Advocates of Israel have marked October 7 as the day Hamas launched “unprovoked” attacks against Israel. But how could we forget that May 14, the day Israel celebrates its independence, foreshadows Nakba Day, or the catastrophe, for Palestinians? As Israelis revel in fireworks and fanfare, Palestinians remember the violent uprooting and mass exodus of 1948, when their villages were razed, their homes obliterated, and their lives irreversibly altered.
Israel’s Yom Ha’atzmaut is built upon the ruins of their homeland.
The tumultuous history between the two peoples stretches back over a century with the rise of Zionism, an ultra-ethno-cultural nationalist movement determined to establish a Jewish state. Theodor Herzl, the father of political Zionism, described it as “something colonial.”
From the First Aliyah—a major wave of Jewish immigration to Palestine in the late 1880s—to the establishment of Jewish-exclusive settlements, to the Balfour Declaration in which Britain supported the creation of a Jewish nation in Palestine, Zionists were desperate for the recognition of their settler colony, driven by a vision that disregarded the Palestinian population.
In the shadow of the Holocaust, the world’s sympathy paved the way for the United Nations (UN) partition plan, which ignored the will of the majority Palestinian population. What followed was a brutal campaign—the Nakba—where Israeli forces conducted militia attacks on Palestinian villages, seizing more land than what was granted under the UN plan.
Israel celebrates its statehood, taking pride in their deliberate killing of Palestinians to fully expropriate their land, as if they did not face a long history of persecution as well. Is it not a bitter irony that a nation built by those who escaped persecution now perpetuates it against others?
What kind of people constantly find a way to violate agreements that, while imperfect, settle and find a compromise for conflicts and lawlessness expulsion of people from society? Tyrants, fascists—Hitlers and Pontius Pilates.
Palestinians are victims of a brutal and unforgiving occupation, a people who have been systematically stripped of their rights, their land, and their very humanity. And when faced with such overwhelming oppression, is it any wonder that they have resorted to armed resistance as a desperate measure?
Bluntly put, the hostility toward Hamas actions on October 7 is misdirected. Throughout history, oppressed groups have risen against their tyrannical overlords. The Philippines is no stranger to this with the Philippine Revolution. Hamas, too, was born out of the struggle of a people pushed to the brink. One can criticize the methods, but no one can discount armed resistance; not only is it justified but it is also necessary.
People need to realize that Palestine was colonized, not “redeemed.” Colonized people, even under the UN Charter, have the right to struggle for their liberation. The Palestinians have every right to oppose their colonizers.
The point is this: the question should instead be why groups like Hamas exist and what pushed them to such extremes at all; the answer reveals that Israel is always to blame. Palestinians would not have been radicalized or sought armed struggle had it not been for the brutalities of Israel. After all, the Katipunan existed not because the Spanish were friendly visitors.
We must confront the stark reality that the Palestinians’ plight is a direct result of Israel’s relentless aggression and disregard for their basic human rights. From children singing songs about “eliminating” Palestinians to government ministers calling for the “destruction” of Gaza, Israel has normalized genocide and dehumanized Palestinians within its society.
We cannot expect the Palestinians to simply accept their fate and live under the yoke of occupation. The Philippines did not free itself by being tolerant and friendly with Spain. There was no appeasement or concession with the colonizers that they could have a portion of our land. We must stand in solidarity with them and demand that Israel cease its aggressive actions and respect the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people. Anything less is a betrayal of the justice and liberation our own forefathers fought for.
This article was published in The LaSallian‘s June 2024 issue. To read more, visit bit.ly/TLSJune2024.
One reply on “No one celebrates genocide like Israel”
This is pure, crazy racism. Look into the origins of the conflict — the Jews were a native minority (and actually the majority population in Jerusalem during the Ottoman colonial regime), the Arabs were a majority desperate to hold onto their privilege. The Arabs were the first to resort to violence. In 1929, Jews were pogromed and ethnically cleansed from Hebron. In 1948, Jews were ethnically cleansed from East Jerusalem, the site of the holiest place in the religion and the focus of 1,800 years of land back advocacy.
What’s happened between these two parties is a tragedy for all involved. For an uncredited writer half a world away to condemn one of these parties with this amount of force is only possible through ignorance or a lack of empathy.