It feels like watching a land mass splinter into pieces in fast forward, dividing a single species into many; Darwin’s finches. Let’s hit pause, rewind, play to figure out what’s happening.
Let’s start with the situation at Columbia University. It does seem there’s a high degree of overlap between both the demographics, and ideologies behind both movements. What seems clearly to be the common denominator behind each is the division of the world into camps (literally, there’s tents on the quad); perceived power dynamics around oppressed vs. oppressor groups.
To invoke Bob Dylan:
The line it is drawn the curse it is cast; the slow one now will later be fast. As the present now will later be past, the order is rapidly fadin’. And the first one now will later be last. For the times they are a-changin’.
Pay attention! Power is dynamics are always in flux. So the strong today were once weak, and vice-versa. Turns out in America some groups can in-fact get ahead, even if they started from nothing. The American dream is alive, though it is further off for many, and that’s wrong. But let’s not throw the whole experiment out. Asians, Jews, Blacks that work their way up should be rewarded, not torn down!
So, to focus on immutable qualities - sadly, we’re talking “whites” vs. “indigenous” peoples. And to be oppressed is to be just and virtuous. Jews are seen as white, Palestinians as indigenous. So the narrative seems to cleanly fit.
What were the BLM set of grievances and calls for action? The thesis in a nutshell was that Police are systemically racist. This stems from broader systemic racism that must be corrected.
- Change the founding story of America and cancel the founders (slave owners!)
- Defunding the police (oppressors with guns, vs. Blacks),
- DEI initiatives
What are the “free Palestine” grievances and calls to action? There isn’t a coherent thesis. But the sentiment is that Israel is a genocidal and colonizing power attempting the eradication of Palestinian people (or something to this effect. Thus,
- defund Israel
- Cancel Jews for ….being Zionists (ie, genocidal colonizers)
- Change the founding story of Israel to de-legitimize it
Notice the zero-sum nature of the arguments encapsulated in the slogans:
- From the River to the sea,
- We don’t want no 2 state, we want ‘48
If one side is playing a zero-sum game (Hamas), and the other is willing to compromise (Israel, believe it or not), then zero sum it will be. This is not a smart strategy for a weaker party to play. Unless they can manipulate global sentiment. Which is in-fact working with various propaganda techniques that are beyond the scope of this post. Suffice it to say there’s a well-grooved pipeline of Hamas propaganda that’s reported whole-cloth on Western media outlets, engendering sympathy.
There is a funny thing about being the "oppressor"; Jews are shell-shocked and scared. Is there an alternative viewpoint worth considering?
Zionism was a response to Jewish persecution over centuries (it’s the Jewish safe space)! The basic idea is that national self-determination is necessary for Jewish survival. Why?
Jews have been persecuted and murdered for all manner of grievance, from finance (they control the banks), to genetics (non Aryan vermin), religion (inquisition), and now for foreign policy (as colonizers). There is no end to the mapping of social grievance. Whatever the stated issue, the consequence is always the same; the world is unsafe if you’re a Jew. Israel is necessary to ensure something like the Holocaust cannot ever happen again.
That Oct 7 happened (the worst murder of Jews on a day since the Holocaust) shook Jews awake to the realities; and the Western reaction post Oct 7 underscores this truth.