Alright I guess it’s time for a lengthy International Relations related post.

Zionism is a nationalistic movement that calls for the establishment of the state of Israel, and calls for sovereignty and international recognition. —-

As such, it was the start of a life-long struggle for Palestinians who had to face issues of apartheid and ethnic cleansing. The Israeli Defence Force, the IDF, is Israel’s way of implementing their jurisdiction on Palestinians. The mere existence of the IDF baffles me ——

They’re notorious for being above international law and ignoring prosecution for hundreds of human rights violations. Israel’s historical and current alliances with hegemonic states gives them a “hall pass” of some sort. That being said, the IDF’s draft laws ——

Are strict. Every single citizen over 18 has to serve, with men serving in active duty for 2 years and 8 months, and women serving for 2 years. If you go against that, there are repercussions. From jail time to the torture of loved ones, Israel cut nobody any slack. ——

These people do not serve as combat soldiers, meaning that they’re not there to fight. People who have tried resisting the draft had to go through hell. I sympathise with them, as should everyone else. People who want to serve deserve little to no sympathy——

They know what they signed up for. Where’s the problem? Well, it’s been instilled in us to believe that every single Israeli is evil and that none deserve our sympathy. We refused to give ANY OF THEM the benefit of the doubt just because of where they come from—-

We stereotyped every single Israeli citizen and blindly recited demeaning things about Israelis. We started hating every single one of them regardless of their beliefs or ideologies. We started correlating Judaism, a beautiful religion, with Zionism, making antisemitic—-

Statements towards them. Being against the country, its military and apartheid regime is one thing, but hating all its citizens including the ones standing for our cause is sending the wrong message.

I was extremely lucky to have met amazing human beings who happen to be Jewish Israelis, and I can attest to their devotion towards the Palestinian cause. Israel’s an apartheid state but some of its citizens deserve the benefit of the doubt.

This doesn’t make me a zionist sympathiser. I will always be pro-Palestine no matter what anyone says. Don’t let anyone shame you for not stereotyping everyone based on where they’re from.