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| Photo by the Author |
Recent Example of an Act of Terror Against Palestinians
Last October 10, 2022, a 12-year-old boy was shot by live ammunition in the stomach by Israeli forces and later succumbed to his wounds. Mahmoud Mohammad Khalil Samoudi was shot at Al-Zahra which is located in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian residents and Israeli soldiers engaged in confrontation due to the latter carrying out incursions in Palestinian territories.
Mahmoud was allegedly one of the children throwing a few stones at Israeli military vehicles on September 28, 2022, when Israeli forces started shooting live ammunition at the Palestinian youth. Mahmoud had serious bleeding as he sustained damage to his colon, kidneys, and bladder when one bullet entered his body from the left side of his belly and exited from the right side.
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| Mahmoud Mohammad Khalil Samoudi (Photo from DCI-P) |
According to the Defense for Children International-Palestine, 2021 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children since 2014 as Israeli forces and civilians killed 78 children that year. Currently, at least 2 million people in Gaza, located in the Southwest of Palestine, are under an ‘open-air prison’ where shipments and transportation are blocked off by Israeli forces, forcing people to go literally underground through tunnels people have dug in order to go in and out of Gaza. This also means that people are left with no access to power, water, and healthcare.
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| Man walking through the newly repaired tunnels underneath the Egypt side of the Border after Israel's bombing. (Photo by Al Jazeera) |
Timeline of the History of Israel's Apartheid Against Palestine
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| Photo by the Author |
Definition of Zionism
According to Hadami Sami’s book, Bitter Harvest: A Modern History of Palestine, Zionism is the belief that Jewish tradition should be upheld and that they should have their own independent state in the "Holy Land." It attempts to foster Jewish nationalism and connect the whole Jewish community with the one core country of Israel on an economic, political, and cultural basis.
Zionists believe that despite the fact that some Jews may reside in other nations or countries, they are going through a diaspora and must want to reside in the Holy Land. Zionists refer to Jerusalem as the Holy Land despite Jerusalem being a part of Palestine and is being governed by its laws.
What distinguishes Zionism from Judaism? Like Christianity and Islam, Judaism is only a religious association that does not obligate Jews to fellow Jews in other countries. Zionism, on the other hand, is an international political movement that seeks to ethnically integrate and unify the great majority of Jews into one country with Israel as the core of their culture and politics.
What does Zionism have to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Israel has subsequently shown interest in seizing areas of Palestinian land regardless of its populace and jurisdiction due to Zionist political ambitions in Jerusalem as its "Holy Land." Conflict arises between Israeli forces that occupy beyond the bounds of their agreements and the Palestinian residents who are driven from their homes as a result of these incursions. As a result, there are numerous attacks and assaults that go back and forth, killing thousands of civilians and non-combatants.
Therefore, opposing Zionism is not synonymous with anti-Semitism because opposing the former is concerned with its treatment and impact on the experience of Palestinians. The problem lies at the core of how Zionism is used to harm Palestinians and that is not, in any way at all, a form of hatred toward Jews but an animosity to the fact that it's being used at the expense of other people's well-being, freedom, and security in their own country.
Why Should We Advocate for Palestinian Freedom?
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| In the midst of demonstrations protesting the removal of Palestinian families from their houses in Sheikh Jarrah, Israeli soldiers capture a Palestinian protester. (Photo from Al Jazeera) |
