The Confusing Case For Empathy in The Face of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Why Guilting People into Picking Sides Falls Short

The recent conflict between Israel and Hamas has sent shockwaves around the world.

[Now, before I say anything more, I want to share my disclaimer here: I’m no expert in politics. I observe things and educate myself as much as I can, but I certainly don’t hold a Ph.D. in political science. I’d just like to openly share some thoughts and what I know about the current situation.]

Just as you likely were, I was horrified when I heard about the October 7 attacks on Israel. The thing that got to me was the attack on the concert attendees. . . Imagine, out of the blue, a concert you went to for a good time with friends suddenly becomes a massacre. Just absolutely shocking.

And then, we all saw how Israel retaliated with airstrikes that directly affected innocent Palestinian civilians in addition to the withdrawal of access to water, electricity, and other resources to Palestine.

While some people might say Palestine brought this on themselves, I’d argue that Hamas, a fundamentalist group, brought this on the country they are holding hostage with their actions.

According to a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research…