Hello — thank you for being here. I have compiled this list of resources to help friends, family, and colleagues better understand the historical context in which this current escalation and humanitarian crisis is occurring, and to help provide a framework with which to understand ongoing development and news surrounding the crisis.

It goes without saying that Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia — indeed, any type of bigotry — are detestable in all their forms, and there is ZERO space for these attitudes within the multi-racial, multi-ethic, multi-class, and multi-national coalition for Palestinian liberation. It is important to note this because Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have been on the rise in recent years, emboldened by the resurgence of far-right movements in North America, Europe, and Australia. However, these cynical and bigoted attitudes are overwhelmingly held by far-right, Christian, European-descendant white nationalists — not by Muslims or Anti-Zionist leftists making good-faith critiques of the cruel and inhumane US-backed Israeli occupation, illegal settlement, and internationally recognized collective punishment of Palestine. If you find yourself holding resentment or bigoted views about Jewish people, or reaching conclusions about “Jewish control” over the media, you need to stop and check yourself (this is for you, Joe Rogan heads). These ongoing human rights abuses have nothing to do with Jewish people, and everything to do with US imperialism in the Middle East and propaganda cynically wielded by the far-right Israeli government to justify their nationalist geopolitical goals. You’ll learn more about how and why this is occurring here later on.

So, I’ll state it here unequivocally — it is my belief (and, I should add, the belief of an overwhelming number of scholars and historians on the matter) that the egregious attacks on innocent Israeli civilians on October 7 and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank is the direct result of 75+ years of occupation, settlement, and illegal annexation of Palestinian land by the Israeli government, as well as the brutal dehumanization, forced relocation, and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people in order to establish an anti-democratic religious ethno-state across territory that is universally considered Palestinian land according to international law. As I mentioned, this view is widely held by an overwhelming majority of scholars on the matter, as well as the editorial board at Haaretz, Israel’s newspaper of record, who on October 8, 2023 published a column laying the blame for Hamas’ October 7 attack at the feet of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land and unrelenting siege on Gaza, which has led to countless violations of international law and crimes against humanity.

Additionally, Israel is an Apartheid regime, according to every reputable human rights organization in the world (Amnesty International, The United Nations Human Rights Watch, and others), as well as many of the foremost scholars on the Holocaust(2) and leaders of the movement against South African Apartheid(3).

Unfortunately, some of the prevailing ideas and arguments about this land dispute are that it’s (1) an age-old struggle, and (2) that there is a long-lasting, ever-present mutual hatred between Israeli Jews and Arab Muslims. This is categorically false, and these lies are intentional media distortions meant to naturalize or mythologize the dispute — to make it seem as though there is nothing that can be done, that nothing will ever change, or that it is too complex to understand.

In this document, I will provide links to informational videos, podcasts, conversations, debates, short-form reels, movies, documentaries, and books that will historicize — rather than naturalize or mythologize — this land dispute and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

I hope this document and the resources it contains can help you and your loved ones learn and grow from this awful situation. It is imperative that we shift the narrative around this crisis with our generation so that lasting peace can exist in the Middle East for Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. As Nelson Mandela once said, "we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Thank you for your time and open-mindedness.

#FreePalestine #CeasefireNOW #BDS

Short-Form Content on YouTube

<aside> 💡 If you don’t know much about the conflict, I strongly recommend watching these seven videos, at the very least, for historical context and media literacy purposes.

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Short-Form Content on YouTube

1. The Israel-Palestine conflict: a brief, simple history

2. How Israel Was Created

3. Here’s Why U.S. Elites Support Israel No Matter What