#lowkey dont even want to post this cuz theres been a lot of antisemitism on this site as of late

[disappointingyellowhighlighter]

I know nobody needs to hear my opinions about the Israel Palestine conflict but I have a lot of thoughts and nowhere to put them so here goes:

1. What Israel is doing is wrong. Israel as a state should not exist, especially in the way it does now.

2. Innocent Israeli citizens exist. Jews do have ancestral ties to the land and should be allowed to exist there without having to be conflated in belief with a genocidal government. Not all Israeli citizens are Jewish, and they, too, deserve to exist there without having to be conflated in belief with a genocidal government.

3. Hamas is a terrorist organization.

4. If Israel puts down its weapons before Hamas does, innocent Israeli citizens will die.

5. Every country on earth should be calling for a ceasefire. From both sides. Yes, the sides are not on equal footing. But BOTH must put down weapons for peace to be an option.

6. Western leftists do not understand how to be anti-zionist and anti-israel without being antisemitic. It is not a fine line, but it is one that is easy to cross and many do not listen when they are called out for it. Please listen when this comes up. Please check the biases of the sources you consume media from. Check how they are funded, check where they are located. By all means read the articles but be aware where they are coming from. I know it's easy to disregard this argument, and it may even be made erroneously, but please evaluate what has been said and think about why a Jewish person may have found it offensive. If it is TRULY just because there was criticism of Israel and/or Zionism, disregard the argument. Additionally, please understand the conditional whiteness given to white Jews. Telling us we have white privilege without understanding conditional whiteness and the history of whiteness as a classification, especially in regard to how it affects Jews, is ignorant at best and antisemitic at worst. Yes, many of us have white privilege. Until we are openly Jewish.

7. A lot of people who are calling to free Palestine have not thought past that. I agree. Free Palestine. But what happens after? Are former Israeli citizens expected to leave? If so, where? If not, do you expect the two groups to work out their own peace? Or should other nations be involved? If former Israeli citizens are not given a place to go and start getting attacked by the new government, what then? How will you respond if that is what happens? Please consider these questions. I know you don't think anything bad will happen, but think about what hamas already did, think about how Jews are treated historically, and think about what the plan would be going forward after the dismantling of Israel.

8. A lot of people think violence against Israeli citizens is justified. A lot of people think Hamas is in the right. I cannot change your mind. But this IS antisemitic. If you believe that Hamas was in the right for what they did to civilians because they are citizens of Israel, the only country in the world that's national religion is Judaism, you are antisemitic. If that statement upsets you, re-evaluate your position and why you feel the way you do.

9. Israel is indiscriminately bombing Gaza under the guise that they are somehow taking down Hamas. They are lying. Israel will claim any man killed by the IOF in Gaza is Hamas. They are lying. Israel is actively committing a genocide and if you are not against that genocide you are wrong.

10. Many diaspora Jews, because of this conflict, feel unsafe. We would be crazy not to. Any move on Israel's part always results in a rise of antisemitism worldwide, because people conflate Israel with Judaism. They are not even close to the same. I've seen appalling images of IOF soldiers using a combat knife as a yod, holding it up to a Torah. That is disgusting. But enough people conflate Israel and Judaism that diaspora Jews are affected by anything Israel does. Almost always negatively. If you are calling diaspora Jews selfish or saying we are claiming false victimhood, you are being antisemitic and you are using a genocide to justify it. If that statement bothers you, re-evaluate.

13. There is nuance in this situation. And if you refuse to acknowledge that nuance, I can assume it is for antisemitic reasons. And if that statement bothers you, re-evaluate.

11. I implore people to study Jewish history. See WHY Israel exists in the first place. You do not need to have empathy for Israel, I suggest you actively have none, but please please have empathy for Israeli citizens and diaspora Jews alike.

12. American support of Israel comes from a place of antisemitism.

14. All of these opinions can and should exist in tandem. Palestinians are being oppressed by Israel, Gaza is an open air prison, and Israel needs to stop bombing Gaza immediately. Innocent Israeli citizens and diaspora Jews should not be blamed for the actions of the Israeli government.

15. Free Palestine.