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An Israeli tank on the border with the Gaza Strip: Israel is preparing a possible ground offensive in the coastal enclave
Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP
The escalation in Gaza was less than twelve hours old when an acquaintance asked me which side I was on.
On the Israel?
Or the Palestinian?
The previous evening, Hamas fighters had fired a rocket into Jerusalem and Israel launched attacks on the Gaza Strip.
In my room in Jerusalem, fear of escalation barely let me sleep.
When my friend called me the next morning and asked about my position, I was afraid and hungry.
What I didn't have was a crystal clear opinion on the conflict.
Half the internet felt like it had one.
One of the most complicated conflicts in the world on 280 characters
Ever since Palestinians were supposed to clear their houses for settlers in East Jerusalem, since rockets were flying on Israel and bombs were flying on Gaza, half the world has been speaking on the subject on social media. And those who don't are sometimes asked to do so. As soon as I open Instagram or Twitter, I see people explaining to me one of the most complicated conflicts in the world in 280 characters or in short text panels. They seem to know exactly what is happening thousands of miles away and who is to blame. Some call Israel a "terrorist state" and accuse it of "genocide". Others claim that Israel is not to blame for the escalation and describe the army of the Jewish state as "the most moral in the world." There seems to be little in between.
For some senders, I have doubts whether they ever looked at the Middle East before last week. Of course, nobody needs to have lived in Israel or Palestine or have a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies to express themselves. And many people probably share the content with the best of intentions: They want to inform their followers and draw their attention to the victims of the conflict. But this social media activism does not help, it only makes the situation more difficult.
Some of the posts and tweets are incorrect or grossly shortened.
Much makes the Middle East conflict seem like a struggle between good and evil.
Many Twitter and Instagram users act like football fans, they unreservedly support a team.
But wars and conflicts are seldom black and white, like almost everything in life.
Enduring and explaining this complexity is my job as a journalist.
But my answers are bulky and longer than the simple and concise opinions on social media.
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The Israeli missile defense system stops an attack on the city of Ashkelon
Photo: AMIR COHEN / REUTERS
Journalism takes time because I first have to research and weigh every word.
By the time my text appears, thousands of people have already commented on the Internet.
Yet this damn conflict is more complicated than a viral social media post.
The conflict is so tangled that it sometimes tears me apart
I lived in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for several years and have traveled frequently to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In March I flew to Israel to cover the election - and a country where most people are living normally again because the pandemic is almost over. I haven't slept for days now because the rocket alarm in Tel Aviv keeps me awake at night. When I run into the bunker, I also think of the people in Gaza who don't have secure cellars under their houses. During the day I meet Jews and Palestinians. They tell me their stories, and I often empathize with both of them. This conflict is so old and so confused, so painful and seems so insoluble that it sometimes tears me apart.
That was not always so.
When I first came to Israel more than ten years ago, when I was in my early twenties, all I knew was that it was "kind of difficult" here.
I thought if I travel across the country for a couple of weeks everything will become clearer.
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Children play on a building destroyed by the Israeli army in Gaza City
Photo: Fatima Shbair / Getty Images
The opposite happened: the more I learned, the more complex it got.
Since I've been working as a journalist, I've known that this applies to almost all the topics I report on.
From a distance, many things seem simple.
But the longer you deal with something and the more interested you are in really understanding something, the more difficult it becomes to make clear judgments.
This conflict does not lend itself to hollow slogans.
The more you talk to the people exposed to it, the deeper you study its history, the more complex it becomes.
Each side has arguments that are justified.
Anyone who is genuinely interested in finding a solution at some point should listen more and claim less.
The new Gaza war is now almost a week old.
I still don't post partisans and that won't change.
There is only one thing I can say for sure: the complexity of the world rarely fits into a tweet.