What did you do during the genocide in Gaza?

[ssd]

This is a brilliant article.

This will be taught in schools one day and our grandkids will ask us but what did you do when you knew this was happening?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/22/israel-gaza-genocide

They aren't the only institute who believe so, and as you know most genocides are "officially" declared once they have already been carried out and it's too late.

Israel doesn’t want to remove Palestinians from Gaza. Palestinians want to remove all Jews from Israel from the river to the sea. Israel wants Gaza to continue with a moderate leadership and to stop trying to kill Israelis. Why would Israel want rid of Palestinians? There are 2m of them living IN Israel and fully part of society like all Israelis.

Israel better keep going then. Their aim is to destroy Hamas.

as a Jew this is disgraceful. It doesn’t at all represent what most Israelis think.

What exactly is it I that have said feels 'borderline offensive'? Literally all I have said to you is that Israeli businesses pay taxes and that's how boycotting will effect the government. Then there was the boycotting all Muslim businesses for something done in Pakistan is not the same as boycotting Israeli businesses for something done by Israel.

You still haven't answered why you think boycotting all Muslim businesses worldwide because of something happening in Pakistan is the same as targeted boycotting of Israeli business because of the Israeli governments actions? How is it the same thing, explain it to me?

Seeing as Israel is the only Jewish majority country in the world AND the only country being constantly “criticised” disproportionately to others, then yes, it affects how Jews feel. Explaining away how someone else feels isn’t helpful. If a Jewish person feels personally attacked then that is how they feel.

But how does this marry with Netanyahu's statements that he wants to enact Trump's Plan which involves the removal of Palestinians from Gaza.
This is a plan that according to a survey a couple of days ago has support from the 82% of Israelis surveyed .

Trust me when I implicitly tell you that Netanyahu will not do that. And they surveyed the radical right supporting Israelis - not every Israeli. Millions of Israelis hate Netanyahu - he is a criminal and a narc and needs to go. The country is on the verge of a civil war as a result. It’s not black and white and maybe ask Israelis how they feel rather than dehumanising them by believing reports from a PM who is likely going to be in jail soon.

With all due respect @Jujujudo he has stated it repeatedly and it is a view that is shared by many in his cabinet. How is it dehumanizing Israelis to believe the statements put forward by a PM they elected democratically?

The poll was carried out Channel 13 so I have no idea of the viewership but that is such a high majority that even if it was halved it would still be too much.

I came out publicly, loudly and early both in person and on social media.

It has cost me a cushy executive job and a professional network.

I protested, signed every petition out there, have personally donated over 50k at this point (that's a lot of money for me; I'm not loaded, that was my retirement).

I yelled at election canvassers that I was more likely to draw a penis on my ballot that ever vote for their party again unless they positioned themselves.

I joined various civil action groups and volunteered my skills.

I took 2am phone calls from hysterical friends whose loved ones had been killed as they were stuck abroad.

I shlepped my retired ex-boss along to the first political event of his life and radicalised a number of Germans against the government line.

... and I feel as though my tanks are running empty and I still haven't done enough.

This will forever taint me!

Israel is not the most criticised country in general. It’s an ally of the West. And it’s not being criticised for being Jewish. It’s being criticised for war crimes, ethnic cleansing, attempted genocide.

I completely understand that are you saying that you feel personally attacked. I’m not denying that you do. I just don’t think people should stop criticising the Israeli government because you feel like that.

If you don’t agree with Netanyahu yourself and you will like his ethnic cleansing plan is wrong then surely you agree that other governments should put pressure on him to stop.

How does being an ally of the west stop Israel being criticised? The fact that it is an ally of the west is one of the most cited reasons for the imperative to criticise Israel on MN and more widely. Israel has had one of the highest numbers of UN resolutions against it of any country in the world. How can you say its not criticised for being Jewish? Its accused of bneing an ethno state, a settler colonial state by so-called progressives and islamo-fascists like Iran call for the death of the Zionist state.

Listen to Jewish people. Do not dismiss what they are telling you.

Its wrong that Iran call for 'the death of the zionist state' it's equally wrong that the Israeli government are calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Up until Russia/Ukraine in 2022 Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world. If Israel are so persecuted then where are the sanctions on them? Israel are being open about their desire to ethnically cleanse Palestinians, they have an apartheid system in place in the West Bank, they illegally occupy 3 territories and they get strongly worded letters.

Like I said Sharon. We are not going to agree on that.

Do you see any criticism of Israel’s conduct during the war as valid then? What about what France, Canada and the UK said? Or Germany? Or is it all based on antisemitism.

You need to stop moving the goalposts. You said Israel was not one of the most widely critocised countries because it is an ally of the west. Both the fact and the reason are demonstrably untrue. I am pointing out that you were wrong.

You said Israel was not criticised for being Jewish. Again, demonstrably untrue.

When you say we aren't going to agree are you actually denying these things? Really, you stand by your original assertions?

Is Israel not an ethnostate? If not, why not?

Constitutional or legal privileging of one ethnic group: The 2018 Nation-State Basic Law explicitly defines Israel as "the nation-state of the Jewish people" and states that "the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people".
Citizenship laws that favor that ethnicity: The "Law of Return" grants automatic citizenship/residency rights to Jewish people worldwide, while Palestinian refugees and their descendants have no similar right of return. Or even right to enter. My friend H., whose father was born in Haifa has never even been to Haifa. Why?
Official state ideology centered on ethnic identity: Zionism as the official founding ideology explicitly centres Jewish nationhood and the establishment of a Jewish state.
Policies designed to maintain or enhance that group's dominance: Various policies regarding land ownership, housing, development funding, and settlement construction ... public discourse centred around "demographic threats".
Self-identification as "the state of": Israel explicitly identifies as "the Jewish state" and "the nation-state of the Jewish people". There are numerous laws that make it clear that non-Jewish citizens are "equal ... but less equal" (do not make me dig up the link - I have it!)

Israel meets various criteria for being an ethnostate. The presence of non-Jewish citizens with voting rights doesn't negate this classification, just as the presence of non-Hungarian minorities doesn't make present-day Hungary's (explicitly stated and aggressively pursued) ethnonationalism disappear.

I said it was ACCUSED of being an ethnostate i.e. being a homeland for the Jews is seen as something wrong, linked to it being accused of settler colonialism, ie its legitimacy as a homeland for Jewish people is delegitimised. Despite the fact that Jews are indigenous and that Israel is remarkably successful in the middle east as a state that maintains ethnic and religious diversity.

I certainly don't think it does. But when people on here come and say Palestinians want the deaths of all Jews or no Jews between the river and the sea, that's also not true and representative of all Palestinians and I know many.

There's extremists on both sides that don't represent the majority.

@Mylegishangingoff your totally right. They get a letter.

@SharonEllis yes I do stand by them. Although I did say generally. In the last few months there is criticism because Israel is killing too many people. What do you think the recent criticism of Israel by Germany, France, Canada and the UK has been prompted by? Is it because Israel is a Jewish majority state?

Have you ever witnessed a pro-Pal demo that did not include 'from the river to the sea' as a core chant?

Nobody is proposing that Israel does not exist: it does exist and its existence is not even on the table to discuss.

What is certain is that the plan is for Palestinians to leave Gaza. Their existence is under threat. This is crystal clear from what Netanyahu and his cronies have said. It’s not interpretation of a protest slogan- it’s Israeli policy and it is going to happen.

Well Hamas was elected democratically so let’s blame all Palestinians for the Oct 7 atrocities then by your reckoning

I suggest you read what they said. It explains what prompted them.

ok so at least we agree that Israel is facing criticism because it is starving and killing people.

You know what? Get lost. I’m not going to talk to someone who intentionally prevents my family and friends from earning a living. I won’t be replying to any more of your provocative and gaslighting posts.