I Won’t Let Them Brainwash Me

Assalamu alaikum. I’m not totally sure if this belongs here, but I know how deeply Palestine is connected to Islam. If it’s not a good fit, I don’t mind it being removed. I grew up in Nazareth, in occupied Palestine. I’m not Jewish-I’m Catholic, same as my family, though we have some Muslim relatives too. And I’m brown. Because I’m brown and Catholic, people often see me as Palestinian, and that’s brought a lot of discrimination my way. It’s why I can see straight through the brainwashing they push on us from childhood. Israel is absolutely an ethno-state that puts white-skinned Israeli Jews first. I refuse to be brainwashed. We don’t choose where we’re born, but we can choose which side of history we stand on. You’d have to be crazy to support the Israeli government, even if you’re Israeli yourself. The olive tree is native to this land. 66% of Israeli Jews say they have breathing problems from olive tree pollen, but only 14% of Palestinian Arabs have these allergies. The Middle East is hot. 68% of Israeli Jews report getting sunburns every year, and skin cancer is one of the top causes of death there. Palestinians don’t even need sunscreen-their leading cause of death isn’t skin cancer, it’s Israeli drones. You can say you’re native to a land all you want, but when your own body can’t handle the climate and that’s a major killer, and the people you call “dangerous terrorists” aren’t dying from the environment but from your military… it says a lot. And let me be clear: October 7th was a heartbreaking tragedy. I hate Hamas. So many innocent lives were lost. But the Israeli government totally used that tragedy as an excuse to ethnically cleanse Palestinians. How disgusting does a government have to be to use the deaths of our loved ones as a reason to make Palestinians mourn their own loved ones? Taking advantage of a tragedy that never would have happened if they hadn’t treated Gazans like subhuman garbage for years. I’m not sure what kind of response this will get. I’m open to talking with anyone here about it, with respect and an open heart.