Being of Jewish heritage all the way back, I have perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflicts that others may not.
Palestine was there for thousands of years. There were Jewish people living there at the time, and nobody bothered anyone.
But Europeans decided to do what they do, and take over a region of land, and promote their own laws, and ideals. It was mostly to send European Jews back to Israel.
Israel wasn’t a thing and hadn’t been. They created war, strife and bigotry that mostly wasn’t there.
It happens all the time worldwide — not just Israel — it’s a common tactic to put a minority in charge of a region and create war and chaos, so Westerners can act as saviors, deliverers.
From Ireland to Ethiopia, it’s happened for centuries.
Israel wasn’t a peaceful nation minding its own business. Behind the wall people were starving, terrorized, murdered. The Palestine people behind the wall were treated worse than cattle. War crimes were committed against them; unspeakable atrocities.
It’s a war crime to target medical staff trying to help victims, but Israel’s military targeted them regularly.
It’s genocide. It’s morally and ethically wrong. Don’t come at me with God’s will for his people. The children of Abraham were all supposed to get the land, and last I checked Palestine was still children of Abraham.
Don’t talk to me about your sympathy for Israel. I have books I inherited, passed down from family who survived exile and the inquisition, older than Israel from a truly persecuted people. I learned from a rabbi who wore numbers on his arm, who grew up in Palestine.
He had more sympathy for that country than any white nationalist Christian I’ve come across.
War is volatile, violent, cruel and unusual.
Westerners need to stay out, it isn’t your fight, or your right to pick sides. This colonization mentality must end.
America needs to spend its time, effort, energy and money on its own citizens.
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Jenny O’Connell lives in Redding with her husband and children.
