Menachem Z. Rosensaft, a former senior official of the World Jewish Congress and a law professor specialising in genocide, shared thoughts on the suffering of innocent people in the ongoing Middle East conflict, conveying a universal message for all - regardless of religion, race or ethnicity - murdered children must awaken us, before it is too late.

the child

murdered children

emaciated children

must awaken us

before it is too late

to who we are

to why we are

the starving child

in the warsaw ghetto

bialystok ghetto

będzin ghetto

was created

in the same divine image

by the same God

the same Adonai

the same Allah

as the starving child

in gaza city

khan younis

rafah

the dead child

in gaza city

khan younis

rafah

is cried over

with the same tears

by the same God

the same Allah

the same Adonai

as the dead child

in kfar aza

nahal oz

be’eri

the child

israeli child

palestinian child

jewish child

muslim child

is innocent

always was

always will be

innocent

and it is

for the not yet dead child

palestinian child

israeli child

muslim child

jewish child

that the killing must end

the war must end

the terror must end

the hatred must end

we cannot erase

the horrors of october 7

we cannot erase

the images of shrouded infants

in the rubble of bombed hospitals

but despite unending anguish

Adonai’s anguish

Allah’s anguish

our anguish

israelis and palestinians

muslims and jews

must now look into the sunrise

to create a beginning of hope

however elusive

if not for themselves

if not for ourselves

then for the child

the israeli child

the palestinian child

the jewish child

the muslim child

Menachem Z. Rosensaft is Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, and General Counsel Emeritus of the World Jewish Congress. In July 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Tuzla for his “contribution to raising awareness of the genocide against Bosnians in Srebrenica and the Holocaust, through the fight against the denial of crimes and the falsification of historical facts, and for contributing to peace building and the development of a culture of remembrance.” He is the author of Poems Born in Bergen-Belsen (2021) and of the forthcoming (January 2025) collection, Burning Psalms, inspired by the biblical Book of Psalms.