On June 6, 1982, "Israel" invaded Lebanon and the capital city of Beirut under the guise of destroying the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This eventually led to the Sabra and Shatila massacre, which occurred even after PLO forces had left Beirut. Protection of Palestinian civilians had been part of the deal negotiated with the US envoy at the time, Philip Habib, but such US guarantees were not worth the paper they were written on.

And now history repeats itself in Gaza, except with more brutality and a longer timeline. After 1982, we measured time by whether events happened before or after that Israeli invasion. Now, we measure time by the genocide in Gaza.

The Western officials who are suddenly finding their “morality” to cover up their complicity are despicable. From the smirking Matthew Miller, who for months defended the Biden government’s actions and now claims he believes “Israel committed war crimes” to the leaders of Canada, France and the UK who promised “concrete action” and have done less than nothing, we say your words are an insult to the Palestinian people.

Miller claims he was just a “spokesperson for the president, the administration," similar to the “I was just following orders” excuse. And one Israeli media outlet even went as far last week as to tell us that “most Israelis are not aware of what is going on in Gaza” due to media censorship. And these utterings from rats fleeing a sinking ship are equally insulting to all those who have opposed the genocide, many of whom have paid a heavy price for their staunch position.

To claim that most Israelis are not aware of the genocide in Gaza, when so much of the society is militarized and a large part of the population is involved directly in military operations through the draft and the reserves, is absurd. 

And even for those pro-Zionist figures that have genuinely changed their position after 600-plus days of genocide, we say that we appreciate your support, but we also need an acknowledgement of the harm that you did previously, because the horror that has been inflicted on the whole Palestinian nation and its collective psyche will take generations to heal. 

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This is the third article I have written under the “Why I Hate Zionism...” theme, and each one comes from a place of increased bitterness and a hardened heart. We fight each day to maintain some semblance of our sanity and our humanity. 

In my second article in September 2024, I wrote that we never imagined that we would still be witnessing these daily horrors. Now, nine months later, we have nothing left to say to the world. We have used all our words, all our lived experiences, all our wisdom to try and shut down this Israeli monster that is hellbent on humiliation, destruction, and death.

And we have no illusions about who is orchestrating, financing, and supporting this horror: successive US regimes, other Western governments, and reactionary Arab puppets. When Arab Gulf leaders can promise four trillion dollars to Donald Trump in the blink of an eye but not feed the starving people in Gaza, and when the UAE embassy in “Israel” sends greetings to the genocider while Gaza burns, then we know where they stand. They are, in fact, directly financing US military supplies to the Israeli entity, paying for the bombs and ammunition that are destroying Palestinian and Lebanese lives and habitat.

In 1982, Ariel Sharon was held complicit in the Sabra and Shatila massacre. However, he was later “rehabilitated” and went on to become the Israeli PM in 2001. And recently, many Western commentators want us to believe that what’s happening now is all the fault of Benjamin Netanyahu. He will be the “fall guy,” and then we’re expected to accept that Israeli society will now return to some level of respectable behaviour.

But not this time. Zionism has been exposed in a way that did not happen before; it has been shown as the rotten settler-colonial ideology it always was. And once it is defeated, which will happen, we will not forget nor forgive those who were more than ready to participate in oppressing the Palestinian and Arab peoples for so long.

In December 2023, two months into the genocide, Rev. Munther Isaac said, “Your charity and your words of shock will not make a difference after all of this... we will not accept your apology after the genocide.” 

And now, those words are more than just part of an inspiring message. They are a cornerstone of our approach going forward (although most of the recent “converts” are not even apologizing!). No excuses, no explanations will ever convince us that there was any logical rationale for complicity in Zionism and its devastating impact on Palestine’s people, environment, national cohesion, and dignity.