Gaza

I don't understand. I just. Don't. Understand.

I don't understand how this is self-defense.

I don't understand how this is self-protection.

I don't understand how this is a "settlement."

I don't understand how this man is a hero.

I. Don't. Understand.

I don't understand how people who hear this:

and understand it to be war-mongering can hear this and think it's self-defense.

I don't understand how people who claimed this:

can assume that this man:

speaks for the entire Israeli populace, and that to disagree with him on matters of policy is evidence that you want Israel to fail.

I don't understand how those who cry out for intelligent conversation based in fact within the politics of their own country can ignore the fact of the systemic occupation of Palestine when discussing Israel's military "responses." I don't understand, for example, this:

or this:

I don't understand how intelligent people can talk about the violence from and toward Gaza and the daily human rights violations committed by the occupation as though they are unrelated. I don't understand how an occupying force can claim self-defense, and I especially don't understand how those who didn't believe for a second that there were WMDs in Iraq can treat such claims with blind faith.

This! This! What IS this?! What is this sentiment?! I just don't understand.

How does the fourth largest nuclear power in the world get cast as the weakling? How does a country that controls the traffic, both of people and goods, of another nation claim that that nation is sovereign? How does a country with full control of the water supply of another nation claim that that nation is sovereign? How, when that nation is not even geographically cohesive, even less so when the maps reflect the "settlements" and the Separation Wall? How, when the Israeli government can bulldoze the house your family has been living in for generations, giving you thirty minutes notice in which to pack up your livelihood, because you don't have a permit? How, when going to work requires strip searches at gunpoint? How is Palestine a sovereign nation? Because they held elections? I. Don't. Understand.

I also don't understand how "Christians" can bomb abortion clinics. I also don't understand how a military invasion can be called "liberation." I also don't understand how those who believe in "freedom of religion" can call for legislation based on Bible verses. I also don't understand how someone who is "pro-life" can support the death penalty. I don't understand how a people who have been through so much, who have been the victims of the worst atrocity in the history of the Western world, can "stay calm and support" a government carrying out such reprehensible policies. I don't understand.

And I refuse to understand. I don't care what your religion is, I do not believe religion excuses human rights violations. I went to a play once, a one-man-show composed from the real-life account of a Palestinian man whose home was demolished during an imposed curfew on his city as a response to attacks on Israel by Hamas. There was a Q&A afterward, with an official Israeli diplomat as well as a Palestinian representative. When asked, repeatedly, to explain the actions portrayed, the Israeli official appealed to us to continue to "put these events into context." What he meant, it became clear after numerous repetitions, was that we were to accept the context of vengeance. The context that excuses inhumane behavior because of the inhumane behavior that preceded it. And I refuse to accept that context. If that is how I understand, I refuse. How do you think Hamas excuses killing civilians? This is a form of contextualizing that has no end, and does not lead to peace. The contextualizing that leads to peace is the human context. The context that looks at the individual actions, the individual victims, the individual perpetrators, and holds them accountable to each other. As people. As humans.

Why can't we have this conversation? Why can't we recognize that politics is politics, no matter the country? Why can't we treat Israel like any other allied sovereign nation? Why can't we treat the policies enacted by those in charge in Israel with the same skepticism with which we treat our own political leaders?

Because the truth is, supporting the health of the state of Israel means supporting the end of the occupation. The truth is, the occupation creates an atmosphere of resentment and desperation, which breeds violence. The truth is, the occupation creates the circumstances wherein the right-wing, militant Likud party in Israel can continually garner support by playing on the legitimate fears of the Israeli citizenry. The truth is, as long as the occupation continues, Palestinian representation will continue to be militant in response, damning them in the public eye, and ensuring that their pleas for self-determination and recognition fall on deaf ears. The truth is, if you want to prevent this:

from happening, this

must end. The truth is, this is not an even fight, and those with power are the ones with the means to end it. Forcing those whose rights are being violated daily to be the first to concede is cruel. Not only that, it is unrealistic. History has taught us that, pushed to the breaking point, human beings will defend their integrity to the death. It is not a matter of swallowing one's pride and admitting defeat, but rather admitting that somehow, your person is less than, and that admission does not come easily, because, in the words of a very wise man, "we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."