Category: Israel-Palestine

Normalising brutality….. because of war

You have heard all of the comments defending Israeli government.

It is either the nonsensical self-defense argument, even though IDF clearly targets unarmed civilians and aid workers, or the belief that all Palestinians are animals who deserved to be wiped out from the face to earth. Yadda yadda yadda, they are disturbing as they are old and predictable.

On some occasions, people defend the brutality because they believe it is a wartime necessity, something which we won’t understand if we have never endured wars ourselves.

Now, for the sake of the argument, I am going to pretend there is no genocide and what is happening between Israel and Palestine is indeed a war, an armed conflict in which both sides are on an equal plane.

The argument still doesn’t make any sense. If anything, it makes zionists sound even more disturbed.

For mentally sound minds, the violent and dehumanising effects of armed conflicts genuinely terrify us; they compel us to avoid armed conflicts as much as possible, to not escalate already-existing conflicts.

But, not to those particular zionists. They think those tendencies should be justifiable in a wartime, as if they are already normal inside their heads.

They insinuate a wartime is a perfectly acceptable living condition, a living condition equals to peacetime. They insinuate hating on wars is the same as hating people for loving pineapple pizza. For them, it is just a matter of trivial differences.

No, I am not reaching with my observation.

Understanding why people behave the way they do is one thing. Supporting them is another.

If it is truly about understanding them, you would objectively enunciate the explanations, without trying to put a positive spin or argue for the moral necessity. You wouldn’t side with those bloodthirsty warmongers. You wouldn’t take offense when they get themselves rightfully condemned.

I shouldn’t be surprised by this. As a group, zionists – especially the non-Israeli ones – often overlap with neoconservatives. Ones I have interacted with are supportive of America’s violent and warmongering foreign policies.

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What does the BDS movement reveal about Muslim-majority countries?

As I am not one of those Muslims who dream of becoming western establishments’ lapdogs, I don’t see it as a manifestation of anti-Semitism. And yes, I am also one of those people who don’t see anti-Zionism as inherently anti-Semitic. It is not whether you hate Israel or not, it is about why you hate Israel.

Of course, it is not to say the boycott movement is problem-free

I am from Indonesia. Even though it is a growing economy, we are still dependent on foreign corporations and it becomes more obvious when the movement started heating up.

Indonesia has definitely lots of foreign products; Wall’s ice cream, Dove and Sunsilk are among the examples. But, I am surprised there are also Indonesian products which are already acquired by foreign companies (Bango sweet soy sauce and Buavita fruit drinks are now owned by Unilever) and products which I mistakenly thought as Indonesian (I didn’t know Blueband margarine was Dutch and I didn’t realise Royco’s graphic design was the exact same as Knorr’s).

I don’t know about the rest of the Muslim world. But, I do know coke, western restaurant chains and luxury western car brands are also popular elsewhere.

As I am not one of those “might is right” weirdos, I don’t see the global dominance of pro-Israel western establishments as a proof of Israel’s moral rightness.

But, it is a sombre reminder of how Muslim-majority countries have some major weaknesses (you know, apart from the elephant in the room that is Islamic extremism): we are not as economically competitive as the west and we don’t take pride in consuming local products.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the solutions.

I don’t know how to make my fellow countrymen take more pride in local products. I don’t know how to make my country more economically competitive.

I certainly don’t how to be economically competitive and environmentally, culturally and socially sustainable* at the same time. Heck, I am not even sure they can go hand in hand.

Okay, I am overthinking it.

My point is the boycott movement should be a wake-up call for all of us.

If we want to be free from other countries’ control, we have to be economically independent** as well. No matter how collectively idealistic we are, no matter how hard it is to buy our minds and hearts, our economic independence means we still give profits to foreign entities, constantly fattening the wallets of pro-Israel western establishments.

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*The more industrial an economy is, the more it emits C02 and consumes natural resources (even though it is not to say poorer countries are green). When I say social and cultural sustainability, I am referring to equality and commercialisation, respectively; is it possible for a highly-developed economy to maintain relatively low income inequality and commodification of cultures?

**When I say economically independent, I am not talking about banning imports and implementing restrictive protectionism. I am talking how our local products are so high quality, affordable and prestigious, we choose to consume them even when foreign options are readily available.

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Zionists’ virtue signalling

I acknowledge there are anti-zionists who love to blame all Jews for the actions of Israeli government and who think Hitler was right. Their anti-semitism is very blatant, they never bother to be subtle about it.

And yet, zionists love to ignore them.

Every time they throw anti-semitism accusations, they never target those people. They prefer to target anti-zionists who chant things like ”Free Palestine”.

Now, I do believe we must be able to read between the lines. Sometimes, words do have extra or opposite meanings, depending on the contexts. But, those zionists have no ground to stand on.

If there is something to read between the lines, then you have to prove it exists; you have to prove those pro-Palestine chanters have also insinuated that all Jews are evil.

Obviously, that’s not the case here. They are called anti-semitic….. simply because they have the gall to condemn Israel and humanise Palestinians. In fact, the zionists even attack anti-zionist Jews, including Holocaust survivors and their children, for supposedly being self-hating Jews.

Those zionists can be infuriating with their slanders. But, the fact that they ignore actual bigots and choose to attack people who may or may not be bigoted…. it is bewildering.

Actually, no. I take my words back. There is nothing bewildering about it.

Those zionists never care about anti-semitism. They are virtue-signaling.

Those non-Jewish zionists don’t care about the well-being of their Jewish brothers and sisters, they only care about simping for their favourite foreign country. They are comparable to weeaboos and koreaboos who think Japan and Korea are the perfect countries that can do no wrong, respectively; the main difference is they are more blood-thirsty, more genocidal, than the other two.

As someone who is not Jewish, I understand why a Jewish person would have an emotional attachment Israel, the only country where they would not endure anti-semitic discrimination and violence.

But, at the same time, there is difference between empowerment and identity politics. The former does not require you to put others beneath you. The latter does require you to do that; you need to perceive your identities as the only ones worthy of protection, worthy fighting for.

Some of those zionists Jews embrace the latter. They don’t care about creating a safe haven for fellow Jews and even themselves, they want the power to be discriminatory and even violent against certain “others” (e.g. Arabs and/or Muslims)… and the existence of Israeli government gives them the catharsis.

Those particular zionists were also silent about the anti-semitism of the alt-right and Qanon movements….. and they also love Donald Trump, a pro-Israel political figure who literally got open endorsements from the KKK and Neo-Nazis.

With all of those facts combined, it is hard for me to not see them as psychotic virtue signalers who hide under the guise of Jewish empowerment and acceptance.

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Some notes for my fellow non-Jewish critics of Israel

Let’s start with these questions:

Why do you hate the Israeli government?

Is it because of it commits human rights violations seemingly without repercussions and it just happens to be Jewish?

Is it because you believe it is the worst, if not only, human rights-violating government on earth?

Or is it simply because you hate anything Jewish?

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For me, there is nothing wrong about being emotional attached to certain issues.

In the case of Israel-Palestine, you may be of Palestinian descent or know someone who is, you may be a Jewish person who is horrified by atrocities done under your name…. or you may be someone who is angered by Israel’s impunity on the world stage.

It becomes a problem when you start acting like this is the only issue that matters… or when you believe Israeli government and its allies are the only evil governments in existence…… or, this is unfortunately common among my fellow Muslims, when you believe your fellow believers are free from problems (and the ones that exist were created by Mossad).

Of course, those are bullshits.

Other issues are just as important (no, we cannot quantitatively measure importance), other governments have also committed evil… and yes, the Muslim world has problems, many of which are partially or entirely faults.

You use this opportunity to virtue signal on the world stage AND to avert the global attention from your degenerate fellow Muslims.

And now, about the Jewish people themselves.

We must remember two things: Israel is the only Jewish-majority country on earth and anti-semitism is a disturbingly global phenomenon.

While you can criticise zionist Jews for their uncritical and zealous support of the government, can you really blame them for having emotional attachments to the only country on earth where they are not a marginalised minority, vulnerable to discriminations and pogroms?

Unless your cultural and religious identities are as demonised and marginalised as the Jewish ones, it is so easy for you to dismiss zionist Jews’ emotional attachment to the world’s only Jewish state.

Like you, I am also infuriated by some zionists’ use of the anti-semitism card, who think humanisation of Palestinians is anti-semitic. They are psychotic virtue signalers who will do anything to smear people who dare to not loving their favourite country.

But, I am not going to pretend some of my fellow anti-zionists are any better.

You cannot hide forever. If your anti-Israel sentiment is driven by anti-semitism, you can only hide under the guise of human rights for a while. Sooner or later, your true colours will inevitably escape the facade and you will start spewing remarks like “Hitler was right after all”.

If you are not anti-semitic, you would never think Israel is what Jewishness and Judaism are all about….. and you would never think ALL Jews are responsible for the Israeli government’s action, not even for a second.

You would also acknowledge that many zionists are not Jewish… and many anti-zionists are Jewish.

And no, there is nothing logical about anti-semitism. If you think demonising all Jews helps fighting Israel, does that mean you accept the only way to fight Islamic extremism is to demonise all Muslims?

Considering many of you are my fellow Muslims….. of course not, you fucking dolts!

My point is, I want you to fuck off.

There are people who genuinely care about the Palestinian causes and we are continuously frustrated about getting slandered as terrorism-sympathising anti-semites by those virtue-signaling blood-thirsty cunts.

Because you claim to be one of us, you douse the most incendiary fuel onto their fire of fanaticism. You are making those cretins even more fanatical. You are giving them more excuses to slander us.

Palestinians are already having a hard time getting global support and, thanks to your selfish virtue signaling, you are making it even fucking harder for them.

In fact, I would not be surprised if any of you turn out to be zionists’ plants.

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The historical and religious justifications of Zionism (and why they suck)

I am not going to argue whether Jews are entitled to a place called Israel not. Jews are an an ethno-religious group with deep attachment to a specific land while I don’t belong to anything similar.

I am a Muslim and Islam is not an ethnic religion. I am an Indonesian who does not identify with an ethnicity in which a specific religion is inseparable from the ethnic identity and I certainly do not identify with an ethnicity that harbours deep attachment to a specific land (I don’t identify with any ethnic groups, really).

Even though not all Jews are indigenous to Israel/Palestine, I do not have enough perspectives to critique the claim of land in a nuanced manner (no, “nuanced” is not the same as “neutral”). But, I can definitely point out a few things, specifically about certain zionists.

While not all of you do this, I do notice some of you disrespect the indigenous peoples in your own countries, namely the US, Australia and Canada.

You love diminishing their sufferings throughout the years, using them as exotic props, saying they should be lucky to live in such developed countries, even though they are deliberately excluded from the developments… and, most bewilderingly, slandering all indigenous empowerment movements as anti-white bigotry. You treat them like they are invaders of some kind.

If you can believe all Jews – including European and North American ones – have the right to claim the land in Israel/Palestine, then why can’t you do the same with indigenous peoples in your own countries?

In fact, if you believe the Palestinians are thieves and deserve to be kicked off the land, then you should also believe white people in the Americas and Australasia are also thieves and deserve to be kicked out as well.

Then, there is the religious justification.

Some of you – the more religious ones – have used your scriptures to justify Zionism. But, at the same time, I have noticed some of you have condemned Islamism.

Here’s a question: why do you oppose Islamism?

Personally, I am opposed to it because I am opposed to religious political ideologies in general, regardless of the foundational religions. Not only they disregard the existence of non-believers and compel governments to take their rights away, they dictate the believers on how to be religious… and I hate having anyone – state or no state – dictating the validity of my religiosity.

I know you don’t share my reasoning.

You oppose Islamism not because it is bad, but because it is the wrong religion; it is neither your religion nor a religion you like. You support Zionism because you believe you have the right to shove your favourite religion down everyone’s throat.

And let’s not pretend Zionism is all about Jewish empowerment. Those Christian Zionists, what do you think their religious-driven embrace of Zionism is about?

They embrace it because they believe in the biblical prophecy which foretells not just Jews’ return to their “homeland”, but also their denouncement of Judaism and conversion to Christianity. They are Zionists not because they care about Jews, but because they hate Jews.

Yes, what I am saying is some of you are anti-semitic and are comparable to Islamists.

And yes, you can condemn both Hamas and the Israeli government at the same time.

And yes, you are genocidal. I don’t know why I have to mention indigenous Americans when you drool over the sight of dead Gazan children and think crying about their deaths makes one pro-Hamas.

And yes, I am lumping all of you into one. Frankly, my fellow Muslims – despite our many flaws – are way better in condemning Islamic extremism than you Zionists in condemning each other.

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Minding our own businesses and the hypocrisy of zionists

Pro-Palestine people are often criticised for spending too much time minding other countries while ignoring problems within their own turfs. Unfortunately, there is truth in the criticism.

Yes, some of us – especially my fellow Muslims – are like that. We care too much about issues happening in faraway lands involving people we have never met while ignoring issues in our own homelands. It is also hypocritical how many Muslims love condemning Israel while staying silent about atrocities committed by fellow believers.

But, at the same time, the criticism can also be dishonest.

When expressed by people who are apathetic about international issues, I am fine with it. But, when expressed by non-Israeli zionists, it is just laughably hypocritical.

It doesn’t matter if you see Israel – a place you didn’t grow up in – as an extension of your home country, it is still a foreign country! Yes, your talk about supporting Israel shows you are guilty of the same thing you criticise pro-Palestine people for!

To make it more laughably hypocritical, you have spent many years “playing warriors” about problems happening overseas. You were the ones who advocated the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, at the expense of destabilising the already-unstable region even further. You couldn’t care less about helping the ordinary citizens, you only care about the delusion of playing heroes.

To make it even more laughably hypocritical, you get extremely defensive every time foreigners – especially non-western ones – dare to point out your countries’ weaknesses. Instead of correcting the inaccuracies or adding some nuances, you – without any sense of self-awareness – tell them to mind their own countries’ businesses.

Your fellow zionists may fawn over your so-called “definitive rebuttal” against pro-Palestine sentiment. But, everyone else can see through it.

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Different types of Hasan Minhaj haters

Yes, I am going to talk about his haters before I talk about him because of two simple reasons: 1. I am not done analysing him; 2. His haters are annoyingly hilarious to behold.

Now, where do I start?

Well, so far, I can place them into three separate boxes: Pro-Duterte Filipinos, pro-Modi and anti-Modi Indians and anti-Zionists, some of whom may be Muslims.

Those Filipinos accuse him of trying to make their country look bad and India looks good in comparison. They also accuse him of trivialising the deaths caused by drug dealers and gang members.

Those Indians accuse him of being a Pakistani agent and an Islamic extremist apologist. The Modi detractors among them think he makes the BJP even more powerful.

Those anti-Zionists accuse him of not making an episode on Israel simply because he fears the pro-Israel US government.

Some of the anti-Zionists also think he hates his fellow Muslims because he has shat too many times on his fellow Muslims.

If you actually know him, you would know how stupid those accusations sound.

Those particular Filipinos probably think his Indian lineage proves his anti-Filipino and pro-India biases.

Not only it is racist, they also willfully ignore that he has talked more about India in his show than he has about the Philippines.

I also don’t know how they think “tarnishing” their country’s international image instantly makes India’s looks good. Unless you have lived in both countries, you would NEVER instinctively compare the two with each other. They neither share the same roots nor they are physically side by side. And they certainly are not major rivals.

He also has made episodes (plural) about sleazy pharmaceutical companies and the acts of violence committed around the world. He would be the last person to be apathetic about violent drug dealers.

Pro-Modi Indians consider the combination of his anti-Hindutva stances and his Islamic background as a sign of his tolerance of Islamic extremism… even though his very first episode is about Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of Islamic extremism.

Anti-Modi Indians blame him for boosting BJP’s popularity right before the election… instead of actually blaming it on the Indians who are either supportive of the party or silent of the problems it poses. Blame the turds, NOT the ones who want to flush them away.

Some Indians (I don’t know if they are pro or anti-Modi) also accuse him of being a Pakistani agent…. and their only “solid” evidence is his green and white hoodie he wore in the Indian cricket episode.

That evidence is so ridiculous, I pray it is just a joke instead of an expression of sincere idiocy. Knowing humans, there is a high chance of it being sincere.

Anti-Zionists think his silence on Israel is a sign of his cowardly submission to the US government… ignoring that the US government is the government he condemns the most; even his Saudi Arabia episode includes condemnation of the US government.

It has been clear to me some of them are Muslims; they hate how he condemns his fellow Muslims a bit too often. Yes, he does shit on his fellow Muslims.

But, he condemns those who commit religious extremism, which is a fucking good thing to do and you have to be an asshole to believe otherwise. He is unlike those so-called “reformers” who willingly throw their fellow believers under the bus just for the sake of being “palatable” to western reactionaries.

If anything, he is all about empowerment as he often talks about American Muslims (and minorities in general) overcoming societal discriminations; his Netflix special heavily focused on this matter.

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Obviously, my categories are grossly simplistic and inadequate. If I even bother to scroll down the comment sections more, I would have more well-thought-out categorisation.

But still, I am surprised about the dearth of American right-wingers and Pro-Bolsonaro Brazilians on his videos’ comment sections.

It is surprising because he often condemns the policies proposed and enacted by the GOP (even though the Dems are not spared from his condemnation) and he has made a video about the Brazilian Amazonian people, who loath Bolsonaro; many anti-Bolsonaro videos on Youtube, including John Oliver’s, suffer from unfavourable like-dislike ratio.

This is not my first time witnessing a public figure’s detractors spewing accusations that are baseless and at odds with each other. But, this is the first time I am mindful of how pronounced the contradictions are.

The fallacies are more frequently used while the prejudice and the ideological zealotry are more shamelessly naked. His haters are followers of the global trend.

Even though I am not done with my “analysis” of him, I can confidently say one thing:

The fact that he has ruffled the feathers of many parties and causing them to react irrationally shows he has done a really great job.

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