THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES 2023, dir. Francis Lawrence

"It is the best 3 billion dollar investment we make. Were there not an Israel, we would have to INVENT an Israel." - Joe Biden, 1986

im a white jew, i was born in israel, ive lived there all my life and was brought up in an environment that fosters racism driven by nationalism, nationalism driven by racism. in israel, they teach you jews and muslims (though usually, they just say arabs) have always been enemies, the same way the US deems the entire middle east as a inherent war zone, ridding them of the responsibility for perpetuating war in thst region.

they tell you "were the fair and humane side who strives for peace! its the arabs who never accept the offer!" i remember the first i began doubting that sentiment was in fourth grade, when we were having a discussion in class about the character of Saul from the Torah. the teacher was talking about how Saul, the first monarch of the Kingdom of Israel, used to fight the Philistines, and when she added that the Philistines were the natural enemy of the Israelites, she asked the class what group of people is their modern equivalent to which everyone very eagerly replied "Arabs!" and nevermind that there in that same class sat two arab boys, one of whom sat next to me, who i looked at and thought "but he isnt my enemy? hes just a boy in my class." they teach you to hate arabs. sometimes they say it outright. sometimes they say it more carefully, or make a distinction between good and bad arabs, those who are with us and those who are against us. in a state based on the idea of (white) jewish supremacy, they teach you jews are naturally superior. they use the conspiratorial narrative of "jews controlling the world" to their favor, giving their own watered down explanation for why antisemitism exists, saying that it must be driven by jealousy.

the zionist movement always used antisemitism for its advantage, either for reinforcing the notion of jewish supremacy or appealing to the real pain and trauma of generations, people who survived the holocaust, connecting them to stolen land where they are "guaranteed" safety ergo granting "justification" for the suffering of others. its using peoples real pain that makes fear mongering so effective, and when the israeli population grows up being told all of their neighboring countries want to kill them, they quickly get defensive of the "only land where they can feel safe", but the only explanation ever provided for Why these neighboring countries are considered enemies is because theyre arabs.

and when it comes to palestine, it isnt even recognized as a country, nor identity. just a threat. ive talked to many people who are genuinely unaware of the occupation, and theyre arent willing to believe it either, because the media narrative has successfully shifted the blame on hamas. because "how could it be us? we want peace! its the terrorists who make us look bad! and their children, they grow up to be antisemites*, might as well get rid of them too!" they never stop to think what environment these children must grow up in to develop these "radical" ideas. * what they mean by antisemite is really just antizionist, but the term anti/zionist isnt practiced in local dialect, being a zionist is treated as a given any jew who stands against israels oppression is dubbed a self hating jew, but the biggest contributors to antisemitism is the people in charge of an ethnostate, because at any moment they could decide who is not white enough to be jewish, who is too jewish to be white, who stood against the current coalition government and who is an obedient dog. israelis arent a monolith, but many of them have been won over, convinced its an "us v them" situation, when in reality it could never be the "us" that "loses" the israeli governemnt was waiting for an event like the massacre on the seventh of october to declare war, to have the so called "right to defend itself", so they could initiate the final steps of an ethnic genocide and displace, if not kill, all remaining palestinians. under the guise of bringing peace. it isnt too late to call for a ceasefire.

please contact your representatives, attend protests and rallies if you are able. palestine will be free, and the flowers will rise again.

I'm gonna tell you a secret.....

i do not pity israel. never have, and never will.

each night that gaza experiences is deadlier than the last, as idf soldiers record propaganda tiktoks, make rave parties and grwms and fit checks, gloat over having food and water, and film themselves deriving sadistic pleasure from torturing their hostages and victims and desecrating the dead.

Palestinians have to display their martyred before the camera for you to believe the atrocities that the zionist entity has subjected them to. they cannot even mourn in private. the apartheid entity murders them in cold blood, and you deliver the killing blow by doubting them.

babies whose families have been killed will never get to know their own name.

i can't reshare a tenth of the videos and photos that cross my timeline. i have seen more dead children in the past month than i have known death my entire life.

israeli settlers burn olive trees, bomb bakeries and fishing boats, shower white phosphorus and earthquake bombs on the captive civilians of gaza. you already know about the disastrous effects of white phosphorus, but earthquake bombs were last used during ww2 to wipe out entire cities.

how holy is the land that seeks to be built over the mass graves of thousands of children? is it holier than the miracle of a child being born in this hypocritical world?

all 11 universities in gaza have been bombed. academics should be agitating right now, especially those who call themselves "decolonial thinkers." destruction of universities is a sinisterly deliberate act to sabotage the Palestinians who will survive this great catastrophe.

the act of cleansing your hands before prayer is extremely important to muslims. no part of us can remotely comprehend the grief of the mother who refused to wash her hands from the blood of her children after losing them in a zionist airstrike over gaza. "I swear I won't wash them, I won't wash my hands, how else am I supposed to sleep near my kids."

it is only both moral and right when one side defends itself. the other side are the price of war, no better than insects and cattle and sheep left to die within the four walls of the slaughterhouse.

this situation should not be up for debate, but let me finish with one final thing : do your research about Palestine. HOWEVER. you do not need a degree in middle east studies to object to an ongoing genocide. if someone outwits you in a debate about historical details and every nuance of a subject, you were and will remain entirely correct in objecting to a genocide.

may those martyred rest in peace and be reunited again with their loved ones in heaven's eternal vastness.

DO NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT PALESTINE.

glory to Palestinian resistance. from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

Back to our regularly scheduled "what should we be boycotting" posting - a couple of hours ago (today, Wednesday 8th November) the BDS movement has put together a definitive explainer on which companies it is currently targeting, splitting companies into four categories and explaining why each company is being targeted and also what each category means for consumers, institutions, etc.

PLEASE NOTE: The BDS movement is the official, strategic, coordinated boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign created by the BDS National Committee of Palestine. If you want to take part in boycotts and other forms of pressure against corporations in your efforts to help free Palestine, use this organisation's advice as your official and primary source. Other common boycott campaigns such as the "Big Three" (McDonalds, Disney, Starbucks) are at best incomplete and at worst actively contradictory representations of this targeted boycott campaign that we should all be aiming to follow for maximum efficacy and impact.

I have bolded where "big three" companies appear in this new release in order to clarify what action the BDS recommends for each.

click this link to read the explainer.

If, for whatever reason, you can't or don't want to click the link, here's a quick summary:

CONSUMER TARGETS: the BDS movement calls for a complete boycott of the following brands

DIVESTMENT TARGETS: governments, institutions, and investment funds should exclude and divest from as many complicit companies as is practical

PRESSURE (NON-BOYCOTT) TARGETS: for strategic reasons the BDS movement does not call for a complete boycott of these brands & services. they should be subjected to other forms of pressure until they end their complicity in Israeli apartheid

GRASSROOTS ORGANIC BOYCOTT TARGETS: other boycotts not organised by BDS. If these campaigns are not already organically active in your area, focus your energies on the strategic campaigns above.

Starbucks continues to not be officially mentioned by the BDS Movement. The boycott of Starbucks primarily stems from its decision to sue its union for using the company's name and branding in pro-Palestine posts. As another grassroots organic boycott campaign, albeit not one openly acknowledged thus far by the BDS Movement itself, my personal recommendation would be to treat it like other campaigns in that category - i.e. continue boycotting & encouraging others to do so if there is already an organically active campaign in your area, but please keep the "official" BDS boycott list as your main focus.

decolonizepalestine.com is an easy to navigate website run by two palestinians which breaks down common myths about palestine and provides a reading list organized by a wide variety of categories ranging from history and culture to media and censorship. it’s a good starting point to use if you want to learn more about the modern day situation in palestine and understand the truth behind myths that have been perpetuated about israel’s occupation of palestine.

don’t just reblog this, please take time to actually read through the website. it’s the least you can do as palestinians are being killed by the thousands and world leaders are turning a blind eye to a genocide happening in real time. i’ve seen the headlines about the israeli airstrike on al-ahli hospital that killed hundreds of palestinians change in real time, with western media outlets refusing to call it what it is— a war crime. the tide seems to be shifting a little bit in regards to media making excuses for israel to commit these atrocities which is probably because of how much people are showing out for palestine.

please read and share and pray that we see a free palestine in our lifetimes.

visiting my best friends 🤪 (i went to the bookstore alone and saw the raven cycle)

AU: Six of Crows as a Tumblr Network  [click for higher quality]