by Don Pelton

For most of my life there has been only one Holocaust, but since the beginning of the current genocide in Gaza (which nominally began on October 7, 2023 but actually began decades ago) I’ve tried to hold two Holocausts in my mind … but hold them how? I don’t believe I’ll ever undersand them, in the ordinary sense of the word “understand” … to grasp the meaning of them, which entails nothing less than a full comprehension of the mysterious potential for evil in every human heart. I’ve given up the effort to understand.

The best I can do, what I’ve done for years, is to open myself completely to the incomprehensible suffering. Sometimes I’ve fallen into this empathic black hole by accident, as when I first heard violinist Itzhak Perlman play the theme from the movie “Schindler’s List.” His connection to this theme is both artistic and deeply personal.

His rendering of this incredible work is structured weeping, and has always provoked in me grief for “The” Holocaust.

But lately as I’ve listened to it, I’m overwhelmed by grief for Palestinians.

Can we hold both griefs in our hearts (not our minds) at once? Peace may depend on it.

Close your eyes and listen to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLgJQ8Zj3AA