My stances on the Israel-Palestine conflict:
TL;DR: Hamas is terrible. Antisemitism is horrific, widespread, and terrifying. The ethnic cleansing and endless bombing occurring in Gaza are also absolutely unjustifiable atrocities. The Palestinian people have been subjugated for 75 years. They deserve peace, opportunity, and the right to self determination.
I wish I could say that I didn’t care what other people think. But it hurts deeply seeing some of the disgusting things people are claiming I’ve said or believe.
Anyone who knows anything about me understands that I don’t hold back. I speak my mind, even when I know it will come back to hurt me. I have to be honest. I have to be authentically myself. Which is why it’s so perplexing that people are reading so much into what they think I might mean, or what they think I maybe haven’t said.
I have one request for you: Please judge me for what I actually say, not what you’ve heard others speculate I believe or don’t believe. Here is what I actually believe:
Hamas is obviously terrible. I have been very consistent about the fact that I want Hamas gone. They haven’t allowed an election since 2006. Their leaders have ranged from antisemitic to outright genocidal. There is corruption, greed, hypocrisy, and bloodlust. Their horrendous actions have been detrimental and dangerous, not only for the Israeli people, but also for the Palestinian people. I want them gone.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the actions of Hamas at the Nova Festival on October 7th were an unthinkable atrocity. Murdering and kidnapping civilians is a war crime, and I absolutely do not condone it. There were also rapes and other grotesque instances of sexual violence. I hope every perpetrator of those crimes gets what’s coming to them. There is NOTHING that can ever justify rape or sexual violence.
Regarding the rapes, there is something I have been criticized for that I want to address. Much earlier on in the conflict, in what I thought would be buried deep in the replies of a smaller conversation, I told someone that I had personally only seen one account of rape (Witness S). I never expected (perhaps foolishly), that this comment would be taken out of context and broadcasted to a million people by Doug Polk. This was at a time when multiple major media outlets including the LA Times had deleted reports of rape after there was doubt about specific claims made by the Israeli police. Since then more evidence has come out and it seems very likely (source #1 - all sources will be shared at the end) that many rapes did occur.
I want to be very clear that I have never refuted the accounts of any women. Since the conversation in question, UN workers, first responders and others have come forward with their stories, and I absolutely believe them. If anyone has come to doubt any accounts of rape in Israel or anywhere else because of anything I have said, I sincerely apologize.
I will continue to do my best of being fact based, intellectually honest, and sincere, and I apologize for any mistakes I have made or will make in the future.
The key point that I have been desperately trying to convey is this: None of what the IDF was claiming (which includes both lies and truths) could possibly justify any of the numerous, ongoing war crimes Israel has been committing.
I just want peace for all, and I don't believe there is a single route to peace that doesn't involve giving the Palestinian people a safe home and the basic human right of self-determination.
These are my stances. If you see someone claiming I believe anything counter to the above, I’d appreciate you sending them here ��
In my next post, I will outline in great detail why I believe Israel is not acting primarily in self defense, as well as outlining, with sources, many of the war crimes they have committed.
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First and foremost, let me be clear that I believe everyone on the planet has a right to defend themselves. However, I believe Israel has gone egregiously far beyond self defense.
I have endless empathy in my heart for the Jewish people. Antisemitism has been rampant for thousands of years. My own ancestors were most likely kicked out of Spain in 1492 after the Alhambra Decree. The holocaust is undeniably one of the most tragic events in all of human history. I am proud of my Jewish grandfather who fought in WW2 to defeat the Nazis. I completely understand why European Jews fled Europe with their families in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and I likely would have done the same if I were in their shoes.
Unfortunately, no peaceful agreement has ever been reached between the Jews and the Arabs/Palestinians on how the land should be divided up. It’s understandable that there has been massive amounts of conflict, violence, and even hatred since.
For the past 75 years, the Palestinian people have been systematically oppressed, never knowing peace, opportunity, or self-determination, and yes, as a result, they have violently resisted.
What do I mean when I say they have been oppressed? A crippling blockade has prevented them from having any economic opportunity. The unemployment rate in Gaza was 46% before October 7th. In Hebron (West Bank, not Gaza), the illegal Israel settlers have thrown so much garbage on top of the Palestinians that they were forced to build metal nets over their homes and markets (source 2). 800,000 olive trees, an important economic crop, have been uprooted by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank. (source 3). Cement has been poured into wells in Gaza to limit access to clean water. 90-95% of water in Gaza (before the conflict, now it’s even worse) is contaminated and unfit for human consumption. Police turn blind eyes as armed Israeli settlers seize homes from Palestinian civilians living peacefully. Israel has detained 10,000 Palestinian children over the past 20 years, many illegally without trial. The number 1 charge against them was simply throwing stones. (source 4) These children have been severely mistreated. Israel claims they haven’t occupied Gaza since 2005, but the Arab world and experts on international law disagree. It is undeniable that Palestinians are treated like second class citizens at best.
Many experts and human rights organizations have referred to Israel as an apartheid state. (source 5) Gaza has been referred to as an open-air prison by many as well including Human Rights Watch (source 6)
Some people will make the claim that there was a ceasefire up until October 7th, and Hamas broke it. This is only partially true as Israel has consistently broken every ceasefire agreement more often, and with more deadly force than Palestine has. (sources 7 and 8) And not just a little more deadly, but they have killed 10 to 20 times as many people as they have lost during times of ceasefire. An article written on October 6th, one day before the attack from Hamas, showed that 2023 was already the deadliest year yet for Palestinian children targeted by Israeli forces (source 9)
My heart broke on October 7th. Every single death that day was a tragic loss of life, and deep in the pit of my stomach I knew that the horrors were only just beginning. I did not speak out on October 7th, October 8th, or October 9th, because of course Israel was going to defend itself. Unfortunately what happened after that can not in good faith be categorized as self defense.
It wasn’t long before the war crimes started piling up.
At first it was the indiscriminate bombings that did not differentiate between civilian and combatant. Next, Israel ordered the forced evacuation of 1.1 million people from their homes, which UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric warned would have “devastating humanitarian consequences.” They had nowhere to go and certainly did not have the resources to do it safely. While this was happening Israel denied Egypt their international legal right to deliver food, water, and medicine to the citizens of Gaza. After two weeks of pressure from various human rights organizations, Netanyahu still did not relent. Only after a phone call from Biden did he finally start allowing Egypt to send a miniscule amount of aid. We saw a similar pattern with him cutting the internet and telecommunications in Gaza. Humans Rights organizations spoke out, Netanyahu ignored them, but then Biden made a phone call and the comms were immediately restored (for a time). Israel has also used white phosphorus as a chemical weapon, not only in Gaza, but also in Lebanon (source 10).
Many will tell you this is just the cost of war, but it’s important to understand that this is not normal, even for war. Israel has killed a record breaking number of journalists and UN workers (source 11). There is nothing normal or forgivable about this. To put this in perspective, in the matter of weeks, Israel alone has killed more journalists than the entire number killed by any entity during all of World War II combined.
Less than a month into the siege Israel dropped the equivalent of 2 Hiroshimas worth of bombs on Gaza. That number has grown tremendously since. Recent revelations have shown that these haven’t been targeted attacks, but “dumb bombs” or unguided bombs (source 12). Again this is not “warfare as normal”. Israel is breaking records for the most indiscriminate of conflicts. The death toll is over 20,000 with around 70% of the dead being women and children (source 13).
“But it’s the only way to root out Hamas” they will say. Look, the IDF has made it clear that attacking Hamas is not their only intention. They have bombed refugee centers, schools, hospitals, ambulances, civilian homes, churches, clean water supplies, and even the very locations they told civilians it was safe to flee to (source 14). Israel has also bombed what they call “power targets” such as universities and banks, with the specific intention of exerting “civil pressure” on Hamas (source 15) - and yes, that is unequivocally a war crime.
When I say “war crime” - let me be clear. I don’t mean an act of war. As much as I hate war, it is a legal activity. But the Geneva Conventions created a list of war crimes - acts which are never permissible, even in war. They include some obvious things like using nuclear weapons, and many of the above mentioned war crimes. Legally it is never permissible to commit war crimes, even if the other side has first. Whenever I have Tweeted about a war crime, plenty of people have come in to say, “But Hamas…” Look, I get it, you are hurt. You are scared. You are outraged. I am too! But there is nothing on this earth that could possibly justify all of these war crimes. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where responding to (real or alleged) war crimes with other war crimes is standard practice, would you?
Let’s use shooting civilians as an example. The other day, an Israeli soldier shot and killed three shirtless Israeli-born hostages who were waving white flags. A white flag is the universal symbol of surrender, and it is a war crime to kill anyone who is surrendering (and in this case the people waving the flags weren’t even enemies. They were fellow Israelis who didn’t want to get shot by friendly fire). Please stop before you try and justify this. You don’t need to have a defense. It is simply wrong, and we should all be able to admit that.
Perhaps the most basic and fundamental of all war crimes is collective punishment (source 16).
Prime Minister Netanyahu, president Herzog, other Likud members, and IDF spokespersons have made it clear that they are not above collective punishment. Herzog said that there is no such thing as an innocent civilian in Gaza. Netanyahu has invoked Amalek (source 18) and has referred to Gazans as children of darkness (source 19). Israel’s Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, said “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything.” (Source 20). IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said “the emphasis is on damage, and not accuracy” (Source 21).
So these are just words. But do their actions match up with genocide? The most qualified genocide experts in the world say it is. Read this incredibly powerful resignation letter from Craig Mokhiber. Seriously read it, he is so much better at this than I am (source 22)
The devastation in Gaza is happening on an extremely widespread scale. Over 500,000 are in some stage of starvation, and over 1.8 million have been kicked out of their homes (aka ethnic cleansing). When you’re starving, your immune system is greatly weakened. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said, “The perfect storm for disease has begun. Now it’s about ‘How bad will it get?” (source 23) I fear that we are only seeing the beginning of the suffering that these innocent civilians will have to endure.
Many of you have probably heard the lie that Israel wants peace but Palestinians do not. I believe that Netanyahu is the single biggest detriment to peace in the middle east. But don’t take my word for it, take his. He has been fully open, both recently and a decade ago about how he is proud of sabotaging the Oslo Accords because he has never wanted peace (source 24). In fact, he even helped Qatar fund Hamas specifically because he wanted to destabilize and ruin Gaza (source 25).
It’s important to understand that speaking out against Netanyahu is not anti-semitic. Over 80% of Israelis want him gone and blame him for the lack of safety in Israel. Jews understand more than anyone that
Never Again Means Never Again For Anyone. Jews all over the world are protesting. The protests that I have attended in Vancouver were organized by a Jewish women’s group. We have seen groups of Jewish grandmothers and rabbis protesting in places such as Grand Central Station and in front of the White House. I am incredibly proud of my Jewish brethren standing up and speaking out for what is right in a time where it is so risky to do so. Don’t let anyone tell you for a second that speaking out against this genocide is hateful towards Jews. It is absolutely not. Every proud Jew understands how important it is to always stand against genocide, no matter who is on the receiving end.
And it’s not just Jews, it’s the entire world. Three days ago the UN had a vote affirming Palestinian’s right to self determination. 172 nations voted in favor of it. 4 voted against - the US, Israel, Micronesia, and Nauru (Source 26). Before that, on December 9th, the UN security council voted on a ceasefire (UN ceasefires explicitly require the safe return of all hostages on both sides). The US was the ONLY country to vote against it (the UK abstained)(source 27). Please understand that the world sees how unfairly the people of Palestine are being treated, and they reject it. The US and Israel stand alone, in denial of the outrageous ongoing crimes against humanity.
Yes, the attack on October 7th was vile and heinous. But it is important to understand that this conflict neither started, nor ended there. The Palestinian people have been grossly subjugated for 75 years. The collective punishment Israel has inflicted upon the Palestinian people since October 7th is completely disproportionate and unforgivable. It is unconscionable, and we must speak out for it to end.
That is why I call for a unilateral #CeaseFireNow
My message is always one of peace, never hate.
#FreePalestine
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Originally Posted by Dan Druff
