In my six years of running this newsletter, this was perhaps the hardest week to pick an article to send out.
I, like you, spent much of this past week glued to the news about the conflict in Israel, trying to make sense of the murder of thousands of civilians. As a Jew, I feel a responsibility to condemn the atrocious acts of terror from Hamas. As a human, it makes me sick to think about the ongoing ramifications of this violence on innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives.
In the words of Nicholas Kristof, one of the journalists I respect most, “If your moral compass is attuned to the suffering of only one side, your compass is broken, and so is your humanity.”
The truth is, this war will have no winners. But as citizens of the world, it’s our responsibility not to look away. Of the dozens of articles I’ve read on the conflict, my favorite was this n+1 essay on the parallels between what’s happening now in Gaza and 9/11. It’s not an easy read, but it’s worth your time.
Here’s the piece: Have we learned nothing?
Personal updates:
If you feel so inclined, please join me in making a donation to a charity providing direct aid on the ground.
Today is the last day to register for the fall cohort of my course, Designing Your Next Career Step, which kicks off on Wednesday.
Next week, I’ll share some exciting updates about my next book.
Warmly,
Simo
P.S. One nice thing about the fall is the reintroduction of rainy-day music. Here’s one of my favorite cozy tracks from Nick Hakim. The full songs of the week playlist is here.