I was too tired to respond to this last night, but didn't want to let it go by.
You are entitled "as a Jew" to have whatever opinion you want to have. You don't need to feel like people will call you a self hating Jew because you want a ceasefire. Ultimately all decent people don't want anyone to be hurt, or scared, or in pain or to lose loved ones.
I think we have varying ways we see that as best being achieved and every decent person I know wants peace but might have different views on how that can be achieved. A lot of us have experienced a shift in our perspectives after 7/10 because we saw (sorry) the scale of sheer murderous hatred from Hamas on that awful day, and the glee with which so many Palestinians celebrated it.
I know for me, that was achingly painful, because I had spent so many years rooting for the Palestinians and speaking up for them. I am no fan of the Likud government and I was a partner for peace and equality. It was hard to see those people so gleefully wishing us dead and not caring for a moment about our humanity. It was also hard for me to interact with so many Palestinians in diaspora, people at universities in America or London or Canada, and hear them be openly antisemitic and to deny our history and rights.
Put simply, I had always deeply felt both Palestinian people and Israeli people had a right to live in the land they felt home and to do so in freedom, equality and joy. And I was heartbroken to find that very, very few of them seemed to feel the same way. It seems most of them thought we should "go back to Brooklyn" or were colonisers or evil or something painful. And that made me look at the situation in a different light because my confidence in peaceful co-existence was diminished. That said, I will always wish nothing but peace, safety and joy to Palestinians - whatever their feelings are in return.
I also felt the shock many of us felt from the very moment of the attack. From the first minute we witnessed people partying on 8th October outside the Israeli embassy, I think something changed in many of us as we saw this deep seated and out of control antisemitic hatred. And as the months have passed it has loomed larger and grown more confident in it's assertions. It's been a sad and difficult time for us, and I noticed the Jewish community around the world pulled in close.
In that time I have come across Jews I have really not liked. Perhaps even ones I borderline hated. The worst ones IMHO being the ones chucking their kind under a bus and joining in with the antisemites for likes, clicks or other accolades, or, worse, the ones acting like Hamas acted in gloating over deaths of Palestinians and thirsting for blood in revenge. For me, those people disgust me.
But we're all just humans. Jewish humans. But humans. Some of us are complete arseholes, and some of us are very nice. And where that distinction lies differs for us all because my idea of a complete arsehole might not be yours.
Just like my idea of what will bring peace, justice, safety and joy might not be yours, but the intention most of us have is the same. To see an end to this conflict and to find justice for them and for us.
I think if the whole world was not attacking Jews and behaving like such psychotic Nazis towards us, that we would have more space for empathy for others or to criticise Israel more freely. I can only speak for myself in saying I have less room than I would like for that because frankly, if people are making internet posts full of antisemitism and bizarre and unhinged hatred of the Jewish state then there's no way to sensibly join that conversation because their intent isn't genuine.
The middle eastern forum here is a cross-section of real life. A lot of angry people using this tragic war as an excuse to let rip on their hostility to Israel and it seems to be it has little to do with "freeing Palestine" and a lot more to do with acting like big fat 2024 Nazis with impunity.
I think the war has been over the top. I am angry and sad that Israel hasn't done better than they have. But I also think that they are fighting an enemy with no qualms about manipulating every means at their disposal, including deliberately starving their own people or killing their own children. And I think this enemy will not stop until they are stopped.
I genuinely pray that Palestinian people see the light somehow and understand the vast majority of Israeli people just want to be there peaceful neighbours and that this war that has gone on for 80 years, entirely founded on racial hate, MUST END. And that their lives must move forwards in peace, for the sake of their children who deserve better than this.
I worry that getting there will be too hard.
I respect completely people like you who want to see an end to violence. I also respect completely people who don't want violence, but also think Hamas must be stopped. I do not think there is any right answer. I am sad Hamas did this, I am sad they did not choose differently. I am sad for all the death and destruction. I am sad that we are all here experiencing crap in our daily lives that we thought was long dead and buried after the Holocaust.
I am sorry for droning on. My point is that you don't need to feel like Jews will attack you. There is enough bad energy and hate around us, we must never turn on each other. Sending love and hugs to all.