I agree with those who thank you for your bravery Sass. Your mum and I feel a bit of ourselves dying every night watching the horror, the desperation, the pleading with us, the rest of the world, to help. And we feel we cannot - the sheer weight of invested momentum is so great.
I just don't know when killing in order to achieve justice became ok - but now it seems killing dozens of innocents to achieve and end of some kind, is ok.
Hi Michael, great to see that you are now another of a huge number of people who are finding their voice. The tragic killings in Gaza and Lebanon will be a stain on many people in years to come. People like Sarah are speaking up in order to bring into the light what is trying to be covered up and kept in the dark. For that I can’t thank her enough. Part of how we got here can be summed up in two words “No Leadership”. So it’s up to many courageous people out there including Sarah who lead from the front and create a path for others to follow !!
As a woman of Lebanese descent born and raised in Australia I thought the answer was to fit in to what white people deemed successful. So I went to a top tier university and landed some great jobs with some of Australia’s leading advertising agencies. I even had a fantastic Jewish boss and as a Muslim we tried to solve the Arab-Israeli crisis together.
Over the years it’s been “ok” for me to talk about the humanitarian side of this “conflict” (but just using that word makes it seem two-sided when in fact it’s a one-sided occupation). And I’ve been “allowed” to say how much we yearn for peace, never who the obstacle of peace was.
But never have I been able to talk about resistance, because I would be labelled a terrorist sympathiser. The West (including Australia) absolutely does not understand the concept of a loving, kind and generous people who are opposing their occupier. They cannot empathise with our struggle. They like to see and label us as disobedient, unyielding, uncivilised.
Never was I able to express how much I wasn’t welcomed as an Arab unless I behaved like a white person, because how can I say that when everyone likes Tabbouli and Hummus right!?
The Jewish lobby isn’t the only thing that makes us
feel uncomfortable, their tools are ingrained in the media, in school, in politics, in senior positions in corporations.
Australians don’t like to “get political” so I couldn’t talk about any of my issues as a Muslim, Lebanese, Woman - but these are all intertwined, and everything is political! And when I did raise my hand I would be told to quiet down because I should be so lucky I’m not in Afghanistan or Iran!
Although I am a Semite (the term has been appropriated by the Zionists) anything I say against genocide, occupation, settler colonialism, 76 years of oppression - they like to label me as a racist / anti-Semite so that they can disqualify my point and further de-legitimise my arguments.
Whilst Zionists can spread false news and make up lies (like beheaded babies), for an Arab to be believed we have to work 3x as hard - we need to dig up facts and have reams of data from various human rights organisations and historical facts, and even then we are not believed. For example, Lebanon has been occupied by the Zionist entity 3x in our history and committed the most barbaric massacre in 1982 way before Hezbollah but everyone conveniently forgets that. Their extreme right ministers have blatantly exposed their dreams for a Greater Israel that includes most of the Arabian peninsula, they read stories to their kids about how Lebanon is part of their great messianic dream but if I mention any of these I am
Labelled anti-Semite.
It’s an up hill struggle.
But this genocide has exposed so many lies and the insidious levels of gaslighting and manipulation across all our structures. And I hope it will be easier for generations after me to reconcile and for people to be able to speak their truth, and most importantly for justice and peace to prevail.
Thank you Brenda...I have to confess to being ignorant to what your describe for many many years. More recently a Lebanese friend who has commented here, has given me a better picture of things.
The point you make about having to work 3x harder to be heard, to have your point considered measured is a really big one. I'd put it way higher (10x?) from what I observe. I quote Toni Morrison in my previous post who comments on racism as being something that takes up your time and care, having to explain etc. I also think of Teju Cole's line when he is put in the position of having to explain racism to a white person - he won't, he doesn't have the time, he says, "catch up"
Teju Cole’s words I have felt in my bones each and every day of my 47 years.
My comment wasn’t meant to complain or play victim, only to answer (justify to myself perhaps) why I haven’t been so vocal in calling out genocide (in the past).
Thankyou Sarah for using your eloquence and your ability to organise to build this community. There are many people whose eyes, ears, minds and hearts are opening up and you are helping that happen.
We must build a thriving future together, free of subjugation and oppression and injustice and all its side effects including environmental, social and economic collapse ❤️
Brenda, thanks for your post. I don't believe it reads as complaint or victim. it is a very helpful answer and shines a really valuable light/perspective. again, thanks.
Thank you for this post Brenda. As a second generation Lebanese, I get tired of explaining it all. Your comment “The Jewish lobby isn’t the only thing that makes us
feel uncomfortable, their tools are ingrained in the media, in school, in politics, in senior positions in corporations.” Is spot on and in answer to Sarah’s question.
Hi Everyone, I'm going to provide the link again for the chapter in Naomi Klein's book Doppelgänger. I think it's one of the best explainers for some of the questions raised in this comments thread. Pinning it up the top here!
Coming at this from a spiritual perspective is the only way I know how to answer this question. The whole thing is wrapped in many layers of shame and perceived helplessness. Although that helplessness is a lie, it feels real. I've put my reply in bullet point format to keep my own thoughts as simple as possible and not bang on needlessly.
1. Posting on social media feels like screaming into the void. I'm confident that almost everyone who receives my posts feels the same as I do. Posting things about how horrifying it is feels like seems like I'm contributing more to the experience of paralysis and shame we are all feeling. It feels like we are buried in our helplessness. Perhaps that is the goal for the bad actors. If that's true, my energy needs to be put in to figuring out how I can fight that lie and support others in my immediate proximity here where I live who are also struggling.
2. The sheer weight of trying to hold an emotional and spiritual experience of polycrisis and trying not to explode.
3. Raising kids who feel hopeless about the future. I have two teenage sons, the older of whom described to me earlier this year that it is hard to have hope about the future. My attention and energy, which is finite, needs to be focused on holding space for this kind of pain, and helping them experience the emotional weight of it all while reminding them of their innate capacities for love, courage, and relationship. To figure out what their voice can be and how they can use it in a world that we are all scared of.
4. I have Black and Indigenous people in my life who have articulated to me that their anxiety is through the roof as they are experiencing re-traumatization from the racism they experienced at the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement and simply what it means to be already living in a dystopia, as they watch what is unfolding. My capacities need to be oriented to holding space for them, validating that their experience is seen, held, acknowledged, grieved, and that it matters.
5. The small number of Jewish people in my life do not support this war and their grievances are towards Netanyahu and right wing extremism. To speak out against Israel seems to erase their pain as they love Israel but stand with their whole selves against having their pain weaponized.
6. To focus all of the small amount of physical and emotional energy I have these days on building bonds of understanding and respect with people sharing the land where I live. To that end, a bunch of female clergy and I, the rabbi from the reformed synagogue here, and an Indigenous elder that we know, are going to be praying together in a traditional way at some point soon -- to be change, to honour life, to see past histories and hold pain, to honour the land here that we share, to live in to the future we long for.
7. When the news about unmarked graves at residential schools broke here in Canada, I had the experience of being the face of an institution whose history was so grotesque and horrifying that I had to take time off and consider whether I could remain a clergywoman. It also overlapped with COVID and some of the large evangelical churches here were defying the lockdown orders. Fellow clergy of were spit on in public, yelled at, etc. Walking through that time made me really question what the most transformative way I could use my finite capacities to honour life as a way of being, with my whole self, over and against the kinds of fear and pain that cause people to hate and destroy one another.
8. In 2023 we drove to the coast, and stopped for the night in Kamloops. Our souls felt like whisps until we drove down to the residential school and stood on the grounds there taking it in. My husband, sons and I walked out to a piece of land overlooking the river. We offered tobacco and prayed to Creator, to the land, to the sky, to the cosmos earnestly for forgiveness and transformation for the peoples of the earth. We all stood there weeping for our world, even our son with ASD who has difficulty with understanding emotional complexities. I think of that moment these days, and I know that my call in all of this is to be the kind of person who can stand with others here, who I can reach out and touch, to look horror and death in the face and say with the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Indigenous, Black, Asian, etc. people in my life "not here, not anymore" where and when I can. It seems like that is a way I can remain in humility and trust that this horror will not be in vain.
9. I'm a dual Canadian/American and right now, it's taking all I've got to remain ok until the election. We are bracing ourselves and trying to figure out how to talk to our kids about it if the bloviating as clown is elected. I have extended family preparing to move to Canada if this happens. The same things are happening here, but none of our extremist leaders are suggesting that they'll use the military against us for our leftist beliefs.
10. I can feel the use of desensitizing tactics working on me. When a video of people burning in tents comes up on Instagram followed by an ad for a beauty product, the insanity of the world breaks something in me. It is watching someone experience hell. It really is. I threw my phone across the room. I refuse to allow this paralysis to bury my heart. I refuse to have my morals and beliefs swallowed up by this attrition of awful that is geared to make me believe I am helpless. I will love people here, and I will honour land and treaty and people here. That I can do. That keeps me human. I can't fly to Palestine and hold the babies who survive and feed the hungry children and wipe tears from the faces of the mamas and hold vigil witnessing the wailing of the fathers. I will try my best to be heaven here.
11. I live on land where a genocide that fomented in the bowels of white supremacy and the doctrine of discovery sought to destroy an entire people. It did not. I have to believe that the death factory we live in in our world is the dying gasps of an evil that, while we are here, we must orient ourselves to a love that is stronger than death and evil. That's worth living for; that is worth facing pain for; that is worth keeping tenderhearted in this world for.
Madeleine, I read all this and am feeling into the depth of your care and frustration.
I don't think we can underestimate how much colonial guilt and shame is also coming up for many of us. But as someone here in an earlier comment wrote, perhaps this horror will get us doing the reckoning that is required. That we ache for. So we can go beyond our juvenile, small human cowardice.
I don't put this thought out there "publicly"...because it implies the Palestinians are some sort of "necessary" sacrifice, but this is possibly the "gift" here.
This point also plays out for me a lot:
To speak out against Israel seems to erase their pain as they love Israel but stand with their whole selves against having their pain weaponized.
Have you read that chapter in Naomi Klein's latest book about Palestine? i'll try dig it up again and post it here.
I'd urge anyone else who hasn't read these two chapters from 'Doppelgänger' (which Naomi Klein made free to download via her site after 7 October) to take the time to read them:
The one in Doppleganger? Yes. I've been thinking a lot about it, and how she wrote about the "theatrics" that she observed when they crossed back over the border from Gaza. Also the bits about Hitler. I hadn't known that before. It's gut wrenching but necessary to know, right?
Madeleine you express all I feel but could not so eloquently articulate. Your response brought tears to my eyes as I resonate so very deeply.
As an Australian I live on stolen lands, read about massacres and genocide of Indigenous people. That conversation is often too hard to continue to have. I have a self harming niece who is moving out of her most despairing phase and who I want to bolster with whatever I can muster. A toddler grandson whose innocence and joy in this world I want to protect… but my grief for the world, this and other wars, obfuscation, lack of care, willingness to engage is profound. Thank you for articulating your thoughts, courage and sanctuary here. ❤️
I have signed up with the Jewish Council of Australia as a non/ Jewish ally. I chose this organization because they are Australians Jews who very bravely have taken a strong public stand against Israel's disproportionate and vengeful response to the Hamas attack. Their stance goes well beyond Oct 7 to critique the whole Zionist project in establishing the State of Israel whilst violently evicting Palestinians from their homeland. I have written to my local member about the Australian governments disappointing response to Israel's rogue state violent rampaging through Gaza and now Lebanon. I am as angry about that as I am about the Palestinian people having to live and die in this totally avoidable ( both sides ) horror show. Australia is hog tied to USA geo- politics. I do t see this changing anytime soon. More's the pity.
I am heartened by the Jewish groups condemning the genocide. But they are a minority voice. And I know they cop a lot of abuse and pushback from their communities. Bravo for being an ally.
As I have witnessed in my own circle and network, they are a brave minority sadly. I have great admiration for all Jewish commentators eg Anthony Lowenstien, Gabor Mate and his family, Milo Peled et al who have been protesting about the apartheid for decades, and those who are beginning to comment and share - their witnessing this horror is on another level and I am deeply grateful and have compassion for ...
Personally, because years ago I had a conversation with my friend who happens to be a rabbi. My family being South African, the convo devolved to an argument. I explained that our homes were forcibly taken during apartheid, so why wouldn’t be Palestinians be angry about “settlers”, and my friend replied that his home (Israel) was taken too and now they’re taking it back. The argument couldn’t go any further because he couldn’t see the humanity in Palestinians.
When this war started, an acquaintance couldn’t hear me either or see the other side. For her, an Israeli, it was that the Jewish homeland was being attacked and there was no limit to how it should be protected. When a Jewish friend remained in Israel instead of taking the first flight home to Australia, it was an unshakeable belief in Israel’s ability to protect her.
Perhaps these people and I are the exception, but in raising my voice I don’t get anywhere. It’s a brick wall of denial and trauma. For other friends, I think it’s as you said: no one feels like they know enough to speak up against people who have been persecuted themselves.
But, I also know that the ANC were once classified as terrorists, that Mandela was (for a time) a guerrilla fighter, and then he became the revered father of the rainbow nation. The path of right isn’t linear or perfect, and maybe that’s another hard pill to swallow. That people can be on the side of right, and still do bad things.
I have never commented on a substack but this topic got me, because you’re right. The silence is eerie.
Hi Sarah, thanks for these personal insights. Your point - that Israeli's feel Israel will protect them - is one that I imagine feels very fragile for a lot of Jewish people and must entail a reckoning...Even this storyline is coming undone as we all realise the extent to which ulterior motives are at play.
You’re right. And this must be heartbreaking and confusing. To be a stateless people must be disorienting and scary, which maybe explains the myopia? What does it mean if the homeland of your religious text that you’re trying to reclaim isn’t only yours? I find it a bit scary to think back on conversations I’ve had with people who believe the Temple Mount is exclusively Jewish… but I do feel like wherever there’s war, there’s religion. Oh look my migraine’s back. It’s amazing you have the strength to do this publicly, day after day.
Both Sarah's you make such good points. I had closed myself off from this debate until, coincidentally this week, someone whose views I value caused me to open my mind to this question. It's now firmly on my radar. Thank you for raising this. Perfect timing for me!
I find the lack of coverage in the western media so frustrating and disheartening. I'm also shocked with the lack of people I know speaking up. I share info on social media in the hope it might inspire others to speak up, I've signed petitions and protested. I felt like I was making a difference at the beginning. Now I'm in utter disbelief that we are watching this unfold before our eyes and no ones stopping it.
Thanks for speaking up Sarah, I really hope more people do too.
I failed to include this point in the post: Not everyone has to be outspoken, not everyone is a great writer or SM poster. But everyone can hit a like button, everyone can sign a petition or show up to a rally.
I have been speaking about this Genocide everyday since it began. Standing for something is polarising and comes with loss and change but staying silent and not speaking my truth is much harder. I’ve never been more ashamed of our Government and media in Australia in its reporting of this catastrophe. I truly believe we can all make a difference. In the words of Margaret Mead “ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has”.
Love this quote. Always in solidarity. Another quote I have found to be pushing me forward to continue to share and be active - “Stand up for what is right, even if you stand alone.”
I think it is quite simple. Speaking up about Palestine is difficult because of the risks - of attack, smear and whatever these things lead to (impacted relationships, impacted job prospects, threats of the same etc). And speaking up does lead to these things. All the time. In a way that speaking about anything else does not.
In the Australian Jewish community, saying anything mildly supportive of Palestine risks ostracisation. Your fate will be discussed on WhatsApp groups and everywhere in the community, except to your face. People simply don’t speak up because the results can be so brutal.
Then there are the examples. The savage attacks against people who have shown support for Palestinians in Australia send chills down the spines of others, and they should - they are designed to do exactly that.
The groups doing the work are small (10s/100s) but organised in a way that is more politically forceful than 10,000s marching in the streets. The experience of the Sydney Theatre Company comes to mind. I know some prominent Jewish Australians who would like to speak out, and would be OK wearing the social ostracisation, but then they worry about the organisations they work for (and so the livelihoods of their colleagues) coming under attack. There are also some charitable/spiritual organisations who don’t think they would continue to have the funds to function if they spoke out.
Another point - I think the monolithic nature of the Jewish community here makes speaking out for non-Jewish Australians really hard/a bit confusing. ‘The community is progressive in so many other arenas, how could they all be wrong on this, I must be missing something etc if I’m disagreeing with all Jewish people…’ That’s one reason why the Jewish council is so powerful.
I genuinely think that’s it. There are haters in all realms (e.g. yuck people come out of the woodwork when you post about climate change or women’s rights). But this is different. I’m even a bit scared writing this.
Thanks for sharing Em. I appreciate the fear you feel.
I agree with your point - there is a sense that the Jewish community is generally progressive and so it's discombobulating when there is inconsistency in this commitment.
This part “Speaking up about Palestine is difficult because of the risks - of attack, smear and whatever these things lead to (impacted relationships, impacted job prospects, threats of the same etc). And speaking up does lead to these things. All the time. In a way that speaking about anything else does not.”
Why is this? Why is there smear campaigns, attacks etc etc? Can we delve into this deeper?
I think this is by design. Supporters of zionism conflate Israel and Judaism on purpose, and by repeating that untruth verbatim it gets absorbed by society and treated as truth. It’s quite sinister.
Indeed. And I think this also gets to the heart of why so many non-Jewish people fear speaking out - because they’re terrified of being labelled anti-Semitic. Unfortunately, the Israeli lobby and organisations like the ADL have now created a situation where the term is losing its power and people are taking less notice of real anti-Semitic incidents.
What needs to be recognized too is that there is an extremely powerful lobby of conservative evangelical Christians in Washington who support Zionism because of the belief it will hasten the return of Jesus. It is chilling. Quinn and I met a man here in Edmo who is proudly part of that lobby. Like, holy fuck.
Another thing to add is that I've seen many comments on social media over the past year from people who've lamented the fact that so many non-Jews must not know much about the Holocaust. However, for many of us, the Holocaust was in fact the central focus of our studies in modern history classes throughout high school (meanwhile, there were other genocides that happened post 1945 that we were taught nothing about). I think it's because of this that so many non-Jews fear being publicly critical of Israel, while for many of us, learning about the Holocaust makes the blind support that so many Jewish people are giving Israel (as they commit the most horrendous crimes imaginable) seem all the more disturbing.
Genocide is the “deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group”.
What is happening - with cruel and calculated success - is the elimination of a civilisation of people. With great love - our great privilege should be used to protect humanity, not argue semantics.
I work at a university and no one talks about it. Crickets. Changing the topic. There literally was more conversation about the One Direction member dying in a single day in my full office than I’ve heard about Gaza in over a year. It’s isolating and exasperating and impossibly confusing.
Human beings are living a horror movie day and night. Sarah - you almost had to whisper this brilliant post ( I read it as a whisper - I could feel the restraint and I get it)!
How has all we know and all the “lessons learned” lead to this? Well, never has there been a greater, more ‘in our face’ example that the system is working as planned.
Yep - an Australian university. There is an active activist group that had an encampment, which was encouraging! They are wonderful young people but the campaign to discredit and shut it down went to the top.
Gosh I find myself even editing and pausing on this reply! Wanting to apologise for clumsy examples or points that aren’t clear. Then I remember this post is about the slaughter of generations of people and semantics is not where my brain needs to focus!
You’re not alone in the uni experience Kristy. The one I attend is one of those that forced an encampment to dismantle and move on, which interestingly put uni policy above the freedom to protest. And as I type this I remember who it’s named after, so I’m talking about Deakin uni.
I think there is more discussion about One Direction because it's easier to fathom and not a hard conversation to have. As Sarah so often points out here, no one likes or wants to have a difficult conversation about something that is complex.
thank you for posting this. Most of us have lost folks in our lives to addictions and suicide. It touches on that personal pain and loss. Edited to add: I think talking about the celebrity is a way to talk about what we're all experiencing in a safer way.
I wonder if the way to make it a larger conversation is to organize the smaller groups in our lives who are talking about it. Maybe we are loci for shifting the conversation.
I’m not a journalist or regular social media user, and the main reason I hardly put much energy into speaking out is the same reason I don’t engage with social media generally - I struggle to see this making a difference. It feels like I would just be screaming into a void. I also get frequently paralysed by the metacrises of it all and don’t know where to direct my rage… unfortunately it often just ends up internalised… also not helped by my adhd.
I've wrestled with it, too. More recently, however, I've come to feel that I have a role to play in normalising resistance, literally by being willing to vocalise it publicly. I also feel an obligation to let Palestinians trapped in Gaza know that we are bearing witness...by liking on their posts and sharing them. They have no ability to have their representatives head to London on New York to sit on talk show panels and voice the case, they don't know who is doing something about their plight outside of the cage they're in. They can only see whether people like you and I are witnessing the horror that is their existence on social media. And so I stay. And honestly it's primarily for this reason.
As always you make very valid points. This is why I haven’t deleted my social media altogether, I have stayed, but am I doing enough? Enough with the mental/emotional/financial resources that I have? I still open Insta most days, watch and like a few posts, usually indigenous voices, feminists, neurodiversity content. Occasionally I throw myself into the melee - donating e-sims for Gaza, signing petitions asking NZ govt to support UNRWA, watching the confronting content (usually with your voice in my head Sarah, reminding me to bear witness). Perhaps I struggle to hit the like or share button because I’m afraid of what this will do to my algorithm, flooding my feed with too much graphic and confronting content that I won’t be able to handle. I already struggle to stay focused at work and engage with the amount I am consuming.
I wonder if the challenge here is shortening the feedback response when we engage with these hard tasks (hard relative to my own situation that is, not hard/devastating like living through daily war and genocide). I know I struggle with motivation for tasks that I don’t get some efficacy feedback from. How do we know if our efforts are working? What indicators do we look for to sense progress towards the critical mass needed to shift the tide?
Kate, I can assure you, as a second generation Lebanese, a “like” makes a huge difference. You may also be encouraging your other connections on the sideline to do the same. I’m always heartened when I see an engagement from a friend.
If I can be honest here, this is something I say with a great deal of trepidation. So I’m going need some cover here, Sarah!
I say it with a great deal of trepidation for a few reasons:
- Firstly and most importantly, I do not wish to diminish nor minimise the suffering of the civilians in Gaza in any way shape or form. Nor do I wish to diminish the horror of what is going on.
- Secondly, I’m going to say something which I think many people here will disagree with, and I’m conscious there’s a high level of emotion around this issue and I really don’t want to have people attacking me
- Thirdly, I’m not certain about my view either and open to being shown that I have missed something.
But…here we go…here is my view:
I’m not speaking up, as I don’t think what’s going on is in fact a genocide.
I have read quite a lot about what’s going on and read a wide variety of views and perspectives. Many uncontroversial and uncontested facts about this terrible human tragedy, simply do not point towards an actual genocide.
No doubt what’s going on is horrific, appalling and largely unnecessary. But the word “genocide” has a meaning and I don’t think what’s going on is a genocide.
In fact, I am concerned that the use of the word “genocide” has become almost like an article of faith or an article of belief.
I feel the use of the word has almost become a tribal marker word whereby people assess that you are either “with us” or “against us” based on whether you accept that what is happening is a genocide.
There are likely war crimes (on both sides). And there may have been genocidal comments by 1-2 of the right-wing extremists in Netanyahu’s administration.
But a genocide is quite a different matter altogether.
When the US dropped nuclear bombs on Japan, hundreds of thousands were killed and it was horrific it was not a genocide however.
Something can be awful, appalling and horrific, without it being a genocide.
And again, maybe this is not the right forum for the discussion. I do not wish to be provocative simply for the sake of being provocative. That is not my style. And I am concerned about the backlash I may face.
But if this is truly a safe space, then I am sharing my view with some courage but my heart in my mouth…
Hi Josh, thanks for sharing your views. And for being open to having them challenged. I trust everyone here will be very humane and decent in their responses.
My take - genocide has a specific internationally recognised definition and experts more knowledgeable than myself say the Gaza situation meets it. There are also nuances to do with when the term genocide got defined as such, and so certain past atrocities don't meet the criteria simply due to timing. I would have to go back and look through the materials that informed my reasoning....but I'm sure others will also chime in.
Josh thank you for your honesty and bravery in sharing your thoughts here. You have raised a good point on the use of words and its power. Words instil fear.
We see how media and our everyday conversations have affected our prejudice towards Arabs. Eg it’s Arab ‘prisoners’ and the Israeli ‘hostages’; Arab terrorists and Israeli commandos. Notice Israel is always mentioned first in the Australian govt press releases etc .etc.
Language is important...and equally we don't need to get caught up in semantics in some instances. It serves as a distraction and I observe the debate stalling on this point. If the word genocide disturbs people, it can easily be substituted with "mass and unjust murder". It gets to the moral crime, which is what this is about for most of us.
Hi Sarah…yes!! I agree!! In fact I have been writing a response to Siobhan and this is exactly where I was landing.
That is, the discussion about genocide or not is an unhelpful& largely redundant debate which is only a distraction from the real issue here. The real issue is that humans are suffering, the war is horrific, and it needs to stop.
I feel that asserting “genocide” actually doesn’t even serve the civilians of Gaza because (i) it distracts focus away from what is otherwise horrific behaviour & potential war crimes (perpetrated by both sides), & (ii) it alienates potential allies as we strive for peace, mutual respect and understanding.
I agree, asking the question how do we stop this mass & unjust murder of civilians is a concept I can get on board with.
And to this point, I feel both sides need to take responsibility and action.
We can apportion responsibility/blame for why we are where we are, but again that’s somewhat academic & doesn’t help our ultimate goal of peace.
From here, Netanyahu perhaps has more responsibility now given what state Hamas in, & Hamas could simply hand back the hostages to.
I guess that’s a different debate altogether, but most importantly now I am onboard with the re-wording of the question and I feel that’s a movement I can get behind.
I 100% agree with everything you’ve articulated. The term genocide has been used in this case as a political tactic that smells like a 21st century expression of blood libel. (I say that as someone who studied international humanitarian law and who has often reflected on incidents of genocide across the globe.)
Does that mean there haven’t been terrible numbers of deaths and war crimes happening on both sides or that people shouldn’t speak up about that? Of course not. The suffering is horrifying.
There are many reasons for that and if we could all have a sensible conversation about how you defend against, or eliminate, extremism on all sides, that would be a helpful starting point.
You can dismiss this all as semantics but the way people characterise Jewish behaviour - in this case the behaviour of the one Jewish state in the world - has always been the fuel that has spread antisemitism. So words do matter enormously. The people who started - very early on in this war - using the term genocide know this.
Antisemitism is fuelled by hyperbolic reactions toward Jewish behaviour, characterising everything they do as inherently violent or dangerous. The use of the term genocide in this instance is a continuation of a pattern that’s thousands of years old.
It also has people ignoring things like Israel running a massive campaign to provide two lots of polio vaccinations to Palestinian people (hardly the act of a government intent on genocide), or granting refugee status to queer Palestinians in the middle of this war, or sending out thousands of phone calls notifying people of the location of bombing targets.
Sarah speaks about the media bias. We also happen to see none of these kinds of things reported in western media. Another example; I haven’t seen the ABC mention once in the last year that Hezbollah started bombing Israel on 8 Oct, has caused the displacement of 60,000+ Israelis, as well as massive environmental damage in northern Israel. I have however seen quite a number of mentions about the more recent displacement of Lebanese people. (And I’m happy to see that reported. I just think that mentioning Israeli suffering is also newsworthy.)
My point is; there is no balance in the conversation around this war because the word genocide doesn’t allow that to occur. You say something that hints at Israel as being anything less than a genocidal monster and you’re instantly placed in the camp of ‘defending genocide’.
To Sarah’s question; that’s why many people aren’t speaking up. They want to say these things. They want to ask questions. But they also see ‘feminists’ defending rape and have been attacked when they push back against that. They see a conflation of the far right and far left, and they know for sure that there’s no space left for rational conversation. Because any previous attempt has been met with people shouting GENOCIDE in the comments and that has ended all attempts at further discussion.
Thank you for your honesty and for your willingness to be open and have your views challenged. I think it's important that you share your questions and doubts and that we are all able to engage in respectful discussion and debate. Substack (and especially the amazing online space that Sarah has created here) makes this much more possible than other media and social media platforms.
On your doubts over whether what we're witnessing is in fact a genocide, those of us who've been following the events of the past year very closely have heard countless (almost daily) examples of genocidal language being used by Israeli politicians. It's certainly not just one or two 'bad apples' making a couple of throwaway comments.
In January 2024, human rights organisation Law for Palestine released a database detailing over 500 instances of Israeli incitement to genocide. I would imagine that the numbers are close to double that ten months later... Additionally, members of the IDF regularly post completely stomach-churning and highly incriminating videos on social media, also using genocidal language, and often document themselves committing blatant war crimes on camera – frequently without any attempts to disguise their identities (presumably because they are confident that they'll never face any repercussions).
And then there are the members of the general public who often film themselves proudly advocating for the complete annihilation of Gaza and the Palestinian people. At the end of 2023, a pro-genocide song made it to the top of the charts in Israel, and just last month, two well-known Israeli podcasters released an episode of their podcast where they fantasised and laughed about the genocide of the people of Gaza.
If you didn't watch the ICJ hearing (and in particular, the case made by South Africa's legal team), I'd urge you to go back and watch it. The facts and figures quoted are now very out of date, given the escalation that's occurred since then, but South Africa's case for genocide was very clearly and compellingly argued.
I also wonder if you've read this piece that was published by the New York Times last week. It caused a firestorm, with many Israeli and diaspora Jewish commentators questioning the veracity of the claims made here, but the NYT has since released a statement to confirm that the piece was rigorously vetted and fact-checked before publication. It presents a very clear picture of the deliberate targeting of civilians, and in particular, babies and young children.
Hi Siobhan – Thanks again for sharing so much. Some of it was hard to read. A lot of appalling behaviour & possible war crimes.
I feel strongly that all alleged war crimes, on all sides of the conflict, be investigated & all guilty parties prosecuted.
Without wanting to minimise the horror of the situation, there are events (such as Israel coordinating with WHO to ensure 640,000 Gazan children receive polio vaccines) that give me reason to believe that on balance, what we’re witnessing is not a genocide.
However, that doesn’t make the situation any better nor any less horrific. Indeed, as I was thinking how to respond to you it struck me hard the complete redundancy of the debate as to whether this is a genocide or not.
All that matters is that humans are suffering. I don’t care which nation the victims or the perpetrators live in. It just needs to stop and there must be a different way.
Frankly, shifting focus away from the suffering & discussing anything else apart from how to stop the suffering, makes me feel somewhat ashamed & feels like I’m missing the point. The “genocide” discussion feels academic to the point of it being privilege on a grand scale.
I think you & I likely have a lot more that we agree upon, than what we disagree on.
Which is that the suffering is immense. The suffering is unjustified. The suffering needs to stop.
Rather than debating whether this is a genocide, I’d much rather be collaborating with you on how we can serve peace & create peace. You sound like a person of great humanity & intellect, so you’re exactly the sort of person I’d love to talk to, learn from & collaborate with.
Thanks again for your humanity and I’d be delighted to continue the conversation offline if you were interested.
I wish you all the best and send you peace and love (I know that sounds cliched to the point of being meaningless, but I mean it).
Firstly, I appreciate your comments on the term genocide and your open-minded thinking in what you've replied to Siobhan.
I also wanted to one point in the pot around why Israel is allowing the WHO polio vaccines campaign to take place, which took almost 5 weeks to negotiate and implement after Gazan Health Authority first declared an outbreak.
Considering that polio doesn't respect borders (it spreads from sewerage into underground water systems) and the polio vaccine uptake of Israeli citizens has dropped below herd immunity levels in recent years, this may not be as humanitarian as you think.
An Israeli friend who is a population immunologist shared her concerns about measles and polio in Israel in early 2023 and how an outbreak of either could be disastrous. Gaza had actually eradicated polio in the last 20 years due to 99% vaccinate rates until 2023, but it was detected in sewerage systems in Israel in 2022, as well as UK and even New York.
I just wanted to say that I've also been a bit uncomfortable using the word genocide because it feels hyperbolic and I wasn't sure it was actually true. Writing this now, though, I could learn more about it. So maybe the real issue for me is what Sarah talks about re. 'how people will see me'. Which makes me feel pretty ashamed.
I know what you mean...but there are times in history that are ghastly enough to warrant certain terms and measures. It's hard for our generation - which has grown up in opulence and peace - to sit with this...but it's now our reality.
Step out into that feeling - there are many to catch you that have had the same moment of realization where coming together for a suffering humanity means more and we no longer care about how we are seen to others. ❤️
Millions of Palestinians are now homeless in winter and denied food and water. They will die, probably in the silence that Israel wants, in order to complete its own final solution.
This is a genocide , to compare what happened in Japan , is not a comparison , but if the US had bombed all of Japan, like they are in Gaza, then it would have been a genocide.
I encourage anyone who cares to speak out , to share and not turn away. Our attention and witnessing does make a difference. ❤️🩹
Hi Susan - If I can say this with the greatest respect, I find this comment unhelpful and quite hurtful. You haven’t responded to my questions, or tried to engaged in a discussion here.
You have merely responded by assertively stating your opinion.
That’s fine. You’re welcome to your opinion. But just standing in front of me asserting an opinion is not very helpful. Plus it feels like it’s intended in some way to confront me with your view such as to silence me as if I disagree, I am failing to condemn horrific behaviour.
Furthermore, your use of the term “final solution” here is particularly distasteful and clearly used to be provocative and hurtful.
Which again, is not helpful to an open and supportive dialogue that we can all learn from.
It sounds like you’re hurting. I hope you’re ok and wish you all the best.
It was not my intention to be unhelpful or hurtful , I was speaking the truth as I see it. This is backed by the work of investigative journalists like Jonathon Cook, Vanessa Beeley and Matthew Ehret , all here on Substack. Who would also use words similar to mine about what is actually going on, which is the reduction of the Palestinian people , especially the children.
We can agree that this violence against the Palestinian’s is horrific and must be stopped.❤️🩹 As must all violence , especially perpetrated by our governments.
I am hurting about this tragedy, for all those involved the victims, the perpetrators and all of us. This is part of much bigger battle, than we can comprehend which risks our humanity and very existence.
Hi Susan – Thanks for your response. As I mentioned to Sarah as a response to another of her comments, & she mentioned as well, I fear this discussion about “genocide” is ultimately unhelpful because it derails the discussion about how to end the violence & it alienates potential allies in our efforts to end the violence.
Whether it is in fact a genocide or not, diverts attention from what I think we can all agree that what we’re witnessing from both Netanyahu & Hamas is horrific violence, oppression & war crimes. And these must stop.
I’m not sure if you’re aware but 6-7 weeks ago, Israel coordinated with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to create safe zones & pauses in fighting in Gaza to ensure more than 640,000 children in Gaza could receive polio vaccinations.
You can verify this with a quick Google search, as it is an uncontested & verifiable fact. This event alone obviously begs the question, why would Israel do this if their intention was to perpetrate a genocide?
There are many other uncontested events I could share (such as Israel sending text messages & dropping leaflets to civilians advising them which areas to avoid), which also cast considerable doubt on whether what is happening is a genocide. Because the test for a genocide rests on the intent. And there are many events which make it clear that the intent is not to eradicate an ethnic group.
Please don’t get me wrong…Israel is far from perfect. Netanyahu is abhorrent, self-interested and heartless, & even the people of Israel are protesting frequently against Netanyahu’s behaviour.
And it is also important to acknowledge the role Hamas plays in this tragedy. Hamas are also abhorrent, self-interested & heartless, and I know many Gazan citizens are angry at Hamas, although protesting is limited because Hamas tortures & kills protestors (this is well-documented by the UN & Amnesty International and is an uncontested & verifiable fact you can check on a Google search).
You may also be interested to check out Palestinian journalists such as Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib who grew up in Gaza & speaks in a very balanced manner about the realities of life in Gaza for himself & his family under challenges from Israel & from Hamas: He mostly posts on Instagram but here’s a web link too https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/experts/ahmed-fouad-alkhatib
Getting back to your reference of the “final solution” I encourage you to look up the history of that phrase in case you’re not already aware. I certainly don’t recall the Nazis providing vaccines of any kind to the millions of Jewish children, LGBTQI, disabled people or Roma people that they murdered. Nor do I recall the Nazis distributing leaflets to warn the Jewish, LGBTQI & Roma people where they could move to if they wanted to avoid being forcibly taken & herded inside an oven or a gas chamber.
And if you are aware of the history of this phrase, then I hope you will appreciate why invoking this phrase is divisive & does nothing to further the interests of peace for Palestinians nor to end the war. Indeed, this kind of language is highly emotionally charged & only widens the divide between people, and perpetuates the cycle of anger, hate & violence.
If I can only see the perspective of one side of a debate, how am I helping to bridge the divide & to create peace & understanding?
If I am full of hate & anger, how can I expect to see peace in the world?
The more I read & listen, the more I feel the complete redundancy of this discussion about whether this is a genocide or not. All that matters is humans are suffering. I don’t care which nation the victims or the perpetrators live in. It just needs to stop and there must be a different way.
Frankly, shifting focus away from the suffering & discussing anything else apart from how to stop the suffering, makes me feel rather ashamed & feels like I’m missing the point.
I wish you all the best & hope we can pray together for peace and use our collective voices to end the cycle of violence & hate.
Josh, I appreciate your response and there is so much in there that I agree with. Especially, that what matters is people are suffering ❤️🩹and there is much that is not good . I am not even going to mention the word sides , as that to is emotive to some people.
Your right, it is a redundancy to discuss what is the best definition, are people being massacred, murdered, eradicated …and some Israeli’s Government Ministers have made reference to the Final Solution, my reference has come from them.
I encourage you to look up how the oral polio vaccine has been banned in some countries. You also have to ask yourselves why would the Israeli’s prioritise giving vaccines , rather than water and food ? When lack of these life essentials are the cause of weakened children being susceptible to diseases.
I feel what is happening in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon is unpalatable and evil what ever it is called . I am not full of anger or hate, that serves no purpose, but the truth does serve a valid purpose. Even though there is very little you and I can do about it. There is certainly no point in arguing or trying to persuade each other.
Sarah, asked why more people were not speaking out, so I spoke out and you responded which is great.
Having been a peace activist for over 30 years , I understand the history and the possible trajectory to what is happening. I see the Israeli people also being victims of this dreadful situation, they are also expendable to those who have a grander plan…but that could be a discussion for another day.
Now I will join you in prays for peace and thank you for your compassion ❤️🩹
I agree with Josh. No one has called Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine genocide or declared that all Russians should be eliminated. Why is Israel different. Why is Israel held to a different standard than every other nation on earth to defend itself . A slogan like “ from the River to the Sea “ is a call for Israel to be wiped off the planet. That I consider genocide. The Hamas charter which calls for all Jews to be eliminated. That I call genocide. This , this is a war. A very very horrific and appalling war . Yes there have been horrific actions by the IDF and other members of the conservative Likud party . And yes what Hamas did on 10/7 was monstrous . And yes Sinwar using hostages as human shields monstrous . The fact that the progressive community has adopted genocide and hatred of Zionists and Zionism is appalling to me. As is hatred and dehumanizing Palestinians. Appalling . So I say this as a non Jew married to a Jew , as someone who is Pro Palestinian, Pro Israel , anti Netanyahu and anti Hamas and all forms of terrorism and hatred. I have watched for a year the horror of Jews being told what is anti semitic and I am disappointed beyond measure in the progressive community that I believe has betrayed Jews worldwide. So I am sure my post here will not be agreed with . Many people don’t believe in the right of Israel to exist. I do . I believe also in the right of Palestinians to exist. Whose responsibility is it to empower Palestine ? Who has been in power for almost 20 years? Read the Wapo article about the years that Hamas smuggled Items into Israel and made weapons in the tunnels. They used humanitarian aid meant for the people of Palestine. They used it to make weapons to slaughter Jews and they enacted that strategy on 10/7. I’ve asked this question many times In the last year and had no response: what should Israel have done after October 7? What would any country have done if invaded like that? To me this is the question worth real discussion and debate. Thanks for letting me share my views here when I know they are in the minority.
I feel great relief for this thread and question Sarah. I have been grappling with this, particularly over the last few weeks.
I find myself constantly consuming, liking and keeping track of voices from Gaza on social media, but not sharing as much as I should or would like to. I think this comes down to my infrequent posting in general and as others have alluded to, a sense of posting into the void, with no response or feedback, not knowing how things have been received or made a difference.
I do notice a fear and hesitation in myself when I speak about Palestine in my personal life or different social circles also. I live in Australia, in a more regional area where there is a large Israeli community. I find myself feeling worried that I will offend people, be misconstrued or that I don’t have a right to speak on a context that perhaps others are more connected to. Having struggled with lifelong social anxiety doesn’t help this either!!
I notice that with some of my friends there is a resistance to feel into the trauma, and connect with something that is far away to them, and invite the pain of it into their lives. I think this comes from a place of struggle to keep up with the demands of life in our capitalist societies. We are isolated more than ever, trying to keep our heads above water, and perhaps fearful to face where things are headed. I often feel like a doomist bringing everyone down when I speak on these topics or like the ‘righteous social justice warrior’ that is not received well.
Sometimes I question myself why I follow so closely every moment and war crime as I now struggle with insomnia. I also feel guilt that I am not taking enough action. What use is the knowing and witnessing if I do nothing about it? Still I can’t look away, and nor do I want to or feel I can. This thread has reignited my energy and hope to do more.
In Australia I feel there is a layer of guilt and shame for our own violent colonial genocide, past and present, and ongoing racism and discrimination towards our First Nations communities.
As a nation there is so much avoidance and lack of truth telling about what happened and is continuing to happen here. Perhaps this leads to some resistance speaking about Palestine as it feels hypocritical. I am a coloniser living on stolen land - I am also not doing enough here. There is a mirror being held up. The horrific violence we are witnessing is a visceral reminder of our privilege and shame.
This moment has also shattered any faith I had left in the ABC. I find myself dumbfounded listening to and reading ‘analysis’ of how social cohesion is breaking down in our country over the conflict - with few being able to get to the heart of why this is. How can there be cohesion when a genocide is being denied? I often wonder if these journalists feel fearful to stay what they really think or if they truly do not see the hypocrisy in their reporting.
I appreciate having a space to share these thoughts as they are normally just swirling around my head and occasionally come out in spurts of rage or despair, often in unhelpful ways.
I found this podcast episode from The Emerald recently quite helpful to feel into this space and consider how to sit with the pain without becoming paralysed. It speaks to Justice, spirituality practices, and our interconnectedness. I hope others might find it helpful too.
Gosh, this is something I wrestle with and frequently ask myself, specifically when it comes to sharing ONLINE. I often ask myself why am I so hesitant to share ANY views online, let alone for important things like this??
I really relate to what you wrote here and think that’s a big part of my problem. “When we feel ignorant, confused.. or ashamed, we avoid and side-step.”
I think I feel like in order to share views online, I must have the perfect, air-tight, fully educated words to share (both on this topic and other world issues) otherwise I’m unworthy of contributing, and I avoid / side step.
I also think my social media inactivity is often underpinned by a painful desire to keep the peace and manage peoples perceptions of me. I feel “out of control” when I share online to faceless people. If someone disagrees with me, I want to know it, I want to have the tough conversations! But it’s so much easier to feel in control when you can read body language, unpack nuance and hopefully be able to educate. On social media, I feel this constant invisible (and probably non-existent!) judgment, and an inability to effectively communicate what I really want to. So once again, I avoid and side step.
On another hand, I struggle with performative social media displays and feeling like it’s all fake and empty action. I hate when someone never posts anything of substance, and then shares the one viral post to look good and caring (I.e the dreadful AI-rendered “all eyes on Rafah” post that went viral on IG Stories).
But my judgement is often unfair. I discard any regular-person social media activism as pointless (including my own) but then allow plenty of room for bigger profiles or personalities to be as opinionated or performative as they like (and often expect it of them). It’s a double standard from me! Any impact is important no matter how big or small. Why not influence the few hundred people in your direct network?!
As I’ve tried to unpack a lot of this this year: one thing that I constantly have to remind myself of is my history with social media. I was extremely active on tumblr in my early teens and by age 16 had amassed a following of 280,000. It was before Instagram really became a thing so it really was the training ground for parasocial internet / influencer dynamics. The “anonymous questions” box was the genesis of faceless online trolling. And while I had some amazing followers and friendships on there, BOY did I have some trolls. I was SO young dealing with SO much internet, without any examples or experience of the internet that we have today to help me navigate it. (At this point, trolls are expected and we have a better idea on how to cope with them. Back then? Nothing). It’s probably no wonder I’m so filtered online today!!
Overall, I’ve been feeling a lot of guilt around this lately. Like I’m missing chances where I could have educated or positively influenced someone, encouraged someone to think differently or speak up themselves. I really do feel like a coward hiding behind a very vanilla social media profile, and I feel saddened that for such a bold and outgoing person in real life, I’m so afraid to be that online.
To close this comment out: I don’t mean to make my answer all about me when it comes to such a serious topic, but I appreciate the opportunity to reflect and unpack this. I welcome any thoughts or tips on doing better, being braver, and doubting less!
I understand Nat and being a 9 on the Enneagram, it’s all about peace for me. We all do activism in different ways. Sometimes as I have mentioned below sharing, liking a UN or Save the Children post eg is a good option …
Thanks for the response Nat. Maybe this is a good test run for both of us.. we’ve both safely admitted we find it hard but left a comment anyway, and nothing terrible happened. Perhaps we can admit it in other areas, too (like Sarah said), while still saying it anyway, and see where it gets us!
“That whole kindness and forgiveness (for everyone and everything +ouch+) is where the brave rubber has to hit that hard hard road”. Yes. I want to print this off and put it on my wall.
last printing I did was "who do you choose to be?"
have been part processing (SW book serialisation) through carving words into Lino for printmaking ... moves it from my head to tangible reminders and mantra
That’s wonderful Bronte. I get the points you raise above and I have felt same. Sometimes liking or sharing eg a UN post on a call for peace or ceasefire is the best we can do or a good start and that’s ok. And depending on what platform you’re on that gets exposure.
You raise some really interesting points here Bronte. I also don't share a lot of the REAL me on social media. What you get is the vanilla version of me and anyone who knows me KNOWS I'm not vanilla at all! I am also wondering how much our sense of safety (or unsafely) online influences our decisions on what we share?
I know this is a very complex situation and, like you, I don't feel qualified to enter into such a divisive debate. However I will now be questioning myself as to whether I'm sidestepping the difficult issues.
That said I've been exploring the johnmenadue.com site this evening and while I'm enjoying the honesty and the huge point of difference, the rawness of it all is quite confronting. I'm gonna sit with that for a bit.
Sarah, I love you for being so courageous to ask this question. There are many possible answers , as I see it.
First Israel and the Zionist lobby, spend millions on controlling the narrative. Portraying the Palestinians as terrorists, less than human who have no rights…no millions to put their side of this historic injustice of Colonialism.
Next all the top politicians and their parties in the UK , US and probably, Australia are funded by Zionist, who are often their major donors. Such as Adelson. If it’s not money , then it will be blackmail, done through Mossard by people like Epstein, who worked for them.
There has been a major strategy of the Israeli and their friends to infiltrate the media. Look at a list of who has the top jobs in many media outlets…look at the Murdock corporation and its bias. I went to a talk years ago by a BBC journalist and he said if you mention anything good about the Palestinians, the switch board is immediately jammed with complaints. Then your job, mortgage etc is threatened, so you tow the line. I was suspended from facebook for doing a post about a charity sale for medical Aid for the Palestinians.
Where I live people were falling over each other to their support for Ukraine , plates high with money , flags everywhere…homes offered even by the UK government.
What happens now…the UK send bombs, planes , supports Intel and condemns the Palestinians their right to fight against illegal occupation. Then in my town, people take down posters for a Gig for Gaza, shops refuse to put them up saying it’s too political…even though very happy to put Ukrainian flags, we even had them in our church.
Lastly but not least, people think it has nothing to do with them…but in the words of Martin Luther King “to be silent is to be complicit”. It is also naïve at best, because the plans for the greater Israel will affect us all. As will the benefits and the consequences of the bonanza that is forecast for all the oil and gas that is under Gaza.
Thank you again for giving this air space, our very humanity is on the line and there can be no turning back from this crisis.
Just asking the question keeps what is going on in the spotlight and that is what the perpetrators most fear. Read an excellent article from @caitlin Johnson today. It includes a quote and video from the CEO of Palantir which went something like this…”if the anti genocide crew keep going we won’t be able to wage another war anywhere”. We are all being asked which side of history do we want to be on…because who knows who will be next…
Thanks Susan, I think it comes as a real shock to a lot of people to realise the extent to which the bigger "power" interests are at play and that "our" leaders would be engaged in creating a narrative and, of course, that we would be complicit. Waking up to THIS is hard, it takes some time and rewiring.
It is very hard, that's why so many turn away, but not us Shambala Warriors .
I got interested in what was happening 30 years ago, as I see what has and is happening to the Palestinians as the biggest injustice in my life time. That is actively supported and encouraged by the UK Government.
Palestine has taught me lots about world politics, the complicity ,the use of violence and propaganda . But my biggest learning, as Noam Chomsky said is " government's do not work in our interests , the bankers , corporates and globalists are their constituents" . We are just a patsy who votes and thinks it makes a difference . Recognising that is tough, but liberating in so many ways . 🙏
What's happening in Gaza is revealing these hard truths to the world.
I agree with those who thank you for your bravery Sass. Your mum and I feel a bit of ourselves dying every night watching the horror, the desperation, the pleading with us, the rest of the world, to help. And we feel we cannot - the sheer weight of invested momentum is so great.
I just don't know when killing in order to achieve justice became ok - but now it seems killing dozens of innocents to achieve and end of some kind, is ok.
Love from us sweetheart
Thanks Dad. Yes, the "invested momentum" is a truly disturbing part of this...that it exists, that it silences, that it overwhelms our morality.
Hi Michael, great to see that you are now another of a huge number of people who are finding their voice. The tragic killings in Gaza and Lebanon will be a stain on many people in years to come. People like Sarah are speaking up in order to bring into the light what is trying to be covered up and kept in the dark. For that I can’t thank her enough. Part of how we got here can be summed up in two words “No Leadership”. So it’s up to many courageous people out there including Sarah who lead from the front and create a path for others to follow !!
As a woman of Lebanese descent born and raised in Australia I thought the answer was to fit in to what white people deemed successful. So I went to a top tier university and landed some great jobs with some of Australia’s leading advertising agencies. I even had a fantastic Jewish boss and as a Muslim we tried to solve the Arab-Israeli crisis together.
Over the years it’s been “ok” for me to talk about the humanitarian side of this “conflict” (but just using that word makes it seem two-sided when in fact it’s a one-sided occupation). And I’ve been “allowed” to say how much we yearn for peace, never who the obstacle of peace was.
But never have I been able to talk about resistance, because I would be labelled a terrorist sympathiser. The West (including Australia) absolutely does not understand the concept of a loving, kind and generous people who are opposing their occupier. They cannot empathise with our struggle. They like to see and label us as disobedient, unyielding, uncivilised.
Never was I able to express how much I wasn’t welcomed as an Arab unless I behaved like a white person, because how can I say that when everyone likes Tabbouli and Hummus right!?
The Jewish lobby isn’t the only thing that makes us
feel uncomfortable, their tools are ingrained in the media, in school, in politics, in senior positions in corporations.
Australians don’t like to “get political” so I couldn’t talk about any of my issues as a Muslim, Lebanese, Woman - but these are all intertwined, and everything is political! And when I did raise my hand I would be told to quiet down because I should be so lucky I’m not in Afghanistan or Iran!
Although I am a Semite (the term has been appropriated by the Zionists) anything I say against genocide, occupation, settler colonialism, 76 years of oppression - they like to label me as a racist / anti-Semite so that they can disqualify my point and further de-legitimise my arguments.
Whilst Zionists can spread false news and make up lies (like beheaded babies), for an Arab to be believed we have to work 3x as hard - we need to dig up facts and have reams of data from various human rights organisations and historical facts, and even then we are not believed. For example, Lebanon has been occupied by the Zionist entity 3x in our history and committed the most barbaric massacre in 1982 way before Hezbollah but everyone conveniently forgets that. Their extreme right ministers have blatantly exposed their dreams for a Greater Israel that includes most of the Arabian peninsula, they read stories to their kids about how Lebanon is part of their great messianic dream but if I mention any of these I am
Labelled anti-Semite.
It’s an up hill struggle.
But this genocide has exposed so many lies and the insidious levels of gaslighting and manipulation across all our structures. And I hope it will be easier for generations after me to reconcile and for people to be able to speak their truth, and most importantly for justice and peace to prevail.
Salam. Peace.
Thank you Brenda...I have to confess to being ignorant to what your describe for many many years. More recently a Lebanese friend who has commented here, has given me a better picture of things.
The point you make about having to work 3x harder to be heard, to have your point considered measured is a really big one. I'd put it way higher (10x?) from what I observe. I quote Toni Morrison in my previous post who comments on racism as being something that takes up your time and care, having to explain etc. I also think of Teju Cole's line when he is put in the position of having to explain racism to a white person - he won't, he doesn't have the time, he says, "catch up"
Teju Cole’s words I have felt in my bones each and every day of my 47 years.
My comment wasn’t meant to complain or play victim, only to answer (justify to myself perhaps) why I haven’t been so vocal in calling out genocide (in the past).
Thankyou Sarah for using your eloquence and your ability to organise to build this community. There are many people whose eyes, ears, minds and hearts are opening up and you are helping that happen.
We must build a thriving future together, free of subjugation and oppression and injustice and all its side effects including environmental, social and economic collapse ❤️
You weren't complaining!
Brenda, thanks for your post. I don't believe it reads as complaint or victim. it is a very helpful answer and shines a really valuable light/perspective. again, thanks.
Thank you for this post Brenda. As a second generation Lebanese, I get tired of explaining it all. Your comment “The Jewish lobby isn’t the only thing that makes us
feel uncomfortable, their tools are ingrained in the media, in school, in politics, in senior positions in corporations.” Is spot on and in answer to Sarah’s question.
Respect. All the love I have in my heart to you this morning.
❤️
I believe you. I think most migrants and children of migrants know exactly what you mean.
Thank you for sharing this Brenda. I can see the uphill struggle you face and it is so unfair.
Thank you for sharing your experience Brenda. I think this tears at my heart even more than Sarah's brave post.
Sending love 🤍
From the bottom of my heart, I hear you and thank you. (Hugs)
Thank you for this Brenda.
Hi Everyone, I'm going to provide the link again for the chapter in Naomi Klein's book Doppelgänger. I think it's one of the best explainers for some of the questions raised in this comments thread. Pinning it up the top here!
https://naomiklein.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Israel-Palestine-and-the-Doppelganger-Effect.pdf
Coming at this from a spiritual perspective is the only way I know how to answer this question. The whole thing is wrapped in many layers of shame and perceived helplessness. Although that helplessness is a lie, it feels real. I've put my reply in bullet point format to keep my own thoughts as simple as possible and not bang on needlessly.
1. Posting on social media feels like screaming into the void. I'm confident that almost everyone who receives my posts feels the same as I do. Posting things about how horrifying it is feels like seems like I'm contributing more to the experience of paralysis and shame we are all feeling. It feels like we are buried in our helplessness. Perhaps that is the goal for the bad actors. If that's true, my energy needs to be put in to figuring out how I can fight that lie and support others in my immediate proximity here where I live who are also struggling.
2. The sheer weight of trying to hold an emotional and spiritual experience of polycrisis and trying not to explode.
3. Raising kids who feel hopeless about the future. I have two teenage sons, the older of whom described to me earlier this year that it is hard to have hope about the future. My attention and energy, which is finite, needs to be focused on holding space for this kind of pain, and helping them experience the emotional weight of it all while reminding them of their innate capacities for love, courage, and relationship. To figure out what their voice can be and how they can use it in a world that we are all scared of.
4. I have Black and Indigenous people in my life who have articulated to me that their anxiety is through the roof as they are experiencing re-traumatization from the racism they experienced at the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement and simply what it means to be already living in a dystopia, as they watch what is unfolding. My capacities need to be oriented to holding space for them, validating that their experience is seen, held, acknowledged, grieved, and that it matters.
5. The small number of Jewish people in my life do not support this war and their grievances are towards Netanyahu and right wing extremism. To speak out against Israel seems to erase their pain as they love Israel but stand with their whole selves against having their pain weaponized.
6. To focus all of the small amount of physical and emotional energy I have these days on building bonds of understanding and respect with people sharing the land where I live. To that end, a bunch of female clergy and I, the rabbi from the reformed synagogue here, and an Indigenous elder that we know, are going to be praying together in a traditional way at some point soon -- to be change, to honour life, to see past histories and hold pain, to honour the land here that we share, to live in to the future we long for.
7. When the news about unmarked graves at residential schools broke here in Canada, I had the experience of being the face of an institution whose history was so grotesque and horrifying that I had to take time off and consider whether I could remain a clergywoman. It also overlapped with COVID and some of the large evangelical churches here were defying the lockdown orders. Fellow clergy of were spit on in public, yelled at, etc. Walking through that time made me really question what the most transformative way I could use my finite capacities to honour life as a way of being, with my whole self, over and against the kinds of fear and pain that cause people to hate and destroy one another.
8. In 2023 we drove to the coast, and stopped for the night in Kamloops. Our souls felt like whisps until we drove down to the residential school and stood on the grounds there taking it in. My husband, sons and I walked out to a piece of land overlooking the river. We offered tobacco and prayed to Creator, to the land, to the sky, to the cosmos earnestly for forgiveness and transformation for the peoples of the earth. We all stood there weeping for our world, even our son with ASD who has difficulty with understanding emotional complexities. I think of that moment these days, and I know that my call in all of this is to be the kind of person who can stand with others here, who I can reach out and touch, to look horror and death in the face and say with the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Indigenous, Black, Asian, etc. people in my life "not here, not anymore" where and when I can. It seems like that is a way I can remain in humility and trust that this horror will not be in vain.
9. I'm a dual Canadian/American and right now, it's taking all I've got to remain ok until the election. We are bracing ourselves and trying to figure out how to talk to our kids about it if the bloviating as clown is elected. I have extended family preparing to move to Canada if this happens. The same things are happening here, but none of our extremist leaders are suggesting that they'll use the military against us for our leftist beliefs.
10. I can feel the use of desensitizing tactics working on me. When a video of people burning in tents comes up on Instagram followed by an ad for a beauty product, the insanity of the world breaks something in me. It is watching someone experience hell. It really is. I threw my phone across the room. I refuse to allow this paralysis to bury my heart. I refuse to have my morals and beliefs swallowed up by this attrition of awful that is geared to make me believe I am helpless. I will love people here, and I will honour land and treaty and people here. That I can do. That keeps me human. I can't fly to Palestine and hold the babies who survive and feed the hungry children and wipe tears from the faces of the mamas and hold vigil witnessing the wailing of the fathers. I will try my best to be heaven here.
11. I live on land where a genocide that fomented in the bowels of white supremacy and the doctrine of discovery sought to destroy an entire people. It did not. I have to believe that the death factory we live in in our world is the dying gasps of an evil that, while we are here, we must orient ourselves to a love that is stronger than death and evil. That's worth living for; that is worth facing pain for; that is worth keeping tenderhearted in this world for.
Madeleine, I read all this and am feeling into the depth of your care and frustration.
I don't think we can underestimate how much colonial guilt and shame is also coming up for many of us. But as someone here in an earlier comment wrote, perhaps this horror will get us doing the reckoning that is required. That we ache for. So we can go beyond our juvenile, small human cowardice.
I don't put this thought out there "publicly"...because it implies the Palestinians are some sort of "necessary" sacrifice, but this is possibly the "gift" here.
This point also plays out for me a lot:
To speak out against Israel seems to erase their pain as they love Israel but stand with their whole selves against having their pain weaponized.
Have you read that chapter in Naomi Klein's latest book about Palestine? i'll try dig it up again and post it here.
Here's the link, Sarah and Madeleine. :)
I'd urge anyone else who hasn't read these two chapters from 'Doppelgänger' (which Naomi Klein made free to download via her site after 7 October) to take the time to read them:
https://naomiklein.org/doppelganger-effect/
thank you!
The one in Doppleganger? Yes. I've been thinking a lot about it, and how she wrote about the "theatrics" that she observed when they crossed back over the border from Gaza. Also the bits about Hitler. I hadn't known that before. It's gut wrenching but necessary to know, right?
Madeleine you express all I feel but could not so eloquently articulate. Your response brought tears to my eyes as I resonate so very deeply.
As an Australian I live on stolen lands, read about massacres and genocide of Indigenous people. That conversation is often too hard to continue to have. I have a self harming niece who is moving out of her most despairing phase and who I want to bolster with whatever I can muster. A toddler grandson whose innocence and joy in this world I want to protect… but my grief for the world, this and other wars, obfuscation, lack of care, willingness to engage is profound. Thank you for articulating your thoughts, courage and sanctuary here. ❤️
Well said. Resonate with all of this, Madeleine. Fellow Canadian here.
Thank you for your words ❤️
So many good points here Madeleine. Thank you x
I have signed up with the Jewish Council of Australia as a non/ Jewish ally. I chose this organization because they are Australians Jews who very bravely have taken a strong public stand against Israel's disproportionate and vengeful response to the Hamas attack. Their stance goes well beyond Oct 7 to critique the whole Zionist project in establishing the State of Israel whilst violently evicting Palestinians from their homeland. I have written to my local member about the Australian governments disappointing response to Israel's rogue state violent rampaging through Gaza and now Lebanon. I am as angry about that as I am about the Palestinian people having to live and die in this totally avoidable ( both sides ) horror show. Australia is hog tied to USA geo- politics. I do t see this changing anytime soon. More's the pity.
I am heartened by the Jewish groups condemning the genocide. But they are a minority voice. And I know they cop a lot of abuse and pushback from their communities. Bravo for being an ally.
As I have witnessed in my own circle and network, they are a brave minority sadly. I have great admiration for all Jewish commentators eg Anthony Lowenstien, Gabor Mate and his family, Milo Peled et al who have been protesting about the apartheid for decades, and those who are beginning to comment and share - their witnessing this horror is on another level and I am deeply grateful and have compassion for ...
Big topic, Sarah. And brave.
Personally, because years ago I had a conversation with my friend who happens to be a rabbi. My family being South African, the convo devolved to an argument. I explained that our homes were forcibly taken during apartheid, so why wouldn’t be Palestinians be angry about “settlers”, and my friend replied that his home (Israel) was taken too and now they’re taking it back. The argument couldn’t go any further because he couldn’t see the humanity in Palestinians.
When this war started, an acquaintance couldn’t hear me either or see the other side. For her, an Israeli, it was that the Jewish homeland was being attacked and there was no limit to how it should be protected. When a Jewish friend remained in Israel instead of taking the first flight home to Australia, it was an unshakeable belief in Israel’s ability to protect her.
Perhaps these people and I are the exception, but in raising my voice I don’t get anywhere. It’s a brick wall of denial and trauma. For other friends, I think it’s as you said: no one feels like they know enough to speak up against people who have been persecuted themselves.
But, I also know that the ANC were once classified as terrorists, that Mandela was (for a time) a guerrilla fighter, and then he became the revered father of the rainbow nation. The path of right isn’t linear or perfect, and maybe that’s another hard pill to swallow. That people can be on the side of right, and still do bad things.
I have never commented on a substack but this topic got me, because you’re right. The silence is eerie.
Hi Sarah, thanks for these personal insights. Your point - that Israeli's feel Israel will protect them - is one that I imagine feels very fragile for a lot of Jewish people and must entail a reckoning...Even this storyline is coming undone as we all realise the extent to which ulterior motives are at play.
You’re right. And this must be heartbreaking and confusing. To be a stateless people must be disorienting and scary, which maybe explains the myopia? What does it mean if the homeland of your religious text that you’re trying to reclaim isn’t only yours? I find it a bit scary to think back on conversations I’ve had with people who believe the Temple Mount is exclusively Jewish… but I do feel like wherever there’s war, there’s religion. Oh look my migraine’s back. It’s amazing you have the strength to do this publicly, day after day.
Both Sarah's you make such good points. I had closed myself off from this debate until, coincidentally this week, someone whose views I value caused me to open my mind to this question. It's now firmly on my radar. Thank you for raising this. Perfect timing for me!
I find the lack of coverage in the western media so frustrating and disheartening. I'm also shocked with the lack of people I know speaking up. I share info on social media in the hope it might inspire others to speak up, I've signed petitions and protested. I felt like I was making a difference at the beginning. Now I'm in utter disbelief that we are watching this unfold before our eyes and no ones stopping it.
Thanks for speaking up Sarah, I really hope more people do too.
I failed to include this point in the post: Not everyone has to be outspoken, not everyone is a great writer or SM poster. But everyone can hit a like button, everyone can sign a petition or show up to a rally.
And write to their MPs to ask for more greater consequences
If they don’t hear from all voices they only respond to the loud ones
I have been speaking about this Genocide everyday since it began. Standing for something is polarising and comes with loss and change but staying silent and not speaking my truth is much harder. I’ve never been more ashamed of our Government and media in Australia in its reporting of this catastrophe. I truly believe we can all make a difference. In the words of Margaret Mead “ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has”.
And, as Arendt says, we have to live with ourselves.
Love this quote. Always in solidarity. Another quote I have found to be pushing me forward to continue to share and be active - “Stand up for what is right, even if you stand alone.”
Thankyou. Solidarity.
I’m so glad you are having this discussion.
I think it is quite simple. Speaking up about Palestine is difficult because of the risks - of attack, smear and whatever these things lead to (impacted relationships, impacted job prospects, threats of the same etc). And speaking up does lead to these things. All the time. In a way that speaking about anything else does not.
In the Australian Jewish community, saying anything mildly supportive of Palestine risks ostracisation. Your fate will be discussed on WhatsApp groups and everywhere in the community, except to your face. People simply don’t speak up because the results can be so brutal.
Then there are the examples. The savage attacks against people who have shown support for Palestinians in Australia send chills down the spines of others, and they should - they are designed to do exactly that.
The groups doing the work are small (10s/100s) but organised in a way that is more politically forceful than 10,000s marching in the streets. The experience of the Sydney Theatre Company comes to mind. I know some prominent Jewish Australians who would like to speak out, and would be OK wearing the social ostracisation, but then they worry about the organisations they work for (and so the livelihoods of their colleagues) coming under attack. There are also some charitable/spiritual organisations who don’t think they would continue to have the funds to function if they spoke out.
Another point - I think the monolithic nature of the Jewish community here makes speaking out for non-Jewish Australians really hard/a bit confusing. ‘The community is progressive in so many other arenas, how could they all be wrong on this, I must be missing something etc if I’m disagreeing with all Jewish people…’ That’s one reason why the Jewish council is so powerful.
I genuinely think that’s it. There are haters in all realms (e.g. yuck people come out of the woodwork when you post about climate change or women’s rights). But this is different. I’m even a bit scared writing this.
Thanks for sharing Em. I appreciate the fear you feel.
I agree with your point - there is a sense that the Jewish community is generally progressive and so it's discombobulating when there is inconsistency in this commitment.
I see the same things here in Canada. I had a man yell at me after church one day about using the word "genocide" in a prayer.
This part “Speaking up about Palestine is difficult because of the risks - of attack, smear and whatever these things lead to (impacted relationships, impacted job prospects, threats of the same etc). And speaking up does lead to these things. All the time. In a way that speaking about anything else does not.”
Why is this? Why is there smear campaigns, attacks etc etc? Can we delve into this deeper?
I think this is by design. Supporters of zionism conflate Israel and Judaism on purpose, and by repeating that untruth verbatim it gets absorbed by society and treated as truth. It’s quite sinister.
Indeed. And I think this also gets to the heart of why so many non-Jewish people fear speaking out - because they’re terrified of being labelled anti-Semitic. Unfortunately, the Israeli lobby and organisations like the ADL have now created a situation where the term is losing its power and people are taking less notice of real anti-Semitic incidents.
This is a massive injury and I think the Zionist movement has ultimately made it more dangerous for all Jewish people
What needs to be recognized too is that there is an extremely powerful lobby of conservative evangelical Christians in Washington who support Zionism because of the belief it will hasten the return of Jesus. It is chilling. Quinn and I met a man here in Edmo who is proudly part of that lobby. Like, holy fuck.
Another thing to add is that I've seen many comments on social media over the past year from people who've lamented the fact that so many non-Jews must not know much about the Holocaust. However, for many of us, the Holocaust was in fact the central focus of our studies in modern history classes throughout high school (meanwhile, there were other genocides that happened post 1945 that we were taught nothing about). I think it's because of this that so many non-Jews fear being publicly critical of Israel, while for many of us, learning about the Holocaust makes the blind support that so many Jewish people are giving Israel (as they commit the most horrendous crimes imaginable) seem all the more disturbing.
So much more dangerous, and yet so many Jewish people fail to see it...
Sinister as in it is a deliberate tactic to silent dissent
Genocide is the “deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group”.
https://diplomacy.state.gov/encyclopedia/genocide/
What is happening - with cruel and calculated success - is the elimination of a civilisation of people. With great love - our great privilege should be used to protect humanity, not argue semantics.
I work at a university and no one talks about it. Crickets. Changing the topic. There literally was more conversation about the One Direction member dying in a single day in my full office than I’ve heard about Gaza in over a year. It’s isolating and exasperating and impossibly confusing.
Human beings are living a horror movie day and night. Sarah - you almost had to whisper this brilliant post ( I read it as a whisper - I could feel the restraint and I get it)!
How has all we know and all the “lessons learned” lead to this? Well, never has there been a greater, more ‘in our face’ example that the system is working as planned.
In solidarity - ceasefire now.
Yes, a whisper is right.
And I had to close my eyes and hit send.
I find it very worrying to hear this is not being discussed at a university. I presume it's an Australian one?
Yep - an Australian university. There is an active activist group that had an encampment, which was encouraging! They are wonderful young people but the campaign to discredit and shut it down went to the top.
Gosh I find myself even editing and pausing on this reply! Wanting to apologise for clumsy examples or points that aren’t clear. Then I remember this post is about the slaughter of generations of people and semantics is not where my brain needs to focus!
You’re not alone in the uni experience Kristy. The one I attend is one of those that forced an encampment to dismantle and move on, which interestingly put uni policy above the freedom to protest. And as I type this I remember who it’s named after, so I’m talking about Deakin uni.
Yep - the exact experience friend. Things prevailed - and students used appeal mechanisms as designed and had outcomes overturned for individuals.
I think there is more discussion about One Direction because it's easier to fathom and not a hard conversation to have. As Sarah so often points out here, no one likes or wants to have a difficult conversation about something that is complex.
thank you for posting this. Most of us have lost folks in our lives to addictions and suicide. It touches on that personal pain and loss. Edited to add: I think talking about the celebrity is a way to talk about what we're all experiencing in a safer way.
I wonder if the way to make it a larger conversation is to organize the smaller groups in our lives who are talking about it. Maybe we are loci for shifting the conversation.
Agree, And this is why Sarah’s post here is important
I’m not a journalist or regular social media user, and the main reason I hardly put much energy into speaking out is the same reason I don’t engage with social media generally - I struggle to see this making a difference. It feels like I would just be screaming into a void. I also get frequently paralysed by the metacrises of it all and don’t know where to direct my rage… unfortunately it often just ends up internalised… also not helped by my adhd.
That's an important point.
I've wrestled with it, too. More recently, however, I've come to feel that I have a role to play in normalising resistance, literally by being willing to vocalise it publicly. I also feel an obligation to let Palestinians trapped in Gaza know that we are bearing witness...by liking on their posts and sharing them. They have no ability to have their representatives head to London on New York to sit on talk show panels and voice the case, they don't know who is doing something about their plight outside of the cage they're in. They can only see whether people like you and I are witnessing the horror that is their existence on social media. And so I stay. And honestly it's primarily for this reason.
As always you make very valid points. This is why I haven’t deleted my social media altogether, I have stayed, but am I doing enough? Enough with the mental/emotional/financial resources that I have? I still open Insta most days, watch and like a few posts, usually indigenous voices, feminists, neurodiversity content. Occasionally I throw myself into the melee - donating e-sims for Gaza, signing petitions asking NZ govt to support UNRWA, watching the confronting content (usually with your voice in my head Sarah, reminding me to bear witness). Perhaps I struggle to hit the like or share button because I’m afraid of what this will do to my algorithm, flooding my feed with too much graphic and confronting content that I won’t be able to handle. I already struggle to stay focused at work and engage with the amount I am consuming.
I wonder if the challenge here is shortening the feedback response when we engage with these hard tasks (hard relative to my own situation that is, not hard/devastating like living through daily war and genocide). I know I struggle with motivation for tasks that I don’t get some efficacy feedback from. How do we know if our efforts are working? What indicators do we look for to sense progress towards the critical mass needed to shift the tide?
Or maybe we have to accept doing, engaging, caring even if it won't save things, preserves our humanity...and that this is so important.
Kate, I can assure you, as a second generation Lebanese, a “like” makes a huge difference. You may also be encouraging your other connections on the sideline to do the same. I’m always heartened when I see an engagement from a friend.
I feel the same when I see friends (timidly) supporting me with a like on my political posts. Few do. But I feel very held when others do.
If I can be honest here, this is something I say with a great deal of trepidation. So I’m going need some cover here, Sarah!
I say it with a great deal of trepidation for a few reasons:
- Firstly and most importantly, I do not wish to diminish nor minimise the suffering of the civilians in Gaza in any way shape or form. Nor do I wish to diminish the horror of what is going on.
- Secondly, I’m going to say something which I think many people here will disagree with, and I’m conscious there’s a high level of emotion around this issue and I really don’t want to have people attacking me
- Thirdly, I’m not certain about my view either and open to being shown that I have missed something.
But…here we go…here is my view:
I’m not speaking up, as I don’t think what’s going on is in fact a genocide.
I have read quite a lot about what’s going on and read a wide variety of views and perspectives. Many uncontroversial and uncontested facts about this terrible human tragedy, simply do not point towards an actual genocide.
No doubt what’s going on is horrific, appalling and largely unnecessary. But the word “genocide” has a meaning and I don’t think what’s going on is a genocide.
In fact, I am concerned that the use of the word “genocide” has become almost like an article of faith or an article of belief.
I feel the use of the word has almost become a tribal marker word whereby people assess that you are either “with us” or “against us” based on whether you accept that what is happening is a genocide.
There are likely war crimes (on both sides). And there may have been genocidal comments by 1-2 of the right-wing extremists in Netanyahu’s administration.
But a genocide is quite a different matter altogether.
When the US dropped nuclear bombs on Japan, hundreds of thousands were killed and it was horrific it was not a genocide however.
Something can be awful, appalling and horrific, without it being a genocide.
And again, maybe this is not the right forum for the discussion. I do not wish to be provocative simply for the sake of being provocative. That is not my style. And I am concerned about the backlash I may face.
But if this is truly a safe space, then I am sharing my view with some courage but my heart in my mouth…
Hi Josh, thanks for sharing your views. And for being open to having them challenged. I trust everyone here will be very humane and decent in their responses.
My take - genocide has a specific internationally recognised definition and experts more knowledgeable than myself say the Gaza situation meets it. There are also nuances to do with when the term genocide got defined as such, and so certain past atrocities don't meet the criteria simply due to timing. I would have to go back and look through the materials that informed my reasoning....but I'm sure others will also chime in.
Josh thank you for your honesty and bravery in sharing your thoughts here. You have raised a good point on the use of words and its power. Words instil fear.
We see how media and our everyday conversations have affected our prejudice towards Arabs. Eg it’s Arab ‘prisoners’ and the Israeli ‘hostages’; Arab terrorists and Israeli commandos. Notice Israel is always mentioned first in the Australian govt press releases etc .etc.
Josh, I had another thought.
Language is important...and equally we don't need to get caught up in semantics in some instances. It serves as a distraction and I observe the debate stalling on this point. If the word genocide disturbs people, it can easily be substituted with "mass and unjust murder". It gets to the moral crime, which is what this is about for most of us.
Hi Sarah…yes!! I agree!! In fact I have been writing a response to Siobhan and this is exactly where I was landing.
That is, the discussion about genocide or not is an unhelpful& largely redundant debate which is only a distraction from the real issue here. The real issue is that humans are suffering, the war is horrific, and it needs to stop.
I feel that asserting “genocide” actually doesn’t even serve the civilians of Gaza because (i) it distracts focus away from what is otherwise horrific behaviour & potential war crimes (perpetrated by both sides), & (ii) it alienates potential allies as we strive for peace, mutual respect and understanding.
I agree, asking the question how do we stop this mass & unjust murder of civilians is a concept I can get on board with.
And to this point, I feel both sides need to take responsibility and action.
We can apportion responsibility/blame for why we are where we are, but again that’s somewhat academic & doesn’t help our ultimate goal of peace.
From here, Netanyahu perhaps has more responsibility now given what state Hamas in, & Hamas could simply hand back the hostages to.
I guess that’s a different debate altogether, but most importantly now I am onboard with the re-wording of the question and I feel that’s a movement I can get behind.
I 100% agree with everything you’ve articulated. The term genocide has been used in this case as a political tactic that smells like a 21st century expression of blood libel. (I say that as someone who studied international humanitarian law and who has often reflected on incidents of genocide across the globe.)
Does that mean there haven’t been terrible numbers of deaths and war crimes happening on both sides or that people shouldn’t speak up about that? Of course not. The suffering is horrifying.
There are many reasons for that and if we could all have a sensible conversation about how you defend against, or eliminate, extremism on all sides, that would be a helpful starting point.
You can dismiss this all as semantics but the way people characterise Jewish behaviour - in this case the behaviour of the one Jewish state in the world - has always been the fuel that has spread antisemitism. So words do matter enormously. The people who started - very early on in this war - using the term genocide know this.
Antisemitism is fuelled by hyperbolic reactions toward Jewish behaviour, characterising everything they do as inherently violent or dangerous. The use of the term genocide in this instance is a continuation of a pattern that’s thousands of years old.
It also has people ignoring things like Israel running a massive campaign to provide two lots of polio vaccinations to Palestinian people (hardly the act of a government intent on genocide), or granting refugee status to queer Palestinians in the middle of this war, or sending out thousands of phone calls notifying people of the location of bombing targets.
Sarah speaks about the media bias. We also happen to see none of these kinds of things reported in western media. Another example; I haven’t seen the ABC mention once in the last year that Hezbollah started bombing Israel on 8 Oct, has caused the displacement of 60,000+ Israelis, as well as massive environmental damage in northern Israel. I have however seen quite a number of mentions about the more recent displacement of Lebanese people. (And I’m happy to see that reported. I just think that mentioning Israeli suffering is also newsworthy.)
My point is; there is no balance in the conversation around this war because the word genocide doesn’t allow that to occur. You say something that hints at Israel as being anything less than a genocidal monster and you’re instantly placed in the camp of ‘defending genocide’.
To Sarah’s question; that’s why many people aren’t speaking up. They want to say these things. They want to ask questions. But they also see ‘feminists’ defending rape and have been attacked when they push back against that. They see a conflation of the far right and far left, and they know for sure that there’s no space left for rational conversation. Because any previous attempt has been met with people shouting GENOCIDE in the comments and that has ended all attempts at further discussion.
Thank you for your honesty and for your willingness to be open and have your views challenged. I think it's important that you share your questions and doubts and that we are all able to engage in respectful discussion and debate. Substack (and especially the amazing online space that Sarah has created here) makes this much more possible than other media and social media platforms.
On your doubts over whether what we're witnessing is in fact a genocide, those of us who've been following the events of the past year very closely have heard countless (almost daily) examples of genocidal language being used by Israeli politicians. It's certainly not just one or two 'bad apples' making a couple of throwaway comments.
In January 2024, human rights organisation Law for Palestine released a database detailing over 500 instances of Israeli incitement to genocide. I would imagine that the numbers are close to double that ten months later... Additionally, members of the IDF regularly post completely stomach-churning and highly incriminating videos on social media, also using genocidal language, and often document themselves committing blatant war crimes on camera – frequently without any attempts to disguise their identities (presumably because they are confident that they'll never face any repercussions).
And then there are the members of the general public who often film themselves proudly advocating for the complete annihilation of Gaza and the Palestinian people. At the end of 2023, a pro-genocide song made it to the top of the charts in Israel, and just last month, two well-known Israeli podcasters released an episode of their podcast where they fantasised and laughed about the genocide of the people of Gaza.
https://law4palestine.org/law-for-palestine-releases-database-with-500-instances-of-israeli-incitement-to-genocide-continuously-updated/
https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/database-exposes-500-instances-of-israeli-incitement-to-genocide-in-gaza-16537146
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-south-africa-genocide-hate-speech-97a9e4a84a3a6bebeddfb80f8a030724
https://www.newarab.com/features/soundtrack-genocide-inside-israels-military-pop-complex
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/06/israeli-podcasters-laughing-gaza-genocide-two-nice-jewish-boys
If you didn't watch the ICJ hearing (and in particular, the case made by South Africa's legal team), I'd urge you to go back and watch it. The facts and figures quoted are now very out of date, given the escalation that's occurred since then, but South Africa's case for genocide was very clearly and compellingly argued.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f_yoal4gx8
I also wonder if you've read this piece that was published by the New York Times last week. It caused a firestorm, with many Israeli and diaspora Jewish commentators questioning the veracity of the claims made here, but the NYT has since released a statement to confirm that the piece was rigorously vetted and fact-checked before publication. It presents a very clear picture of the deliberate targeting of civilians, and in particular, babies and young children.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/09/opinion/gaza-doctor-interviews.html
There is a mountain of other evidence that what we're witnessing is indeed a genocide, and I'd urge you to look more deeply into this.
And again, thank you for sharing your views here in what always feels like a safe, open and supportive space. :)
I was only wondering this morning where you'd been! x
Hi Siobhan. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond so comprehensively and being open to discussing.
Certainly at first glance, what you have shared is stomach churning.
I will look over and come back to you.
Thanks again.
Hi Siobhan – Thanks again for sharing so much. Some of it was hard to read. A lot of appalling behaviour & possible war crimes.
I feel strongly that all alleged war crimes, on all sides of the conflict, be investigated & all guilty parties prosecuted.
Without wanting to minimise the horror of the situation, there are events (such as Israel coordinating with WHO to ensure 640,000 Gazan children receive polio vaccines) that give me reason to believe that on balance, what we’re witnessing is not a genocide.
However, that doesn’t make the situation any better nor any less horrific. Indeed, as I was thinking how to respond to you it struck me hard the complete redundancy of the debate as to whether this is a genocide or not.
All that matters is that humans are suffering. I don’t care which nation the victims or the perpetrators live in. It just needs to stop and there must be a different way.
Frankly, shifting focus away from the suffering & discussing anything else apart from how to stop the suffering, makes me feel somewhat ashamed & feels like I’m missing the point. The “genocide” discussion feels academic to the point of it being privilege on a grand scale.
I think you & I likely have a lot more that we agree upon, than what we disagree on.
Which is that the suffering is immense. The suffering is unjustified. The suffering needs to stop.
Rather than debating whether this is a genocide, I’d much rather be collaborating with you on how we can serve peace & create peace. You sound like a person of great humanity & intellect, so you’re exactly the sort of person I’d love to talk to, learn from & collaborate with.
Thanks again for your humanity and I’d be delighted to continue the conversation offline if you were interested.
I wish you all the best and send you peace and love (I know that sounds cliched to the point of being meaningless, but I mean it).
Hi Josh
Firstly, I appreciate your comments on the term genocide and your open-minded thinking in what you've replied to Siobhan.
I also wanted to one point in the pot around why Israel is allowing the WHO polio vaccines campaign to take place, which took almost 5 weeks to negotiate and implement after Gazan Health Authority first declared an outbreak.
Considering that polio doesn't respect borders (it spreads from sewerage into underground water systems) and the polio vaccine uptake of Israeli citizens has dropped below herd immunity levels in recent years, this may not be as humanitarian as you think.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/disease-expert-warns-polio-outbreak-in-gaza-could-spread-to-israel/
An Israeli friend who is a population immunologist shared her concerns about measles and polio in Israel in early 2023 and how an outbreak of either could be disastrous. Gaza had actually eradicated polio in the last 20 years due to 99% vaccinate rates until 2023, but it was detected in sewerage systems in Israel in 2022, as well as UK and even New York.
Thank you Alicia for providing this information. I had wondered how Israel would deal with such an infection disease...
Thank you.
I just wanted to say that I've also been a bit uncomfortable using the word genocide because it feels hyperbolic and I wasn't sure it was actually true. Writing this now, though, I could learn more about it. So maybe the real issue for me is what Sarah talks about re. 'how people will see me'. Which makes me feel pretty ashamed.
I know what you mean...but there are times in history that are ghastly enough to warrant certain terms and measures. It's hard for our generation - which has grown up in opulence and peace - to sit with this...but it's now our reality.
Step out into that feeling - there are many to catch you that have had the same moment of realization where coming together for a suffering humanity means more and we no longer care about how we are seen to others. ❤️
Millions of Palestinians are now homeless in winter and denied food and water. They will die, probably in the silence that Israel wants, in order to complete its own final solution.
This is a genocide , to compare what happened in Japan , is not a comparison , but if the US had bombed all of Japan, like they are in Gaza, then it would have been a genocide.
I encourage anyone who cares to speak out , to share and not turn away. Our attention and witnessing does make a difference. ❤️🩹
Hi Susan - If I can say this with the greatest respect, I find this comment unhelpful and quite hurtful. You haven’t responded to my questions, or tried to engaged in a discussion here.
You have merely responded by assertively stating your opinion.
That’s fine. You’re welcome to your opinion. But just standing in front of me asserting an opinion is not very helpful. Plus it feels like it’s intended in some way to confront me with your view such as to silence me as if I disagree, I am failing to condemn horrific behaviour.
Furthermore, your use of the term “final solution” here is particularly distasteful and clearly used to be provocative and hurtful.
Which again, is not helpful to an open and supportive dialogue that we can all learn from.
It sounds like you’re hurting. I hope you’re ok and wish you all the best.
Hi Josh,
It was not my intention to be unhelpful or hurtful , I was speaking the truth as I see it. This is backed by the work of investigative journalists like Jonathon Cook, Vanessa Beeley and Matthew Ehret , all here on Substack. Who would also use words similar to mine about what is actually going on, which is the reduction of the Palestinian people , especially the children.
We can agree that this violence against the Palestinian’s is horrific and must be stopped.❤️🩹 As must all violence , especially perpetrated by our governments.
I am hurting about this tragedy, for all those involved the victims, the perpetrators and all of us. This is part of much bigger battle, than we can comprehend which risks our humanity and very existence.
Hi Susan – Thanks for your response. As I mentioned to Sarah as a response to another of her comments, & she mentioned as well, I fear this discussion about “genocide” is ultimately unhelpful because it derails the discussion about how to end the violence & it alienates potential allies in our efforts to end the violence.
Whether it is in fact a genocide or not, diverts attention from what I think we can all agree that what we’re witnessing from both Netanyahu & Hamas is horrific violence, oppression & war crimes. And these must stop.
I’m not sure if you’re aware but 6-7 weeks ago, Israel coordinated with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to create safe zones & pauses in fighting in Gaza to ensure more than 640,000 children in Gaza could receive polio vaccinations.
You can verify this with a quick Google search, as it is an uncontested & verifiable fact. This event alone obviously begs the question, why would Israel do this if their intention was to perpetrate a genocide?
There are many other uncontested events I could share (such as Israel sending text messages & dropping leaflets to civilians advising them which areas to avoid), which also cast considerable doubt on whether what is happening is a genocide. Because the test for a genocide rests on the intent. And there are many events which make it clear that the intent is not to eradicate an ethnic group.
Please don’t get me wrong…Israel is far from perfect. Netanyahu is abhorrent, self-interested and heartless, & even the people of Israel are protesting frequently against Netanyahu’s behaviour.
And it is also important to acknowledge the role Hamas plays in this tragedy. Hamas are also abhorrent, self-interested & heartless, and I know many Gazan citizens are angry at Hamas, although protesting is limited because Hamas tortures & kills protestors (this is well-documented by the UN & Amnesty International and is an uncontested & verifiable fact you can check on a Google search).
You may also be interested to check out Palestinian journalists such as Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib who grew up in Gaza & speaks in a very balanced manner about the realities of life in Gaza for himself & his family under challenges from Israel & from Hamas: He mostly posts on Instagram but here’s a web link too https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/experts/ahmed-fouad-alkhatib
Getting back to your reference of the “final solution” I encourage you to look up the history of that phrase in case you’re not already aware. I certainly don’t recall the Nazis providing vaccines of any kind to the millions of Jewish children, LGBTQI, disabled people or Roma people that they murdered. Nor do I recall the Nazis distributing leaflets to warn the Jewish, LGBTQI & Roma people where they could move to if they wanted to avoid being forcibly taken & herded inside an oven or a gas chamber.
And if you are aware of the history of this phrase, then I hope you will appreciate why invoking this phrase is divisive & does nothing to further the interests of peace for Palestinians nor to end the war. Indeed, this kind of language is highly emotionally charged & only widens the divide between people, and perpetuates the cycle of anger, hate & violence.
If I can only see the perspective of one side of a debate, how am I helping to bridge the divide & to create peace & understanding?
If I am full of hate & anger, how can I expect to see peace in the world?
The more I read & listen, the more I feel the complete redundancy of this discussion about whether this is a genocide or not. All that matters is humans are suffering. I don’t care which nation the victims or the perpetrators live in. It just needs to stop and there must be a different way.
Frankly, shifting focus away from the suffering & discussing anything else apart from how to stop the suffering, makes me feel rather ashamed & feels like I’m missing the point.
I wish you all the best & hope we can pray together for peace and use our collective voices to end the cycle of violence & hate.
Josh, I appreciate your response and there is so much in there that I agree with. Especially, that what matters is people are suffering ❤️🩹and there is much that is not good . I am not even going to mention the word sides , as that to is emotive to some people.
Your right, it is a redundancy to discuss what is the best definition, are people being massacred, murdered, eradicated …and some Israeli’s Government Ministers have made reference to the Final Solution, my reference has come from them.
I encourage you to look up how the oral polio vaccine has been banned in some countries. You also have to ask yourselves why would the Israeli’s prioritise giving vaccines , rather than water and food ? When lack of these life essentials are the cause of weakened children being susceptible to diseases.
I feel what is happening in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon is unpalatable and evil what ever it is called . I am not full of anger or hate, that serves no purpose, but the truth does serve a valid purpose. Even though there is very little you and I can do about it. There is certainly no point in arguing or trying to persuade each other.
Sarah, asked why more people were not speaking out, so I spoke out and you responded which is great.
Having been a peace activist for over 30 years , I understand the history and the possible trajectory to what is happening. I see the Israeli people also being victims of this dreadful situation, they are also expendable to those who have a grander plan…but that could be a discussion for another day.
Now I will join you in prays for peace and thank you for your compassion ❤️🩹
What happens to the one, happens to us all.
Thank you for your comment Josh and thank you Sarah for this important thread. Since October I have been wanting to be in a community and safe space.
I agree with Josh. No one has called Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine genocide or declared that all Russians should be eliminated. Why is Israel different. Why is Israel held to a different standard than every other nation on earth to defend itself . A slogan like “ from the River to the Sea “ is a call for Israel to be wiped off the planet. That I consider genocide. The Hamas charter which calls for all Jews to be eliminated. That I call genocide. This , this is a war. A very very horrific and appalling war . Yes there have been horrific actions by the IDF and other members of the conservative Likud party . And yes what Hamas did on 10/7 was monstrous . And yes Sinwar using hostages as human shields monstrous . The fact that the progressive community has adopted genocide and hatred of Zionists and Zionism is appalling to me. As is hatred and dehumanizing Palestinians. Appalling . So I say this as a non Jew married to a Jew , as someone who is Pro Palestinian, Pro Israel , anti Netanyahu and anti Hamas and all forms of terrorism and hatred. I have watched for a year the horror of Jews being told what is anti semitic and I am disappointed beyond measure in the progressive community that I believe has betrayed Jews worldwide. So I am sure my post here will not be agreed with . Many people don’t believe in the right of Israel to exist. I do . I believe also in the right of Palestinians to exist. Whose responsibility is it to empower Palestine ? Who has been in power for almost 20 years? Read the Wapo article about the years that Hamas smuggled Items into Israel and made weapons in the tunnels. They used humanitarian aid meant for the people of Palestine. They used it to make weapons to slaughter Jews and they enacted that strategy on 10/7. I’ve asked this question many times In the last year and had no response: what should Israel have done after October 7? What would any country have done if invaded like that? To me this is the question worth real discussion and debate. Thanks for letting me share my views here when I know they are in the minority.
I feel great relief for this thread and question Sarah. I have been grappling with this, particularly over the last few weeks.
I find myself constantly consuming, liking and keeping track of voices from Gaza on social media, but not sharing as much as I should or would like to. I think this comes down to my infrequent posting in general and as others have alluded to, a sense of posting into the void, with no response or feedback, not knowing how things have been received or made a difference.
I do notice a fear and hesitation in myself when I speak about Palestine in my personal life or different social circles also. I live in Australia, in a more regional area where there is a large Israeli community. I find myself feeling worried that I will offend people, be misconstrued or that I don’t have a right to speak on a context that perhaps others are more connected to. Having struggled with lifelong social anxiety doesn’t help this either!!
I notice that with some of my friends there is a resistance to feel into the trauma, and connect with something that is far away to them, and invite the pain of it into their lives. I think this comes from a place of struggle to keep up with the demands of life in our capitalist societies. We are isolated more than ever, trying to keep our heads above water, and perhaps fearful to face where things are headed. I often feel like a doomist bringing everyone down when I speak on these topics or like the ‘righteous social justice warrior’ that is not received well.
Sometimes I question myself why I follow so closely every moment and war crime as I now struggle with insomnia. I also feel guilt that I am not taking enough action. What use is the knowing and witnessing if I do nothing about it? Still I can’t look away, and nor do I want to or feel I can. This thread has reignited my energy and hope to do more.
In Australia I feel there is a layer of guilt and shame for our own violent colonial genocide, past and present, and ongoing racism and discrimination towards our First Nations communities.
As a nation there is so much avoidance and lack of truth telling about what happened and is continuing to happen here. Perhaps this leads to some resistance speaking about Palestine as it feels hypocritical. I am a coloniser living on stolen land - I am also not doing enough here. There is a mirror being held up. The horrific violence we are witnessing is a visceral reminder of our privilege and shame.
This moment has also shattered any faith I had left in the ABC. I find myself dumbfounded listening to and reading ‘analysis’ of how social cohesion is breaking down in our country over the conflict - with few being able to get to the heart of why this is. How can there be cohesion when a genocide is being denied? I often wonder if these journalists feel fearful to stay what they really think or if they truly do not see the hypocrisy in their reporting.
I appreciate having a space to share these thoughts as they are normally just swirling around my head and occasionally come out in spurts of rage or despair, often in unhelpful ways.
I found this podcast episode from The Emerald recently quite helpful to feel into this space and consider how to sit with the pain without becoming paralysed. It speaks to Justice, spirituality practices, and our interconnectedness. I hope others might find it helpful too.
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-emerald/id1465445746?i=1000647844036
I feel compelled to say - don't be hard on yourself, Anne. But keep asking the questions xx
It’s normal to feel fear in this situation. Thats what makes this post courageous !!
Thanks Sarah 🙏🏽
Gosh, this is something I wrestle with and frequently ask myself, specifically when it comes to sharing ONLINE. I often ask myself why am I so hesitant to share ANY views online, let alone for important things like this??
I really relate to what you wrote here and think that’s a big part of my problem. “When we feel ignorant, confused.. or ashamed, we avoid and side-step.”
I think I feel like in order to share views online, I must have the perfect, air-tight, fully educated words to share (both on this topic and other world issues) otherwise I’m unworthy of contributing, and I avoid / side step.
I also think my social media inactivity is often underpinned by a painful desire to keep the peace and manage peoples perceptions of me. I feel “out of control” when I share online to faceless people. If someone disagrees with me, I want to know it, I want to have the tough conversations! But it’s so much easier to feel in control when you can read body language, unpack nuance and hopefully be able to educate. On social media, I feel this constant invisible (and probably non-existent!) judgment, and an inability to effectively communicate what I really want to. So once again, I avoid and side step.
On another hand, I struggle with performative social media displays and feeling like it’s all fake and empty action. I hate when someone never posts anything of substance, and then shares the one viral post to look good and caring (I.e the dreadful AI-rendered “all eyes on Rafah” post that went viral on IG Stories).
But my judgement is often unfair. I discard any regular-person social media activism as pointless (including my own) but then allow plenty of room for bigger profiles or personalities to be as opinionated or performative as they like (and often expect it of them). It’s a double standard from me! Any impact is important no matter how big or small. Why not influence the few hundred people in your direct network?!
As I’ve tried to unpack a lot of this this year: one thing that I constantly have to remind myself of is my history with social media. I was extremely active on tumblr in my early teens and by age 16 had amassed a following of 280,000. It was before Instagram really became a thing so it really was the training ground for parasocial internet / influencer dynamics. The “anonymous questions” box was the genesis of faceless online trolling. And while I had some amazing followers and friendships on there, BOY did I have some trolls. I was SO young dealing with SO much internet, without any examples or experience of the internet that we have today to help me navigate it. (At this point, trolls are expected and we have a better idea on how to cope with them. Back then? Nothing). It’s probably no wonder I’m so filtered online today!!
Overall, I’ve been feeling a lot of guilt around this lately. Like I’m missing chances where I could have educated or positively influenced someone, encouraged someone to think differently or speak up themselves. I really do feel like a coward hiding behind a very vanilla social media profile, and I feel saddened that for such a bold and outgoing person in real life, I’m so afraid to be that online.
To close this comment out: I don’t mean to make my answer all about me when it comes to such a serious topic, but I appreciate the opportunity to reflect and unpack this. I welcome any thoughts or tips on doing better, being braver, and doubting less!
thanks so much for this post Bronte; written so well, you echo a lot of my confusion and guilt.
that whole kindness and forgiveness (for everyone and everything +ouch+) is where the brave rubber has to hit that hard hard road.
I feel just so so sad and helpless mostly.
I just don't speak out because I overthink what to say and end up back in numbing inaction.
I don't know what words to use to speak out that could really help. Even this is hard to admit.
What if you were to post what you say above...eg Dear XX, I support your post, I want to comment, but I'm overthinking my response....
that's fresh and clear
that works - so much more than staying silent
thanks
I understand Nat and being a 9 on the Enneagram, it’s all about peace for me. We all do activism in different ways. Sometimes as I have mentioned below sharing, liking a UN or Save the Children post eg is a good option …
Thanks for the response Nat. Maybe this is a good test run for both of us.. we’ve both safely admitted we find it hard but left a comment anyway, and nothing terrible happened. Perhaps we can admit it in other areas, too (like Sarah said), while still saying it anyway, and see where it gets us!
yup it is certainly a tilt and lean toward action and toward brave
all steps matter
“That whole kindness and forgiveness (for everyone and everything +ouch+) is where the brave rubber has to hit that hard hard road”. Yes. I want to print this off and put it on my wall.
awesome!
ill carve a Lino print out of that one too!
last printing I did was "who do you choose to be?"
have been part processing (SW book serialisation) through carving words into Lino for printmaking ... moves it from my head to tangible reminders and mantra
so, im so pleased those words get physical
Also just to really drive home the point.. this is my first time ever actually commenting here after a year of subscribing and reading!
That’s wonderful Bronte. I get the points you raise above and I have felt same. Sometimes liking or sharing eg a UN post on a call for peace or ceasefire is the best we can do or a good start and that’s ok. And depending on what platform you’re on that gets exposure.
You raise some really interesting points here Bronte. I also don't share a lot of the REAL me on social media. What you get is the vanilla version of me and anyone who knows me KNOWS I'm not vanilla at all! I am also wondering how much our sense of safety (or unsafely) online influences our decisions on what we share?
I know this is a very complex situation and, like you, I don't feel qualified to enter into such a divisive debate. However I will now be questioning myself as to whether I'm sidestepping the difficult issues.
Congrats on your first comment BTW.
Let us know where you get to on letting the real you rip!
Ha, ha.. I'm not sure I'm as brave as you Sarah.
That said I've been exploring the johnmenadue.com site this evening and while I'm enjoying the honesty and the huge point of difference, the rawness of it all is quite confronting. I'm gonna sit with that for a bit.
Thanks for the reply and encouragement, Ellen. :) here’s to less vanilla and more spice
Sarah, I love you for being so courageous to ask this question. There are many possible answers , as I see it.
First Israel and the Zionist lobby, spend millions on controlling the narrative. Portraying the Palestinians as terrorists, less than human who have no rights…no millions to put their side of this historic injustice of Colonialism.
Next all the top politicians and their parties in the UK , US and probably, Australia are funded by Zionist, who are often their major donors. Such as Adelson. If it’s not money , then it will be blackmail, done through Mossard by people like Epstein, who worked for them.
There has been a major strategy of the Israeli and their friends to infiltrate the media. Look at a list of who has the top jobs in many media outlets…look at the Murdock corporation and its bias. I went to a talk years ago by a BBC journalist and he said if you mention anything good about the Palestinians, the switch board is immediately jammed with complaints. Then your job, mortgage etc is threatened, so you tow the line. I was suspended from facebook for doing a post about a charity sale for medical Aid for the Palestinians.
Where I live people were falling over each other to their support for Ukraine , plates high with money , flags everywhere…homes offered even by the UK government.
What happens now…the UK send bombs, planes , supports Intel and condemns the Palestinians their right to fight against illegal occupation. Then in my town, people take down posters for a Gig for Gaza, shops refuse to put them up saying it’s too political…even though very happy to put Ukrainian flags, we even had them in our church.
Lastly but not least, people think it has nothing to do with them…but in the words of Martin Luther King “to be silent is to be complicit”. It is also naïve at best, because the plans for the greater Israel will affect us all. As will the benefits and the consequences of the bonanza that is forecast for all the oil and gas that is under Gaza.
Thank you again for giving this air space, our very humanity is on the line and there can be no turning back from this crisis.
Just asking the question keeps what is going on in the spotlight and that is what the perpetrators most fear. Read an excellent article from @caitlin Johnson today. It includes a quote and video from the CEO of Palantir which went something like this…”if the anti genocide crew keep going we won’t be able to wage another war anywhere”. We are all being asked which side of history do we want to be on…because who knows who will be next…
Thanks Susan, I think it comes as a real shock to a lot of people to realise the extent to which the bigger "power" interests are at play and that "our" leaders would be engaged in creating a narrative and, of course, that we would be complicit. Waking up to THIS is hard, it takes some time and rewiring.
It is very hard, that's why so many turn away, but not us Shambala Warriors .
I got interested in what was happening 30 years ago, as I see what has and is happening to the Palestinians as the biggest injustice in my life time. That is actively supported and encouraged by the UK Government.
Palestine has taught me lots about world politics, the complicity ,the use of violence and propaganda . But my biggest learning, as Noam Chomsky said is " government's do not work in our interests , the bankers , corporates and globalists are their constituents" . We are just a patsy who votes and thinks it makes a difference . Recognising that is tough, but liberating in so many ways . 🙏
What's happening in Gaza is revealing these hard truths to the world.