The silent majority - Blog post by my father

(My father writes many Letters to the Editor that never get published. I thought I'd post one of them here)

When it comes to atrocities committed in the name of a race/religion/nation, there are three groups of populations under whose name atrocities are committed: 1) those who are directly responsible for atrocities, 2) the ignorant followers, and 3) silent group who oppose it. The group directly involved with atrocities always represents a very small percentage of the entire population related to it. There is always controversy about what percentage of population is silent. However, being minority or majority, the fact is the combination of the latter two unquestionably represents the vast majority of the people. The latter two groups are the ones that are impacted by the atrocities of the minority; often paying the price long-term as it happened to the Germans being looked at as perpetrators of the holocaust and Muslims being affected by atrocities committed by a small group. The oppressed is often affected in a positive way long-term like Jews obtaining a deserved homeland. History has taught us that one group cannot eliminate another group so in spite of short-term horrors of atrocities, long-term, history is on the side of oppressed as it happened after holocaust. Actions of Israeli leadership and army, and their minority powerful supporters around the world, in Gaza have unquestionable heart breaking short-term effect, but if history repeats itself, the long-term beneficiaries are Palestinians, and regrettably in the long-term the majority silent and ignorant followers amongst the Jews have to pay the price.

- Mostafa Atri