I identify as a Progressive. That is because I believe we should be working to Advance justice, dignity, and peace for all.
- I believe that government must be the great equalizer of opportunity for everyone. Congress needs to pass legislation that advances justice, dignity, and peace for all people:
- Realizing the goal of a universal, high-quality, Medicare For All health care system for all.
- Advancing the right of every American to retire with security and dignity.
- Ending poverty and income inequality and securing a living wage for all people.
- Protecting the fundamental right to organize.
- Ending mass incarceration and advancing equal justice under the law.
- Taking urgent, inclusive, and transformative action on climate change.
- Upholding the fundamental reproductive rights of all people.
- Ending our forever wars, cutting the bloated Pentagon budget, and prioritizing diplomacy.
- Advancing humane, fair and just immigration laws.
- Advancing racial justice and equity.
So it disturbs me when my fellow Progressives latch on to the “palestinian” cause: that somehow “palestine” is occupied by white European colonizers. That those colonizers have set up an apartheid system of government. That those same colonizers are “ethnically cleansing” (and/or committing genocide against) the “indigenous palestinian” population.
<sigh>
It’s all a giant ball of poppycock, based upon a complete fabrication. In the first place, there is no “palestine.” Historically, “palestine” has only existed during two time periods. The first time began in 135 CE. After crushing the Bar Kochba revolt, Rome renamed Judea (the land of the Jews) “Syria Palestina.” That name remained in place until the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE. The second period of time that the region was called “palestine” began in 1923, when the League of Nations awarded the Mandate for Palestine to Great Britain. That period ended in May 1948 when the British withdrew from the region and Israel became a sovereign state.
Some questions to ask: Can you name a past president (or King, Prime Minister or other leader) of the nation of palestine between 476 CE and 1922 CE? What city was the capital of palestine? What language did palestinians speak? What archeological artifacts have been found? The answer to all these questions is NONE.
These facts are not what bothers me the most about progressive support for the “palestinian” cause. What bothers me the most is that the nature of the government that would be established in this new “palestine” would not be one that true progressives could support. The new “palestinian” government would be based upon Islamic Sharia Law. Under Sharia law, women would become second (or maybe third) class citizens. They would be forced to cover their hair (hijab) at least, but more probably cover their entire bodies (burka). They would not be allowed to leave their homes without a male escort. They would not be allowed to vote in elections. They would not be allowed an education beyond eighth grade (if that). LGBTQ individuals would find that their lifestyles, or even just their inclinations, warrant the death penalty. The following items from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights would be non-existent:
| Article 1 | Right to Equality |
| Article 2 | Freedom from Discrimination |
| Article 3 | Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security |
| Article 4 | Freedom from Slavery |
| Article 5 | Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment |
| Article 6 | Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law |
| Article 7 | Right to Equality before the Law |
| Article 8 | Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal |
| Article 9 | Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile |
| Article 10 | Right to Fair Public Hearing |
| Article 11 | Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty |
| Article 12 | Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence |
| Article 13 | Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country |
| Article 14 | Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution |
| Article 15 | Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It |
| Article 16 | Right to Marriage and Family |
| Article 17 | Right to Own Property |
| Article 18 | Freedom of Belief and Religion |
| Article 19 | Freedom of Opinion and Information |
| Article 20 | Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association |
| Article 21 | Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections |
| Article 22 | Right to Social Security |
| Article 23 | Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions |
| Article 24 | Right to Rest and Leisure |
| Article 25 | Right to Adequate Living Standard |
| Article 26 | Right to Education |
| Article 27 | Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community |
| Article 28 | Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document |
| Article 29 | Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development |
| Article 30 | Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights |
Islamic states are totalitarian states. They are not democracies. This is true in all fifty-seven muslim dominated states. All of them are led by a dictator (or a king, sultan or caliph), and new rulers are family members of the previous ruler.
The bottom line is that if you are a progressive who supports “palestine,” you are not a progressive at all. You are at best, misinformed. At worst: a hypocrite. Or maybe you just hate Jews. That’s really what being “pro-palestine” is in fact: antisemitic. But don’t feel so bad. Although, for the most part, antisemitism is predominantly a position of the Far Right, there have been historical examples of it being a position of the Far Left. The USSR was blatantly antisemitic. May of todays Leftist college students are following in those historic footsteps. Of course, there is this:
The further to the Right or the Left one slides, the closer to outright fascism one finds themselves, and antisemitism is almost always a stop along the way. So in reality, these folks are just as bad as the Jihadist Caliphate promoters.
