Question: is it possible to be concerned about Palestinian civilians without being accused of being anti-Semitic?

[ecstatic]

58. It depends. After observing for the past few months, I think that

some people (from all racial and religious backgrounds) are in a state of mind where they view any support for innocent Palestinians in Gaza as picking a side (hamas) and disregarding what happened on October 7. It couldn't be further from the truth, but I can't change the way people feel inside. I know that a lot of people are in a lot of emotional pain over what happened, especially people who were personally affected. It's one thing to observe a tragedy from afar, but when it's one of your loved ones killed or in harm's way, that changes everything. I'm angry, disgusted and saddened by what happened, but I did not lose anyone, and our country did not fund or enable hamas, so it decreases the extent of my emotional involvement to a certain degree.

The reason why I am similarly angry, disgusted and saddened by what's happening to Palestinians in Gaza is because now MY country, my taxes, my party's president, my identity as an American---all of those things are now associated with funding the slaughter and starvation of tens of thousands of women and children. I fully understand that some people might be in a "fuck it, kill them all" state of mind, but for those of us who are not, it is a little traumatic to be associated with atrocities. That's the difference. The US did not fund or enable hamas. Bibi did. And now everytime we turn around, hundreds more are dead, including humanitarian workers. And the excuses being provided are unacceptable. I don't think bibi respects President Biden at all and I'm offended by that as well.

Sorry, I got way off topic but to get back to the point and expand it a little: Navigating a discussion without being called anti-Semitic or Islamophobic is dependent upon where the participants of the discussion are at emotionally. If a participant of the discussion is at the "fuck it, kill them all" stage, then no, because that person is driven by emotions and not able to have a rational, fact based discussion.