Tragedy - Gaza

 Tragedy - Gaza

I will say that for days as the conflict has been unfolding this week. It is very difficult to feel equipped to comment in any meaningful or fair way. But it's also important to me at least that I say something, anything. And saying anything is to condemn the politics and policies of attacking civilians of Palestine. It is impossible to categorize the 'war' going on as anything other than aggression of a colonizing force, and possibly at worst, some form of ethnic cleansing.

I'm not Jewish, nor Palestinian, nor Israeli, I obviously have no direct skin in that game, and nor are very many of my family directly and immediately impacted. But I do really notice how many people refrain from critiquing Israel for the fear of being represented as anti-Semitic.

I felt that way too. For a long time. But years ago, a good friend (who is Jewish) pointed this out to me, and I think about it and realize that it is an important distinction.

Critique of Israel the State, is not a Critique of Judaism. In the exact same way that a critique of Saudi is not a Critique of Islam. It has made me reframe the system of my critical analysis into looking for where the bad/deceptive actors are in a conflict. How is propaganda being used. How are people being manipulated in complacency or uneasy support.

I don't know that we should be silent about a superpower that sees fit to bomb a neutral journalist into the ground.

I don't know that we should be silent about a superpower that intentionally kills children.

I don't know that we should be silent about modern colonialism, and indignant about historical event ones.

It is not appropriate that 1948 is remembered in celebration as the Year Israel gained Independence, and a blind eye turned to 300 thousand displaced Palestinians at the exact same time.

I don't have great answers, but I do feel strongly that to sit in complacency is a weight on my conscience and I would rather be thoughtful and engaged, than to uncomfortably look away.

Edit: I should say that I don't have many Palestinian friends, and to my knowledge, not a ton of direct zionist friends. I do see and acknowledge my many Jewish friends and don't want to diminish them nor the difficulties of the last few weeks.