Quote of the Day

What Palestinians are trying to overcome is [the violence of the Israeli occupation]. As well [they are] trying to create a new future where they can exist with Jews who want to be on the same land. They just can't exist as supplicants or as second-class citizens.

The "abomination" is that we dare to exist and that we won't disappear. And somehow that's seen as in response to Israel rather than a desire to live. And that's what it comes down to. . . . We want to live. The fact [is] that [Israeli policy] is part of the reason why we're not living – the primary reason why we're not living.

[Israel] is the only nuclear power in the Middle East and is supported by the world's global superpower with unequivocal military, financial, and diplomatic aid. We're against all odds. The fact that we've survived this long is a miracle, and will be one day one of the most tremendous inspirations to anybody reading history in the world.

– Noura Erakat
Excerpted from "Palestinians Want Freedom, Just Like Anyone Would"
The Washington Post
May 15, 2018

B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has an extensive and informative website that includes a photo blog entitled Eyes Wide Open. A recent collection of images on this blog is entitled "Gaza Not Through Gun Sights," about which the following is said.

In recent weeks, tens of thousands of Gazans have protested along the fence with Israel. Most have stayed several hundred meters away from the fence, with the demonstrations taking the form of a folk festival: entertainment stages, live music, food stalls and large tents where entire families spend the day.

Naturally, media coverage and public debate have focused on Israeli soldiers shooting demonstrators who approached the fence. Yet it is worth pausing over the vast majority of protesters, who have not been involved in such incidents. B’Tselem field researcher Olfat al-Kurd, Muhammad Sabah and Khaled al-‘Azayzeh documented not only casualties, but also the back line of the demonstrations: teens playing soccer, women baking bread, food stalls, and Gazans asking for an end to the Israeli blockade that has made their lives intolerable.

Below is a sampling of the photos from "Gaza Not Through Gun Sights."

Above and below: East of the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip – April 20, 2018. (Photo: Olfat al-Kurd)

Above: East of the al-Bureij refugee camp, the center of the Gaza Strip – April 13, 2018. (Photo: Khaled al-'Azayzeh)

Above and below: East of Gaza City – April 27, 2018. (Photo: Muhammad Sabah)

Above: East of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip – April 20, 2018. (Photo: Muhammad Sabah)

Related Off-site Links and Updates:
Gaza: Israeli Soldiers Kill 50+ Palestinians Protesting Nonviolently as U.S. Opens Jerusalem Embassy – Democracy Now! (May 14, 2018).
A Grotesque Spectacle in Jerusalem: A Celebration, and a Massacre – Michelle Goldberg (The New York Times, May 14, 2018).
Gaza Killings: Names and Faces of Those Killed by Israeli Forces This Week – Middle East Eye via Common Dreams (May 15, 2018).
It's Not a "Hamas March" in Gaza. It's Tens of Thousands Willing to Die – Amira Hass (Haaretz, May 15, 2018).
“Unacceptable and Inhuman” Violence by Israeli Army Against Palestinian Protesters in Gaza – Doctors Without Borders (May 14, 2018).
We Must Speak Up Against Israel's Slaughter in Gaza – Muhammad ShehadaandJamie Stern-Weiner (Vice, May 14, 2018).
Bernie Sanders Emerges as Washington’s Leading Voice Against Gaza Violence – A.P. Joyce (Mic, May 15, 2018).
U.S. Blocks United Nations Call for Independent Probe Into Gaza Deaths – Natasha Turak (CNBC, May 15, 2018).
Nikki Haley Walks Out of U.N. Security Council Meeting as Palestinian Envoy Begins to Speak – Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani (Think Progress, May 14, 2018).
For Many Evangelical Christians, Jerusalem Is About Prophecy, Not Politics – Diana Butler Bass (CNN, May 15, 2018).
To My Fellow Evangelicals: What You’re Cheering in Jerusalem Is Shameful – Richard Mouw (Religion News Service, May 15, 2018).
In America's News Headlines, Palestinians Die Mysterious Deaths – Moustafa Bayoumi (The Guardian, May 16, 2018).
Kill and Kill and Kill – Saree Makdisi (CounterPunch, May 16, 2018).
Blaming the Victims of Israel’s Gaza Massacre – Gregory Shupak (FAIR via Truthdig, May 17, 2018).
Palestinians Are Forcing the World to See Their Humanity – Phyllis Bennis (In These Times, May 16, 2018).
60 Dead in Gaza and the End of Israeli Conscience – Gideon Levy (Haaretz, May 16, 2018).
Seven Fallacies About the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict – Marc Lamont Hill (The Huffington Post, May 17, 2018).
Why Palestinians Are Ready to Brave Bullets and Risk Death – The Economist (May 17, 2018).
Historian Ilan Pappe: "We Need Sustained International Pressure on Israel" – The Real News (May 7, 2018).
Yes, What Israel Is Doing to Palestinians Is Actually Genocide – Benjamin L. Corey (Patheos, March 1, 2017).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• For Some Jews, Israel's Treatment of Palestinians is Yet Another Jewish Tragedy
• Israeli Policy, Not Anti-Semitism, at the Root of Disruption at Creating Change 2016 Conference
• Remembering the Six-Day War and Its Ongoing Aftermath
• Quote of the Day – August 12, 2014
• Something to Think About – July 18, 2014
• "We Will Come Together in Our Pain"
• Thoughts on Prayer in a "Summer of Strife"