Our Traumas Hide the Pain of Others

I was born in Jerusalem, and my family has been here for over 10 generations. I feel deeply connected to the beauty and history of this land. Seeing another round of violence unfold from Jerusalem, where I live these days, I now understand that Jewish people cannot sugarcoat the state-sanctioned violence we’re witnessing anymore…

One of the manifestations of intergenerational trauma is an obsession with our own narrative and struggle. Our traumas hide the pain of others. We shut down from the harsh realities of violence committed in our names. We fail to see the ways we oppress because we are fixated on our own historical oppression. But we cannot allow for this anymore. Every one of us must do our part to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Whatever form of power you have, now is the time to use it.

Hadar Cohen on The Lilith Blog, May 2021.