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

What’s wrong with taking your kids to protests. I do this all the time. Protests, solidarity events, fundraising events. Not just for Gaza, for various different campaigns.

Sometimes they understand a lot. Sometimes they don’t really understand like pro choice activism I was involved in when they were small.

It’s part of showing my kids my values . I think that is different from Daniella Weiss who doesn’t seem open to hearing other views, or being questioned or encouraging people to think for themselves.

Because children believe what trusted adults tell them, but they need to learn how to think, not what to think. Otherwise it's not education, it's indoctrination - which arguably creates quite compliant and stable societies, as long as nobody strays from the narrative.

I am Zionist and i hate how the term is being misaligned in all this speak. Zionism is the belief in the existence of the state of Israel. Zionism isn’t about hating Arabs, or Palestinians, it’s not about supporting the political regime it is the belief in a Jewish homeland. Pure and simple. It doesn’t mean that it’s to the exclusion of non Jews who should be equal in all aspects within that land, no question. There should be a 2 state solution, the West Bank should not have the crazy Jews trying to take over, Gaza should not be destroyed to the ground and have an actual famine because food can’t get through it’s beyond horrific. Equally, the cold blooded massacre of October 7th was appalling and even worse because so many of the people on the kibbutz were committed to supporting the Gazan’s. It doesn’t mean a blind acceptance of Israeli policy and behaviour. You can be anti the actions of the government, and believe me i think they’re beyond depolorable but I passionately support the right of the state of Israel to exist and that’s Zionism.

The leaders in Israel are making it worse and bear in mind, they even call Jews who disagree with their actions in Palestine and the West Bank, antisemites!

Just stop. You're embarrassing yourself.

When a black person commits a crime do you say, 'you shouldn't commit crime, it makes racism worse?

Antisemitism is never right, and is never a Jewish person's fault.

Feel feel to criticize Israel as much as you want, lots of us do. But don't blame Jews for Antisemitism.

Taking your kids to protests is not what indoctrination is. It depends how it is done - they need room to think and feel freely, you need to teach them how to think for themselves.

I take them along so they learn that you can create change in your community which my kids have seen many times and even in the world by being an active citizen basically. Not so I can tell them that it’s my way or the highway.

Children do tend to pick up the strongly held beliefs of their parents though.

For example, the children of Muslims tend to be Muslim and the same is true of other religions and even atheists.

Taking children to protests is really showing them what beliefs you approve of so they will automatically seem the right ones to them.

Absolutely agree @Odras .

I would never speak ill of Israeli citizens or any aspect of the Jewish culture or religion and have taught them about the horors of the Holocaust but I want them to know that giving people without a voice, a voice is very important and that violence by any side is never the answer to a problem.

Bringing them to protests where they see people who share stories and music is something I feel strongly about. There is lots of children there.

I am not referring to the crimes, nor am I blaming Jews for antisemitism. I am pointing out that that the Israeli state’s actions are so horrific and compounded by them stating that anyone who disagrees with them (including Jews) are antisemitic. Their position feeds (and therefore increases) the abomination which is antisemitism. It isn’t my problem if you deliberately, or otherwise, don’t understand my point!

They learnt to stand up and speak out against injustice. They spoke to an Israeli at the protest (supporting freedom for palestine) and learnt that not all Israelis are evil and want to kill children because they actually spoke to one as per my previous post. I asked them to speak to the descendent of a holocaust survivor.

They would be disgusted by Daniela Weiss.

@ssd You should start a petition for the same to be taught about the genocide taking place in Ukraine.

The previous poster is referring to the Israeli leaders who called an Israeli jew an antisemite because they disagreed with the genocide

Not all Israelis are evil? How very balanced their 'education' will be. So you've taught your child that some Israelis are evil and want to kill children. Did you balance that by telling them some Gazans do too?

I know. I haven't commented on that specifically.
I was objecting to the bit where they said antisemitism is Israel's fault.
But I take the point that I don't understand what she's saying. To me it seems so obviously wrong to say that. But now I think I'm too far down the CITME rabbithole for one night.

Genuine question - the creation of the state of Israel resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Do you think it's ok to support a state that was created like this?

I fully support Jews having a homeland. I don't agree that any state should be created by removing those indigenous to the land.

I mean, there's this- teaching your kid that ' not all Israelis are evil. '

Its unhinged.

Imagine teaching your kid that 'not all black people are evil '

I can't believe what I'm reading.

and learnt that not all Israelis are evil and want to kill children because they actually spoke to one as per my previous post

Yikes...

So prior to talking to this person, did they think all Israelis were evil then?

Yair Golan, former IDF deputy chief of staff said “Israel is on the way to becoming a pariah state if we don’t return to acting like a sane country. A sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations.”

Many people have spoken out for the Uighurs, Sudan, Congo, etc.

For Congo I only buy refurbished tech when I need to

For Sudan, I refuse to go to the UAE on holiday

Re Uyghurs I share awareness.

With Palestine, there is so much momentum gathering that it feels like it might actually be possible to make a difference here. Also our government is complicit so we should protest

I worked with my university to support the education of medical students in Gaza

There building may have been blown up but they still need to train their doctors so we create and send resources from our own med school.

They saw the children in Gaza shivering from fear and being bombed. I did not show them this, but they somehow saw it. I made it clear not all israelis believe this is ok.

Amazing!

Except I didn’t actually say that did I? I said that Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank are whipping up antisemitism, i.e worsening it!

That's actually doing something, unlike a lot of the virtue signalling, well done.