Being neither Palestinian nor Israeli, I feel inclined to say nothing in support of either, and kindly informing all participants of the debate that there are “good people on both sides.”
How ignorant.
Of course, there are “good people on both sides.” Many good, well-intentioned people are raised under Zionist ideology while knowing little of what it entails for Palestinians. Them being “good people'' is not the debate – the purpose of the debate is to find a real solution following a ceasefire, and claiming that people arguing for either side have good intentions does absolutely nothing. Slogans like “from the river to the sea” are necessary in combating neutrality (which, in this case, means being complicit in the killing of people in Gaza) and proposing one potential solution: having Israelis merge with the Palestinians to create one state where Palestinians aren’t treated as second-class citizens or slaughtered. Whether or not anyone agrees, or is in favor of a two-state solution instead, at least there’s an actual answer being proposed. The vast majority of pro-Palestine protestors are clearly not in favor of Israeli genocide; the reason they’re protesting is literally to stop the current mass murder of Palestinians in Gaza, not inflict more harm. While there are real anti-Semites and extremists who are driven by hatred instead of compassion for Palestinians, they are a minority in the overwhelming majority of normal people who simply don’t like murder and injustice (as any well-adjusted and normal person should).
Zionists hearing “from the river to the sea” being chanted at protests have interpreted it as people calling for a genocide of the Jewish population. This is a largely baseless assumption of protestors’ intentions, given that Palestine was home to Arab Jewish (and Christian) minorities who have called that land home for millennia - Christians, approximately 2,000 years and Jewish for more than 3,500 years. Historically, the Palestinian identity has never been solely Muslim. At the same time, it is true that, regrettably, anti-Semitism is rising and becoming more prevalent in the U.S., but to assume that the bulk of people who are calling for an end to murder are also advocating for the murder of another group is absurd – with the exception being violent extremists, who are more interested in expressing hatred for their Jewish neighbors than helping Palestinians. Taking a closer look at the problem, it becomes clear that this misinterpretation of the slogan is deflection. Right now, many Gazans are being forced to remove themselves from the Gaza Strip or die. Israel is actually enacting the slogan in the same way they interpret the words of protestors chanting it by making space for Israel “from the river to the sea,” displacing and bombing thousands of Palestinians in the process.
It’s always the easiest route to drift above it all, stay uninvolved, and pity the people getting involved in such “senseless” debates. It leads nowhere. The issue persists. Palestinians are dying, and people are turning a blind eye, sympathetic to the cause but too far-removed to say anything potentially controversial at the risk of tarnishing their reputations.
Usually, I don’t advocate for anything unless I’m thoroughly convinced and informed on all aspects of the debate to avoid making a mistaken assumption, but right now, it’s difficult. I don’t know everything about the conflict. My first exposure to the issue, prior to the attack on October 7, was through a close friend; before her, I knew practically nothing about the conflict. There’s still a lot I don’t know, and it’s hard to tell how much of the information I’m consuming is propaganda or misinformation. That’s why I encourage everyone to dedicate some of their time to learning about the conflict and coming to their own conclusions. I have faith that everyone, no matter their political alignments, will end up with the same conviction as me: Israel needs to arrive at a permanent ceasefire, and soon.
Sources: adl.org, makan.org.uk, pbs.org and "Palestinian-Jews and Israel's Dual Identity Crisis" by Rafael Perez
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