Bothsidism

A friend commented on my Facebook pages suggesting both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the same, with the same intentions.

I believe this is untrue. I deleted the comment and told my friend to go and learn some history: this is a genocide of an indigenous people by their colonisers, the US and Israel.

My friend persists by saying that there are extremists on both sides and that both sides have committed genocide.

But the fact of the matter is that only one side is before the ICJ on trial for genocide and that is Israel.

After two years of silence, watching me post hundreds if not thousands of times about the genocide in Gaza without a single comment, why does he choose now to come out and persistently present his bothsidism?

I think it is precisely because of his own silence during the past two years. He is trying to assauge his own guilt on the following lines: since both sides are equally bad, then I was justified in my silence.

But no, your silence about the plight of the Palestinians was never justified. Your silence was a crime against humanity. And now I have blocked you. Go and assuage your guilt elsewhere.

Jonathan Wonham (author of poetry books Ceasefire Now! and Dystopia Persecutia)