I wanted to take a moment to write something outside of the constant flow of social media feeds.

What we’re witnessing across Palestine for the past two months is genocide.

There are both Palestinians and Jews labelling it as such (and I can only imagine how painful it must be to have such atrocities committed in the name of your faith). An expert on both the Holocaust and genocide, Raz Segal has laid it out clearly in his directly named article: A Textbook Case of Genocide.

What is also clear is that the treatment of Palestinians by Israel is apartheid - this has been stated by Amnesty International, by Human Rights Watch, by the South African government, and of course by Palestinians themselves.

Should members of Hamas be tried for war crimes? Certainly. Should Israeli officials as well? Definitely. Israel has continued to attack hospitals, refugee camps, schools - slaughtering many, many thousands of innocent Palestinians - all in the supposed name of self-defence. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so horrific.

If you’re looking for action to take in the face of these atrocities: keep in mind that most Western governments (including Australia) still support Israel, still sell weapons to them, still shrug and try to ignore the ever-increasing death toll. So: contact your local members of parliament. Ask that they demand a permanent cease-fire - including the release of hostages by both Hamas and Israel! Ask that they halt weapon sales to Israel. Ask that they expel any Israeli officials and recall our own ambassadors. And alongside that, sign petitions, join your local rallies, speak out in support of Palestine in your own communities. Otherwise, our silence lets this injustice continue unabated.

Please don’t buy into the argument that both sides are equally at fault - they’re not equal, and they’re not both committing genocide or apartheid. There’s also a clear distinction between Hamas and Palestinians, which I know we can all comprehend - just as we can distinguish between Jewish people, the state of Israel, and Zionists.

I abhor anti-semitism and Islamophobia. Let us be clear, though: supporting Palestine is not anti-semitic - and if you needed proof of that, there are a huge number of Jewish people around the world standing in support of Palestine and against the settler-colonial violence of Israel, and that is so greatly appreciated (especially in the face of Zionist attacks they then face).

I know that the violence feels unrelenting - take care of yourselves, and take strength and support from those around you. But also, when you can, please turn that anger and grief into action in support of Palestine and peace.

Palestinians deserve freedom, deserve life, deserve liberation. Nothing less than this is acceptable.

🇵🇸 from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free 🇵🇸