Having a difficult time sorting out my feelings about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza.

The lines were much clearer when Palestinian terrorists were launching suicide bombings against school buses in Israel. Launching missiles against random civilian targets is horrific, but not on the same level - because they’re almost completely ineffective. And yes, Israel has a right to defend itself against this kind of terrorism.

But the death toll in Gaza is so disproportionate that I’m having a really hard time trying to justify it. Yes, Hamas is a terrorist group who deliberately hide weapons in civilian areas. But in effect, this is a captive population — there really aren’t any other places for people to go. Hamas has to bear some of the responsibility for the death toll, but children are being killed in large numbers by this Israeli operation and just on a human level I find this very very hard to support.

Also, the Netanyahu administration has not really been seeking a solution to any of the problems, or working toward a two-state solution. They’ve been encouraging and approving new settlements in the West Bank on a regular basis, and deliberately interfering in US politics, backing Mitt Romney and trying to subvert the Obama administration’s efforts to mediate.

And then there’s the growing popularity of far right groups and personalities in Israeli politics, including some of the hateful groups and people I’ve been speaking out against for years.

Anyway, I’m rambling a bit, but if you’re wondering why I haven’t really stepped into this mess very much, these are some of the reasons.