Graham and Anne Bryce are cycling from Glasgow in Scotland, hoping to reach Bethlehem in the occupied Palestinian territory. They will pause in Greece and assess the current situation before deciding how to continue. As they cycle, each day they post a short reflection on Tiktok and Instagram where they read out the names of children killed in Gaza.
Recently the names of the dead (as far as known) were published by the Health Ministry in Gaza. The names of children aged less than 1 year old spanned 14 densely typed pages. Death is so routine, medical care so decimated, the stuff of survival like clean water and shelter so limited, that without huge medical and humanitarian aid the death toll will rise inexorably.
The Bryces’ cycle comes a year after October 7th 2023, but their mighty effort is borne out of years of commitment to the people of Palestine and MAP (Medical Aid for Palestine). Their compassion and commitment comes from relationships with Palestinians met during previous visits to the West bank in support of MAP.
There’s been a bit of a theme running recently in this blog about the importance of individuals and the value of each human life. This against a backdrop of increasing dehumanization and objectification.
As those who have studied genocide have charted, name calling, objectifying, dismissing another human being or group of human beings makes it far easier to attack and even obliterate them.[1]
The polarization within Israeli society is almost total. There was a story in Haaretz on 24th September[2] about a young Arab Israeli girl who expressed sympathy for Palestinian children in Gaza, and was then turned on by her classmates. They surrounded her chanting, ‘May your village burn!’ Videos were shared and many comments were made, inciting violence against the girl. Accusations were made about her being a Hamas supporter and she was excluded from school, at first as ‘disruptive’ but then ‘for her own safety’.
There have now been calls for her expulsion and some have even said her parents’ Israeli citizenship should be revoked. The girls’ version of events is that she commented in a class discussion that small children in Gaza are suffering and dying from hunger.
The bravery needed to point out the ongoing horror in Gaza and the death of innocents and the refusal by adults and children alike to entertain that thought is a microcosm of life here. A Haaretz editorial the next day criticized the adults involved, including the school principal and the deputy mayor of Be’er Sheva.
The girls’ own account of what she says differs from her classmates. Her father offered to come to school and speak to the class and was refused. A new hijab wearing student in a predominantly Jewish classroom would find life difficult anyway. Now it is impossible.
You can draw your own conclusions about the situation of Arab Palestinians in state schools, in society; and about the near-silence on the suffering in Gaza. There are still weekly demonstrations about ceasefire and hostage return, but little sense that the underlying injustice of occupation and dehumanization of Palestinians has much traction in society.
I find it difficult to see where this can go. As the anniversary of 7th October comes up, the shock and pain have hardly shifted, and the suffering of those held hostage and their families is unimaginable. But without a wider perspective that also sees Palestinians as human beings with rights which have been overlooked for too long, and who are suffering terribly, either we are looking at wiping 2 million people off the map or some sort of accommodation which makes life bearable for everyone.
Since I started writing this blog, the Israeli military has pushed forward on the northern border with rising death toll and a million people displaced, and Iran has responded with a rocket attack. Israel has promised to retaliate to that. It is difficult to see how a way through will be found where peace with justice will be available for all. The commitment of the Bryces to remember the children, and the empathy of an Arab Israeli school girl encourages and inspires me.
May we remember all the names.