Dear friends, I am deeply saddened and afraid. The war in Israel and Gaza, the uprising violence in the West Bank, the war in Ukraine, and all other open conflicts worldwide only lead to pain!
Palestinian and Israeli, Israeli and Palestinian friends are dying, if not in person than inside.
I pray that you my friends in Israel and Palestine, in Palestine and Israel do not die. I pray that you do not lose more family members and friends. I pray for the end of this and all conflicts so that lives can be spared.
I pray that we all put all lives first.
The reality is far away from my prayers: Israeli casualties are appr. 1400 fatalities, 5431 injuries in Israel, 1 fatality and 11 injuries in the West Bank, and 1 fatality and 3 injuries in Gaza. Palestinian casualties are 8005 fatalities, 20242 injuries in Gaza, 115 fatalities, 2150 injuries in the West Bank, and at least 1000 fatalities of Palestinians in Israel. These numbers stem from ochaopt. These numbers were published on October 29, 2023.
I pray that these deaths and injuries of friends and families will not rise.
On top of all I feel helpless. There is nothing I can change now. There is nothing I can do to stop your injuries and dying. There is only stomach ache and sickness.
When I turn to our German government I wonder how I can ever vote for one of our parties again. Many years after the holocaust, many years of living in peaceful Germany and Europe I do not understand why and how we cannot condemn ALL violence: the terroristic and the structural of the occupation.
Dear friends, wherever you are right now, please be careful and please put humanity first.