I tend to stay away from discussions on the origins of this war and who is right or wrong because well I’m not a historian and this war dates back 80 some odd years. I know this is a touchy subject, I would advise to read to the end before commenting.
What I do have thoughts on is how people in the media, the net, etc… talk to each other about this war. And yes, this is one of those rare times where I will both sides an issue.
To start this is my position: I’m on the side of civilians both Palestinians and Israelis. Both governments to me are trash and vile. In this latest outbreak, what hamas did on Oct 7th, was dead wrong and a terrorist act. The backlash by the Israeli government are equally sadistic and terrorist actions. That’s how I see it.
Now on to the discourse around this war. No matter which side someone purports to defend they use dehumanizing tactics on the other side and I don’t think that’s a natural reaction. Meaning people are being fed propaganda and acting upon that. In case you hadn’t noticed, both Palestinians and Jews/Israelis are being targeted in a lot of countries in acts of violence and in some cases even death.
I refuse to label the free Palestine movement as “Pro Hamas” are there hamas agitators yes, but it seems to me most people are simply horrified at the scale and destruction of both the Gaza strip and its inhabitants.
I refuse to label those defending Israel as “Zionists” mostly because that term is being used as an insult and a slur no matter its original meaning. People have a right to defend their country and Hamas is a terrorist organization that has vowed to destroy said country and its inhabitants.
The kneejerk reactions of people online to call anyone talking about the horrors happening in Gaza as pro hamas, is ridiculous as is the reaction to call Israelis and Jews genocide lovers and other slurs. People tend to ignore the fact that while defending their country most Israelis are also outraged by the actions of their government. Just like most of us are outraged by the actions of ours right now.
People have got to learn to dissociate the actions of a government from its people, especially when said people live within an openly or not so openly fascist regime like Israel and Russia. People again tend to ignore that both Israelis and Russians have held protests in their own countries at the risk of their own lives/safety to protest the actions of their respective governments.
I have seen some vile comments about Palestinian children’s death being okay because “they are raised to be terrorists” and I’ve seen some vile comments about “let’s kill another 6 million of them” in regards to the Jewish community, I have seen memes and cartoons that make me want to throw up again from both sides.
What is the solution to the war? I don’t know. When I hear about stopping AID to Israel, I’m torn, not because I don’t want Netanyahu to stop his killing spree, but because I wonder what happens once Israel has no more defenses? Will the tide turn and will we be just exchanging horrors? For the countries surrounding Israel all (or most?) seem to have a goal of wiping that country out also. So will we just bear witness to their extinction?
To me it seems like the best solution would be to force Netanyahu and his regime to resign, but with trump on his side that seems a far-fetched dream. I have seen horrors in my lifetime and the gruesome for yes it is gruesome destruction of Gaza is another horror I’m bearing witness to.
I wish we could have debates around this topic with all the ramifications and potential consequences in mind, but both sides seem bent on “I’m right, you’re wrong” without any restrictions. So, I usually keep my thoughts to myself but to me all this outside discourse is unproductive and even contributing to the duration of this latest outbreak in this almost century old war.
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#ThePoet – Muriel Vieux – May 3rd, 2025, ©All rights reserved
