We’re a group of activists in a Western country where most have been brought up with either “Israel = good, Hamas = bad” or “It’s a sad, but unsolvable conflict between two equal sides”. The media heavily skewed to the Israeli perspective, and our politicians want to condemn protests in support of Palestinians. Therefore, unless you purposefully seek out information on what’s going on in Palestine, you won’t really encounter information about the occupation, the apartheid or the human rights violations. There are a lot of gaps in people’s information and understanding of the situation.
Atm there’s a lot of dehumanization, a lot of “Well, what can you do? Hamas keeps attacking Israel, what are they supposed to do?”. I think the Israel=Good is deep-rooted in a lot of westerners. I know it was in me.
We’ve asked ourselves and each other what finally broke through our previous perception, so we could see the inequality and realize that what’s happening is not right
One mentioned seeing a journalist in the back of an ambulance being handed a one-year-old that had passed
One mentioned seeing a video of a caring father saying goodbye to his little girl, kissing her eyes before she was wrapped in the materiale they wrap their dead. The father clearly in denial, smiling and wishing for her to wake up.
A big one for me was being told that it’s not an equal fight. It’s not two equally strong countries. It’s one country with a huge military, and another with barely any. Another was hearing about the human rights violations that’s been going on for decades - the fabricated water shortage, the children in Israeli jails.
I believe these are the moments we need to collect and present to those who are still wary on where they stand.
What broke through to you?
There are so many conflicts in the world and humanitarian crises that nobody cares about. Idk why people that are not from Palestine nor Israel get so worked out over this particular conflict. Don’t you people have injustices you need to fix in your own general area?
If you really want to do some good in society, invest your time and energy where you can make a difference instead of what’s currently popular in the media. No matter where you live, I’m sure there are many causes that demand your attention that you can help with.
People care because we’re people and don’t like to see unnecessary suffering, especially if we’re able to change it. In western countries, our governments (and taxes) are supporting this, we have significant power to influence the outcome.
We also understand that our struggles are connected. The problems in my community are tied to the US support of Israel and their ongoing violent oppression of Palestinians. They cannot be separated, and to create any lasting change we must address the issues in whole, which requires examining how they relate and working to break those connections. The “popularity” in the media is a moment to facilitate doing the good you’re talking about, that’s why so many long time organizers in social just areas are doing exactly what needs doing, seizing the moment.
I would argue that when it comes to social media, people not only are not bothered by unnecessary suffering, but they actively seek it out. If social media algorithms have shown us anything is that people actively want to be outraged. And isn’t it comfortable for them? How many people that are justice warriors online actively do something productive over the matter and how many just use the conflict to seek attention and gloat over their exemplary moral compass?
Remember the Ukrainian conflict? How rightfully outraged everyone was? But now that’s old news. People are fatigued by it and their statements online about it don’t get traction anymore. So most justice online warriors have moved one to the latest popular topic. So easy, so comfy.
Don’t get me wrong, all these events are disastrously tragic. Both leaderships in Palestine and Israel are murderous monsters. But the fact that it’s a popularity contest just points out how vain most people’s motivation is.
As an American, considering how much my government supports Israel, I feel like my country is a party to the conflict.