Is America’s Unwavering Support for Israel Grounded in its Own Bloody History?

Down a Grotesque Memory Lane

Remembering Israel’s colonial legacy is crucial to contextualise the recent retaliation by Hamas, the Operation Al-Aqsa flood, in response to which the IDF is bombing Gaza into oblivion.

A photo essay documenting dark chapters of American history, putting them into context with Israeli aggression against Palestinians.

Starving people into Submission

“Every Dead Buffalo is an Indian Gone”
- America, 1870

“We are putting a complete siege on Gaza … No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it’s all closed.”
- Israel, 2023

Gatekeeping Water

Water under siege in Iraq, 2003: In Basra, the Anglo-American blockade deprived 1M residents of safe drinking water. Black Water Fever spread like wildfire in Nasiriyah, Najaf, Karbala, Hilla, Amara and Baghdad.

Only 1% of Gaza’s population has access to safe drinking water. (World Bank). Israeli water supply averages only 1.5 days of water supply per week. (UNICEF). The Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip since 2007 has resulted in the contamination of 97% of Gaza’s water.

Re-Education

“Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” was the mindset under which the U.S. government forced tens of thousands of Native American children to attend “assimilation” boarding schools in the late 19th century. They were forbidden to use their names, speak their languages, or practice their religion and culture. In 1885, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hiram Price said, “It is cheaper to give them education than it is to fight them.”

Yifat Shasha-Biton, in June 2022 cancelled the operating licenses of six schools in eastern Jerusalem due to “incitement” in textbooks. Texts claimed, among other things, that Israel was denying water to Palestinians and preventing ambulances from reaching injured people. Several other schools were given conditional yearly licenses. If they made the required changes to their textbooks, they’d again be granted permanent licenses.

“In theory, they’re educating, but in practice what they’re teaching is horrible incitement…children are not born with hate, said Hirsch, “but they are taught to hate. They are brainwashed to see Jews as evil, as the sons of apes and pigs, thieves who stole their land. When you push those really disastrous messages, then the path to terror is virtually guaranteed.”
Said IDF Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, in an infamous statement on Arab Schools in East Jerusalem. The Tzemach group has repeatedly called the PA study materials the “foundational layer” of incitement and advocated for greater government control over syllabi in Israeli schools.

Disegard for Civilian Lives

CIA Drones flattened a Madrassa in Chenegai, Bajaur Agency, Pakistan, in 2006. Their target was reportedly the headmaster, allegedly, a known militant. The strike killed 80 civilians, 69 of them children, with the youngest only seven years old.

Palestinian health officials said more than 900 people have been killed, with 4,250 wounded since Saturday. Israel has destroyed 6 hospitals, 17 mosques, 67 schools, and 4 universities. 1290 homes have been flattened, whilst 10,800 are partially damaged.

Discriminatory Laws

In America, there have been historical bans on gun ownership by Native Americans and Catholics. In the West Bank, only the Palestinian security apparatus is allowed to own arms, as dictated by the Oslo Accords. However, the Israeli government continues to arm white colonial settlers.

Atrocity Propaganda

Forced Confessions

Rape and Sexual Abuse as a Tool of War

Desecrating the Dead

There are videos of Palestinian prisoners, stripped, tied up, and corpses numbered, and a car being driven over a dead Palestinian man. (Not posting due to excessively graphic content.) For context, the woman in question in the community note is alive. News of her murder was false. Other claims include she was “stripped” — however, Shani Louk appears to be in the same outfit at the rave and when she was taken by Hamas.

Information Warfare

Last but not least, the war for public opinion — besides the propagation of unverified news, on-record instances of doctored evidence, and coerced confessions, we are seeing a mass campaign of censorship. Proof of Israel’s atrocities is being taken down by Twitter every day. Instagram is flagging most content related to Palestine as sensitive. Local voices are being silenced, as algorithms pick up on favourable narratives. It is reminiscent of the American lobby’s hold on social media during the time of the Arab Springs and the War on Terror.

May peace prevail, and may colonialism end around the world. May the people of Palestine live and breathe free from the Israeli occupation. May we live to see the day when all Muslims, Christians and Jews can visit the holy city of Jerusalem in peace.