Careering towards the abyss - Middle East in crisis

Even in a world with more than enough tragedy and hurt, even in a world where our future is in jeopardy because of our persistent and suicidal refusal to use the Earth’s resources is a sustainable way; even in a world trying to come to terms with resurgent Russian, soviet-style imperialism, and, yes, even in a world where the disease from all our nightmares — ebola — is claiming ever more lives in western Africa it is impossible to imagine a more disheartening example of man’s unending inhumanity to man than the atrocities unfolding in Gaza.

Even in a world where the gap between the super-rich minority and the billions of grindingly poor people widens every year; even in a world where thousands of lives are lost every day because tens of millions of disadvantaged people do not have something as fundamental as access to clean drinking water the horrors inflicted on the captive and mostly destitute citizen population of Gaza seem incomparable.

Israel’s utterly disproportionate response, one that has caused about 1,200 deaths already, is an outrage. It is inexcusable and puts Israel outside the community of civilised nations. That they will face no meaningful consequences shames us all is an indictment of our commitment to the idea of justice and tolerance. Even more than that it offers those, and there are more and more every day, who despise our western way of life, an unanswerable opportunity to challenge our principles and ideals.