THE SOUL OF MY SOUL IS DYING IN PALESTINE - CEASEFIRE NOW

I woke up this morning to the news that 2 more journalists have been murdered. Journalists Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya were killed by a targeted Israeli airstrike while they were traveling in a area Israel said was "safe". While still alive, the 3rd passenger, Hazem Rajab, has sustained serious injuries. Israel has given the world no reason to believe this was not intentional and part of their continuous assault on the press. While all death is tragic, I wept when I heard the news about Hamza. He was the eldest son of journalist Wael Dahdouh, who lost his wife, other children, and family members in targeted airstrikes in late October and early November. In an interview earlier today, Wael said, “Hamza was everything to me, the eldest boy, he was the soul of my soul… these are the tears of parting and loss, the tears of humanity." That phrasing - soul of my soul - brought to mind the tragic murder of 3-year-old Reem from late November. Her grandfather, Khaled Nabhan, searched through the rubble after his home was leveled by an Israeli airstrike in the middle of the night to find her small body and her 5-year-old brother Tariq among the dead. Khaled and the rest of his family were not given warning before the airstrike - this was when Israel released the "evacuation orders map" riddled with confusing instructions, and purposeful ineptitude. With Israel's expanding aggression, there is no where safe anywhere in occupied Palestine or even abroad in other countries like Lebanon. While Khaled reverently prepared Reem's body for burial, he said she is the soul of my soul, “Reem, she is my darling. My heart is broken. I sleep and wake up and my eyes are full of tears." I see that same pain echoed in Wael and all others in Gaza who face unimaginable tragedy, suffering, and loss every moment this genocide is allowed to continue. The phrase "soul of my soul" describes a love far greater than you could ever have for yourself. It expresses a depth of love that acknowledges the other person is "the essence of our essence. Making us, as the individual, obsolete." There's no direct English equivalent, but the most similar word we have is soulmate. It's typically reserved for family and those you hold dearest to you. During the process of educating myself on ongoing genocide of Palestinians and its recent acceleration, I have had the honor of making friends in occupied Palestine. They are the kindest, most honorable people I have ever known. The cost of my attention to and understanding of their plight has been and always will be too high. Palestine has become the soul of my soul, and my soul is dying. Call for a ceasefire right now. The continuation of this genocide is unconscionable and will forever be a black stain on the history of humanity. How deep and far that stain extends is up to you. I beg you to make the right decision for once.