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Deniz Ertug
mother of cats

Who do you side with?

http://www.milliyet.com.tr/galeri/ve-istifa-geldi-tarihin-en-kotu-yenilgisi-6099863/17

The defeat of Jeremy Corbyn made my day. Bye bye Mr. Antisemite! Some might ask “Why would you care since you are living in Istanbul and you have no intention to move to the UK?” Yes, exactly. I don’t have any plans to move to there. But apart from being a hopeless philosemite, I also consider this as an important political triumph for all who respect human rights and cultural diversity.

Today if a pro-Hamas man who is friends with antisemites like Rachida Tlaib and İlhan Omar won, we would have so many reasons to worry about our future. I am writing “our future” because if a Jew isn’t safe, I am not safe either. Some people have a strange hobby of watching others suffer as if they will never get hurt. However, in history we have read many examples of people who do not care about what happens to others, pay the highest price in the end. I am not talking about karma or any eastern religious philosophy, neither am I interested in giving “ethical fatwas” to people because I have lived enough to see and know that the world is not always just. Nevertheless, I also believe in our strength to fight against these people who live to exploit others and build their lives upon their blood, tears and money. For my good hearted socialist comrades, there is no need for nostalgia, it is not getting worse and we were not living better in the good old days. Capitalism might have changed many things but right from the start it was always about the struggle “between the exploited and the exploiter”.

The left has a major problem when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We are unable to identify who the oppressor is correctly. As a leftist, I can never stand with the oppressor. That is the reason why I am not against Palestinians, but I am against the Palestinian Authority who doesn’t care the least for the future of Palestinian children. You should open your eyes comrades, Israel is not the oppressor, the Palestinian Authority is.

Now that they have “quite an authority”, what is their future plan for the Palestinians? The answer is simple: Terror and more terror. You all know the amount of financial support given to the PA and I am not talking about only the UNRWA but also about the money donated by many foundations internationally. With such a treasure in hand, what do they do? Which steps were taken to improve education, health system and daily life? What do they teach to their children? How to take back Jerusalem, why to hate Israelis, why Allah hates Jews etc. (I will ask just a simple question: How can Allah hate someone who He created himself in the first place?) No step taken for democracy. No room for opposition. The people who criticize the PA are either threatened, tortured, put in jail, killed. Is this the free Palestine you are fighting for comrades?

Any leftist who has a drop of humanity in his/her heart can not accept such a regime. For the sake of the Palestinian children who are as a result of this indoctrination, destined to become terrorists, I deny this regime. These children are not allowed to choose what kind of a life they would like to follow. I deny this criminal regime with my whole heart. Because Palestinian children deserve to live in a democracy. They deserve to get a good education which will transform them into people who have international and modern values.

There is a cliché in the leftist discourse that says “No child deserves to live in the shadow of bombs”. Yes but if the PA chooses to be the representative of a terrorist regime and keeps bombing Israel, what should Israel do in return? There is not one state in this world which would not protect itself from the external threats. If the PA makes wiser choices and spends its money on infrastructure, education, health, industrialization etc., rather than weapons, not one Palestinian child will live in the shadow of bombs. I hope that one day Palestinian children will also have a free, modern and democratic state like Israeli people managed to build for themselves.

For me, Israel should be a model for Palestinians. If the PA gives up its goal to become the one who terrorizes the region (with its big brother Iran), peace can be built between them. The leftists should reconsider their views of Israel. Instead of labeling Jews as imperialists, just Google the friends and supporters of the PA and its terrorists. Who are with the real imperialists? Who are using the imperialists’ money on new military equipment? Which side is abusing the old leftist paradigm of “the exploiter and the exploited?” It is always hard to swallow the truth. Before doing more harm to the left as a movement, think again: Who do you side with?

About the Author
I was born in Istanbul. I like drawing, writing, singing and collecting Lego. I am interested in existentialism, Judaism, yoga, literature and theatre. I am living with my parents, my elder sister and my cats.
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