My journey with Palestine started when I was on exchange with Tel Aviv University. On my way from Nablus to Jerusalem I saw olive trees burning, settlers waving Israeli flags and tanks guarding Palestinian streets. Nothing added up with the narrative I was fed in Germany.
I had no idea about settler colonialism, occupation and white supremacy. The more time I spent in Tel Avivian bars whilst Gaza was just south of where I lived, the more uncomfortable I became with me living there.
Some of my Israeli profs at TAU were on black lists by the gvt for being critical. My friends at Haifa University were told not to visit the Arab districts because it was „too dangerous“. If they would visit the West Bank they would have lost their stipends.
Black and Latino exchange students were the only ones in the group to be taken for further questioning at the airport. Racist comments against Arabs + Palestinians were ubiquitous.
In Hebron, my friends saw Palestinians murdered at the hands of Israeli soldiers. One time on my from Bethlehem to Hebron, my car was going thr/ tear gas and snipers pointing at us.
Another Palestinian friend was denied entry to #Gaza for wanting to visit his family who he‘d not seen in years. Until today, he is not allowed in.
I only later found out that the water I used in Tel Aviv was sourced from Palestinians. My own university was built on Palestinian homes ethnically cleansed in 1948. The body of Ahmed Erakat is still held hostage in freezers inside the uni.
*Nothing* makes sense when you try to understand why Israel operates as it does without understanding settler colonialism. It‘s a thread weaving through all aspects of life in the territory.
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