Israel and Palestine*: revenge and reason

Cycles of revenge are directly linked to the paradigm of good versus evil.

One’s own narrative justifies one’s own act of retaliation while that performed by the other side is to be condemned. If one’s actions are valued as righteous any act is justified because it is valued as akind of victory of the good over the other, representing evil. And in relation to the suffering endured, retaliation can be reinforced with hatred and ferocity. Cycles of revenge are self-feeding: each act gives rise to retaliation that in the collective memory increases hatred and the desire for greater atrocities. This growing cycle can only be stopped if one side decides not to react. That is, to overcome the impulse to cause suffering to those who caused previously it. For Socrates the greatest tribute paid to human reason was not to give in to revenge.

If the Israeli government were to say that the desire for revenge is strong but the desire to stop the cycle of violence is even greater, the international community would praise Israel.

Realistically, would Hamas, the Israeli people, the Palestinian people, ever be capable of erasing the hatred accumulated over decades? They might see such a decision as a great weakness that would encourage new attacks. Millennia of history teaches that human reason too often has been cut across by the pain suffered and the need to find compensation by causing pain to the other. Periodically, the idea of establishing an International Interposition Force in Israel returns, as it has for many years in Kosovo, but with greater powers of intervention in order to prevent the recurrence of new aggression. The Israeli government would very scarcely accept this; besides, this Force would have a very long stay. Kosovo teaches that after more than twenty years the fire is always alive under the ashes and if there was repatriation of the International Force would resume hostilities. Perhaps the succession of different generations who have never known episodes of violence can weaken the memory of past tragedies, mitigate hatred and slowly encourage dialogue and trust.

---

* In this case, Palestine refers to the Gaza Strip and West Bank, places where Palestinians live.