OCTOBER 7TH

The unspeakable tragedy of it all

Today is the one-year anniversary of October 7^th. A day of incalculable horror was followed by another year of incalculable horror.

While some would say, “Don’t you dare both-sides this!” I can’t imagine not. To God, both Israelis and Palestinians are immeasurably precious. This situation is not just an Israeli tragedy or a Palestinian tragedy; it is a human tragedy. The tragedy itself has no sides at all.

In A Course in Miracles, it is written that “God does not give us victory in battle. He lifts us above the battlefield.” Just as Rumi wrote that “beyond all ideas of good and bad, right or wrong, there is a field. I’ll meet you there,” our greatest gift to both Palestinians and Israelis is to refuse to hate either. To rise above the perception of their differences to the holy vision of their oneness in God.

I noticed years ago, having visited Israel and Palestine several times, that the refusal to appreciate nuance that’s so prevalent in the United States – to even acknowledge its validity, much less its importance – was not so prevalent in that part of the world. So many in America have been willing to exalt the rights of one people at the expense of the rights of the other. But the first time I went to Israel, I remember my guide said to me as I prepared to leave, “If you’re not heartbroken, then I didn’t do my job here.”

Today, any conscious person is heartbroken. And about Israel and Palestine there are various levels of truth. In many cases, the situation is less “Who’s right and who’s wrong here?” but rather, “What do we do here, considering the ways that they’re both right and they’re both wrong?”

In A Course in Miracles, there is a meditation that I have done with groups for years when speaking about this tragedy. We close our eyes and see the body of both an Israeli and a Palestinian with our inner eye, dressed as we normally associate with them dressing and behaving as we normally associate with them behaving. Then we begin to see a light that emanates from the center of both bodies, we watch the light expand beyond the confines of their bodies, and then we bear witness to the space between them where the Light becomes one. That Light is the eternal soul that dwells within us all, beyond the body. That is the truth of their relationship: where in the Light they are one.

I have known both Israelis and Palestinians who are peace-builders at heart, who have worked for years to achieve peace in this region of the Middle East. In the Course it is written that “the holiest spot on earth is where an ancient hatred has become a present love.” One of the greatest parts of this tragedy is how the work of such peace-builders has been pushed back for decades, perhaps longer now. Adding to the tragedy is how many people who died that day, and since, were part of that work. It is impossible for me to think deeply about this day without immeasurable sorrow.

After October 7th, there was much video shown that had been captured from the cameras of Hamas terrorists. One slice of video that ran often was of an Israeli woman, obviously terrified, being led away by Hamas fighters as she clutched in her arms a little boy about a year or so old who had flaming red hair. I have not read of their return. I have not been able to get that woman, or her baby, out of my mind this entire year. Nor can any of us get out of our minds the images of Palestinian children suffering, or their parents grieving…the utter, incredible horror of this for everyone involved.

So this day, for me, is not about politics. I’ve concerned myself with the issue of Israeli and Palestinian politics for years, but today is not the day. Today, more than anything, I let myself cry.

And I pray for them all.