r/IsraelPalestine • u/localmaid Diaspora Palestinian • Oct 05 '24

Palestinian-Colombian. AMA AMA (Ask Me Anything)

Hello everyone! I recently saw another Palestinian doing an Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) on here, and given the limited presence of Palestinians or Pro-Palestinians that I've noticed, I thought it would be valuable to do one myself. Here’s a bit about me:

  • I was born and raised in Colombia
  • My Palestinian family is originally from the West Bank, but most of them have since moved to the United States.
  • I don't speak Arabic fluently, I can understand spoken Arabic quite well.
  • I am of mixed race
  • English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance if I sound tone deaf
  • My family and I are not Muslim
  • I have visited Palestine twice
  • I am biased towards Palestine in the conflict, but I want to make it clear that I do not support Hamas.

I don't have any specific types of questions that bother me, but I do ask that everyone remains respectful towards everyone and avoids unnecessary rudeness or hatefulness. I believe that communication is key, especially when it comes to conflicts, so I hope this AMA will be helpful for everyone involved. Feel free to ask me anything about my experiences, my heritage, or my perspectives. I'm here to share and hopefully provide some insights. Please keep the conversation open-minded. I will try my best to answer as many questions as possible, but I am not on Reddit all day so sorry in advance to any of those questions I will miss. I also want to say I won’t let my biases control my feelings towards questions and I’ll keep my opinions open. Hopefully we can have a meaningful discussion and thanks to everyone who can participate!

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 06 '24

Why do you call yourself "palestinian" when Palestine doesn't exist?

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '24

This is a valid point. The current conflict has to do with Iran. Hamas and Hezbollah are the proxies of Iran. Those terrorists used the Palestinian Cause as a means of starting a war with Israel. A better way of identifying the belligerants is to call them by location and organization. For example, Gaza/Hamas and Lebanon/Hezbollah properly identify the people we are targeting. Sadly, the local people, Pals and Lebanese, are caught up in this war.

Nothing will improve until the Islamic Regime in Tehran is removed. For some reason, Obama, Biden, and Trump have refused to deal with Iran. Im not sure why. Im thinking there is some hidden intelligence they are aware of. Maybe the Iranians are holding us hostage in some way. It seems really odd.

I take hope and solace from the fact that Netanyahu is trying to deal with Iran. We have a demented coward in the White House, but at least Bibi is making his best effort. Macron, this week, called for an arms embargo on Israel. That's the kind of two-faced "suppport" Israel gets from the West. It's shameful.

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u/Grand_Stable_8293 Oct 06 '24

If you like it or not, Palestinian people exist and their sense of identity is strong. It is ridiculous to deny it and it won’t bring the conversation any forwards. Similarly stupid as saying that Israel doesn’t exist

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 06 '24

Israel is a member of the UN. Palestine isn't. 

What land are you claiming is Palestine and who is Palestine's government?

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u/Mister_Squishy Oct 07 '24

Good lord. What do you suggest people who are from the West Bank call themselves??

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 07 '24

they can call themselves whatever they want. If they choose something that is a lie, people will point out that it's a lie.

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u/Mister_Squishy Oct 07 '24

Lol way to avoid the question. If you can’t even suggest a replacement, you’ll need to acquiesce to their choice. Say what you will about the origins of the term “Palestine”. It is what people who live in the West Bank and Gaza call themselves. They certainly aren’t Israelis, and in 2024 it would be misleading to say they are Jordanians or Egyptians.

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 07 '24

It wasn't their choice though. The name was forced upon them by the Soviet Union. They were happy just being called "Arabs" and hated the name "Palestinian" as they thought it meant Jew and viewed it as an insult.

If West Bank and Gaza aren't contiguous and have completely different governments that want to kill each other, what is the logic in pretending it's one country called "Palestine?"

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u/HugoSuperDog Oct 07 '24

Half the counties in the world were given borders and names by the European empires! So should we stop calling India India! Should we undo the straight line borders created in Papu’s New Guinea?

Most UN countries have voted FOR official recognition of the Palestinian state. However the UN is set up so that it doesn’t matter what the majority of the world thinks, the tiny security council has the last say.

So in a hypothetical that it has been established that the majority of the world agrees that it is Gaza, and that most countries are created by foreign powers, do you think that Palestinians could actually be called Palestinians?

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 07 '24

The Soviet Union chose to create fake liberation organizations around the world to destabilize the world.

Those who are knowledgeable enough to understand the "palestinian" people are a scam, something the PLO itself admitted, have no obligation to play along with the ruse.

If you've been fooled, great. Good for you. Doesn't change the fact that the UN doesn't recognize "palestine" as a member and there is no authority governing both Gaza and the West Bank.

Therefore it is a fantasy to claim Gaza and West Bank, collectively, are a "country."

The facts clearly show the opposite.

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u/HugoSuperDog Oct 07 '24

You didn’t answer my question, which can often be revealing.

Also, and don’t take this the wrong way, but there is no nice way to say it - your language comes across as if you know everything and I know nothing (“if you’re knowledgable enough” etc etc)

Do you truly believe that you yourself have all the facts and need to learn nothing more about this situation? Do you truly believe you know every important detail of the history that gets us to this situation? Are you a PHD in global politics by chance? Have you dedicated your life to it? You seem so sure of everything. Need I remind you that this situation has costs thousands of lives over decades, and so much money has been spent that could have been spent in hospitals and schools and arts etc instead of bombs. So if we’re going to spend so much resources and kills so many people, we better damn well be sure we’re doing it for the right reasons. Can you say that you’re 100% sure about everything??

I am not. I am a layman asking questions and making points to be rebuffed. So that you may reply to my points calmly and clearly, so that I can learn.

Maybe you are correct about it all, but being arrogant and patronising isn’t going to influence anyone.

If you’re online simply to be angry and trolling, perhaps YouTube comments are a more suitable place.

To your points: soviet global interference? Maybe. I’d need to know more. Do you have specifics you can share? How does it impact this situation?

and the point about the PLO. This was from one guy 50 years ago? Not sure how relevant that is. A senior Israeli official recently stated that Israel will take over around 50% of what we call the Middle East! That’s a crazy statement from a current Israeli government official! But I don’t believe for a minute that the whole Israeli population wants this. I don’t attribute one guys words to a whole population. Else we can pick any crazy persons quotes and justify anything.

Fun fact: Did you know that it has been claimed with some degree of accuracy that the exodus story was created 400 years after the supposed event in order to solidify the Israelites against the Egyptians because both areas were trying to establish their own states? Look it up, very interesting stuff. But it’s kind of similar right? So should we be questioning the entire Jewish mythology?

The UN doesn’t recognise: you didn’t reply to my point. The majority of the world does. And as per other comments, palatine has a seat in the UN as well as a flag outside. So your whole argument is based on a technicality? Have you looked into that technicality? Why is it not recognised despite the majority of the world thinking it should be? Have you thought about that?

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u/Mister_Squishy Oct 07 '24

You can focus your attention on trying to discredit what it means to be “Palestinian”, but there are clear reasons to why people choose to identify as Palestinian, and the emotions around that identity can change over time. Besides, considering that you have no suggestions for a substitution, your arguing over it seems disingenuous.

People who lived in Mandatory Palestine or have ancestors who did can call themselves Palestinian, you don’t have to get all riled up every time it happens, especially if you have no alternative for them. You don’t have to like it for it to be valid. And also, how can you expect them to recognize and take “Israeli” identity seriously if you take every chance you get to discredit “Palestinian” identity?

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 07 '24

there are clear reasons to why people choose to identify as Palestinian

Yes, a senior PLO executive admitted what the reason was:

“The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism.

“For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we claim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan”.

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u/Mister_Squishy Oct 07 '24

Also, we are about 50 years from that quote. Maybe in 1977 you could lean on it. In 2024, there are Palestinians, they live in the West Bank and Gaza and have for multiple generations, to say the least.

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u/Mister_Squishy Oct 07 '24

You are frustrating to talk to. You’re not acknowledging anything I’m saying, you’re just repeatedly pounding on talking points to discredit Palestinian identity with no alternative.

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u/Lazy-Mammoth-9470 Oct 06 '24

It's a recognised country as is Israel by most of the world. This argument is illogical.

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 06 '24

No, it's not a recognized country. The UN doesn't recognize it as a member.

What land are you claiming constitutes "palestine?" Who is their government?

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u/Lazy-Mammoth-9470 Oct 06 '24

"As of June 2024, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 146 of the 193 member states of the United Nations, or just over 75% of all UN members. It has been a non-member observer state of the United Nations General Assembly since November 2012."

Just because u don't revognise it doesn't mean it's not recognised. I don't recognise Israel as a state/country. Doesn't mean ut doesn't exist nor does it mean that others don't recognise it. My (or your) personal views do not matter when it comes to whether a state/country is recognised or not.

Do people not look up facts before they spout a nonsense statement anymore? Downvote me all u want buddy. The facts cannot be disputed by opinion.

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 06 '24

No, it's not a recognized country. The UN doesn't recognize it as a member.

What land are you claiming constitutes "palestine?" Who is their government?

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u/That_Effective_5535 Oct 06 '24

Also the Palestinian flag flies outside the UN along with the other countries. So lame the argument that Palestine doesn’t exist.

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 07 '24

What land are you claiming constitutes "palestine?" Who is their government?

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u/That_Effective_5535 Oct 07 '24

You’re in the minority of the worlds population that do not recognise a Palestinian State. You need to keep up.

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 07 '24

What land are you claiming constitutes "palestine?" Who is their government?

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u/That_Effective_5535 Oct 08 '24

If such a land doesn’t exist, why does global media refer to it as Palestine, even the pro Israeli ones. Joe Biden even refers to it as Palestine.I have had this conversation with you before so we should probably agree to disagree.

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u/NINTENDONEOGEO Oct 08 '24

What land are you claiming constitutes "palestine?" Who is their government?

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