“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:38)

Or destroy them…

On October 7, a sudden and brutal attack brought terror to men, women and children going about their daily lives, unaware and uninvolved in the conflict between the Israeli government and Palestinians. It was, and always will be, a war crime – a crime against humanity – to slaughter innocent civilians, whatever the political or religious motivation or justification that drives people to commit such atrocities.

Whatever your views on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, this is not something to be celebrated. In the chaos that ensued, many hundreds of Israelis as well as terrorists were killed, and 253 hostages were taken, in cars and trucks, into Gaza. The entire world was touched by the pain and suffering those families endured, and by the fear and uncertainty that gripped the nation of Israel following the attack. According to official Israeli sources, 274 military personnel and 859 non-soldiers (which includes 57 police officers and 38 local security officers, as well as 71 foreign nationals) were killed. The civilian dead include 14 children under the age of 10, of which two were infants. These figures are horrific and its hard to imagine the grief and anger felt by the whole Israeli nation.
(Source Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/14-kids-under-10-25-people-over-80-up-to-date-breakdown-of-oct-7-victims-we-know-about/)

But history has taught us to be cautious in the aftermath of an atrocity, lest an even greater atrocity ensue. Terror attacks such as this are never without consequence, as those who lived through the devastation that George W Bush and Tony Blair unleashed on whichever countries they proclaimed responsible for 911 will know only too well. And it is always the innocent that suffer – never the perpetrators. Because those that seek war will always find a way to direct revenge in the most profitable ways, or to enact favourable regime change under the guise of defending democracy. In the case of Iraq, it was through outright lies… about the country’s complicity and about weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia – home to Osama Bin-Laden and bankroller of the 911 attacks, and definitely not part of the ‘Axis of Evil’ – got a free pass. The result – an entire region destabilised, and millions of innocent people displaced or killed. For what – revenge, justice, security?

I’m not going to talk about what happened before 7 October, and I’m not going to talk about the treatment of Palestinians living under Israel’s rule. This is about the dignity and humanity of Israelis. What happens next is not in the hands of Hamas, and it’s certainly not in the hands of those tens of thousands of innocents that are dying while the bombing continues.

You don’t have to turn the other cheek… but for the sake of your own humanity, don’t kill the mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and children and infants… and the neighbours, and the teachers and the doctors and nurses, and the shopkeepers… don’t destroy every school and university, every hospital, every home. Blind revenge is not justice – be better than your enemies, not just more powerful. Killing, mutilating and terrorising the children and babies of your enemy is never justified.

Calling for peace, fairness, respect and dignity – is not an expression of support for terrorism or antisemitism. It is not hate and it is not extremism. Compassion and empathy for all suffering, whatever the race or religion, is not a betrayal.