Across the world, I join with the men and women who are horrified and profoundly saddened by the murder of three young men – Naftali Frenkel, Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar. Across much of Western media, we have seen their smiling faces reflecting the energy of young lives full of hope. We have heard their names. In many cases, we have listened as mothers, aunts, relatives begged and prayed that the boys would return alive. But they did not. Instead, they were murdered, left alone under dirt and rocks.
It is time that all people across the world – of all religions and political persuasions – condemn these killings especially because they appear to have been based on the boys’ Jewish identities and perhaps also their national one.
We need to remember Naftali, Eyal and Gilad. But if we want to stop such senseless slaughters, we need to do more.
We also need to remember the faceless others, who are also dying because of their religions and identities. In the last year, how many Syrian children lost their lives because they were on “the wrong side?” or from “the wrong Islamic tradition?” How many Muslim children have died recently in Myanmar? How many Coptic Christian children are being killed in Egypt?
Together, we need to condemn the senseless bloodshed around the globe.
With sadness,
Joyce S. Dubensky
Addendum:
With great sorrow I learned about the kidnapping and murders of three Israeli teens, Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Fraenkel, and Gilad Shaer. My heart remains heavy through this holiday weekend in the US as news has reached us that Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian teen, was also kidnapped then burned to death near his Jerusalem home and that violence and fear has gripped the land.
No mother should endure the torment of not knowing whether her child will be targeted or killed because of his or her religion or national identity.
At Tanenbaum, we fear endless cycles of violence. We fear a society desensitized to bloodshed and the fate of our children.
Each of us is responsible. And it is our responsibility to imagine what peace could bring and then find ways to support it. One way is to recognize and respect our diversity and to promote both nonviolence and inclusion.
With sadness,
Joyce S. Dubensky