Summing Up the Middle East Situation in 2 Videos

A mother's anguish and a people's ongoing struggle

If you want to reach beyond the daily headlines on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, if you seek a human rather than a political view, watch these two videos. Whatever your stance on the growing divide in the Middle East and its impact in the United States, these stories get to the most important question of all: How do we stop the hate and let people truly live in freedom?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

A Mother’s Anguish Speaks to All of Us

Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s son Hersch was at the music festival in Israel near the Gaza border on the morning of October 7, when Hamas terrorists descended upon hundreds of festival-goers. She does not know if he is still alive, but she does know from witness accounts that her son’s arm was partially blown off from a grenade that terrorists threw into a shelter where Hersch and others were hiding.

While her words are hard to hear, they are important, and not just because we should feel compassion towards a grieving mother. Rachel’s comments go well beyond what happened on October 7, as she strives to reach people around the world on a human level.

Messages From Inside Gaza

The tragic events on October 7 fused a connection between Hamas and all citizens of Palestine. The truth is, a lot of people in Gaza believe that it’s Hamas that prevents them from being free.

Also true is that Gazans do not live in a country like the United States, where they can speak against their own government and call for change. There have been some protests in the past, but they have been met with beatings and other punishments by Hamas officials.

A new project allows Palestinians in Gaza to speak their minds in an anonymous yet powerful way. Whispered in Gaza, is a project from the Center for Peace Communications that uses video animation to keep residents anonymous while getting their stories out to the world.

Dozens of videos can be found on the Whispered in Gaza website. This is just one of them.