#I have always said that Palestinians deserve a state and I have always believed that Israel has a right to exist

[the-ships-to-rule-them-all]

the level at which people are misusing the term "Never Again" in the far left absolutely infuriates me.

"Never Again" doesn't refer to the idea of no more genocides -- unfortunately people are evil and corrupt and seek scapegoats and destruction, there were genocides in the years following the Holocaust, there were genocides 10 years ago, there are multiple genocides going on as we speak

"Never Again" means we as Jews will pay attention to the warning signs, will not mindlessly allow antisemitism to fester and take over our communities, we will fight back. it means we will be proud. it means we will not let you hate us without a word of refusal.

"Never Again" is a warning for us, it is a reminder that what happened then can happen now -- is happening now. The Far Left doesn't get to use it against us. You don't get to turn our tragedies into hate-speech and antisemitic rhetoric.

Am Yisrael Chai

[radfemverity]

All day on Twitter, pro Palestine westerners of both sexes have been attempting to justify the scenes in the viral video of the deceased, bloodied, half naked woman, being paraded through the streets in a pick up truck by men with machine guns chanting Allah Akbar.

It's come in 3 forms:

1. saying "where were you when the IDF did [X crime] to [Y woman]?" to people they've literally never met and do not know the politics of. They're just assuming that anyone distressed at the footage is a Jewish/Israeli supremacist who doesn't care for innocent slaughtered Palestinian people.

These whataboutery addicts are disingenuous as all fuck, and completely desensitised to acts of violence, so much so that they project their own inability to extend compassion for murder victims on "the other side", onto those whose tweets they're replying to. Victims are just gotchas to them.

But they're cupcakes compared to the next 2 categories.

2. saying that these men's murders of women, abduction of elderly ladies (separate viral incident) and other crimes against civilians is a justified reaction against apartheid and/or settler colonialism, and that Israeli people have had it coming.

I cannot believe I have to say this, but regardless of your opinion on the conflict, whether you’re a Zionist or believe Israel is an apartheid state, if you believe random women, young and old, and their children, being abducted, bombed, raped, murdered and paraded through the streets by men, is a justified response to oppression, then you are dead inside. That’s not brave rebellion. It’s plain old male savagery.

There is, sadly, an academic case which could be made that such brutalities assist the war effort of a nation to gain independence – this being a reference to the fact that the most savage empires, the ones willing to commit the most gruelling acts, tend to be the ones to come out on top during wars. History shows us - think of Rome, Japan, etc.

But this type of speculation almost always crosses the line into justifying such crimes, because it was never about speculation for speculation’s sake. It was about wanting the other side - including women and children - slaughtered. Pro-Palestine Twitter have demonstrated this perfectly today.

Please let me make this excruciatingly clear, this political behaviour is exhibited by practically every male-dominated movement and ideology there is, which is… everything other than radical feminism. Zionists do this too. As do conservatives, liberals, marxists, fascists, progressives, pacifists, nationalists of all stripes – supremacist and anti-colonial, theocrats, Islamists, etc. It’s just that the issue of today is the Israel Palestine conflict, so this is the obvious example to reference.

And the 3rd form of response, much like the 2nd, is to justify these crimes against civilians as an act of rebellion, but go one step further and laugh about it. Saying things like "play stupid games, win stupid prizes 🤣🤣", "Imfao at Israelis suddenly pretending to be victims", making wojak memes and spamming them to the people expressing distress over seeing that video of the dead woman, etc. See this example from a trans-identified man:

Notice how at no point have I said my opinion on the Israel Palestine conflict? Because I have one. And it's probably not what either side would expect. And that’s exactly the problem. My disgust at Palestinian men parading a dead Israeli woman through the streets and spitting on her is automatically interpreted to be me supporting the Israeli state.

But your political view on the conflict should have a 0% impact on this fundamental principle: as a feminist, you do not EVER, FUCKING EVER, think that a woman on "the other side" of a mens war deserves to die.

To accuse someone of not caring about dead Palestinian women, as pro-Palestine Twitter have been doing all day, to random stranger who simply said "this is horrific" re: the dead woman in the truck, is:

a) to project your own heartlessness toward women on "the other side" onto them.

b) to further normalise the glorification of violent men, under this false veneer of their crimes being a necessary and justified revolt against whatever type of oppression they have in their society. As if stripping a woman bare and parading her through the streets has ever been a practically useful or ethical war tactic.

And c) to imply that those on "the other side" deserve whatever cruel fate meets them, simply because the male class of their society committed unjustifiable crimes.

I cannot think of anything less pro-woman, anything less feminist, than that.

[xclowniex]

How is people pointing out the atrocities committed by the IDF/IOF whatever the hell they are immediately labeled “allies of Hamas” when ya’ll constantly always use the whole “you can disagree with the actions of others” excuse to justify why Israel does whatever they do

Please point out where I have ever said that. It's honestly pretty tiring getting asks where people try to put words in my mouth that I have never said.

What you can find on many posts on my blog is me saying that I myself do not agree with the actions of the Israeli Government or the IDF and that you can criticize the Israeli government and IDF without being antisemitic which a lot of people fail at doing.

A lot of "criticisms" come from modern day blood libel where people will straight up say an antisemitic trope and swap out jew for zionists or Israel and that is not okay. Changing jew to zionists or Israel or anything similar does not remove the fact that it's still an antisemitic trope being used towards either half of the world's jews (as half live in Israel) or towards 80% of jews (as 80% of jews believe in some form of zionism, the most popular form amongst jews is a peaceful two state solution)

Another from of antisemitism which is masked as "criticism" is when people will only say something is bad if Israel does it yet is fine with any other country doing it. This is antisemitism as why is something only bad when the only jewish state in the world does it?

If a criticism does not fall into either group, then it's not antisemitism.

I also have not labeled everyone as "allies of hamas" what you are thinking about is when I have replied to anons and people saying they are riding hamas's dick or have drunk the hamas koolaid. This is simply me calling out people who are falling for hamas propaganda. Microsoft literally did a report earlier this year on Iran pushing pro hamas propaganda online and getting a lot of engagements. You can search the research findings yourself online as it's free to view.

Whilst I do understand that my replies can be harsh, from my perspective, I am getting a lot of asks, a lot of which I just delete and do not answer, of people who do not understand the basic concepts I have explained here and also like to do the whole "oh you only post about pancakes, you must hate waffles" thing. And it gets tiring and annoying. I do get fed up with people who do not understand nuance when it comes to things or that I might only focus on the Jewish and Israeli side of things because there are already so many great voices there speaking out for Palestine. Adding my voice won't do much more for palestine so instead I lend it back to my community, trying to fight antisemitism and xenophobia.

And the thing is, antisemitism deserve to be spoken about. It deserves blogs which only speak about it or is the main focus. I've experienced a lot of it in my life. I'm not gonna just trauma dump right now but I have been hate crimed before. It was not fun. And when I see levels of antisemitism which is worse than during the time I was hate crimed and a lot of the rhetoric being said that I was hate crimed for, I can't help but to not want to lend my voice to speak out about antisemitism.

Onto your last point, I have never justified any Palestinian civilians deaths. The closest I have ever gotten to it was on a post talking about the hostages where I say it is a difficult situation as Palestinian civilians have died during the hostages rescue and that Palestinian and Jewish and Israeli lives are all equal in value. And that its also hard because if the hostages were not rescued, they would likely have been killed at some point in the future and it's just a hard situation as my heart goes out to all the Palestinians who died that day as well as that I am happy that 4 hostages are home. In that post I also mentioned that my ideal scenario is no one dead, both in the operation and in the war in general and for everyone to be safe.

The other thing which I get a lot of anons about is whenever I bring up the war crimes done by hamas, such as in that same post about the hostages, I mentioned how it is a war crime for hamas to have the hostages in a civilian area and that in the eyes of international law, those Palestinian deaths are due to Hamas.

I honestly don't think that either of those things is justifying the IDFs actions. What I do think is that you, and so many others are afraid of nuance. As soon as someone like myself goes "these are all the factors at play and it sucks that things have turned out as they have" and not "idf bad no nuance ever" you get uncomfortable. And its fine to be uncomfortable. But what isn't okay is taking that feeling of uncomfortableness and directing it into misreading jews online to try and feel secure in your world view again.

I honestly hope that you have read all of this, as I know it's a long post, and you consider everything I have said.

[matan4il]

You know...I was scrolling through my fandom tags and what do I come across? My fav fan couple wearing pro-palestinian garb and holding a sign that said "fuck zionists!" What sucks is that I genuinely like their art but I'm pretty sure they support Hamas (they just won't admit it). Sorry, I just need to vent...I feel like I'm being pushed out of a lot of fandom spaces simply because I don't support the slaughter of innocent people. I always love your content, it makes me smile so much.

Oh, Nonnie! *hugs* I feel you...

Thing is, they don't even have to say, "We support Hamas." Saying, "Fuck Zionists" when that translates to, "Fuck the overwhelming majority of Jews" or to, if you will, "Fuck the Jews who actually believe Jewish people deserve equal rights, which includes the equal right to self-determination!" is bad enough.

It's equivalent to saying "Fuck feminists!" knowing full well that this is a call against most women, and specifically the ones who believe in equal rights for women, or saying "Fuck abolitionists!" knowing full well that most black people wanted to abolish slavery and fought for that from a place of believing black people deserve to be treated as equal. Someone holding up a "Fuck abolitionists!" sign doesn't need to also state openly, "I support the KKK!" You know what I mean?

And it sucks. It sucks SO MUCH to see someone that you appreciated, maybe even looked up to, choosing hatred. Just because it may be currently popular, doesn't make it any less an act of hate. You just keep your head held high knowing YOU didn't choose hate, no matter how popular and socially rewarded it currently is, especially in online fandom spaces, and that this matters more than all the good fandom content in the world. And also, that you're not alone. I think the Eurovision public voting has proven that the people who are loud, while still dangerous, are just that, loud. They use their noise to convince us they're the masses, but when push comes to shove, many people who might stay silent most of the time ARE capable of choosing the side that ISN'T hateful and violent.

I hope you find better people whose art you can also enjoy, and never feel alone! You can always vent on my blog. Sending you lots of hugs and love! xoxox

(for more of my posts regarding Israel, click here)

[txtaetertots]

hi all.

i’m hoping to get back to updating soon. it’s something i dearly miss and cannot wait to get back to when i have time. ive been putting a lot of my focus lately into not only my last semester of grad school but also into action for palestine. it’s more important to me to invest the little free time i have into doing what i can to push the fight for a liberated palestine. i refuse to sit here and act like everything is okay when millions of people are suffering a genocide.

hybe is complicit in this ethnic cleansing as well whether you want to accept it or not. they’ve allowed scooter braun to have the power and influence to spread zionist propaganda. scooter braun has always shown himself to be a despicable excuse for a human being, and if him being a zionist on top of all of that isn’t enough for you to consider his termination a crucial goal to work toward.. you do not truly care about palestine.

palestine cannot be free if we allow zionism to become normalized. it’s our duty to call it out and shame zionists out of our spaces! they are not and should not be welcome ANYWHERE. which is why i’m one of many moas who have made the decision to BOYCOTT HYBE. i refuse to put money in the pockets of these greedy, capitalist pigs who don’t care about anything but squeezing every penny they can out of fans. it’s not about the music anymore for bighit. all they care about is how much they can get away with because they know we’re willing to spend anything if it means getting content and merch. i don’t want to hurt txt’s comeback, but in my opinion, a comeback isn’t more important than a fucking genocide. plain and simple. i refuse to give hybe any more of my money through streams, album sales, tickets, or merch until they get rid of fuckass scooter braun.

if you don’t want to boycott, that’s fine. that’s your choice and i don’t blame you for not wanting to. as long as you’re doing what you can to help palestine in other ways, i see no shame. but i still do encourage you to consider boycotting as well. if not, but you’re able to buy multiple albums and concert tickets? i think you can also donate to palestinian aid and families as well. i just ask you not say you care about palestine yet do nothing to help their resistance.

that being said: i hope you don’t shame fans who do choose to partake in this boycott, because you need to understand this isn’t an attack on txt or any other hybe group. i’ve seen so many people attack boycotters and accuse us of wanting our idols to fail. it makes my blood boil because that couldn’t be farther from the truth. you must be truly out of touch and thick headed to think this is a personal attack on them. there are more important things than a comeback. especially when one of the songs (the killa) on txt’s new album was produced BY AN “ISRAELI”!! this is what we’re talking about when we say scooter braun is playing a huge role in welcoming zionism to hybe. people are losing their homes, their land, their families, their LIVES.. this is about removing the facilitators of genocide from positions of power in every industry they leech on. and if you somehow can’t seem to understand that, you’re a zionist too. chart positions, views, album sales, whatever are not more important than the liberation of indigenous people. choosing to believe otherwise is cruel and evil, and choosing to argue with us over this makes you no ally to palestine. it makes you complicit to the normalization of zionism which is the primary force in the oppression and dehumanization of palestinian people.

i encourage you to download the songs elsewhere (so many google drive links and free streaming apps exist (for example: musi)). don’t stream the killa. refuse the normalization of zionism. make zionists UNCOMFORTABLE! they don’t deserve to experience peace when palestinians are living in constant fear because of the barbaric attacks by that illegitimate state trying to forcibly steal palestinian land.

below i’ve attached graphics from twitter made by palestinian fans and allies who are leading the boycott against hybe. if you would like more information i will link other important twitter accounts you can check out for more. you don’t have to follow the whole list but they ask we at least adhere up to priority 3!

i’m open to providing any other information you need. thank you for reading.

- yuri

important accounts/threads:

hybe boycott priority list thread

ARMY4PALESTINE

Music Lovers for Liberation

Zionists in Music

HYBE Boycott Update

Care for Gaza

[meinyourbones]

"people who are anti-israel are just antisemitic" hey I can do that too! people who are anti-palestine are actually islamophobic! if you support israel in this war you are an islamophobe! except that I don't actually believe that because I am not so narrow-minded.

jews who are more concerned with the optics of israel and how they percieve its relation to antisemitism than they are with the fact that israel is acting imperialistically with the support of their imperailist friends and committing a genocide are hypocrites at best and actually hateful at worst

"it's not a genocide" please open your mind

"you can't be a colonist on your own land" it is not your land

"but they deserve it" fuck you

"antisemitism is on the rise because of this" hey, I'll give you that! but maybe don't act like every single person wanting to preserve basic human rights is trying to be part of the problem.

I will always be an agent against antisemitism. I will always show my jewish friends love and appreciation for their culture. I will always check myself and check those sround me when I see or hear antisemitsm. I cannot fully understand the burden of antisemitism experience by the jewish people but I do understand the burden of racism and homophobia and transphobia and sexism. I am the child of a diaspora; I see hatred of my people everywhere, all the time. when rises in hatred of my people occur, I leave my house fearing for my life. with all of that said, it is insulting to me when pro-israel jews act like my passion to free gaza is somehow at their expense or implying my active hatred of them. get over yourself.

I am done coddling my friends who have this mentality. you suck lmao. I hate this rise in antisemitism; it is disgusting and wrong and I want to fight it. 30,000 palestinians have died since october 7th, a vast majority of whom were innocent, and I blame Israel the state. not the people or its descendents, although some of those people are part of the problem. if hamas treats them as human shields and you think they deserve to be shields, you are as bad as hamas. period. you are part of the problem!

have some humanity. show compassion and empathy. stop weaponizing antisemitism in the name of Israel's imperialistic goals.

[ternaryflower53]

hello i am SO fucking sorry to jump into your inbox like this out of the blue but as a fellow chinese american and non jew i really really appreciate you talking about and acknowledging antisemitism.

i live near san francisco, so i have a plethora of asian american friends who all self identify as liberals, but after i unbrainwashed myself from antisemitism thanks to some hard conversations, i’ve had an incredibly tough time digesting the antisemitism absolutely baked into so much of what these friends say and how unwilling they are to see israelis as human, much less listen to them.

as always, i have to add a disclaimer here that i firmly call for accountability for the IDF and israeli govt since they’re acting with impunity, and i pray to see a palestinian state in my lifetime. but it hurts knowing how much of a fringe position it is among my peers to fully believe that israel doesn’t actually deserve to be demolished, because there is no way in hell the descendants of refugees expelled from MENA countries will be “just fine when they go back to where they came from.” if anything i suspect their certain deaths would be celebrated even more greatly because they’re israeli and the evil is defeated!!!

i just.. i don’t understand how fellow asian americans could have understood the importance of not speaking over black americans, and instead elevating their voices and amplifying solidarity during 2020, yet so wholeheartedly throw themselves into calling for israel’s dissolution. i don’t know if it’s that they’re ignorant of the fact that israel wasn’t created just for funsies or that they wholeheartedly believe israelis are an object to peace for palestinians. and yet they all have the gall to say “punch a nazi uwu!!!” or “i’m not antisemitic” and then unironically retweet something saying that what’s happening in gaza is the holocaust. everything is just so fucking backwards and upside down.

again, i’m sorry for basically venting this whole essay into your inbox, but i see you and i stand with you and our jewish and palestinian siblings, and i pray for peace in our lifetime. thank you again for your voice. may it never waver.

oh my gosh, no need to apologize!! i really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts, and i firmly believe that it's really important to let jewish people know we exist, even if it's on anon.

i agree with everything you've said here, really. i am a pacifist at heart - the death of so many palestinians is heartbreaking, full stop. but so many people advocating for palestinians are using terrifyingly violent rhetoric towards jews (especially israelis), and it's awful.

regarding your point about not understanding how others in our community are doing this... i don't know. i think it's people's internalized antisemitism. i think it's the social media's tendency toward groupthink and people not doing their own research. i think it's the human desire to create a black and white "good vs evil" narrative - particularly one that casts the US in the role of "evil". i think it's a lack of education about the holocaust, and lack of teaching of critical thinking skills, and so many other things.

but ultimately it all comes out in the wash. it's all antisemitism, and it all hurts jewish people. no matter how much people say that they're against antisemitism. it means nothing if they follow it up by doing an antisemitism.

anyway. i could say so much more, but i'm just going to reiterate what i said at the beginning: i'm glad to hear from you. i share your hopes for peace. keep working to support jews, who need allies more than ever, whatever that looks like for you.

[minediamonds]

Not to get too political on main, but just want to say that this blog fully supports the freedom and human rights of the Palestinian people. And doesn't want any Zionists following.

This got very long so I'm putting it under the cut. But if anyone wants to read, I would appreciate it. <3

(Any good faith questions are welcome, but hate is not. <3 )

Including those who are both sidesing a genocide, and denying that it even exists, and who for some odd reason think it makes sense to act like the Palestinian people should just give up and die, and live in "peace" with people who want to eradicate them. Like...obviously, none of this is me being against Jewish people. I just want to make that very clear. Cause, I'm not. Being against the Israeli government and a state that is inherently unequal does NOT equal being against Jewish people. I hate to act all 'facts don't care about your feelings', but like...it's a fact that the Palestinian people are being slaughtered right now and like...sorry if you're justifying or both sides-ing that and acting like it's oh so "complicated," I don't want you on my blog. Obviously this does NOT excuse harm of any innocent people. That's the whole point. Harming innocent people is always wrong. But who has more power to do that? That's right, Israel! So like....maybe don't act like people aren't allowed to criticize a government currently committing genocide. (And if you're about to say "but Hamas" or "but it's not genocide", bye. Two wrongs don't and never will make a right, and it so is a genocide, what else do you call it when people are killed for who they are and collectively punished for the actions of some? )

The thing is, if people aren't "allowed" to criticize Israel, that's ridiculous, to be honest. That's like saying we can't criticize Iraq or Iran because that's Islamophobic, or that it's anti-Christian to criticize the US government. No one ever says those things , though. And I'm glad, because no government should have a shield like that to hide their worst actions behind. Every government is allowed to be criticized. And when I criticize Israel (as plenty of Jewish people do too, btw), I do so only because I believe in equality for all people and don't think committing genocide is ever justified. And if you think it is, sucks to suck, but that's not me. I would never think it's right to punish all people of a group for the actions of some of that group. Because that's just wrong.

Also, tbh, what are the Palestinian people supposed to do? They can't peacefully protest (I've heard Israel hates that), they can't do anything except give up apparently and because they don't want to do that, they are hated. I don't believe any innocent people should ever be harmed, but that absolutely includes the Palestinian people. And I don't understand how people on here can go "but Hamas!" Who cares? I don't. Like...even if Hamas is pure evil, that will never excuse painting all Palestinians with the same brush. That will never excuse genocide. And tbh, IDC if people hate me for this post. I said what I said, and I am proud to support the Palestinian people's freedom. (BTW, according to actual Palestinian people, that means supporting them getting their land back. The Israelis who can live with that, I'm sure can stay. But it's not up to me, tbh. It's up to the Palestinian people. And anyone who thinks they're going to slaughter all the Israelis....well....I highly doubt that. The most is they'd have to go back to wherever they're actually from or just live somewhere else. And tbh, I think after all the Palestinian people have been through, they deserve safety and freedom and happiness. If you don't ,why don't you?)

It is considered Zionist to be all like "there is no genocide and also Hamas exists," btw. For those who are unaware. And like...I really don't understand that "logic". Because like I said, Hamas could be pure evil, it would not excuse what Israel is doing in return. They're slaughtering innocent people, including children! And if me criticizing that is considered bad/wrong, then fine. I'm bad/wrong. At least my conscience is clear. At least I'm not supporting genocide. At least I'm doing what I believe is right, regardless of what others think.

Anyway, just saying this because I saw some ~liberal Zionism~ on my dash , and hated the whole "I support the Palestinian people but " thing. Like....idc if Hamas is run by Satan himself, still can't use them as an excuse to kill every Palestinian person. Which is what Israel is doing, currently, btw. Why are Hamas' war crimes wrong but Israel's are okay? IMO both are wrong. Harming innocent people is wrong, end of story.

If you disagree, if you hate me now, feel free to block. I hope no one will but like....if you think I'm some kind of terrible person for not supporting genocide, then.....I think you've got it terribly backwards, but you need to do what's right for you. And I need to do what's right for me.

I've had issues with this person's posts before, but like....I've just blocked. Because life's too short to deal with people who annoy the heck out of you. <3 I'm here in the RPC to have fun, and it's time I started acting like it.

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

Replying to more frequent unhinged comments

If you’re supporting Hamas, you’re not supporting freedom, fighting or liberation. You’re simply supporting a terror organisation.

following the logic of why Israel isn’t a legitimate state some that most of the users here believe,

Most of the western world shouldn’t exist.

WHY IS FROM “THE RIVER TO THE SEA” A PROBLEMATIC PHRASE?

You *are* being antisemitic when you say Israelis should all just be transferred out of Israel or killed as “from the river to the sea “ is a genocidal call for the wiping of Jews from the Jewish state.

It’s literally a less extreme translation of Hamas’ chant:

“Some of those sources said that in the context most people at ceasefire rallies are using it today, it likely indicates a desire for Palestinian liberation and dignity — as well as a vision for the future in which Palestinians have equal rights in their homeland. But to many Jewish people, it’s a mortal threat to the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state.”

(“The controversial phrase”from the river to the sea” , explained , Vox)

To many Jews and Israelis, this phrase comes with context of genocide. It means that there shouldn’t be any Jews in the land of Israel. How do you think that will be achieved?

(Spoiler alert: massacres like the October 7th massacre).

is it also such a foolish and dangerous thing to suggest because:

-It completely ignores the vast history of the Jewish people with this land. Saying we all immigrated to Israel from Europe is also wrong since a) most of us aren’t white/ European b) We have always been here (yes even before 1948🤦‍♀️).

* for further reading about the Jewish people’s connection the land:

We Cannot just pack our bags and go: the people are the safest we can be in Israel , and that’s a fact.

Once again, I keep having to explain this:

-The many other ethnic groups living peacefully in Israel: Druze , Bahai’s , Christian Arabs, Muslim Arabs…. All live equally in Israel. There are still prejudices between cultures- it is not a “systematically racist and apartheid country”.

We’re also not terrorist state- retaliating to terror attacks and arresting the Palestinians behind them isn’t an act of terrorism.

Having blockades and barricades between Israel’s territory and the West Bank or Gaza , which aren’t controlled by Israel and have many terrorist threats inside- isn’t an act of terrorism either.

I don’t see you condemning Egypt or Jordan for doing the exact same thing.

This conflict started before 1948, and cannot be summarised in “Israel as the white oppressor”.

unfortunately, nowadays, it involves many terror proxies from Iran, funded by Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia: Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, Hezballah from Lebanon, the Houthis from Yemen and many more.

I’ve said Most of this and previous posts, but people here, seem to ignore all parts that don’t fit their agenda. Me and my Druze/ Arabic friends and colleagues exist side by side peacefully,

And we will not be forced into this false image of apartheid you project upon us (because you feel guilty about your own country’s history).

“Stop pink washing Israel🤡”

Every single time, I post something about being queer in Israel, I get this comment.

Do you think queer people in Israel just don’t exist?

We do, and we deserve to be happy about positive change in our community.

“But you’re supporting your government/ Bibi”

As Israelis, We are also the first ones to protest any injustices from within. Most of us are against the current government. We have been protesting against it for years now! Don’t assume we all support it.

*****

[sereniv]

@moonquakelake ill reply tomorrow but i definitely mean why do people hate jews so much, when did it start how did it spread. As in "how can people be like this/feel like this". im feeling emotional, it makes me sad and angery to think about. because i realized that i knew (and have seen) antisemitism exist, but why. i guess a broader question is how does that kind of thing happen. but ive gotten a few answers that answer my question now. i also want to be clear i never thought it was jewish peoples fault. just in case someone thinks im saying that

and i guess i should have been more clear but its not that i dont trust what jewish zionists say on being jewish. There are some zionists who answered the question and i knew they would, because im asking jewish people and i know jewish people know what they experience.

i have known about zionism for 20 years now, and on and off through the years have heard what zionists believe. not just non jewish zionists, but also jewish zionists. either straight from zionists as in i actually read what zionists believe right from their mouth, and i listen to anti zionist jews including those who were in the holocaust, israeli and not. i do listen to all sides even now, to ensure that yeah, the definition is the same, and i dont agree with the definition as it has been relayed to me. i agree with jewish safety, but i think the homeland is also palestinian homeland. i think it should be equal (to put it extremely simply).

and when ive actually listened, it always comes down to palestinians getting the short end of the stick. and this is also based off of a lot of things but some of the stuff sent to me by jewish zionists and jewish anti zionists alike, i already knew.

the reason i said no zionists, i was talking about any, jewish or not- because i dont want to interact with people that i have not once seen say that their ideology includes actual true coexistance. some say a 2 state solution, which has its issues. some like to focus on whats happening by focusing only on hamas. Where its obvious their care of palestinians is mostly just hate for hamas.

ill read what you wrote i just do not have the energy rn, but i want it to also be clear to everyone that i dont doubt anything a jewish zionist says about their experience as a jewish person, and i DO accept what theyve heard what their families and what not. I take in info, i look it up, cross reference, compare it to other people from opposing sides (anti zionists) compared to what i know about the genocide

But from experience, any time i ask what zionism is, it never ends in coexistance on the same land. neither now nor when talking about 1948 nakba. its always Jewish people deserve a homeland to be safe- and the details on how one gets that isnt important. but when pressed, its all hamas's fault.

So again, i didnt want to interact with zionists as a whole because i dont feel comfortable with the vast majority of what zionists stand for. Not the part about a jewish homeland, not about jewish people being safe, not about jewish people of any type being free to be jewish. im talking about what happens to Palestinians and what is happening and what has happened for years

I hear people say i dont know what zionism is but i am just going off of what zionists say and anti zionist israeli jews especially. i dont understand what they have to gain. They are iseaeli, they are jewish, and they go against the grain so much they are shunned. why would they do that?

im also going off what im seeing. jewish homeland doesnt mean kicking people who were already living on that land out. and that is what happened. and its not the jews who did it, it is israel. it is zionism. Judaism and Jewish people do not equal zionism. And this is just a fact seeing as there are non jewish zionists and there are anti zionist jews. of all kinds.

every place should be safe for jews. every place should be safe for palestinians.

this wasnt even supposed to be about palestine or zionism. this was supposed to be about hate against jewish people and conspiracies against jewish people from jewish people that i feel morals and views align with mine. that is why i said no zionists. its like saying no terfs when asking a question about women. It doesnt mean that i cant get valuable answers from a terf from their experience as a woman- i just dont want to interact with those type of people.

and i base that not on confirmation bias, but just what i have learned.

I am listening to jewish zionists on their experience and understanding of being jewish. seems they didnt listen but im not suprised. not bc zionism but bc thats the internet. and id listen to their definitions of zionism but all im getting is the same stuff i already know. except vague and no details on palestine.

im not going to respond to people who only want to talk about that but there are some who did just answer the question. idk if i should just delete the post. idk

[poisonpercy]

Hiiii I love your blog, it's super cute. I'm asking you to please please please do this and raise awareness; Israel is committing genocide rn. I've always loved your blog and understand with the Disney plus pjo show coming out, you'd be excited, and I was too as a pjo fan. But Disney has shown clear support for the apartheid state of Israel by "donating" 2 million dollars to Israel (while also not paying its actors).

Boycotting Disney is the right thing to do.

If you don't agree with me you can say that, just please don't ignore me. This is a matter of humanity. Please encourage your followers to do the same.

Sending love and prayers

Ok, first of all thanks for enjoying this blog!

Moving on now, let’s break some things down. I’m gonna be completely honest and say I don’t care for people going to other’s platforms and asking them to speak on issues (whether it be political, worldly, social, etc.). You can’t expect everyone to (1) know everything that’s going on, and (2) not everyone should speak out on matters especially when they don’t fully understand them.

That being said, I do fully support Palestine and believe they deserve freedom. What Israel is doing to Palestinians is wrong. War doesn’t solve issues, it just causes more.

Another thing, yes, if people want to boycott companies for their support of Israel, Disney would be one of them. I personally won’t be using Disney+ to watch the pjo show because I don’t have the streaming service and refuse to pay for it. I don’t have any streaming services and probably never will. They’re too expensive, and I don’t watch many shows or movies. If I do, I borrow a copy from my local library, watch it on cable television, or you know…the other way you watch movies and shows you don’t have access to.

Regarding boycotting, the BDS has a list of brands they ask for people to boycott. The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice, and equality. They’ve been around since 2005. Here’s the link to their list of companies to boycott if anyone is interested.

That’s all I’m gonna say on the matter on this blog. Please respect that.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Hey, its the Israeli again.

I feel like I need to say one more thing.

First of all, when I said “conflict” I obviously didn’t mean the Israel- Palestine conflict. I understand that was poor choice of words. I meant, as stated, this specific war. I live here. Talking as if you understand this conflict better than I do is frankly incredibly rude.

You say you want the people of Palestine to receive humanitarian aid. You say they don’t get any and that everything goes to Hamas. That is exactly the problem. There is no way to get support to the people of the Strip without going through Hamas because they control Gaza.

You say you choose life, but that is not the choice presented to you. If only it was that simple.

Hamas is killing people. It is hurting Palestinians as well. It is hurting people from all walks of life. We have to fight it. We can’t just do nothing. they’ll kill us.

There is no simple solution that will just magically fix everything.

But tell me, if someone was trying to break into your home to kill you, would you meet them with empathy?

Would you welcome them in, or would you defend yourself?

And don’t tell me that’s not the same because that is literally what happened. They broke into homes, killed the people inside and set the houses they couldn’t get into on fire.

Im not evil. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I feel for the people suffering in Gaza. I always have.

I don’t have all the answers. No one does.

I’m just a scared 20 year old girl who wants to live.

I know, or at least I want to believe you mean well. Please try not to take my words with bad faith. They were written emotionally during the worst time of my life, worse than anything i could have possibly imagined.

What is happening here is terrible. Its tragic. But it is not one-sided. It is not genocide. Saying things like that about holocaust survivors (there are holocaust survivors among the kidnapped and killed) is clearly done in bad faith.

It is the same as calling lying gaslighting. A gross, dangerous exaggeration.

Saying we should just all leave is ridiculous and cruel. Especially with the fact that antisemitism has been on the rise for years now.

There is nowhere safe for the jewish people in the world. That is why we need this country. That is why we have to fight for it.

Obviously I can’t sum up everything there is to say about this in an ask. I apologise for the length, I tried to be as concise as possible. That may be why my words were misinterpreted.

If you want to discuss this further I can do that but I can’t send an ask that isn’t anonymous because I don’t want to get doxxed.

If nothing else, I appreciate you taking the time to respond to me sincerely. Thank you for that.

Then perhaps you should have actually responded to my comments rather than accusing me of things I never said. I never said that all Israelis should just leave, I never said that Israel should do nothing in the face of attacks from Hamas, and I especially never said that the victims of Hamas attacks are the ones committing genocide.

I am aware that this is complicated. But I utterly despise people who look at something complicated and use that as an excuse for a simplistic and cruel solution. Oh it's just too complicated to try and attack Hamas without hurting innocent civilians, so the innocent civilians will just have to be collateral damage for our safety. Complex problems require complex solutions, not careless brute force. Moral complexity is not an excuse to ignore morality entirely, and it's certainly not an excuse to label evil actions like the murder of innocents as inevitable or necessary.

"It's not one-sided ergo it's not genocide". It is one-sided. The people of Gaza did nothing to deserve this and they are getting slaughtered all the same, to the tune of thousands, for being in the way. They have no defense because Hamas will not defend them. Their only hope is Israeli restraint, and there is no sign that is coming. Israel's three part plan for if it wins this war is destroying the infrastructure of Gaza, eliminating any resistance, and then establishing a "security regime". No part of that involves the well-being of Gazans or their preservation. They are in the way and will be slaughtered because it's "too complicated" to spare them. The purpose does not matter if the end result is the same.

You are scared and threatened, I know. But this war will not make you safe. You could wipe out the entire Gaza strip and Hamas would remain, in fact, they'd only be emboldened by cruelty. So why should innocents die for a cause that won't make you safer? How many people have to die before you‘d consider it too much?

[obislittleone]

Hey, I just wanted to be informed about what “from the river to the sea” means? I’ve been looking it up but all I’ve found is free Palestine bullshit. In one of your posts you implied it has a separate meaning so can you please explain if you’d like? Sorry if I’m being rude or anything I just want to be informed.

"From the river to the sea" (Arabic: من النهر إلى البحر, romanized: min an-nahr ’ilā l-baḥr; Palestinian Arabic: من المياه للمياه, romanized: min al-mayeh lil-mayeh, lit. 'from the water to the water') is a political slogan that refers geographically to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, which currently includes the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories: the West Bank, which includes East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

At first glance, it has no other connotation to it other than the meaning people are shouting, which is 'Palestine will be free.'

It sounds very progressive and helpful to Palestinians when that's all that's said... but with the additional words that belong to the phrase: فلسطين ستكون عربية

It translates to: from water to water, Palestine will be Arab.

Not 'Palestine will be free', Palestine will be Arab.

Little white liberal ppl are writing these inscriptions on signs and protesting against the killing of Palestinians, but when they do, they don't even understand that they are encouraging Hamas to make Palestine an Arab only state. They claim they want to save lives while literally chanting for the extermination of jews using Hamas Nazi rhetoric.

This, of course, does not mean that all Palestinians are Arab or that there are not Arab jews. However, the notion of Hamas wanting to irradicate only the Israeli government is completely false when their mission was to mainly kill jews and try and take the land by force of killing innocents on October 7th. My friend Hasharon had sent me video attachments of hamas recruits shouting their kill count to one another and saying in their language 'praise allah, for all these dead jews.' They also screamed things on the phone like 'father, i killed ten jews, be proud of me, father, i killed ten of them.' They quite literally committed the exact same attrocities but on a deeply personal level. (Y'know, the same thing that people are condemning Israel of doing... except commiting numerous war crimes in the process.) Obviously, it is too complicated of a situation to take one look at and choose sides. For the most part, I side with Jews as I am one, but we must not forget about our muslim brotherhood in this time. Jews and Muslims are cousins, and they have the ability to live in peace. They have for thousands of years, and the discourse is only now coming from the ways this notion of 'there has to be only one bad guy' is being portrayed in the media.

There is no one bad guy. That would be the easy thing, to say 'oh Israel should be wiped off the planet because they are settlers and have no right to be there and by existing in that land, they are causing Palestinian suffering,' or to say 'Well Hamas is the literal government that Gaza chose for themselves and not only did they use secret tunnels to invade Israel and kill over a thousand innocents, but when Israel responded, their people hid them in hospitals and schools and made Israel look like the bad guy for irradicating terror.'

Do you see how both notions seem to fall on the radical of either side? It's why the conflict not only gets out of hand through the media, but starts to paint a picture that 'if you don't choose the right side you are an evil nasty person and you also deserve to die.' Or at least that's what my anons have been saying, but I digress.

The point is, by going to one extreme or the other, we make even more chaos in an already complex and sad situation.

Very few people in Israel actually believe Gaza should be destroyed, and likewise, I've not seen any of posts from actual Gazans saying they condone the death of others in their name. There are always going to be extremists, because unfortunately, there are some adults who behave like children and think they are of the highest possible knowledge in this world. Being well educated means nothing if you're only educating yourself based on the things you already believe. There's some Jewish wisdom that my grandmother taught me saying: to achieve knowledge is to experience the discomfort of realizing you may have been wrong.

Many liberals are very confident that they have all the answers in this time. I'm not condemning anyone, and I'm not excusing other's behavior either, but I want to make it known that you can't just say something without backing it logically and with context. 'From the river to the sea,' is a perfect example of that.

Sorry for this long rant I've just been wanting to get it off my chest as I've seen even more non arabic people posting the arabic signs around my city and non even realizing what they actually mean.

[atlafan]

today my supervisor came to see me to check on me and see how I was doing with everything going on. She asked if I had any family in Israel. To my knowledge, I don’t, but I do have friends there and I told her as much. I’m checking in with them on Instagram constantly to make sure they’re okay. They all served their time in the army already, so I have no idea if they’ll be called back or drafted. I’m petrified. I think the hardest part is people just sort of regurgitating what they see online without doing any research. Palestinians deserve better, and so do Israelis.

When I went to Israel in 2017, they had Israelis with us for birthright. We had a couple of nights where we were gathered and we had a very real talk about the conflict. One of the boys said that there’s a prayer that parents give their babies when they’re born about hoping their children will never have to go fight. The Israelis hate their government. Their prime minister is basically Trump. Many of them live in Palestinian territory. Many of them believe in a two state solution, as do I. I think people should be allowed to exist without being denied access to their human rights. I also think people shouldn’t be persecuted because of their religion.

People are dying. People are always dying there. It’s not right. But spewing antisemitic dribble as “support” for Palestine is not the way to go about things. Do your research, get educated, and then find a proper resource that’s taking legitimate donations. Palestinians do NOT support Hamas. No one does. They’re a terrorist group. Not all Hamas members are Palestinian. One does not equal the other. The same goes for everyone thinking all Israelis are anti Palestine.

You’re not there. You don’t know. So either actually find a way to help or SHUT THE FUCK UP

[shirzan140102]

Some Quick Thoughts about Israel and Palestine

A few weeks after I published my update post about the situation in Iran on here, the October 7th attacks on Israel took place. While I hate that this has become an "I told you so" moment, I must bring attention to the fact that I had predicted something like this happening in the post in question; specifically, towards the end of this post, I wrote:

For instance, do you think they won't get around to attacking Israel or the US?

To be clear, I believe that BOTH Israel and Palestine are the victims here and that the true villain is none other the Islamic Republic. Above all else, the IR and its enablers, Biden, the UN, Canada, the EU, member nations of the EU, and the UK, must be held accountable for all the Israeli and Palestinian blood that's been shed since October. Sincerely, I want to see nothing more than both countries coexisting and thriving, and my heart breaks for everything they've been going through. Both countries deserves better.

Let me be clear, this is all the Islamic Republic's doing. It is an incontrovertible fact that, just like Hezbollah and the Houthis, Hamas is one of the IR's proxies. I especially want to draw everyone's attention to the fact that around the time that it was announced that Biden would unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian assets, Hamas leaders/higher-ups were actually spotted in Iran. And mind you, this is only several weeks before October 7 happened.

People may argue that the unfrozen assets were untouched, but if you pay close attention to what Secretary Blinken and other officials from the Department of State (such as Matthew Miller) have said, it is clear that their reassurances that Iran wouldn't use the money for anything other than humanitarian reasons are empty lies. In fact, their statements are so contradictory, that their words cannot even be taken at face value, and as I said before, they didn't even deny the possibility that the IR could somehow find a way to use the money to sponsor terrorist activities. Let me be clear here: There is no way to guarantee that the Islamic Republic did not use the money to fund Hamas's activities or, considering the fungibility of the money, that they didn't take advantage of having an extra $6 billion to give Hamas more money. Another important factor that cannot be overlooked by any means is the involvement of Qatar, another major backer of Hamas (and a favorite haunt of some of Hamas's leaders), as the supervisor of the unfrozen assets. I need you to ask yourself this: When support of Hamas is so engrained in Qatar's policy, would there be any reason for them to block Iran from funding Hamas, and assuming that they would be accountable to the US government for monitoring the use of the funds, would they want want to honestly disclose what the money is being used for?

And if you think that it's too far-fetched to blame it all on the IR, consider the following:

Although the world has stopped caring about the Iranian people's fight for freedom - which is still ongoing, btw - they know that the people of Iran, especially Iranian diaspora like myself, can't be kept quiet. We are always finding ways to get word out about our struggles, and there is always someone who listens. What better way to distract from Iranian people's voices than by stoking the fires of another conflict?

Russia, as the Islamic Republic's favorite sponsor, is also seeking a distraction from its invasion of Ukraine.

I'd also like to leave everyone with this very brief observation: If you pay attention to how it operates, you'll see many similarities between how both groups operate. Just like how officials of the IR live in luxury and squander Iran's wealth for their own demented goals while the people of Iran suffer, the leaders of Hamas live in peace and safety while they have left the people under their rule in the line of fire.

Finally, if anyone wants to come to me with the argument that the IR cares for the people of Palestine and is genuinely helping them, I regret to tell you that you're woefully misinformed. This couldn't be further from the truth. They don't care how many innocent Palestinians have to die; they're happy to sacrifice as many Palestinians as it takes as long as they can achieve their delusional goal of destroying Israel.

To conclude, whether you support Israel or Palestine, your anger should be directed at one entity and one entity only: The Islamic Republic of Iran. I'm not here to debate whether, in general, Israel or Palestine is in the right; that is much too complex a matter to be discussed in just one hastily written Tumblr post. But in the case of everything that's happened since October 7, it's clear that Hamas was the instigator at the behest of the Islamic Republic of Iran. There are far too many "coincidences" to be overlooked here, and, speaking as an Iranian-American who knows how the IR works, I promise you that this is how everything has happened and, more importantly, that as long as the IR remains in power, there will only be more bloodshed and suffering. And everyone needs to pay attention to this. So, if you must chant for something, chant for the downfall of the Islamic Republic, which has caused all this misery. If you want someone to hold accountable, hold President Biden accountable for appeasing the Islamic Republic so much and for preventing the UK and EU from proscribing the IRGC. Ask the UN why it keeps emboldening the IR by giving rewarding it with high-ranking positions in matters such as human rights. Ask the leaders of these governments and groups why and how they have become so controlled by the Islamic Republic and why they're willing to sell out the safety of their own people to keep a failing terrorist government happy. (Feel free to look at the Burn Book section in the linked post for a more complete list of everyone who deserves your anger.) Because, as I've said before, the IR's goal is domination and destruction, and they're always on the hunt for more victims.

I'll wrap up this post by once again extending my condolences to both the people of Israel and Palestine. You all truly deserve better, and from the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry for your pain and distress. My heart is with all of you.

[eretzyisrael]

Under Biden, Old Mistakes Become New Again

After the Trump Administration presented the first reality-based proposal to end the Israeli-Arab conflict since 1967’s UN Security Council resolution 242, I thought I would never have to write an article like this one again. But thanks to the Biden Administration’s phalanx of pro-Palestinian officials, many of whom are Obama retreads, and its determination to reverse every one of Trump’s initiatives, here I am.

Last week a memo describing the administration’s position by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian affairs Hady Amr was leaked to The National, an English language newspaper published in Abu Dhabi. Suddenly it’s 2009 again, when Barak Obama made his conciliatory speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt.

The memo calls for a two-state solution “based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps and agreements on security and refugees.” One wonders if they’ve learned nothing in all this time.

Obama’s people always said their ideas weren’t new, that they represented a continuation of traditional American policy toward the conflict. I’m sure Biden’s team will say the same. But this is incorrect, and it’s worth looking at a few historical facts before taking up the Biden Administration’s policy.

In 1949 Israel signed armistice agreements with Egypt and Jordan. In both cases, the Arabs made it clear that they did not recognize the state of Israel within any boundaries, and that the cease-fire lines were not borders; indeed, they had no political significance. Both agreements contain language like this (from the agreement with Egypt):

It is emphasised that it is not the purpose of this Agreement to establish, to recognise, to strengthen, or to weaken or nullify, in any way, any territorial, custodial or other rights, claims or interests which may be asserted by either Party in the area of Palestine or any part or locality thereof covered by this Agreement…

Fast forward to 1967. After the war, the UN Security Council passed resolution 242, which included this well-known text:

Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;

Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;

As a Chapter VI resolution, it was nonbinding; but it was accepted by both sides (due to a bit of deliberate ambiguity: it did not specify how much of the territories “occupied” had to be returned). Nevertheless, it was made clear by the British Ambassador to the UN, Lord Caradon, whose draft became the official version, that it did not require an Israeli withdrawal to the armistice lines. Indeed, even the Soviets admitted that this was the case. And the American UN Ambassador, Arthur Goldberg, explained as well that the US position was in accordance with the armistice agreements: the cease-fire lines were not the “secure and recognized boundaries” envisioned in the resolution.

If anything was “traditional American policy” it was the ideas expressed by 242: there would be negotiations between the parties, and the results of those negotiations would determine the borders, as well as obtaining normalization of relations with the State of Israel by its (one hoped) former foes. Peace treaties were indeed signed with Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994. Although these treaties established borders between the countries, they did not deal with the armistice lines between the Gaza strip and Judea/Samaria and pre-1967 Israel.

In 1988, after the First Intifada, King Hussein of Jordan recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians and relinquished his claim to Judea/Samaria. From this point on, Jordan was out of the picture. American policy remained the same except that any negotiations over the future of these territories would have to be between Israel and the Palestinians. The Oslo Accords followed in 1994, and again the establishment of borders was considered a “final status issue,” to be settled later by direct negotiations between the parties.

In 2000, Bill Clinton unsuccessfully tried to mediate a final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. A few months after the failure of the Camp David Summit, Clinton made a further proposal that included land swaps in which areas beyond the Green Line that would be kept by Israel were balanced by a transfer of land from pre-1967 Israel to the Palestinians. This proposal was not accepted by the PLO.

This seems to be the first introduction of the pernicious idea of land swaps into American policy. Why pernicious? Because underlying it is the assumption that land beyond the armistice lines belonged to the Palestinians, and so they had to be compensated for any of it that Israel received. Keeping in mind the illegitimacy of the Jordanian invasion and occupation of Judea and Samaria, as well as the armistice agreements and resolution 242, the presumption that the Palestinians have prima facie ownership of the territories is a big step away from the even-handed 242 and toward a pro-Palestinian policy.

Of course, for Clinton this was a last-ditch proposal, and the understanding is that proposals are just that, and if there is no final deal then they disappear. Still, the Palestinians always try to insist that future negotiations must start at the high point of previously proposed concessions. Ehud Olmert renewed and expanded the swap idea in 2007-8. But this too was rejected (or simply ignored) by the Palestinians. Various initiatives by the Obama Administration also included the swap idea. No agreement could be reached then either, but swaps have now come to be considered essential to any peace agreement.

What seems to have happened over the years is the reification of the armistice lines. Instead of trying to find a solution that provided “secure and recognized boundaries,” the process now tries to find a way to give the Palestinians all the land they “deserve.” Of course this is impossible because of the physical geography of the region, which would make a pre-1967-size Israel indefensible. So then there needs to be discussion of “security arrangements” to protect Israel against the terrorism that would doubtless flow from a Palestinian state, in addition to the danger of invasion through the Jordan Valley. Fanciful ideas like foreign peacekeepers (something which did not work in Egypt in 1967 or in Lebanon since 2006), or complicated technological Maginot lines are contemplated, in order to obscure the fact that only Israeli military control of strategic territory can protect the state.

The Amr memo also references refugees. The “return” of the millions of descendants of Arab refugees from 1948 is another subject that has been shifted in the direction of Palestinian demands over the years. These descendants are not “refugees” according to international law; only the Palestinians and UNRWA, the UN agency that feeds, clothes, and educates them to believe that they will someday “return” to “their homes” that they have never seen, insist that they are. Even if they were refugees, there is no right of return in international law – just ask the millions of ethnic Germans that were kicked out of Central and Eastern European countries after WWII.

The Biden Administration seems intent on reopening these cans of worms that could have been disposed of if Trump’s “deal of the century” had been implemented. The deal represented a return to the philosophy of UNSC 242 and an end to the coddling of the PLO, which has never renounced terrorism, changed its charter, or seriously intended to be satisfied with a peaceful state alongside Israel, despite insistences to the contrary. The plan could have broken the logjam that has prevented progress toward ending the conflict. Despite warnings to the contrary, the sky didn’t fall when the US finally recognized Israel’s true capital, or its sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and the new policy helped bring about the normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab states.

Now, judging from the memo, the US will go back to funding the PLO – which refuses to stop paying terrorist’s salaries – and UNRWA. It will reopen the PLO embassy in Washington, and the “American Embassy to Palestine” (the US consulate in eastern Jerusalem). It even recommends going back to the policy of requiring that products from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria not be labeled “made in Israel.”

In short, if the administration carries out these policies, Israel will be faced with the dilemma of choosing between dangerously compromising its security and its sovereignty, or damaging its relationship with an increasingly pro-Palestinian US administration.

Add to this Biden’s Iran policy and you have a recipe for real trouble.

Abu Yehuda