The Israel-Hamas War Isn’t About Jews v. Palestinians
Reported By: Sierra Reisman
Photo from: The New York Times
Ever since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the region has been plunged into an increasingly bloody conflict. Instead of reckoning with the complicated history of colonialism in the Middle East, much of the world understands the conflict as something it fundamentally is not: a clash between Jews and Muslims. This misunderstanding, heavily fueled by Zionist rhetoric, serves only to dehumanize the Palestinian people and encourage global anti-semitism.
To explain the full history of Israel and Palestine is well beyond the scope of this article, but it is a history of colonial powers breaking promises. The bloodshed we are witnessing today is the result of Western imperialist geopolitics failing both Jews and Palestinians which created conditions where ethnic and regional conflict was inevitable.
U.S. media and politicians consistently favor Zionist biases, angling the issue as purely Israeli self-defense. This rhetoric writes Israel a blank check for its response to Hamas. Yet according to Amnesty International, Israel’s actions, both in this current war and during its illegal 16-year blockade of Gaza, constitute war crimes. The U.N. warns that Palestinians are in danger of ethnic cleansing, and many scholars have described Israel’s actions toward Palestinians as genocide.
In the wake of this violence against Palestinians, anti-semitism in the U.S. has risen, particularly on college campuses. Many fail to distinguish Jewish people from the actions of the nation of Israel or anti-semitism from support for Palestinian human rights. Within the realm of political discourse, it’s easy to oversimplify issues that are complex. The colonial origins of Israel and the struggle for an Arab state cannot be authentically rendered in a social media infographic, and attempts to do so often dehumanize one side or the other.
The pro-Israel bias in the U.S. government also muddies the water. The U.S. has given over $260 billion in aid to Israel since World War II and has contributed to 16% of Israel’s defense budget. With this history of financial support, the U.S. cannot meaningfully criticize Israel, and politicians on both the left and right have kept to this narrative.
To realize the significance of this conflict, it is essential to understand the nature of violence and power. Terrorism and civilian death should never be excused, and Hamas committed a heinous act on Oct. 7. Since that attack, however, an estimated 10,305 Palestinians have been killed in retaliation, and about half of these casualties have been innocent children.
The secretary-general of Amnesty International stated that Israeli forces have “shown a shocking disregard for civilian lives” and called the Israeli blockade of Gaza “the world’s biggest open-air prison.” This is state terrorism and is financially backed by the leader of the free world, the U.S. It’s possible to unilaterally oppose violence while having the nuance to appreciate that the two sides in this conflict are not the same.
Education on the power dynamics of the current oppression requires empathy for both the Israelis and Palestinians, unbiased honesty in holding both sides accountable for their violence, and a sense of justice in recognizing the Israeli government’s colonial origins and repressive tactics.
It should be abundantly clear that this conflict is not about Jews v. Muslims, or even Israelis v. Palestinians. This conflict is the bloody legacy of colonialism: a legacy for which Jewish people around the world, and both innocent Israelis, and the Palestinian people are all paying the price.