It has been nearly a year since the genocide in Gaza. Global powers continue to support Israel, with the United States being a key ally, despite the growing awareness of the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people.
For decades, Israel has used political leverage, amplified by the global trauma of 9/11, to justify its ongoing occupation and destruction of the Middle East. Zionist settlers displaced, killed and ethnically cleansed Palestinians, using the argument of a “sacred land for Jews,” while ignoring that Palestine holds deep significance for all Abrahamic faiths — Christians, Muslims and Jews.
Historically, Arabs of all religions coexisted peacefully in the region until the arrival of European settlers, who shattered that harmony. Our people deserve peace; our people deserve the ability to dream. It is so embarrassing that the U.S. uses our struggle as an excuse for imperialism.
Over 80% of Gaza’s population consists of refugees from Palestinian cities that are currently occupied by Israeli settlers. On Oct. 7, 2023 Palestinians living in exile had enough oppression and decided to strike back. The Palestinians resisted their evil occupier and fought for their right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.
Suppose Israel can justify the genocide in Gaza for what Hamas did on Oct. 7. In that case, we must also recognize the broader context of the decades of oppression Palestinians have endured since 1948.
This year, 9/11 was especially painful, as an Arab in the diaspora. Since 9/11, the U.S. has justified butchering over 4.7 million Arabs all over the Middle East, putting it in shambles.
Our people have been suffering for decades, largely due to the intertwined policies of Israel and the U.S. On 9/11, the SLU College Republicans club put up a banner expressing solidarity with the fascist colonists’ regime that is ‘Israel,’ saying, ‘tolerance over terrorism.’
As a Middle Eastern student, the hypocrisy of this statement was jarring. More than 100,000 Palestinians have been murdered at the hands of Israeli forces over the years. Yet, the banner suggests a narrative of peace and tolerance that ignores the daily terror experienced in Gaza.
Every single day, I feel like I have seen the worst. From dismembered children and beheaded babies still in diapers to mothers and fathers crying for their dead children under the rubble. I still cry over Hind Rajab and how she was on the phone with paramedics when the IDF fired 355 rounds of bullets at the car that she and her family were in. I still hear the mother screaming that her child died hungry. I think about Mohamed Abeul-Qomasan, the man who lost his wife and four-day-old twins. The young boy, who was crying because he only went to the beach to clean his clothes, came back to find his mom killed.
My heart aches every single day. It is 9/11 every day in Gaza. Americans and Israelis have this disgusting complex that they are creators of peace; hearing them all preach tolerance over terrorism is so fucking painful as an Arab that grew up in the Middle East facing the disaster that the West left us in.
The U.S. and Israel are actively committing genocide, slaughtering thousands of children every day. Do they think we are stupid? Why must we believe that America is the beacon of hope all while they destroy entire nations for their benefit? Why should we remember tragedy on this day while millions of people have died thanks to U.S. terrorism? Both the U.S. and Israel are built on the ruins of past civilizations, sustained by oppression, exploitation and ethnic cleansing.
Their actions can no longer be hidden, as people worldwide become more and more aware of Western hypocrisy. You cannot fool us anymore. The only ones you can fool are white supremacists who will never be able to humanize us. It is insanely insulting for anyone to think that we will ever feel empathy for Israel. We are never letting this go; we are not going to stop fighting until Israel ceases to exist and all Palestinians go back to their land.
As I walk through campus, seeing posters that glorify Israel while my homeland is in ruins, it is a painful reminder that we, as Arabs, are seen as expendable in the eyes of the West. Zionists want to cry and say they feel unsafe on our campuses, even though they are the ones the U.S. kisses ass to. How can you feel unsafe when we Arabs are the ones who are, in real-time, being murdered by your people?
When we say never forget 9/11, we mean never forgetting the innocent lives taken from innocent families in the Middle East. Never forget the millions of lives lost in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and beyond. I will never forget 9/11 because our people are forced to remember every day.
