Israel and Palestine: where are we at?
The world’s largest open-air prison — 2.2m inhabitants trapped, with no hope of anything better. Is this where we are at?
Innocent people at a music festival — unarmed and uninvolved, gunned down, raped, and kidnapped. Is this where we are at?
We can talk and write endless about Israel and Palestine. Many have. Even I have. But there comes a point where we get sick of talking, sick of trends and hashtags, and sick of rubbish infographics on Instagram that think a 10-slide summary is enough to explain this complicated, emotional, barbaric, and horrific situation and human rights question.
Sure, let the celebrities re-share their thoughts and prayers, and who they “stand” with, in vain attempts to offer sympathies. Kylie Jenner probably saw the Hamas attack on the music festival along the Gaza-Israel border, and shared that she “Stands with Israel”, without actually thinking of the wider implications that sharing such a post to her 400m followers would have. She, of course, took it down, drawing both the ire of Israeli supporters and Palestinian supporters alike. Does she truly support Israel in such a way that demonstrates she supports their settlements and apartheid treatment of Palestinians? I’m going to say that she does not. A share of a post on a story, without any accompanying message, is just exactly that: a share of a post on her story. The same goes with a lot of other celebrities who blindly jumped on the bandwagon, and who blindly jump on any “humanitarian” bandwagon. They don’t know any better. They saw people die and thought, “right, better share my condolences.” Are we really going to hate them for it? Is this where we’re at?
This may be a controversial take, but I am against killing. It may seem shocking, but based on what I’ve seen on social media over the last week, I feel like I’m in the minority.
Now, I’d like to think I’m grossly exaggerating, and that in fact the vast majority of people are against killing. Yet, I find it strange when I see those on either side of the Palestine-Israel divide justify the barbaric actions of each faction. There are those who will seek to justify, explain, legitimise, or downplay, the actions of Hamas against the festival attendees and other civilians caught between them and their military goals. Plenty of Palestinians and Palestinian sympathisers, partially out of a respectfully felt angry place, almost seem bloodthirsty in their near satisfaction that Hamas got one back on the Israelis. But is this where we are at? Are we at the point of supporting a terrorist group committing acts of terror? Can we not condemn actions without seeking to justify them? Is it impossible to acknowledge that, although Israel have brutalised the Palestinians, in no way does that give Hamas the excuse to kill a young woman and parade her naked body on a truck for all to see? Is this freeing Palestine? Is this seeking self-determination for the Palestinian people, who’ve suffered so much? Do we free Palestine by killing innocent people, who otherwise have nothing to do with the actions of a fascistic government in Israel? If you want to free Palestine, take it up with those that are occupying and oppressing Palestinians, not 20-something festival goers.
And on those that have occupied Palestine and oppressed its people: are you happy? Can you see what you’ve done? The world called this an apartheid state. Your own human rights watch called it an apartheid state. To cut off water, food, and electricity, to “get the terrorists” is barbaric. To bomb them into oblivion is shameful. Palestinian boys and girls are no threat to your status as a nation, Israel. You do not need to illegally expand settlements, to protect your right to exist. Bombing media buildings, threatening asymmetrical retaliatory responses, is this where we are at? Your orthodox Jewish population, seen spitting on Christians who want to worship at their holy sites, is this what you’ve become? Jews of all people should know what intolerance can lead people to do. After all, your nation was founded on the back of the world’s worst ever example of racism and hatred. Yet, those in power under the fascist leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, and the even worse Itamar Ben-Gvir, will all ultimately push their goals of extreme Zionism and anti-Arab rhetoric, furthering the destruction set upon innocent Palestinians, who otherwise just want better lives.
So long as Hamas reign, and so long as this Israeli government continue to encroach upon Palestinians, this violence will never end. It’s a cycle, and each side will use the other’s actions to justify their own. Innocents will be caught in the crossfire, supporters will be fooled into thinking violence is the answer, and onlookers and enablers will continue to cackle as the two sides perform their dirty work.
Lastly, on the homefront, that being here in Australia — and the rest of the onlooking world, for that matter: have you no shame? To see the other night, in front of the Sydney Opera House, ‘pro-Palestine’ supporters chant “Gas the Jews! Gas the Jews!” made me sick to my core. You people are not for a free Palestine. You people are for the extermination of the Jewish race. I am not assuming this. Your words confirm it. What would your reaction be if a large group of Jews gathered in front of the Opera House and chanted, “Bomb all Arabs! Bomb all Arabs!”? An equally barbaric thing to chant, but not the reality. Shame on the New South Wales Police and Government to have allowed such demonstrations to take place with no repercussions. Shame on my fellow Arabs in Australia. Our families came here to flee such hatred and violence, not bring it to this wonderful country. This country is an example of pluralism and a place where anyone can be safe and prosperous, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Evoking the holocaust in protest of Israel…is this where we are at?
And for those who unequivocally support Israel, you are not free from blame. Be it an anti-Arab sentiment, due to demagoguery and Islamophobia rife in the last two decades: it matters not. To willingly turn a blind eye to what is an apartheid state, to what is an affront to human rights, is despicable. An attack on human rights anywhere is indeed an attack on human rights everywhere. The Palestinians deserve as much freedom and dignity as anyone else in our world. That they unfortunately are being represented by Hamas in the media doesn’t excuse the fact that those people are as innocent as anyone. A Palestinian child does not equal a Hamas fighter. A ruffian in front of the Opera House chanting to gas the Jews doesn’t represent those in Gaza who just want clean water. The media are as much to blame, seemingly only covering this conflict when Israel is attacked, ignoring every other instance where Israel is abusing Palestinain rights. Is this where we are at?
I’ll leave it at this: you do not have to “choose” between a terrorist organisation, or a terrorist government. You can instead decide to side with innocent people, who are caught in the middle of this frenzy. Killing innocent people is wrong, no matter their race or religion. Why is this a conversation?
The Palestinians deserve freedom and to be rid of occupying forces from Israel. Israelis deserve to not be shot up when attending a music festival. The Israeli government and Hamas will have you think that they’re the saviours. They are not. They are all bloodthirsty killers. Do not fall for either side’s propaganda. We can be better than that.
Tribalism will kill us all.
