Professor Colleen Murphy has co-authored an op-ed titled "Israel, Hamas, and the Narratives of Atrocity." The piece was published on October 25 for the Daily Nous. An excerpt follows:

"Ending and preventing atrocity requires exposing and contesting the narratives that explain, rationalize, and defend the indefensible, enabling human beings to countenance and inflict suffering indifferent to the pain it creates. It requires a refusal to dehumanize fellow human beings and a refusal to see any person as ‘deserving’ of atrocity because they are perceived as oppressors, terrorists, and/or savages. It requires insisting on the necessity of restraint in action. Occupation does not justify massacre. Self-defense does not justify collective punishment and starvation. One’s humanity is not protected (nor is one’s security guaranteed) by abdicating one’s humanity in relation to others."

Read the full op-ed at dailynous.com.

Note: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Illinois College of Law.