A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall: Takeaways and Observations from the Israel-Palestine Conflict
John Lynch, a former Irish Taoiseach, said of The Troubles, “In this island, there is no solution to be found to our disagreements by shooting each other. There is no real invader here… We must not, now or ever in the future, show anything to each other except tolerance, forbearance, and neighborly love”. This came after decades of IRA activity in Ireland, inspired by centuries of oppression, famine, and harsh British control. The Good Friday Agreement — still young, and still fragile — serves as a point of hope; the ability to set aside the narrative of the “oppressors” and “oppressed” after centuries of such turmoil and animosity is not a given thing. Here, I present my “findings” from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is arguably more nuanced and complicated. I do not have empirical findings, just observational “data” from my experiences meeting with several October 7 survivors, and different Israeli and Palestinian activists and community leaders. My role here is not to take sides; rather, to present these “findings” as any social scientist would.
For Israel, October 7th is comparable to 9/11. Attacked by Hamas — a Jihadist terrorist organization — small villages and the Nova music festival were attacked, leaving over 1,200 dead, and over 200 in captivity by Hamas. About 60 hostages still remain in Gaza. One survivor, from Kfar Aza, found a number of his neighbors murdered, and had heard reports of rape for others who did not survive the attack. UN reporting provides strong evidence that sexual violence occurred during the attack, and may be ongoing with the hostages (UN, 2024). Another survivor, from the Nova festival, had hidden in a bomb shelter with her boyfriend (who was murdered), and brother — Hamas repeatedly gassed and shot into the shelter, murdering the majority of those who hid in there. For Israelis, they see October 7 as an attack on their very existence as Jewish people — something they have felt, as a people, for generations. For them, they are a minority in a sea of majority religions and identities — mainly Islam, and surrounded by actors (e.g., Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, etc.) that do not want them to exist. From their perspective, they see global sympathy with Palestine as an invalidation of what occurred on October 7th, and as another example of global animosity towards Jewish people. Part of these feelings are not unreasonable; reports of anti-semitism have skyrocketed since October 7th (Anti-Defamation League, 2024). For them, global condemnation is condemnation for being Jewish.
Numerous scholars, political figures, and activists have referred to the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis as apartheid (Carter, 2006; Greenstein, 2020; Zreik, 2004; Barhoush & Amon, 2022). Recently, the UN classified Israeli actions toward the Palestinians as genocide, given evidence of sexual abuse and deliberate bombings of places like maternity wards (UN, 2025). According to UN reporting, there have been over 46,000 fatalities, ~1.9 million people displaced, and over 300,000 experiencing severe food insecurity (2025). For the Palestinians, their experience since 1948 has been one of harassment, humiliation, and dehumanization — being moved to small strips of land, blocked off by walls and checkpoints guarded by IDF members, having no political/economic/educational access, having water and electricity resources being controlled by the state, and being stuck with corrupt politicians and authorities have all culminated in deep frustration and anger. It is important to note, there is virtually zero contact between the groups, giving more space for hostilities to build. Speaking with a couple of Palestinian activists, their perception is that their land and way of life were stripped from them, and that they have been punished for what Hamas has done.
The framing of this conflict itself is problematic; it is not an “either-or” situation. Both narratives can be true — the establishment of a Jewish state came after the gross atrocities committed during the Holocaust, leaving many Jews with nowhere to go. That is true. So is the fact that Palestinians were removed from their land. It is also undeniably true that October 7th was a horrific tragedy, and that rates of antisemitism have, unfortunately, increased. What is happening in Gaza, and to the Palestinians, is also an awful tragedy. Attributing the actions of the Israeli government to all Jewish people is wrong, as is attributing the actions of Hamas to all Palestinians.
By framing the conflict in such a black-and-white way, the ability to come to any sort of peaceful solution becomes harder. How can Israel protect itself while also protecting human rights? Further, how can Israel protect itself while not adding to the narrative that the West and its allies are out to destroy Islam (a narrative that is used to fuel Jihadist organizations)? How can Palestine rebuild in a way that does not allow for power vacuums to form, creating space for more extreme actors? How can both Israel and Palestine rebuild without exacerbating their animosities toward each other? What does transitional justice look like in the aftermath of this war? How can Israel better promote the rights and welfare of Palestinians? These questions have no easy answers or solutions, but ensuring the safety and well-being of both groups is critical in beginning to establish peace, if not in the Middle East, at least in Israel. To quote the late Sinead O’Connor: “If there ever is going to be healing, there has to be remembering, and then grieving, so that there then can be forgiving. There has to be knowledge and understanding”. Healing is impossible without understanding, and so long as the stories and realities of others are ignored, peace stands no chance.
References
Anti-Defamation League. (2024, October 6). Over 10,000 Antisemitic Incidents Recorded in the U.S. since Oct. 7, 2023, According to ADL Preliminary Data.
Barhoush, Y., & Amon, J. J. (2023). Medical apartheid in Palestine. Global Public Health, 18(1).
CBS Interactive. (2025). U.N. report accuses Israeli forces of “Genocidal acts,” Sexual violence in Gaza and West Bank. CBS News.
Greenstein, R. (2020). Israel, Palestine, and apartheid. Insight Turkey, 73–92.
Reported impact snapshot: Gaza Strip (14 January 2025). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — Occupied Palestinian Territory. (2025).
United Nations. (2024). Reasonable grounds to believe conflict-related sexual violence occurred in Israel during 7 October attacks, senior UN official tells Security Council | Meetings coverage and press releases. United Nations.
Zreik, R. (2004). Palestine, apartheid, and the Rights Discourse. Journal of Palestine Studies, 34(1), 68–80.
