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To my Jewish friend (you know who you are)

Blood and and discarded belongings are left behind at a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 24, 2014. Israeli tank shells hit the compound, killing more than a dozen people and wounding dozens more who were seeking shelter from fierce clashes on the streets outside, Palestinian officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Blood and and discarded belongings are left behind at a U.N. school in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 24, 2014. Israeli tank shells hit the compound, killing more than a dozen people and wounding dozens more who were seeking shelter from fierce clashes on the streets outside, Palestinian officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

To my Jewish friend (you know who you are),

I waited for you to inquire about my family…you didn’t. Not even a private message, not a phone call.

I checked your Facebook page, wow…not one post about the massacres in Gaza. Some dinner party shots, something about ISIS and Syria but nothing about Gaza. Even though, it has been bombed for three weeks in your name.

I waited for you to ask how I was coping, you didn’t. I cope better on some days than others. I try to keep busy and I only sleep when I crash. My grandfather’s house was partly bombed, but like Gaza it is still standing…for now. Our land was destroyed…lots of new trees gone old trees gone but who cares about trees when lives are shattered. I waited for you to ask, but you didn’t.

My cousins spent the night on the eve of Eid huddled with their children under the kitchen sink as three bombs were dropped from an F16 over the apartment building they were seeking shelter in. They “survived” although that word is open for interpretation.

Over a thousand people killed mostly civilians …. entire neighbourhoods demolished bombed… but you didn’t ask.

All I can say is next time you visit Israel and enjoy yourself think of this: lots of blood has been spilled in your name and for your privilege.

A version of this post originally appeared on Facebook

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That would make a great song.

the theme reminds me of this
http://jonimitchell.com/music/song.cfm?id=48

Well written and beautifully expressed Samah. My heart goes to you, your family, and the thousands and thousands of Palestinians who are going through this inhumane treatment, pain and suffering. It must be hard to face every day wondering if your home, your family, and you yourself, will be shattered by the end of the day, and if you will live to see another sunrise. No people on earth, should be tortured this way.
I am ashamed that my country is complicit in this slaughter going on right now, and our leaders showing their shameless faces to us, professing undying love and devotion, to those who have kept you all in captivity, and who keep stealing all your resources.
I apologize for the crimes we commit against you by our aid and weapons, and that our leaders keep supporting the criminals so they keep these crimes going. I hope you and your family will continue to be safe, in fact I wish ALL Palestinians will be, although reality is another story. The Palestinians deserve to have rights, their freedom, and live normal lives, like the freedoms enjoyed by their occupier.

Liberal on everything but Israel? There’s a name for that!
By Katie Halper
Tuesday, July 29, 2014 8:00 EDT

Do you feel dovish most of the time but suddenly hawkish when it comes to Israel? Are you critical of the Democrats for being too centrist but supportive of Likud? Do your liberal ideas apply to every issue except for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

If you answered yes to the questions above, you may be a PEP (Progressive Except on Palestine).

But you are not alone! PEPism is extremely common, especially among liberal Jews. In fact, if you are a liberal Jew, there is a high probability that this syndrome runs in your family. If you aren’t a PEP, you likely have some relatives who are. Though not genetic, PEPism is sometimes, though not always, passed down from one generation to the next. Two PEPs will frequently, but not necessarily, have PEP offspring, some of whom will outgrow the condition. Conversely, occcasionally, the offspring of two PEPs will experience an adverse reaction, manifesting in hyper-keffiyeh use and fetishization of all things Arab.

The onset of PEPism varies. Children of PEPs tend to manifest symptoms as pre-teens. People who do not come from PEP parentage might experience a later onset, especially following a Birth Right trip or, in later years, after a move to Florida.

I am not a PEP and come from a PEP-free family. I have, however, seen how PEPism can affect people’s judgement, end relationships, and make social media extremely unbearable. So, I am speaking out.

And I’m not the only one. The term PEP appears in alternative media. But it hasn’t penetrated traditional media, for the most part. Though I don’t know who came up with the term, and I can’t remember where I first heard it, I unknowingly helped raise awareness about the syndrome via The Washington Post. In a review of Laughing Liberally, a political comedy show which I co-founded and in which I perform, journalist Emily Wax-Thibodeaux wrote,

With her heavy Upper West Side accent and frequent references to Zabar’s, comedian Katie Halper often stuns the audience by giving voice to the Palestinian plight — as a Jewish liberal….

…. Some in the audience laugh. But some clearly experience what Halper, a Laughing Liberally co-founder, calls the “PEP Phenomenon,” or Progressive Except on Palestine.

Because I’m so humble (and/ or was kvelling over seeing my name and my show in print), I didn’t realize the significance of the appearance of PEP in the newspaper, until Adam Weiss wrote a blog post at MondoWeiss called “‘PEP’ (Progressive Except Palestine) makes the Washington Post.”

Do you think you or someone you know might be a PEP? Tomorrow, I’ll have a diagnostic test for people to take. Remember, getting tested is the first step.

Born and raised on the mean streets of New York City’s Upper West Side, Katie Halper is a comedian, writer and filmmaker. She is the co-host of Morning Jew, writes for places like The Nation, Feministing, Jezebel and appears on places like MSNBC, RT, Sirius radio (which hung up on her once). Katie’s had her photo taken with Rudy Giuliani and was called “cute and somewhat brainy” by the National Review.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/29/liberal-on-everything-but-israel-theres-a-name-for-that/

“Privilege” indeed. I’m reminded of Israel’s decision to keep those El Al flights going in the midst of all this carnage so those well-scrubbed true believing Hillel students can fly in from the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell and get “the tour” while they take selfies with smoke rising in the distance. Pathetic.

Palestinian voices were never heard in such numbers before. And they are so eloquent, so human. Israel’s nightmare.

And what difference does it make if Israel has a gay pride parade ?
Israel has lost its soul. Mooser would say it never had one to start with, that it was actually mechanically recovered and reformed chicken liver.