Prayers4Peace: In Search of Answers
By: Ghassan Rubeiz
This piece was written in September of 2025.
In the face of unimaginable suffering in Gaza, the human mind searches for meaning, for reasons, for someone to hold accountable. Yet nearly two years after October 7th, I find myself burdened by questions that seem to have no satisfactory answers.
Two weeks ago, we received official confirmation of famine in Gaza affecting vast segments of the population. “The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza,” UN-backed food security experts said this past Tuesday, in a call to action amid unrelenting expanding conflict, mass displacement and the near-total collapse of essential services in the war-battered enclave.
Earlier, we were informed by international authorities that Israel has committed war crimes in the coastal strip, and subsequently, that genocide is occurring. Now the war in Gaza escalates despite rising domestic opposition and growing hesitancy among army reserves.
What strikes me most profoundly is how easily guilt dissipates. No party seems willing to admit responsibility, and the world continues to watch while Gaza spirals into death, destruction, famine, and utter hopelessness. Two agonizing questions have puzzled me since October 7th: Why is the world so passive in its response to atrocities committed in Gaza? And how do stakeholders rationalize contradictory and irrational policies?
To the People of Israel
I struggle to understand why Israeli society remains primarily focused on their hostages in Gaza, the safety of their soldiers, and Israel’s international image, while being almost oblivious to the enormity of the famine and civilian casualties in the Strip, the rights of Palestinians to remain on their ancestral land, and the long-term implications for the security and well-being of Israel. That said, many Jewish political observers and spiritual leaders have been vocal in opposition to the war, but they are in the minority.
To the European nations
How is it that most European countries took nearly two years to respond meaningfully to the Gaza tragedy? When they finally awakened to this latest cycle of Palestinian suffering, they chose symbolic gestures over effective action — recognizing a Palestinian state that is being decimated through warfare, legislative manipulation, historical revisionism, and aggressive diplomacy. Would it not have been more effective to recognize the sad reality of apartheid than to acknowledge a symbolic statehood?
To the American leadership
How perturbing it is that US Middle East policy changes with each new administration? President Biden supported Israel’s ruthless military campaign while paradoxically framing his advocacy for a two-state solution in response to Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories. Now, Trump, eyeing a Nobel Peace Prize, gave Israel a carte blanche to “finish” with Gaza quickly and continue the annexation of land. He is covertly planning to turn post-war Gaza into a Middle East Riviera. Last week, an American-Israeli report for post-war Gaza emerged, fleshing out how Gazans, financed, could leave their homeland “voluntarily” to allow the development of a Middle East Riviera. WaPo’s extraordinary weekend report . Actually, could the Gaza-Riviera scheme prolong the war, fuel a new cycle of a pan-Arab uprising? Might it even encourage Russia to escalate its aggression in Ukraine or tempt China to invade Taiwan?
To the heads of Arab states
Have the Arab states comfortably adapted to Israel’s escalating hegemony? Egypt signed the Camp David Accords ostensibly to resolve the broader Arab-Israeli conflict, then gradually abandoned the Palestinian cause while building compromising economic ties with Israel and the United States. Jordan followed a similar path. The Gulf states have normalized relations with Israel— some formally through the Abraham Accords, others through covert economic and diplomatic channels. How will Arab leaders face their citizens as we witness Israel and the U.S. remake the Middle East to benefit the powerful at the expense of the disadvantaged?
To the leadership of Hamas
When you committed the gruesome slaughter of 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250 -purportedly to advance your cause-, could you not have anticipated that Israel would seize upon this attack as a pretext for wholesale ethnic cleansing? What gave you the right to sacrifice the lives and livelihood of millions of Palestinian? How has any of this suffering advanced the cause of your people?
To the Palestinian Authority
Has the time not yet come for President Mahmoud Abbas to step aside and allow a new and united Palestinian leadership to engage with Israel using a fresh, secular approach and a workable strategy?
To the Islamic Republic of Iran
Geographically, historically, theologically, and culturally, Iran is not naturally positioned to serve as the primary supporting source of Palestinian resistance. Yet Tehran has assumed this role, one that appears disconnected from its own regional interests and heritage. How does Iran justify prioritizing Palestinian liberation over the pressing needs of its own people, who face economic hardship and political repression? Perhaps this paradox exists precisely because Arab leaders and much of the world have ignored the protection of Palestinians from the expansion of the Zionist project. In this vacuum of regional leadership, Iran has stepped forward—but does this make strategic sense for Iranian interests?
To The People of all faiths
Are we not exhausted with using religious mythology to justify our political positions? Do spiritual figures from antiquity take sides in modern wars of devastation and hatred? Do such revered figures assign land to specific populations and dictate the displacement of native communities?
In a conflict where all major parties claim a divine mandate and historical legitimacy, maybe the most urgent act is simply to keep questioning, to keep seeking understanding, and to never allow the weight of complexity to prevent us from seeing the humanity of our fellow human beings. The questions I pose here are not accusations but rather invitations to reflect on the meaning and implications of our actions. As stakeholders, – Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, Europeans, Arabs, Iranians and global citizens-, until we can honestly confront these difficult questions we will remain trapped in cycles of violence that serve none of our interests and aspirations.
Pray with me: For this Holy Land, in the name of the Prince of peace, I pray for inspired leadership, inclusive policy and the grace of forgiveness.
About the Author:
Ghassan Rubeiz is the former Middle East Secretary of the World Council of Churches. Earlier, he taught psychology and social work in his country of birth, Lebanon, and later in the United States, where he currently lives. He has contributed to political commentary for the past twenty years and delivered occasional public talks on peace, justice, and interfaith subjects. You can reach him at rubeizg@gmail.com