Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
By Yasmina Mrabet
Washington D.C- These are what I see as the Top 5 signs that you're talking about the Israeli massacre in Gaza, Palestine with someone who is willfully ignorant and/or has little or no common sense. Each one is accompanied with a short, recommended response:
1. When they tell you "Israel isn't targeting civilians it's targeting those Hamas terrorists."
Respond with: The statement you just made is completely false. Israel is in fact targeting civilians as evidenced by the fact that approximately 80% of casualties are civilian including hundreds of children. If you don't believe that Israel is targeting civilians, please refer to the following sources (HRW: Israel targets fleeing Palestinian civilians and "Israel Targets Civilians, the Casualties Speak Volumes": Int’l Protection Urged for Besieged Gaza).
to start with, and please feel free to ask for more if they aren't enough.
2. When they tell you "Israel is surrounded by hostile Arab countries that can attack it so it has to protect itself."
Respond with: The statement you just made is completely false. Even if all Arab countries combined their militaries and collectively attacked Israel, Israel would still win. Israel has the 4th strongest military in the world, and along with North Korea, India, and Pakistan, Israel is NOT a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, and the United States has historically turned a blind eye to Israel's nuclear arsenal.
3. When they tell you "Those Palestinians shouldn't have those terrorist rockets and tunnels."
Respond with: The statement you just made is neither here nor there. The rockets fired from Gaza rarely kill anyone. Please refer to civilian death toll in Israel: 3 civilians out of a total of 64 killed so far vs. civilian death toll in Palestine: 1,500 civilians 84% of 1800 total killed so far + 10,000 injured. Gaza has tunnels that have historically been used to smuggle in basic goods supplies supplies that Palestinians have no access to because they are living in the world's largest open air prison due to Israel's criminal siege. Please do more research on what life is like for Palestinians under Israeli siege and occupation, and what life is like right now for Palestinians in Gaza who are experiencing a holocaust.
4. When they tell you "Israel is our best ally so America needs to protect it."
Respond with: The statement you just made is completely false. Israel conducts aggressive espionage activities against the United States, and our unjustified support for Israel has fostered hatred and resentment toward the United States from all around the world. Israel is in fact America's biggest liability.
5. When they tell you "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East"
Respond with: The statement you just made is completely false. A state build on an system of institutionalized racism - in other words, an apartheid state, is incapable of being a "democracy."
NOTE: It is best to keep your answers short, and not to engage in a long discussion in these scenarios, because 9 times out of 10 you're talking to someone who has no intention of having a meaningful conversation. Rather, their intention is to try and force you to accept the erroneous narrative that Israel and Palestine somehow have equal power and equal responsibility in this conflict.
Please feel free to add to this list in the comments!
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed