10-22-2023, 11:41 AM
I suppose the violence in Palestine and Israel at the moment has been there since at least 2010, around the time when Bibi consolidated his power, so in terms of the global response it feels kinda depressing to me, in much the same way as the conflict in Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in *2013*, after all, but it's only when they attacked the Donbass that people really started talking. Maybe it's because the corpses are piling up more than ever, but one shouldn't be anymore anxious or surprised now than we should have been a decade or two ago, and perhaps even before that.
Of course, the conflict in Ukraine is completely different from that in Israel and Palestine---as for me personally, I find it difficult to talk about this conflict, being a member of the Orthodox Church of Antioch. Our history runs ancient, both with antisemitism and among the Palestinian people, such that any speech against the government of Israel can be construed as a continuation of the now-unreadable sermons of St. John Chrysostom, but anything less than that would be an abandonment of our presently embattled siblings in Gaza. I imagine a lot of non-Jews and non-Arabs would find themselves in a similar situation, but I suppose the rise of social media and the 24 hour news cycle has turned us all into pundits.
So, in the end, what am I really saying? Probably nothing, and I know that even such an act should serve to condemn me, which is why I also recommend reaching out to the people actually affected by this, rather than just....just talking about all this, as if it's all hypothetical. At the very least, donate to:
https://www.pcrf.net
and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, though their website seems to be inaccessible at the moment. (palestinercs dot org)
And if you are directly affected by all this: what sympathies I offer you likely amount to nothing, what apologies I offer you may very well be an insult, but I nevertheless offer them, being unable to do much else. One thing I'm sure of, when it comes to all this talk, is you've long since had enough of us outsiders' condescension.
Of course, the conflict in Ukraine is completely different from that in Israel and Palestine---as for me personally, I find it difficult to talk about this conflict, being a member of the Orthodox Church of Antioch. Our history runs ancient, both with antisemitism and among the Palestinian people, such that any speech against the government of Israel can be construed as a continuation of the now-unreadable sermons of St. John Chrysostom, but anything less than that would be an abandonment of our presently embattled siblings in Gaza. I imagine a lot of non-Jews and non-Arabs would find themselves in a similar situation, but I suppose the rise of social media and the 24 hour news cycle has turned us all into pundits.
So, in the end, what am I really saying? Probably nothing, and I know that even such an act should serve to condemn me, which is why I also recommend reaching out to the people actually affected by this, rather than just....just talking about all this, as if it's all hypothetical. At the very least, donate to:
https://www.pcrf.net
and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, though their website seems to be inaccessible at the moment. (palestinercs dot org)
And if you are directly affected by all this: what sympathies I offer you likely amount to nothing, what apologies I offer you may very well be an insult, but I nevertheless offer them, being unable to do much else. One thing I'm sure of, when it comes to all this talk, is you've long since had enough of us outsiders' condescension.