A war in our minds

During my infrequent encounters with university students, I have been quoting that first sentence of the Unesco constitution: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be created”.

Ah, but how does one relate the truth of this maxim to the reality of the ongoing war in the Middle-East? Somehow, this is one war that is also being passionately fought in the minds of men, in places far from the arena of actual conflict. And the big question is: when and how will peace be instituted, particularly when the victors and the defeated are becoming indistinguishable?

For many, it seems easy to take sides on the basis of who they are in terms of their religion or race or nationality or ideological beliefs. But it is not so easy for those who can think and feel empathy for the ones who suffer and who have a sense of justice and truth. These sensitive people who also respect reason and facts have to contend with the complexity of an emotionally divisive issue.

With my two daughters living abroad, the elder in the US and the younger in Italy, I do feel concerned about how this highly charged confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians is playing out in their countries that are essentially plural and open, in a democratic sense. Watching and reading the American media, I have a fair idea of how this issue is being debated.

I was wondering whether my nine-year-old Italian grandson, Daaniyal, was exposed to any unpleasant situation because I knew that there are Israeli and Arab children in his international school. When I spoke to Aliya about it, she shared with me a communication that the school principal had sent to all parents on the first day of school after the war began on October 7.

As a journalist, I can appreciate this resolve to remain apolitical in the midst of raging emotions in the context of imparting education to young minds. This stance, I am told, was not liked by all the parents.

Anyhow, this was the gist of Principal Iain Sachdev’s letter: “Dear families. The team at International School of Monza are aware that students from kindergarten to Grade 13 have returned to school today having all been exposed in different ways to recent events in the Middle East. We want to ensure that families who we understand might be most emotionally or practically connected to the conflict, in particular, feel supported and, in doing so, remind our entire community that peace, respect, fairness and honesty are core components of both the school’s and IB’s ethos and philosophy”.

It added: “There is also wider thinking in place for all of the students in our care. Children observe, listen, and build their own thoughts and theories about what is happening and, as educators, we have returned to school today to be attentive and mindful of our students’ needs without adding information, mis-information or cultural bias which may exacerbate any fear or anxiety that they may be harbouring”.

From a prestigious school in a northern Italian town, I would want to hop over to arguably the most reputed university of the world, America’s Harvard. After the devastating Hamas attacks inside Israel, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and more than 30 other student groups put out a letter to “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence”.

This was a shocking statement in a country that is formally the primary defender of Israel. There was a strong demand from the Harvard administration to identify the students who had signed the letter and take action against them but Harvard President Claudine Gay rejected calls to punish and name those students. She reiterated the university’s commitment to free expression.

Meanwhile, what is happening on the ground is unspeakable. Explosion at a major hospital in Gaza on Tuesday in which hundreds were killed could be seen as a game changer, provoking a new wave of protests against Israel across the world, including in countries ruled by pro-Israel regimes. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has baffled the world. Air strikes by Israel are destroying mosques, churches, hospitals and residential buildings.

Chief of UN relief agency UNRWA has told BBC that the Middle East is on the ‘edge of an abyss’. He said that “the world is now losing its humanity”. The health crisis in Gaza is on the brink of explosion. Humanitarian assistance is not yet being allowed to enter Gaza. The horrors of this war are steadily mounting.

However, the point I am making is that perhaps there is a shift in the war that is being fought in the minds of men. Progressive elements in the West are becoming more sympathetic towards the rights of Palestine and are criticizing Israel for becoming, as one observer said, as crazy as Hamas. Take this as a victory for Hamas.

“A real friend of Israel would be making it face up to some uncomfortable truths” was the title of one opinion piece in The New York Times. There was another, titled: “There is a Jewish hope for Palestinian liberation”.

In this column, Peter Beinart said: “From this overcrowded cage, which the United Nations in 2017 declared “unlivable” for many residents …many Palestinians in Gaza can see the land that their parents and grandparents called home, though most may never set foot in it”. And this is how the columnist has concluded: “Like many others who care about the lives of Palestinians and Jews, I have felt in recent days the greatest despair I have ever known”.

Obviously, the war has sparked a widespread debate on a dispute that has roots in history. This debate is being conducted in the media in countries that have a measure of democratic freedoms. But essentially, it is continuing in the minds of men. And there, the tables are beginning to turn against Israel.

The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com