The Death of Humanity Along with Palestinians in Gaza
In a recent newscast, I heard a professor actually debate whether or not what is happening in Gaza technically qualifies as genocide. I have listened to politicians and media outlets blame Palestinians for their own murders. And “humanitarian pause” was the vile misnomer given to the few-day cessation of mass murders of Palestinians in Gaza and further atrocities in the West Bank.
There is nothing “humanitarian” about pausing a genocide instead of stopping it. Are we so depraved as a species that murder of thousands does not set us weeping and send us into action, but instead sets us running to our dictionaries and law books to ascertain how much savagery warrants the term “genocide”? And how in the world can Palestinians be responsible for their own murders? Whose fingers are on the triggers? Who is dropping the bombs? Where were the guns and bombs made? Who is funding this genocide? Whose silence is allowing it to continue?
Along with more than 17,000 murdered Palestinians, the humanity of far too many appears to be dead. But unlike dead bodies, dead humanity can be resurrected.
I beg those who are silent about this genocide, and those who cannot weep the same tears for murdered Palestinians as for murdered Israelis, to take stock of what has died within you: compassion? Courage? A questioning mind? A loving heart? Is it lack of historical knowledge of Palestine? — Of the decades and decades of brutal settler colonialism and the horrific 16-year siege on Gaza. Are you a victim of the propoganda that has dehumanized Palestinians, conflated criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism, and instilled so much fear within you that you can no longer feel the pain of a human being whose tribe is different than yours?
If you are, I beg you to educate yourself about Palestine (you can start here: https://decolonizepalestine.com/introduction-to-palestine/ , here: https://uscpr.org/activist-resource/palestine-101/?emci=71839da5-1074-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&emdi=bd70d0d2-7e93-ee11-8925-002248223f36&ceid=11163179 , or here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/whats-the-israel-palestine-conflict-about-a-simple-guide ). And I beg you to take action (you can start here: https://bdsmovement.net/ ). I say this as a person of conscience and I say this as a Jewish person who was taught by her synagogue to love Israel unconditionally. And I did. Until I visited Israel, and the narrative that I had learned went up in flames. And with good reason.
The state of Israel does not protect Israelis. Neither does it offer protection from anti-Semitism to Jews outside of Israel. It is not and was never “a land without a people for a people without a land”. And the atrocities that are being committed against Palestinians — all in the name of Jewish safety — are most certainly some of the vilest chapters in the history of humanity.
Most of those in positions of political power cannot be trusted to do the right thing — regardless of the country. Two months into this genocide and it still rages on despite massive protests and political actions worldwide. I have been told that the political pressure of “people power” is working. If it is, it’s not working fast enough.
Unlike dead bodies, dead humanity can be resurrected. But how long will it take? How many more Palestinians will be slaughtered and how much more of our own humanity will die?
