The notion of revenge is present everywhere in our entertainment and political culture. Just think about all the films and television programs whose plot can be reduced to this base impulse: Under the pretext of obtaining justice, vengeance has become a poisonous brew that bubbles through our veins, generating an unquenchable obsession to indiscriminately hurt others.
William Blake, the 18th-century artist and poet, cautioned against the brutal effects of this obsession. Through the voice of “The Grey Monk,” the last verse conveys a warning.
The hand of Vengeance found the bed
To which the Purple Tyrant fled;
The iron hand crush'd the Tyrant's head
And became a Tyrant in his stead."
Engaging darkness with darkness merely blinds our vision. We become the very thing we find abhorrent. The Old Testament edict, “eye for an eye,” is obsolete, without any humanistic value or relevance in the 21st century.
Similarly, in 1948, Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Rabbi Jessurun Cadozo and 25 other prominent Jewish community members sought to warn Americans of a dangerous trend developing in the newly founded state of Israel. In a letter to the editors of The New York Times published on December 4 of that year, they say with concern: “Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our times is the emergence in the newly created state of Israel of the Freedom Party, a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this party, to the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli elections, and to cement political ties with conservative Zionist elements in the United States. … Before irreparable damage is done by way of financial contributions, public manifestations in Begin's behalf, and the creation in Palestine of the impression that a large segment of America supports Fascist elements in Israel, the American public must be informed as to the record and objectives of Mr. Begin and his movement.” In the same letter, they went on to illustrate what these extremists were capable of unleashing upon Palestinians. “A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war, and had even fought off Arab bands who wanted to use the village as their base. On April 9, terrorist bands attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants 240 men, women, and children and kept a few of them alive to parade as captives through the streets of Jerusalem.” As leader of the Likud party, Menachem Begin finally became Israel’s prime minister from 1977 to 1983. The current leader of this party is Benjamin Netanyahu.
The parading of a small number of Palestinian survivors of the massacre of Deir Yassin foreshadowed the next 75 years of occupation. Whose sins and specifically what injustices were those men, women and children of Deir Yassin paying for with their lives? Or were they the new victims of vengeful victims who brought their trauma from Europe to Palestine?
This week marks two years of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, and the subsequent war in Gaza, where needlessly precious Palestinian and Israeli lives have been and continue to be lost. The Israeli government and military justified ruthless destruction and killing by explaining to the US media that the Palestinians are “animals”; therefore, not worthy of human rights and protection under international law. Ironically, this caricature of an ethnic community is not unlike what the Nazi’s said about another peoples living in Europe to justify their genocide.
Instead of arguing with the Israeli government and military, let us embrace the characterization of Palestinians as “animals.” It is futile to engage in a polemic debate with those who are so poisoned by vengefulness that they are blind to the lives of children, women, and men living among them. The word “animal” is derived from animus, meaning “endowed with mind or spirit.” In this sense, along with the Palestinians, you (the reader) and I are also animals. Furthermore, if we were to invoke the ontology, way of being, of the majority of Indigenous peoples of North America, then, animals make up “all our relations.” We are part of a complex web of life that not only allows us to survive but also to thrive!
This brings us back to where we started, Blake’s “The Grey Monk.” Saint Francis of Assisi was the founder of the order of Grey Monks. Like the monk in the poem, Saint Francis is said to have borne the stigmata or five wounds of Christ. Not unlike the wounds the surviving children have suffered from lethal US-made weapons in this war. Saint Francis was also known for his love of animals (including humans) and the environment. It is no coincidence that the last Pope, a Jesuit, chose Francis as his name and that his papal encyclical, “Laudato si’: On Care for Our Common Home,” discussing climate change and the environment, was inspired by Saint Francis’s prayer for all creatures that grace the Earth. Again, not unlike the “Thanksgiving Message” of the Haudenosaunee, acknowledging “all our relations” as a greeting to other peoples and gratitude to the Creator.
We stand at the precipice of a ceasefire. What can we do in solidarity with both Palestinians and Israelis? My own experience of Israeli students whom I have advised at Cornell, or Israeli colleagues with whom I have published scholarly works and shared conversations and hospitality, is that they are not vengeful. Rather, they are scholars who seek knowledge and are capable of great empathy. Some stood next to me when I buried my sister, a victim of a terrorist execution, to share in the pain and give strength. As Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who lost all his family members, explained in Man’s Search for Meaning: “Human kindness can be found in all groups, even those which as a whole would be easy to condemn. … We must try not to simplify matters by saying that these men are angels and those are devils.” Therefore, our support must emphatically demonstrate to Palestinian communities and Israeli society that we will stand next to them to bear the burden of work to achieve peace. After all, they are our relations!
The Cornell Daily Sun is interested in publishing a broad and diverse set of content from the Cornell and greater Ithaca community. We want to hear what you have to say about this topic or any of our pieces. Here are some guidelines on how to submit. And here’s our email: associate-editor@cornellsun.com.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article appeared briefly on The Sun's website that included imagery that did not meet The Sun's standards for publication. This article has been republished to meet Sun principles.
Karim-Aly Kassam is an Opinion Columnist and professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment as well as the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program. His column Difference Matters recenters critical reflection and environmental justice in campus life at a time when people turn away from the painful truth. He can be reached at karim-aly.kassam@cornell.edu or profkkassam@cornellsun.com.
