“What is happening in Gaza, especially in the north of the Strip, where a massacre is being committed, is often presented as not being about human beings, but about objects. We only see pieces of flesh and fail to see their humanity.” But in fact, “what we are seeing in Gaza is a genocide.”
Paola Caridi (in the photo), journalist, historian and author, spoke about the war in the Holy Land at the Missionary Forum, which is taking place in Montesilvano, via live video stream from Amman. “If I were asked to name a symbol that represents everything that is happening in the Holy Land”, she said, “I would choose the Holy Shroud.”
“We fail to recognise the human aspect.” On the subject of the war in Gaza (“I call it a war and not a conflict because of Israel’s military superiority there,” she said), “our lack of responsibility lies in the very idea that it does not concern us.” Instead, “it is my belief that not only is it our concern, but it will affect us in moral terms and in terms of our own salvation.”
“To fail to perceive the situation through this lens is tantamount to losing one’s humanity and one’s foothold in this world.”
In the scholar’s view, interpreting the military occupation of Palestine that began in 1948 “without an understanding of the intrinsic issues surrounding the land and its significance prevents objectivity.” “The human dimension, including the Palestinians’ relationship with the land, is not acknowledged: I think there is no real understanding at all…”.
Defending the rights of all. The war did not start on 7 October, Caridi said, “it has been going on for years with a “systematic oppression and occupation” in Gaza and the West Bank, affecting “not only the Christian minority but an entire people.”
“Only by defending the rights of all will we defend the rights of the Christian minorities,” she remarked.
And when one goes on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, it is important to be “aware of the political issue, and not only the religious one.”
*Editorial desk, Popoli e Missione
