I am 9th of 10 children born into a poor Irish Catholic US city. 4 of my brothers and I served active duty in the US military. I condemn Israeli ethnic cleansing of Christians and Palestinians from Gaza. It is a crime against humanity and it is an evil against Christian morals.
Thank you for sharing your perspective and experience. I want to stress though that what is happening in Gaza is not only an attack on one faith community, but on humanity as a whole. The struggle against genocide and ethnic cleansing is universal, and solidarity must go beyond religious or national borders.
I guess having been shot at has heightened my disdain for those who kill children en masse through starvation, shooters and bombing. I’ll tone it down here though and appreciate your writing and replies to others and me, Rebecca.
I appreciate your understanding, and I also appreciate you sharing your perspective. The violence is unbearable to witness, and I know it leaves deep marks on those who’ve experienced it directly. Thank you for staying in the conversation with care.
Portugal, SA and the USA Civil Rights movements were all led and fuelled by internal dissent supported by (at least in the last two instances I don't know enough about Portuguese history) external movements. I worry that the support of the Palestinian cause (rightfully so) especially in the fervent voices like Caitlin Johnstone's so demonizes the State of Israel (and Zionism) that we lose the focus of supporting the dissenting voices within that state. For Israel is not going anywhere as a state, it exists and will continue, regardless of the whacked way it was created. And I do understand that the Netanyahu government and its right wing religious support are indeed perpetrating acts of genocide, and have broken International law through their settlement policies AND that they use the bogeyman of anti-semitism to disenfranchise dissent. But that said, anti-semetism DOES have a long history and is on the rise, and is easily fuelled. Does this not put upon us the moral requirement for actively being nuanced in our discussions and debates surrounding this devastating conflict ? Even while wholeheartedly supporting the Palestinian cause ?
I hear you, and I think we’re on the same team here. My article wasn’t about demonizing anyone, but about the silence of the international community while genocide unfolds. I fully agree that antisemitism is real and dangerous — but my focus was on the governments and institutions enabling Netanyahu’s regime, not on erasing dissent within Israel. Thanks for adding your perspective though, I appreciate the dialogue.
honestly it wasn't about you really.... I think it was Ms. Johnstone's zeal that got under my skin. I probably wouldn''t disagree with most of what she said, but the tonality. I have only just recently started to voice my full dissent on social media because of the messiness of the situation but always do so with a caveat... but I am also a people pleaser :) I have you capitalism book on my possible xmas gift list for my daughter....
I understand the anger and grief behind comments like this, but I want to be clear about where I stand. If we strip people of their humanity, we are doing the very thing we condemn. My writing is about accountability, justice, and the urgent need to end war crimes — not about hate or dehumanisation. Resistance must be rooted in our humanity, or else we risk repeating the same cycles of violence. We can, and must, demand justice without becoming what we fight against.
I hear you, and I know you’re not talking about Jews. I feel the rage too. For me, though, saying Zionists have “no humanity left” is risky — because that’s the same logic used against Palestinians to justify their slaughter. It’s what the Nazis did to Jewish people, and what the U.S. did to Indigenous tribes.
I also don’t like turning humans into monsters, because that takes away accountability. These are human beings making choices for nothing but their own benefit — and they must be held responsible for those choices. And they will be, because fascism and systems of oppression have expiration dates. History teaches us that.
I just don’t want to mirror dehumanisation back — to me, it is the language of the oppressor.
Thank you 🇵🇸 it's the same old story over and over, people pretending shit is complicated when all it is is money and power.
This essay is incredibly dear to me.
I am 9th of 10 children born into a poor Irish Catholic US city. 4 of my brothers and I served active duty in the US military. I condemn Israeli ethnic cleansing of Christians and Palestinians from Gaza. It is a crime against humanity and it is an evil against Christian morals.
Thank you for sharing your perspective and experience. I want to stress though that what is happening in Gaza is not only an attack on one faith community, but on humanity as a whole. The struggle against genocide and ethnic cleansing is universal, and solidarity must go beyond religious or national borders.
I guess having been shot at has heightened my disdain for those who kill children en masse through starvation, shooters and bombing. I’ll tone it down here though and appreciate your writing and replies to others and me, Rebecca.
I appreciate your understanding, and I also appreciate you sharing your perspective. The violence is unbearable to witness, and I know it leaves deep marks on those who’ve experienced it directly. Thank you for staying in the conversation with care.
Portugal, SA and the USA Civil Rights movements were all led and fuelled by internal dissent supported by (at least in the last two instances I don't know enough about Portuguese history) external movements. I worry that the support of the Palestinian cause (rightfully so) especially in the fervent voices like Caitlin Johnstone's so demonizes the State of Israel (and Zionism) that we lose the focus of supporting the dissenting voices within that state. For Israel is not going anywhere as a state, it exists and will continue, regardless of the whacked way it was created. And I do understand that the Netanyahu government and its right wing religious support are indeed perpetrating acts of genocide, and have broken International law through their settlement policies AND that they use the bogeyman of anti-semitism to disenfranchise dissent. But that said, anti-semetism DOES have a long history and is on the rise, and is easily fuelled. Does this not put upon us the moral requirement for actively being nuanced in our discussions and debates surrounding this devastating conflict ? Even while wholeheartedly supporting the Palestinian cause ?
I hear you, and I think we’re on the same team here. My article wasn’t about demonizing anyone, but about the silence of the international community while genocide unfolds. I fully agree that antisemitism is real and dangerous — but my focus was on the governments and institutions enabling Netanyahu’s regime, not on erasing dissent within Israel. Thanks for adding your perspective though, I appreciate the dialogue.
honestly it wasn't about you really.... I think it was Ms. Johnstone's zeal that got under my skin. I probably wouldn''t disagree with most of what she said, but the tonality. I have only just recently started to voice my full dissent on social media because of the messiness of the situation but always do so with a caveat... but I am also a people pleaser :) I have you capitalism book on my possible xmas gift list for my daughter....
I understand the anger and grief behind comments like this, but I want to be clear about where I stand. If we strip people of their humanity, we are doing the very thing we condemn. My writing is about accountability, justice, and the urgent need to end war crimes — not about hate or dehumanisation. Resistance must be rooted in our humanity, or else we risk repeating the same cycles of violence. We can, and must, demand justice without becoming what we fight against.
I hear you, and I know you’re not talking about Jews. I feel the rage too. For me, though, saying Zionists have “no humanity left” is risky — because that’s the same logic used against Palestinians to justify their slaughter. It’s what the Nazis did to Jewish people, and what the U.S. did to Indigenous tribes.
I also don’t like turning humans into monsters, because that takes away accountability. These are human beings making choices for nothing but their own benefit — and they must be held responsible for those choices. And they will be, because fascism and systems of oppression have expiration dates. History teaches us that.
I just don’t want to mirror dehumanisation back — to me, it is the language of the oppressor.