Is it antisemitic to point out what Israel has done since 1947? Hamas haven’t been around since 1947! And antisemitism specifically refers to hostility towards Jews as a people, or towards Jews with regard to Judaism. It’s not really correct to use it when people don’t agree with what a government (Israel) has done to persecute another peoples (Palestinians).
No one in their right mind can condone or justify what Hamas has done! NO ONE!
However, screaming antisemitism every time someone points out that Israel also have to acknowledge their part in this conflict, which has been ongoing for 70+ years, is ridiculous and unhelpful.
Is it true that Israel have killed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians? Yes
Is it true that the West doesn’t publicise what happens to Palestinians as much as they do Israelis? Also yes
Why? Because the British and American governments didn’t want their countries to house all the Jewish refugees from Europe after WWII.
I think some people need to read up on proper history, not just modern history.
Learn about how Jews and Muslims coexisted in Arabia in the early days of Islam.
Learn about how Jews fought the pagans alongside Muslims in Arabia.
How the Jews were treated under Islamic rule in the Iberian peninsula pre-Catholics taking control from the Muslims.
The Shoah did not happen in a vacuum.
A quick and brief history lesson for you.
1066 William the Conqueror invited Jews from France to come and live in England, and gave the Jews special status. Probably not a good idea though! The Church (There was only the Catholic Church and they preached that Jews killed Jesus, completely disregarding the fact that Jesus was a Jew!) made life for Jewish people untenable!
1096 French and German Christians, as part of their People’s Crusade, attacked and murdered ~2000 Jews. (Typically these murders were knows as Pograms)
1190 Jewish massacre in York, related to blood libel claims
1218 All Jews in England were required to wear a badge marking them as Jews under Henry III
1222 The Church, under Henry, forbade Jews from owning slaves, mixing with Christians and proselytising
1253 Good old Henry imposes even stricter sanctions against the Jews, endorsing the blood libel claims
1260 More pograms against Jews, culminating in ~500 being killed
1287 All Jews in Gascony expelled by Edward I, and of course, all their property, goods and chattels reverted to the King
1290 Edward I expelled all the Jews from England
Jews weren’t allowed to return to the (now) Great Britain until 1655!
1348-1351 Jews blamed and persecuted for The Black Death in Europe
1391-1492 The wholesale massacre of Spanish Jews, the Spanish Inquisition (against Jews and Muslims), and the disputations led to Jews finally being expelled from Spain (the ones that survived!)
1648-1657 At least 100,000 Jews died in the Ukraine as the Cossacks massacred them
1821-1906 Widespread pogroms against Jews in the Russian Empire
1894-1906 The Dreyfus Affair in France - one of the worst miscarriages of justice in modern history
Then we arrive at the Shoah, played out alongside Soviet anti-Jewish policies.
Hitler used a treatise written by Martin Luther called “On The Jews and Their Lies”, as one of the justifications for his treatment of Jews. (Martin Luther was the father of German Protestantism). It’s also important to note that as well as Jews, also Romany people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, black people, Muslims and basically anyone not fitting in to his master plan, as well as political enemies and their families, were all interred in concentration camps and murdered.
So, this is the backdrop to the whole conflict taking place in Israel right now.
It’s also important to note that during the above time periods, in America, Jews were also mistreated, again due to the teachings of Christianity and the crucifixion of Jesus.
The British have never had a good track record of leaving territories and colonies in good condition and when the Mandate for Palestine came to an end, they once again, left a country in turmoil (for further information, I would suggest reading up in the Indian subcontinent and how independence played out there and the thousands of people displaced and killed due to the British policies).
Now, Israeli settlements have expanded so much that they have also taken over the land mandated for Palestinians, so the Palestinians are now all scrunched up into a tiny strip of land in Gaza.
Because Palestinians now don’t have a country, they can’t get travel documents (it’s extremely difficult to leave Gaza if you’re Palestinian and the Israeli soldiers guarding the entrances don’t allow Palestinians to leave unless they have an exceptional circumstance).
(Doing some reading around Zionism would be really useful as well)
Added to the whole mixing pot, is the fact that there are Jewish sects, such as Haredi Jews, who don’t accept Israel settlement, due to the belief that Jews will be returned to the promised land after the Messiah arrives.
I think that people also have to bear in mind that Christians in Israel don’t always fair well - there is a lot of reading available about this topic if anyone is interested.
Nothing in life is black and white, and unfortunately the conflict between Israel and Palestine is grey, murky and full of bloodshed.
I hope the historical overview that I gave helps people to understand why the West won’t intervene and why media reporting in the West isn’t always accurate or balanced.
Just the number of fatalities and casualties amongst Palestinians versus Israelis is surely enough to make people think carefully about what’s happening over there.
Additionally, whilst Hamas is a terrorists organisation that absolutely does need to be stopped, isn’t the IDF also striking terror in the hearts of Palestinians? Should we also consider them terrorists for the subjugation and suppression of the Palestinian people?
And yes, I have a degree in this stuff and wrote a chapter on Jewish-Christian relations during the Reconquista!
Edit: clarity