Standing With Israel and Condemning Hamas

[viscousmemories]

It's a little weird to me that the topic of Hamas vs Israel and Israel vs Palestinians hasn't had much traction here in the last week, because it has definitely dominated my consciousness.

The terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas in Israel last Saturday was a horrific tragedy, and my heart goes out to the families and friends of those men, women, and children who were killed and/or kidnapped. I hope those who are still alive are allowed to return home and that those who were affected find peace.

My heart also goes out to the people of Gaza, who have suffered the past week of nearly constant shelling and the loss of hundreds, maybe thousands of lives there, including hundreds of children. I am also deeply concerned that Israel seems to be arming up to commit mass murder in Gaza, and that the western world (and in particular the United States) has vowed to "stand by Israel" as they use US-supplied weapons and finances to respond in any way they choose.

There are >2 million people in Gaza, half of whom are children. Their food, water, medicine, electricity, etc. have been blockaded by Israel for 17 yrs. Now, after a week of bombing, all their resources have been cut off by Israel and half of the population has been told that it has 24 hours to migrate to the lower half of the strip or Israel, who is apparently planning a massive ground invasion, can't guarantee their safety.

The idea being pushed by much of the mainstream media, that the only moral response is "I condemn Hamas and stand with Israel", is ludicrous bullshit. Hamas is a terrorist organization of approximately 30k fighters who just murdered about 1300 people in Israel, and Israel is an apartheid state who has kept the Palestinians under their foot for decades, has killed an equal number of civilians through a week long bombing campaign, and has now amassed 500k fighters and heavy arms on the border in preparation for a massive invasion that will likely lead to many more thousands of deaths.

For me the only moral response is to condemn terrorism and apartheid in the same breath, and the only possible solution is one that attempts to end both.