Israel-Hamas War

War shapes our lives, sometimes encouraging violence, verbal and physical. Outside war zones, ordinary citizens find ourselves drawn into taking sides. How can we create a better future for our children, ourselves, even for those we don’t know?

Chanukah brings light into the darkness and hope in times of despair. At least that’s what the Jewish congregations in Spokane County will demonstrate with their celebrations on Dec. 10.

Hanukkah, a joyous Jewish holiday, which in the United States has often tried to rival Christmas in buoyancy if not glamour, will not be the same this year. With the Israeli military in the midst of a destructive showdown in its war with Hamas, few are in the mood to celebrate the holiday that begins at sundown Thursday.

Bowing to weeks of mounting global pressure, UN Women released a statement “unequivocally” condemning “the brutal attacks by Hamas on Israel” and calling “for all accounts of gender-based violence to be duly investigated and prosecuted.”

Directly targeting civilians or exposing them to disproportionate harm in war is wrong for the same reasons that it is wrong to kill or harm innocent people in peacetime. People who pose no threat to others deserve respect and protection from violence regardless of their nationality or group identity. To violate that respect in war is not only a war crime but a moral crime.