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Many hundreds of days have now passed since the cycle of violence between the Israelis and Palestinians—nearly quotidian after so many decades of hostility—resumed with a brutality that has dwarfed all that came before.
Collectively, America seems to be watching these events with more curiosity than concern, as though Israel, our nation’s pariah-client, were only a troubled child burning ants with a magnifying glass. Americans rarely rebuke a war sold to them under false pretenses even when they are the ones dying in it, and less so when they are only being asked to foot the cost. Then we are as indifferent as when we’re asked to round up our grocery bill for Foodlink.
Against this cynicism stands a small but persistent national movement of Palestine sympathizers that began their mission shortly after October 7th, 2023. These people are keeping the flame of hope alive, holding out as long as they can until America’s conscience finally catches fire.
There are many factions of this Palestinian solidarity movement in Rochester. One of the most committed is Speak Up for Palestine, a group of several dozen demonstrators whose regular, roving protests pop up weekly at intersections, in front of L3 Harris, inside Trader Joe’s and at the just-wrapped Lilac Festival.
Speak Up spent both Saturdays of the festival lining South Avenue, holding signs and Palestinian flags and wearing paper poppies (the poppy is the national flower of Palestine, its colors being represented in their flag). For this event Speak Up also debuted a new totem: a roll of paper, many yards long, on which were written (in smallest print) the names of the thousands of children known to have died in the 19 months of Israel’s onslaught. The list was held aloft by some 85 participants, who also carried photographs of many of the deceased children, their faces as bright and charming as the faces that the evening news displays after a school shooting.
Kim Nelson is one of Speak Up’s organizers, the group having begun with just her and fellow organizer Robert McFarlane. She tells me: “Speak Up for Palestine grew out of weekly protests that a small group of local loyal activists worked on together, beginning with two of us going out to the streets with signs to protest against the United States’ Security Council ‘NO’ vote on Ceasefire in the United Nations in November, 2023.”
Kim’s group has grown much larger since then. The demonstrators at the Lilac Festival are young and healthy, elderly or in wheelchairs, native born, Middle Eastern immigrants and first-generation Palestinian Americans. They collect favorable car honks and the occasional curse, but after close to two years of activism, some feel that the tide is turning in their favor.
Dan, tall and long-haired, has been with Speak Up for a year now. He was motivated to join the cause when he noticed the disparity between how major media was covering Gaza and what he was seeing on TikTok. Dan has mounted a large TV on the back of his truck that displays pro-Palestinian messaging which can be seen when he drives around town or leads a protest caravan on the highway.
“With the way that the movement has been locally, I’ve noticed a difference between a year ago,” he tells me. “When I’m driving around, I’d get a lot more hate yelled back at me. Now when I drive around there’s a lot more ‘Free Palestine!’ and ‘Thanks for doing this.’”
Adam, a “true Palestinian and an American,” was born in Jerusalem (“the Holy City”) in 1947 and came to America in 1970, having lived in both Buffalo and Rochester. “I was born in Palestine and believe in human rights and peace and justice for everybody; we have to speak out to the good people of this country, and honestly they have been supporting us left and right because they see the truth.”
He speaks about the starvation and depravations that have come from Israel’s blockade of Gaza, an extension of the generation-long blockade that was the impetus for this war.
“These people in Gaza, most of them, they were refugees from 1948 and they have been kicked out to Gaza… now they want to kick them again…why? We have bigger than October 7th happen to the Palestinian people since 1947… 73 years… why is nobody saying anything about these people?”
Many of those holding up the list of names are wearing headscarves or kafiyahs (the latter is often worn in solidarity by non-Palestinians). Muna Najib is a young woman, a first-generation Palestinian American, or as she puts it, “Palestinian-not-so-proud-to-be-an-American-right-now.” She is wearing a necklace which I at first think is shaped like the Gaza Strip, but is actually “the whole of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
Muna sees the movement’s message finally sinking into the public’s consciousness. “I think that the propaganda war is now being lost. We’re finally seeing that Zionist media and propaganda is not working. When [Americans] see on their phones or on social media the people who are being targeted, the journalists who were targeted, all of the hospitals, every single university that was targeted…? The math isn’t adding up and I think that the average person, the average Rochesterian can see that for themselves clear as day now.”
Seeing is not always believing, however. But until more Americans begin to believe that the utter annihilation of a population is what constitutes a genocide, those that woke up first, like Speak Up for Palestine, will be trying to make sure that they weren’t the last.
Jason Yungbluth
The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].
K,
I could ask the same of you.
At the end of the article it is clear there are many variations. Moot point. It’s how it’s used today by extremists. And the Palestinian extremist use it to mean the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state. It matters little what you or I think, it’s the common understanding. Where is the statement that Israel wanted to “exterminate” the Palestinian people. Again, keep in mind there probably some extremists spouting that, but to say Israel wanted to, or wants to exterminate Palestinians is a stretch.
The term bothsideism is applied to media presenting both sides of a issue. That’s a good thing, otherwise you’d have people believing whatever was fed to them, that’s what algorithms on TikTok and social media do. They tell you what you want to hear. They do not challenge you to think critically.
If it were not for bothsideism no one would know anything about the suffering in Gaza. Wasn’t was the point about the “Zionist media”. That most were getting only one side of the story. I doubt we want that.
Please don’t confuse understanding both sides of an issue as meaning agreement with both or any side of an issue. Sometimes both sides are wrong, sometimes both sides have a point. One can read Mein Kampf to get an understanding of Nazism is not that same as justifying Nazism. It simply means understanding the perspective of both sides.
In this case both sides have blood on their hands. Degree and intent matter, whether one is greater than another may be subjective, yet there is no justification for the random slaughter of innocents on October 7 as is made in the whataboutism in the letter.
Whether Israel is committing a genocide is the subject of scholarly debate. The problem comes when someone says it’s a genocide and it simply does not meet the common and certain legal definitions.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/genocide
This is not to deny, and certainly not endorse, or justify the excesses if Israel.
This issue is far more complicated to flippantly believe one side is totally right while the other is totally wrong. That’s the stuff of Trumpian logic.
Jason, Jason,
The answer to your question is no. There is no reason to assume this if your argument has merit. I would suggest you want people to see both sides of this issue.
I am curious, what was the intent of your letter? To congratulate yourself, or to convince people to take action?
You may want to refrain from insulting readers of the Rochester Beacon. They tend to seek in-depth reasoned arguments. People here tend to get their news from sources such as NPR, PBS, the BBC and other objective media. Implying readers are dupes of the Zionist media is counterproductive. Admonishing someone as a willing idiot rarely wins anyone over.
If your intent was to bring light to the humanitarian crisis, try using sources such as Doctors without Borders, Project HOPE, or UN reports. Refer readers to their web-sites, not to TikTok.
Jason, whataboutism is a losing tactic. Both sides have blood on their hands, yet October 7 was especially evil. Nothing could justify it. Try and avoid positions of moral superiority, condensation is also a loser. Then there is this, questioning your position is not tantamount to supporting genocide. Many, including many Jewish-Americans, question and condemn the tactics of the Netanyahu government. It’s not that easy. It’s messy.
I might cringe at what Netanyahu is doing, but I’m fairly sure he isn’t Hitler, nor is this a “Holocaust”. The Holocaust was a unique industrialized slaughter of a race of people intended as a Final Solution. What is happening in Gaza may be awful, but it is not the Holocaust. Such a comparison does not make a point; it only makes one doubt what the writer knows of the Holocaust.
Suggestion, scrap that line of argument, stick to the facts, and make an ask. You left us with nothing. Tell the reader what they should do. Contribute to relief organizations? Email their elected representatives in Congress? Talk to friends about the situation and convince them? What?
Self-congratulatory letters are fun, but rarely productive. Listen to others, be humble, remind yourself that no one has a lock on the truth. No one.
Best wishes, and “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche
“You may want to refrain from insulting readers of the Rochester Beacon. They tend to seek in-depth reasoned arguments. People here tend to get their news from sources such as NPR, PBS, the BBC and other objective media. Implying readers are dupes of the Zionist media is counterproductive. Admonishing someone as a willing idiot rarely wins anyone over.”
The Beacon seems to know what their readers can handle, and I appreciate their allowing my letter to run. I am also glad for the dialogue it has inspired. (You should consider joining Speak Up for Palestine, Gary. You seem to have time to spare.)
“Jason, whataboutism is a losing tactic. Both sides have blood on their hands, yet October 7 was especially evil. Nothing could justify it.”
Well, if there were anything that COULD justify it, I would cite the Sabra and Shatila massacres (1300 to 3500 innocents killed by Israel), Operation Cast Lead (1400 civilians killed) Operation Protective Edge (1462 civilians killed) and the March of Return Massacres (223 unarmed civilians killed, thousands more shot and injured, many having their knees shot out. One Israeli soldier slightly wounded.)
Jason,
It isn’t a matter of whether RB readers can “handle” a story or letter. My guess is most are not offended by differing opinions. The point is you did yourself and your cause a disservice by insulting the reader. You wasted the opportunity RB gave you. Not everyone who is insulted is triggered into trauma.
Instead of painting the readers as dupes of the Zionist media and gullible willing fools of government fictitious justifications for war, imagine this opening,
“Speak Up for Palestine is a local organization addressing the concerns of the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As readers of the RB understand, there are times when the scope of such crisis’s are hard to imagine. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish fact from fiction. We believe the crisis is far worse than some media sources are reporting. etc, etc.”
Then cite the sources I mentioned detailing what you argue is tantamount to genocide. Again, there was one Holocaust, avoid the mistake of calling it a Holocaust. Make a reasoned argument using credible sources that can be fact checked.
Then make an ask. Gloating gets you nothing, ask the reader to consider your opinion and if they agree act upon it in some way.
Time? As someone who was an executive director of the local chapter of a national civil liberties organization, and board member of a local social justice non-profit, I know how much time organizing takes. Between teaching, two volunteer gigs, and training Therapy Dogs to be used in hospitals I have just enough time to study, read, and write. I’m only able to do this as I don’t watch much TV and certainly don’t waste time on social media.
But thanks for the invite.
BTW, Are you comparing Israel’s actions with October 7? We could look at each one of your examples but that would take too much time. Suffice it to say intent and context matter. And for better or worse, proportionality has nothing to do with the morality, righteousness, or justification of an action.
Poke the tiger, expect to get eaten.
Jason, I’m curious. I’m curious as to the position of Speak Up, is Speak Up planning to address the recent attacks against Jews in the US, specifically the murder of the young couple and firebombing and incineration of Jews in Colorado? The incineration had particular relevance to the Holocaust, the burning of Jews. I’m wondering whether SU will remain silent. Will Speak Up speak up about the actions of these particular Free Palestine advocates?
I am perplexed how anyone is okay with genocide and intentional (undebatable characterizations) starvation. There is a plethora of disturbing reports by international doctors of children targeted with precision in their heads and hearts by Occupation snipers.
I’m afraid we’ve lost our humanity when the comments on this story started with “but TikTok” and claiming we are uneducated. The commenter is advised to research the etiology of the phrase “from the river to the sea”
The bullies hurl accusations of “antisemitism” – which is damaging to Jews and cases of actual antisemitism. It waters down and weaponizes a very real phenomenon on the rise. The US and Isræli govts’ actions have irreparably damaging consequences for Palestinians, Jews, and most people across the globe.
How will history view you? Remember the ancestors are watching. And YOUR ancestors are watching.
A useful and coherent take.
I understand you might be perplexed.
Let me help you out. Because someone can see both sides of an argument does not translate into being “okay” with what is happening in Gaza. That’s rhetorical nonsense. Or that everyone not “in the streets” is a “bully(ies)”. That’s the stuff of Trumpian argumentation. It reeks of the purity test rampant on both the extreme right and the extreme left.
“A plague on both your houses.” ~Mercutio. Romeo and Juliet.
No one said anyone is “uneducated’. It was the author who bragged about tall and long haired Dan getting a transformational revelation from TikTok. That was from the opinion letter author. Those were his words. Paul received his revelation from Jesus on the road to Damascus, Dan received his revelation from TikTok as “…he drives around town or leads a protest caravan on the highway.
The author later promotes the same idea that social media is credible when he talks about Muna and implies there are two sources of information, the Zionist propaganda machine and social media. Nonsense.
K, Think of all the people who were educated on TikTok, social media and the internet about the Deep State from QAnon. Muna is no different from QAnon.
The moral arrogance of the argument that, “YOUR ancestors are watching” is akin to a Trumpian rant. Aside from the fact that unless my ancestors have time travelled to today I doubt they are watching me. I don’t believe in the hocus pocus of ancestors sitting in heaven or hell judging me. Superstitions are just that, nothing more.
But…if my ancestors were time travellers, I doubt they would be comfortable with the position of Palestinians regarding Queer, Trans and Gay people, Jews, apostates, and infidels. Palestinians elected Hamas, Hamas promotes the killing of Queers, Trans, gays, and Jews. I hope my ancestors aren’t wishing I’d be killing anyone much less any of these people.
I’m sure your ancestors were all pure of heart, morally superior, strong, above average and good looking. I doubt mine were, so there’s that.
Perhaps you are perplexed because you are stuck in a world view believing your point of view is morally superior. The same argument we hear from “Right-to Lifers”. Moral superiority dictates there must be something immoral about those not perfectly aligned with the cause. We see the same coming from Donald Trump supporters.
BTW, Yes, we know the meaning of from the river to the sea. Here, this is for you, let me know where it’s wrong.
Again, the smugness and arrogance of believing you and only you have a lock on the truth. Again, no different than MAGA.
It’s interesting how much the author and Kim share with Trumpian logic. Wonder how that happens? Two sides of the same coin, and neither thinks they are anything like the other and yet their logic mirrors the other.
I’m hoping it un-perplexes you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_river_to_the_sea#:~:text=%22From%20the%20river%20to%20the,Mediterranean%20Sea%20%E2%80%93%20an%20area%20historically
Did you actually read the Wikipedia article, or did you skim the first couple lines. Your homework is to go back and actually read the summary and source documents of its historical origins. Originally used by Zionists laying claim to the entire region with the plan of extermination of all the indigenous Palestinians. When that failed, they laid out the plan for Greater Israel.
I’ll also challenge your commitment to bothsidesism (aka False Balance). Please lay out both sides of Milosevic’s war crimes in Serbia, both sides of the Second Sudanese Civil War (surely the Janjaweed must have their side presented), and I’d like to hear your bothsidesism about Hitler and Nazism. Ready, set, go!
I admire your commitment to denying a genocide. You’re #1 !
Interesting that you editorialize information seen (ie. Video footage of live-streamed war crimes on Tik-Tok) to “bragging.” Your twisting of words follows the prescribed method of dehumanization, discrediting the truth of what was witnessed on video – in support of the non-existent or Israel centered biased news reporting that has been practiced since day one of this 600 day holocaust (as if the traditional news has presented the facts.) Your position also suggests that the problem here is whether or not the average Rochestarian is concerned with the tactics of the Israeli military.
The problem is the genocide being perpetrated.
The problem is the idea that the evidence that culminated in the charge of genocide could be deemed “subjective.”
The problem is the US funding and delivery of the bombs, tech and political cover required to conduct this genocide is institutionalized, even right here in Rochester.
Never said you “received your marching orders from TikTok”.
You did brag about a member, who you agreed with as receiving their primary source of reliable information from TikTok.
Your words, not mine, “Dan, tall and long-haired, has been with Speak Up for a year now. He was motivated to join the cause when he noticed the disparity between how major media was covering Gaza and what he was seeing on TikTok.”
It was you who bragged about Dan, a tall and long haired, (as if this was a romance novel), was enlightened by TikTok.
Your quotation speaks volumes.
Kim,
The author’s quote, “Dan, tall and long-haired, has been with Speak Up for a year now. He was motivated to join the cause when he noticed the disparity between how major media was covering Gaza and what he was seeing on TikTok.”
His words.
The author then goes on how this enlightenment was a revelation to Dan. Dan got his education on TikTok and so should you!
The idea that you and your group are the only ones concerned about the conflict is arrogant at best and ignorant at worst.
Usage of the term Holocaust and genocide is simply evidence of ignorance of what the Holocaust was.
Yes, Israel has a right as do you, to defend itself from those who preach about its elimination, from the river to the sea.
Yes, people do care about Israel’s tactics, the idea that you alone are concerned about that is simply nonsense.
That Palestinians are the only indigenous people in the Levant and Jews are not is simply incorrect.
Lest you forget there was peace on October 6, before innocent women and children were raped and murdered simply because of their ethnicity.
Regarding Adam’s claim the Israeli’s have done worse than the Palestinians did on October 7 . Really? Please cite the times Israel did “bigger” than randomly slaughtered people attending a music festival, threw grenades in rooms full of Jews, entered homes and simply gunned down everyone, or raped women with the barrel of an AK47 before discharging a bullet into them. Israel and some Israeli’s have done some questionable things, but the comparison to October 7 is absurd.
Your assumption that no one in Rochester cares about Israel’s tactics is also absurd. What data do you base that on? What surveys? Just how many people outside your orbit have you queried or interviewed that lead you to conclusion you were right and everyone else wrong?
It’s not surprising the source of the news for the group is TikTok.
I’m happy you found it interesting.
Then again I’m not sure its a compliment from those who find TikTok a reliable source of information. We usually hear that from the MAGA crowd.
The problem is people who can’t see both sides of a conflict.
The problem is people assuming no cares about the issue they are fixated on.
The problem is people believing what they see on TikTok as indisputable proof of anything.
These are the same characteristics of QAnon and MAGA.
Two sides of the same coin.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-a-superiority-complex
Isn’t a demand that people “see both sides of a conflict” in this context just an appeal to ambivalence and fence-sitting, which always redounds to the benefit of the powerful or the aggressor?
Interesting that the writer brags about the group getting information on TikTok.
That may explain the subjectivity of the group that believes Rochestarians aren’t concerned about Israeli tactics, or that there is a problem with “from the river to the sea.”
I am the author. I didn’t “brag” about Speak Up receiving their marching orders from TikTok. I mentioned that one man found TikTok to be more honest than mainstream news sources.