466 Comments

Dan- I grew up with your solace. I sought it out tonight, knowing you would bring comfort, in whatever which way. I trusted you wouldn't be a war enthusiast. These days it is hard to know which coverage to trs( including NY TIMES). I am praying that both sides can have peace talks. I don't want the US to support Israeli war on Palestine. I wish there was more I could do. I'm utterly devastated. I have both Jewish and Palestinian friends. I know many Jews not for this retaliative war that will do no good other than genocide- which may be why Netanyahu ignored the warnings? I don't believe him. Sending prayers to both innocent sides. Thank you Dan. You made me feel better.

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The way forward is to abandon all thinking, speaking and acting which has failed to bring peace in the Middle East for 75 years. The way forward is to stop doing that which we know for a fact has not worked.

The blame game by all parties. Doesn't work.

The victim poses by all parties. Doesn't work.

"We're so sad, this is a tragedy". Doesn't work.

The comings and goings of diplomats. Doesn't work.

The threats and counter threats. Doesn't work.

The killing and counter killing. Doesn't work.

We need to wage war. On everything that doesn't work. We need to wage war on all the comfortable habits and memorized slogans, all the stuff we've written the last thousand times there's been a killing spree in the Middle East.

If walking away from everything that we know doesn't work leaves us with nothing, that's good, that's a start, that's better than pretending that what we've been doing works.

This counsel will be ignored. That won't work either.

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thank you for finding the words that bring together anger and sadness; :when will we ever learn - when we will we every learn..." Taking and sending a yoga breath... MJW

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Thank you for this. It is such a sad situation. "An unending loop" is exactly what it is. I agree that Israel has the right and obligation to protect its people. Hamas is wrong to inflict harm on Israel that also comes back onto their own people. And yet I can't stop thinking that what Israel is doing to the Palestinians is what was done to them in the Warsaw Ghetto. Israel has every right to exist, and antisemitism is wrong wherever it lives, but no one has the right to imprison and take away the rights of another group of people. The people in Gaza have nowhere to go. They are virtually imprisoned. When I lived in Saudi Arabia an Egyptian physician I worked with told me that the conflict between Arabs and Jews is a family feud, millennia in the making, that may never be resolved.

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Both are true. Thank you for your views

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Well said. Thank you!

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Thank you! this is so heartfelt.

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We are all saddened about the wars. Especially forgotten is the environmental destruction caused by war.

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Thank you, Dan.

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Thank you Dan, for your thoughtful words! We all need to be careful about forming opinions without knowing all the facts! I appreciate you. :)

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It is absolutely heartbreakingand I feel only horror but I agree Isreal has every right to defend & the US has every right to help our ally. But it still remains heartbreaking.

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Everything you have said is so resonant. Thank you for being a place to turn to again and again in these difficult times.

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Thank you for putting my feelings into words. 😢💔🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

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Thank you. You always being understanding to things that are hard to understand. I agree that we need to love and care for all the people. The evil ones don’t care about anything or anyone but self. We need to be careful about hate, The Bible says hate is like murder in the heart. But dislike them and their behavior asking Our Father to bring them to justice. Yes indeed Israel is God’s chosen people and have every right to defend themselves. 🥰❤️🙏

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Words in Space

I am once again sad

Sad for the world

Sad for those we have lost

Sad for those who made them lost

Sad for the voices of hope

Sad for the voices of violence

Sad for the loss of innocence

Sad for the loss of guilt

Sad for the fear induced

Sad for the ignorance admitted

Sad for the actions taken

Sad for the reactions created

I am saddest though because I am once again left with words in space

A space between violence and peace

A space between anger and hope

A space between safety and threat

A space between passion and reason

A space between pain and comfort

A space between oppression and freedom

A space between tyranny and democracy

A space between subjugation and empowerment

A space between hate and love

A space between life and death

The words fill the space but don’t change the choices

The words fill the space but don’t change the men

The words fill the space but don’t change the desire

The words fill the space but don’t change the cruelty

Many words have been written

Many words have been spoken

Many words have been read

Many words have been heard

But I am still in the space

Because history doesn’t seem to change

And the words are all ones I’ve seen before

So what are we living for

When words fill a space

But the space never changes

Because the cruelty is rewarded

And kindness is crushed

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Sad and beautiful. Everconsider poetry.

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