I don't even know what I'm hoping for at this point, except Biden to push for a ceasefire.
Same-ish. The liberal Israeli way of agreeing to a ceasefire without saying they're agreeing to a ceasefire is to demand the return of the hostages and protest for it. Hostages' exchange cannot and will not happen without a ceasefire.
If I wish for anything, it's not merely a ceasefire. It's the safe return of the hostages that are still alive, a new government here (to say this one is useless will be a gross understatement. I don't trust them, I don't support them, and I now know they won't protect me on the most basic level of physical security). Also for some kind of international solution in Gaza as the Palestinian Authority cannot at its current state to rule there (they're not Hamas' friends). If I dream of something, it's a coalition and solidarity of moderates and liberals against far right and militants, Jewish or Arab.
Regarding the hostages and Gazans and our bomimgs in Gaza, there's an aspect to this that I feel in my bones. My great grandmother was killed by allies' bombs on Budapest when she was hiding there in 1944. Only five members of my grandfather's family (her son) survived, out of dozens. And I know there is a terror group in Gaza that wishes to kill me and everyone else here and for that you need a military solution too. But boming cannot be the only solution. We need a political one. We didn't hear what it is yet, because, well, my god this government is the worst. Simply the worst.
May some politicians be brave enough to choose a decent political solution to get us out of here before the situation gets worse.
Oh, I also recommend this talk, for those wondering about the concepts of settler colonialism and colonialism, and how they relate to the conflict here:
[link] it's a very leftist podcast, and it also clearly points that some ideas of local nationalities and ethnicities were lost in Western translation.
If I dream of something, it's a coalition and solidarity of moderates and liberals against far-right and militants, Jewish or Arab.
I'm not sure how this will come about but it is the only solution I see. Those who remain in power only by heightened conflict will never seek peaceful solutions.
Oh dear, Rosalynn Carter has died. What admirable lives she and her husband have led.
True. Admirable and long.
Shir, I so desperately want the world that you're describing, and don't know how to get there from the one we have. Keep checking in even when it feels like just doing that is the most you can do <3
And on a totally different subject, I've been a Rosalynn fangirl for as long as I've been a fan of Jimmy, which is to say since I was not quite 6. Long enough and early enough that they've always felt sort of like political surrogate grandparents. Rest and respect for a great one.
If I dream of something, it's a coalition and solidarity of moderates and liberals against far right and militants, Jewish or Arab.
This has to be the way. My close friend Alison's sister (Amanda) helped form an interfaith Arab-Jewish group of women in New Jersey some years ago, and I know that's been healing for her community and there is a lot of common ground.
This is a place where I really wish women could lead, and probably will be the solution. People who can say "Killing children and innocents is NEVER justified. And people who justify that action are terrorists and war criminals."
I just don't know how we get to that place.
The Omar answer:
A day at a time, I suppose.
the persistent headache persists so she sent me to X-ray for my neck. Aside from normal wear and tear, there's no obvious cause. It's a thing, it has been a thing, and looks like it will be a thing unless somebody comes up with a magic no-headache remedy.
That would be magic. I too would take that pill. I’m sorry you are suffering.
Losing a parent is a very particular sort of loss.
It truly is.
I’m so sorry, Nora. You are loved and supported here.
Oh dear, Rosalynn Carter has died. What admirable lives she and her husband have led.
They led amazing lives.
He’s been on hospice care for a while so I expect that he will follow now that he’s held the door open for Rosalynn.
