To the editor:
(Plain Press November 2026) On October 11th, I saw NAZA, a documentary highlighting the stories of a handful of young Israeli soldiers during the Gaza War.
Interspersed among their recollections are beautiful shots of Tel Aviv, showing a modern city with seemingly calm citizens. But underpinning their tranquility is a wartime operation waged in their name, from which they are shielded by a relentless propaganda campaign using legitimate traumas to justify devastating military acts.
The soldiers themselves are insulated from the reality of their actions by computer screens and acronyms. But they aren’t alone in their compartmentalization.
Like many unemployed Americans, I was desperate for work after the Great Recession and found a job with a manufacturer that supplied parts for the F-35, which was used in the Gaza War. As one of the smallest cogs in the nationwide Joint Strike Fighter program, it never crossed my mind that I was supporting a future war machine. All I cared about were my problems and my paycheck. I deeply regret this. Survival should not determine morality.
Ultimately, maybe that mindset is what keeps the machine turning: None of us cares to see the bigger picture. And when the dust settles, the merchants of death will have already cashed out, leaving the most innocent to pay the cost.
Erik Ault of Cleveland
