As history consistently demonstrates, the divisions we deepen now in the process will only continue to hurt us in the long run, sowing the seeds to other crises, somewhere, sometime 💔

If such a perspective resonates with you at all, and if you also believe that internationally, we desperately need a way forward please stay till the end of the blog and share your perspective too 🤍🌍

Each video excerpt shared here is comprehensible on their own, while full links and sources are also made available for your in-depth exploration to develop your own thoughts, positions, language and actions.

Israeli historian Ilan Pappé. Excerpt from Debate: Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism by Intelligence Squared (to whom all rights belong to).

Israeli historian Ilan Pappé (excerpt from Debate: Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism).

Mehdi Hasan, MSNBC political analyst, former senior columnist for The Intercept and presenter on Al Jazeera English (excerpt from Debate: Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism).

Please watch the entire debate to also consider Melanie Phillips and Einat Wilf's positions. I may appear intentionally biased to not share any excerpts of theirs here, but personally, while I do sincerely, genuinely empathise with the enduring pain and struggles of the Israeli-Jewish people that their positions are informed by, they still failed short of a trans-Israeli-Jewish, Palestine-inclusive perspective, and were palpably less sophisticated in terms of championing a common ground and language based on human rights as Mehdi Hasan and Ilan Pappé were able to.

My view here may also be shared in the audience's initial and final votes seen here as well. (excerpt from Debate: Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism).

Proposition: Anti-Zionism is NOT (inherently) Anti-Semitism

Paraphrasing Mehdi Hasan:

Some Anti-Zionists are Anti-Semites, which is true.

Anti-Zionism can sometimes turn into Anti-Semitism, which is true.

Anti-Semites often use Anti-Zionism as cover for their bigotry and racism, which is true.

But the sweeping claim that Anti-Zionism IS Anti-Semitism, that merely being opposed to Zionism is inherently, and by definition Anti-Semitic, is absurd.

The international voice against Anti-Zionism (i.e. anti-colonialism)

With less than a year toward the US elections, and the US and our own governments having influence over the Israeli government, we as the international community - in dialogue with the American voters and our own, have the power to shape international opinion and pressure the Israeli government to act in accordance with unbiased, cross-cultural human rights principles as defined by international law, to:

a). Implement a cease-fire to stop the abhorrent killing of civilians both in Gaza AND the West Bank (of whom too many are children), and reestablish systems and infrastructure for immediate and sustainable humanitarian aid, AND;

b). Together as an international community, develop immediate and effective strategies to bring back the hostages inhumanely taken by Hamas, going beyond abstract ideas about its eradication which is not a strategy or a tactic, but an ideology that has so far found expression as a literal genocide of 13,000 civilians (at least 5,500 children) and COUNTING which is unacceptable, just as any delay in ensuring the safety, well-being and return of hostages are ALSO unacceptable.

Finding a shared language #1

In the US, Biden is navigating a tightrope between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian voters, and for all of us who know that life flourishes not in black and whites but on common grounds, a common understanding and the appropriate LANGUAGE to describe, share, and amplify this commonality is the sensible way to pressure our governments to act based on human rights and international law. And for this aim, exploring unity in our own disparate communities is critical as foundations to know and say precisely what we're against (colonialism), and what we are not (the Israeli-Jewish people).

And this brings us back to the debate in my previous stories. It's not at all easy to be informed of both history and the current situation, and on top of that, it is always harder to develop our perspectives in the spirit of inclusivity, in fairness, with compassion to say I understand your pain, your fear - and where do we go from here, together?

Finding a shared language #2

IMHO, the clear and precise differentiation between:

1. ANTI-ZIONISM (standing up against an exclusive political ideology that is colonialist and 'apartheidic'), and

2. ANTI-SEMITISM (discrimination against the Israel-Jewish religion, peoples and their self-determination as a nation),

is an important common ground that resonates with many within our diverse communities. And conversations focused on dismantling this colonialism — nothing more, nothing less, may also extend beyond politics to serve as a form of 'societal therapy.' i.e. the distinct separation of our objective from anti-Semitism, acknowledges and respects the enduring discrimination faced by the Israeli-Jewish people for millennia and presently. It frees us from distractions, from strawmen, uniting us in global sister-brotherhood against the genuine threats and perils of humanity: state-executed apartheid and colonialism (by the Israeli government, and also anywhere, anytime).

The international responsibility and complicity with regard to Zionism (i.e. colonialism)

A quick perspective to share the point that the situation in Israel and Palestine is not an isolated event, and that Europe and the so called 'developed world', not only has the power to influence the situation, but also share the responsibility to bring immediate and sustainable peace in the region.

Yanis Varoufakis, economist and cofounder of DiEM25, former Greek minister of finance (excerpt from Yanis Varoufakis on Israel-Gaza: 'We Europeans have created this' | UpFront on Al Jazeera English (to whom all rights belong to).

Dialogues > Monologues, always

And monologues here − while being inspired by informative, non-sensational, balanced sources and experts that I am consistently passionate to consult, can never replace the real energy and catalyst toward shared peace and progress: a dialogue.

It would be amazing for my international friends to:

a). Share their thoughts, resources, opinions

b). Share their stories, feelings, anything personal or local to them

c). Share practical insights and avenues at which we can share and amplify our positions (to lobby our governments etc.)

d). Esp. in Japan, as I personally find myself consistently displaced in my own country, also in terms of civil involvement, participation, and lobbying both the federal and local governments

(The blog here is largely a transplant from the stories I shared on Instagram, with hopes to make it more palatable for longer sittings to read, watch, reflect, and exchange.)

Always with love from a corner of our shared world 🌍🇯🇵

Ryo