Pro-Palestinian doesn't have to mean anti-Israeli - comment

• Published date: 15 March 2024
• Author: TAMAR URIEL-BEERI
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

She said that the horrific actions of October 7 do not justify Israel's military campaign to destroy Hamas, which is an unjustified act of "collective punishment" against the Palestinian people in Gaza, which has "left tens of thousands of Palestinians killed and injured" and "entire communities facing inhumane conditions, including famine and disease."

She expressed horror at women and children in Gaza being killed by "countless bombs, gunfire."

"With every bomb that drops the world becomes more unjust, and the road to peace more clouded," she said.

The distinction Patten makes here is legitimate.

While her claims that Israel is consistently and unnecessarily murdering Palestinians are inaccurate, she hermetically separates between the recognition of the horrors of October 7 and support for the Palestinian people.

The Left and the Right both want you to believe in extremes

That is because those two things are not mutually exclusive, as many would have you believe today, both on the Right and Left.

Those on the Right see anyone who supports the right of the Palestinian people to live peacefully as a suggestion that Palestine must rise from the ashes of Israel. While some may genuinely believe that – and that is a disgusting narrative that must be nipped in the bud – the vast majority support a two-state solution.

Whether that may be a probable end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is less relevant currently; instead, it is the intent for both Palestine and Israel to exist that defines a desire for peaceful coexistence.

On the other side of things is the Left, which screams – you guessed it – "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." This slogan, too, expresses that this form of pro-Palestinian activism is inherently opposed to the existence of the State of Israel.

It is saddening, indeed, to see many who do not know which river or sea are spoken of, not knowing that they are calling for the land of Israel to be wiped out.

Absolutism is loud, but that doesn't make it popular

But these two narratives are the loudest, not the most common. The vast majority of the international crowd supports both Palestinians and Israelis. Forcing these two stances into a dichotomy forces people to choose, and given the complex yet ever-existent power imbalance that exists, they tend to side with Israel's opponent.

Instead of focusing on how these two stances may oppose one another, let us look at how they can go hand-in-hand. Of course, this does not include...