Outrage and Despair

I am an 83-year-old American Jew. Whole swaths of my family were wiped out in the Holocaust. When Israel was born, my community celebrated. Israel was a source of pride and elation for many years.

Slowly this glow began to dim, as facts came to light about the historic and ongoing Israeli mistreatment of the Palestinians who shared that land.

And now, Israel has turned the savage Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas into an excuse to rain unimaginable destruction on the Gaza Strip. I feel outrage and despair.

How can a people who have known so much pain throughout history turn around and inflict it on others? It is a betrayal of all the humane Jewish values that I was brought up with.

Incredibly, the U.S. continues to support this catastrophe. We provide Israel with arms and funds and hinder the efforts of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) to provide relief.

As the lives and safety of Gazans are imperiled, Israelis and Americans imperil their souls.

– Grace Bertalot
Letter-to-the-Editor
Los Angeles Times
April 7, 2024

The official death toll in Gaza is nearing 34,000 Palestinians killed, over 14,000 of them children. Thousands more are missing and presumed dead under the rubble. Nearly 77,000 have been wounded. That’s 100,000 Palestinians killed or wounded since October 7th.

– Saher Alghorra

The first five images included in this post are from the Gaza Collective Photo Essay project, one entitled “Gaza’s Carnage Through the Eyes of Palestinian Photojournalists.” Without doubt the photographs that feature in this project are hard to view. At the same time they are essential to view as the world must awaken to not only the humanitarian crisis but also to what's been called a “crisis of humanity” taking place in Gaza as a result of the Israeli government’s “genocidal project” against the Palestinian people. It’s a genocide in which many western nations, including the U.S., Britain, and Germany, are complicit.

The Gaza Collective Photo Essay project was coordinated by Charlotte Cans, head of photography for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). For an informative interview with Charlotte, in which she talks about the photos featured in this post, click here.

– Jehan Kawera

– Belal Khalel

– Mahmud Hams

– Mohammed Salem

Yesterday, Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem won the prestigious 2024 World Press Photo of the Year award for his image of a Palestinian woman, Abu Maamar (35), cradling the body of her five-year-old niece Saly in the Gaza Strip (above). The picture was taken on October 17, 2023, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where families were searching for relatives killed during Israeli bombing of the Palestinian city.


Related Off-site Links:
“Fear and Terror”: Gaza Photographer Ahmed Zakot on Documenting the Carnage of Israel’s Assault – Democracy Now! (April 19, 2024).
U.N. Photo Collection Shows Gaza War Through the Lens of Palestinian Journalists – Democracy Now! (April 19, 2024).
Reuters Photographer Mohammed Salem Wins World Press Photo of the Year With Poignant Shot From Gaza – Thomas Adamson (AP News, April 18, 2024).
Nicaragua Takes Germany to the World Court for Facilitating Israel’s Genocide – Marjorie Cohn (TruthOut, April 13, 2024).
“Genocidal Actions” Persist in Gaza as Israel Blocks Aid and U.S. Weapons Flow – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, April 12, 2024).
In Gaza and Beyond, War Itself Is the Problem – Robert C. Koehler (Common Dreams, April 6, 2024).
Journalist Abby Martin Explains Why She Considers Israel’s Actions in Gaza to Constitute Genocide – Middle East Eye (April 3, 2024).
Briahna Joy Gray Unpacks IDF Lies About the Slaughter of World Central Kitchen Aid Workers in Gaza – Rising (April 3, 2024).
“A War Machine Out of Control”: Israel Keeps Attacking Aid Workers as Gaza Faces Famine – Democracy Now! (April 3, 2024).
Trump Breaks with Pro-Netanyahu Corner; Tells Israeli Media He Supports Ending War in Gaza – Rising (April 2, 2024).
Draft U.N, Report Finds Israel Has Met Threshold for Genocide – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, March 25, 2024).
As Israel Blocks More U.N. Aid, Gaza Is on the Brink of “Most Intense Famine” Since WW2 – Democracy Now! (March 25, 2024).
“Children Are Dying”: Doctor Just Back from Gaza Describes Severe Malnutrition and Preventable Infections – Democracy Now! (March 22, 2024).
UN Chief Says It’s Time to “Truly Flood” Gaza with Aid and Calls Starvation There an Outrage – Samy Magdy, Amr Nabil and Sam Metz (AP News, March 22, 2023).
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “The Netanyahu Government Should Not Receive Another Penny from the U.S.” – Common Dreams, March 23, 2024).
U.N. Panel Says IDF Appears Set on “Physical Destruction of Palestinian Children” – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, March 22, 2024).
There Is No Moral Argument That Justifies the Sale of Weapons to Israel – Mary Lawlor (The Guardian, March 21, 2024).
Former U.S. Diplomat Says “Collaboration” in Gaza Genocide Could Make Biden “Target of Prosecution” – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, March 21, 2024).
“Everyone in the World Needs to See This”: Footage Shows IDF Drone Killing Gazans – Jessica Corbett (Common Dreams, March 21, 2024).
British Surgeon Describes Children Suffering “Appalling Injuries” in Gaza, Demands Immediate Ceasefire – Democracy Now! (March 21, 2024).
The West Is Complicit in Israel’s Genocide – Yanis Varoufakis amd Raoul Martinez (Novara Media, February 17, 2024).
Why Must Palestinians Audition for Your Empathy? – Hala Alyan (Salt Lake Tribune, October 29, 2023).
Israeli Society Is Fascist: An Interview with Abby Martin of The Empire Files


UPDATES: Naomi Klein’s Powerful Words on the Gaza Genocide – Eye of the Storm Podcast (April 19, 2024).
CNN Report Shows Tragedy of Children Killed By Israel – Novara Media (April 20, 2024).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “This Is a Genocidal Project”
• “A Genocide Has Been Normalized”
• Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
• More Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
• Josh Paul: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
• Phyllis Bennis: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
• Michael Fakhri: Quote of the Day – February 27, 2024
• Sabrina Salvati: Quote of the Day – January 2, 2024
• Christmas 2023 – Reflections, Activism, Art, and Celebrations
• Jehad Abusalim: Quote of the Day – December 8, 2023
• Ta-Nehisi Coates: Quote of the Day – November 2, 2023
• In the Midst of the “Great Unraveling,” a Visit to the Prayer Tree
• Prayer of the Week – October 16, 2023
• Something to Think About – October 12, 2023
• Eric Levitz: Quote of the Day – October 11, 2023
• Phyllis Bennis: “If We Are Serious About Ending This Spiraling Violence, We Need to Look at Root Causes”
• “Nothing About Today is ‘Unprovoked’”
• “The Mistreatment and Discrimination Against Palestinians Is Not Unprecedented. It’s Baked Into the Foundation of the Political System in Israel”
• Progressive Perspectives on the Ongoing Israeli-Palestinian “Nightmare” (2021)
• Something to Think About – July 29, 2018
• Noura Erakat: Quote of the Day – May 15, 2018
• For Some Jews, Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians is Yet Another Jewish Tragedy
• Remembering the Six-Day War and Its Ongoing Aftermath
• David Norris: Quote of the Day – August 12, 2014


Image 1: Belal Khalel.
Image 2: Saher Alghorra.
Image 3: JehanKawera.
Image 4: Belal Khalel.
Image 5: Mahmud Hams.
Image 6: Mohammed Salem.