Empathy is always selective and unequal. I will take my son to the doctor if he is unwell, and only give the doctor's address if my neighbour's son is sick. This applies to communities and nations. Countries are sad and angry when their kith and kin are annihilated, but are insensitive to the destruction of their neighbours who probably belong to the same religion or ideology.

Gaza killings get more attention than killings in Yemen by fellow Arabs, but the Muslim world is quiet — ditto with Sudan, where 1,50,000 have died in the civil wars. ‘Jews need to be wiped out from the face of the earth,’ scream the various terrorist organisations. Hence, extreme hostility towards an enemy leads to intense empathy towards one's own tribe. This garners traction all over. Hamas wins over all other groups and is favoured by the US AID too clandestinely, and........

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