It is difficult to comprehend the unimaginable suffering we are witnessing as a global community. The images of starving children are the making of nightmares, if we are fortunate enough to sleep.
The impotence so many of us feel to do anything about it—especially as so many of our elected leaders continue to pander to the State of Israel, even against the collective will of their constituents—is as infuriating as it is heartbreaking. Nevertheless, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because babies are starving before our eyes, we must keep talking about Gaza. Because well before Trump reclaimed his “throne” as a wannabe dictator-king, the Biden administration knew about the reports—and did nothing.
Doctors were receiving multiple children with direct gunshot wounds, signaling these were not “collateral damage” injuries and deaths, but intentional wounding and killing of children by the IDF. We must keep talking about Gaza.
Because congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle have sold their souls to AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobbyists who’ve funded their campaigns, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because so much of this suffering has been funded by our tax dollars. Multiple Israeli defense bills totaling over $22.76 billion have received bipartisan support from Congress, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has proclaimed that the Trump administration has approved nearly $12 billion more. We must keep talking about Gaza.
Because, even with increasing global awareness and support for ending this genocide, there are still people who will respond to cries for aid with false information like “Israel is trying to feed them” and false equivalences like “abortion kills babies too,” we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because this artificial genocide we are witnessing is 100% preventable and stoppable with enough pressure from the U.S. and halting of U.S. military aid to Israel, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because there are still congressional leaders who refuse to call it a genocide, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because just last week, at least 325 people were murdered while trying to receive food, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because parents are torn between attempting to procure food for their children under the threat of being killed or staying home and holding their babies as they slowly starve to death, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because 18,500 Palestinian children’s lives have been stolen since October 2023, as the death toll has now reached over 60,000, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because this genocide did not start in October 2023, but has gradually been taking place since Israel first became a State, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because Netanyahu has now convinced his security cabinet to pursue the “full conquest” (read: “Final Solution”) of Gaza, we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because our very humanity depends on our collective voices and actions to do all in our power, however small and insignificant it may seem, to stop this atrocity from going any further—we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because our faith demands it—we must keep talking about Gaza.
Because…
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:31-46).
We must keep talking about Gaza.
If your soul has grown weary and overwhelmed by the images and news coming out of Gaza, it is understandable. But before we turn away, let us imagine the exhaustion a parent must feel after spending the last two years doing all in their power to keep their family alive, fervently and ceaselessly praying for an end to this war before they are erased…and then holding their child as the last signs of life vanish from their starving body.
For their souls, for our souls, we must keep talking about Gaza.
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Dr. Rebecca M. David Hensley holds a PhD in religious studies, with an emphasis in theological and social ethics. She is a member of the adjunct faculty for Iliff School of Theology and an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church.
