Our kids and grandkids will probably be having these same discussions. Most of the comments would likely be interchangeable with the ones we’re posting now.
The whole ‘who are/aren’t the colonists?’ discussion is fruitless. Why would any of them accept those labels any more than any of us here when called ‘settlers’? The reality is nearly everyone alive there now was born after the modern state of Israel was created, and after a sizeable Palestinian population existed in Gaza and the West Bank. The people are there, none are willing to go anywhere not cede territory. Any meaningful discussion needs to start from an acceptance, even if only a grudging one, of this fact set.
There are two groups trying to occupy a fair bit of the same space who too frequently deny each others’ basic humanity. They’ll keep killing each other long after we’re all done talking about it.
The whole ‘who are/aren’t the colonists?’ discussion is fruitless. Why would any of them accept those labels any more than any of us here when called ‘settlers’? The reality is nearly everyone alive there now was born after the modern state of Israel was created, and after a sizeable Palestinian population existed in Gaza and the West Bank. The people are there, none are willing to go anywhere not cede territory. Any meaningful discussion needs to start from an acceptance, even if only a grudging one, of this fact set.
There are two groups trying to occupy a fair bit of the same space who too frequently deny each others’ basic humanity. They’ll keep killing each other long after we’re all done talking about it.