Wow, that first and last paragraph made my day! Thanks for sparing me the whacks. And for your kind assessment of my argument.

I do see your point about the parent/child interaction, as well as the fact that nothing can be divorced from context. However, said context doesn't begin with the Six Day War or with Sheikh Jarrah - it begins with the British signing away land that they didn't own, and giving it to a movement that very early on turned to military force to empty villages and claim settlements in a manner that shifted into violation of international law. I think any person who is already living on said land (for generations, I might add) would be well within their right to fight back.

I do feel that your argument focuses more on Hamas, and not on the Palestinian civilians who live as second class citizens under a regime that can be labeled as apartheid. I don't feel that this is a fair angle to take. Many, many Palestinians disagree with Hamas while still being fully against the policies of the Israeli government. As for the argument that we're not looking at a snapshot in time, I feel that in situations of emergency, dredging up history becomes counterproductive. As a parallel example, India (my parents' home country) is facing a rise in Hindu extremism that has led to a rise in anti-Muslim lynch mobs (the Delhi riots of last year were only the beginning). When I have tried to raise awareness about it, I've been told that I'm conveniently leaving out the entire history of conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India. Which is not, of course, the point of my message. My intent is to address a human rights violation as it is.

So yes, Israel has faced aggression. But as a nation backed by the world's other very powerful and very rich nations, one that receives billions of dollars in aid every year, and one that boasts a highly advanced airstrike defense system, I don't see how this puts into context their level of retaliation against a virtually defenseless group of people. Especially not with the sort of carnage Gaza has faced in the last few days of Ramadan. Israel often plays the "we're being attacked too" card, and while it is true, I don't believe we can say that the underdog is not the oppressed in this situation. The Palestinian loss of life, land, and infrastructure is far too high for that.

I do appreciate your advice on dialoguing. And I'm very grateful that you've taken the time to respond to me. I know you must be busy, so if this convo goes in circles please let me know haha. I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time.

Thanks for conversing with me!

~ a person

( I lied, I'm not really a mongoose)