Photo courtesy of Medium.com

Over the past month, the media has covered the major controversy following a series of attacks that reminded the Western world of the horrors that are still at large in Palestine and Israel. On Oct. 7, following over 70 years of military occupation in Palestine, the Gaza-based political and militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel. This has led to a heightened consciousness about the string of events that has divided the world and cost the lives of thousands of innocents.

The history of the apartheid is long-standing but not complicated. Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire before being captured by the United Kingdom in World War I. In 1917, during the war, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration to promote the creation of “a national home for the Jewish people” under the terms that it would not disturb the civil and varying religious rights of the indigenous Palestinians. This was done without the consent of indigenous Palestinians. The region was formally mandated to Britain by the League of Nations in 1922, and hundreds of thousands of people began to immigrate to Palestine.

With growing tension and violence between the Jewish people, Palestinian Arabs and neighboring Arab states, the United Nations proposed a partition plan in 1947 that would divide the region into an Arab state and a Jewish state. Israel declared its independence in 1948, resulting in more conflict with neighboring Arab states. The conflict resulted in the 1949 Armistice Agreements, creating the Gaza Strip and West Bank Palestinian boundaries.

There’s been a rise in confusion regarding the perceptions of the current situation, and many are afraid to voice their opinions for fear of receiving backlash. Israel and Palestine are not synonymous with Judaism and Islam and to support Palestine is not antisemitic. To clarify, Palestine is home to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and to advocate support for Palestine is to advocate for freedom from Israeli occupation. Many people are confused and believe that Palestine is an Islamic state and are using this crisis to project their Islamophobia. In the same sense, some are using the crisis to spread hatred towards Jewish people.

Israel allied with the U.S. soon after its independence in 1949. Since then, the U.S. has supported Israel with over $3 billion annually through the Foreign Military Financing program, which has helped fund the apartheid against the Palestinians. The U.S.’s support of Israel has shaped the depiction of Israel-Palestine relations, historically and in the present, in the press.

The lack of representation for Palestinian voices in Western media and the killing of journalists in Palestine has severely impacted the way the public views the crisis. It is what has led to many reducing the genocide to a “conflict” or a “two-sided war.” Palestinian journalists and other activists have been working to raise awareness of their oppression for decades, and these journalists have helped many to see the atrocities for themselves. Without people actively documenting this genocide, it would be much easier to continue the ongoing onslaught against Palestinians.

On Thursday, Nov. 9, 750 journalists across the U.S. collectively signed a letter that condemned Israel’s targeting of reporters in Gaza and the dehumanization of Palestinians seen in most Western coverage. According to the latest tally from the Committee to Protect Journalists, as of Sunday, Nov.12, 40 journalists and media workers have been killed, mostly in retaliatory strikes by Israel. Many people will dismiss this as an unfortunate casualty of war, but on top of the thousands of innocent Palestinians who have been murdered in the past month alone, the killing of journalists reporting on this crisis will lead to an even higher death toll.

It is vastly important for the public to be cautious and aware of where they get their news. The spread of propaganda and the United States’ unwavering support for Israel has cost the lives of thousands of Palestinians, which is why we need people to be accurately informed. Media literacy is now more important than ever, and it is crucial to look deeper into the information presented before forming an opinion – even with this article.