Today is my birthday (April 24th, Taurus, I am 35 years old). Two of my best friends gave me a cake that best captured my ethos with creative and colorful language. One is a direct condemnation of Hamas; the other is my favorite reimagining of a divisive slogan, confirming that peace is indeed a courageous necessity and evolution that will set both Palestinians and Israelis free, from the river to the sea. This is not romanticism, or oversimplification, but rather, a desperate plea to move away from division and toward bridge building; to abandon hate, violence, and the armed “resistance” narrative that Hamas has used to decimate the Palestinian people; and to stand firmly for what you believe in, even if it is unpopular, goes against conventional wisdom, challenges what the herd and group believe, or contests dominant and entrenched narratives.
Almost exactly a year ago, I wore that T-shirt and walked among thousands at the student encampment on the UCLA campus, seeking to understand what was really happening and what motivated some of the students’ actions, which I felt were not particularly helpful to serving the just and urgent aspirations of the Palestinian people.