I think most of us are unhappy that the events of the world have forced a divisive tone into our otherwise friendly local communities. But unfortunately, these events are of such historical importance that we really have no choice but to confront them, neighbor to neighbor, and to reckon with the implications of our supposedly representative government actively taking part in the genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza.

But there is one point that people standing on both sides of this conflict ought to be able to see and understand. The very premise of the Israeli assault on Gaza, as well as the hostile occupation of the West Bank, and the continued decades-long bombardment and infiltration of southern Lebanon, is based on a simple idea. That if Israel can just hit Palestinians with enough overwhelming force, with enough humiliation and degradation to their personal lives, with enough cruelty and brutality, there will come a point when Palestinians just give up and choose to submit, abandoning their resistance.

This is not going to happen.

For those who stand with the Palestinian cause, this fallacy could not be plainer. In fact the more brutal the repression by Israel, the stronger this cause becomes, with more and more people around the world becoming aware and witnessing the incredible resilience of these people who have had so much death and destruction visited upon them.

For Israelis and their supporters in the U.S., there is an imperative to look clearly and realistically at the prospect of success for their current actions. While it appears no one is willing or able to stop them from going all the way with this bloody genocide against the civilian population of Gaza, it is time to acknowledge that this course of action will never achieve its desired results. 

Palestinians are never going to stop fighting back, no matter what is done to them. That is the very nature of an endless cycle of violence that we have all been witnessing for these past decades.

To affirm the truth of this means understanding that all this death and destruction on display is absolutely futile. It serves no purpose other than as a face-saving distraction from the military humiliation Israel suffered on October 7.

The only way to bring such a violent situation to a peaceful conclusion is through authentic justice. The one course of action Israelis seem bound and determined to avoid at all cost.

Doug Rogers is a musician, composer and carpenter who lives in Long Eddy, NY.