In recent weeks there has been a plethora of news surrounding of all things, the Trump administration and its policies. Between the talking points, much of the news has found one way or another, a comparison to the Palestinians and Israelis. For example, this week Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer met in the Oval Office with President Trump to discuss funding for the border wall. Democrats have been vocally opposed to funding Trump’s border wall, yet on Fox News later that night, Tucker Carlson made an interesting point. Carlson pointed out that Democratic leadership’s reasoning for not funding Trump’s wall, is their claim of its immorality. Yet these same Democratic leaders, Pelosi and Schumer, unconditionally supported Israel’s apartheid wall.

Comparisons to Israel’s border wall have been discussed plenty online, with many pro-Israel supporters claiming that their wall has decreased “illegal immigration” by 99%. The comparison between Israel’s wall and Trump’s proposed wall is great news for Israel. It helps to blur the obvious distinction between the two and make it more difficult for people to see the apartheid nature of not only Israel’s wall, but their policies towards non-Jews. It does this by creating the assumption that Palestinians are “illegal” let alone immigrants to their own land. However a true comparison of walls would be if Trump invaded Mexico, occupied the vast majority of it, pushed every Mexican into a densely populated region, and built a wall to keep them from leaving it to enter their country. Because that’s precisely what Israel has done and continues to do. If anyone is an illegal immigrant, it’s the influx of immigrants into Israel who kicked Palestinians from their land. Their “passport” and justification being that God “chose” Palestine for them. Imagine for a moment if the people at our Southern border entered into the United States backed by the British, expelled you from your home, and said God had chosen them. That is what happened to Palestinians.

Israel has continued to build illegal settlements on Palestinian land, violating all UN resolutions as usually is done. From a classical realist perspective, what Israel is doing is the right thing. While they break international laws and expand their vision of a greater Israel, Palestinians wait for bread crumbs from the international community in the form of any support. It’s time for Palestinians to become unapologetic, waking up to realize the international community has never been there for them. Condemnations of Israel’s actions are nothing but slaps on the wrist, and an attempt to stall Palestinian action until it’s too late. Meanwhile, while all of this is happening, Israel continues to play the victim on the international stage. The asymmetrical grievances between Israeli’s and Palestinians are some which most people will never know of.

The only way to fully illustrate the apartheid way of life Palestinians must endure at the hands of Israel, is for one to put themselves in the shoes of a Palestinian. The Israeli military is notorious for forcing school children to take long ways to and from school, having to go through military checkpoints. More harmful however, is their treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. Well known and documented is Israel’s “diet” they impose on the Palestinians, created to ensure Palestinians have just enough food to avoid malnutrition. Israel determines how much food and medical supplies are allowed to enter the open air concentration camp known as Gaza. Any reasonable person can imagine the worldwide holocaust level of outrage if Palestinians dictated the amount of food Israeli’s could eat. Israel’s treatment towards the younger generation of Palestinians is well documented. According to the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights, Israeli has detained over 200 minors, some under 14 years old. No worldwide outrage. Again, the outcry if the Palestinian authority dared to detain an Israeli citizen let alone a minor. The psychological implications of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is what goes the most unnoticed in the world media. Israel will remind the world endlessly when a Palestinian uses a knife as a least means of defense. They will portray the event as the cause, when the reality is this is the effect of generational psychological abuse. When you have been punishing a people with apartheid since 1948, robbing them not only of their property and country, but human dignity, they will lash out.

2019 is a decisive year for the Palestinian people. They need to wake up and realize their counterparts, the Zionist Israelis are not in the business of peace. They continue to expand their illegal settlements, deprive Palestinians of human rights, all the while portraying themselves as the victims in the mainstream media. They must realize the United States has no plans on helping the Palestinian people, regardless of the political party in power. Just this week Senator Rand Paul, the inconsistently libertarian conservative from Kentucky, threatened to cut funding for the Palestinians. This was again done using the mainstream news as of late regarding the budget deficit. He and many politicians know that the budget and saving money are on the minds of many Americans, therefore they used the opportunity to label the Palestinians as a financial burden. All the while not mentioning Israel is the largest recipient of U.S foreign aid. The Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, whose loyalties via religion are stronger with Israel than the U.S, tweeted that Israelis were wounded by Palestinians. This prompted the grand standing by Paul to label Palestinians as terrorists. School kids, journalists, minors, and everyone who isn’t Jewish living in Israel must deal with the death and apartheid Israel inflicts upon them, and at the same time be called terrorists by their supposed peace broker. Paul and other politicians have the audacity to condemn Saudi Arabia for killing children in Yemen, while turning a blind eye to Israel’s acts.

If you’re a Palestinian in 2019, it’s you against the world. You cannot afford to depend on the world to help your cause, while your kids are being killed and your homes destroyed. The idea of peace is nonexistent, as many Zionist leaders such as Netanyahu have understood decades ago while appearing to value it. An occupying force stripping you of your land, and calling you the illegal immigrants, is not the force that is looking for peace. This is not a call for aggression, on the contrary many Jews have sided with Palestinians against Zionist occupation. Rather this is a wakeup call to reality. The late well known Israeli intellectual Yeshayahu Leibowitz once warned that Israeli soldiers who harass and occupy Palestinian territories risk becoming “Judeo Nazis”.

American’s must decide if they want to be on the right side of history, or support a murderous occupying military in Israel. The threat of being labeled “anti-Semitic” for speaking the truth is a risk all must disregard if they want to be on the just side of the Palestinian Israeli issue. U.S politicians have and will always be at the mercy of the Israeli lobby. What other nation has world leaders who are expected to travel to a wall, and pray, displaying their allegiance to Israel? And you expect these leaders to have Palestinian peace in mind? May next year, 2019, be the year of the unapologetic Palestinians.