Look, I don’t know what kind of things matter in your personal life, what bothers you and what you stand up for. From what I understood in your post, you just want to mind your own business and not give a fuck about problems of some people far away. That’s fair and I understand that.

My intention wasn’t to make you feel bad or confront you, and I really understand why you got tired of getting involved in random conflicts. I was too when I saw the invasion of Ukraine by Russia going down. I know it sucks and I feel sorry for the Ukrainans, but I felt the same way I couldn’t do much.

Why what you call discussing about semantics is important for me is simply because this is not just a conflict between neighbors. This is indigenous people facing a setter colonial movement born in Europe not even 200 years ago. And this movement wants to wipe the Palestinians and their whole identity out. It’s literally people fighting for survival.

I’m German-Palestinian and I have lost family in this most recent outbreak of violence and many past conflicts. And so have most of my Palestinian friends unfortunately. I have personally experienced what military occupation does to you, and I’ve experienced what apartheid feels like already as a child.

But I think it isn’t true that it all doesn’t help. I’ve been arguing with strangers about this on Facebook more than 10 years ago when it was still unquestionable to criticize anything Israel does. Arguing in real life with people who had some edgy takes on people being bombed to shit. I went to protests where we were like 50 people. Have seen and supported activists since teenage years (nowadays mostly financially). I had my picture posted somewhere online when I was on a protest. Immigration at Ben Gurion Airport loved it, almost sent me back to Germany.

Why I’m saying this is because I see that public opinion has shifted a lot. Politicians, especially German ones, still want to suppress our voices and equate all Palestinians with Hamas/Terrorists. But people aren’t having it anymore. Of course it doesn’t change things overnight. And I’m wondering how many more children need to be bombed until some old fucks realize how horrible the situation is.

In any case if you actually read this, thanks, and I hope you see now why it was import to me to clear up some things even if maybe 2 other people are reading this.

But it’s not a question of „just getting along“. Palestinians are indigenous to that country and right wing extremist nationalists are committing a genocide on them right in front of our eyes. Actually backed by our governments.

I mean honestly, they’re starving innocent children, bombing them as they’re sheltering in schools & hospitals. You don’t do that to anyone. It’s just wrong and it shouldn’t be polarizing to express for anyone that they’re against wiping out innocent civilians, let alone children.

China is also committing their own genocide against minorities, one of them the Uyghurs with concentration camps, forced sterilization and forbidding people to practice their religion.

As a Palestinian I can tell you that we’re not interested in exchanging Israeli occupation for Iranian, Russian or Chinese occupation.

Unfortunately I don’t know who’d be a real and credible ally. I feel strong support from many Latin American countries, the Irish, Scottish, South Africans. But do they have enough influence to broker something? I don’t think so