There are not two sides to every story
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I want to encourage you to entertain the idea that there are not two sides to every story. There is only one reality; and while there may be many different perspectives, these are merely narrations of the story with notes written in the margins.
Specifically in speaking about Palestine, there is only one story. There are arguments, religious and political alike that frame the story in different ways, but there is only one set of facts.
The only way there can be two narratives is when there are differences in power. We know the saying “history is written by the victors,” and the reason this is true is because there is a difference in power — not because there are differences in reality.
Regarding Palestine, there is only one country; one country that belongs to the Palestinians and has always belonged to them. Palestine does not belong to Zionists, to settlers and colonists, or foreign countries with economic interest in the region. It belongs to the Palestinians.
To be clear, it is not anti-semitic to stand in opposition of the occupying Israeli force. What is happening in Palestine is state-sanctioned terrorism, forced dispossession, and institutionalized apartheid.
The Israeli government is stealing the country of Palestine through violent military occupation, the demolition of Palestinian land and homes, and the genocide of a people.
There are not two sides to this story. There is one reality that we’ve seen repeat itself again and again throughout history: the murder of a people for their land. When we reflect on violent and horrible tragedies throughout history like the Rwandan genocide, the Holocaust, and The Trail of Tears, we look around and ask ourselves “how did this happen? Who let this happen?”
Know that there were not two sides to those stories either. There was one reality — one historical event. However, the powerful, controlling narrative only told bits and pieces of the story and framed the victims to demonize and dehumanize a population until it was too late.
At this moment, it is not too late to put pressure on the Israeli government to stop the ongoing murder of the Palestinian people. It is not too late to put pressure on the American government to stop funding Israel $3.8 billion dollars which equips the Israeli military with the weapons to commit genocide.
At this moment, we live in a time where we are watching the destruction of a country and a people from the phones in the palms of our hands. Ask yourself who wrote the story you’ve been told about this “complex and confusing conflict.” This is the version of the story written by the powerful — this is not reality.
The reality is that there is mass destruction, violence, and terror happening every day to a people who’ve already been dispossessed of their own homes, families, and lives.
Please speak out against this violence and defend Palestinian families like you would your own family. We all belong to and rely on one another, and we are only as strong and protected as our neighbors.
Jewish Voice for Peace has a short video detailing Palestine’s history that I’ve attached to this post.
https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/israeli-palestinian-conflict-101/
