Message From a Gazan to Campus Protesters: You're Hurting the Palestinian Cause
Message From a Gazan to Campus Protesters: You're Hurting the Palestinian Cause
As a Gazan and as a Palestinian, I want the protesters and the organizers of these protests to know that their hateful speech harms us.
It's unconscionable. But it's not just the antisemitism that has me despairing. It's the hypocrisy. Where were these caring young people when Hamas took over Gaza and slaughtered hundreds of Gazans, or when Hamas held 2 million Gazans captive for more than 17 years? Why didn't they speak out about the fact that Hamas led Gazans into this conflict, which resulted in more than 30,000 dead and 80,000 injured, according to Gazan municipal authorities? Where were they when Hamas's failed missiles claimed the lives of hundreds of Gazans on October 17, or when Hamas murdered young people in order to steal aid and resell it to Gazans at massively inflated prices?
But the protesters aren't interested in peace. Some of the groups have been blocking Palestinian peace activists like me—and I am from Gaza, the very place they claim to care about! Instead of blocking peace activists, they should be inviting us to join these protests and guide them in the right direction—a place without hatred with a focus on calling for the release of the hostages who have been held captive by Hamas for more than 210 days.
Where were these caring young people when Hamas took over Gaza and slaughtered hundreds of Gazans, or when Hamas held 2 million Gazans captive for more than 17 years?
You can answer your own question with the tiniest bit of thought. They were like 4 years old then. The kids are alright.
Reading that line, I chuckled. That has to be satire.
This article makes no sense. The protests have been explicit in their demands for their schools to disclose investments in Israeli war and divest. Whenever someone says, 'Why don't the protesters protest against Putin/Hamas/China/etc.??' they're clearly just saying, 'Stop making demands of people you have leverage over! I demand symbolic, ignorable activism only!'
This article is... Bizarre.
Edit: I went looking for some context to try to understand who this guy is. Apparently Hamza Howidy left Gaza after he protested against Hamas and was beaten and tortured, and it seems that a lot of his online engagement is now directed solely at the need to remove Hamas from power. I must say that I feel sympathetic. That must be an awful position to be in. I think it's sad that he seems to be suffering from the common misconception that one can only pick one side to oppose in a war. I wish him healing, and hope his family back in Gaza survives this war.
It's not unheard of for victims of abuse to adopt the mentality of their abusers as a coping mechanism. His brain is broken.
Also notice that he says "some of the groups" have been "blocking" activists like him (whatever that means) but doesn't name those groups.
Hmmm....
Oh yeah?! Well they still should have!
"Honey, would you like a Happy Meal for dinner?"
"Why no, mother. I have been reading in The Guardian about the Israeli apartheid of Palestinians and, as a believer in BDS, I cannot in good conscience support the McDonalds corporation while it supports Israeli aggression."
"Ok, honey. Whatever you say. How about Wendy's?"
"YAY! KID'S MEAL!"
I don't think someone stupid enough to write this trash can do basic arithmetic.
Ironically? The byline says that he's an accountant.
Obvious Israeli shill is obvious.
I don't expect much from Newsweek and yet I still expected better than this from them. How much cherry picking did they have to do before they found Hamza Howidy to simp for Israel from inside Gaza?
Assuming this person is genuine, they have a defensible position. Hamas isn't the hero here, they are a villain. We can both want to end senseless killings and want to stop villians.
I don't think it's defensible at all, whether he genuinely believes it or not.
The protesters, overall, have not been protesting in favor of Hamas. They're protesting against Israel. They want to end the killings. Hamas right now is not the one doing the majority of the killing. Not even close. It's only "defensible" if everyone in Gaza is a member of Hamas, even the babies.
And this guy is just full of shit if he's claiming that these campus protesters are stopping Palestinians calling for peace from speaking.
See, in mid-to-late oct, early November, I was of this same mindset. How can we support Hamas? They’re a far-right fundamentalist group that has a terrible track record. But…as time has gone on, they are just not at the top of my list of things to protest. Because there’s…yknow, a genocide happening? If the people of Gaza turned on Hamas right now, it’d be over for them. They need statehood. Then they can get rid of Hamas. But they need protection from the Israeli onslaught right now. It’s priority one.
This doesn’t make Hamas a good organization with the Palestinian people’s best interest at heart. It just makes them the only port in a storm.
If the natzis allow Palestine statehood then they can't brand resistance as terrorism. Israel and America are headed for an ugly breakup.
Well, take a proper gander at that.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Apparently they do not realize that the Intifadas were disastrous for both Palestinians and Israelis, just as October 7 has been devastating for the people of Gaza.
I saw the LGBTQ flag frequently flown among people chanting lines from Hamas's charter, and I initially wanted to educate them, to warn them that the group they are honoring would most likely toss them from the top of a building or murder them like they did to Mahmoud Ishtiwi, a Hamas commander accused of homosexuality.
Hate speech on college campuses starting with the one at Columbia has recently reached a frightening pitch.
I've seen people yelling antisemitic things at Jewish students, including "Jews go back to Poland" and other horrible phrases.
I do not accept hateful speech or terrorist chants, and all of these foolish dreams about eradicating Israel are disgusting—and will never be achieved.
Instead of blocking peace activists, they should be inviting us to join these protests and guide them in the right direction—a place without hatred with a focus on calling for the release of the hostages who have been held captive by Hamas for more than 210 days.
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