Happy week eight, Pioneers! We wish you the best of luck on all your midterms. Make sure to take time for yourself this week, especially amidst the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
The Globe has a longstanding policy of not endorsing politicians, political parties and/or specific policies. Likewise, we are not endorsing any politicians here. We are simply stating that we do not agree with war. We as an editorial board and humans believe that no innocent lives should ever be at risk, let alone be taken, for the sake of international conflict.
The Gaza Strip is home to about 2.2 million people and has one of the highest population densities in the world. Just over 75% of Gaza’s population are registered refugees, according to the UN. More than 500,000 of them live in eight crowded camps located across the Strip. For civilians, there is no place to take shelter. People’s homes do not deserve to become a battlefield.
While the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel is closed, all refugees deserve to be taken in by whatever country they seek refuge in. People from Gaza fleeing into Israel should not be tortured, kidnapped or killed and vice versa. People who have lost their homes do not deserve to be thrown away, cast out to the streets with nowhere to go. As individuals and as a society, we have a moral obligation to support our fellow human beings when they are suffering.
We, as an editorial board, are not experts on geopolitical conflicts. We aren’t going to try to propose a solution to this problem because we don’t know where to begin. It simply isn’t our place. We are just stating that war is not right.
We should continue to educate ourselves as information is being actively released. It is hard not to have an opinion on such a widespread topic, but it is important to keep a a clear mind until a viewpoint is fully formed.
People outside of the Gaza Strip are impacted as well, having to balance worrying about their family while living in other countries. We need to offer compassion for those trying to navigate the news cycle along with matters in their personal lives.