#Don’t ask a black ppl to support anything for free Palestine

[cyarsk5230]

We told yall that the #FreePalenstine movement was FAKE outrage that was used by left wing radicals to turn ppl AGAINST the Dem party! They find something EVERY election to drive a wedge between Dems, & the stupid media falls for it EVERY SINGLE TIME! We need to start asking why. The only way Palestine will be freed is in heaven because that hellish group voted for their genocide and Gaza is the new beach town

What’s good Muslim for t word especially from Dearborn? I hope you enjoy being deported!

[cuethetommo]

Idk if you have discussed it before, it's also ok to answer me in tag bcs it's sensitive but I wanna ask dyk that some people think / accuse Harry as zion*st / support Israel? I'm kinda new to the fandom (after hiatus) so idk much about what he did back then but I just read that Harry wore David star necklace for a long time and has tattoo of Gemma's name written in Hebrew? Does it make him Israel supporter, or he's just uneducated or ignorant? Sorry I'm just so confused bcs many ppl bash him

I think it’s important to make sure folks know where I’m coming from when I answer questions. I am from the US, living in Los Angeles. I was raised Catholic and Southern Baptist and I don't believe in religion for myself anymore. I am white, an Abolitionist, and fundamentally believe settler colonialism is bad. I am not an expert in anything involving the State of Israel or Palestine.

It feels imperative to me that supporting Jewish folks and Jewish culture not get conflated with supporting the State of Israel and the settler-colonial project. I believe the things you point to (Gemma in Hebrew and the Star of David necklace) show that Harry supports Jewish people and culture and say nothing about the State of Israel.

However, Harry has done things in the past that suggest he supports the State of Israel and @dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram has outlined that better than I could and also has a better analysis than I do.

I also have trouble (and Ralph has articulated this as well) with the idea that if Harry supports the State of Israel that it comes from a place of ignorance. Plenty of folks are educated and make choices. I know a number of them in real life. 

I do think it is misleading to assume that Harry shares Ben Winston’s politics. Ben Winston is the one who is most vocal in his support of the State of Israel. He’s also come down on the horrible sides of British politics so I’m really not surprised. Similarly, I don’t think (even though I’d LOVE to) that Harry liking posts from Patrisse Cullors (co-founder of Black Lives Matter) on Instagram means he suddenly shares her politics (which are for a Free Palestine). 

I will share what I have seen in the conversation here in LA recognizing that what Europeans know is different than what folks in the US know. But I can only interact from my own positionality. In a big mood kind of way settler colonialism hides itself. If you’re from the US and don't know what settler colonialism is or that the US is a settler colonialist project, then that has proven my point.

Colonialism is about forcibly taking resources from other places. Settler colonialism is about sending people to essentially squat on land and then claim it as their own and fight and kill the people already there. (This is a vast oversimplification, I encourage anyone to read more).

So, folks the world over are told that the Israel/Palestine conflict is about two groups of people who just don’t like each other. (More oversimplification). Then folks take a very real global tragedy that is inexcusable (the Holocaust) and say that the State of Israel was necessary as a response. This also hides history dating back to the 1800s where Zionists in Europe were moving to Palestine. Settler colonialism is about land and resources and power.

Let me be clear, I believe that everyone deserves a life free of persecution. And Jewish folks the world over are STILL persecuted. And there are MANY organizations run by Jewish people in support of a Free Palestine who recognize that what is currently being perpetrated by the State of Israel is genocide. But in many circles (even otherwise progressive ones) criticism of the State of Israel is seen as anti-Semitic and a statement that folks think Jewish people should die. And that’s not the case. But it shuts down any conversation about what is happening.

So back to Harry. Do I think he supports the State of Israel? I don’t know. I can point to former evidence. But I’d like to imagine that people can evolve their positions. I do think it is important to note that as a person who isn’t Jewish, Harry is likely listening to his Jewish friends. So his politics could be in line with Ben’s.

My hope and dream is that Harry is actually digging in this moment of global uprising. I don’t believe Harry has any kind of useful analysis of structural power. But if he was going to develop one, following Black Lives Matter is a solid choice. 

I’d also say to everyone using resources and brain space to try to convert celebrities into movement folks: organize the people you know with the same vigor. Talk to the people in your communities. Get them involved in movement building.