In January this year when six-year-old Hind Rajab and her family were trying to flee Gaza, little did they know they would become a tank targets.George’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
thank you Jeanie for your kind words of support and your heart wrenching account of life in Gaza and the experiences young boys endure growing up there. We really do live in an insane world.
Wow thank you Jeanie for your kind words and heart wrenching account of life Palestine and the experiences young boys endure there. Its truly an insane world we live in.
my apologies, george, i meant to address you as' george', not OB, altho' admittedly, OB also has several electrifying and notable excurses regarding the struggles of our victimized palestinians.
Up until that day I had hope Western "democracies" would hear our pleas for ceasfire and force Israel to comply. This was not the case. The recording of the tearful dispatcher encouraging Hind through her prayers broke me. I understood Netanyahu and the occupation forces for what they are. War criminals.
Netanyahu should be confined. The IDF soldiers need to undergo whatever treatment it is that de-programs people, if there is such a treatment. I can't see any of that happening any time soon, but it should.
you are an exquisite, heart-searing, and lung-arresting writer, OB. the palpability of your words on behalf of the beleaguered, nay devastated, palestinians are so ineffable that tears cascaded down to my mandibles while reading them. they still cascade in a diapason of anguish. you are the apotheosis of a word-scripting artiste and courageous advocate for the oppressed.
i am reminded of my 3 months volunteering as a teacher for PROJECT HOPE NABLUS in the 4 surrounding palestinian refugee camps last year during may, june, and july 2023. one day, while feceswalking back from one of those refugee camps to our PHN accommodation, i came upon a group of older teenaged boys outside a school who were terrorizing, beating w/ sticks, and dumping pails of foul-smelling garbage and mephitic faeces onto a 12-yr-old prepubescent boy. needless to convey, i went ballistic. i screamed and surged my way into this heinously barbaric group, grabbed the terrified boy, dragged him away w/ me, and fell to the pavement weeping w/ him. after we had both calmed down and deterged ourselves, he explained to me that he knew this was coming and tried to prepare himself for it psychologically... that it had recently become a 'rite-of-passage' on every boy's 12th birthday... due to their awareness that in order to survive the beatings, tortures, incarcerations, and hideous brutalities of the IDF and their occupation forces, these benighted youngsters had to be prepared in such a way in order to endure... in order to survive. evil perpetuating evil. it never ends.
Yes, I read the story of Hind Rajab in various media. Your reportage adds all the missing pieces of human emotions that I felt when reading it. I felt sadness; I felt anger; and I felt rage that such a innocent girl was killed along with family and rescue workers.
Well, let's be blunt. They were all murdered. More truth. Along with tens of thousands of other civilians, many children. Not soldiers, not terrorists, not fighters. There is no explanation for what Israel and its military is conducting, under orders by its political leaders and supported by the majority of the public, than a War of Vengeance. These kind of wars have no end.
Well, it could if, say America and Britain, say no more military or economic support. Or moral support to Israel. As for the Palestinian People, I have seen so many evidence of courage and passion. This includes love of their animal companions. Now, this makes me tear up. The love I have seen in Gaza and in the West Bank that Palestinians have for their animal companions. I shall never forget that. Beautiful beyond words.
Thank you for your kind and I couldn’t agree more. Yes Hind was a beautiful child who was assassinated by evil masquerading as humans. They’ll get theirs.
Thank you George for this wonderful, heartfelt article. Hind was a beautiful child who deserved to be happy and free to play and laugh with her family and friends. These crimes against the Palestinians are no different than what the death squads did to civilians on the Eastern Front during WW2. These are not soldiers, but sick, demented child murderers who need to face a war crimes tribunal. I hope that day is very soon. 😢🇵🇸☮️
here here!!
that’s fine although I was wondering who OB was? lol
thank you Jeanie for your kind words of support and your heart wrenching account of life in Gaza and the experiences young boys endure growing up there. We really do live in an insane world.
Let's never forget each person and their story. Thankyou so much for ho ouring her like this.
couldn’t agree more peter.
Wow thank you Jeanie for your kind words and heart wrenching account of life Palestine and the experiences young boys endure there. Its truly an insane world we live in.
my apologies, george, i meant to address you as' george', not OB, altho' admittedly, OB also has several electrifying and notable excurses regarding the struggles of our victimized palestinians.
Up until that day I had hope Western "democracies" would hear our pleas for ceasfire and force Israel to comply. This was not the case. The recording of the tearful dispatcher encouraging Hind through her prayers broke me. I understood Netanyahu and the occupation forces for what they are. War criminals.
Expecting moral behavior from sociopaths is an exercise in futility.
Force is the language that they understand.
Netanyahu should be confined. The IDF soldiers need to undergo whatever treatment it is that de-programs people, if there is such a treatment. I can't see any of that happening any time soon, but it should.
you are an exquisite, heart-searing, and lung-arresting writer, OB. the palpability of your words on behalf of the beleaguered, nay devastated, palestinians are so ineffable that tears cascaded down to my mandibles while reading them. they still cascade in a diapason of anguish. you are the apotheosis of a word-scripting artiste and courageous advocate for the oppressed.
i am reminded of my 3 months volunteering as a teacher for PROJECT HOPE NABLUS in the 4 surrounding palestinian refugee camps last year during may, june, and july 2023. one day, while feceswalking back from one of those refugee camps to our PHN accommodation, i came upon a group of older teenaged boys outside a school who were terrorizing, beating w/ sticks, and dumping pails of foul-smelling garbage and mephitic faeces onto a 12-yr-old prepubescent boy. needless to convey, i went ballistic. i screamed and surged my way into this heinously barbaric group, grabbed the terrified boy, dragged him away w/ me, and fell to the pavement weeping w/ him. after we had both calmed down and deterged ourselves, he explained to me that he knew this was coming and tried to prepare himself for it psychologically... that it had recently become a 'rite-of-passage' on every boy's 12th birthday... due to their awareness that in order to survive the beatings, tortures, incarcerations, and hideous brutalities of the IDF and their occupation forces, these benighted youngsters had to be prepared in such a way in order to endure... in order to survive. evil perpetuating evil. it never ends.
Yes, I read the story of Hind Rajab in various media. Your reportage adds all the missing pieces of human emotions that I felt when reading it. I felt sadness; I felt anger; and I felt rage that such a innocent girl was killed along with family and rescue workers.
Well, let's be blunt. They were all murdered. More truth. Along with tens of thousands of other civilians, many children. Not soldiers, not terrorists, not fighters. There is no explanation for what Israel and its military is conducting, under orders by its political leaders and supported by the majority of the public, than a War of Vengeance. These kind of wars have no end.
Well, it could if, say America and Britain, say no more military or economic support. Or moral support to Israel. As for the Palestinian People, I have seen so many evidence of courage and passion. This includes love of their animal companions. Now, this makes me tear up. The love I have seen in Gaza and in the West Bank that Palestinians have for their animal companions. I shall never forget that. Beautiful beyond words.
A beautiful and courageous child, and like so many, I will never forget her little voice.
Thank you for your kind and I couldn’t agree more. Yes Hind was a beautiful child who was assassinated by evil masquerading as humans. They’ll get theirs.
Thank you George for this wonderful, heartfelt article. Hind was a beautiful child who deserved to be happy and free to play and laugh with her family and friends. These crimes against the Palestinians are no different than what the death squads did to civilians on the Eastern Front during WW2. These are not soldiers, but sick, demented child murderers who need to face a war crimes tribunal. I hope that day is very soon. 😢🇵🇸☮️