Without the deep healing necessary for a healthy psyche and for healthy relationships, unresolved trauma will oftentimes manifest in reactive, harmful and destructive behaviors generation after generation. This applies to individuals, families, organizations, communities, and to entire societies. We are seeing an example of this now in Israel-Palestine.

While the violence perpetrated by Hamas in Israel cannot be condoned, the cycle of violence did not begin on Oct. 7, 2023. Seventy-five years of Israeli occupation, 16 years of a prison-like siege of Gaza, and systemic political and social injustices against Palestinians have bred numbing and enraging despair, and for the Israeli government, and much of Israeli society, a false sense of superiority and infallibility. It is traumatizing living under such conditions. It is heartbreaking the tragedy that is unfolding before our eyes in the “Holy Land.” And what happens there affects what happens throughout the world.

We must look at the larger picture if we want to understand the present and have hope it will never be repeated. Violence is not a vehicle for peace. Genocide of the Palestinian people will not lead to a safe and secure Israel. The cycle of trauma must end. Only conditions of justice, freedom, an equitable sharing of resources, opportunities to live life fully with dignity and in safety can contribute to the possibility of healing and a lasting peace.

The genocide being perpetrated in Gaza by Israel, supported by the U.S., is nothing short of inhumane, morally corrupt and dangerously unwise.

Sally Bowden-Schaible
Portland

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