Hello Brenda,

There are hundreds of dissimilarities in the situations yet some things are similar. I'm trying hard not to "side with" Palestinians, bur what is happening to them now is very much like what happened to Black people after the Nat Turner revolt.

Misinformation abounds on both sides, the hospital wasn't bomber by the IDF nor were 40 babies beheaded by Palestinians. Plaestinioans in Gaza are living in something resembling a concentration camp whose quality of life is strictly controlled by Israel. Israel allows ever growing settlements in the West Bank so those who point to the unilateral withdrawal of Israel in 2005 from Gaza and the West Bank have little to point to.

I sympathize with Israelis who lost friends and family, most of whom weren't directly involved with persecution of Palestinians but likely benefitted to some degree. I won't argue the history of the region with you. you may be right on every point without detracting from where things stand today.

The Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank had little hope before the Hamas attacks and less since then. I can't for the life of me see the long-term strategy of Hamas but also see nothing was working in the short term. The one point I will make is that having empathy for Palestinian civilians (along with Israelis) is not being pro-Hamas. Protests for peace led by Jewish people like the ones at the Capitol where 300 people were arrested are labeled as pro-Hamas when they are anything but. I too am not for Hamas or celebrating any aspect of the violence. As I write, the death toll is rising and Palestinian deaths have long since surpassed those of Israel and the gap will widen.