>>> LET’S MAKE ONE THING CLEAR.
ISRAEL HAS A RIGHT TO EXIST AND
TO DEFEND ITSELF.
THAT IS AN INDISPUTABLE FACT.
BUT SO DO PALESTINIANS, AND
THAT’S A FACT THAT’S OFTEN
IGNORED.
PALESTINIANS ARE AT BEST THIRD
CLASS CITIZENS IN THE NATION OF
THEIR BIRTH.
THE IDEA THAT IT IS EVEN
REMOTELY CONTROVERSIAL TO CALL
WHAT ISRAEL HAS IMPOSED ON
PALESTINIANS A FORM OF APARTHEID
IS LAUGHABLE.
ONE LOOK AT A CURRENT MAP OF
ISRAEL, GAZA AND THE OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES CONJURES UP ONLY ONE
OTHER EXAMPLE, APARTHEID-ERA
SOUTH AFRICA.
THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT ON AN
ONGOING BASIS DECLARES PARCELS
OF LAND ON WHICH PALESTINIANS
LIVE TO BE EITHER ARCHEOLOGY
IMPORTANCE.
SOMETIMES THERE’S A COURT CASE
AND ALMOST ALWAYS PALESTINIANS
LOSE.
MONTHS OR WEEKS LATER THAT
IMPORTANT LAND BECOMES HOME TO A
BRAND-NEW ISRAELI SETTLEMENT.
AS MORE AND MORE JEWISH SETTLERS
TAKE OVER LAND ON WHICH ARABS
LIVE, THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK
BECAUSES DE FACTO MORE ISRAELI
AND MORE JEWISH.
THIS IS A LONG STANDING ATTEMPT
AND DELIBERATE ATTEMPT TO FORCE
ARABS THAT HAVE LIVED IN THAT
LAND, SOMETIMES FOR HUNDREDS OF
YEARS, OUT.
IT IS AN ATTEMPT TO DILUTE THEIR
PRESENCE BECAUSE TO HAVE ARABS
AS FULL PARTICIPANTS IS IN THE
OPINION OF THE ISRAELI
GOVERNMENT AND THEIR COURTS
DILUTING ISRAEL.
PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC I TOURED
MANY OF THE CONTESTED AREAS AND
HOMES FROM WHICH ARABS ARE BEING
PUSH YOU HAD OUT, BOTH IN ISRAEL
PROPER AND IN OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES.
PALESTINIANS DON’T CONTROL THE
IMPORTANT PARTS OF THEIR LIVES.
PALESTINIAN FAMILIES ARE REFUSED
PERMITS TO BUILD OR RENOVATE
THEIR HOMES WHEN THEY CONNECT
THEIR HOMES TO THE MUNICIPAL
WATER SUPPLY, ISRAELI SOLDIERS
SOMETIMES CUT THE PIPES.
WHEN THEY ATTEMPT TO HARNESS
SOLAR ENERGIES BECAUSE THEIR
HOMES ARE NOT ON THE GRID,
ISRAELI SOLDIERS COME AND REMOVE
SOLAR PANELS FROM THEIR HOMES.
I SPENT AN HOUR AND A HALF
TRAVELING ALONGSIDE AN ELDERLY
PALESTINIAN WOMAN BEING
TRANSFERRED BETWEEN THREE
AMBULANCES FROM GAZA TO THE
NO-MAN’S LAND IN BETWEEN AND
THEN INTO ISRAEL TO GET CANCER
TREATMENT.
THREE AMBULANCES OVER THE COURSE
OF ONE MILE.
MORE THAN AN HOUR TO CROSS THE
BORDER.
THAT’S HOW GAZANS LIVE, WITHOUT
MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE ISRAEL
PREVENTS IT, WITHOUT ELECTRICITY
MUCH OF THE TIME BECAUSE ISRAEL
PREVENTS IT, WITHOUT THE ABILITY
TO FISH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
OCEANUSS ISRAEL PREVENTS IT,
WITHOUT AN AIRPORT OR SEA PORT
BECAUSE ISRAEL PREVENTS IT.
LIKE ISRAELIS PALESTINIANS HAVE
A RIGHT TO EXIST AND TO DEFEND
THEMSELVES, BUT THERE IS NO ONE
WILLING TO HELP THEM DO THAT.
NOT THE ISRAELI COURTS AND NOT
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
WHAT THE U.S. ALSO SHARES WITH
ISRAEL IS THE BELIEF THAT HAMAS,
THE POLITICAL PARTY THAT GOVERNS
GAZA, IS A TERRORIST
ORGANIZATION THAT CALLS FOR THE
DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL.
HAMAS IS SUPPORTED BY THE
MAJORITY OF PALESTINIANS IN
GAZA.
HAMAS MAY NOT BE IN THE BEST
LONG-TERM INTERESTS OF THE
GAZANS BUT PEACE HASN’T REALLY
WORKED OUT FOR THEM.
FACED WITH AN ISRAELI GOVERNMENT
WHICH PINS THEM INTO WHAT HAS
BEEN CALLED THE WORLD’S LARGEST
OPEN AIR PRISON, THEY HAVE
CHOSEN A GOVERNMENT MOST OF US
WOULDN’T PREFER, ONE NOT GIVEN
TO NEGOTIATION AND MODERATION
AND RESPECT FOR ITS NEIGHBOR.
ISRAEL NEEDS A NEW APPROACH TO
THE PALESTINIANS AND AMERICA
NEEDS A NEW APPROACH TO ISRAEL.
AFTER MORE THAN SEVEN DECADES OF
NOT JUST BEING DEPRIVED FROM
LAND WHICH THEY WERE EVICTED,
PALESTINIAN FRUSTRATION RUNS
DEEP.
IT MAY BE WORTH GOING DEEPER
THAN WHAT YOU MAY HEAR INSIDE
YOUR BUBBLE AND UNDERSTANDING
THE DEPTH TO WHICH THE
PALESTINIAN PEOPLE ARE SUBJECT
TO APARTHEID IN THEIR OWN LAND,
DEPRIVED OF BASIC NECESSITIES
AND SUBJECT TO RELENTLESS CIVIL
RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.
THIS IS NOT A SECRET.
IT IS OUT THERE FOR YOU TO SEE. YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK FOR IT.