It’s Not Right vs. Wrong; It’s Right vs. Right

By Nicholas Kristof
The New York Times
October 15, 2025

"…The Middle East, as I see it, reflects a contest between two national yearnings with a measure of right on each side. Two peoples are fighting each other to preserve their hold on land to which they have ancient roots, and each is traumatized by the other’s violence…

"Whatever your view about the Middle East, we should acknowledge that an Israeli Jewish baby and a Palestinian baby are moral equivalents, each with the same right to grow up in freedom without fear of bus bombs, missiles or ethnic cleansing.

"Yet these aspirations clash, so equally this is sometimes a case of barbarism versus barbarism, of moral blindness vs. moral blindness…

"…the respect we owe each side for its rights and aspirations should be tempered by recognition of moral myopia driven by trauma, fear and dehumanization of the other…

"So if we transcend the rubric of good vs. evil in the Middle East, here’s my suggestion for what can replace it: a recognition of shared humanity."

About Heart of a Nation

Empowering the next generation of American, Israeli, and Palestinian change-makers to embrace better, together.

אנחנו מכנסים הוגים מובילים, פעילים חברתיים, ומחוללי שינוי לעתיד, אמריקאים, ישראלים ופלסטינאים, המחויבים לשיפור החברות שלהם.

نحن أمريكيون وإسرائيليون وفلسطينيون نبني ونكوّن روابط من أجل التعلم والتفكير والمشاركة معًا حتى نشجع الحلول التقدمية بشأن القضايا التي تهمنا جميعًا.