🇵🇸 Gaza: perspectives I appreciate

Updated August 13, 2026: This is a list of perspectives that I amplified in the wake of Hamas’ 10/7/23 attack on Israel and the early days of Israel’s horrifically disproportionate response. Though the perspectives hold up, I have since changed the title of this post and deleted the introduction, which did not adequately acknowledge the brutality of Netanyahu’s genocidal campaign.

• Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg for her rebuke of dehumanization and call to awareness that a lot of things are true,

• Camille Hernandez for her research on genocide and insistence that (all) the children are ours,

• Garrett Buck for his honesty around navigating the cocoon of white American privilege in this moment,

• The authors at Gen Dread for connecting the dots between climate and war,

• Jane Ratcliffe for sharing her personal story of inter-generational war trauma,

• Sarah Bessey for describing how ordinary work can be a north star in extraordinary times and

• An incredible, hopeful story of shalom and seeding peace (shared by Lisa Sharon Harper).

In addition to the sources shared here in 2023, I also recommend:

• Tara Brach’s dharma talk on presence and compassion in a violent world,

• Satyam’s refusal to look away, and

• Standing Together’s grassroots movement for inclusive justice in Israel and Palestine: “The future we seek — peace and independence for Israelis and Palestinians, full equality for everyone in this land, and true social, economic, and environmental justice — is possible.”

Thank you, teachers, for grounding us, calling us into action, and sharpening both our awareness and our compassion.

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