Saturday, October 14: One Week of Violence
A whole lifetime of oppression distilled into seven days
In Arabic, when an individual is killed, they are called شهيد or “Shaheed”, which is usually translated to ‘martyr’ in English. But the Arabic term comes from the connotation and meaning of “witness”, as in, the body is a witness to the crime of injustice and murder. In the past seven days, over two thousand Palestinians have been made witnesses to the brutality of a ruthless apartheid regime and the complicity and full-throated encouragement of most of the western world.
In one week, the apartheid Israeli regime has murdered 2,215 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 700 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Nearly a million people have been displaced according to the UN. Yesterday, after the apartheid state told over a million people to evacuate northern Gaza, Israeli fighter jets ambushed civilians, medics, and convoys taking the exact route they claimed would be safe, murdering dozens in the attempted forced transfer. This is unquestionably a violation of international law, much like the apartheid regime’s documented use of white phosphorous on civilian populations. I’m running out of words to describe the inhumanity, but calling it a genocide is certainly an accurate characterization.
If it wasn’t enough that the US government arms and funds the genocidal Israeli military to the tune of (at least) $3.8 BILLION a year, the repeated calls for ceasefire and de-escalation were described as “repugnant” and “disgraceful” by the white house press secretary yesterday. That’s right folks, the morons in charge are so committed to the continuation of this genocide that they consider it *~repugnant~* to think otherwise. In Germany, police in Berlin banned a demonstration against violence in the Middle East over concerns of antisemitism. The only problem is the demonstration was organized by Jewish Berliners. Sadly we’re living in a time where the most accurate summary of western media coverage is The Onion’s headline, “Dying Gazans Criticized For Not Using Last Words to Condemn Hamas”.
Meanwhile, the apartheid state of Israel announced it will be cutting off any remaining internet connectivity in Gaza today, thus preventing Palestinians from reporting on the carnage or providing families with updates on their wellbeing. When Russia made similar efforts last year in Ukraine, the US was up in arms (quite literally) about denying Ukrainians the ability to report on what was happening to them. Elon Musk was quick to make himself a hero, providing crucial connectivity through his Starlink satellite system. Interestingly, the wealthiest man in the world has been virtually unheard from over the last week as innocent people in Gaza are slaughtered.
Former president bush (intentionally lowercase to indicate the depths of disrespect I feel for that scumbag), the head honcho of war-mongering and one of the figureheads for America’s shambolic modern foreign policy, shared his views earlier this week, saying, “One side is guilty. And it’s not Israel.” Personally, if I were on a particular side of an argument and I saw this was the guy agreeing with me, I might take it as an opportunity to reconsider my views. But that’s me, a reasonable human being.
A few people have asked me why I choose to write this newsletter. They’ve pointed out that it won’t change the status quo or contribute to Palestinian liberation, and they’re probably correct. But this is the only way I can sleep at night, knowing that at the very least I did my best to help share resources and educate anyone interested in listening. I’ve had people message me all kinds of hateful rhetoric, claiming I’m excusing or even supporting terrorism by advocating for Palestinian resistance. In the past week I’ve seen more images and videos of Palestinians being murdered and brutalized than a human can reasonably take. There are moments every single day where I force myself to get offline, to get outside, to do anything other than continue doomscrolling through a news feed endlessly overflowing with carnage and human suffering.
Palestinians have been fighting this fight for decades. No one is asking you to risk your freedom or your life for Palestine. No one is asking you to take up arms against an apartheid regime. No one is really asking anything of you. But make no mistake, the world is watching. I’ll attend a protest later today, knowing that it’s useless for the Gazans who have already died or are destined to die today, but I can only hope they know they weren't alone.
I say this as someone who hasn’t prioritized taking care of myself this week; get offline and take care of yourself and your people as best you can. If going to a protest is feasible, please make the effort and make sure to protect yourself. If the most you can do is read and learn more, I urge you to do that. If you’re comfortable speaking out against genocide, now is the time. But no person should have to sit and watch so much human suffering. Don’t keep putting yourself through that. This world is cruel enough, try to be kind to yourself when you can.