On Israel and Palestine

May 21, 2021

When a topic as "sensitive" and important as the conflict in Palestine comes up, I often feel that I am not qualified or educated enough to make a statement on it. It sometimes takes me several days to process everything and read up on the topic before I feel confident about making one. But I do believe it's important to speak out about it, and there comes a time when I have to face my fear -- although fear is not really the right word, perhaps "apprehension" is more appropriate -- of writing about the subject. It isn't a fear of standing up for what's right, or that I'll be judged for it, but a concern that I will say something wrong on a topic this important.

I'm not here to educate anyone on the conflict personally, because as I said above, I don't feel qualified to do so. There are many other people out there I recommend following and listening to if you're not sure what's going on in Palestine and want to learn all about it. For instance, Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist who's been doing the work for years and is a great resource. Here is an opinion piece written by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders about the crisis titled The U.S. Must Stop Being an Apologist For the Netanyahu Government. There are also many videos on YouTube that detail what's been going on in that region since 1948, as well as videos such as this one that explore the accusations of apartheid being committed by Israel. These are just a few resources I find helpful.

To put it simply, in a way that my fellow Americans should be able to understand, what Israel is doing to Palestinians is very similar to what European settlers did to the indigenous people of our own country. But this is happening right now. And just like the colonizers here in the United States, Israel is trying to write and control the narrative, making themselves out to be innocent, or even the victims. But they are the side that has all the power.

Again, the purpose of this post isn't to educate, though if you're able to learn something from the resources I share, that's great.

But one thing I do want to discuss is the idea I've seen spread across social media that criticizing Israel is anti-Semitic. Or, because technically Palestinians are also a Semitic people, we'll use the term anti-Jewish instead.

There are numerous reasons this oversimplification is inaccurate and absurd:

1. Telling a group they cannot commit genocide isn't the same as being against that group. It should go without saying that genocide is bad, regardless of who the victim is, regardless of who the perpetrator is. There are many, many groups whose rights I wholeheartedly support, but if any members of that group begin to commit genocide, I'm going to tell them that's not okay.

2. Being against overreach by any government doesn't mean you're against the citizens of that country. There are likely many Israeli citizens who don't agree with their government and hate what's going on, some of whom I've spoken to or follow. There is even an Israeli metal band who've spent their entire 30-year career writing music about topics of peace between nations (Orphaned Land). Just because somebody is from Israel doesn't mean they support the oppression of Palestinians just like being from the United States doesn't mean supporting the separation of immigrant children from their parents. Many Americans hate the actions of their own government, and so do people in probably every country on Earth. Benjamin Netanyahu is not representative of everyone in Israel.

3. Jewish and Israeli are also not synonyms. People of the Jewish faith exist all around the world, and those who live outside of Israel are also not obligated to support Israel just on the grounds of being Jewish. Jewish progressives and activists in the United States and other countries have been outspoken about standing with Palestine, making it clear that oppression and human rights violations against any group are wrong. See the opinion piece from Bernie Sanders that I shared above for example (but there are many besides him, as well).

Oppression is always based on an identity of some kind. We've seen it countless times throughout history, and all around the world: people thinking they are better than someone else, or entire groups, because those people don't share their identity; and therefore, that other group doesn't deserve the same rights they have. Many people are so self-centered, they really don't believe that anyone is as good as they are, but other people who share the same traits must be closer than those who don't.

I think we should all be able to agree that this is wrong, yet it seems so deeply ingrained in human nature that we'll never escape it. It's so ingrained that people often think they're better than others over things that don't matter at all, silly things such as liking pineapple on pizza or which Star Wars movie is their favorite. Of course those things never lead to the oppression of an entire nation or race of people, but if people are really out there arguing over things like that, how can we expect everyone to get along despite bigger differences like beliefs, skin color, and lifestyle?

But just because someone from a certain identity believes they are better than others, it doesn't mean everyone who shares that identity feels the same way. If I happen to meet one Jewish person who hates Muslims, I don't go around saying "Jewish people hate Muslims." Only that person does.

Muslims and Jews are often pitted against each other by people who don't belong to either group. We're painted as "natural enemies," which is far from the actual truth.

Those of us who are progressive Muslims and Jews, who believe in human rights and equality, are tired of being pitted against each other. We do not hate each other. We stand in solidarity with each other, and with every oppressed group. The same cannot be said of the Israeli government, which does not represent all or even the majority of Jewish people around the world. Yes, some Jewish Israelis support this apartheid, or at least don't do enough to stand up against it, such as the man who was heard on video recently telling a woman in Sheikh Jarrah, "If I don't steal your house, someone else will." But to say that to criticize Israel is anti-Jewish is absurd.

People often throw around the term anti-Semitic to distract from other things, such as their own hatred for other groups. Are you familiar with the term whataboutism? If not, look it up. That's what accusations of anti-Semitism sometimes are, especially when they come from right-wing politicians and their supporters.

Don't get me wrong, anti-Jewish sentiment absolutely exists and should be condemned. But when you hear a right-wing politician call a person anti-Semitic, I wouldn't put much stock in it. It's kind of like people who claim women's rights as a reason for their Islamophobia, yet will verbally or even physically attack a Muslim woman for exercising her right to cover her body. They don't actually care about women, only about advancing their own agenda. Getting people to believe that Islam is against women's rights is a successful way of getting people to hate Muslims.

Similarly, right-wingers often don't care about Jewish people, but getting people to believe that someone is anti-Semitic (which is an accusation people take seriously for very good reason) is a successful way of getting people to hate that person. In fact, the victims of false accusations of anti-Semitism are very frequently Muslims. Hmmm. Could it be that they are claiming to support Jewish people just to get more people to hate Muslims, when in reality they don't care about either of us? Currently, in the U.S. and many other "western" nations, Islamophobia is more culturally acceptable than anti-Semitism, likely because Islam is further removed from whiteness. Right-wingers have chosen to defend Jews only because it aids their fight against Muslims, not because they actually care about Jews.

Once again, Muslims and Jews are not enemies. The Qur'an calls Muslims, Jews, and Christians "People of the Book," linking us all together as brothers and sisters. You do not have to choose one group over the other. Only in instances where one group is oppressing another do sides need to be taken, such is the case with Israel and Palestine, but not with Jews and Muslims in general.

People who care about human rights will support both groups, and progressives within both groups will always support each other. As a Muslim, I've always voiced my support for Jewish people in the face of discrimination. I've physically gone to my local synagogue to express my solidarity with my Jewish neighbors after a deadly hate crime across the country (and I was welcomed, invited inside and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of hospitality). Members of that same Jewish congregation then came to my mosque to show their solidarity with us when it was our community's turn to have been the victims of a hate crime.

This is what we do as people who support human rights. We love each other, stand up in solidarity together, and speak out against oppression. One of us cannot be free as long as another is not. As the famous MLK Jr. quote says: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

But The United States will always do what benefits it the most, even at the expense of others. Americans and others who voice their unwavering support for Israel aren't doing it because they are against anti-Semitism, although that serves as a really convenient smoke screen. They're doing it because Israel is an "ally" to the U.S. A far-right extremist ally that is committing apartheid and attempting ethnic cleansing. But our government's love affair with Netanyahu doesn't stem from a commitment to wiping out anti-Semitism. Politicians are merely asking the question "What's in it for me?" and Israel provides them with a good enough answer.

I support Chinese people, especially as anti-Asian hate crimes are continuing to rise, but I don't support China's forcing of their Uighur Muslim population into concentration camps.

I love my fellow Americans (I mean, within reason) but I don't support our government's human rights abuses toward immigrants or our police brutality against Black people.

I have dear friends who live in Saudi Arabia and generally have no problem with anyone who was born there, but I don't support... well, a lot of things Saudi Arabia does. Because part of my responsibility as a Muslim is to oppose human rights abuses, including those committed by other Muslims, such as the totalitarian regime that exists there.

And I stand in solidarity with Jewish people, who have been victims of terrible hate crimes, discrimination and genocide themselves; but I will not use my love for them to undermine another oppressed group that is currently being abused and wiped out by some members of their community.

You can support a marginalized group without believing that people belonging to that group are free to commit crimes against humanity.

tags: palestine, human rights