Not us. And neither will you be, after you’ve read this.
Some conversations start out innocently and suddenly escalate so dramatically that it feels as if not only friendships, but world peace itself, depends on the outcome. Conversations about Palestine and Israel have this potential. Yet it’s so easy to take a reasonable stance on the issue, isn’t it? OR?! Is it easy for you to answer that? Then this article is for you. And if you find it hard, then all the more reason to read it.
Some people write “Free Palestine!” in their status updates, others “Stand with Israel!”—that clarifies the sides. Both statements are short and unambiguous; they fit on posters, T-shirts, or stickers. But let’s be honest: A conflict that has been smoldering for decades, shaping the lives of millions of people, and is fraught with religion, colonial history, nationalism, antisemitism, and racism—it can’t be squeezed into a hashtag. Anyone who thinks it’s clear-cut has made things pretty easy for themselves.
Time for a little doubt. Because only when we regularly question our knowledge, information, and beliefs do we open ourselves up to opportunities for learning and personal growth. Disclaimer: We won’t (be able to) explain the Middle East conflict to you here, but we’ll try to shed light on different perspectives. Nor are we telling you what you absolutely must read on the subject; rather, we want to show the value of engaging with and tolerating contradictory information. So, let’s dive in together and explore what contradiction and doubt actually mean when it comes to examining the Middle East conflict.
Can you handle this?
Can you bring yourself to read this without angrily throwing the newspaper in the trash?
- On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a massacre of civilians—with over 1,200 dead and hundreds taken hostage, it is the greatest crime against Jewish people since 1945.
- After October 7, 2023, the Israeli military killed tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza.
- Hamas terrorists raped victims (including those killed) of the October 7 massacre as well as hostages.
- Israeli soldiers fired on and killed unarmed Palestinian civilians, including children, during the distribution of aid.
- The idea of Zionism arose because Jews around the world were persecuted and murdered. It is rooted in the longing for a safe place that does not depend on the goodwill of a non-Jewish majority society.
- The idea of a Palestinian state arose as a result of the establishment of Israel. A Palestinian identity, too, only developed as a result of this.
- The establishment of the State of Israel was a consequence of the murder of six million Jews, so that something like the Shoah could never happen again.
- Many Palestinians were driven from their homeland as a result of the founding of the State of Israel. Their homes, land, and livelihoods were violently taken from them.
- Antisemitism is also widespread in the Near and Middle East. To this day, most Arab states do not recognize Israel because it is a Jewish state.
- Racism is also widespread in Israel. It is directed not only at people from the Palestinian territories, but also at Palestinian Israelis and Arab Jews.
- In Palestinian schools, antisemitic content and the promotion of hostile stereotypes are often part of the regular curriculum.
- Time and again, racist mobs roam through Israel and the occupied territories, indiscriminately threatening and attacking Arabs of all ages, driving them from their homes, and even killing them—without facing any punishment.
- Terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians have been a reality in Israel for many decades. These attacks have primarily targeted civilians.
- “Intifada” is an Arabic word that roughly means “uprising,” “to shake off,” or “to rise up.” As a political term, it refers to a rebellion against oppression and foreign rule. The word itself does not imply violence or terrorism.
- There have been two major intifadas against Israel to date, and both were marked by suicide bombings and terrorism. For Israelis, this term is inextricably linked to deadly violence.
- Israel is currently governed by ultra-Orthodox, far-right, ultra-nationalist forces that are not interested in a just solution for everyone.
- Hamas is a terrorist organization that is not interested in a just solution for everyone. It oppresses and kills Palestinians who see things differently.
- In Palestine, there have been and continue to be oppressed protest movements against Hamas and its regime of terror, even before October 7.
- In Israel, there have been and continue to be broad protest movements against Netanyahu and his policies, even before October 7.
All of these things are true at the same time. It’s not about putting everything on the same level and comparing or justifying them against one another. And that’s exactly what makes it so difficult. For every point in this article, we’d actually have to include 87 more objections, side notes, or additions. This text can’t do that, and we all have to accept that it’s completely incomplete. However, our goal is not completeness at all, but rather to shed a little light on the many dimensions and contradictions.
History Is Not a Meme
“Israel is a colonial state—everyone says so!” Is that true? Yes and no. The founding of the State of Israel in 1948 took place under colonial supervision and through the use of force. At the time, the territory belonged to the British, who drew border lines on maps. This was essentially classic colonial policy, yet it was different—because even today, centuries-old traces of Jewish culture can be found in Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, and Tiberias. Many Jewish people do not view the founding of Israel as a colonial conquest, but rather as a return to a land from which their ancestors were expelled.
Palestine was not a no-man’s-land either: before World War I, the region was part of the Ottoman Empire; Arab families had lived there for generations. As early as the 19th century, many Jewish people fled pogroms in Eastern Europe to Palestine. Many purchased land there quite legally and put it to use. As a result of World War I, the area came under British control, and after World War II, the United Nations ultimately partitioned the region according to a two-state solution: a Jewish state and an Arab state. It sounds like a compromise, but it was a colonial intervention that excluded the local population from having a say.
When Israel declared its independence in 1948, the situation escalated. The neighboring Arab states launched an attack. Israel emerged victorious militarily. Many Palestinians were displaced or fled Israel, losing their homes. From the Palestinian perspective: the Nakba—the catastrophe. At the same time, many Jewish people fled from the surrounding Arab countries to Israel because they were being threatened and attacked. From the Israeli perspective: the birth of a safe homeland. Since then, this land, which holds two stories within it, has been a place without peace. And anyone who tells only one of the two turns history into a meme.
Fuck Netanyahu. Fuck Hamas.
We have to stop equating entire societies with their governments. After all, you’re not Friedrich Merz either. At the same time, governments don’t just fall from the sky—they always reflect aspects of their society. Many Germans think the CDU is okay. In Israel, around one million people voted for the Likud party—and thus for Netanyahu—in 2022. Hamas was elected in 2006 with 44% of the vote and has prevented new elections ever since. After the massacre on October 7, support for Hamas has actually risen. And for the sake of completeness: so has support for Netanyahu. That’s uncomfortable, but it’s reality.
Does that mean everyone bears the same responsibility? Of course not. But we cannot console ourselves with the idea that there are, on one side, only completely innocent victims. Our task is to look closely: Who is fighting for peace where, and who is resisting hatred and violence? We should ally ourselves with these people. And that is neither Hamas nor the Israeli government.
Even though it is advisable to draw a clear line between the two forces, this should not give the impression that the Likud Party and Hamas are in any way the same: Hamas is a terrorist organization that oppresses the Palestinian people and inflicts suffering upon them. Likud is an elected party in a democratic parliament that is (up until now) subject to the rule of law. Making this distinction does not mean condoning it.
Violence against innocent people is part of the conflict—we must acknowledge and condemn it, even if it does not fit into our own worldview. And as long as Hamas and Likud, along with Netanyahu, remain in power, there is no end in sight to the violence.
Don’t fall into despair, start to doubt
We, too, had our share of doubts. Can we do this topic justice? Can we contribute something constructive? Should we include left-wing infighting or focus on the conflict in the Middle East? Should we just leave it out? Or would we be taking the easy way out by omitting this very conflict from an issue dedicated to contradictions?
Doubt protects us from becoming stubborn assholes. We’re not talking about uncertainty, spinelessness, or self-doubt, but about doubt in the best sense of the word: questioning, re-examining, becoming suspicious, and being open to other and new interpretations. Especially for people on the left, this should be an everyday tool. Unfortunately, we often observe the opposite: the conviction that we’re on the right side causes every doubt to wither away, every contradictory situation to be reduced to a single interpretation, and every other perspective to appear hostile.
At demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine, antisemites and supporters of terrorism are visibly present. At demonstrations in solidarity with Israel, one encounters right-wingers and racists. And in between stand leftists who are not driven to doubt or despair by this, but who instead ignore and deny it.
Some of your closest friends are antisemitic and racist
Antisemitism has a long history in the Middle East (which, by the way, is linked to German National Socialism) and exists on a shocking scale: It is no coincidence that most Arab countries still refuse to make peace with the only Jewish state on earth. Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel in its founding charter and fuels antisemitism in Gaza. For decades, children there have been indoctrinated with hatred of Jews from birth. For Israelis, the threat of antisemitism is not an abstract buzzword, but a daily reality: Rockets are fired at Israel on a regular basis—and not just since October 7. Without Israel’s air defense system, the Iron Dome, the country would no longer exist.
In recent decades, right-wing and far-right voices and parties in Israel have gained strength. Ultra-Orthodox groups have become more influential and advocate for a “Greater Israel”: Instead of a two-state solution, they lay claim to the entire country—and in some cases, even territories beyond its borders. Many Israelis do not view Palestinians as equals but dehumanize them. Inhuman language has found its way into the Israeli parliament and public discourse. The shockingly brutal violence perpetrated by settlers has increased dramatically and is often tolerated by the Israeli legal system. In short: racism is rampant.
And even you and your Antifa group, neighborhood initiative, study group, or left-wing bar are not immune to antisemitism and racism. Many people are not very sensitive to antisemitism in particular because they fail to recognize it—and often even believe that people on the left cannot be antisemitic.
In Germany, antisemitism is often shifted onto others. People on the left prefer to pin it on the right and skillfully turn a deaf ear when terms like “Zionazi” and similar antisemitic slurs are thrown around at Antifa gatherings. The conservative camp, on the other hand, shifts the blame onto “migrant demonstrations” and feels reassured when the police crack down on them with extreme violence. Of course, we’re not on their side. At the same time, it’s often the police alone who protect synagogues from attacks (and even then, not very well, as in the case of the Halle attack). That’s important, and yet the cops are not our friends—another uncomfortable contradiction for the left. The fact that most of those in government aren’t really concerned with fighting antisemitism becomes clear, if nothing else, from the massive budget cuts to educational programs against antisemitism. The only strategy in Germany right now is repression, preferably against the supposedly “right” people. But taking antisemitism seriously does not mean misusing it as a weapon against “the others” while skillfully overlooking it in other contexts—the same applies to racism.
Great. So now what?!
We have a fundamental critique of nation-states and believe that we can only put an end to violence by putting an end to nationalist thinking. So how should we view a conflict that revolves around state-building, state power, and national claims?
To put it plainly: Israel is a democracy and, at the same time, an occupying power. Hamas emerged from a resistance movement and is, at the same time, a terrorist organization. Both Palestinians and Jews are victims of displacement. There have been and continue to be Palestinians and Israelis who have actively opposed the peace process through bloody violence—and at the same time, there are those who actively advocate for peace and coexistence. And there are people around the world who have nothing to do with the conflict but are blamed for it and attacked because of their religion or background.
It’s not about having the “right” opinion right away. It’s about breaking the habit of immediately siding with Team A or Team B. It’s about listening more and verifying sources. And it’s about accepting that some conflicts don’t fit into an Instagram Story. Above all, we need to stop accusing other leftists of fascism just because they have a slightly different opinion. We need empathy and the ability to tolerate contradictions without becoming indifferent. Of course, there are red lines in a discussion that we should draw. But beyond that, we should also treat each other with goodwill again. We should strive to find common ground on which to build a debate. What unites us? More “both-and” instead of “either-or.” Instead of “We have the solution”: We refuse to go along with the wrong solutions. We must move away from the “state-versus-state” logic, because nation-states generally do not act in our best interests. While an end to nationalism is desirable, it is not currently in sight. So let’s work with what we have: solidarity with all people who stand against violence and advocate for peaceful coexistence. Such people exist in Palestine, and they exist in Israel.
For further reading:
Hamza Howidy: Muscheln am Strand von Gaza. 2026. 24 €
To follow:
Instagram: @standing.together.english | @realignforpalestine | @kes_berlin | @parentscirclefriendsde |@buildersofmideast | @themizrahistory
