I Stand with Palestine. A photo of a paraglider descending into a desert rave as seen by the New York students at the Y.U. Student Bar Association

For 56 years Palestine has been subjected to military rule by Israel. In my book “Love Israel, Support Palestine,” I wrote: “Israeli society has to ask itself very important questions about where and why the blood of its sons and daughters was spilled. We are following a religious group in a muddy swamp because they dragged us there. When I wrote these words last year, I didn’t realize how deep in the mud we were, and how much more blood could be shed in so little time.

You have probably seen at least one example. The national committee of Students for Justice in Palestine put out a message proclaiming a historic win for the Palestinian resistance. The Democratic Socialists of America promoted a rally in New York where speakers applauded the attacks. The president of N.Y.U.’s student bar association wrote in its newsletter, “I will not condemn Palestinian resistance,” leading to the withdrawal of a job offer. Black Lives are mentioned over the slogan “I stand with Palestine. The photo was posted by Matter Chicago and it shows a figure in a paraglider, like Hamas used to do, descending on a desert rave.

What Has Happened to One Family in Gaza? Israel vs. Palestine: The Last Frontier for Palestinians during the Second Intifada

“I think what surprised me most was the indifference to human suffering,” said Joshua Leifer, a contributing editor at the left-wing magazine Jewish Currents and a member of the editorial board at the progressive publication Dissent.

One terrifying close call caused us to be just one family. More than two million Palestinians are trapped inside Gaza, about half under the age of 18, as Israel pounds us in retaliation for Hamas’s surprise attack on Saturday, with the United States promising “surging” military support.

No electricity means no internet or connection to the outside world. Raw sewage is seeping into Gaza’s streets; waste treatment facilities require electricity. There is a cut in the water supply. I passed five United Nations schools-turned-shelters on Monday, so jampacked with people that families spilled out into the yard. I am aware that the worst is yet to come.

A number of the fighters that entered those walls were born during the second intifada, so they are just a few years older than Ali. Their entire experience has been Israeli military occupation, siege and devastating military assault upon assault in an enclave of 140 square miles, with unemployment and poverty rates of approximately 50 percent. These are the conditions that have shaped so many in Gaza and they are not a justification. Israel helped to create fighters by starving them.

I will defend my country against enemies who want to kill my people. Islamic extremists are controlling the deadly terrorist organizations.

Palestinians aren’t the enemy. The millions of Palestinians who live right here next to us, between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan, are not our enemy. Just like the majority of Israelis want to live a calm, peaceful and dignified life, so do Palestinians. Palestinians and Israelis have been in the same religious minority for a long time. The intractable position of a small group has led to violence on both sides. It isn’t important who is more cruel or ruthless. The ideology of both have fueled this conflict, leading to the death of too many innocent civilians.

This war, like others before it, will end sooner or later. If the war is over, both Israelis and Palestinians will have to take a close look at the people who led them. The extremists must not be allowed to rule. Palestinians and Israelis must denounce the extremists who are driven by religious fanaticism. The Israelis will have to oust National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and their far-right circle from power, and the Palestinians will have to oust the leadership of Hamas.