IT'S ABOUT TIME WE GLOBALIZED THE INTIFADA.

The issue that has been weighing heavily on my mind today is the crisis between Palestine and israel. There are many different claims as to whom the land belongs to and who has the right to be there, either on historical or religous grounds. Here are a few of them:

1. Jews resided on the land thousands of years ago and returned to the land that was once theirs, giving them the right to be there.

2. The Jews are god's "chosen people" and israel is their "promised land," therefore Jews have the ultimate right to be there.

3. The "state of israel" was created on Palestinian land to accomodate Jews after the atrocity of the Holocaust.

4. Palestinians and Jews resided peacefully together for many years until the creation of zionism, which calls for a Jewish homeland, which does not allow any other race or religion to co-exist on the land.

The most well-known solution to be negotiated is the two-state solution, essentially two states for two groups of people, being the State of Palestine and the state of israel. The borders would still need to be negotiated, with Palestinian and Arab leadership insisting on the pre-1967 borders, but israel not accepting. Others at pro-Palestinian rallies have demanded, "We don't want a two-state, we want '48!," referencing the land belonging to the Palestinians before the creation of the state of israel in 1948. There are many illustrations that depict the land grab, here is one:

Often refered to as the "Palestinian Question," the conflict has been debated numerous times at the United Nations, with the U.N. condemning the demolition of Palestinian homes and the illegal israeli settlements, but doing nothing to stop them from continuing. Palestine is a non-Member Observe State in the U.N. and just recently at the end of September, along with The Vatican, had its flag raised for the first time, to the dismay of israel and the united states. Both flags will fly whenever flags are raised outside the headquarters here in New York City. See my PressTV coverage of the event here.

Wherever you may stand on the issue of land, which can and is heavily debated, what is more difficult to claim is that israel is under attack from Palestine, but all one has to do is read a mainstream media article and the bias is incredible. I would like to attempt to explain the reality of the situation, the one that we in the united states rarely encounter due to our undying lust for everything israel, but one that much of the rest of the world has been able to see clearly for years. This is only meant to be a starting point. Please do further research and come to your own conclusions.

PALESTINE IS BEING OCCUPIED. There are checkpoints where Palestinians must show identification. There are military soldiers known as the IDF or israeli defense force [although we refer to them as IOF, the israeli offense force] with extraordinary large guns and other weaponry, continuously pointed at men, women and children. Palestinians every day are faced with the possibility of being harassed, beaten, arrested, jailed and murdered, much like Black and LatinX people here in the states face by their local police, and it's been this way for years. There have been two intifadas, or Palestinian uprisings against israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the first from 1987-1993 and the second from 2000-2005. A third intifada is now on the brink of occuring at any time.

Last summer from July to August 2014, israel launched what it called Operation Protective Edge, where they bombed schools, hospitals and homes in Gaza and claimed that they were operation sites for Hamas [more on them momentarily]. In total, according to the UNHRC, over 2,500 Palestinians were killed and Gaza Health Ministry says over 10,600 were wounded. How many casualties on the israeli side? 66 soldiers and 6 civilians killed and only 469 soldiers and 87 civilians wounded. Doesn't seem like much of a fair fight, does it? THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S NOT. Israel has the strongest military in the Middle East, aided by the united states taxpayers at a ridiculous $3 BILLION per year. And people are bitching about paying money for SNAP benefits so u.s. citizens can eat? Meanwhile, Palestine does not have a military. Yes, it has Hamas, a democratically elected body, which sends rockets into israel, who has what's called an Iron Dome that intercepts short-range rockets and artillery shells. Israeli casualties are always a drop in the bucket compared to those of the Palestinians, yet the u.s. mainstream media continue day after day to blame the violence on Palestine and aid in israeli cries of being the victim. But what more does one expect from a country who had ONE DAY of terrorism on 9/11 and has spent over a decade abolishing the countries it originally claimed was to blame, only to turn around and say they actually weren't to blame? And then still didn't leave!

ISRAEL IS NOT THE VICTIM. ISRAEL IS THE PERPETRATOR OF VIOLENCE AND CHAOS IN THE REGION, AIDED BY THE UNITED STATES WITH FUNDING AND WEAPONS. IT HAS BLOCKADED GAZA AND THE WEST BANK FROM RECEIVING MATERIAL AID AND FOOD. IT HAS DEMOLISHED PALESTINIAN HOMES AND BUILT ILLEGAL ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN CONDEMNED BY THE UN AND MOST OF THE WORLD. THEY HAVE CREATED CHECKPOINTS TO KEEP PALESTINIANS FROM TRAVELING FREELY ON THEIR OWN LAND. ISRAEL IS THE OPPRESSOR AND IN ORDER FOR THE VIOLENCE TO END, THEY MUST BE THE ONES TO STOP. THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO NEGOTIATE PEACE BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT PEACE. THEY WANT PALESTINIANS TO BE ERADICATED BECAUSE THEY ONLY SEE THEM AS A NUISANCE.

It is our job and our duty to read through the lies and propaganda and see the truth. Palestine needs our help, they need our solidarity and our voices to scream so loud that the world can't help but acknowledge the truth about what is really happening. Palestinians have a right to fight back, to take control of their own lives and to shout that they're not taking this anymore. The occupation must end by any means necessary!

IMPORTANT: This is not an anti-Jewish message, this is an anti-zionist message. I am not against Jews or Judaism, I am against any oppressor believing that it is their right to rule over another person or people. If this were any other race of people fighting the Palestinians, I would be just as upset and enraged at them as I am at israel.

STAND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY. STAND WITH PALESTINE. STAND AGAINST OPPRESSION AND GENOCIDE. PEACE AND LOVE. VIVA VIVA PALESTINA.