Israel is not Responsible for your Country's original sins

Hostage Square in Tel Aviv

It has been over two years since the horrific attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7th.

Since then, people all over the world have in practice sided with the aggressor in the war, with Hamas.

Terrorists who, if the marchers were lucky, would kill them on site without thinking twice about it.

I have a theory about why so many on the progressive left all over the world seem to suspend their critical thinking skills when it comes to Israel.

They honestly seem to think it will absolve them of their country’s original sins.

Here in America, many pro Palestinian activists seem to think that their work to destroy Israel will absolve them of this country’s original sin of the enslavement of Black Americans starting in 1619.

Think about it, how many BDS activists blame Israel for police brutality against Black Americans? The over militarization of police against Black communities all over America? How many blame American support for Israel for the fact that Black communities all over America are systemically under invested in? Or even more ridiculous, that Jews profited the most from the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade.

If you are going to condemn an entire people for profiting off of something as deeply evil as the Trans Atlantic Slave trade, then I have some bad news regarding Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Deists.

For those marching against Israel in Canada and Australia, many of them seem to think it will absolve them of the dispossession, oppression and genocide of those countries first nations and indigenous people’s, same for here in the United States.

Even at their worst, the IDF does not come close to the systemic evil in which my country treated Native people in the late 19th century. Unlike Israel, there is a very strong case to be made for charging America with genocide for their conduct during the Indian wars at the end of the 19th century. The same can be said for Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Where is Israel’s residential school of horrors? Where are the policies designed to destroy entire cultures and languages? Where is the systemic breaking up of families or placing of Palestinian children into the care of Israeli families? Where is the systemic less dead (thank you Master of My Universe for teaching me about this concept) at the level that Indigenous people on both sides of the US/Canadian border have suffered or Black Americans in the United States have suffered? To the point where Indigenous women in both Canada and the United States are at minimum 1.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted compared to white women (white women by the way are already assaulted at incredibly high rates, it only gets worse for women of color and even worse for Native and First Nations women).

Granted, Israel has their own problems with reporting and dealing with sexual assault in their legal system. But if you are going to destroy a country based on at best incompetence at dealing with sexual violence, there would be no country on earth left standing, including Russia, South Africa, China, Cuba, Venzuala, North Korea, and Sweden. Not to mention Gaza under Hamas.

A message for those seeking absolution

Destroying Israel is not going to somehow make up for the founding horrors your country has inflicted.

Instead of blaming the Jews, work to repair the damage your country has done.

For example, in Canada, thanks to a loophole saying that the Squamish Nation are immune from normal zoning laws, they have been able to develop a 10.5 acre plot of of land in Vancouver in a project called Sen̓áḵw. When complete, the project will not only provide some badly needed housing for the people of Vancouver, it will finally start to repair the damage that has been done to the Squamish Nation from Canada. They will start to build wealth that can serve their people. Ironically, many NIMBY Vancouver Residents complain this is not very First Nations of them. Nevermind the historical record that Indigenous people enthusiastically adopted firearms from European traders for warfare and hunting. So Indigenous people in North America have been making western inventions and innovations their own for ages already.

In America, that means working to repair the damage done to Black Americans. Australia and New Zealand should consider the same thing.

By the way, Hamas lovers, you really should listen more closely to Indigenous people around the world, they recognize the state of Israel for what it is.

The most successful land back project in human history.

The best way to understand Palestinians is to see them like White Americans who can’t stand to see Black Americans succeed during reconstruction, and so burn down their communities. Except this time Black Americans have firepower and an army to protect them that does not depend on political will of people who are at best indifferent to their safety.

Somehow, I understand that thanks to me being autistic, I am vulnerable to Hamas in ways that neurotypicals are not. Maybe I am being paranoid, maybe I am not.

So I can’t for the life of me understand why many of you would advocate for people who are on the record saying they would kill you without thinking twice.

Part of the reason I am particularly concerned about the fate of Black Americans and Jews is self interest. I know they will have my back as an autistic person when I need it. So I am paying things forward so to speak. Same for Native Americans across the Western Hemisphere.

So instead of blaming Jews for what your country has done, take some responsibility for it and fix the problem.