this post was submitted on 07 May 2024
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Palestine

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A community for everything related to Palestine and the occupation currently underway by the occupying force known as Israel.

Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. Existence is resistance for Palestinians.

Please refer to Israel as Occupied Palestine, or occupied territories. The IDF is a fascist and ethnonationalist occupying force. Israelis are settlers. We understand however that the imperial narrative (which tries to legitimise Israel) is internalised in the imperial core and slip-ups are naturally expected.

We always take the sides of Palestine and Palestinians and are unapologetic about it. Israel is an occupying power whose "defence force"'s (note the contradiction) sole purpose for existing is to push Palestinians out so they can resettle their rightful land. If you have anything positive to say about Israel we do not care.

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[–] iamjackflack@lemm.ee 15 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Why tf do we support Israel so hard everywhere? What does Israel have in us?

[–] Sodium_nitride@lemmygrad.ml 24 points 6 months ago (1 children)
  1. Israel keeps the Middle East divided, both geographically and politically.

  2. Israel is great for testing weapons, strategies and systems because they are in a constant state of either low level or hot war

  3. Israel is useful for laundering money through "aid" (weapons) and pac donations (like aipac and such). The existence of Israel helps improve the circulation of money between the MIC and American political class

  4. A large number of american politicians are evangelicals who believe that the completion of the Israeli project will bring about the apocalypse where all of the Jews and other "heathens" will be killed.

  5. Israel is heavily dependent on America, so they usually follow along the Americans in whatever the Americans are doing. For example, you will find no shortage of UN votes where only the US and Israel have voted against a resolution while literally every other country on earth did not.

  6. Israel counters Chinese and Russian influence in the middle East. Israel is great for formenting terrorist groups and opposition to disrupt China and Russia. I haven't looked too much into it, hut I wouldn't be surprised if Israel was involved in American efforts to bring down the BRI.

Israel is in many ways America's "unsinkable aircraft carrier", right in the middle of the most geographically important region of the world with proximity to oil reserves, trade routes, Russia, China, Europe. If the world were a chessboard, then Israel would be America's queen, right in the middle of enemy ranks. The most powerful piece in an extremely vulnerable position, but if you can defend it, it will severely constrain all of your enemy's plans.

[–] kredditacc@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I think this Queen is trapped, with no way out.

[–] Sodium_nitride@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Yes. That's always been the case and the reason why America supplies so much weaponry to Israel. In some ways, Israel is a curse for America. Israel is too useful to ever give up. So far, this has not been a problem because Israel could defend itself. But now that Israel is in a bad position, it is dragging down America with it, who has to spend an ever increasing amount of money and political capital on the Queen which it is too scared to let go.

[–] tarbeez@lemmygrad.ml 11 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Important to keep in mind that this is not an independent, organic entity that grew from local sources. To the extent that it is composed of people from the area, those people have been forced to assimilate to Zionist/anti-Arab/imperialist/colonialist values (e.g. Arabic Jews, disposessed of their heritage essentially) or are considered colonial subjects and second class citizens, if even that (the Palestinians).

It may seem paradoxical, but hating on Israel in the conventional sense ("Why are we helping them? Boo Netanyahu bad") ends up legitimizing it -- as an unethical, immoral actor, sure, but a legitimite actor nonetheless, with the implication that they "should do better". It is essentially lamenting the fact that a murderer is cursing out the victim while killing him, as if doing it politely would make it palatable somehow. It completely misses the point.

It is a violent settler colony, and its establishment and existence is the work of, and to the benefit of, Western Imperialism.