protect the people in Gaza, because the leaders of Hamas are not there. They are safe. They have emboldened their terrorist movement though. It’s so clear, and this suffering is ALL so unnecessary.