About time the war in Palestine was covered. There have been protests across Sheffield for 6 months. Tens of Thousands raised at many fundraising events. People from all backgrounds and ages, experienced campaigners and first timers. People like me traumatized and devastated by lack of action by our so called political leaders, and the use of anti-Semitism as a threat to people who dare to challenge the Israeli state
Solidarity, Musheir. Thanks for this moving account. I hope the tragedy ends soon, for your loved-ones and all your fellow Palestinians. It's long past time.
As a side-note. It will be interesting to see if Starmer's Labour suffer at all (at the General in particular) for their immoral stance on Gaza. It's difficult to unpick this issue from all others affecting the polls (and obviously the Tories are going to get a rightful pasting).
But I will find it dispiriting if Labour come out with a thumping majority merely because the Conservatives are so awful. For many reasons... but on this issue alone - this issue in particular - they have disgraced themselves irredeemably. To respond to mass-killing with cynical opportunism, obfuscation and victim-blaming is nauseating. Starmer has blood on him. He can never wash that away. He'll have blood on him to his dying day.
So under our electoral system we can either "throw our votes away" on minor parties - or tacitly endorse genocide*. Personally I'll be "throwing my vote away" - and gladly.
*Or plausible genocide, no need to split hairs. Regardless of technicalities we all know it's a bloodbath.
Thank you for finally covering something that connects local activity (and complicity). People in Sheffield have been affected by what is happening all those miles away, are learning about the historic and current role of this country in the present situation and trying to spread awareness. So many of us feel helpless in the face of the horror and political attitudes and are glad to find ways to show support for Palestinians. In proud of Sheffield for this ......
This article about Musheir was very moving. I’ve just come back from visiting the holocaust memorial & other sites in Berlin relating to the torture & annihilation of Jews & many other groups before & during WW2. Why is it that we humans are so unable to recognise that our fellow humans are fundamentally just the same as us? Or is it that most of us do recognise that but that many of the people who come to power are more interested in their own personal position?
I arrived in Jordan on the 7th October 2023. I asked why there were 80,000 Pilipino men and women working in the hotels and no Palestinian men and women who I understood to be in need of work? I have visited both Israel and the area known as Palestine some 20 years ago. I have been fortunate to travel and observe humanity in all corners of the world. I believe there to be only one race and it is called the human race. Our cultures and beliefs however make some groups very different to other groups of people. Injustice is everywhere, including our own back yards. Musheir El-Farra is almost the same age as me, perhaps he can explain how his fellow citizens elected and tolerated Hamas in their community. Why did they celebrate the 9/11 act of terror? Perhaps The Tribune will give some space to cover the Sudan civil war where WFP have also experience deaths and sexual violence is common place (there are no reports yet of the the IDF committing such atrocities). You might have an article on Haiti or the general Islamist militancy in Africa. For most Europeans it is natural to be most concerned with the conflict in Ukraine. This is not due to ethnicity but geography. I would lastly ask Musheir El-Farra why the neighbouring countries and other middle east countries have not opened their borders to the Palestinians wishing to flee to safety. The Israelis might make it difficult to return but are unlikely to prevent the exit. I naturally wish Musheir El-Farra and all his family well.
>>>> Musheir El-Farra is almost the same age as me, perhaps he can explain how his fellow citizens elected and tolerated Hamas in their community.
They ran on a prospectus of basic good-governance. Many people voted for them simply looking for political stability, when Israel has deliberately undermined that stability for years. Netenyahu meanwhile propped them up because it was politically useful for him to have such an 'enemy'. Don't blame ordinary people for their government. Am I to blame that Tony Blair bombed Iraq to pieces?
>>>> Why did they celebrate the 9/11 act of terror?
Lazy slander. If any did - if - it's really trite to pretend that's how "all Palestinians" felt about it. A low jab.
>>>> Perhaps The Tribune will give some space to cover the Sudan civil war
"Whatabout". We don't pay enough heed to other conflicts - but it's cynical to use that as a deflection from talking about this one. And this one does have particular significance, in fact - because our politicians are running political cover for the bloodshed to continue, and we're providing arms to Israel. So it's totally appropriate to scrutinise and criticise the Gaza slaughter in particular; England and America are intimately involved. When I criticise Israel, I also criticise England and America.
>>>> where WFP have also experience deaths and sexual violence is common place (there are no reports yet of the the IDF committing such atrocities).
That's straightforwardly not true, though they don't tend to get much notice in mainstream press.
>>>> I would lastly ask Musheir El-Farra why the neighbouring countries and other middle east countries have not opened their borders to the Palestinians wishing to flee to safety.
Why SHOULD those countries?
Do you know how many refugees Jordan already supports? Millions.
Why should WE not open our borders to these Palestinians? Very straightforward question. Why should those countries bordering Palestine bear the burden of Israel's actions?
But no, it's unimaginable that England would ever have the moral fiber to provide a haven to so many refugees. We are too selfish. Too greedy. We are too small, as a people.
But then, why should these Palestinians be forced to flee to us, or anywhere? Especially when, as you say -
>>>> The Israelis might make it difficult to return but are unlikely to prevent the exit.
Ethnic cleansing is Israel's entire purpose. You're asking "why don't the Palestinians make it easier for Israel by exiting to a refugee camp across the border and politely dying there".
Paul - can you imagine yourself into the shoes of a citizen of Gaza? Can you maybe tell me what YOU would do in their place? How YOU would protect your family and community's interest?
Looking over all the comments I am struck by the lack of regret for the attack on Israel by Hamas and the chilling sense that this was negligible in the context of the Palestinian struggle for nationhood.
Your readers don’t appear to grasp the
history of how we got here and why.
But most of all the sense that Hamas are pursuing a legitimate long term political objective by any murderous means and your readers think that’s ok is depressing.
It saddens me, Mick, that that's the impression you have from the comments.
I think it's a given for most people - I'm sure for everyone here - that what happened to those Israeli citizens was absolutely tragic. That the people who perpetrated the attack are morally culpable.
But you suggest folks here don't 'grasp the history of how we got here and why'. I contest that. I think that the actions of Israel over countless years have rendered such an act of terrorism inevitable.
I do care about ordinary Israeli civilians. I don't want them to be attacked again. I would say that Israel's current actions do precisely nothing to protect against future terrorist attacks. In fact, I would say they achieve the polar opposite.
The safety of the hostages still in captivity, is absolutely crucial. But it is absolutely not paramount. The lives of every innocent person involved are of precisely equal value. And it is Israel presently scattering explosives as if life is a game.
I say it again. I care about Israeli citizens just as I care about Palestinians. I do consider what Israel is doing, with UK and US complicity, to be immoral. But I also believe it is making everybody less safe. It is making Israel less safe. You cannot slaughter and displace your way to peace and prosperity. It will never work! Israel simply must change, ideologically and politically, if it is to survive. I hope that happens, for everybody's sake.
The sheer coverage of death and destruction in Gaza and public displays of support do not seem to suggest that accusations of antisemitism are making people tiptoe around the view that Israel is the villain here. The fact remains that armed men based in Gaza’s raided Israel killing 1000 people and taking 250 hostages back into Gaza. Faced with an inevitable military retaliation Hamas chose not to release the hostages but dig into a heavily populated city.
What did they think would happen?
As to a just peace based on a secular state that is unlikely given the religious and historical belief that both sides have ancestral claims to the territory.
>>> The fact remains that armed men based in Gaza’s raided Israel killing 1000 people and taking 250 hostages back into Gaza. Faced with an inevitable military retaliation Hamas chose not to release the hostages but dig into a heavily populated city. What did they think would happen?
"What did they think would happen?" That's a question Israeli society could profitably ask itself. This story did not begin on October 7th. Armed men raided Israel and took hostages IN A CONTEXT. That of resisting a decades-long occupation - wherein for years, peaceful protest and politics have been met with scorn, violence and continual oppression.
What did they think would happen.
The occupation is not an excuse for the violence committed by Hamas. But it is crucial context. It's ludicrous to strip that context from what's happening. It renders obscure a situation which is very easily comprehended - if you look at it honestly. The violence of Hamas is wrong. But in turn, it is no excuse for the violence unleashed by Israel on the civilians imprisoned in Gaza.
Yes, I absolutely draw a moral comparison between the two sides. Both are using violence to try to achieve their ends.
But the division of power, is totally skewed. In terms of scale of killing and oppression, there is barely any comparison. Israel is the occupier, is vastly more powerful, and has actually created the context in which all of this tragedy has unfolded. It is Israel which must fundamentally change, if peace is to be achieved.
Thanks for this Linds - you've put it so much better than I could. And I too don't think I can vote for a Labour party which excuses the indiscriminate slaughter of thousands of children as self-defence
Jeremy Corbyn paid the price for having a nuanced view of the Israel/Palestine situation being labelled anti-Semitic. Starmer only cares about power. Bar a few brave MP's the rest are spineless.
About time the war in Palestine was covered. There have been protests across Sheffield for 6 months. Tens of Thousands raised at many fundraising events. People from all backgrounds and ages, experienced campaigners and first timers. People like me traumatized and devastated by lack of action by our so called political leaders, and the use of anti-Semitism as a threat to people who dare to challenge the Israeli state
Solidarity, Musheir. Thanks for this moving account. I hope the tragedy ends soon, for your loved-ones and all your fellow Palestinians. It's long past time.
As a side-note. It will be interesting to see if Starmer's Labour suffer at all (at the General in particular) for their immoral stance on Gaza. It's difficult to unpick this issue from all others affecting the polls (and obviously the Tories are going to get a rightful pasting).
But I will find it dispiriting if Labour come out with a thumping majority merely because the Conservatives are so awful. For many reasons... but on this issue alone - this issue in particular - they have disgraced themselves irredeemably. To respond to mass-killing with cynical opportunism, obfuscation and victim-blaming is nauseating. Starmer has blood on him. He can never wash that away. He'll have blood on him to his dying day.
So under our electoral system we can either "throw our votes away" on minor parties - or tacitly endorse genocide*. Personally I'll be "throwing my vote away" - and gladly.
*Or plausible genocide, no need to split hairs. Regardless of technicalities we all know it's a bloodbath.
Thank you for finally covering something that connects local activity (and complicity). People in Sheffield have been affected by what is happening all those miles away, are learning about the historic and current role of this country in the present situation and trying to spread awareness. So many of us feel helpless in the face of the horror and political attitudes and are glad to find ways to show support for Palestinians. In proud of Sheffield for this ......
Thanks Vicky and Tribune for finally highlighting the appalling situation in Gaza throught the experience and work of our amazing Musheir.
Thank you for this. Such an important issue
This article about Musheir was very moving. I’ve just come back from visiting the holocaust memorial & other sites in Berlin relating to the torture & annihilation of Jews & many other groups before & during WW2. Why is it that we humans are so unable to recognise that our fellow humans are fundamentally just the same as us? Or is it that most of us do recognise that but that many of the people who come to power are more interested in their own personal position?
I arrived in Jordan on the 7th October 2023. I asked why there were 80,000 Pilipino men and women working in the hotels and no Palestinian men and women who I understood to be in need of work? I have visited both Israel and the area known as Palestine some 20 years ago. I have been fortunate to travel and observe humanity in all corners of the world. I believe there to be only one race and it is called the human race. Our cultures and beliefs however make some groups very different to other groups of people. Injustice is everywhere, including our own back yards. Musheir El-Farra is almost the same age as me, perhaps he can explain how his fellow citizens elected and tolerated Hamas in their community. Why did they celebrate the 9/11 act of terror? Perhaps The Tribune will give some space to cover the Sudan civil war where WFP have also experience deaths and sexual violence is common place (there are no reports yet of the the IDF committing such atrocities). You might have an article on Haiti or the general Islamist militancy in Africa. For most Europeans it is natural to be most concerned with the conflict in Ukraine. This is not due to ethnicity but geography. I would lastly ask Musheir El-Farra why the neighbouring countries and other middle east countries have not opened their borders to the Palestinians wishing to flee to safety. The Israelis might make it difficult to return but are unlikely to prevent the exit. I naturally wish Musheir El-Farra and all his family well.
>>>> Musheir El-Farra is almost the same age as me, perhaps he can explain how his fellow citizens elected and tolerated Hamas in their community.
They ran on a prospectus of basic good-governance. Many people voted for them simply looking for political stability, when Israel has deliberately undermined that stability for years. Netenyahu meanwhile propped them up because it was politically useful for him to have such an 'enemy'. Don't blame ordinary people for their government. Am I to blame that Tony Blair bombed Iraq to pieces?
>>>> Why did they celebrate the 9/11 act of terror?
Lazy slander. If any did - if - it's really trite to pretend that's how "all Palestinians" felt about it. A low jab.
>>>> Perhaps The Tribune will give some space to cover the Sudan civil war
"Whatabout". We don't pay enough heed to other conflicts - but it's cynical to use that as a deflection from talking about this one. And this one does have particular significance, in fact - because our politicians are running political cover for the bloodshed to continue, and we're providing arms to Israel. So it's totally appropriate to scrutinise and criticise the Gaza slaughter in particular; England and America are intimately involved. When I criticise Israel, I also criticise England and America.
>>>> where WFP have also experience deaths and sexual violence is common place (there are no reports yet of the the IDF committing such atrocities).
That's straightforwardly not true, though they don't tend to get much notice in mainstream press.
https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/new-reports-confirm-months-of-israeli-torture-abuse-and-sexual-violence-against-palestinian-prisoners/
Thank you, Linds.
Cheers Joanna. Here's one more:
>>>> I would lastly ask Musheir El-Farra why the neighbouring countries and other middle east countries have not opened their borders to the Palestinians wishing to flee to safety.
Why SHOULD those countries?
Do you know how many refugees Jordan already supports? Millions.
Why should WE not open our borders to these Palestinians? Very straightforward question. Why should those countries bordering Palestine bear the burden of Israel's actions?
But no, it's unimaginable that England would ever have the moral fiber to provide a haven to so many refugees. We are too selfish. Too greedy. We are too small, as a people.
But then, why should these Palestinians be forced to flee to us, or anywhere? Especially when, as you say -
>>>> The Israelis might make it difficult to return but are unlikely to prevent the exit.
Ethnic cleansing is Israel's entire purpose. You're asking "why don't the Palestinians make it easier for Israel by exiting to a refugee camp across the border and politely dying there".
Paul - can you imagine yourself into the shoes of a citizen of Gaza? Can you maybe tell me what YOU would do in their place? How YOU would protect your family and community's interest?
A very good answer
Well done Tribune for running this piece.
Looking over all the comments I am struck by the lack of regret for the attack on Israel by Hamas and the chilling sense that this was negligible in the context of the Palestinian struggle for nationhood.
Your readers don’t appear to grasp the
history of how we got here and why.
But most of all the sense that Hamas are pursuing a legitimate long term political objective by any murderous means and your readers think that’s ok is depressing.
It saddens me, Mick, that that's the impression you have from the comments.
I think it's a given for most people - I'm sure for everyone here - that what happened to those Israeli citizens was absolutely tragic. That the people who perpetrated the attack are morally culpable.
But you suggest folks here don't 'grasp the history of how we got here and why'. I contest that. I think that the actions of Israel over countless years have rendered such an act of terrorism inevitable.
I do care about ordinary Israeli civilians. I don't want them to be attacked again. I would say that Israel's current actions do precisely nothing to protect against future terrorist attacks. In fact, I would say they achieve the polar opposite.
The safety of the hostages still in captivity, is absolutely crucial. But it is absolutely not paramount. The lives of every innocent person involved are of precisely equal value. And it is Israel presently scattering explosives as if life is a game.
I say it again. I care about Israeli citizens just as I care about Palestinians. I do consider what Israel is doing, with UK and US complicity, to be immoral. But I also believe it is making everybody less safe. It is making Israel less safe. You cannot slaughter and displace your way to peace and prosperity. It will never work! Israel simply must change, ideologically and politically, if it is to survive. I hope that happens, for everybody's sake.
The sheer coverage of death and destruction in Gaza and public displays of support do not seem to suggest that accusations of antisemitism are making people tiptoe around the view that Israel is the villain here. The fact remains that armed men based in Gaza’s raided Israel killing 1000 people and taking 250 hostages back into Gaza. Faced with an inevitable military retaliation Hamas chose not to release the hostages but dig into a heavily populated city.
What did they think would happen?
As to a just peace based on a secular state that is unlikely given the religious and historical belief that both sides have ancestral claims to the territory.
>>> The fact remains that armed men based in Gaza’s raided Israel killing 1000 people and taking 250 hostages back into Gaza. Faced with an inevitable military retaliation Hamas chose not to release the hostages but dig into a heavily populated city. What did they think would happen?
"What did they think would happen?" That's a question Israeli society could profitably ask itself. This story did not begin on October 7th. Armed men raided Israel and took hostages IN A CONTEXT. That of resisting a decades-long occupation - wherein for years, peaceful protest and politics have been met with scorn, violence and continual oppression.
What did they think would happen.
The occupation is not an excuse for the violence committed by Hamas. But it is crucial context. It's ludicrous to strip that context from what's happening. It renders obscure a situation which is very easily comprehended - if you look at it honestly. The violence of Hamas is wrong. But in turn, it is no excuse for the violence unleashed by Israel on the civilians imprisoned in Gaza.
Yes, I absolutely draw a moral comparison between the two sides. Both are using violence to try to achieve their ends.
But the division of power, is totally skewed. In terms of scale of killing and oppression, there is barely any comparison. Israel is the occupier, is vastly more powerful, and has actually created the context in which all of this tragedy has unfolded. It is Israel which must fundamentally change, if peace is to be achieved.
Thanks for this Linds - you've put it so much better than I could. And I too don't think I can vote for a Labour party which excuses the indiscriminate slaughter of thousands of children as self-defence
Jeremy Corbyn paid the price for having a nuanced view of the Israel/Palestine situation being labelled anti-Semitic. Starmer only cares about power. Bar a few brave MP's the rest are spineless.