he heartbreaking human condition of Palestine is not something anyone should view with ambivalence or turn away from. At least 30, 000 people have died, and most of them were civilians. The bombardment of hospitals, refugee camps, villages, and individuals seeking aid, as well as the country’s infrastructure, has worsened the crisis.

The silence initially maintained by many European countries, a number of Arab countries, and the United States was as deafening as it was devastating. American President Joe Biden is a key figure in global tensions, as he “hopes for ceasefire” but also feels Israel has a right to “self-defense”.

Even though some from those previously silent European and Arab countries are now calling for a ceasefire in what amounts to a massacre of an entire people, it isn’t enough. Hoping for ceasefire and launching probes into bombardments that are killing Palestinians every day (including women and children), and taking substantial steps to ensure that Tel Aviv ends its horrifying actions are two very different things.

The international community needs to step up its efforts because Israel has maintained that it will not stop until it achieves “its goals” which means further killings. President Biden’s statement that has heard “competing versions” is a cop-out and nothing more. If America wants to lead the world, it needs to take action, not just pay lip service.

Ignorance isn’t bliss, not always, and most certainly not in this case.

To truly understand the history of Palestine and the voices of its civilians, certain fictional and non-fictional works must be read.

Palestine by Joe Sacco (non-fictional)

Palestine, the graphic comic by Joe Sacco, is a must-read. Many have concluded that it sets the benchmark for the comic journalism medium. What truly grips the reader are the stories of individuals over the course of months. Each of these Palestinians carry different emotions, dreams, and nightmares: some are grieving, others are resilient, and some have accepted a world that doesn’t know peace. Anger, anguish, denial, vigilance, and even vengeance (when justice is not a reality) — every person carries a point of view, and Sacco tells their stories without judgment. Sacco also takes us through the Middle East as we learn about his pilgrimage through other countries before his arrival in Palestine.

What Joe Sacco must be credited for is that he has not made an effort to censor the book to make it palatable. He also moves beyond an endless war and depicts the strength of everyday Palestinians, writing about Palestinian culture with a flair and wit that is not an exaggeration but a perspective made true by experience. You learn about their common decency and how a foreign guest is treated with hospitality and kindness that is almost unexpected.