I'm a Palestinian American and my dad is older than the oppressive state of Israel
I may not live in Palestine, but the trauma I have to go through in order to go see my family and friends is painful and enraging.
To be Palestinian is to be perpetually gaslit. Each and every day, choices are made that all but ensure that the imbalance of power and continued oppression lives in perpetuity. From the nearly $4 billion per year handed over from the United States government to the Israeli government with no humanitarian strings attached to the propaganda machine of the Netanyahu regime – the Israeli government has no motivation to stop oppressing and brutalizing my people.
This situation isn't complicated. In fact, it’s only 73 years old. My dad is older than the state of Israel. He was in his first year of life during the British Mandate, when the British government supported "a national home" for Jewish people, leading to the creation of Israel. My people call the 1948 war that uprooted Palestinians from their home "al Nakba". The rest of the world doesn’t have a name for it because it’s rarely even acknowledged.
With the Israeli government’s feet pressed firmly on our necks, they still find ways to stab us in the heart. Members of the so-called “progressive” left still fail to see their own hypocrisy.
I’m a proud Palestinian – and an American – and I’ve worked in politics and advocacy for over two decades. My work has always centered justice, equity and fairness. And the same people who call to ask me how to best ally with Black communities in their fight for self determination and how to provide support to Native peoples in their continued fight for sovereignty, tell me that I don’t understand history and the rise in support of Palestinian people is about “popularity.” The gaslighting is as blinding as it is maddening.
Palestinians disparaged abroad
I grew up in Texas, and I have a lighter complexion than the rest of my family. Which means that for my entire life, I’ve been Arab-undetected. That means people feel comfortable saying things in front of me they wouldn’t to the rest of my family: they’ve called me, my family, my people terrorists. They’ve quoted the Bible at me as justification for the persecution of Palestinian people. They’ve disparaged “those people” and assumed I would agree.
I often let them dig the hole just deep enough before I reveal that I am Palestinian and that the majority of my family is actually Catholic. Because, yes, there are Palestinian Christians. Not that religion should matter in fighting bigotry and oppression, but it is an ignorance that must be named.
The problem, in part, lies in the inability or refusal to separate true antisemitism from the legitimate critiques of the oppressive Israeli regimes that have reigned over Palestinians, carrying out human rights abuses that would not be justified in almost any other circumstance.
Palestinians persecuted at home
Let’s start with the fact that Palestinians, and Arabs, are actually Semitic people. So the attack itself is not even accurate. Last month, Human Rights Watch released a report outlining the atrocities carried out against Palestinians and concluded that Palestinians are in fact living under apartheid.
Israelis want to live without fear: Israel is the Jewish people's ancient home. We will always defend ourselves from Hamas.
The accusations of antisemitism began immediately – an intentional tactic to distract from the truth. Even Jewish people who dare to speak out against this oppression are being attacked and labeled antisemitic. Meanwhile, Jewish settlers, bolstered by the Israeli government, are forcibly displacing Palestinian families from their homes. These details are conveniently forgotten while claiming Israel’s “right to defend itself.”
The bottom line is standing up for Palestinians isn’t the same as antisemitism. Arabs are Semites too, and ethnic persecution is ethnic persecution.
I may not live in Palestine, but the trauma I have to go through in order to go see my family and friends is painful and enraging. I have dual citizenship because of my parent’s forced Israeli citizenship. But I was born in the United States.
Why am I being attacked?: I'm a Palestinian living in Gaza. No matter when it is or where I am, I know I'm not safe.
When I fly to Tel Aviv, my U.S. passport is literally useless. I have been detained for hours on end. My family doesn’t know when to pick me up because my release is based on the whim of that particular day's security agents. I have been strip searched. My bags and electronics have been ripped apart and scanned and then scanned again and again.
The security agents shuffle me from office to office and ask me absurd questions like when was my grandfather born? What was my great grandmother’s maiden name? Why don’t I speak Hebrew?
This entire process is meant to anger and intimidate and remind me that I’m not equal. If my American citizenship can't protect me, imagine how vulnerable every Palestinian living from the West Bank to Gaza feels.
Rania Batrice is a first-generation American, born to Palestinian parents, and the founder of Batrice & Associates, a communications, advocacy, organizing, and legislative strategy firm. She has worked for many elected officials and electoral entities including Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Follow her on Twitter: @RaniaBatrice