Throughout the tragic events of the past week in Gaza, many prayed for the safety and security of those who faced deadly attacks from Hamas. In contrast, many are now speaking up for a different reason. All across the US, there has been a division between who to support in the war in Gaza.
Party lines have recently classified the US division between support for Palestine vs Israel. Previously Republicans have been known to side with Israel rather than Palestine. Evangelical Christians which make up a large population within the Republican Party are quite supportive of Israel for theological and religious reasons. Most Democrats don’t associate with one religion and therefore experience a disconnect with Israeli policy, turning their support to Palestine. These divisions have increased as pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protests have sparked controversy across the US.
Many people have lost their families, friends, and loved ones; thousands have died, and thousands are still missing in Gaza from both sides. Biden defined Hamas’s attacks as “terrorism” in his address to the white house earlier this week, demonstrating his shock and anger towards Hamas, as well as choosing to side with Israel. Despite the president's decision to aid Israel many still argue on behalf of Palestine. In New York, many Israelis and pro-Israel supporters gathered to mourn the deaths of those lost to Hamas, a pro-Palestine group formed to celebrate the deadly terror attacks. The group began chanting things such as “Resistance is justified,” “Globalize the intifada,” and “Smash the settler Zionist state”. As well as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
Sources claim tensions began to run high as each group began chanting antagonizing messages at each other. Pro-Isreal groups unified in chanting names such as “murderers” while pro-Palistine groups taunted them with mock crying gestures. One pro-Palistine speaker stated that “The oppressed people of Palestine broke out of the open-air prison,”, asking the crowd to rejoice. “The White House is telling all of its mouthpieces to tell us a false story, but we know that the real terrorist is the Israeli state”.
This feeling has been seen across colleges nationwide. At Columbia University on Thursday, two groups of hundreds of students tensely faced each other in dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations. This has similarly boiled onto other campuses. Jewish students now are fearful of what might happen as a result of this war. Many students now question their safety. Many assume that the tension on college campuses and across the globe will only increase as the war in Gaza continues.
- Abbey Tidwell
3 comments:
I think the complexity of this topic makes it difficult to pick sides with either Israel or Palestine. On the one hand, it is clear why Israel needs to defend itself. Historical events such as the Six-Day War emphasize that Israel is largely surrounded by neighbors who are opposed to the state's very existence. The Palestinian government has even created the "Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund," which financially rewards Palestinians who are injured while carrying out violence against Israel. Evidently, Israel cannot just lay down its arms, and must continue to defend itself in order to prevent its own destruction. However, I also think that the actions Israel has taken against Palestinian civilians are wrong. For example, Israel has been denying basic needs such as a water and electricity and destroying buildings such as hospitals. Such actions seem like needless cruelty, and have even been condemned as war crimes. Yet, despite both side's faults, I think the one clearly incorrect position on this conflict is to be supportive of the violence Hamas has perpetrated. There is simply no way to justify terrorism targeted towards innocent civilians, especially when considering that this violence is rooted in Hamas' publicly stated goal of killing all Jews. I hope that the Palestinians can eventually elect a more peaceful and just government into power, and that both nations can eventually cooperate to reach an agreement and resolve their issues.
It's extremely sad that many innocent cilivains are being killed and many missing. The rise of pro-Palestine and pro-Israel has split the American nation and it definitely has caused extreme tension between the two groups. On my social medias like TikTok and Instagram many have posted their opinion on this war and it has caused conflicts to rise on those platforms as well. When the news that Hamas had attacked Israel came out many celebrities posted thier support for Israel within hours or just a few days later but immediatly took it down when many from the pro-Palestine side started criticizing them. I think that each side has the right to defend what they belive is right but they shound't be believing everything they hear or see. For example the news that Hamas was beheading babies wasn't varied before it was being reported or posted. I read about the protests In New York and there were many reported assualts coming from both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel sides. Again both sides can be defended but this war was long coming from both sides.
I think picking sides is not the right course of action when it comes to this issue. There are so many complexities and intricacies when it comes to this war that picking a side is also not easy, and people who are picking sides might not be fully educated when it comes to history, current events, etc. Additionally, there are so many images and stories floating around in the media in regard to the war whose legitimacy has been questioned. Polarization simply increases the tensions. I think instead the focus should be on the innocent civilian lives that are being lost. There have been innocents who have been killed in Gaza and in Israel. And killing of innocent people should be viewed as wrong regardless of which side did it.
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