Two years ago today, 1195 innocent people — mostly civilians — were murdered in a terrorist attack in southwest Israel.
I'm supposed to write a memorial post. But in the age of "thoughts and prayers" and the endless repetition of empty platitudes as a response to tragedy, I'm not coming up with one.
What I am coming up with is a growing need to draw a hard line.
There are an alarming number of people these days who attempt to justify or excuse the 7.10. attack.
Some are the usual cast of racists and nazis, who deserve condemnation but of whom you can't really expect better. This is not okay, but it is also no surprise and requires little response besides the anti-fascist actions one was (hopefully) already planning to take.
But others cloak their justificationism in superficially anti-racist language, exploiting the very real suffering of Palestinians to cover their antisemitic tracks.
I abhor the fact that I have to say it, but apparently I do: Israelis have a right to safety.
There is no conflict between this and a sound, just, pro-Palestinian position. There is no conflict between empathizing with Israeli civilians and demanding accountability and respect for human rights and international law from Israeli leaders and soldiers. There is no conflict between condemning an act of terrorist violence and demanding an end to the Occupation and recognition of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
There is, in fact, strong evidence that these things would make Israel safer. A fully functional Palestinian state would have the capacity to disolve and prevent the formation of terrorist groups via law enforcement means. Ending illegal settlement and improving conditions for Palestinians would reduce the incentives to become a terrorist in the first place. A just peace between two states would mean a better life for everyone in the region.
I want to live in a world where we can demand all of these things, all at once, and recognize that they flow naturally from the same core values. I want to live in world where there are two independent states in the Southwestern Levant. And I want to live in a world where Palestine activists are allies in achieving this.
But if you are okay with the slaughter of innocent civilians at a music festival, we are not on the same side.