The struggle of Palestinians did not begin on October 7th, 8th, 9th, or 31st, 2023, or any other date before May 14, 1948, but every day, year, month, and week since that time. The founding of the State of Israel, from this day forward was a profound gift to the Jewish people but forced more than three quarter of a million people, 750,000, Palestinians from their native land to neighboring countries and far-off lands to make room for the new immigrants, mostly from Europe returning to what was deemed, their religious home. That new land would subject the people that were already there, Palestinians and descendants of Palestine to live under new rules for the security of Israel and unequal treatment that increased over time.

The people in the West would never really recognize the humanity of the Palestinians, let alone understand the trauma associated with loss that continues to this day. Perhaps it’s deliberate, a kind of selective amnesia, a protective mechanism of the masses to justify the “not” of knowing how it feels to live in a perpetual sense of loss in a newly created state formally their own. The “choice” to forget is enabled on some level and facilitated through media messaging, information, and storytelling. This combines with a generally accepted train of thought that supports the failure of the public to look deeply into this situation, “it’s complicated” we’re told when in fact, it’s really not complicated at all.