The Israel-Palestine divide stretches far beyond the Middle East

The world stands divided. 

On 7 October, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on south Israel. It left 1,400 Israelis killed while some 200 more were abducted. Without losing a beat, it unleashed chaos which continues to baffle the world at large – even those who have been following the Israel-Palestine phenomenon in the past. What continues to unfold is the stupendous magnitude and intensity of the Israeli government's "retaliation." It continues to translate to the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. 

The retaliation announcement that came from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top military stood uncontested. It was also supported by world leaders, specifically the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union.  

This fast development compelled many experts to point out that this is not anything like the "wars" with Palestine in the past – which in itself is a dichotomy of misconstrued use of labels. Palestine, as a country, does not have the agency or the military to go to war with Israel or any other country. 

While many of us remain far away from ground zero - a carpet bombed Gaza, Israeli air strikes have killed more than 4,000 Palestinians, as of this writing, with astounding impunity. 

However, everyone across the world stands witness to the very disturbing discourse and debate which dictate the division: are you pro-Israel or are you pro-Palestine? In a swathe of whataboutisms and dangerous generalisation of those who rally for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as "pro-terror" or terrorist, mainstream media and social media seem to have locked horns. Everyone is in an uproar asking to be listened to and understood. 

It's also perhaps telling of the disproportionate response to the uproar. 

Are you pro-terror?     

Recently, Columbia University Professor Shai Davidai of Business School stood on campus grounds and made statements. "To every parent in America who sent their kids to NYU, Stanford, Harvard, to Berkley – I want to tell you one thing. We cannot protect your child… And I want you to know that we cannot protect your children because the president of Columbia University will not speak out against pro-terror student organisations." He went on to name other Ivy League presidents for failing to do the same. 

The pro-terror student organisations he referred to are Palestinian student organisations. He called out the universities for allowing and giving support to pro-terror student organisations. 

Perhaps a part of the crux of the problem is how these statements – making Palestinians synonymous with Hamas or terrorists – are made with impunity. 

In another instance, after a joint student group at Harvard co-signed a letter labelling Israel "entirely responsible" for the war with Hamas because "for the last two decades, the apartheid regime is the only one to blame," ex-Harvard president Lawrence Summers, called out the school authorities on X. "In nearly 50 years of Harvard affiliation, I have never been as disillusioned and alienated as I am today," he said.

However, the backlash against the signatories, soon, erupted hand in hand with students protesting for or against the Israeli and Palestinian causes. 

The conservative Accuracy in Media group then put up the names and information of the signatory students online or on a billboard truck which displayed their names labelled as "Harvard's leading anti-Semites." 

The BBC reported how an elite law firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell, rescinded job offers for three Ivy League students at Harvard and Columbia who signed statements blaming Israel and expressed support for the Palestinian people. The firm said their statements were "in direct contravention of our firm's value system." 

Others followed suit. Bill Ackman, a prominent hedge fund manager, called out for the list of the signatories to be made public so that "none of us inadvertently hire any of their members." Sweetgreen CEO also wanted their names for he would "never hire these people." EasyHealth CEO David Duel expressed the same while Republican Florida governor (running for presidential candidate nomination) Ron DeSantis threatened to cancel the visa of the pro-Palestinian students and send them home. 

Billionaires who donate millions to the Ivy Leagues backed out or threatened to do so for their 'failure' to condemn Hamas' attack on Israel. Daily Mail reported that these schools could lose up to $487 million in a row. 

The disproportionate response to the Harvard students, again, is telling of the bias in the views held by many. Because, under the same breath, government officials, pundits and journalists are not reprimanded in any way for not calling out Israel's indiscriminate killings of civilians following Hamas' 7 October terrorist attack.  

Where do world leaders stand?

Earlier, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Bulgarian parliament were among buildings across the European Union that were lit up in the white and blue of Israel's flag. Landmarks in London, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Washington DC, New York and Sydney, among others, also lit up in white and blue of Israel's flag. 

On 9 October, the White House released a statement that said, "Today, we – President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom, and President Biden of the United States – express our steadfast and united support to the State of Israel, and our unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism." 

In the subsequent days, the United States and its allies stepped up their support for Israel in the form of ammunition, aid and diplomacy. The US would send military ships nearby to boost Israeli morale. 

US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have already met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, a move deemed 'unprecedented' by many pundits. 

Muslim countries and communities across the world, from Turkey (declared three days of national mourning) to Morocco to Malaysia (the Kuala Lumpur Tower was lit up in the colours of Palestine's flag so was the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) in Malaysia), have provided ubiquitous support for the Palestinian cause. Bangladesh announced one day of state mourning (21 October) for Palestinians killed in Gaza. 

Arab leaders condemned Israel's two-week-old bombardment of Gaza on Saturday. Many Irish politicians and African Union leaders have also voiced their solidarity with the Palestinians.  

The burgeoning division within society, political groups and civil rights groups are stark now, including in the West. 

While most people who hold positions of power and influence in the West unconditionally support Israel's right to self-defence and refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire, this notion is not uniformly reflected within its communities. 

Recently, US State Department official Josh Paul made headlines. "I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be shortsighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values we publicly espouse," reads part of Paul's resignation letter over US support of Israel's military response to Hamas' 7 October terrorist attack.  

Paul spent more than 11 years at the State's Bureau of political-military affairs, which handles weapons deals. 

"In the last 24 hours, I've been getting an immense amount of outreach from colleagues... with really encouraging words of support and a lot of people saying they feel the same way and it's very difficult for them," Paul told HuffPost. 

Additionally, US State Department Officials told HuffPost that there's widespread internal frustration and some department staff feel as if US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his team are uninterested in their own experts' advice as they focus on supporting Israel's expanding operation in Gaza.

The European Union too has seen dissent over its chief Von der Leyen's "uncontrolled" support of Israel after more than 800 EU staff and global diplomats signed a letter to the EU chief, accusing the EU's stance of enabling more violence. 

The letter said that there is a "seeming indifference demonstrated over the past few days by our institution towards the ongoing massacre of civilians in the Gaza Strip, in disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law." They decried the Commission's "double standards" in the way it sees things when it comes to Ukraine and the Gaza blockade by Israel. 

Spain's acting social rights minister Ione Belarra suggested taking Israel to the International Criminal Court for "war crimes."

Irish politician Clare Daly, a Member of the European Parliament, (along with other Irish politicians) has strongly and clearly advocated for Palestinian rights, called for an immediate ceasefire and called out Israel's indiscriminate killings of Gazans following 7 October. She also called out the EU for backing Israeli terror. 

But a call for a ceasefire does not seem to be as easy for many in US Congress. 

Abbas Alawieh, Chief Of Staff at the US House of Representatives, said to IfNotNow (an American Jewish progressive far-left activist group opposing the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip), "I want to impress upon you that this is not a regular moment. This is not a war like the ones we have seen. Because there are scores of members of Congress whose positions on the current atrocities are indistinguishable from the people of the insurrectionist caucus. Something is terribly wrong right now." 

"[Most] people in Congress are not even saying the word ceasefire. A ceasefire is an urgent, strategic call, especially because you have less than 20 members in Congress who publicly called for [it]."

Abbas explained how many members of Congress are scared to even call for an immediate ceasefire because it will align their views with anti-Israel or worse, anti-semitic ideologies. 

This fear has been one of the cornerstones across multitudes of mediums where people are engaging in the Israel-Palestine debate and discourse following 7 October. 

What's happening on the streets and on the media? 

But it's perhaps failing to keep people from voicing their support for Palestine.

Recently, some 500 people were arrested during a sit-in at the United States Congress in Washington DC, where they protested against "Israel's ongoing oppression of Palestinians", according to Jewish Voice for Peace, the group that organised the demonstration.

Thousands took to the streets for mass demonstrations and peaceful rallies in Muslim-majority countries such as Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the West Bank's Ramallah, among others, to show solidarity with Palestine. 

In the West, marches in support of Palestine sprouted across the UK, the US, Australia, and France (despite being banned by French President Macron), among other countries.

But the repercussions follow suit. In the realm of social media, for instance, Meta apologised for adding the word 'terrorist' to the bios of some Instagram users. The users were Palestinians or those who showed solidarity with Palestine. Shadow banning of pro-Palestine voices is on the rise along with account bans and suspensions. 

In the realm of mainstream media, the BBC caught flak for calling Hamas militants instead of terrorists, which Israeli President Isaac Herzog found "atrocious" and officials warned the media they may be "banned" the way Al Jazeera has been banned at the moment.  

In an interview with Democracy Now, Israeli Journalist Amira Hass called out the Israeli occupation. Like her, many other journalists and TV anchors are also speaking up against Israel's siege on Gaza. But of course, to counter this narrative, the mainstream media remain awash with opposing views. 

For instance, recently on Piers Morgan's Uncensored show, Morgan asked his guest: "Mohammed Hijab [YouTuber and public speaker] do you condemn the Hamas attacks on October 7?"  

Mohammed replied: "Yes, I do. Do you condemn Israel killing over 1,000 kids?" 

Morgan replied: "I believe Israel has the right to defend themselves."

What's Hollywood saying? 

"We urge your administration, and all world leaders, to honour all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages," the celebrities wrote to US President Biden.

The nearly 60 signatories included Susan Sarandon, Kristen Stewart, Quinta Brunson, Ramy Youssef, Riz Ahmed and Mahershala Ali, Jon Stewart and Joaquin Phoenix. 

Earlier, an open letter signed by more than 2,000 artists including Tilda Swinton also called for an end to the killing and harming of all civilians and an immediate ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of A-list actors in Hollywood remain silent and exercise collective outrage. Or worse, post a "pray for Israel" only to take it down later, because they mistakenly used photos of a bombed Gaza or children in Gaza. Two examples are Justin Bieber and Jamee Lee Curtis. On the contrary, EGOT John Legend recently said in an interview, who posted his solidarity with Palestine, that he could not remain silent when he had grown up reading the works of James Baldwin and Martin Luther King advocating for justice and equality for all. 

There are scores who also have made public statements towing the diplomatic lines and asking for peace for all. 

Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid, American-Paletinian supermodels, have reportedly received death threats for voicing their solidarity with Palestine. 

Perhaps the most nuanced takeaway from all this discourse and staggering evidence of Israel's siege on Gaza should be the need to call for an immediate ceasefire. While people lock horns, take a stance and argue over Israel's right to self-defence and the future of Palestinians, it shouldn't be lost on any of us that every minute is costing Palestinian lives – and the need of the hour is to uniformly call for an end to the bloodshed before we can even begin to think of a peaceful future.