Israel & Palestine: An Abridged Layman's Guide
Just a bunch of sources to get you started.
A Quick Preface:
In lieu of our regularly scheduled content, I would like to focus our attention this month on the events unfolding in Palestine and Israel. Instead of our usual book recommendation, I will provide below some useful links for the Western observer.
I am not an authority on this subject; I’m not a historian or a professional reporter. Furthermore, I have a US education and a US media bias, which, despite my best efforts, may lack appropriate context. Therefore, below are links to documents, topics, and sources that have helped form my present understanding of the Palestine-Israel conflict as a layman; I have avoided editorializing as much as possible in hopes that readers allow the authorities on the matter speak for themselves.
Public opinion has thankfully swayed greatly since I began researching this, but I hope it can be a helpful resource for people looking to fill gaps in their understanding nonetheless.
Thanks for reading and take care.
-Bitch Sensei
What We Can Do
The TL,DR
What is Zionism?
What is The World Saying in Response?
US & Israel: Skin in the Game
Have They Tried Asking Nicely?
1. What We Can Do
The people in Gaza need aid and a ceasefire, immediately. Events have been escalating rapidly. Here are a few easy actions to take:
Demand a ceasefire here — this is literally the bare minimum. Will take 1-2 minutes out of your day. You can send the provided stock email to your reps or get creative and make it your own! I changed my subject to “STOP USING MY TAX DOLLARS FOR GENOCIDE” and added some colorful language. Listen to your heart.
**Don’t forget: politicians aren’t people; they stand for nothing and deserve your wrath!**
Support Jews Against Israeli Apartheid, who were recently arrested en masse at the capitol for their peace demonstration. Look up some videos if you didn’t get a chance to see these guys yet, they have been showing up in droves and it is really moving.
Directly donate to trusted organizations here.
Boycott these Israeli companies.
Additionally boycott Starbucks, McDonalds, and Disney for directly sending food and money to Israeli soldiers. Why? Gross.
Find somewhere to show up.
Follow local activist groups. Keep watching. Get angry. Stand for something.
2. The TL,DR
Linked here is a very concise and visual history of Israeli occupation of Palestine, beginning with the 1948 Nakba, or the establishment of the State of Israel and forced expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians. If you have little context/understanding about this conflict, that link is an excellent place to start. For further reading, here’s another link that offers some deeper history and details. Both have lots of helpful charts and maps.
Linked below is an interview with Akram Salhab, a Palestinian activist based in Jerusalem. He discusses the Right of Return and the ongoing crisis from a Palestinian perspective.
TrueAnon also posted an interview with Norman Finkelstein, a leading scholar on the Israel-Palestine conflict; it’s a little longer but absolutely worth it if you have the time and interest.
As far as Hamas goes, they have been around since 1987 and have held power in the Gaza Strip since 2007. I read yet another Al Jazeera article for an overview of their whole deal, then took a look at the Hamas Charter (originally written in 1988 and revised in 2017) to get a better sense of their messaging and what they stand for.
Hamas launched rockets at Israel on October 7, sparking the events that have unfolded over the course of this month. The extremely young population is up against one of the wealthiest, most ruthless war machines in the world. Due to a strict blockade, a majority of Palestinians are trapped in place.
3. What is Zionism?
Confused by the “anti-Israel is anti-Semitism” strawman that’s been popping up in the discourse? Don’t know the difference between Judaism and Zionism?
Skim the Wikipedia page on Zionism for context, then check out this Jewish Case Against Zionism by Joshua Hill, who was taught by Israeli Zionists from a young age.
With the complicated root of the original land debate, it’s helpful to hear from Jews that don’t support the Israeli war machine. In fact, as mentioned in our introduction, over a thousand Jews Against Apartheid blockaded the White House to make it clear that they don’t want the U.S. government backing genocide in their name. The false equivalency between the two can be dangerous to Jewish people and lead to misguided support of genocidal war tactics.
It’s worth noting here too that the Hamas charter originally discusses the “Muslim struggle against the Jews” and was criticized for incitement of genocide against Jewish people. In 2017, the charter was updated in a way that drew a clearer distinction between Jewish and Zionist forces.
4. What is The World Saying in Response?
In addition to the Jews Against Apartheid demonstrations, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide have demonstrated in support of Palestine and advocated for a ceasefire. A notably smaller number of demonstrations have occurred to demand Hamas release Israeli hostages.
This is obviously old data but helps get the point across — you can find more up-to-date stats on this conflict here.
Again, I lack appropriate context to talk about what other governments have supported or condemned, but to speak for the US, their previously unshakable support for Israel has slightly wavered in recent days. Our government isn’t going to want anyone looking at them when this is all over. They have immeasurable blood on their hands, from their long history of funding and politically supporting Israel’s genocide to being the sole country to vote “no” on a humanitarian pause to send emergency aid to Gaza.
5. US & Israel: Skin in the Game (or, The Blood in Question)
Israel, a wealthy and quite technologically advanced country, has been the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance since WWII. Multiple billions, with a B, every year. Realistically, the US has been funding the genocide of Palestine since it began in the late 1940’s.
Additionally, the police and military of US and Israel all attend the same summer camp to learn warfare tactics and explore each others’ bodies. Topics at these training facilities include surveillance, squashing and intimidating protestors, and racial profiling.
My understanding of this longstanding alliance only goes as far as the fact that it is politically/militarily convenient for the US to cozy up to the biggest, toughest dog in the Middle East. Historians feel free to sound off in the comments, I wasn’t able to find as much as I wanted to on this subject.
6. Have They Tried Asking Nicely?
In 1948, following the Nakba, a few thousand Palestinians attempted to return to their homes. 5,000 people were gunned down by the Israeli military.
In 2018, the Great March of Return was a peaceful demonstration of 30,000 Palestinians marching towards their border, protesting their ever-shrinking borders and the blockade placed upon their home. Many fell victim to Israeli snipers. Human Rights Watch reported that snipers targeted children, medics, disabled people, and journalists during this peaceful march.
The podcast linked above features an in-depth discussion of these events from a Palestinian source.
In conclusion: Let your love and compassion for humanity outweigh any fear or hopelessness you may feel in the face of unfathomable cruelty.
Machines need functioning parts in order to operate, so it is crucial for us to be an irritating, progress-halting cog in the face of the imperialist war machine.
First purely informative post I have seen on the topic. Respect.
I’ve sent this to folks who use the “the history is so complicated and I don’t know enough to have an opinion” or worse “I just want peace for both sides”. Thank you for the clarity and succinct information!