Every death is tragic; civilian deaths are more tragic; women and children’s deaths are the most tragic. No one should go through the trauma of losing their loved ones – male or female, child or adult! No matter who they are; an unjust loss of life is, must be a universal tragedy!
What unfolded in the recent week in Israel was an abominable act. Pundits hurried to call it ‘9/11 of Israel’, yet fell short of contextualizing the circumstances in which this violence emerged and engulfed the lives of so many extraordinary humans (example).
Contextualization is neither a justification for violence nor it is an apology on the behalf of Hamas. Yet, contextualization affords us a bird’s-eye view of the circumstances in which violence arose – for violence never occurs in vacuum (and when it does, it should not be justified). Contextualization also allow us to recognize the humanity of ‘the other’, allow us to collectively grieve the loved ones we lost and the ones they lost. Contextualization allows us to empathize; to search for the root-cause, to look for symptoms, to seek remedies, to heal, to live and let live, and to break the cycle pf violence!
