Thread by @Ossermania

I returned from a trip to visit family in Israel two weeks ago. On Saturday, I learned that my niece barely managed to escape that infamous rave alive, by hiding as dead. Two of her friends were not as lucky - they are currently hostage in Gaza.

My mother shared the news with me over the phone. I was huddled in a corner struggling to hear, because I was, of all places, at a queer rave in London.

My friend Rivkah's tweet has come under a lot of attack for seemingly supporting the murder of Israeli civilians. She has offered a clarification against this.

https://twitter.com/rivkahbrown/status/1711088411036057961

In the spirit of friendship, I want to offer a critical reflection on left wing commentary about these events.

It should be (and sadly it isn't) taken as given that Israel's apartheid regime has brought this violence upon itself. You cannot indiscriminately murder, maim, abuse, and imprison a people forever, while denying any genuine prospect for the peaceful negotiation of their freedom.

So of course, watching from afar and with limited means of intervening, we cheer on resistance fighters. The media rarely shows us the humanity of the countless murdered Palestinians: their lives, their families, what they liked to do for fun.

https://twitter.com/stats_feed/status/1711328353288892702

But for those of us who call ourselves socialists and internationalists, we have a duty not just to side with the oppressed -- but to support in particular the strivings of workers and ordinary people for democratic control over their lives and livelihoods.

This also means we must call out when their interests are being misrepresented by reactionary forces. Hamas is a right wing organisation that has filled the void in Palestinian leadership owing to the bankruptcy of Fatah.

They're killing and holding hostage ordinary civilians, including Bedouin Palestinians and anti-occupation activists. Their armed wing is a secretive, unaccountable militia now deploying ISIS tactics in a gamble they know will cost many Palestinian lives.

https://twitter.com/reider/status/1711324697835585938

There were likely factional motivations at play; some speculate a popular uprising was building so Hamas acted first to maintain control. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Israel is now entertaining the genocidal destruction of Gaza. For the sake of Palestinian liberation, I hope Hamas's gamble pays off.

But there is an emotional currency involved in cheerleading for this group that I don't think comes solely from solidarity with Palestinians. It is tied up in anger towards the West's hypocritical support for Israel and often - for Jews like myself - anger towards our own family.

While much of this anger is legitimate, its blinding force can mislead us. The clearest example comes from the schandefreude towards the killing of the ravers at the Gazan border. Aren't these ignorant, hedonistic Zionists just getting what's theirs?

https://twitter.com/broseph_stalin/status/1710963109194592753

At this point we need to ask: what is the difference between our support for resistance and infantile bloodlust?

https://twitter.com/tamars/status/1710964645425467880

It was a foolish decision for me to stay at that London rave after I received the phone call, struggling to process the news surrounded by blaring techno. But I don't think I deserve to die for it. Neither did they.