I'm a pacifist, atheist Arab and I'm praying for IDF soldiers

[question everything]

I hate war. I have hated war since 1975 when the Lebanese civil war started and I was a fourteen-year-old Lebanese teenager. I always support peace as an alternative to war when the two sides can negotiate peace instead of killing each other.

But the key to a negotiated peace is the will to negotiate. In Gaza, there is no such will. Israel left Gaza free and clear in 2005, and almost immediately, Hamas violently removed the Palestinian Authority and started terrorist attacks against Israel. But even if anyone felt that Gazans were somehow, deep down, in favor of living at peace with Israel, the October 7 attack and the celebrations that followed have destroyed those naïve thoughts. For this reason, a negotiated peace with Hamas is not an option. Hamas must be eliminated so that Israel can institute peace and stability whether Gazans want them or not.

(snip)

I have been praying for them, at least as much as an atheist can pray. I want that God to understand that the world failed Israelis and Gazans by allowing Hamas to transform Gaza into a terror machine that uses civilians as its shield. They failed by providing funding that was to be used for services to Gazans but was used for terrorism instead, right under the eyes of the so-called charitable organizations.

I want that God to understand that decades of lies and a false narrative about Jewish history and about Israel are responsible for this war and for every death on both sides. The common canard that Israel is a colony of Europe is not an innocent lie. It is a lie that perpetuates war by brainwashing generations to hate Israel and all Jews. I want that God to be on the side of the soldiers of the IDF every second of every day until they are done and back home safe with their families.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/i-am-a-pacifist-arab-and-atheist-who-admires-and-prays-for-idf-soldiers

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Fred Maroun is a Canadian of Arab origin who lived in Lebanon until 1984, including during 10 years of civil war. Fred supports Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and he supports the Palestinians' right to self-determination in their own state. Fred supports a liberal and democratic Middle East where all religions and nationalities, including Palestinians, can co-exist in peace with each other and with Israel, and where human rights are respected. Fred is an atheist, a social liberal, and an advocate of equal rights for LGBT people everywhere.