Tensions have been high in the last couple of weeks for Israel and Gaza following the Ceasefire agreement.   Despite the several strikes being made by Israel, continuing the killing of the Palestinian people, the deal remains.  Both Hamas and Israel say they are committed to the plan, brokered by president Trump.  Whether or not this deal will amount to much remains unclear, as hundreds of more Gazans have been murdered.  Personally, I am holding out hope that this deal will truly lead to the continued expansion of humanitarian aid and the end of the genocide.  As this Ceasefire continues, cautious hope of a free Palestine from the river to the sea continues to press on.  I believe that this ongoing genocide needs to come to an end, we need to continue to listen to those who have been working to make progress, and that we need to learn from our institutions and politicians response to this.

Since October 7th, 2023, an ongoing conflict has been happening before our very eyes between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli government, and Hamas.  This conflict has seen the death of tens of thousands of Palestinian people, 69,236 as of October 22.  As well as 217 journalists and over 224 humanitarian aid workers.  And an estimate of 80% of the Palestinians killed have been civilians.  This report does not include the likely thousands who have died due to “preventable disease, malnutrition, and other consequences of war”.  By comparison, Israel was reported to have lost 1,983 Israelis.  These are the plain death statistics that lie behind a contradictory narrative that Has been at the forefront of Israel’s defense – in the PR sense, that is.  They continue on saying that “they have a right to defend themselves.”

This statement has been repeated by media outlets, political commentators, people in political office of both the Democratic party and the Republican.  This statement goes hand in hand with the accusations that Anti-Zionism is inherently Anti-Semitic.  However, this notion that Israel is a victim of Hamas and they must continue to defend themselves is propaganda.  This notion ignores the fact that Israel’s occupation is by definition a war crime. It ignores the fact that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court, he was charged with “the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts” (ICC, 21 Nov. 2024).  And most of all, this notion seems to outright ignore and belittle the ever-present, still ongoing struggle of the Palestinian people.  The children, seniors, disabled, parents, teachers, doctors, that have all lost their lives.  The consistent push of this narrative means something for those who oppose the genocide: we cannot feed into the lies that have been pushed upon us to excuse and defend an Apartheid state and those who contribute to it.  Instead, we must seek and find those who are looking to make a change, and those who are acting.

In spite of the near insurmountable push by Israel and all of their supporters in the news cycle and in the establishment, there is undeniably people out there who are consistently showing steadfast support and doing all they can for the Palestinian people.  There is the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is an initiative that tried to break the blockade into Gaza to deliver aid.  The Flotilla comprises 40 maritime vessels, and Spanish 500 participants from 44 different countries, making it the largest civilian-led convoy in world history.  After one attempt was thwarted, members of the vessel were imprisoned by Israeli forces and are reported to have been tortured.  Among them included somewhat infamous Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.  Who, upon returning from her voyage made a speech.  She stated that none of us are able to say we aren’t aware of what’s happening.  And, besides the most glaring example, there are many other people who are seeking out change if you look for them.  However, It is imperative that we address how those that may lie within our own political lines have failed us, and most importantly, the people of Palestine.

Since October 7th, the United States has sent more than 16.3 billion dollars to Israel in weapons transfers.  Despite the demands of many top U.S. officials during both the Biden and Trump administrations, the U.S. kept on giving more and more weapons to Israel, which were used to drop bombs and murder innocent civilians.  In spite of this very clear permission of violence, former president Biden claimed that he cared about the ongoing conflict, as did Kamala Harris.  It was made extraordinarily clear to the public, activist and non-activist alike that these leaders were not going to do anything unless real pressure was applied.  It is shocking to many – including myself – that the Democrats, the party that stands against “violence” and for “democracy” stood still, playing into greedy and evil people for their own interests.

I mean no praise towards Donald Trump, and I certainly mean no ill will upon the Ceasefire deal.  But it is a stain on the Democratic establishment that no pressure was applied, no deal was made, no peace was brought.  We need to look at this situation and evaluate what our party leaders did wrong and what it means for the future.  We need to organize as much as possible now and in the future and stay informed.  We need to seek to put politicians who are willing to act in the name of peace on our ballots.  Much of this responsibility falls on people in positions of power far beyond our own.  So, what we can do is this:  look for real facts and form our opinions based on them, and we need to support and vocalize support for those doing good right now.  So that in other cases of global conflict, peace solutions can be reached soon, and lives can be saved.