Talking points and tips for having constructive conversations this holiday season.
Discussing Palestine With Friends & Family
As we approach the holiday season, many people are getting together with their families and friends to celebrate. However, some people may struggle to have constructive conversations about Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and violence in the West Bank.
When Having a Conversation Remember To:
- Focus on facts.
- Stay on topic.
- Don’t argue, discuss.
- Condemn anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobic statements conflating violence in the region with Muslims and Islam.
If Someone Says: “Israel Is Doing Everything It Can To Protect Civilians.”
Over the last 13 months, Israel has killed more than 44,200 civilians in Gaza—nearly 70% of whom are women and children—but a July 2024 report by the international journal The Lancet estimates that more than 186,000 deaths could be attributed to Israel’s violence. The Israeli military has deliberately targeted schools, hospitals, refugee camps, residential buildings, and other critical infrastructure, and has intentionally blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Additionally, Israel has expanded its attacks to nearby countries including Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, killing more than 2,000 civilians.
Source: Al Jazeera
If Someone Says: “The Violence Started After the Oct. 7 Attacks.”
Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestine didn’t start on Oct. 7. In 1948, during the
Nakba, or the “catastrophe,” 750,000 Indigenous Palestinians were violently forced by Zionist forces to leave their homes in order to establish the state of Israel. Since then, Israel has continued to annex Palestinian land to expand Jewish-only settlements illegally and denied Palestinians their freedom and rights.
Sources: International Court of Justice, U.N. General Assembly
If Someone Says: “This Is a War, Not a Genocide.”
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and a recent U.N. report have stated that Israel’s military actions in Gaza are consistent with the characteristics of genocide. Terms like “war” and “conflict” have been used to justify violence against Palestinians for decades. Although war and genocide often occur at the same time, not acknowledging Israel’s deliberate genocidal actions targeting Palestinians downplays the reality of what’s happening in Gaza.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Reuters
If Someone Says: “Israel Is Not Illegally Occupying Palestine.”
International law states that the appropriation of land, and the destruction of property to build and expand settlements, is illegal. In July 2024, following an 18-month investigation into the Israeli government’s policies and practices in the Palestinian territories, the ICJ ruled that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are in violation of this international law. The court also found that Israel has used its power to systematically discriminate against Palestinians.
Sources: Amnesty International, International Court of Justice
If Someone Says: “Israel Has the Most Moral Army in the World.”
Under International Humanitarian Law, civilians and civilian objects must never be targeted, and attacks that disproportionately affect civilians are prohibited. Countless human rights organizations have documented Israel’s war crimes in Palestine, including blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza; indiscriminately bombing residential neighborhoods; deliberately slaughtering civilians, including children; using illegal chemical weapons; and apartheid.
The International Criminal Court also recently issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Source: Human Rights Watch
If Someone Says: “Israel Isn’t the Only Country That Receives U.S. Military Aid.”
While it is true that it isn’t the only country that receives U.S. military aid, Israel receives the largest share, amounting to billions of dollars annually. In California alone, $610 million of our federal tax dollars goes to funding Israel’s military operations every year.
While millions of people here at home face critical issues such as a lack of affordable housing, education, and healthcare, the U.S. government continues to vote to send $3.8 billion in taxpayer dollars in aid to Israel annually. Our taxes should be spent on improving the infrastructure and lives of those here at home—not destroying them in Gaza.
Source: Not My Tax Dollars
If Someone Says: “Israel Has a Right To Defend Itself.”
Under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, nations
do have an inherent right to self-defense if an armed attack occurs against them. However, this principle is typically understood to apply to sovereign nations responding to external threats—not to an occupying power responding to resistance within the territory it occupies.
International law recognizes the right of occupied peoples to resist occupation, as reflected in UN resolutions and customary international law.
Source: Al Jazeera
