Upset by "I stand with Israel" badge at bus stop

[yiddishmaid]

A woman at the bus stop was wearing a badge stating "I stand with Israel" in large letters, which upset me a bit. And has upset me more as I think about it more. She has been to Israel, and has a lot of affection for the Jewish culture, but is not Jewish herself.

I am finding it hard to explain why I am upset. Maybe I am upset because in a way I felt she didn't have a right to take sides. She doesn't really know anything about it. But that seems unreasonable, because everyone knows about the sickening brutality of Hamas.

Maybe I am upset because I disagree with her, and don't in my heart stand with Israel to the full extent any more. But that seems unreasonable, because people can disagree with me.

Maybe I am upset because I feel she is making somebody else's tragedy her problem, like some sort of cultural appropriation. Being brave and wearing a support Israel badge, when actually her thoughts and opinions on the whole subject are not of any relevance and will have no affect, and could stir up local aggression where it was not necessary.

I don't know. I am upset by her badge and her choice to take the risk of wearing it. I don't really know why.

Perfect response. We have no control over any of this, we need to stop pointlessly fanning the flames of division.

Completely agree with this post and @CulturalNomad

Well as long as she is not actually shouting/attacking anyone she is entitled to her views. This is the good thing about living in the Uk we are allowed to hold different opinions.
Would you prefer a society like Russia where you have an unfortunate accident if you don’t follow the party think?

There is no point getting upset. Many people do support Israel, esp right wing people of which we know there are many. Just because people aren’t wearing a badge does not mean they don’t support Israel.

Given the ongoing relentless murder, starvation and torment of innocent Palestinians by the Israeli government and IDF monsters, I think it’s a flamboyant and aggressive gesture. But she is not doing anything illegal.

Take a deep breath and get on with your day. Bigots of all kinds walk amongst us, whether they support the cruel actions of the Israeli government or Hamas. All you can do is surround yourself with decent people.

Yes. It's like flying the Ukraine flag.

Strange behaviour to want others to know your political views so badly.

I'm amazed that so many people were getting a bus at 1am on a Friday morning. We don't even have a bus running that late.

It's possible to separate support for the country from support for what the military are doing. Otherwise, how do you explain support in the UK for Palestine straight after the atrocities in October last year by Hamas? People were supporting the innocent victims in Palestine. Maybe this woman is supporting innocent of Israel.

And I agree with you.

YABU.

At the end of the day, we cannot do anything about this conflict. I don't understand why people want our government to go wading in and fight another war that has nothing to do with us. She is allowed to express her views, you are allowed to express yours.

I remember once when the war in Ukraine had just started, I went and got my nails done and got them painted yellow. Some barmy person came up to me at the bus stop and asked if they were painted for Ukraine, asked why I'd not got them painted blue and yellow, and asked if I was secretly supporting Russia. I actually laughed in their face. This identity politics we're growing in this country is killing our society.

Neither. She can wear what she wants and have the opinion that she has, but I don’t think you deserve the harsh responses. Nationalism is baked into Israel and the safety of Jewish people has been talking point for months. It’s not surprising, you feel the way you do.

People are, of course, entitled to their opinions, but…

It would piss me off too, because “standing with” a militarily advanced, technologically competent, powerful society that smashes up its, mostly helpless, “enemies” (all Arabs who live in Palestine) is a morally questionable position to freely demonstrate.

“Standing with” a country that deliberately perpetrates war crimes and crimes against humanity with no consequence is not brave or compassionate, it’s ignorant.

So would you rather they stood with Palestine, a country controlled by a terrorist organisation who have also committed atrocities?

Or do you realise it's not as simple as boiling it down to "Israel bad Palestine good" and that there's actually a hell of a lot more involved, but it's been turned into a social media campaign to determine who has the right morals and who doesn't?

This completely.

I don’t stand with Israel and this post I have quoted doesn’t upset me. I respect everyone’s
right to an opinion and don’t get offended if it’s different to mine. That’s just madness.

I guess the children who are being starved to death would factor into the complexities though?

I'd be interested to know why OP thinks it's cultural appropriation to wear an I Stand with Israel badge but not to wear a keffiyeh.

Yes it’s fascinating when you realise not everyone lives their life like you.

Of course. I never once said j support Israel (I don't support either of them, I think what's going on is atrocious but there's no need for a white woman thousands of miles away to "support" either one of them)

So do you have to physically visit a place to 'know' anything about it? I spent a week in the DRC about ten years ago and have been fascinated with the country and wider central African region ever since insofar as studying its history, politics and culture.

OP, maybe you were upset because what the Netanyahu Israel's government is doing in Gaza is nothing short of a genocide. He wants to exterminate Palestinians and has no problem killing children, aid workers or bomb hospitals. All the Nortern Gaza hospitals are either damaged or destroyed, and the civil casualties, specially in children, are beyond what's acceptable in war.

I don't know how I would have reacted if I saw someone with a large badge, "I support Israel" near me. I hope I'd have the integrity and strength to say "Shame on you".

I stand by isreal

Unfortunately i can never forget a video of a newborn girl who died of absolute starvation in HER mothers arms sucking on her upper lip out of absolute despair so that she may have a drop of anything before she gasps to death with an empty stomach. No one deserves this

How can any Humane person support that?
They are Intentionally killing babies and children , intentionally blocking food and water, intentionally killing medical professionals,

Unbelievable that this is happening in 2024

I would feel the same OP

Would you also say “shame on you” to every single person who has ever been on one of the pro-Palestine marches in London?

This really makes no sense. You're upset with a lady for wearing a badge supporting Israel, on the grounds she's probably not been there and knows very little about it?
And yet I'd guess there's a very high percentage of people on MN who also have not been there, who didn't give a thought to this centuries' old conflict until the media recently told them to and yet suddenly they're all world experts on what's going on, with their flags and Facebook cover photos and shouting all over MN about genocide etc. But that's ok?

Very fuzzy logic.

Hahaha. Laughable comparison. Where to start with that. Showing support for a completely defenseless colonialised people vs showing support for a racist state scorching the Earth and killing huge numbers of civilians. Hmm. Hard choice!