I have been pointedly silent on this issue. It has come at one of the most inconvenient times it possibly could have. Normally, I would shut down and completely disengage, but the prevalence of this topic on social media, the news, and in my own personal life has made it impossible not to take a side. And I really don't want to have to take a side, I don't, because, despite what anybody says, there are nuances to this conflict, as with any conflict, and it is not quite so cut-and-dry as one might think. There are reasons, historical and personal, that would make either side justifiable and could be used to discredit the other.

I have heard a lot of these arguments over the last few months, from activists, from muslims, from jews, from Israeli friends and their families. I can acknowledge the historical baggage that comes from accusations of genocide, and I want to state that I do not condone comparisons to the holocaust or Hitler when talking about the actions of the Israeli government. I have personally witnessed blatant anti-semitism being spread in the discourse by bad faith actors and by activists, knowingly or unknowingly. I know from these conversations with my Israeli friends that the topics of religion, race, and ethnicity when it comes to the citizens of Israel is a multi-faceted, incredibly complex topic, and characterising this conflict as an act of white imperialism does not reflect the ethnic make-up of the country itself and is in direct opposition to white supremacists' tendency, even in the modern day, to justify bigotry against Jews by characterising them as "non-white".

Despite acknowledging all of this, and despite it being a significant driving force in the genesis of this conflict, it is not my belief that religion should be the main lens through which we analyse the current war in Palestine, nor the actions of the IDF. At the end of the day, this conflict is being driven by the bigoted heads of a zealous government, who are waging this war without the consent of many of the citizens they claim to represent. They are backed by powerful diplomatic allies abroad, namely the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. These allies are, at the very least, willfully ignorant for their own gain, or they are, at most, fueling Israel's part in this war with munitions and weapons that allow them to continue their ongoing attacks. These attacks are being inflicted on a group of people who have, for the past 70 years, been denied their basic rights to citizenship, had their homes forcibly taken from them, and been mistreated and abused by the ongoing military occupation of the IDF in Gaza.

So, with all of that said, with all of that nuance and my own biases stated as honestly and as clearly as I can state them, I say this in summary;

The actions of the Israeli government and the IDF in Palestine are damnable, and I condemn them fully and wholly. This conflict has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom are children, with no evidential impact on the operations of Hamas. It is my opinion that Benjamin Nettanyahu and his cabinet have used this war as an excuse for extreme violence against the innocent citizens of Palestine, actions which, at the very least, should be investigated as war crimes. Australia, my home country, is at best ignorant of this, and at worst, wilfully complicit, as they use their diplomatic silence to align themselves, and further political ties with the US and UK. Though I do not know how this war will end, I hope for peace in Palestine, I hope for an end to the occupation, and I hope for those in power who started this war to be rightfully, and duly punished for the crimes they have committed.

Once, this oasis was a peaceful place. Now, the water is poisoned, the trees have died, and I can no longer look upon its beauty.

From the river to the sea.

🍉🍉🍉