quotes 2024 is over. Can we dare to hope in 2025?

03 January 2025
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2024 is over. Can we dare to hope in 2025?

2024 was a very tough year in many parts of the world, and for the Middle East it was devastating. Israel’s war on Gaza only intensified as Israel opened further fronts in Lebanon, Iran, Syria, and Yemen.

Israel reinforced its image as the military policeman of the region, but its seeming victories will be as fleeting as ever if they are not accompanied by a white flag of peace. True power and victory come from achieving peace and stability, not from leveling entire territories and decimating populations. In Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, American military power was overwhelming, yet in each case Americans were forced to leave having only created more instability rather than building hope.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has shown similar results in its destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and lives. And there has been no victor except for the military-industrial complex. Unfortunately, I must say now that I believe President Eisenhower was right when he warned us of the dangers of that complex locking us into endless war. Toothpaste companies cannot subsist if people do not brush their teeth; arms manufacturers cannot subsist if people do not use their weapons. Looking at the world today, how much more evidence of this continued threat do we need? The institutions of peace and empathy we established after World War II have paid the price, to the point where we do not trust in their ability to prevent, or even resolve, conflicts anymore.

Turning back to the Middle East, our region has witnessed untold destruction. Israel’s heartless bombings of Gaza, Lebanon and Syria have affected the lives of millions and killed tens of thousands. It is thought that in Gaza 10,000 people still remain buried under the rubble, as yet unaccounted for in the more than 40,000 official dead. About 80 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure lies in ruins, from homes to hospitals, from water sanitation plants to telecom towers, from roads to entire neighborhoods.

Today, Gaza is mostly rubble — more than 40 million tons of it. That would fill New York’s Central Park to a depth of eight meters and could take up to 15 years to clear; a task that seems almost impossible. In November 2023, an Israeli cabinet minister suggested dropping an atomic bomb on Gaza — a suggestion met with outrage internationally. But 70,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Gaza in just the first six months of the war, and the combined result exceeds the destruction of an atomic bomb, and surpasses the bombs dropped on Dresden, Hamburg, and London combined during World War II.

The institutions of peace we established have paid the price, to the point where we do not trust in their ability to prevent conflicts anymore.

The difference in this assault on Gaza has been technology exposing the crimes of the Israeli military and giving a voice to the voiceless. For the first time, the world saw the reality of the devastation in Gaza, the broken lives of maimed children losing their parents or even entire families. I do not need to go further in describing the agonising reality and loss of hope of the people in Gaza, one in 50 of whom have been killed, 90 percent of whom have been displaced several times over, almost all of whom suffer from a lack of food, water and medical care. These are the defenseless victims of the Israeli war. But, for once, the world has seen them and felt for them. People around the world who came out on the streets to denounce their governments’ complicity in supporting Israel are a clear sign that things are changing and that people will no longer tolerate their governments turning a blind eye to such crimes against humanity, particularly in the US.

Unfortunately, the right-wing elements coming into power are less likely to be amenable to international cooperation to end disputes.

Nevertheless, we start 2025 hoping that everything we are feeling now may be wrong. Middle Eastern countries have shown that they are looking for peaceful change, while leaders in the Gulf have shown great wisdom in the ways they have opened up their countries and invested meaningfully in the future of their people. One need only look at the achievements and enthusiasm in Saudi Arabia to know that we are building something new and meaningful.

Public opinion is also aligning with that in Europe and the US, where the populations are sick and tired of seeing wars rage in the Middle East, in Africa, in Ukraine; they are asking for things to change, to do something for the people, not for violent leaders and their business cronies.

Just maybe we can indeed carry some hope into 2025. What could make the difference, in my opinion, is the participation of ordinary people around the world showing their empathy, their solidarity, and saying “Enough is enough.” The December surprise in Syria shows that all that ordinary Arabs seek is a chance for peace, stability and respect. Syrians finally overthrew a government of terror and selfishness, showing a new openness and inclusivity in building a better Syria together. These are the changes we wish to see also in Israel, proving us wrong about its people, many of whom have supported their government’s wars. Let us see Israelis also tell Prime Minister Netanyahu “Enough is enough.” The call is becoming louder everywhere as we see and feel the pain of others. Wisdom and empathy mean laying down our arms and opening our hearts even to the enemy so that we can better face the greater challenges, like the threats to our environment, together.

Imagine the people of the world as the strings of an oud. When a string is loose or broken we simply cannot make it work. When the strings are firm and well-tuned, together, we can make the most beautiful music, soothing our hearts and bringing forth tears of joy for a new generation, and a human conscience for building peace and positive change. Let this music be the hope of our future, and let 2025 start with a song emerging from the darkness, playing louder and clearer as the year goes on.

Hassan bin Youssef Yassin worked closely with Saudi Arabia’s petroleum ministers Abdullah Tariki and Ahmed Zaki Yamani from 1959-1967. He led the Saudi Information Office in Washington from 1972-1981 and served with the Arab League’s observer delegation to the UN from 1981-1983.