Naomi Klein: In Gaza and Israel, side with the child over the gun

We tried to explain the killing of this family member – a civilian with two kids – to our kids. We tried to do it in a way that would not fill their young hearts with fear and hatred for the people who committed the crime, writes Naomi Klein

An Israeli soldier walks by a house destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. Picture: AP Photo/Baz Ratner

I spent the evening in candlelight and tears with a dear friend who just learned that a close family member was among those massacred in Israel. I won’t name the kibbutz to protect her privacy but yes, it was unequivocally a massacre.

We tried to explain the killing of this family member – a civilian with two kids – to our kids. We tried to do it in a way that would not fill their young hearts with fear and hatred for the people who committed the crime. That was hard enough, but possible. Harder for us adults is the fact that in their desire to celebrate the powerful symbolism of Palestinians escaping the open-air prison that is Gaza — which occupied people have every right to do — some of our supposed comrades on the left continue to minimize massacres of Israeli civilians, and in some extreme cases, even seem to celebrate them.