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Reflections on Israel and Gaza from People More Qualified Than Myself

November 21, 2023 21:47 +0000  |  Gaza Genocide Israel 0

In times like these, everyone seems to have an opinion, but most of those people lack the depth of understanding to ensure that that opinion is informed. Over the past couple weeks, I've come across some exceptionally well communicated pieces on this, and I want to share them here.

My favourite by far is Dave Meslin's take, shared via an Instagram video in a single take with no script. Dave is deeply thoughtful and passionate person with a great deal of personal insight around how the Jewish community (of which he is a member) has been divided on this issue, and the whole video is worth your time:

Via Instagram

Next is Naomi Klein, another prominent Canadian activist of Jewish background reflecting on antisemitism and militant Zionism, culminating in the idea of "an international left rooted in values that side with the child over the gun every single time". The piece was originally posted in The Guardian, but should that link ever disappear, I've preserved it here.

Then there's the CNN interview with the nurse from Médecins Sans Frontières who recently returned from Gaza and is desperate to return. It's a remarkable interview. Just watch it.

Via YouTube

I want to include Barack Obama's piece here again, as I thought that it demonstrates a broad grasp of the history. Like Klein's article, I've preserved Obama's Medium post as a PDF.

And finally, John Oliver delivered an exceptional story on Israel & Gaza on his show, Last Week Tonight where he talks about how extremists on both sides are effectively supporting each other at the cost of the civilian population:

Via YouTube

The Blood-Dimmed Tide

October 29, 2023 23:25 +0000  |  Climate Change Gaza Genocide Israel War 0

I've been trying to write something about Israel's attacks on Gaza for a couple hours now and while I have a lot to say about it, my thoughts are too angry to be able to write anything worth reading. For what it's worth, here's what I have:

  • Israel has the right to exist, but it does not have the right to oppress Palestinians, steal their lands, or blockade the people of Gaza as they have been for more than a decade.
  • The Hamas attack was entirely predictable given Israel's actions in the region. That doesn't make it Right, but acting like it happened in a vacuum is intellectually dishonest.
  • I firmly believe that if there isn't enough international pressure to stop them, Israel will kill everyone in Gaza. It's a good bet that there are elements within Israel's military that have been planning for precisely this sort of situation for years and have drawn up their own "Final Solution" to their Palestinian "problem".
  • Yes, I chose that phrase carefully.
  • Barack Obama has written an excellent piece on this subject, worthy of the 5 minutes it'll take you to read it.

I am just so tired of all of this. The world is on fire and we're subsidising the companies with the matches in the trillions of dollars. Russia invaded Ukraine and is targetting the civilian population, and now Israel is doing their best to kill as many Palestinians as they can before someone steps in with a sense of mercy. My home country is stealing indigenous land to build a pipeline, and the country I'm living in is opening a new oil field. The only tools I have in my arsenal to fight any of this are waving a sign at a protest or donating some money to people who help the victims or just wave signs at other protests.

I feel powerless to stop any of the insanity in this world, but I think the most frustrating thing is that so much of this is objectively insane. How many civilians need to die in these wars? How many hectares of this planet have to be rendered uninhabitable before we just stop this madness? Why The Fuck are we even doing any of this, and what else can I do to stop it?

I don't have any answers here. I imagine that a year or so from now the list above will be longer with no new solutions.

For what it's worth, the Canadian government is matching donations for humanitarian aid in Gaza. It's one of the options I had open to me, so I sent some money. Maybe you can too.

The Oppressed have Become the Oppressors

June 02, 2010 19:09 +0000  |  Israel Politics 5

Big news on the other side of the world lately. Israeli troops attacked a ship full of activists in international waters carrying humanitarian aid, killing at least 9 people and injuring anywhere between 30 and 60 more. The "dangerous cargo" they were keeping from Palestinians in the Gaza strip was not weapons, but food and medical supplies.

It's time that we all wake up and accept that Israel's actions are those of a terrorist state. No other nation in the world is afforded the kind of support the West gives them, especially in light of the crimes committed by their government.

The Gaza blockade is now in its fourth year. The people in that region are being denied everything from food to musical instruments, and now Israel has attacked ships flying flags of NATO and EU countries in international waters. Whether or not you can accept that opposition to Israel is not the same as antisemetism is no longer the issue. Israel is using Western support in the form of military and financial aid to do evil.

Note however that I am not making the case for the Palestinians here. Frankly, I don't think that Hamas is any better than the Israeli government. No, this is just a plea that we take a moment to understand the situation for what it is and act accordingly.

Our politicians, and even our media are terribly afraid of being branded antisemetic and so the cheerleading for Israel continues. Seeing the situation for what it is: two terrorist governments duking it out with millions of civilians in-between, has to start with us.

Your action-list:

  1. Accept the above
  2. Contact your MP and help them understand that you and many others have accepted this and that it's about time that they started representing you and call for sanctions.
  3. More ideas are welcome.