The Polarization of Gaza: A Liberal and Leftist Divide

Since October 7, 2023, there have been escalating tensions in Gaza, but the conflict did not start here. This genocide goes back to the 20th century. In 1917, the British government mandated “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” according to the United Nations. From 1922 to 1947, there was an influx of Jewish immigrants, with these numbers swelling during the Nazi persecution of the 1930s.

By 1947, the United Nations proposed a two-state solution – one for Palestinian Arabs and one for Jews. In the war of 1948, the state of Israel had taken “77 percent of the territory of mandate Palestine, including the larger part of Jerusalem,” the United Nations website reported. This led to a large Palestinian exodus. According to CFR Education, “at least seven hundred thousand Palestinian refugees flee their homes in an exodus known to Palestinians as the nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”).”

Israel would be declared the winner of this war, and it would set a precedent for years to come. Some flashpoints include: two Palestinian Intifadas (uprisings) in 1987 and 2000, tried and failed peace treaties in 2003 and 2020, and Israeli attacks on Palestine in 2008 and 2021. Yet, the most recent attacks have gained a lot of mainstream media attention. 

Black Lives Matter and Free Palestine are interconnected

In 2023, 75 years after the forceful establishment of Israel, an organization called Hamas launched an offensive on Israel. Israel responded with a 10-month-long ambush on Palestine. “As of July 2024, over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, many of them civilians. Over 100 Israeli hostages are still held by Hamas,” CFR Education noted.

This humanitarian crisis has come to a head on social media as the election approaches. Due to the U.S.’s role in supporting Israel throughout its history of occupation, many are questioning how Vice President Kamala Harris will respond to the crisis if she is elected President. Dashh Wilson, an integrated marketing producer who does political work, said in an email interview: “Pushing [Kamala Harris] to the left may not necessarily happen in the way that people would like because she hasn’t said she would stop Israel from ‘protecting’ their right to exist.” Wilson’s take echoes what Harris said in her speech when accepting the democratic nomination at last week’s DNC.

Harris noted, “I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” Harris did condemn violence on both sides in the speech, but some noted that her language was different for Israel than for Palestine. For example, she said that Israelis were “massacred” at a music festival, while Palestinian lives were “lost.” For Khalil Bowens, a Black activist and photographer, this speech was comparable to Donald Trump’s RNC speech. In a TikTok video, Bowens said Harris’s speech had “unwavering support for genocide, warmongering, militarization of the police, right wing immigration policy, and the emboldening of white supremacists.”

Bowens then explained that he would be voting for the third party in the upcoming election. Bowens is among several creators with large platforms who have expressed their unwillingness to vote for Harris. This stance has caused a divide amongst Black and pro-Palestinian creators, which Bowens was no stranger to. When influencer Anayka Sheperd made a video saying that people who are not voting for Kamala Harris are not morally superior, Bowens responded to Sheperd’s video asking what she knew about politics. After Sheperd responded back to Bowens criticizing his language, he offered an apology.

@anaykashe

@Khalil🔻

♬ original sound – Anayka She

@draftd0dger

@Anayka She Sorry that people do not feel comfortable voting or endorsing canidates who enforce the genocide of their people, whether that be domestically or globally

♬ original sound – Khalil🔻

Yet, the discourse between Sheperd and Bowens is not occurring in a vacuum. It is indicative of a larger conversation happening on and off of TikTok about Harris’ stances on Palestine. At the Democratic National Convention, the party was met with protestors challenging Harris and President Joe Biden’s positions. When the DNC refused to let a Palestinian speak on the main stage but allowed two Israelis to speak there, the uncommitted movement held a sit-in.

During the action, sitting members of Congress visited the uncommitted movement, including Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman. She criticized the Democratic National Committee for not allowing her to speak. “I do not understand why being a Palestinian has become disqualifying in this country,” she said. “We are here to literally save the soul of our party. I do not understand why that is a bad thing.”

Romman was not the only elected official to visit the movement. Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a vocal opponent of Israel, also spoke. She mentioned, “This is not about just winning votes. It’s about living up to the words that we say about caring for our neighbors, for having a heart, for being compassionate…there is no compassion in continuing to fund this genocidal war.”

Omar, Romman, and Bowens are voicing the dissent of millennial and Gen Z lawmakers and voters who are dissatisfied with Harris and Biden’s treatment of the war on Gaza. Yet, for some, the question is what happens in November if people choose to protest with their vote. Wilson said, “[N]o matter who is in office we have to be protecting those around us. Planning and coordinating with their neighbors are a great place to start.”