My Story by Mollie F
I am a 78 year old British woman and have lived in Lancaster for 13 years. I retired here after a career in the NHS. I have been a political activist in the past as I feel the parliamentary system does not represent the people and justice or human rights. I am not religious.
I travelled a lot in the 1970s and lived in Israel for a year, initially on a kibbutz attracted by communal living and socialist ideals. I met some wonderful elderly people there who walked from Russia to escape pogroms and bought mosquito infested marshy land near the river Jordan in 1912. This became Degania Alef, the first kibbutz in Palestine.
I was shocked by the behaviour and arrogance of the young Israelis who were brought up communally and had adopted views about non-Jews that were essentially racist. This was some time after the 6 day war and the general view was that Israel was surrounded by enemies. All young people had to serve in the army and it was scary to watch teenagers getting on buses with guns. Arab Israelis were employed on the kibbutz and in Tiberius, the nearest town, in labouring jobs. As I got to know some of them, I learnt that many were graduates but had no chance of using their skills and knowledge. I was touched by their humanity and stoicism.
We used to see Israeli jets (no doubt supplied by the US) flying over the Golan Heights to bomb Syria. Occasionally a plane would not return but the newspaper reports never mentioned these facts or casualties and emphasised the wonderful IDF and the righteousness of the Israeli crusade.
After the kibbutz I went to Eilat as the town was being developed and worked in a hospital. I saw first hand how Palestinian Israelis were treated and heard the propaganda Israelis were subject to. This related to conflicts with Arab countries surrounding Israel and society geared to constant military action. I have been opposed to the Israeli state ever since.
have supported the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanction) movement for many years since being aware of Israel's refusal to meet it's obligations under international law. I feel that the excessive, inhumane attack on Gaza and the West Bank in response to the Hamas attack in October 2023 is genocidal and the governments in the western world are complicit because they are afraid of being accused of anti-Semitism. The state of Israel is dominated by a Zionist ideology and how Western governments can support their actions makes me ashamed to be British.
I am sure that many Jewish people are aware of what is happening and are also horrified. The treatment of the Palestinians is now overt and no one can claim they do not know what is happening. It cannot continue - Palestine will be Free