As the world watches the increasingly horrific conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza, I’ve been haunted by the silence around me. But if the world we experience is in any way a mirror of our own actions, then my own slowness to speak beyond my private circles is part of that silence.

In this time of devastating conflict, we can ask ourselves what’s holding us back—and find meaningful ways to engage that reflect our values and lived experience. Most importantly, it is possible to be concerned for both the Israeli and Palestinian people at the same time.

Today, many Gazan journalists shared that they—and others in Gaza—expect to die of hunger within a day if aid trucks waiting at the border are not allowed in. Eighteen people died of starvation yesterday alone. After two months of a total food blockade earlier this year, only a fraction of the necessary aid has been permitted to enter in the ensuing months. What’s allowed in is distributed from a few locations, often far from where people live, and through a new organization operated by an American contractor, not an experienced humanitarian organization. Since late May, over 600 Palestinians have been killed—many, if not most, by Israeli soldiers—while trying to access this food aid. In an extremely tense situation where all are concerned about their most basic need for security and food, I can extend empathy to all involved, while also calling for an immediate improvement of food delivery and distribution. 

Here in the U.S., we have exceptional rights to free speech. We can ask ourselves what is holding us back when we are not exercising this right. I’m grateful for those who are speaking out—about deportations, the U.S. budget, Ukraine, and many other urgent issues. But when it comes to the disproportionate destruction being carried out by Netanyahu’s government—with American support—on Palestinians and on the remaining hostages in Gaza, our public voices are far fewer.

I don’t think I’m alone in feeling complicit. I eat well, sleep peacefully, and enjoy being with children in my family whose lives are relatively carefree. I do not risk being shot while waiting in line for food aid, wondering how my children will survive if I don’t return. I don’t share a bathroom with 200 people. I haven’t been displaced 14 times in two years. I have the resources to figure out how to speak out.

There are many reasons we stay quiet: fear of saying the wrong thing, not knowing enough, worrying we’ll upset people we care about, or believing others are better positioned to speak.. Our sadness over the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023. Sometimes, we avoid even learning more, because the weight of it feels too heavy if we can’t see how to help.

Some ask why Palestinians don’t stand up to Hamas, elected in 2006, or why the world doesn’t put more pressure on Hamas to relinquish control. From what I understand, speaking out against Hamas within Gaza can be met with deadly consequences. I do not have the power to influence countries that support Hamas, but I can influence my Congressperson and those around me. The U.S. provides over 15% of Israel’s military budget—surely, that gives us a significant amount of leverage in how those resources are used.

If we don’t yet know how to speak out, we can take one small step. Call or e-mail Congressperson Kevin Kiley. Ask your friends, family and clergy for resources to increase understanding. Listen to someone who sees things differently. If enough Americans take the next step available to them, we will start to see things change.

I don’t claim to know the details of a lasting peace in Israel and Palestine. But I believe it must include dignity and opportunity for all. Each of us can take responsibility for contributing and supporting our representatives in calling for a peaceful future, and for the immediate relief from hunger for those in Gaza.

–Karen Fink, South Lake Tahoe